Erin Couture and Elena Frogameni exemplify selfless service that builds a stronger community.
That’s why they are this year’s recipients of the Person of the Year and Young Community Leader awards, respectively, given by the Daily Hampshire Gazette in partnership with the United Way of Hampshire County. Couture, 39, of Southampton, and Frogameni, 18, of Florence, a senior at Northampton High School, will be honored April 25.
The two were selected from among dozens of nominees reviewed by a committee of representatives from the Gazette, United Way and others in the community. Couture is the fourth Person of the Year, a Hampshire County resident who has demonstrated “a profound commitment to selflessly helping others.” Frogameni is the second person between the ages of 15 and 30 to be named Young Community Leader, who has “contributed through community involvement and volunteerism to making our county a better place for all.”
Couture has worked since 2011 at Florence Bank where she is vice president of commercial loans and a commercial lender. She is the mother of two children and helps countless other people through her volunteer service. She is president of the advisory board for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County, chairwoman of the Southampton School Committee and a member of the finance committee for the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce.
She has a more personal connection with her fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the American Cancer Society, because her younger sister was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010.
Among Couture’s favorite events is the the annual Daffodil Run 10K/5K on April 29 at Kendrick Park in Amherst to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. The nonprofit matches children with volunteer adult mentors who provide supportive friendship.
“Mentoring and children speak to me. The effects that it has on children are so profound. It was an easy organization to get involved with and stay involved with,” Couture says of Big Brothers Big Sisters. “This organization, without our volunteers, wouldn’t be what it is.”
Jen Loebel, the development director for Big Brothers Big Sisters, nominated Couture for the award because “Erin is one of the hardest working individuals I know and she is so driven. Over time, while you work with Erin you get to learn about all the things she does, but she’s not parading it — it’s not on display. You just see her doing the work.”
Similarly, Frogameni’s service at the high school and larger community is appreciated by many. She is the co-founder and senior news producer of “The Transcript,” a weekly news broadcast at Northampton High that highlights student achievements. Her goal is to build a stronger school community.
“I feel like it creates so much more of a communal attitude in the high school,” Frogameni says. “This aspect of community can be really powerful.”
She also is the architect of a more representative form of student government at the high school, a 16-member Student Union. Each class elects four representatives. “We have open meetings twice a month, and that body is working to create institutional change at the school,” Frogameni says. “Having this codified, legitimate body means that any student can come and talk to us.”
Frogameni also is the student representative to the Northampton School Committee, founded the Young Democrats at Northampton High after the 2016 election, and more recently was among the student organizers of the local March for Our Lives against gun violence March 24. Frogameni, who has a black belt, also teaches karate to children.
“She really just encapsulates everything that inspires me as a teacher,” says Jeromie Whalen, a technology teacher at Northampton High and senior class adviser. He is one of several people who nominated Frogameni for the award.
The goal of recognizing volunteerism is to “highlight the people who do this good work but still manage to fly under the radar,” says Michael Rifanburg, publisher of the Gazette. “These awards can send a message on volunteerism and a need for volunteers throughout the community.”
Couture and Frogameni are inspirational messengers and role models.
They will receive their awards during a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. April 25 at the Hadley Farms Meeting House. Tickets, which are $28 and include dinner, are available at
gazettepersonoftheyear.eventbrite.com. Proceeds will benefit the United Way of Hampshire County.