GREENFIELD — After serving nearly 20 years on the town’s Human Rights Commission, longtime member Penny Ricketts has announced she’s stepping down.
This week, Ricketts said she’s leaving her position on the commission because of her busy schedule. Ricketts is also an at-large town councilor and sits on several other local and state committees.
“I’m just doing it because my schedule is crazy, there are times I have to go to two meetings in one night and I just had to make a decision,” she said. “I chose Human Rights because I know I can still attend those meetings on the other side of the table to get my point across.”
Ricketts said she first joined the HRC in the late 1990s after attending a meeting about who was using the Greenfield Swimming Pool. “I still remember one resident saying, ‘I don’t mind colored people using the pool area,’” she said. “I went to the Town Hall the next day and asked to be considered for the HRC.”
Ricketts served as the commission’s vice chair in 2007 and chair in 2008, and said her mentor has been Joan Featherman of Greenfield, who sat on the commission with her for many years. She said Featherman is the epitome of being a voice for those who don’t think they have power.
Featherman is also a founder of the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition — the rape crisis and domestic violence center of Franklin County and the North Quabbin area.
Although the commission only meets once a month, Ricketts said she feels she can do more good from her seat on the council and through the connections she’s made in the community. “I believe I will be able to carry on the work I believe in, as well as give myself a little break from running to meetings,” she said.
HRC Chairman Philippe Simon said although he’s sad to see Ricketts leave, he feels better knowing she plans to remain active in human rights issues in Greenfield.
“Penny is just such an inspiration to everyone on the commission and in our town,” he said. “I’m just so proud to have worked with her because she has stood up in the face of adversity and never changed her commitment to social justice in our town.”