Honoring our heroes close to home

This column appeared in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on October 2, 2020. You can read more about the 2020 People of the Year here.

by John Bidwell

When COVID-19 hit this region, bringing with it a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Northampton High School senior Mathieu Johnson sat down at his 3D printer to learn how to make a face shield. He researched it. Made modifications—and mistakes. 

The end result was just one face shield that a frontline responder could use against infection. Then, Johnson made another, and another, refining and redesigning, until he had made thousands of shields, all donated to medical facilities and frontline staff across the region.

Around the same time, the killing of George Floyd brought to our county a broader outpouring of support for Black Lives Matter and racial justice. Stephany Marryshow talked with her partner Simbrit Paskins to figure out how they could best build a network to fight against and dismantle systemic white supremacy. They talked and strategized, reaching out to a wider group until they formed 413 Stay Woke, a local organization supporting the BLM movement that led thousands of people in the nationally recognized protests in Holyoke. 

Two decades ago, Ruth Woodring had the idea of using bicycles, instead of cars and trucks, to haul heavy items and trash as a way to save on using fossil fuels and promote peace. On a day in 2002, Ruth hooked up her trailer and peddled her first ride. The hauling service she co-founded became Pedal People. In the past 18 years, Pedal People has made thousands of trips savings tens of thousands of gallons of fuel. But more importantly, as Woodring says, “One of my core motivators for biking is my belief in pacifism. By replacing cars with human-powered vehicles, we reduce our reliance on fossil fuel oil and the need to go to war.”

In all these cases, one person, focused on one idea, led to change for thousands.

The year 2020 marks the sixth year that the Daily Hampshire Gazette and United Way of Hampshire County have united in presenting the Person of the Year awards. On behalf of the community, we honor a young leader and a person of the year, and for the first time, we honor Frances Crowe, our 2019 Person of the Year recipient, with an award in her name; her spirit of exemplary social and environmental leadership inspires the next generation of change-makers. 

This year’s nominations—numbering dozens—were a remarkable example of our region’s big heart. We could have honored many more than the final three, but this year’s chosen individuals truly represent the awards’ spirit and dedication, especially at such an exceptional time. 

Johnson is this year’s Young Community Leader. Marryshow is our Person of the Year, and Woodring is our inaugural Frances Crowe Award recipient. 

We are in the midst of a watershed moment. Collectively we are reassessing power, responsibility and equity. How we respond will direct our nation and community for decades. This thought can be daunting. It is bigger than any one or group of us. It can be easy to become paralyzed because we don’t know where to start, or we think we are too small to make a difference.

Our award recipients, and thousands like them, don’t buy into that view. Despite the gravity of the times, they remain focused on bettering our community, nation and world. They call upon themselves to do more and inspire us in the process. They know that one prototype can quickly become a thousand donations. They know that one conversation for justice is that start of a thousand raised voices. And they know that working for peace and the future of our planet starts with a single trip that turns into thousands.

Congratulations to our award recipients—not just for what they have accomplished and the work they will continue. We thank them for taking the first brave steps that have assisted and motivated thousands. We thank them for reminding us all that we can take those first steps at any time.