BOSTON — A group of departing state representatives bid farewell to their colleagues Tuesday, delivering speeches that touched on their accomplishments, fond memories, and, in some instances, critiques of the centralization of power in the House over the years.

Rep. Cory Atkins, a Concord Democrat first elected in 1998 who did not run again this year, said in her early days in the House the lighted board that displays lawmakers’ votes often “looked like a Christmas tree with random red and green scattered all over the board.”

A member could get a meeting with the speaker within a day, and the speaker would ask members’ for their votes “rather than expecting me to offer a pledge,” said Atkins, who represents parts of Chelmsford, too.

Atkins said it can now take weeks for her to secure a meeting with Speaker Robert DeLeo or his staff, and said lawmakers were not elected to “look at that board to see how the speaker voted and then automatically do the same thing.”

Atkins said her best moment on Beacon Hill was the victory of same-sex marriage, and her worst — “equally as sad as the best was exhilarating” — came earlier this year when the House debated new rules updating its procedures to deal with sexual harassment.

“The absolute worst moment was when distinguished women leaders in this chamber were used to try to shut down debate when one of our members tried to tell her story of harassment that began here, right there, in this chamber,” Atkins said, referring to Rep. Diana DiZoglio’s attempt to tell of her own experiences and against the use of non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases. “I heard afterward that female staff members were crying as they watched the proceeding. Their takeaway was that if a member could not tell her story, how was a staff member ever going to tell theirs.”

DiZoglio, a Methuen Democrat who is set to join the Senate in January, did not mention the incident in her own farewell address, which focused on the importance of community.

Rep. Jay Kaufman, the Lexington Democrat first elected to the House in 1994, reflected on the leadership lessons he learned from each of the four House speakers he served with — Speakers Charles Flaherty, Thomas Finneran, Sal DiMasi, and DeLeo. DiMasi and Flaherty attended Tuesday’s session.

He said that when his House tenure began under Flaherty, sessions were much longer, the debate was more open and the outcomes of votes were less predictable. But he also pointed out that he has served as House chairman of the Revenue Committee for the entirety of DeLeo’s speakership.

“This, despite the fact that I have definitely not mastered the art of going along to get along. You and I have not always agreed, indeed we have frequently disagreed on taxes in particular, the very subject you asked me to address. And yet, despite our differences and despite the fact that some of your team members could not understand why you stuck with me, you did,” Kaufman said. “I hope that in some small way I have repaid your faith in me.”

Thirteen of the 18 representatives who either did not seek another term or lost their re-election bids took the opportunity Tuesday to reflect on their time in the House, their service to their districts and the issues they worked on while in office.

Many of the speeches were peppered with expressions of gratitude to DeLeo.

Rep. Geoff Diehl, a Whitman Republican who ran against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren last month and has been among the House’s most conservative members, described the first time he met DeLeo at a dinner the speaker held for the nearly two dozen new Republicans elected in 2010.

Diehl said he ended up sitting next to DeLeo — who he described as “the top-ranking Democrat in the state,” despite the fact that Democrat Deval Patrick held the governorship at the time — and had “one of the greatest evenings of my life” after three hours chatting with DeLeo.

“I will never forget how welcome Bob made me feel and how gracious he has been to members on both sides of the aisle during my time in this chamber,” Diehl said, describing the bipartisanship and tolerance for different perspectives in the House as the envy of other states.

Rep. John Scibak, the House chair of the Higher Education Committee, said he wanted to counter perceptions some may have about how DeLeo works with members. Scibak said when DeLeo tapped him as vice chair and former Rep. Brian Dempsey as chairman of the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, neither man would guarantee they’d back expanded gaming.

“So people make this assumption about the speaker and about people in leadership, that you’re strong-armed and that you have to vote a certain way,” he said. “This speaker appointed a chair and a vice chair to head a committee for his number one priority, with neither one of us having made a commitment that we would support it. And we did, and the part that the people often don’t realize outside the chamber is that it’s not just the title of the bill or what the bill is, it’s the details, and the bill that we passed was the best bill.”

Scibak is moving from South Hadley to Florida and told his colleagues he would think of them when it’s 75 degrees there, and they are dealing with a foot and a half of snow.

Rep. Stephen Kulik, another Western Massachusetts lawmaker departing Beacon Hill after this session, has represented one of the largest and most rural districts during 25 years in the House and said he was most pleased to have worked on “the rural and small-town issues” during his tenure.

He also thanked DeLeo for appointing him to a leadership position on the House Ways and Means Committee for the last decade, in part because of the message it sends to the western part of the state.

“It has meant a lot to me, to my constituents and to the Western Massachusetts region as a whole that you gave me a seat at the table in debating and helping to craft so many state budgets, numerous capital spending bills and other legislation such as public records reform,” he said.

The lawmakers who said goodbye include the first Asian-American woman and first Latina immigrant to serve in the branch, and the first Latino chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Ways and Means Chairman Jeffrey Sanchez, who was defeated in the September primary by Jamaica Plain Democrat Nika Elugardo, said he’s felt a lump in his throat since the day after that election, and thanked his colleagues for trusting “this Puerto Rican guy from the projects” to work with them.

Sanchez said he found his voice in the House and pointed to another unseated lawmaker as an example of how representatives respect each other. Sanchez is pro-choice, and Andover Republican Rep. James Lyons is pro-life. Sanchez said the two men could look each other in the eye despite their differences and work together on issues like the fight againt opioid addiction.

Lyons lost his re-election bid to Andover Democrat Tram Nguyen, who ran with the endorsement of pro-choice groups. First elected in 2010, he said he was proud to have brought public attention to the pro-life cause and to have stood up for his beliefs, despite knowing the political risk. The minority pro-life voice will grow “dimmer” in the next session, he said.

One of the most outspoken House members and often the only dissenting vote on bills that would otherwise pass unanimously, Lyons opened his speech by noting how his high school principal had described him as the bane of her existence when he served in student government. “Not much has changed, Mr. Speaker,” he said.

“I’m shocked that anyone would look at you in that manner,” DeLeo quipped in response.

Rep. Kevin Kuros, who along with fellow Republican Rep. Kate Campanale ran unsuccessfully for Worcester register of deeds this year, grew emotional as he reflected on the power lawmakers have to make a difference in their constituents’ lives.

He recalled a thin, disheveled man who came to see him during office hours in Uxbridge one night asking for assistance. Kuros learned the man suffered from depression after his mother’s death and had been homeless for the better part of eight years. Kuros and his staff helped the man get a hotel room for the short term and, eventually, to move into public housing.

A year later, on Election Day, Kuros encountered the same man, now healthy-looking and smiling, among a group of supporters holding signs for his re-election bid.

“And he was holding a sign for me, just for doing my job,” Kuros recalled. “It was that day that the value of what we do as legislators really hit me.”

Rep. Frank Smizik, a Brookline Democrat who focused much of his work over 18 years in the House on combatting climate change, told his colleagues that a medical condition has made it difficult for him to speak over the last few years, but pledged to remain a resource as they continue that work.

“Now that I leave, even though I will be retired, I will always try to work to help others and do what I can,” Smizik said. “That’s what my life has been and that’s what is going to continue.”

Rep. Juana Matias, who represented Lawrence for one term in the House and gave up her seat to run for Congress, spoke of the history of her city, its importance in Massachusetts’ history and the state’s economy, and the role immigration played. She also recognized her mother, whom she said set an example of hard work and sacrifice.

“You are a true testament to what it means to be an upstanding citizen of this country,” she said to her mother, who was seated in the well. “You and Papi worked hard, you sacrificed and you persevered and you inspired a five-year-old Dominican girl to believe that she could achieve her American dream and become the first immigrant Latina state representative to serve in this historic chamber. It is because of you, the example that you both set, that I woke up every single day prepared to fight for justice in all of its forms for every single Lawrencian, every resident of the commonwealth and every American in his country.”

Matias also reflected on the way the people of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover came together to help each other after the Sept. 13 natural gas explosions and fires that left families homeless or without heat, and how that spirit of her community pushed her to run for public office.

“It was those same values — courage, honor, selfless service to others — that inspired me to run for state representative and later for Congress,” she said.

Dorchester Rep. Evandro Carvalho, who served two terms in the House and was unsuccessful in his bid to become Suffolk County district attorney, said he put his heart and soul into the job for the last four years and chose not to prepare much of a farewell speech.

“When I look at what I’ve been able to accomplish along with all of you, I think, ‘Wow, man, you could have come in here and been a knucklehead but you got work done,'” he said.

Carvalho used part of his speech to thank his mother, despite not telling her that he would be making a farewell address in the House.

“I figured I should at least give her a shout because, truly, but for her blood, sweat and tears, I wouldn’t be the man I am today,” said Carvalho, who was born in Cape Verde and said it was a real thrill every time he got to stand on the House floor. He said. “Mom, I love you, don’t hate me for not telling you about this.”

Rep. Keiko Orrall, a Lakeville Republican who will be succeeded in the House by her husband, Norman, reflected on her unsuccessful run for treasurer, which she said made her the first Asian-American and first woman of color to run for statewide office in Massachusetts.

“We came up short, but history was made and hopefully there will be more to follow,” she said, telling representatives she believed in the mantra “that people from immigrant, working-class backgrounds and especially women should run for office at every level of government.”

Orrall said she had two uncles who fought in a Japanese-American battalion in World War II, serving the United States despite discrimination they faced, and said her parents raised her with the “Aloha spirit” she hoped she brought to the House — the belief that everyone deserves respect and should be valued, without judgment or expectation. Her final word in parting was simply, “Aloha.”

Outgoing Reps. Byron Rushing, Solomon Goldstein-Rose, James Dwyer, Robert Koczera and Kate Campanale did not take the opportunity Tuesday to address the House.