‘A tremendous force’: Community lauds Citizen of the Year Patricia Thayer

DEERFIELD — Patricia “Pat” Thayer was recognized for her service to Franklin County, including decades with the Hilltown Churches Food Pantry and Highland Ambulance, at the 43rd annual Citizen of the Year breakfast on Wednesday morning, where she encouraged everyone to do their part to make the world a better place.

“This isn’t about me, but it’s about a community coming together to celebrate all of us for doing what we can to improve our corner of the world,” Thayer told hundreds who had gathered at Deerfield Academy to celebrate her. “No one person can do this alone; we all need to work together. … It takes a whole community to succeed.”

The breakfast is “a tradition that celebrates the very best of Franklin County,” said Dan Crowley, executive editor of the Greenfield Recorder and Daily Hampshire Gazette. Crowley said Thayer was selected as the Recorder’s Citizen of the Year from 26 nominees and serves as “a powerful reminder of the impact one person can have.”

“What she has done over many decades is nothing short of extraordinary,” Crowley said. “Pat’s story is deeply rooted in the hilltowns. She came to Ashfield as a young girl, attended Sanderson Academy, and went on to raise a large and loving family, with nine children at home at one point. In reading the many nominations she received across Franklin County, it’s clear her life has been defined not just by what she has accomplished professionally, but by the care she’s given to her patients, her neighbors and her family.”

Though she hesitates to take the spotlight, Thayer’s community contributions have been recognized in other ways, including by the town of Ashfield, which dedicated its 2023 annual report to Pat and her husband, Will. Ashfield Selectboard Chair Tom Carter joked it was nice to have an event dedicated to celebrating Thayer, and the breakfast could serve as inspiration for the town as to how it should celebrate its residents in the future.

“Three or four years ago, we recognized Pat and Will by dedicating the annual town report to them, and the way I celebrate that is at 5:45 a.m. the day after the town report shows up, I knock on the recipient’s door,” Carter said. “Sometimes I have to wait quite a while for an answer, but this is much better.”

Carter, along with Selectboard Vice Chair Todd Olanyk, said Thayer has made significant contributions to the town over the years, including her work with the ambulance service, food pantry and the Ashfield Rod & Gun Club, as well as through her work as a Sanderson Academy trustee and as a member of the Park Commission. She has also supported the Ashfield Fall Festival and raised money for scholarships for Ashfield students.

“Pat has been a tremendous force,” Carter said. “We are so pleased, honored, to be able to live and work and exist in a community that has Pat Thayer.”

Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the annual breakfast celebrating the Recorder’s Citizen of the Year, said she did not know Thayer before the preparations for the event began, but she wishes she had, because while Thayer believes her work is “not a big deal,” she has had an immense impact.

“It is a very, very big deal, and Franklin County is better because of it,” Deane said. “I called her landline back in January and, with just one unanswered phone call, I learned that both her heart and her home answering machine belong to the Hilltown Churches Food Pantry.”

Deane said that after the usual answering machine introductions of “Pat and Will aren’t available,” but before giving way to the beep indicating the caller can leave a message, Pat went on to list the food pantry hours and emergency resources.

“The message was lovely and thorough and perfectly proves the point that there is no separating Pat’s home life and her passion for the Hilltown Churches Food Pantry. They’re one and the same. It also suggests that Will has completely abandoned any hope that someone, someday, might call looking for him,” Deane said. “Pat is a true force for good.”

During the morning celebration, Thayer also received recognition from the offices of U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern.

“Sen. Markey often remarks that Massachusetts is about 2% of the national population, but we’re not an average 2%. The nation looks to Massachusetts to be a leader in so many areas, and Franklin County lives up to that reputation every single day, and Pat, your work is the embodiment of what it means to be in the community in Franklin County,” said Jesse Lederman, representing Sen. Markey’s office.

Thayer teared up at the remarks and during the multiple standing ovations she received. In her efforts to redirect attention away from herself, Thayer thanked her family, friends and neighbors for supporting her during her times of need.

Long before she joined the pantry as a volunteer, Thayer was a client. She said the pantry’s support helped her feed her children and gave her “the edge” she needed to go back to school and study nursing. More recently, her family supported her during her recovery after she broke her back while gardening last September.

The injury led her to retire from Highland Ambulance’s board of directors, but she remained involved with the pantry via Zoom meetings and phone calls, and with the help of her children. The pantry feeds approximately 400 individuals every two weeks.

“People need food,” Thayer said. “It’s just non-negotiable.”

She said her belief in the importance of giving back stemmed from watching her parents. Thayer encouraged breakfast attendees to find their own ways to give back and said that only by working together can we make the world a better place.

“I believe our world is going through many changes, very quickly, and I would ask you to think about how you’re going to continue to make a difference in your area of passion,” Thayer said. “I believe this will become more important, just to move forward … so let’s leave this a better place than we found it.”