GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — Greenfield has been nominated in the 2025 international Strongest Town Contest along with 15 other communities. Strongest Town celebrates communities for their unique attributes while also spotlighting their commitment to continued growth by taking tangible steps to overcome the challenges of today, including transportation, housing and digital access. Voting for the Strongest Town begins Monday.
From the City of Greenfield:
Greenfield Nominated in International Strongest Town Contest
GREENFIELD – The City of Greenfield is among 16 international communities recognized in the 2025 Strongest Town Contest. In this bracket-style voting tournament, Greenfield will compete for the “Strongest Town” title by shining a national spotlight on the work it’s doing to become a stronger, more resilient Greenfield. Greenfield was selected among approximately 40 community nominees.
Preliminary voting begins this week before “Sweet Sixteen” voting kicks off on Monday, March 10. Each week, towns and cities that secure the most votes against their competing community will progress until a championship community is crowned.
Residents and stakeholders can cast their ballots at – https://www.strongesttown.com/
After writing an op-ed in The Greenfield Recorder called “We Live in Such a Place,” Greenfield resident Andrew Varnon was encouraged to nominate the city to the Strongest Towns contest. He contacted the city and received assistance from Director of Community and Economic Development Amy Cahillane and Community Development Administrator Anna Oltman in composing a nomination for Greenfield.
“We are honored to join this year’s nominees for the Strongest Town contest,” said Mayor Virginia “Ginny” Desorgher. “Greenfield is a community that I and so many others are proud to call our home.”
“Greenfield embodies the Strongest Town not because we have everything figured out, but because we have a community who is trying to do the hard work of embracing positive change while honoring Greenfield’s history,” said Community and Economic Development Director Amy Cahillane. “We are balancing a multitude of needs and desires around a shared hope to preserve our unique, rural character while welcoming the new residents, improved infrastructure and increased housing that our city needs in order to remain vibrant and resilient into the future. It’s work that is slow moving, complicated and often messy, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to talk about – and celebrate – that work while it’s actually underway.”
“Being a Strongest Town nominee is a testament to Greenfield’s strengths and our continued work to growing our community,” said Greenfield Business Association Director Hannah Rechtschaffen.
“There’s something in this city’s bones: above the din of the tap and die machines, on a volcanic basalt ridge, there sits a tower, and they named it for a poet who wrote sonnets for his late wife,” said Andrew Varnon. “It’s a gritty city, but it has a poet’s heart.”
These are trademarks of Greenfield that are considered unique to our community:
· Vast and scenic hiking trails, including community staples like Rocky Mountain Park and Highland Park.
· A walkable and traditional downtown community that is home to an eclectic array of local businesses in the grocery, consignment, arts and entertainment, dining, antique and social service sectors. Other touchstones of Greenfield include the Franklin County Fairgrounds, the recently-constructed Greenfield Public Library and a seasonal Farmers Market driven by local agriculture institutions.
Businesses in Greenfield receive support from the city’s Community and Economic Development Department, Greenfield Business Association and the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce. These organizations are steadfast in pursuing forward-thinking methods for supporting the growth of Greenfield businesses and our region, with the GBA serving as an institution in the city for over 75 years.
· A conscientious-minded approach to climate change and sustainability. Greenfield received recognition as one of the state’s first green communities in 2010. Since 2008, municipal emissions from electricity have declined by 39 percent and municipal emissions from heating oil have been reduced by 96 percent, thanks to the efforts of Greenfield’s Energy and Sustainability Department.
In addition, Greenfield implements a vision for continued sustainability measures through a master plan constructed by the city and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments that the Sustainable Greenfield Implementation Committee further supports. Community-driven, volunteer-led organizations like Greening Greenfield and the Greenfield Tree Committee further emphasize Greenfield’s sustainable future through thoughtful initiatives.
· Greenfield’s culture is partially defined by its significant history. The community is recognized as home to tap and die manufacturing and the modern beehive, created by Lorenzo Langstroth. Langstroth designed the vertically modular beehive – which allows beekeepers to efficiently manage bee colonies to this day – while living in Greenfield. Langstroth’s legacy is recognized through bee sculptures throughout the downtown area and an annual Bee Fest celebration.
· The city features a distinct and complementary fusion between its agricultural origins and urban sensibilities.
Strongest Town celebrates communities for their unique attributes while also spotlighting their commitment to continued growth. According to Strongest Town, a “strong town” is any town/city, big or small, that is taking tangible steps to overcome the challenges of today, including transportation, housing and digital access.
Here are areas of envisioned growth in the City of Greenfield:
· Public transportation in Greenfield is driven by the Franklin Regional Transit Authority, which recently expanded to include weekend service throughout the region. The city, in partnership with our federal (Congressman Jim McGovern) and state (Senator Jo Comerford, Representative Natalie Blais, Representative Sussanah Whipps) delegation, continues to pursue the Northern Tier Rail Project, a train service that would connect the city to the state’s economic hub in Boston.
· The City of Greenfield recognizes housing as a critical challenge nationwide. The city is committed to increasing its housing inventory with an intentional approach to ensuring that Greenfield’s housing meets the needs of our community. The city is in partnership with local housing endeavors, such as the Wilson’s Redevelopment project on Main Street, and is in the planning stages of several additional new housing projects.
· Digital technology’s role in the workforce and everyday life is more pronounced than ever before. With this in mind, Greenfield works diligently to provide resources that support digital access. Since opening its doors in 2023, the Greenfield Public Library, the city’s first purpose-built library, has experienced a 264 percent increase in visits and a 394 percent increase in computer usage. Throughout 2023 and 2024, the Greenfield Council on Aging enacted a digital literacy grant in partnership with Greenfield Community College, the Greenfield Public Library and GCET to provide digital literacy training for Greenfield’s senior population.
· The Greenfield Police Department embraces the evolution of modern-day policing. The agency is dedicated to implementing impactful initiatives, such as increased emphasis on clinical co-response to provide compassionate assistance for mental health and addiction-related emergencies and new community-driven policing. In 2024, the Greenfield Police Department established the Community Impact Unit and began developing a new downtown substation.
· Greenfield continues to grow as a recreation destination for the region and beyond. The Recreation Department recently welcomed the Greenfield Skate Park in 2023 and Bocce Courts at Beacon Field in 2024 and is working toward expanding pickleball courts in the future.
· Despite our agricultural roots, Greenfield is home to a robust community of advanced manufacturers, including companies like NE-XT Technologies and BETE Fog Nozzle anchoring our Industrial Park, and workforce development programs taking shape at Greenfield Community College and Franklin County Technical School.
· The creative economy is equally important to the future of Greenfield. Boasting a downtown designated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Cultural District, Greenfield is home to an independent movie theater (the Garden Cinema), a performance venue (Hawks & Reed) and a wealth of arts and culture organizations, including the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, ArtSpace, LAVA Center, Madhouse Multi-Arts and more, as well as countless independent artists of all types. The city continually works to find collaborative ways to support the arts throughout our community, from a sidewalk chalk art installation memorializing important abolitionist sites to the bee sculptures referenced above.
Strongest Town Background
Here’s how voting works. Competitors advance over five, weekly rounds. Anyone can vote once per week, and votes are tallied Monday through Thursday. Winners are notified each Friday. In the first, risk-free round, Greenfield will compete with three other cities for an honorary title to recognize its efforts toward “Safe Streets.” Then, all cities will advance to Round 2, when bracket-style eliminations will begin and winners will advance based on the number of votes collected that week:
· R1: Meet Your Contestants (March 3–6).
· R2: Sweet Sixteen (March 10–13)
· R3: Elite Eight (March 17–20).
· R4: Final Four (March 24–27).
· R5: Championship (March 31–April 3).
The 2025 Strong Town Contest includes the following cities:
· Almeda, California
· Albuquerque, New Mexico
· Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
· Bellingham, Washington
· Bend, Oregon
· Calgary, Alberta
· Decorah, Iowa
· Elizabethtown, Kentucky
· Greenfield, Massachusetts
· Harrisonburg, Virginia
· Manchester, New Hampshire
· Marion, Ohio
· Richfield, Minesota
· Sacramento, California
· Silverton, Oregon
· Warrenville, Illinois