My Turn: When we decided not to fold

There are moments in the life of an organization when its future comes down to a simple question: Do we let this go… or do we fight for it? For the Greenfield Business Association (GBA), that moment came in 2018.

At the time, inspiration had drained away. Leadership turnover had taken its toll. Internally, basic systems — financial reporting, organizational clarity, even confidence —  had frayed. There was real conversation among the board about whether we should simply dissolve… and yet, even in that uncertainty, there was a stubborn belief that Greenfield needed this organization too much to let it disappear.

I still remember that fateful meeting at Taylor’s in July, 2018. Postcards went out to businesses. A letter ran in the Recorder. We invited the public into a conversation about whether the GBA had a future. Only a handful of people came, but sometimes five committed people can move mountains.

That night people like Bill Baker and Steve Goldsher spoke with conviction about continuing the mission. And I remember saying plainly: if anyone believes we should dissolve, they should leave the board. We’ll bring in new people. We’ll rebuild this thing.

That wasn’t bravado. It was a decision. And decisions create momentum. What followed wasn’t overnight success. It was the slow, stubborn work of rebuilding a foundation.

Board participation grew. Partnerships deepened. Strategy took shape. Conversations began about independence and identity. Over the next several years, with extraordinary partners, leadership and new energy, including moving into a new office, developing a strategic framework, and tripling membership, we began to understand our place in the ecosystem. In July 2023, with our first-ever “executive director,” Hannah Rechtschaffen, at the helm, the GBA celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Today, the GBA is not simply alive. It is hitting its stride. There is something powerful about watching an organization you once fought to keep open begin to generate real momentum and become a leader in its own right, and support a business community stepping out of its silos to start working collaboratively.

You can see it in major milestones like the $25,000 challenge grant catalyzed through partners like Gagne Wealth Management, and the incredible success of the JaDuke Center for the Performing Arts “Momentum” fundraiser.

You can see it in the generosity of Cohn and Company, which helped establish a prominent home for the GBA at 278 Main Street, now a hub of collaboration, staffed with interns from Greenfield Community College.

You can see it in how the GBA helped bridge private business and local government in ways that support business growth, communication, and vitality.

You can see it in Blooming Greenfield, the GBA’s newly founded nonprofit arm, with dozens of flower barrels adopted and planted by businesses across town, and in Bee Fest, a signature annual celebration of tourism, commerce, and community.

And you can see it in other, quieter but equally important work — monthly business roundtables, direct lines to City Hall, economic advocacy, and district-level organizing. This is what happens when an organization moves from “nice to have” to essential civic infrastructure. That may be the biggest transformation of all.

The GBA today is no longer merely a business association. It is becoming an engine for economic sustenance. A place where businesses, whether on Main Street, Deerfield Street, Hope Street, or the Industrial Park, can have a voice in shaping Greenfield’s future.

And perhaps most moving to me is this: none of this was inevitable. There was a moment when we could have folded. Instead, people chose to keep showing up. That choice changed everything.

There’s a lesson in that beyond our one organization. Sometimes momentum means refusing to quit. And sometimes what looks fragile is simply waiting for people willing to believe in it long enough for it to find its stride again.

And if Greenfield feels like it is entering a renaissance, it is because more and more people are deciding to have a seat at the table and help shape what comes next. In many ways we are only getting started back up, and in this moment, with this momentum, living in a place like Greenfield, with organizations like the GBA — it makes us all feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. Feel the momentum. Be part of Greenfield’s next chapter. You won’t be sorry.

That is the story of the GBA.

Mik Muller lives in Greenfield.