PITTSFIELD — Four Berkshire County women were recognized last month as Commonwealth Heroines by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.

Pittsfield's Abigail Allard, Cheshire's Patti Messina, Hinsdale's Alison Peters and Great Barrington's Jenny Schwartz were honored at a June 24 ceremony at the Statehouse in Boston. They join a record-setting class of 147 women across the state.

For Allard, who attended the ceremony with her daughter, the event underscored her love of family and the Berkshires.

“[State Rep.] Tricia [Farley-Bouvier] had to give me a hug because I had just tears running down my face,” she said. “It was just so moving, being able to have my daughter see how many of us from Berkshire County are doing these great things.”

Here are the stories of the four women.

Abigail Allard poses for a photo with her daughter at the June 24 ceremony honoring the 2026 Commonwealth Heroines.

Allard, the communications manager for the Gladys Allen Brigham Center since 2019, said she does “a little bit of everything” for the organization, which runs a variety of youth programs, particularly for girls.

Allard was nominated by state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier and also serves as chair of the Berkshire Leadership Program’s Steering Committee, which seeks to boost professional development in the Berkshires.

Her inspiration is her daughter Evelyn, 10, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 5 and has since flourished at the center, winning the Youth of the Year award this past year.

“It really motivates me to be a good citizen,” Allard said. “Not only to be a good role model for my daughter to see the importance of supporting a community, but also to give back to the community that's done so much for her.”

In her free time, Allard runs the Berkshire Boxing Academy on Summer Street. She said she was always “sports-minded” but only learned boxing a few years ago after a chance encounter with Todd Poulton, who ran Southpaw’s Boxing Academy in Pittsfield.

After Poulton moved away, she opened Berkshire Boxing last July with the help of her husband Anthony.

“It's just really rewarding to not only help support people through their health journey and feel good about themselves, but also give people the basic skills needed to protect themselves,” she said.

Patti Messina has served as the executive director of Northern Berkshire United Way since 2023.

For Patti Messina, who grew up in the Northern Berkshires, leading the Northern Berkshire United Way hits close to home.

“A lot of the agencies that Northern Berkshire United Way financially supports are agencies I've had to use,” she said.

Messina was named executive director in 2023, but has been with the organization since 2019.

Northern Berkshire United Way partners with 20 agencies that provide critical safety net services, including the Elizabeth Freeman Center, 18 Degrees, the Berkshire Food Project and the Brien Center.

Messina said her work is her way of giving back and that she is looking forward to fundraising season again this year.

“We rely on workplace campaigns, and our next campaign season is coming up in September,” she said. “So I have a fiduciary goal that needs to be met, and I will hit the ground running.”

Her efforts have had an outsized impact on her community, according to state Rep. John Barrett III, who nominated her for the award.

“Patti has been an exceptional leader and tireless advocate for our region,” he told The Eagle. “She has demonstrated, time and again, an unwavering commitment to the many agencies supported by United Way organizations that provide vital services to some of our most vulnerable neighbors.”

Jenny Schwartz received her recognition for her dedication to improving food accessibility for people in the Berkshires.

Schwartz received her nomination from state Rep. Leigh Davis, whose children she taught in after-school programs through the Berkshire Co-op Market, where she worked for a decade until 2019.

Since 2020, Schwartz has worked at Berkshire Bounty, which partners with over 30 food pantries and other access sites to ensure that Berkshire community members receive enough quality food.

Why food?

“Food is love and community and it can go in so many different directions,” Schwartz said. “I feel like my best self working alongside my community members and really finding these jobs where there’s creativity and collaboration.”

The fight to make sure that everybody in the Berkshires is fed is tough, Schwartz said. “Food access is a challenge in our community,” she said. “We have our work cut out for us.”

According to Davis, Schwartz goes about her work with quiet dedication.

“Her compassion and quiet leadership left a lasting impression on our family,” Davis wrote in an email. “Jenny has always reminded me that healthy food is about more than nutrition — it’s about treating every person with dignity, kindness and respect. She quietly makes our community stronger every single day.”

State Rep. Paul Mark nominated Peters as a Commonwealth Heroine, and spent the day celebrating with her.

In January, Peters completed a 16-year tenure as executive director of the Dalton Community Recreation Association, which provides programming for the Central Berkshires.

“We are really here for the community,” said Peters, who was nominated as a Heroine by state Sen. Paul Mark. “We’re the hub.”

Before she led the organization, she volunteered there for years. She became interim executive director in 2009.

“Silly me, I said, ‘Yeah, sure, I can do this on an interim basis,’” she said. “You know the rest.”

Peters fueled a dramatic expansion of the CRA's educational programming and diversified the organization’s funding sources, according to CRA Director of Operations Dustin Belcher.

“She's kind of a quiet personality, but her impact in the community is anything but quiet,” he said. “I thought she did an incredible job empowering her staff, and anyone who worked for her was better for it.”

Peters isn’t quite finished working yet. She helped transition her successor, Ariana Massery, and continues to volunteer with the CRA.

“She's been incredibly generous with her time,” Massery said. “She has remained a key partner in many ways.”

Still, Peters, who worked almost seven days a week for over a decade, is beginning to enjoy time away from work.

“It's nice to be able to read a book in the afternoon or go for a hike,” she said. “And I'm spending a lot more time with my family and my friends.”