Stone Mountain’s Mayor, Patricia Wheeler, recently accepted the Certificate of Distinction award at the 2020 Cities United Summit (formerly known as Mayor’s Day).

Municipal elected officials are required to complete a Municipal Leadership Institute to earn a Certificate of Excellence and a Certificate of Distinction. The Certificate of Distinction requires 204 hours of training, including at least 72 hours from a required list of courses, the Newly Elected Officials Institute, and the Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute.

The Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute is a seminar that helps city officials enhance their leadership skills. The institute facilitates an interactive simulation exercise that addresses the daily problems of governing a municipality and demonstrates the importance of communication and collaboration.

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A man has been arrested after the items were stolen two days before Beyoncé performed the first of her concerts in Atlanta in July, police said. (Courtesy of Greg Noire)

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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