BusinessWest

New Development Officer Is Focused on the Big Picture Kevin Kennedy, long-time aide to Richard Neal while he was both mayor of Springfield and the congressman representing the state’s second district, was recently named the city’s chief development officer. In that capacity, Kennedy said he plans to take full advantage of his knowledge of the [...]

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That’s the Message from a Recently Honored Trial Lawyer John Bagley, a Springfield-based civil-litigation specialist recently elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers, describes himself as a “major advocate of the jury system.” And he speaks from experience when he says that those who fear the jury because of perceptions that panels are sympathetic [...]

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Glenn Welch Takes the Reins at Hampden Bank Glenn Welch, the new president and COO of Hampden Bank, takes over with an informal philosophy of not trying to fix anything that isn’t broken — and this encompasses most all strategic initiatives at the nearly 160-year-old institution. For now, his primary focus is on seizing opportunities [...]

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Restaurant Owners Hope to Emerge from Recession Stronger Area restaurants report increased numbers of people dining out. But is this a sign that the industry is out of the weeds? Numerous restaurant closures have been on the front pages for the past year, but most owners and managers say that, if a business has come [...]

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Insurance Agents Reflect on a Year of Harsh Lessons Property-insurance policy holders typically make a claim every decade or two, which means many months of paying premiums go by without really reflecting on what they’re paying for. But 2011 taught a sharp lesson to the region that virtually no weather-related disaster is out of the [...]

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Report Touts Economic Impact of Region’s Nonprofit Organizations Many different voices speaking as one. That’s the goal of the Human Service Forum (HSF), a Western Mass. organization that provides a public platform for a wide variety of human-service nonprofits. That catch-all term covers literally dozens of different types of agencies, providing services ranging from health [...]

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