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GREENSBORO — Keith Holliday was a few years into his term as mayor when his 14-year-old daughter died.

It's only fair we recognize Mayor Keith Holliday for his years of service as the elected leader of the city. Agree? Join the discussion at the News & Record's latest blog, The Debatables.

For a time, he felt lost. He wanted to give up. But there was help everywhere he looked.

"This city wouldn't let me," he said. "It carried us for a long time."

And so on Thursday, Holliday thanked hundreds of people who had come to thank him for his work as the city's mayor during the past eight years.

That relationship between the mayor and the city he led emerged as the theme of the tribute, held as Holliday, 54 , is set to step down from his post next month.

"Keith loves Greensboro and it shows," said Trip Brown , one of the masters of ceremony for the evening.

Speakers at the Greensboro Coliseum lauded him for everything from championing key projects to demonstrating good manners at council meetings.

City manager Mitchell Johnson said Holliday even looks the part.

"I often wonder if we didn't just call Hollywood central casting and say, 'Give us a mayor,' " he said.

Holliday also got some love from beyond the city limits.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory , who grew up in Greensboro, said Holliday emerged as a respected figure among big-city mayors in North Carolina.

"This guy was our leader. He was the one we trusted to forge that alliance," McCrory said. "Keith was the glue. He was our Boy Scout."

And state Sen. Kay Hagan informed Holliday that he'd been selected to join the likes of Dean Smith and Billy Graham as members of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine , a distinction given to North Carolina residents with a history of service.

Holliday, who will be going back to full-time work at First Citizens Bank after deciding not to run again, also received a paid vacation and a large ice sculpture of the key to the city.

For his part, Holliday took the occasion to put in a quick plug for turning the mayor's position into a full-time paid job. Currently, the office is a "career buster," he said.

Holliday also reminded those attending of the needs that will be created by growth in the Triad in coming years.

The area might add the equivalent of another Greensboro in the next decade, he said. That's the same amount the area added in the previous three decades.

That's a lot of new schools and houses and jobs that will be needed, he said.

"This is going to be a night I'm never going to forget," Holliday said. "Tomorrow, we've got to go to work."

The city's future is exciting, he said.

"We're going to make this great city even greater," he said. "Starting tomorrow morning, go out there and make it happen."

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or jhardin@news-record.com