GREENFIELD — Robert “Robbie” Cohn is not just a donor to causes throughout the county and area, but a “weaver” in the community he has lived and worked in for decades, says his longtime friend, former Greenfield Community College President Robert Pura.
This year, Cohn has been named the Greenfield Recorder’s 37th Citizen of the Year, and people who know him say there isn’t a better choice.
“There are people who weave the tapestry of a community, and Robbie is one of them,” said Pura, who has known Cohn for almost two decades. “The community is very fortunate to have him.”
Pura, who received the award two years ago, said he is “so pleased” for Cohn.
“He worked hard to grow his business all those years, but he was always giving back — to the hospital, the YMCA, the college, local schools,” he said. “There’s no better example of giving than Robbie.”
Cohn’s mother, Arline Cohn, received the award in 1994, making them the only mother and son to receive it. She died in May 2018 at the age of 100 after spending many years volunteering and giving to the same community.
It isn’t just about the money that Cohn has donated over the years, Pura said, but the time he has put into his community and the impact he has had on others. He said Cohn’s parents — his father, Simon Cohn, died in 1999 — would be very proud of him.
“Think about the new operating wing at the hospital or musical instruments in Greenfield public schools, and Robbie played a part,” he said. “What an impact he has had on the area’s children and on people’s lives.”
The former college president said in spite of the iconic bow ties Cohn is known for wearing everywhere he goes, he is a “very humble” man.
Greenfield Savings Bank President and Chief Executive Officer John Howland said Cohn is the bank’s longest-standing board member, having joined in 1991. He said Cohn is a “wonderful and giving person who loves the community he serves.”
“He taught me a bunch of things about caring and community and how to continue his legacy,” Howland said. “He’s been very successful as a businessman, but he has differentiated himself through his philanthropy. He sees a need and addresses it.”
Howland said Cohn is highly respected and respects others. He has developed many relationships over the years, and has earned a reputation of getting things done.
“He is an amazing person who is committed and has the ability and resources to help the community,” he said. “You don’t typically find all of that in one person. This community is very fortunate to have him among us.”
Cohn, 72, who has sold his business and is retiring to spend more time with his wife and visit his grown sons, proves Pura’s point when he answers a question about the work he has done by beginning by singing the praises of everyone around him and talking about who helped him get to where he is today.
When told he was this year’s Citizen of the Year, Cohn responded, “I’m in pretty good company.”
Born in Boston, Cohn moved to Greenfield when his parents bought a home there. He didn’t join them, though, until May 1948, after he spent six months in the hospital.
“I was in the Children’s Hospital for a while, the first whole-blood transfusion in the United States” he said. “It saved my life.”
He grew up in Greenfield, except for when he attended boarding school. In 1972, he moved back to Greenfield at his mother’s request. His father had opened an insurance business, later adding real estate, and that is the company Cohn eventually took over and successfully grew into what it is today — Cohn & Company Real Estate at 117 Main St.
Over the years, one of the area’s most well-known philanthropists built his business. At the same time, he helped many people in many different ways, Pura said.
Cohn said last year, his life was saved again, when his wife, Mary, whom he married in 1984, gave him one of her kidneys. He said he surely would have been on dialysis for who knows how long and eventually succumbed.
“She was a one-in-a-million match,” he said. “How’s that for luck.”
Cohn said he was not a very good student when he was younger, and was known as the local “wiseguy,” so many of his peers didn’t think he would be a success.
“When I returned to Greenfield to work in my father’s real estate and insurance company, I don’t think many people had confidence in me,” he said. “But my parents taught me a great work ethic, and you never tell me ‘no,’ because that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Cohn took over his father’s business on Jan. 1, 1978, about six years after he started working there.
“I had been working in the bike business in Italy and Denver, Colo.,” he said. “I eventually became a psychologist, but always knew I was a salesman at heart.”
When he returned to Greenfield, he drove around the area looking at insurance and realty companies.
“They were run by old people — I thought they were old at the time — in their 50s and 60s,” he said. “I saw an opportunity, so I took it. I was much younger, so I could bring a new perspective, new ideas, young blood.”
Cohn said he has decided to retire while at the top of his game. He recently sold his business and plans to spend time with his wife and travel to see his two sons, 32-year-old Simon and 28-year-old Parker, in Colorado, where the couple recently purchased a condo. He said he will figure out the rest as he goes.
“I want to sleep in until 9 a.m.,” he said. “Although, I tried that recently and felt very anxious about not being up early and getting things done. No one thinks I can retire, do nothing, but just watch me.”
Cohn said he won’t retire from philanthropy. He said his community and the people who live there are an inspiration for him to always be doing for someone else.
Cohn has served on numerous local boards, including the United Way of Franklin County, Greenfield Community College’s board of directors and GCC Foundation board of directors, where he continues to serve. He has also given to many local charities.
“There’s no bigger pleasure for me — you can’t just chase money, you have to do what’s right for people,” he said. “If you do the best you can, money will follow.”
Pura said in 1994, Cohn and others decided to raise money to buy the former Heritage Bank building at 270 Main St., and the rest is history. It became the GCC Downtown Center, where the nursing program was located for years.
“It was the first public/private partnership,” Cohn said. “We raised $500,000 to renovate the building and we put at least a piece of GCC downtown. It was a great move, because people felt like no one knew about the college — it was out in the meadows. Moving the nursing program there was a great move for the college.”
Cohn said he started the GCC Foundation’s golf tournament, which now raises about $35,000 a year and has been running since 1994 to provide scholarships to deserving students. He said he also started the annual campaign for the foundation. He has always had a soft spot for GCC, where he took some classes early in life, and though he never graduated from there, he found many of his mentors, like Wilson Roberts, there.
“He turned me into a serious student,” Cohn said. “By the time I got to the University of Denver, I was an honors student.”
Cohn said he has been on the board at Baystate Medical Center for years, first serving on the local board of Franklin County Public Hospital. He ran two capital campaigns for the hospital in Springfield, the first in 2004 to revamp the emergency room, radiology and patient rooms, and the second for the local surgical center. He said about $10 million was raised in total during those two campaigns.
Cohn also served on the Bement School board for many years, noting his time on the board was a “tremendous success.” He served with Yankee Candle Co. founder Michael Kittredge, who died in June, and together, with the rest of the board, raised about $4.5 million for renovations.
“I think I’ve served on just about every board in this area,” he said.
Cohn said his philanthropic work has allowed him to develop relationships with other philanthropists, who have become his good friends. He said he has learned a lot about social equity and strategic planning, and doesn’t think about the time, money or energy he has put into his community, but instead is grateful for the experiences, personal growth and fulfillment he has gotten out of it.
Cohn said he has learned over the years that whatever you do, if you’re passionate about it, it will be successful.
“I was not a fundraiser, but I worked on projects I was passionate about, and I learned,” he said. “I’ve loved what I’ve been doing all these years.”
He said there have been no greater influences in his life than his wife and his parents and their love for the community. Though he and his wife will spend more time at their homes in Stow and Denver, he will continue his philanthropy in this area.
“This is the community I love, and I care about the people here,” Cohn said. “It’s all about making people feel good, helping the community, and I plan to do that until I’m dead.”
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-0261, ext. 269 or afritz@recorder.com.