After much deliberation, the Lions Club leadership decided the award of Amherst’s Citizen of the Year will not be presented this year. Several reasons went into this decision, but the principal reason is the award is intertwined with the July 4th celebrations, an event recognizing the role of citizenship and volunteerism in shaping society. The club will retain all 2020 nominations and will combine them with the 2021 nominations for consideration in 2021 when the town volunteers are likely to renew their July 4th celebration planning.

The club leadership is as disappointed as Amherst citizens must be and recognize no small effort was made by those who contributed 2020 nomination packages. For that and all those who have stepped up to answer the challenges in this difficult time, we are grateful.