WATERVILLE -- An active leader in the community for more than a decade, attorney Mike Phillips Jr. nonetheless said he was surprised at having been chosen this year's Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Professional.

"I'd like to think it represents a lot of the time I've put in working for the Chamber and working with other organizations," he said. "But I'm surprised, because I think that there are several others who are equally deserving of it."

Over the years, Phillips has served on the Chamber's board, done volunteer work with inner-city youth in Portland and filled various leadership roles in his church, Faith Evangelical Free Church.

His work in the community and other factors made Phillips an obvious choice, said Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce President Kimberly N. Lindlof.

"Selecting Mike was an easy decision for our committee," she said. "Mike exemplifies the qualities of what one would envision when one thinks of an 'outstanding professional.'"

Phillips, Lindlof said, is a professional "of the highest ethics, devoted family man, and gives back to the community in multiple ways.

"Simply put, Mike is a good person with the utmost integrity."

Phillips will receive the award at the annual Chamber dinner on March 26.

Born the winter of 1970 in Aroostook County, he began life in the Maine countryside.

"I'm a Presque Isle boy, I grew up in the county, and I'm used to wide open spaces around me," Phillips said. "But I'm quite happy with the community that we've settled down with here in Waterville."

Phillips graduated Presque Isle High School in 1988 and left the state to study political science at Cedarville College in Cedarville, Ohio. He met the woman who became his wife, Jennifer, at the college and graduated in 1992.

They married, and together moved to Portland, where he attended the University of Maine Law School. During this time, Phillips' volunteer activities included working with an inner-city program called the Root Cellar, in which he led a boys' club and also served on the board of directors.

In 1995, after law school, Phillips took a job as a lobbyist for the Christian Civic League, an activist group based in Augusta. After about a year, he struck out on his own.

For four years, he worked to develop his practice, focusing on real estate and business transactions.

"When you start out on you own, you're always hungry," he said. "You sit there waiting for clients to come in."

After four years, he teamed up with Dan Bernier, an arrangement that lasted until 2006, when he began working with what is now known as O'Donnell, Lee, McCowan & Phillips, LLC. The firm, located on Silver Street, handles "virtually all types of legal problems, from business and commercial transactions and litigation, to personal matters like real estate planning, probate, divorce and personal injury," according to a statement on its Web site.

Phillips, who now serves on the board of directors at Lakewood Continuing Care Center and as an elder at Faith Evangelical Free Church, said he hopes that the law firm will grow as well as the community.

"We've made a lot of great friends here; that makes us glad that we're raising our kids here," he said. "I'd like to see things grow -- I'm hoping through the chamber that we can help the community grow."

Joel Elliott -- 861-9252

jelliott@centralmaine.com