Shaw, Cote honored for military service and ongoing work in the community

Holly Cote (middle left) and Stephanie Shaw (far right) are recognized as Massachusetts Deborah Sampson award nominees for 2026.
Reminder Publishing photos by Tyler Garnet

CHICOPEE — Holly Cote and Stephanie Shaw were recognized on June 26 as nominees for the Deborah Sampson award, which honors women veterans with exceptional leadership and continued service.

The award is presented annually by the Massachusetts Women Veterans Network. To qualify, a nominee must be a veteran woman residing in Massachusetts who has served on active duty, reserves or National Guard in the U.S. military.

Cote’s military journey began after high school. At that time, she thought about following her mom’s path of becoming a nurse and also expressed interest in joining the military.

After taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, Cote found that she was a good fit to be either a helicopter medic or a military police officer. In the end, she chose military police with the U.S. Army reserves.

Cote said her military service prepared her for her time with the Chicopee Police Department, where she spent 29 years before officially retiring in May. She made history by becoming CPD’s first female captain.

Shaw, who has served as Chicopee’s veterans service director since July 2017, joined the Massachusetts National Guard in September 2000 as a military police officer after high school. She said the trajectory of her career changed after the terrorist attack of 9/11, which occurred while she was in basic training.

Shaw was deployed to Afghanistan in 2003, and after completing her service in 2006, she stayed in touch with the unit her spouse was in and joined the family readiness group to help support the families of loved ones going through deployment.

She continued her deployment cycle support throughout Western Massachusetts before being appointed as Chicopee’s veterans services director, where she continues to support veterans and their families.

Cote and Shaw had nothing but positive things to say about their journey through the military and how it affects them today.

“I took the route of [military police], and I started taking college courses,” Cote said. “I loved it, and they say if you find a job that you love, you don’t work a day in your life. Ultimately, my career was something that I was passionate about, cared about. My military service catapulted me into my service to the community.”

Shaw said she enjoys helping veterans gain access to things such as claims and benefits.

“I really enjoy that education and that enhancing their lives to some degree,” Shaw stated. “It’s very rewarding work.”

State Rep. Shirley Arriaga and state Sen. Adam Gomez were at the Chicopee Public Library to present the two honorees with citations of congratulations.

Shaw and Cote were two of 13 women in Massachusetts recognized with the award.

“We are here to recognize two very special people in our city that really don’t need any introduction,” Arriaga stated. “Well-known people who do good work. They don’t seek any attention, any recognition. They do this from the bottom of their hearts, so this is why it was very easy for us to nominate them for the Deborah Sampson award.”

Sampson is a Revolutionary War heroine who disguised herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army. After serving for 17 months, Sampson needed medical attention for a fever. During the examination, it was discovered that Sampson was a female and was honorably discharged.
After serving, Sampson used her platform to help break barriers for women in military service.

Shaw and Cote both said they were shocked but grateful to be nominated by Arriaga for the award.

“It’s an honor,” Shaw said. “It does feel good to know that people see the effort that goes into the work that we do. It was surprise, but it was a pleasant one.”

Cote said, “I’m full of gratitude today. Getting this nomination and just being recognized for my military service, as well as my over 29 years of law enforcement service. It’s really a team effort. All my time in the Police Department and my time in the military was really about the team that I helped build or that I was involved with.”