Members of the Atlanta City Council honored retiring Councilmember Howard Shook during the chamber’s Dec. 1 meeting, lauding his 24 years of service on everything from city finance to neighborhood preservation.

Councilmember Byron D. Amos introduced an account of a 2025 rescue and a list of other instances illustrating Shook’s longstanding civic involvement, then turned the floor to a short video and remarks from former colleagues. Mayor Andre Dickens presented Shook with the Phoenix award, calling him “a leader like none other” and reading a citation noting Shook’s leadership on financial oversight, utilities and long-term planning.

Multiple current and former council members and city officials praised Shook’s role as a mentor and fiscal steward. Former mayor Kasim Reed credited Shook with helping to reform the city’s pension system and said that Shook’s work left a measurable legacy: “We changed the city's financial tragic trajectory forever, and there will always be something in the city called the Shook Amendment,” Reed said.

Shook, who chairs the finance committee and has been a fixture in council leadership for more than two decades, thanked colleagues and family and reserved brief remarks for later in the meeting. The council read and approved a proclamation recognizing Dec. 1 as Howard Shook Day and invited former and current officials to the dais for an official portrait.