Community Hero of the Month: Christine Hoyt

ADAMS, Mass. — Selectmen Chair and 1Berkshire Director of Member Services and Christine Hoyt has been nominated for the April Community Hero of the Month.

 

The Community Hero of the Month series, in partnership with Haddad Auto, recognizes individuals and organizations that have significantly impacted their community. Nominate a community hero here. 

 

Hoyt has been a valuable member of the Berkshire County community since moving to Adams in 2005 from central New York state. 

 

With no friends or family in the area, she became involved with her new community by working with numerous organizations and serving on multiple committees. 

 

She participated in the Berkshire Leadership Program through the then-Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. This started her on the path to working with nonprofit boards, so she started serving with Youth Center Inc. and then ran for election as a town meeting member. She has been on the Board of Selectmen since 2017 and is currently serving her second term as chair. 

 

"[Berkshire County is] a welcoming community. So, when I moved here, I didn't have any friends or family, and I still felt like I was able to connect with people. I was able to get involved in a number of different initiatives," Hoyt said.

 

"So, I've always felt like this community just opens their arms and welcomes everybody into it. I try to do my part to extend those arms and welcome people into the conversation and into various groups and committees."

 

Hoyt was an executive assistant to the president at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts for a little more than a year. After that, she joined the Berkshire Chamber as director of programs and events from 2007 to 2013, then was the assistant to the dean at Berkshire Community College from 2013 to 2019.

 

In November 2019, she started working for 1Berkshire, the chamber's successor, as director of member services.

 

In these roles, she has been, and still is, in a position to have a "regional and collaborative mindset," and that mindset is what separates Berkshire County from the rest of the commonwealth and from other places, she said. 

 

She represents District 1 on the Massachusetts Select Board Association at the Massachusetts Municipal Association and has been a member of the Local Government Advisory Committee. She also sits on the board of the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, a nonprofit that provides casualty and health insurance to municipalities.

 

More locally, she has served on the boards of Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and ProAdams, and currently is on the board of the nonprofit Adams Theater Presents. 

 

Hoyt was the 2018 recipient of the Northern Berkshire United Way's Spirit of the Future Award, and is this year's NBUW campaign co-chair with her husband, Peter, and a 2017 Berkshire County 40 Under Forty honoree.

 

Hoyt is described by her co-workers at 1Berkshire as fierce, intelligent, amazing, inspirational, creative, optimistic, caring, resourceful, and courageous.

 

She gives 112 percent to everything that she does and cares tremendously about the people, Kevin Michael Pink, 1Berkshire deputy director of economic development, said. 

 

"Christine is someone who cares immensely about everyone that she comes across. She is so thoughtful here in the office, and we know that that extends beyond the walls of 1Berkshire, whether it's community organizations, events, small businesses, or just people that she knows through her various volunteer efforts and service on the [Adams] Select Board," he said. 

 

Hoyt works with all 1Berkshire members to bring them on board and discuss the benefits of membership. 

 

She is also responsible for many 1Berkshire events and programs, including the annual celebration and meeting, networking events, Berkshire Leadership program, and special events. 

 

"What I like about [1Berkshire] is we are the voice for Berkshire County when we're advocating on a state level. We represent a little over 700 businesses here in Berkshire County. So, we speak with a loud voice at times, but I feel what we do best is collaboration," Hoyt said. 

 

There are a lot of discussions within the organization on how it can help regionally, whether it's bringing people together to work on some partnerships, marketing the Berkshires, bringing grant funding to the county from its state relationships, and distributing that money, she said. 

 

"I think it makes a community stronger when we work together. So, there are a lot of organizations, I think, that might do similar work or complementary work, and when they are brought to the table to do that work together, they can really strengthen what we do here in the Berkshires," Hoyt said.

 

1Berkshire is looking to bring visitors to the area and wants to encourage people to relocate here. 

 

"What's important to me is making space for people and I hope that I do that in my work at 1Berkshire, as well as with the town of Adams. I'm hoping that I show people that anyone can really get involved," Hoyt said 

 

"There's a lot to do in Berkshire County. There are a lot of different initiatives. If I can match somebody up with what they're passionate about, I am happy to do that."

 

1Berkshire's Benjamin Lamb, vice president of economic development, described Hoyt as the "weaver of the fabric" as she is the one who helps individuals on disparate ends of a situation come together and meet their goals.  

 

"She's just really become vital to the community, both small in Adams and large in the Berkshires," Lamb said. 

 

 "She gives way more of herself than I think a lot of people that I know … Hoyt is a force of nature. I think that that is an identity that I would give her and that she doesn't necessarily know that I recognize her for. So, I would say she is a force of nature here in the Berkshires."

 

In order to have an active leadership role and be an effective leader, a person has to be organized, be a connector, engaging, and be an amazing listener. These are what bring a community together to achieve greatness, and these are all things Hoyt does very well, Lamb said. 

 

Hoyt said she hopes the community sees her as a "matchmaker" who sets them up with an organization they can be passionate about. 

 

"That's really what I hope people see when they see me as somebody who could maybe make a connection for them and get them involved because I ask everybody to get involved," she said. 

 

"If you're part of the community, you want to see that community thrive. When you're part of a community, your voice could be a different voice that we haven't heard from before, and that'll strengthen a community. The more people who are helping out, I think the better off all of us can be." 

 

In the Berkshires, people often have to work together to have "real meaningful progress," and "you don't get there without someone who is a dedicated member of a team, who cares tremendously about the people," Pink said. 

 

"One thing that makes Christine a great hero to the community is she doesn't need to do everything. Although, in many cases, she's capable, but she helps other people do the things that they do better than they would without her around. And that's community."

 

Hannah Pimenta, 1Berkshire member engagement associate, has only known Hoyt for a short time, but has found her drive inspiring.

 

"She has influenced me in really tackling things with kindness and a courageous mentality to take the bull by the horns and try my best, Pimenta said. 

 

In the future, Hoyt hopes to see the community's organizations and municipalities come together, saying collaboration would help strengthen municipalities and help with budgets.

 

"Municipalities are doing some of that collaborative work, but I'd like to see more of it. I'd like to see more shared services among the municipalities," Hoyt said.

 

In her work, she sees a lot of overlap in needs, and the area has many small communities that lack some services, such as a town manager or information technology services. 

 

Hoyt wonders if there are some ways municipalities can share services similar to what is being done in South County. 

 

"I think it's getting together and figuring out what this community does well and if there are ways for other communities to be part of that," she said.