Tribute to Peter S M Philips
Odyssey House lost one of its founding Board members due to the passing of Peter Philips on May 11 of this year. Peter joined the Board of Odyssey House in 1977 at the urging of its Founder, the late Walter McGrath.
Odyssey House was to become one of the first centres for the treatment of drug addiction, as well as one of the largest in New South Wales.
Prior to his involvement with Odyssey House Peter had a wide and varied career. In business he served as a Director on a number of financial institutions before establishing his own financial management firm. He founded two stockbroking firms and the Merchant Bank. He served on the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1976 to 1988 and was Chairman of a number of political committees.
Peter served as Chairman of the Board of Odyssey House from 1989 – 2000. During his tenure as Chairman Peter oversaw the tremendous growth of Odyssey House services and funding opportunities. This period also saw the establishment of the Odyssey House Corporate Care Appeal campaign.
The campaign provided funds to enable the construction of two cottages to house our Parents and Children’s program. To acknowledge Peter’s contribution to the funding and construction of the cottages, one was named in his honour.
Peter continued to be an avid supported of Odyssey House and its services after resigning from the Board in 2000. He, along with his wife Helen attended many fundraising events in support of Odyssey House and its services. Peter was an annual financial supporter of Odyssey’s programs until his death.
Peter is survived by his wife Helen, two living children and a number of grand children. He will be sadly missed.
James Pitts
CEO
Odyssey House McGrath Foundation