The only question about honoring Marty and Paul Green as this year’s citizens of note is why it took the Select Board so long to do it. For many years, everywhere you looked, both of them have been taking a leading role in making Harvard a better place to live.
For Paul, that means serving on several committees working to create a better understanding of the disposition of Devens—what it means for Harvard financially, logistically, and socially. For five years he served on the Devens Economic Advisory Team, and is currently on the Harvard-
Devens Jurisdiction Committee and the Harvard-Devens Framework Committee. His institutional knowledge of Devens issues is an invaluable resource for residents trying to understand the complexities of resuming jurisdiction over Harvard’s historical land there.
On the environmental front, Paul was instrumental in establishing the Harvard Solar Garden and has served effectively on the town’s Energy Advisory Committee. He also served as treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Harvard and has been a yearly fixture on the Flea Market team. An active member of Harvard’s Congregational Church, Paul used his Zoom expertise to ensure that church members could attend services from home during the COVID pandemic.
Marty’s contributions to the town are as diverse and impressive as Paul’s. For more than a decade she has been a trustee of the Harvard Public Library and is currently leading the planning effort to build a new outdoor pavilion for library programs and events. She is an active Garden Club member, helping to beautify public spaces in town, and has been a longtime volunteer for Harvard Help, providing rides and other assistance to residents who need transportation when the COA vans are unavailable.
Shortly after the Harvard Press started publishing, Marty began writing for the paper, mostly covering the schools and conservation issues. She was part of the reporting and editing team that won first place for reporting on town government in 2019 from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. More recently, she has assumed even more responsibility for news coverage, copyediting, and proofreading at the Press. She was the primary creator and keeper of the Harvard Press style guide, a comprehensive lifeline for reporters and editors alike. She is the last, best hope of the grammar and punctuation-impaired.
In graciously accepting the Citizens of Note award at Town Meeting, Paul remarked on the importance (and joy) of volunteerism and urged everyone to take part in any way they can. Marty seemed more intent on getting back to her notebook, where she was recording the votes in preparation for writing the Town Meeting story this week. It doesn’t exactly qualify as volunteer work, but close to it.
