12/22/2023

Stake in the Ground

The Noblesville Common Council recognized Deputy Mayor Matt Light as the 2023 Stake in the Ground honoree at their meeting Tuesday night.

The “Stake in the Ground” Award is designed to recognize city employees – typically at the director level – who go above and beyond their job by “putting a stake in the ground” to be the best city employee and have a significant impact in serving constituents. Each councilor makes a nomination and then all members vote on the award.

“In addition to his tasks and responsibilities, Matt undertook two major projects this past year,” said 2023 Common Council Vice President Darren Peterson, who presented the award on behalf of the council. “Matt was instrumental in the Noblesville Event Center breaking ground in November and working with Indiana Pacers Sports and Entertainment to secure the city as the new home to the team’s G League franchise.”

During 2023  Light also worked to finalize the city’s acquisition of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations property between Division and Pleasant streets.

“With his due diligence, the city has acquired portions of the land, based on environmental analysis to be safe for redevelopment, that give us an opportunity to repurpose the site from its previous industrial use to serve the current and future needs of our growing community,” Peterson said.

Light was selected by Mayor Chris Jensen to serve as his deputy mayor and has served under the Jensen administration since it began on Jan. 1, 2020.

“I’m fortunate to serve in a role where I have the opportunity to come to work each day and team up with others to make a positive impact locally,” Light said. “The Mayor sets the tone with the way he approaches service to his hometown.  There are a lot of dedicated professionals at the city who are deserving of recognition, and this award means a lot coming from our Council, who do a great job advocating for the interests of Noblesville.”

Prior to Noblesville, Light served as chief of staff at Indiana’s State Board of Accounts. At the SBoA, Light led a staff of nearly 300 that audited all state agencies and local units of government. Light also has previous experience in executive roles at the Indiana Attorney General’s office and as an adjunct professor at the IU McKinney School of Law.