MORE than 40 staff members with a combined total of nearly 1000 years of service in council were recognised at a special awards event on Tuesday night at the Warwick Town Hall.

Chief executive officer Andrew Roach said staff members with 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service were presented with a special framed photograph of landscapes of the Southern Downs.

Long-serving council staff member Russell Wren has notched up 35 years in his role as tractor operator.

"The staff recognition awards night is an opportunity for council to acknowledge the commitment of staff to serve in local government," he said.

"These staff members have a wealth of experience, talent and skill and the Southern Downs Regional Council is able to deliver efficient, quality service due to their dedication. I would like to publicly thank all of these staff.

"We asked work colleagues to give us a few words about each recipient and this brought out some great stories about the care taken, the camaraderie within teams and the ability to pitch in and get the job done.

"The recipients are from a broad range of work areas including engineering, administration, human resources, planning, machine operators, labourer and maintenance and workshop supervisory roles."

Southern Downs Mayor Peter Blundell said he was delighted to help officiate at the staff recognition awards and several other councillors attended to congratulate staff members.

"All organisations should take time to recognise their most valuable resource - their people," Cr Blundell said.

"I also enjoyed talking to the family members of our workforce.

"They provide behind-the-scenes support so that our council employees quite often go above and beyond the call of duty."