On hearing the news, Peter Sheridan, an OAM recipient himself, said he wasn't surprised.

"Basically, I think the community is thanking him for what he has done," he said.

"He has done so much, but he doesn't go around plastering his name on the sky."

"For a long time everyone has been saying what a good job Michael does and he has always been behind the scenes with things like PAPA [the Provision for Aged Persons Accommodation] and St Vincent de Paul. There are people ringing him at all hours of the night needing help and still with things like Binjang he is the person trying to raise money."

"I think also when he receives the award, his wife Carolyn has every right to be standing beside him for everything she has done too."

While for many news of the OAM didn't come as a surprise, it was a shock to Mr White.

"My first thought was why me? I'm no different to anyone else," he said.

"It is not life-changing, but I will take it as an honour and with all the people who have been involved -on their behalf."

"Any of this couldn't have been done without the support of my family; my wife and kids and though I may have been foundation secretary or president of things, it doesn't happen to one person. One person doesn't achieve until you find like-minded people and it is a team effort."

Mr White said he was driven by a need to give back to Wellington; the community that gave so much to him from the time he started his business in Wellington.
Early in life he was influenced by a number of community-minded people including his father and his father in-law and from the beginning the motivation behind his work has been to look at the needs of others.

"I travelled around a lot with wool classing and you would see a lot of people in need which is why I got involved in St Vincent de Paul; it's not a hand out but a hand up. You have to be careful though; there are people who want everything for nothing, but you learn to tell them apart from those who are truly in need."

"I like to see what the town needs and go from there. With PAPA there was a need to keep the elderly in the community. These people were living in homes too big to maintain and by freeing those up we could get accommodation for people coming to Wellington as well as accommodate the elderly who could still live life with enjoyment in good flats."

Over the years Mr White has been a firm believer that team work is crucial to success.

"You can't do anything alone. If I get an idea I look for like-minded people. Between us and with the back up of the community we succeed."
Among his many achievements, he was responsible for freeing the domestic trade of wheat and during his many entrepreneurial and philanthropic ventures he has learnt a lot along the way.

At one stage he worked hard to get a canning and frozen food factory called PICT to come to Wellington, but in the end it was based in Inverell.

"I have learnt that in approaching companies in Sydney we were talking to the wrong people. We were talking to the upper echelons; people who didn't want to leave their homes in St Ives or Woollahra when we should have spoken to the people on the shop floor who would have loved to come [to Wellington]."

"There's still lots to be done in Wellington. The beautification of our town is well on the way to attracting businesses to Wellington and I think it has a positive future."
Wellington mayor Rod Buhr said it was absolutely essential to have people like Michael White in every community.

"It is always good to see people who work tirelessly in the community receive proper recognition and to be recognised with an OAM is a great honour," he said.
"Michael has operated a successful business in town over many, many years and that can be difficult but he still devoted his time to the community and those in need."