GREENFIELD — With love in the air on Valentine’s Day, it was only fitting for speakers at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce’s breakfast to share their adoration for their jobs.

While the jobs were varied — from painting, workforce development, community access television and college athletics — a common thread tied all of the speakers’ jobs together: the love of community and Franklin County.

“Franklin County is unlike any other place and, sometimes, I think we can take that for granted and it isn’t until you go out and see the business climate in other areas that you really appreciate how much we have here,” Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessye Deane said, “in terms of the support that is rallied from our neighbors and from our community support partners and from our elected officials.”

Joining Deane in expressing their appreciation for the community were Mindful Painting owner Patrick Rohlfing, MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board Executive Director Sarah Wilson, Frontier Community Access Television General Manager Jonathan Boschen, University of Massachusetts Amherst Deputy Athletic Director for External Operations Jeff Smith and Greenfield Business Association Director Hannah Rechtschaffen.

Wilson, who joined the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board seven months ago, explained her role is to help organizations find the resources or people they need. She likened it to playing a “team sport” where everyone in the community has to come together to be successful.

“I feel very lucky that I landed in Franklin County, where community is so important. We can only do this together. … We have to rely on each other; that can be hard and it can be scary, but we can’t solve problems alone,” Wilson said. “That is what I love about my job, is that I’m able to bring people together to create more access and more opportunities.”

That type of community-wide partnership, Boschen said, is also evident in the community access media space, which is often one of the only sources of local information in many areas around the country. FCAT covers the southern Franklin County towns of Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland and Whately, where it records municipal government meetings, broadcasts Frontier Regional School’s sporting events and puts together feature videos on the area’s history.

“We’re an organization that makes a difference in people’s lives,” he said. “We document history, we help cover government meetings and, technology-wise, I’ve been starting work with the towns this year to really upgrade the way hybrid meetings are covered.”

In closing, Rechtschaffen said sometimes these community conversations can be difficult, but those tough discussions can prove fruitful for businesses and the people around them.

“I’m being honest about this. I love talking about [business owners’] frustrations because it is the frustrations — the past, the things that have been holding them back or holding them down — that they have to get out before you move forward,” she said.

“We all want to be full steam ahead all the time, but if you don’t clear it out, not everyone is coming with you,” Rechtschaffen continued. “Then, even when you get where you’re going, not everyone is there and then you’ve only done half the job.”

Chris Larabee can be reached
at clarabee@recorder.com.