Thomson Mayor Robert E. Knox Jr. will be saluted on Sunday by family, friends and the public during a special ceremony at the Thomson Depot in celebration of his 29 years of service as mayor.
Mr. Knox's last official day in public office will be Monday, Dec. 31.
The drop-in celebration will begin Sunday at 2 p.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. Special remarks by Mayor Knox and others will start at 3 p.m., according to Bob Flanders, former city administrator and one of the organizers of this weekend's event. The Thomson Depot is located at 111 Railroad Street.
Prior to becoming mayor, Mr. Knox served on city council. A longtime lawyer, he has served on numerous local governmental agency panels, as well as state boards, and as past president of the Georgia Municipal Association.
A number of dignitaries are expected to attend Sunday's gathering at the Depot to salute Mr. Knox and to thank him for his years of dedicated public service to the residents of Thomson.
"Mayor Knox has all the qualities folks look for in a servant leader," according to Thomson City Administrator Don Powers. "He's completely fair; never puts off the task at hand - no matter the difficulty and gets as much work done in a day as anyone I know. He has an uncanny ability to understand even the most complicated of issues in short order - and is an absolute master at managing his time."
Mr. Powers added that Mayor Knox also "is the same person - whether he's with other community or state leaders or just plain old ordinary citizens. It's easy to see that he just plainly likes folks - looking for something good in most everyone."
