Utah House Candidate: Phil Lyman

In the end people will judge you by what you do, not by what you say. I have a couple of mantras that have guided my life. One is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emmerson which says, “God will not have his work made manifest by cowards,” and the other is “Hard work is its own reward.”
Too often people are too worried about getting credit. Like Ronal Reagan said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t worry about who gets credit.”
Two years after moving back to Blanding, I was thrust into running my own CPA firm following the unexpected death of my father, who was also my employer in the CPA firm.
As I contemplated the viability of the firm, I settled on the realization that there was an obvious need for accounting services in my immediate surrounding, and that I had an obvious skill to help.
For 35 years that has guided my path both as a businessman and as a public servant.
Soon, I met Nettie Prack and together we formed the Diabetes Control Project in Montezuma Creek. Working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, we secured a 638 contract. That experience led to the formation of Utah Navajo Health Systems, where I was instrumental early on.
I also worked as the CFO for Sage Memorial Hospital in Ganado, AZ.
At the same time, I helped a client transition his small air ambulance business into a fledgling startup known as Eagle Air Med, then Guardian Flight, which is now an international air ambulance company. 
In 2005, I helped start the Blanding Rotary Club. I was the club’s charter president and the first Paul Harris Fellow.
Political office was never something I aspired to, but my community engagement drew me to it.
In 2008, I contacted Mark Maryboy and asked him if he would help me close out Utah Navajo Development Council by acting as an interim CEO. He proposed that, instead of closing UNDC, we repurpose it to become the managing entity of the Utah Navajo Trust Fund.
That effort failed, but not before it launched the Utah Navajo Water Settlement discussions. Meeting with senators, congressmen, legislators, and commissioners revealed that there was an obvious need and that I might have the skills to help.
I ran successfully for county commissioner and now, as a state legislator, I look for the obvious needs and try to find the obvious, or not so obvious, solutions.
My engagement is always with my whole self and not in words only.
My service has been a sacrifice for me and my family, but we have seen the fruits of that sacrifice. Power and water to Westwater community, creating the San Rafael Research Center while chairing the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, finalizing the Navajo Water Settlement, and many other battles fought and (sometimes) won, have been rewarding.
I find great satisfaction and consider it one of my greatest blessings to serve the people of District 69.
Thank you!