Who should be honored as the 2019 Greenfield Recorder Citizen of the Year? Readers, please let us know.
As it has done for the past 37 years, the Recorder plans to honor a person who has made a significant contribution to the greater community of Franklin County.
Maybe this person held a position of prominence such as 2017 honoree Robert Pura, the former president of Greenfield Community College who retired the following year.
Or the nominee could be someone who works quietly behind the scenes, such as David Chichester, who was named the 2018 Citizen of the Year after serving in 10 volunteer positions for his former town of Conway.
Certainly, there are people who can fit either or both categories.
And if you suggested a person in the past who didn’t make the final cut, please resubmit a nomination. Maybe this will be that person’s year.
How do you submit a nomination? Write to the Recorder either via email to Editor-in-Chief Joan Livingston at jlivingston@recorder.com or via mail to Recorder Citizen of the Year, P.O. Box 1367, Greenfield, MA, 01302-1367. Include your name, address, phone number and email, and the same information for the person you are nominating.
Also make your case with a short written statement about why this person should be Citizen of the Year.
A committee consisting of the Recorder’s editorial board and volunteers from the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce board will review the nominations and make the selection.
The winner will also be the guest of honor at a Dec. 20 breakfast at Deerfield Academy hosted by the Recorder and Franklin County Chamber of Commerce. The person will receive $500, half of which will be donated to a charity of the honoree’s choice. Last year, Chichester designated the Warm the Children program as his recipient.
For inspiration, here’s a list past winners: Joan Vander Vliet, Al Dray, Elizabeth Hollingsworth and Philip Gilmore of Deerfield; Pearl Care of Erving; Theodore Martineau of Montague City; Rolland Gifford, Marion Taylor and Marvin Shippee of Shelburne Falls; Ann Hamilton, Amy Clarke, Marjorie Reid, Edward Tombs, Irmarie Jones, Jean Cummings, David McCarthy, Charles Carter and Arline Cohn of Greenfield; Marie Putala, the Rev. Stanley Aksamit, John Carey, Shirley Lovett and Richard Kimball of Turners Falls; Albert Diemand and Theodore Lewis of Wendell; Frank R. “Bud” Foster and William Shores of Bernardston; Marian Holbrook and Raymond Zukowski of Northfield; Allan Adie of Gill, Clifford Fournier, Marty Picard and Geneva Lawson of Orange; and Adelia Bardwell of Whately.
Hurry. Nominations are due by Dec. 2.