Page 32 - BusinessWest March 18, 2024

Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield is just one example of the many cultural offerings in Franklin County.
tion, doubling her kitchen space and allowing her to begin offering cooking classes last September. She now employs six full-time bakers and six front- of-house staff, and is looking to hire a chef instructor as well.
“It blows my mind that I’ve only had one class that’s had to cancel due to low enrollment. They usually sell out within a couple of weeks, if not days,” she told BusinessWest. “It shows there’s a major need for that part of the business; there’s nothing like that around here. We’re doing kids’ classes now, too.
“I’m amazed every day that we’re able to do this successfully,” she added, especially in a community of just over 2,100 residents. “The prices are not cheap. But people recognize the value, and they appreciate it, and they’re willing to spend more money on something that’s done right. It doesn’t scare people away.”
So that’s what Damkoehler brought to the table: talent, quality, drive, and the instincts to pivot to what the market needed, which, both during the pandemic and with her classes, generated further opportunities for growth. Meanwhile, other businesses throughout this mostly rural county bring their own differentiators, but they also testify to a supportive, if small, community.
“Business owners here who are thriving have really committed, loyal customers. They have customers who love to come out and spend time there, spend their dollars with them, and they’re focused on providing
a really great experience every time someone comes in,” said Hannah Rechtschaffen, director of the Greenfield Business Assoc. (GBA).
“One thing that I hear from some business owners is a sense of com- munity and mutual support,” she added, noting that one of the GBA’s goals is to keep building opportunities for business owners to know each other better, so they can recommend each other.
“I think it’s organizations like ours and like the chamber that are able to listen to business owners and respond and really be another set of hands in their business success. That’s not overrated when you’re wanting to have a brick-and-mortar presence. So I hope businesses will think about open- ing here; I hope businesses will think about opening a second location here.”
To that end, Rechtschaffen added, “when we’re in conversation with Greenfield Community College about getting an internship program going, or when we’re in conversation with the Franklin County CDC about small- business support and entrepreneurship, all of those relationships are so, so crucial. None of us want to feel like we’re toiling away alone. We want to feel like we’re part of a larger ecosystem.”
Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council, agreed.
“Partnership and collaboration are the special ingredients in Franklin County. The way our communities come together to support our small businesses, it’s not like anything I’ve seen elsewhere,” she said.
“What I love to see here are thoughtful partnerships and strategies around how to best support business owners in filling in some gaps and
resources that some more populated areas have, and how to attract different indus- tries to the area,” she continued, touting, as Rechtschaffen did, the partnership between the chamber and GBA, but also Greenfield Community College, the CDC, and various economic-development entities.
“We want everyone’s business to be as successful as possible and have as many resources as they can tap into to ensure that success,” Deane said. “We wake up every day asking how to best support them.”
Declining Numbers
Such partnerships and mutual support are especially meaningful in a county that, after years of plateauing population, has seen those numbers start to creep downward, especially in the small towns beyond Greenfield and Deerfield.
“Certainly, population decline — or the projection of population decline we see — is a pretty major threat to many rural parts of
Massachusetts,” said Linda Dunlavy, executive director of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. “As Baby Boomers age, we need help, and not attracting young people to our region will be a concern for us. So we’re working on that.
“But population decline also hurts Franklin County and its rural areas because so many state and federal funding formulas, the distribution of aid money to municipalities, is based on population,” she continued. “So as our population decreases, the amount of money we have for infrastructure improvements, for education, etc., also decreases, which compounds the problem: how do we get people to come to our region if we’re not caring for our infrastructure, our assets, adequately?”
“None of us want to feel like we’re toiling away alone. We want to feel like we’re part of a larger ecosystem.”
HANNAH RECHTSCHAFFEN
Dunlavy, who was named one of the Difference Makers for 2024 by BusinessWest, has been working for the benefit of Franklin County for decades, so she understands its assets — from arts and culture to outdoor recreation to that supportive business community others mentioned — but she understands the challenges of an aging, shrinking population base, too.
“Because we’re so rural, we have to work together,” she told Business- West. “We are a very collaborative region, probably one of the most col- laborative regions in Massachusetts, because all the regional organizations are working together. We combine services of municipalities, our business- es work together, and they are served by strong regional support systems. It’s a great region to live in — if you know about us.”
A.J. Bresciano, first vice president and commercial loan officer at Green- field Savings Bank (GSB), has been lending in Franklin County for the past 16 years, and he feels good about the current strength of business activity in the region.
“In terms of business lending, I think there’s some growth and some optimism, post-pandemic, in starting businesses and seizing opportunities to capitalize on improving economic markets. I think there is some oppor- tunity for people with great ideas and a passion for what they do to come in and start something new,” he told BusinessWest.
That said, “there are certainly some challenges in the interest-rate envi- ronment,” he added, especially on the residential side, where higher rates and a shortage of housing have taken away the ‘churn’ of a vibrant market. “But I think that will change. Hope-
28 MARCH 18, 2024 << FRANKLIN COUNTY >>
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fully we’ll see rates start to come down in the near future, which will give people an opportunity to go out
Franklin
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