For the 38th time, the Greenfield Recorder will be honoring its Citizen of the Year. Readers, we need your help finding a person who has made a significant contribution to the greater community of Franklin County.
Perhaps this person holds a position of prominence in the community or is someone who works quietly behind the scenes. There are certainly people who fit either or both categories.
For instance, Robert “Robbie” Cohn, the 2019 Citizen of the Year, was recognized as a prominent business owner — he sold his real estate firm Cohn & Company and retired last year — and for serving on numerous boards. They included the United Way of Franklin County, Greenfield Community College’s board of directors and the GCC Foundation board of directors, among many others. He has also led capital campaigns for the GCC Foundation and Baystate Medical Center, and has given to many local charities. The list goes on.
Previous honorees are: the 2017 winner, Robert Pura, former president of GCC who retired the following year; and David Chichester, who was named the 2018 Citizen of the Year after serving in 10 volunteer positions for his former town of Conway.
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.
Please submit a written statement about why this person deserves to be Citizen of the Year.
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.
We have held onto the nominations submitted last year.
A committee consisting of the Recorder’s editorial board and volunteers from the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce board will review the nominations. The editorial board will make the final decision.
Traditionally, the honoree was celebrated at the December breakfast hosted by the Recorder and the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce. But given the pandemic, that event will likely not be held this year.
So like so many events, we will introduce the 2020 Citizen of the Year in a program on GCTV. That person will also be featured on the front page of the Recorder.
The Citizen of the Year will receive $500, half of which will be donated to a charity of the honoree’s choice. Last year, Cohn split the entire sum between the Salvation Army in Greenfield and Franklin County Community Meals Program.
For inspiration, here’s a list of other 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.
The deadline for submitting is Monday, Nov. 9.