In Memoriam by Ellen Pope
A Force for Good: The Enduring Legacy of Polly Renckens
Aforce of nature,” “a force for good,” and “a force to reckon with”—when I forwarded the news of Polly Renckens’ passing to the Otsego 2000 Board of Directors and her former colleagues, those were the first responses returned. Polly was indeed those things, in spades, and the Otsego and Canadarago lake communities are all the better for it.
Polly Renckens was the first executive director of Otsego 2000, an organization that was founded as Friends of P.R.O.T.E.C.T. to challenge the proposed location of the Marcy South powerline along the eastern ridge of Otsego Lake. After that success, the organization—renamed Otsego 2000—sought to take a proactive and thoughtful approach to protecting Otsego Lake by guiding development and growth along intelligent pathways that prioritize the health of our environment, natural and built, over other considerations.
The indefatigable Polly organized conferences and workshops, working groups, and coalitions on topics ranging from Main Street revitalization to protecting Otsego Lake’s ecology from too many power boats. She worked with board members to plan and launch the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market in the heart of Main Street to both bring shoppers back downtown and to help farmers succeed in business, thereby preserving farmland, and was the heart and soul of the market for its first 20 years.
