![[Valid RSS]](https://web.archive.org/web/20240108205913im_/https://ocgnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/valid-rss-rogers.png "Validate my RSS feed")
Lary said he deeply appreciated DePalma’s leadership and the caring concern that DePalma demonstrated toward him. The mayor said recovering from prostate cancer was one of the most challenging issues he has ever dealt with and DePalma was one of the city’s staff members who checked on him daily during his recovery.
DePalma, who formerly served as parks director of Fort Myers Beach, FL, was named the city of Stonecrest’s parks and recreation director in January 2019.
DePalma said he was glad to have played an integral role in the evolution of the 3-year-old city’s parks and recreation system, laying the foundation for world-class services and programs while building a solid team of staff members.
“The team we have at Stonecrest is world class, topnotch, very unified, and they’re solid…,” DePalma said.
Mayor Lary said that Brandon Riley has been promoted to succeed DePalma. Riley, who served under DePalma as operations manager, formerly was Executive Director of the DeKalb Boys & Girls Club before he was hired by the city in April 2019.
Sheldon Fleming, who has served as Recreation Lead since 2019, will move up to Operations Manager, the mayor said. Fleming formerly served as executive director for the former Wonderland Gardens in South DeKalb.
The city of Stonecrest will continue to work with DePalma , the mayor said, for a period of time as a part-time consultant on projects that he had initiated before his departure.