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Month: July 2012

Court Dockets

By
Court Dockets Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE
DISTRICT COURT
TBF Financial, LLC v. JSLC Corp., and Sandra and Joseph Marlin
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $21,378.06
Filed: 6/15/12

HAMPDEN
SUPERIOR COURT
Aaryn Blain v. Porterhouse Media
Allegation: Breach of contractual agreement: $25,000+
Filed: 5/8/12

Country Development Corp. v. Colorful Creations Bead Co. Inc. and Patricia and Stanley Pawlowicz
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $77,643.88
Filed: 5/2/12

Jenco Property Maintenance Services v. ITT Power Solutions d/b/a Exelis
Allegation: Breach of contract for snow plowing: $450,000
Filed: 5/18/12

John J. Walczak v. Turley Publications
Allegation: Breach of contract: $25,000
Filed 5/31/12

Michelle Michaels v. Superior Oxygen Systems Inc. and Inova Lab Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay promissory notes: $150,000
Filed: 5/23/12

Rafal Lasiuk v. Liquor Town
Allegation: Action for monies had and received, unjust enrichment, and fraud: $96,817.50
Filed: 5/11/12

Shawntell Lee Waldon, administratrix of the estate of Aaron Lavanta Waldon v. Helsant Inc. d/b/a LACE
Allegation: Careless and improper security and maintenance at Club 418, causing wrongful death: $500,000+
Filed: 5/16/12

HAMPSHIRE
SUPERIOR COURT
Eclipse Manufacturing Inc. v. Gillespie Corp.
Allegation: Non-payment of monies loaned: $60,000
Filed: 5/23/12

Felix Perez v. Anthony’s Dance Club
Allegation: Negligent hiring and supervision, causing personal injury: $40,000
Filed: 5/15/12

R.E. Laplante Construction Inc. v. Harold L. Eaton Associates Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract to supply land survey: $25,000
Filed: 5/29/12

NORTHAMPTON
DISTRICT COURT
American Express Bank FSB v. Pitt-singer P&H and Donald R. Pittsinger
Allegation: Non-payment on previous judgment: $10,759.23
Filed: 5/27/12

Constellation Newenergy Inc. v. Stop n’ Save
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered: $8,342.50
Filed: 5/17/12

Eastern Brothers, LTD, d/b/a Black River Produce v. Sunflower Inc., d/b/a Green Street Café and John A. Sielski
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $10,666.94
Filed: 6/14/12

Santa Buckley Energy Inc. v. Volkswagon of Northampton
Allegation: Non-payment of services and goods: $7,016.38
Filed: 6/1/12

WESTFIELD
DISTRICT COURT
Cach, LLC v. Daval Home Services Inc. and Keith G. Roy
Allegation: Breach of credit-card agreement: $16,840.11
Filed: 5/25/12

Editorial

By
Opinion
Brownfield Challenges and Opportunities

The compelling photographs on page 42 tell an intriguing story about the redevelopment of the sprawling former GE transformer-manufacturing complex in Pittsfield — and about brownfield redevelopment in general.
There are always three tenses involved with such projects, of course: the past, present, and future. The past is represented by images, stories, and recollections of what once was. In this case, and in most all cases, it’s about a large corporation that employed generations of people and brought economic vitality to a neighborhood, city, or region, and often gave it an identity. The present is usually represented by images of idle land where factories that employed thousands of people once stood.
The future? Well, that’s the hard part. The really hard part.
It’s often difficult to imagine what it can be — although people try mightily — and even more difficult to make reality. We’ve seen it repeatedly, at places like the former Uniroyal complex in Chicopee, the former Westinghouse site in Springfield (now one of many locations under consideration for a Western Mass. casino), the former Chapman Valve complex in Indian Orchard, and, to a lesser extent, the Ludlow Mills complex, now in the hands of Westmass Area Development Corp.
While there has been some encouraging progress with the Ludlow initiative — two projects, a new HealthSouth rehab hospital and some senior housing, were announced earlier this year — there have been mostly speculation and frustration involving the others.
That’s especially true in Chicopee, where the Uniroyal site has been a nightmare for mayoral administrations for more than 30 years, and Chapman Valve has been equally frustrating, with only a large solar-power array to be put in the category of new ‘development’ (there aren’t many jobs attached to solar farms).
Still, these brownfield sites are important to the region, and for many reasons. First, there will eventually be a severe shortage of developable land in Western Mass., although the ongoing sluggish economy has kept existing supplies virtually intact. This means that, to attract and retain companies and bring jobs to the area, brownfield sites like those listed above are a critical part of the region’s economic-development strategy.
Equally important is the fact that most of these sites are in urban areas, cities that were former manufacturing hubs and are now in the complicated process of trying to reinvent themselves as something else. These brownfield projects could provide a key piece to that puzzle.
We’re encouraged by what is happening in Pittsfield, and believe officials there are on the right track. The GE complex was indeed a center of innovation, and the transformers built there helped light up the world — literally. The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, the entity created to redevelop the sprawling complex, has landed one tenant, a financial-services company, and is forwarding plans to build a life-sciences complex that will house companies that have moved beyond the startup stage and are looking for a place to grow.
As we’ve said many times, it is through the nurturing of small businesses such as these — rather than trying to lure large employers from other parts of the country or the world — that the region is most likely to secure more of those good-paying jobs that every community wants and needs. It may take more time to do it this way, but the results may well be more permanent.
It will take a long time — years, if not decades — to fill in the land left vacant when the GE buildings were torn down, and create a third picture to go with the two on page 42. The same is true in Chicopee and Indian Orchard, and it may likely be the same if a casino isn’t built in East Springfield on the Westinghouse site.
But with some patience, imagination, and, yes, the kind of innovation that made these sites so important to the region 50 and even 100 years ago, they can again be key contributors to the area’s economy.
And maybe give some of these cities a new identity.

Getting Down to Business

By
Lenny Weake
Features
Quaboag Chamber Spotlights an Intriguing Region

Lenny Weake

With the passing of gaming legislation, Lenny Weake says, the Quaboag chamber is now committed to fully harnessing whatever a Palmer casino would bring to the region.

When the state Legislature passed a comprehensive gaming bill last fall, it did more than usher in the casino era in the Commonwealth.
It also changed Lenny Weake’s job description. Well, sort of.
“Let’s just say they broadened it in a way,” said Weake, president of the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce, which is headquartered less than a mile from where Mohegan Sun wants to build a resort casino on a hillside just off the Mass Pike exit in Palmer.
Elaborating, Weake said that, in the years leading up to that historic vote, the Quaboag chamber was in many respects a spectator on the gaming issue, taking a Switzerland-like stance of neutrality on a matter that sharply divided its membership. But with the passing of gaming legislation, the chamber understood that it could no longer stand on the sidelines, he told BusinessWest, adding that the issue now isn’t whether casinos are right for the state, it’s about jobs and economic development, the foundations of the chamber’s mission.
And, more to the point, it’s about effectively “harnessing” (a word Weake would use often) the vast potential for commerce and economic vitality that comes with a casino in one’s backyard.
“Everything has shifted … this isn’t about gaming anymore; it’s about what Palmer could be in the next five years,” he explained. “We’re not going to sit by and let this thing develop without making sure that we’re part of the process.
“Our role is changing; if Mohegan Sun is going to bring 4 million people into the region each year, we need to figure out how to work with those people and get those visitors off the mountain, in a sense, and get them into our communities,” he continued. We can’t let this economic development go by and not be a part of it, and not figure out a way to harness those 4 million visitors and have them explore the region.”
In recent months, this mindset has manifested itself in many ways, said Weake, but mostly through meetings with Mohegan Sun officials, town administrators, members of the Gaming Commission itself, and other players, including Northeast Realty, a development group that is advancing a number of additional development plans in and around Palmer, most of them contingent upon a casino being built in that community.
The broad assignment in each case, he said, is to make sure the Quaboag region’s business community has a voice in the proceedings, and that its interests are clearly understood. And in many ways, this simply represents a logical extension of the chamber’s ongoing work to promote and advance business in the region, Weake noted, adding that his work often comes down to putting the Quaboag area on the map — in a figurative sense.
Indeed, one of Weake’s priorities since he arrived at the chamber more than a decade ago has been to create and expand initiatives that will help people discover this region that lies roughly halfway between Springfield and Worcester and boasts attractions ranging from the Quabbin Reservoir to the giant antiques show in Brimfield — and, while doing so, support its businesses.
His latest effort in this regard is what he calls a “treasure hunt.” Still very much a work in progress, the initiative, based loosely on the hobby known as letterboxing (in which small, weatherproof boxes are hidden in publicly accessible areas, with clues distributed about how to find them), is designed to encourage people to get out and explore a region still in many ways saddled with the label ‘best-kept secret.’
“We want to expose people living right in our region to all there is to see and do here,” said Weake. “And while they’re out exploring, we want them to experience the restaurants we have here and other types of businesses and attractions.”

Exploring All Options
As he talked about the Quaboag chamber, Weake said it is similar to most such organizations in the Bay State, but has some unique challenges.
First, there is its sheer size; it stretches from Palmer east to Spencer, just outside Worcester, covering three counties (Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester) and two area codes, a region covered by 10 different newspapers. Meanwhile, the communities represented by the chamber — Belchertown, Brimfield, Brookfield, East Brookfield, Hardwick, Holland, Monson, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Palmer, Spencer, Wales, Ware, Warren, and West Brookfield — are small (total population is about 36,000), and the business community is dominated by small (in most cases, very small) businesses.
Many of the communities, including Palmer and Ware, are former manufacturing centers trying to reinvent themselves and attract new sources of jobs, with many focusing on tourism.
As a result, much of the chamber’s work involves promoting and branding the region, and thus driving visitorship, said Weake, citing the Brimfield antiques shows, which the chamber promotes extensively through its Web site, as one primary example. The chamber also prints an annual recreation guide, which includes information on accommodations, attractions, events, farms, orchards, restaurants, shops, and more.
The ‘treasure-hunt’ concept is the latest manifestation of these efforts, he said, adding that much of the Quaboag region, despite the chamber’s best efforts, remains an unknown quantity to many Baystate residents. By compelling area residents and visitors to look for the various clues, the chamber is expecting them to learn about the area, individual communities, and, yes, specific businesses.
“We want to create something that will make people search through the region, learn about history, learn about the towns, but also have fun doing it,” he said, adding that the chamber is working to create what he called a prototype involving the town of Monson. “We want to come up with a treasure hunt, where, in the process of finding clues, people can learn all about this area.
“It’s in its beginning stages — we have to develop the concept, and then we have to sell it,” he continued, adding that the program will be akin to but not exactly like letterboxes. “We want people to see what we have; we want them to learn about people like [Hall of Fame baseball owner and manager] Connie Mack, who grew up in Brookfield.”
But there is much more to the chamber’s work than tourism, said Weake, adding that services to members have included everything from assistance in the wake of last summer’s tornadoes (Monson and Brimfield were especially hard-hit) to an annual resources directory, to a concept called Hot Deals, which enables businesses to post promotions on the chamber’s Web site.
The passing of gaming legislation last fall simply adds another comprehensive layer of advocacy to the chamber’s workload, he said, adding that the coming months will be both exciting and challenging.
Summing up the chamber’s involvement in the broad gaming issue, Weake repeatedly came back to that notion of harnessing everything that casinos bring to the table, from those projected 4 million visitors to actual commerce (hopefully to be conducted with local vendors), to hundreds of employees, many of whom might need a map to find Palmer.
“When Mohegan goes out to bid on products and services, we want to make sure that our businesses can competitively bid,” he explained, citing just one example of how the chamber will attempt to assist Quaboag-area companies and make sure their voices are heard. “We want to be able to educate businesses on how to work with Mohegan.”
Another example, he went on, is the point systems used by casino resorts to reward repeat customers. “We want to work with Mohegan and try to make sure businesses in this region can redeem those points,” he explained, “so people can go to the Salem Cross Inn [in Brookfield], for example, with points they’ve earned in Palmer.”
Weake said that individual casino developers looking to win the approval of the five-member Gaming Commission must make their applications as attractive as possible, and a big part of this involves commitments to partner with the community as a whole and the business community as well.
He said part of the changed, expanded role for the Quaboag chamber is to shape those partnerships in mutually benefiting ways.

Doubling Down
Weake stressed repeatedly that the chamber’s current work with regard to the matter of gaming should not be described as efforts to support a casino in Palmer. Rather, it is about job creation, economic development, and giving the business community stretched across those 15 Quaboag towns a strong voice in the matters of the day.
In that respect, the Legislature’s vote last fall did not technically change his job description — it merely added many new dimensions to what he was already doing every day.
And there’s a good bet — literally and figuratively — that these efforts will only become more elaborate, and intriguing, in the months and years to come.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Opinion

By
Opinion
A Simple Remedy for a Wall Street Danger

Over the past several weeks, the financial community has paid rapt attention to trading losses at JPMorgan Chase, estimated to be anywhere from $2 billion to as much as $9 billion. The sudden emergence of such a large loss sent a disturbing tremor through an already-vulnerable economic landscape. The lesson to be learned here is emphatically not about the bank or its leadership, but about the structure of our financial system.
The loss by the much-admired bank was more than a case of a private-sector company taking a private-sector hit because of a private-sector error. First, if a bank this important were to become endangered, the contagion to global financial confidence would surely necessitate a bailout. Losses in institutions to which we entrust the soundness of our money, or where deposits are guaranteed, put the rest of us at risk. Second, and less widely appreciated, JPMorgan’s trading loss is a minuscule fraction of the bank’s more than $75 trillion in notional value of its current positions in derivative securities. The trading of derivatives — securities whose prices are dependent on valuations of underlying assets but do not represent direct ownership claims on those assets — is exempt from the sensible regulation of disclosure and leverage normally applied to stocks, bonds, and other direct claims. This is still, despite all recent attempts at financial reform, the Wild West of trading markets.
Banks say their trading positions are properly hedged by countervailing positions, leaving them little risk. They ‘prove’ this using statistical models anchored in past price behavior and by noting that market pricing indicates a proper balance between their opposing positions, leaving little residual exposure. The problem is that the models are oversimplifications. They rarely predict unfamiliar possibilities, sometimes called ‘black swans,’ or the impacts of external events such as geopolitical disruptions.
All three of the largest U.S. banks have open derivatives positions in excess of 24,000% of their equity capital. Neither models nor markets can protect them from small percentage imbalances. In addition, bank-trading relationships around the world are so interconnected that, if one goes down, all are threatened. No CEO or board of directors, however talented and honorable, can oversee trading at the multi-trillion-dollar scale with perspective and precision enough to assure the avoidance of systemic impairment. Nor can any government oversight body.
Bank lobbyists insist that all this trading is needed to facilitate commercial transactions, but don’t be fooled. The open derivatives positions at the three largest U.S. banks exceed twice the GNP of the world. Add in large European and Asian banks, and the commercial-hedging argument becomes a parody. Hedging is useful in commerce, but its systemic risk should never outweigh its commercial value.
Under present rules, banks are free to put us all at risk in derivatives trading without creating any offsetting cushion. Every derivatives transaction involves some basis risk (that two paired commodities will not continue to move in unison), some counterparty risk (that the trade will not be honored by the other party), and some human-error risk. Accountants and regulators know well that netting massive positions to zero cannot reflect true exposure.
Whenever a new position is taken, there should be a mandatory accompanying reserve or capital charge. This would have a twofold benefit. It would increase protection for both the public and the banks, and it would dull the appeal of hazardously oversized trading accounts. Although regulators should set the actual amounts, imagine that the charge was uniformly 0.1% of the notional position value. Open positions of $75 trillion in derivatives would require $75 billion put aside, an amount large enough to make that trading scale unappealing. Charges to match the risk created would bring trading volumes back to sensible size with a minimum of new regulations and no need to outlaw useful commercial practices. They would simply acknowledge that all derivatives positions, however useful, impose some risk on the holders and the public. Current scale imposes an unmanageable risk.

James M. Stone, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and commissioner of Insurance for Massachusetts, is CEO of the Plymouth Rock group of property and casualty insurance companies.

By All Accounts

By
Mark O’Connell now oversees Wolf & Co. from his office in Tower Square in Springfield.
Banking and Financial Services Sections
O’Connell Eyes Continued Growth as He Takes the Reins at Wolf & Company

Mark O’Connell now oversees Wolf & Co. from his office in Tower Square in Springfield.

Mark O’Connell now oversees Wolf & Co. from his office in Tower Square in Springfield.

Mark O’Connell says he can usually get from his house in Belchertown to Wolf & Company P.C.’s Boston offices in less time than most of his colleagues who live within the Route 128 beltway.
That’s good, because he’ll be making that trek much more often in the coming months and years as he takes the helm of the century-old accounting firm. He’ll still be working primarily out of the downtown Springfield office that he helped open and that has been his business address for the past 15 years, but he will obviously have more responsibilities as he takes the reins from long-time president and CEO Daniel DeVasto.
At the top of that list is ongoing execution of a long-term strategic plan that has put the company in a strong growth mode, said O’Connell, who assumed his new position on July 1.
Indeed, Wolf was named one of the five fastest-growing CPA firms in the $20 million to $30 million category nationally by Inside Public Accounting magazine, he told BusinessWest, adding that it has achieved such status through a number of strategic initiatives.
These include attaining greater market share in many geographic areas, including Western Mass., as well as within specific sectors of the economy, including the nonprofit realm, manufacturing, family and closely held businesses, and higher education, he noted. Meanwhile, Wolf has succeeded in providing more services to existing clients, he said, adding that the company’s WolfPAC software (a suite of enterprise risk-assessment tools and risk-management plans) has opened many doors and ultimately allowed the company to handle additional needs for clients as well.
Such growth strategies are necessary in areas where there is little economic growth, such as Western Mass., said O’Connell, and also in a regional economy that is in many ways still recovering from the Great Recession, producing an operating environment for accounting firms that he described as “the new normal” (more on that later).
Looking ahead, O’Connell said the company, which has offices in Boston, Springfield, and Alabany, will consider expansion into additional markets in the Northeast and perhaps nationally, and in the meantime will continue to exploit growth opportunities in existing service areas.
And it will do so through continuous promotion of what he said is known simply as the “Wolf culture,” or VIRTUE philosophy, an acronym created by the words vision, integrity, respect, trust, understanding, and excellence.
Overall, he said, this will be an exciting time for the company, and also for him professionally.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity, and am focused on making the transition as smooth as possible,” he said, while praising his predecessor for putting a solid road map in place for the company. “There is not a need for dramatic change; there is a need for continued growth and focus on those efforts, but the core operations of our firm have been humming along very well.”
In this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with O’Connell on the occasion of the arrival of his new business cards with the title ‘president & CEO’ under his name, thus getting some clear insight into where he wants to take this company.

By the Numbers
O’Connell told BusinessWest that, while most of Wolf’s 175 employees work in the Boston office, the company is officially headquartered there, and the president and CEO traditionally works out of that facility, he has no plans to relocate to that part of the state or put his office there.
As he said, he can get to the High Street office quicker than most who live in the Hub and its immediate suburbs, and besides, he grew up in Springfield and enjoys the quality of life in this region.
A graduate of Classical High School and Western New England University, where he majored in accounting, he started at a small firm and eventually moved on to KPMG, which was then one of the so-called Big 6 national accounting firms, and had an office in downtown Springfield.
As the spate of mergers and consolidations that reduced the number of ‘big’ firms continued, KPMG closed its Springfield office in the mid-’90s, and O’Connell went to the company’s Hartford office. He said it soon became clear that, if he wanted to ascend within that firm, he would have to go to New York or another major urban center to do it, and this was not his preferred career course.
“By that time, Wolf had been making some inroads into the financial-services marketplace in Western Mass.,” said O’Connell, “so I reached out to them with the idea of starting an office here.”
Company officials in Boston were intrigued, and a Springfield office became reality in 1997, starting in what is now the TD Bank building. Wolf quickly gained some traction in this region, and the office was eventually moved into larger quarters — ironically, space that KPMG was subleasing out in Tower Square.
Over the years, the Springfield office has achieved substantial growth — it has done particularly well in the nonprofit and higher-education sectors — and the company has made some further inroads in Northern Conn., said O’Connell, adding that, while overseeing the progression of that office, he became part of Wolf’s executive committee.
And when DeVasto announced his intention to retire early this year, O’Connell became one of the candidates to succeed him, and eventually prevailed in what became an extensive search.
The transition process, O’Connell said, will come in many forms. Elaborating, he noted that he will be assuming new responsibilities and direction of the company’s three offices, which will require an inevitable reduction in direct accounting work for clients in his own portfolio.
“I will be keeping some of my clients,” he explained, “but my goal is to reach a balance in the size of my practice that will enable me to keep a good-sized practice but also handle the responsibilities I have as CEO. We have a very professional organization, so the ability to delegate responsibilites to other shareholders in the firm or to our administrative infrastructure should enable me to do that.”
Beyond that, though, he is expecting a very smooth transition at the top, mostly because of the systems and philosophies that DeVasto put into place, the experience he gained while serving on the executive committee, and the simple fact that very little, if anything, is broken and in need of fixing.

Bean Aggressive
And that includes the overall long-term strategic plan, which calls for growth both organically and through expansion into new geographic markets.
“Our firm takes on a niche structure,” O’Connell told BusinessWest. “We have individual niches that are focused on specific industries; some of those niches are going to be able to expand within our existing geographic footprint, and others, especially our financial-services niche, we’ll look to grow through geographic expansion.
“There’s been a lot of consolidation in the banking industry,” he continued. “And as that consolidation continues, we have to go further afield to get the work.”
And while much of the growth strategy involves expansion into new regions — the company recently gained its first audit client in New Jersey, for example — or gaining market share in existing service areas, another component involves providing a wider range of services to existing clients.
And this brings him back to the WolfPAC software.
“This product is sold throughout the country — we have clients using it in Califiornia,” he explained, noting that many banks now use the software. “It has allowed us to gain name recognition in other parts of the country. In New Jersey, for example, we’ve sold several WolfPAC modules, and people would seek us out and ask, ‘can you provide other professional services to us?’
“That’s an exciting way of breaking into the marketplace,” he explained. “From an audit, tax, and risk-management perspective, this business is built on trust, and it takes a long time to build those relationships and gain the work, and this is one way to facilitate that process.”
Looking at the current picture, O’Connell said that, in many ways, the state and this region are still recovering from the recession and its many aftereffects, and this means the accounting profession as well.
Firms had to adjust to a changing climate in which there was little if any new growth, and many ventures went out of business, downsized their operations, or had trouble paying their bills — all key contributors to that “new normal” he described. In this environment, many firms, including Wolf on a small scale, took the opportunity to “rightsize,” as he called it, and many have stayed at the new, smaller size.
Conditions are improving somewhat, he continued, and many accounting firms, Wolf included, are hiring again.
“We hired four people last year, and we will be hiring three more in September,” he explained, adding that another of the company’s challenges moving forward, especially with its intention to grow and expand geographically, is to find and cultivate new talent. “We’re continuing to build a pipeline.”
And as it does so, it faces heavy competition from what are now the Big 4 firms — PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.
“We have to sell people on a way of life and a well-defined career path,” O’Connell explained. “But it’s hard to talk a young, aggressive accountant out of wanting to get Big-4 credentials under their belt.”

Firm Commitment
O’Connell told BusinessWest that, for the foreseeable future, meaning until the formal transition process is over, he expects to be in Boston perhaps two or three days a week.
After that, he anticipates being able to reduce his time on the Turnpike, especially with the help of technology, specifically in the form of a new conferencing system.
And beyond putting a lot more miles on the car, he is projecting only a smooth transition and further momentum as the company continues its second century in business.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Expanding the Footprint — Again

By
Richard Collins
Banking and Financial Services Sections
Latest Acquisition Would Take United Bank into Connecticut Market

Richard Collins

Richard Collins says the acquisition of New England Bancshares promises to give United Bank entry into a new and potential-laden market — Connecticut.

Richard Collins calls it “growing into our capital.”
That’s one of the many ways he chose to describe United Bank’s recent announcement that it would acquire Enfield-based New England Bancshares.
Elaborating, Collins, the bank’s president since 2001, said United, like many financial institutions in this region, has large amounts of capital at its disposal, and one of its challenges is to find methods to put it to work in ways that will position the bank for future organic growth, strategic acquisitions, and what he called “continued capital-deployment strategies.”
And he believes this acquisition, the bank’s second major expansion in four years — it merged with Worcester-based Commonwealth National Bank in 2009 — accomplishes all that and more.
For starters, it takes the bank’s footprint into Northern and Central Conn., and, more specifically, into areas with attractive growth potential (more on that later).
“This combination presents a tremendous opportunity to expand our presence in Connecticut, where United Bank currently does not have any branches,” said Collins. “Connecticut is a growing banking market, one we’ve had our eye on for some time.”
Meanwhile, the merger, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, would also bring the institution to $2.4 billion in total assets, making it the 10th-largest bank headquartered in New England and the largest based in Greater Springfield.
And with that additional size comes strength, flexibility, greater efficiencies, a capacity to do larger commercial loans, and better ability to absorb the higher costs of doing business in an age of greater government regulation, he told BusinessWest.
“The burden of government regulation is becoming greater every year,” he explained. “And a small bank has a lot of trouble staying on top of all the things they have to do to satisfy government regulations; we can take our compliance efforts and spread them over a broader base.”
For this issue and its focus on banking and financial services, BusinessWest looks at United’s latest expansion initiative and what it means for this instiution and its long-term strategic plan.

Branching Out
Collins said informal talks between United and New England Bancshares started a few years ago.
He told BusinessWest that, again, like most banks in the region with capital at their disposal and strategic plans in place, United, which converted from a mutual bank to stock ownership over two stages in 2005 and 2007, has been looking at a number of opportunities for expansion.
“Our board saw opportunities to grow our franchise and expand our brand of banking into other markets,” said Collins, noting quickly that there has been organic growth over the past several years as well. “In going public, we raised a lot of capital, and the idea of having all that capital as a bank is that you grow into it over time.
“And, in essence, that’s what we’ve been doing — growing into our capital,” he continued. “The Worcester acquisition helped us in that regard, and it’s worked out very well for us, but we still have a lot of capital — 17% tangible common-equity ratio, which is a lot more than you need, really — and so we’ve been looking for opportunities.”
And, like the acquisition of Commonwealth National, the New England Bancshares gambit, a $91 million transaction in cash and stock, makes sense on a number of levels, Collins continued, adding that it was consummated after considerable due diligence that determined that United was receiving value for what it was offering, but was not overpaying.
“What I do in these situations is put myself in the shoes of our shareholders — “if I’ve got $91 million to spend, how much should I be earning on that $91 million?” he explained, adding that a detailed assessment concluded that the bank could certainly earn enough to justify that cost.
When asked to quantify why this deal makes sense for United, Collins said a quick look at a map would be a good place to start. It would show that the best opportunities for widening the footprint lay to the east and the south, with the latter being the most attractive.
“We have a branch in Northboro, and if you go north of that, it gets rural very quickly. If you look at Southern Vermont, there’s not much there in terms of real opportunity to grow,” he said. “And we’re probably not going to expand to our west; first, you have to cross the mountains, and then you get to the Pittsfield area, which is pretty heavily banked.
“So looking south made a lot of sense to us,” he continued. “If you look at the demographics of the Greater Hartford area, you see a lot of people there, and many of the communities are growing and fairly wealthy; there are probably four times as many deposits in the Greater Hartford area as there are in the Greater Springfield market. You have people, demographics, and favorable bank deposits — it looks like a place where our kind of banking can take root and flourish.”
Elaborating, he said New England Bancshares offered access to Connecticut markets with more-promising growth potential, meaning areas where large regional institutions, which have taken the brunt of public criticism over excessive fees, hold a good deal of market share.
Specifically, the institution has 15 branches — assembled through some previous mergers and organic growth —that are positioned mostly north and east of Hartford or west and south of the capital city. There are six branches in what Collins calls the southern tier, which stretches into New Haven County, and eight more in the northern tier, which progresses almost to the Massachusetts line and east to Tolland County. The resulting gap is similar to the one United has between Springfield and Worcester.
Beyond geography and specific branch locations, though, New England Bancshares made sense as an acquisition target on several other levels, said Collins, adding that the two banks are similar in many ways, from operating philosophy to loan-portfolio mix.
“They’re a smaller version of us,” he explained. “When it comes to deposits and loan percentages, the two banks are a lot a alike and take the same approach to doing business.”
These similarities should help facilitate the assimilation process, said Collins, who noted that, while there is some degree of apprehension associated with most bank mergers (especially for customers of the acquired institution), this absorption process should go smoothly.
“It’s a matter of making the right introduction,” he explained, adding that the bank will borrow many lessons from its experience in Worcester. “That’s marketing; that’s letters to the customers introducing ourselves and explaining how we do business.”
This communication process will begin several months before the closing and continue right up to that date of conversion and beyond, he continued, adding that the banks share a common data system, which should facilitate the process.
Looking ahead, Collins said that, after the merger has been completed, United will still have “comfortable levels” of capital with which to possibly add branch locations across its now-broader coverage region, perhaps closing those gaps, or pursue other possible acquisitions.
“We should be able to find branch-location opportunities in parts of that territory that are not saturated,” he explained, adding that New England Bancshares has not penetrated Hartford itself or many surrounding communities. “And, conceivably, there could be another acquisition — but right now, we’re focused on New England Bancshares and making this work.”

Interest Bearing
If the planned merger goes through as expected, United will have some impressive numbers to put behind its name.
These include those $2.4 billion in combined assets, $1.7 billion in combined loans, $1.8 billion in combined deposits, and 37 branches in seven counties across Massachusetts and Connecticut.
More important than the numbers, though, will be the capacity they provide for continued growth and a better ability to serve existing customers.
In short, this acquisition provides even more opportunity for the bank to grow into its capital.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

On the Go

By
Karen Buell says younger customers are particularly open to mobile banking.
Banking and Financial Services Sections
PeoplesBank Expands Its Mobile Offerings for Customers

Karen Buell says younger customers are particularly open to mobile banking.

Karen Buell says younger customers are particularly open to mobile banking.

Considering that banking a generation ago always involved visiting a branch — or at least an ATM — it says something that even logging on to a Web site may be too slow for some customers.
But when PeoplesBank added text banking to its growing stable of online and mobile services, it established a new standard for speed.
“It’s pretty quick and efficient,” said Karen Buell, the institution’s Internet branch manager. “You don’t have to call or anything like that, and it’s faster than a browser; if you want a quick balance check, you don’t have to log on.”
To use the option, customers can text a short code — just a few characters — to the bank to access balances, transaction history, and other information immediately. Its functionality may be limited compared to the bank’s other remote-banking services, but Buell said it’s a logical next step for customers on the go needing quick information.
“PeoplesBank has been a leader in mobile banking since 2008, since we introduced our first mobile app, one of the first in the country,” she told BusinessWest. “A lot has changed since then. We try to continue to innovate as technology changes and advances.”
For example, “we have a mobile banking app that will work for any platform — iPhone, Android, BlackBerry,” she said. “We also have a mobile browser which allows you to have the mobile-banking experience from any phone that has an Internet plan, so you don’t have to download the app.”
To develop these offerings, the bank partnered more than a decade ago with Online Resources Corp. (ORCC), which provides Web- and phone-based financial services, electronic payments, and marketing services to financial institutions. “PeoplesBank and Online Resources have been working together for more than 12 years. We started with online banking, then merged into mobile solutions,” said Lori Mark, ORCC’s director of Product Management.
The company estimates that the total number of mobile-banking users in the U.S. will grow from 25 million in 2011 to 42 million by the end of 2013 — a surge driven by the continuing uptick in smartphone adoption, a wider range of modes (mobile apps, text banking, etc.) appealing to a wider range of customers, and ever-improving usability. In addition, according to the Forrester Research Mobile Banking Forecast 2012-2017, 47% of all adults online in the U.S. will be using mobile banking by 2017.
The shift is evident locally, Buell noted. “We continue to see great increases. Browser sessions are going up about 5% month over month; people are logging in to check their balances, transfer money, and pay bills. Personally, I like it; when a bill comes, I pay online, and I’m good to go.
“We’re seeing huge increases in mobile visits to our Web site,” she added. “In the second quarter of this year, mobile devices were 14% of our total Web site volume. We know that there’s demand for it, and people are using it.”

Addressing Concerns
Buell said she recently attended a conference in San Francisco on mobile banking and e-commerce. There, the American Bankers Assoc. presented poll results showing that increasing numbers of people plan to adopt mobile banking if they haven’t done so already; the biggest percentage increase is in the 18-34 age group, followed by the 35-49 crowd.
“We know that Generation Y and Generation X are searching for this technology, and they want to do things on the go,” she told BusinessWest. “That’s being confirmed nationally.”
Some potential users might be put off at first by wireless transactions, worried about the security of their data, but Mark said those anxieties are baseless.
“Financial institutions, just because of how highly regulated they are, tend to be very security-conscious, and so are we,” she said. “We have the same parameters, and we take a lot of time educating our client base about security from hackers. We do what we can to allay those fears.”
Breaking down that trust barrier is key, Buell added.
“When they trust it, they embrace it,” she said. “Out of all our online customers, 25% to 30% are using mobile banking. I think, if you’re already comfortable doing something online or electronically, mobile banking becomes just another way to do transactions electronically.”
She conceded that many customers, particularly of the older generations, prefer to bank only in physical branches, “but if you’ve already embraced the technology, mobile is just another step. There don’t seem to be any barriers.”
Mark said the numbers of users across all platforms — browser, app, and text — continue to grow. “On our side, the smartphone usage is where we’ve seen the growth,” she noted. “Today, 6% of all Internet banking activity comes from mobile devices, and it’s increasing on a daily basis, with the vast majority of that usage coming from iPhones and Androids.”
Buell said PeoplesBank, where the mobile-user percentage is even higher, markets its high-tech banking options through its Web site — a logical place to attract customers who are already comfortable online, many of whom are happy not using brick-and-mortar branches at all.
“We’ve also done a lot of online advertising, Facebook and Twitter posts — and we had a billboard recently, just trying to spread the word that, if you’re looking for technology, PeoplesBank has it.”
The numbers back up the demand, as total mobile visits at PeoplesBank in the second quarter of 2012 were up 178% over the same period last year.
“We know customers are using smartphones, which are changing their lives in meaningful ways,” Buell told BusinessWest. “Our commitment is to answer that desire for convenience.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

2012 Mid-year Tax Planning

By
Banking and Financial Services Sections
Some of the Old Rules May Not Apply When it Comes to 2013
Jim Barrett

Jim Barrett

By JAMES W. BARRETT, CPA/PFS, MST

Once tax filings are taken care of for the prior year, there is always the temptation to tuck current taxes away until the end of the year, when the tendency is to focus on tax strategies that can be executed quickly because of the short period of time remaining.
It would be prudent to take a moment before summer gets into full swing to focus on strategies that may take a little more time to implement but have the potential to reap significant tax savings.
Tax circumstances can change with a single event. Life events, such as marriage or divorce, the birth or death of a family member, retirement, relocation, or a job change, will generally alter your tax position, often dramatically.
Conventional wisdom is to avoid paying taxes for as long as possible by accelerating deductions and/or deferring income. But conventional wisdom may not apply in 2012. Two ominous tax clouds loom on the horizon for 2013, adding a significant level of uncertainty and reducing the value of traditional planning techniques.
The most broadly applicable change is the imminent expiration of the so-called Bush-era tax cuts. The scheduled arrival of the new 0.9% tax on earned income and 3.8% tax on investment income, enacted to pay for the 2010 health care legislation, also should not be overlooked.
We recognize that tax planning requires you to consider a series of unknown future events. Educated guesses and reasonable assumptions go a long way, but keep in mind that no tax strategy is final until the time for changing course has passed.

Planning in Times of
Tax-rate Change
Intentionally raising taxable income in the current year is contrary to the long-standing general guidelines to tax planning. Historically, tax planning has focused on accelerating deductions into the current year and deferring income into future years. But, with rates scheduled to increase, what has worked in years past may not produce the best tax outcome for the future.
The basic framework to help shape your overall income-tax planning in 2012 is as follows:
• If you expect to be in a higher income-tax bracket in 2013, consider accelerating income into 2012 and deferring deductions to 2013.
• If you are forecasting a lower income-tax rate in 2013, reverse the strategy: consider deferring income and accelerating deductions.
This year and going forward, keep in mind that the focus should always be on your marginal tax rate, the highest rate at which your last, or marginal, dollar of income will be taxed. Even though overall tax rates may rise in the future, if your income will be substantially lower in 2013 than in 2012, your marginal tax rate may decrease under the graduated-tax-bracket system.
It’s also important to keep in mind a couple of additional key income-tax concepts while mapping out tax techniques for 2012:

Alternative Minimum Tax:
In years you are subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT), your deductions may be limited. If you anticipate being subject to AMT in either 2012 or 2013, consider timing those deductible expenditures limited under the AMT regime to maximize deductibility.
Standard Deduction:
If you expect to claim the standard deduction in either 2012 or 2013, shift itemized deductions into the year in which you will not claim the standard deduction to take full advantage of the deductions.

Rising Tax Rates
Individual income-tax rates are set to rise on Jan. 1 of next year to a top rate of 39.6%, a 13% increase over the customary rates in recent years. In addition, limitations on both itemized deductions and personal/dependency exemptions are scheduled to return for 2013, potentially raising the income-tax rate another three to four percentage points for taxpayers subject to these limitations.
Further still, dividends are set to once again be taxed as ordinary income in 2013. The 15% rate enjoyed on qualified dividends for a number of years could potentially become a 39.6% rate. The top tax rate on long-term capital gains is also set to increase by roughly one-third to 20%.

Provision 2011 2012 2013
Ordinary Income Rates 10.0% No Change 15.0%
15.0% No Change  15.0%
25.0% No Change  28.0%
28.0% No Change 31.0%
33.0% No Change 36.0%
35.0% No Change 39.6%
Long Term Capital Gains 15.0% No Change  20.0%
Qualified Dividends 15.0% No Change 39.6%
AMT Exemption – Single 48,450 33,750 No Change
AMT Exemption – Married 74,450 45,000 No Change

Unfortunately, the increasing rate news does not end here; since the Supreme Court did not overturn the health care legislation, the tax impact of the legislation begins in 2013.
Taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income above $200,000 ($250,000 on a joint return) will be subject to two additional taxes:

Hospital Insurance:
A 0.9% hospital insurance (HI) tax will apply to earned income, such as wages.
Unearned Income Medicare Contribution:
A 3.8% unearned income Medicare contribution (UIMC) tax will apply to investment income, including interest, dividends, and capital gains.

For taxpayers above the threshold, the impact of these two new taxes will be broad-reaching. With the addition of the UIMC, the top rate for long-term capital gains will rise by more than 50% to 23.8%, while the top ordinary income rate will rise by more than 15% to 40.5%.
Planning now may reduce the tax burden in years to come, and the timing and composition of earnings become critical. Potentially, a bonus from your company during 2012 instead of 2013 or a 2013 capital transaction accelerated into 2012 could save significant tax dollars. With uncertainty in these rates — and all tax rates this year — midyear may not be the time to initiate the transaction, but it is an ideal time to lay the foundation.
Although the new health care taxes apply to most types of earned (HI tax) and unearned (UIMC tax) income, the new taxes will not apply to retirement-plan distributions, IRA payouts, or tax-exempt income, such as interest from state and local government bonds.
Increases in tax rates are generally adverse for most taxpayers, but with increased rates comes increased value in your deductions, making this a great year to strategize with your tax adviser about the best timing for your deductions.
Here are some 2012 and 2013 planning points to consider if the new health care taxes go into effect Jan. 1, 2013:

Mind the Income Threshold: If you expect that your 2013 modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) will be close to, or just above, the $200,000 (single filer) or $250,000 (joint filers) threshold, you may be able to avoid the HI and UIMC taxes by accelerating income into 2012. The UIMC tax applies only to taxpayers who have both net investment income and MAGI above the threshold amounts.
Adjust Your Investment Portfolio: Seek out investments that produce tax-exempt or tax-deferred income, such as non-dividend growth stocks, tax-deferred annuities, and state or local government bonds. Since it may take time to realign your portfolio, you may want to start well in advance of Jan. 1, 2013.
Spread the Gain:
Installment reporting spreads the investment income from the gain on a sale over a period of years, reducing MAGI and deferring recognition of the investment income. However, electing out of installment reporting in 2012 results in gain recognition before the higher tax rates go into effect.
Transfer Investments to Family Members: Although your children’s investment income may be taxed at your marginal tax rate under the ‘kiddie-tax’ rules, an unmarried child is subject to the UIMC tax only if the child’s MAGI exceeds $200,000. You may be able to use a family limited partnership or other technique to spread some of your investment income among your children prior to Jan. 1, 2013.

Planning Your Estate and Gifts
Absent congressional action, the $5.12 million estate-tax exemption and current top tax rate of 35%, in place for 2012, will revert to a $1 million exemption with a top tax rate of 55% beginning Jan. 1, 2013. Moreover, the estate-tax exemption will no longer be portable between spouses.
With the lifetime gift exclusion also at $5.12 million for the rest of 2012, there exists what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transfer significant assets to the younger generation without incurring any wealth transfer taxes. On Jan. 1, 2013, the lifetime gift-tax exclusion is scheduled to revert to $1 million.
Along with the high gift-tax exemption, the generation-skipping transfer-tax exemption is also $5.12 million during 2012. So the door is open to bypass children and defer the impact of estate taxes for many years into the future.
It’s uncertain where the estate-tax exemption and tax rates will end up in future years. And with the expiring provisions, it’s a good idea to review your plan to ensure that it is up to date.
Legislation proposed in Congress limiting valuation discounts attributable to minority interests or lack of marketability also potentially affects wealth transfer. The tax cost of gifts could increase should the changes be enacted.
Since these rules have not yet gone into effect, planning potential remains. Before transferring interests in family businesses or family limited partnerships, consult with your tax adviser to discuss potential tax and valuation pitfalls.
The gift-tax annual exclusion remains at $13,000 per donee, or recipient, for 2012. With gift splitting, spouses can transfer up to $26,000 to each person before the lifetime gift-tax exclusion comes into play.
Gifting techniques you may want to consider this year include:
• Outright gifts to family members;
• Transfers to family members through a family limited partnership; and
• Transfers in trust, including irrevocable life-insurance trusts, defective grantor trusts, and charitable trusts.
Following are a series of other tax-planning opportunities to consider:

Timing of Payments
Reviewing your withholding and planned quarterly estimated tax payments now provides the flexibility to adjust payments to limit or prevent penalties and manage cash flow.
Underpaying your taxes over the course of the year will subject you to underpayment penalties, which can be reduced or eliminated by increasing your withholding or quarterly estimated tax payments. A quirk in the penalty rules treats withholding, even if it occurs late in the year, as if it had been taken evenly throughout the year, making it a powerful planning tool for individuals.
On the flip side, why remit payment too soon when you can invest those funds until April 15, 2013? As long as you will not be subject to an underpayment penalty, consider holding on to your cash as long as possible by cutting back on your withholding or lowering your remaining quarterly estimated tax payments.

Retirement Funding
You can reduce your current tax obligations and help save for your retirement in a tax-efficient manner by contributing to a tax-qualified retirement plan. Qualified plans provide tax deferral — or tax avoidance, in the case of Roth accounts — on earnings until you receive distributions.
The earlier you make the contribution, the sooner your tax-deferred or tax-free earnings begin. If you already have a retirement plan in place, consider funding it as soon as possible to allow funds to start growing now.
To qualify for a tax deduction in 2012, your retirement plan generally must be in place before the end of the year. Exceptions are IRA and SEP (simplified employee pension) plans, which can be set up and funded through April 15, 2013.
Establishing a new retirement plan requires thoughtful decision-making. Small employers (generally those with 100 or fewer employees) that set up a qualified retirement plan may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $500 per year for three years. The credit is limited to 50% of the qualified startup costs.
The following contribution limits, along with the catch-up contribution limits for those 50 and older, apply for the 2012 tax year:

Limit Limit w/Catch Up
401(k) 17,000 22,500
IRA 5,000 6,000
Simple IRA 11,500 14,000
Self-Employed 50,000 55,500

Individuals with earned income, including alimony, are generally eligible to contribute to traditional IRAs. Claiming a deduction for your contribution is another matter. It depends on your income and whether you or your spouse is covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
If neither you nor your spouse are covered by an employer’s plan, you may deduct your contribution to your traditional IRA. If you or your spouse are an active participant in an employer-sponsored plan, the deduction for your IRA is phased out at adjusted gross income (AGI) levels:

Filing Status  AGI Phase-out Range
Single 58,000 – 68,000
Married filing jointly 92,000 – 112,000
Married filing separately 0 – 10,000
Spousal IRA 173,000 – 183,000

 
Many taxpayers find the long-term benefits of contributing to a Roth IRA or a Roth 401(k) outweigh the short-term financial benefits of tax-deductible contributions. While Roth contributions are not tax-deductible, none of the income earned in the Roth account will have tax consequences unless there are early distributions, in which case penalties may apply. In addition, the Roth account is not subject to the required minimum distribution rules that apply when you reach age 70.
Eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA depends on the amount of your income level. Contributions are allowed if your modified adjusted gross income for 2012 is between $110,000 and $125,000 for singles or between $173,000 and $183,000 for joint filers.
You can still roll your retirement savings from your traditional IRA or other qualified retirement plan into a Roth IRA. However, you must pay tax on the rollover amount. Unlike in past years, income limits no longer apply to Roth rollovers.
You might want to consider a Roth rollover in 2012 if you expect to be subject to the unearned income Medicare contribution tax in future years. Although distributions from a traditional IRA are not subject to the UIMC tax, taxable IRA distributions increase your modified adjusted gross income. If your MAGI exceeds the $200,000/$250,000 threshold, your investment income will be subject to the UIMC tax.
By rolling over your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2012, you will recognize the additional income before the UIMC tax goes into effect. Once you have had a Roth IRA account in place for five years, future distributions from the Roth IRA will be non-taxable and will not increase your modified adjusted gross income.
If you own a business, you may be able to avail yourself of a defined-benefit type of retirement plan. These plans often allow higher retirement contributions than other types of plans. The higher retirement benefit must be weighed against the additional cost of providing comparable retirement benefits for your employees.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs
The tax rule allowing those over age 70 to make charitable contributions from their IRA without the need to include the distribution in income expired at the end of 2011. Making these contributions directly was generally advantageous because it didn’t raise the contributor’s income for limits on itemized deductions and certain phaseouts.
Although Congress has a track record of reinstituting expired tax provisions and applying them retroactively, it is certainly not guaranteed. If you are confident that you want to make the donation regardless of the tax treatment, you can still transfer the contribution directly from your IRA to the qualified charity. If Congress decides to retroactively reinstate the donation rule, the transfer will be excluded from income just as under the pre-2012 rule.
If Congress does not reinstate the rule, any charitable donation made from your IRA will be treated in the same manner as a donation made from any other source. The distribution from the IRA will be recognized as income, and the contribution will be included on your return as an itemized deduction. While the deduction should offset the income, the benefit will not be as great as it would have been if the income had not been recognized in the first place.

Employee Health Plans
If you are not currently providing health coverage for your employees, a tax credit for small businesses may make the cost of purchasing this coverage more affordable. The maximum credit is 35% of the premiums paid by the employer.
To be eligible for the credit, the employer generally must contribute at least 50% of the total premium. The full credit is available for employers with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) and average annual wages of less than $25,000. Partial credits are available on a sliding scale to businesses with fewer than 25 FTEs and average annual wages of less than $50,000.

New Employees
Congress extended the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for employers that hire eligible unemployed veterans after Nov. 22, 2011 and before Jan. 1, 2013. The credit can be as high as $9,600 per veteran for for-profit employers or up to $6,240 for tax-exempt organizations.
The amount of the credit depends on a number of factors, including the length of the veteran’s unemployment before hire, the hours a veteran works, and the amount of first-year wages paid. Employers who hire veterans with service-related disabilities may be eligible for the maximum credit.
If you own a business and have children, consider putting them to work during summer vacation or after school. You will be able to deduct their wages as long as you make their pay commensurate with what you would pay a non-family employee for the same services. For 2012, they can earn as much as $5,950 and pay zero income tax. If they earn $10,950 and contribute $5,000 to a traditional IRA, they will also pay zero income tax.

Capital Expensing
Generous expensing rules apply to most non-real-estate assets acquired and placed in service during 2012. The expensing election limit under Section 179 is set at $139,000 if the total amount of qualified asset purchases does not exceed $560,000. The deduction is available for most business equipment, furniture, and off-the-shelf computer software.
There are limits to the Section 179 deduction, including a requirement that the deduction not cause or increase a taxable loss. But the 50% bonus depreciation election, also available through the end of 2012, can cause or increase a taxable loss.
The key to qualifying for these enhanced deductions is that the asset must be placed in service by Dec. 31, 2012. Just ordering or paying for the asset is not enough. Considering the time it may take to identify the appropriate equipment, obtain competitive bids, order the product, have it assembled and shipped, and then get it installed and operational, now may be the time to begin the acquisition process.
With tax rates on personal income scheduled to rise in 2013, those who operate businesses as S corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and sole proprietorships will have to consider carefully whether to take advantage of the enhanced business deductions available for assets placed in service during 2012. Particularly for assets with shorter depreciable lives, forgoing the enhanced deductions for 2012 may result in more tax savings in 2013 and later years.
No one can predict the future, and predicting future actions of Congress is particularly hazardous. Congress can — and all too often does — change the tax law at a moment’s notice.
Tax planning is an ongoing process. Saving taxes is generally a good strategy, but making a bad business, investment, or personal decision just to save some tax dollars is never a good strategy.

James Barrett is managing partner of Meyers Brothers Kalicka in Holyoke; (413) 536-8510; [email protected]

Is Your Retirement Plan on MARS?

By
Banking and Financial Services Sections
How to Improve Your Minimum Adequate Rate of Success

Charlie Epstein

Charlie Epstein

If you are the owner of a company and you sponsor a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k), I’d like to ask you to consider the following scenario. Imagine you are about to board an airplane at Bradley International Airport. Your destination is Los Angeles. As you are checking in at the gate, the agent comes on the PA system and says, “ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make. The captain and the FAA want me to let you know that there is an 85% chance that this plane will not make it to your final destination on time and safely. Have a nice flight!”
Would you board that airplane? Of course not! Why? There is not a minimum adequate rate of success (MARS) for you to feel comfortable that you will get to your destination on time and safely.
Let me ask you another question: what is the MARS of your company’s 401(k) retirement plan? What is the minimum adequate rate of success that all of your employees will arrive at their final destination (retirement) with an adequate percentage of replacement income? Will they arrive at their retirement destination on time and safely, with enough money to generate a ‘paycheck for life’ to pay for all the things they desire to do when they retire? What percentage of your employees will have replaced an adequate percentage of their current income (i.e. approximately 70% to 90%, adjusted for inflation) at their retirement age? Do you even know?
A reporter at the Dallas Morning News recently interviewed me for a story on the pending employee-fee-disclosure regulations. The reporter read an article I wrote, in which I stated that the majority of retirement expenses have already been available for participants both on their Web site and on their statements. I also noted that while some of the disclosures will be new, the majority of 401(k) participants won’t even notice or care. I went on to tell the reporter that the Department of Labor’s emphasis on fee disclosure and transparency misses the bigger issue — employees need to save more money, not save more on expenses.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Saving on expenses is a good thing, but not the most important factor when it comes to creating paychecks for life through your company’s retirement plan. Study after study has shown that actually increasing your contribution percentage by 1% more per year is six times more valuable than saving 50% of 1% in expenses.
Plan sponsors and advisors need to educate participants on the need to save more money. How much more? To start with, a minimum adequate rate of savings for an employee to successfully accumulate enough money by retirement age is 10%. The average savings rate in America’s 401(k) plans currently stands at a dismal 3% to 4%. The 10% savings rate should be the starting point by which you, the plan sponsor/fiduciary, can begin to benchmark your 401(k) plan’s MARS. Hold your advisor accountable to help you measure this success rate each year, and begin moving the dial by getting employees to save more.
The onus cannot be entirely on your employees. You can (and must) do more to encourage this higher rate of savings by integrating automatic features into your plan:
• Automatic enrollment at a rate at least equal to your company match. If you have a 50% match on the first 6% of pay that employees contribute, then begin the automatic-enrollment feature at 6% of pay. It’s simple. As soon as employees become eligible to participate in your 401(k) plan, they are automatically enrolled at 6%. If they want to opt out, they can. The Vanguard Group and other large providers like Fidelity have done studies showing that 70% of employees who are automatically enrolled stay in the plan at the rate they were enrolled.
• Automatic increase. As an entrepreneur, you know the power of ‘incremental success.’ Every day, you work incrementally to improve the quality of your products and services to increase incrementally your margins and profits. There is no overnight success. It takes a long-term commitment to work every day to improve your business model.
The same can be said of saving for retirement. You don’t get rich overnight. The turtle usually wins the race, one slow step at a time. If the goal is to get a larger percentage of your employees saving 10%, it will not happen overnight. It takes time. However, employees need the support and structure in place to help get them there. This is why adding the automatic-increase feature to your retirement plan is so critical.
If, for example, employees have been automatically enrolled at 6%, then (with the automatic-increase feature) each year employees’ contributions will be automatically increased by 1%. In four years, they will be saving the magic 10% and well on their way to creating a paycheck for life. Similarly, studies show that 70% of plan participants do not opt out of the automatic-increase feature. They don’t actually miss the 1% in their paychecks. With ongoing education on the benefits of incrementally increasing savings by 1% each year, employee success rates will increase.
If your motivation for establishing a 401(k) plan is to provide a valuable benefit to your employees, then you may want consider if the value is truly there. I believe the best way to gauge that value is by focusing on employee success, which you can do by evaluating what your plan’s current success rate is for each employee and what your new MARS benchmark and goal will be going forward.
Getting your retirement plan to MARS won’t be easy and won’t happen overnight. However, neither was getting America to the moon! After President Kennedy announced in 1961 that we would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it took us only eight years to do it. If you announced that your company will have a minimum adequate success rate of 10% for 85% of all of your employees by the end of the decade, you can make it happen. You can set in motion all sorts of unforeseen positive forces that will jet-propel a larger portion of your employee population to arriving on time and safely with a paycheck for life at their retirement destination.

Charlie Epstein is the author of Paychecks for Life — How to Turn Your 401(k) into a Paycheck Manufacturing Company (www.paychecksforlife.org). As America’s 401(k) Coach, he has been nominated one of the top 100 Most Influential Individuals in the 401(k) Industry by 401k Wire Magazine. He has trained more than 2,000 advisors across the country on how to create greater success for plan sponsors and plan participants; (413) 478-8580; [email protected]

Cool Running

By
The Springfield Data Center, currently under construction on the former Technical High School site.
Construction Sections
High Performance Computing Center Touts Energy, Security Innovations

The MGHPCC, which will open along the canals in Holyoke this fall.

The MGHPCC, which will open along the canals in Holyoke this fall.

For John Goodhue’s father, it took a tour through the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center to understand exactly what goes into housing — and protecting — computers.
“When my dad toured the center,” said Goodhue, the center’s executive director, “he came out the other end and said, ‘I finally get it! It’s not about computers; it’s about bringing electricity in and creating a lot of heat and then removing that heat from the building.’”
Bingo.
Of course, that has been just one of the challenges — albeit a critical one — of preparing the MGHPCC to open in Holyoke later this year. The $95 million facility is a joint venture between UMass, MIT, Harvard University, Boston University, and Northeastern University, as well as technology giants EMC Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., to create a high-tech research center.
To create that all-important cooling effect, the facility will use a continuous water loop in and out of the building. A chilling system will cool the water, which will then be pumped into air-conditioning units placed beside the computers; the heat generated by the equipment will then be exhausted outside, and the process begins again. Constantly.
“The cooling took an enormous amount of effort,” Goodhue said, explaining that the two major techniques used for the process involve air and water, respectively. After six weeks debating which technique to use, architects and builders decided on the chilled-water option. “And we’re bringing it quite close to the computers; for every two racks full of computers, right next to them is a little air-conditioning rack. It takes water into it and cools the air around the computers, and takes the water out.
“Water is actually much better at carrying heat and absorbing heat than air is,” he continued. “A very small volume of water, relatively speaking, can carry the same heat as a much larger volume of air, and it’s one of things that allows us to run the center more efficiently. The cooling system really allowed us to cool these computers that are very, very hot. Some machines pack a considerable amount of electronics into a very small space, and we have to be extra vigilant about cooling — and water is better at doing that.”
But that raises challenges regarding energy efficiency — another goal of the computing center’s leaders. Meanwhile, designers were also faced with protecting sensitive equipment and data from more than heat, so decisions about building security were high on the priority list as well.
For this issue, BusinessWest delves into some of these questions, and how the MGHPCC is proving to be an innovative facility long before going online this fall.

Green for a Reason
From the start, the Holyoke center was designed to be energy-efficient, Goodhue told BusinessWest. “One of the things that drew us to Holyoke is that the power came principally from renewable energy. Holyoke Gas & Electric generates 70% of its power from renewable sources — primarily the dam, but it also has the largest solar array in the state, and also has ideas about adding other resources to their portfolio.”
Holyoke’s dam on the Connecticut River generates hydroelectricity that is then sold to industrial users for about 8 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to a state average of more than 12 cents, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
That’s good, because data centers tend to suck up a lot of energy — partly because they never shut down, partly because of the power the equipment uses. “There has been a trend in recent years toward operating computers and servers at higher and higher temperatures,” Goodhue noted.
In fact, according to a 2011 Stanford University report, data centers account for about 2% of the nation’s energy consumption, and many use electricity generated by coal-fired power plants, not exactly a clean energy source. Because of its power supply and design, the MGHPCC is expected to use at least 25% less energy than the typical data center.
Goodhue said the computing center has applied to be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) project, aiming for Gold status — the second-highest accreditation — from the national recognition program run by the U.S. Green Building Council.
“Again, that’s by paying attention to hundreds of details, from how we manage stormwater to the white reflecting roof; from what landscaping materials we use to the chemical basis for our paints,” he explained, noting that the paint must not contain what are known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs; when breathed in, these are not acutely toxic, but can cause long-term health effects.
“There are dozens of small things that, taken individually, add up to a very different way of designing and building this center, so that it has a much lower environmental impact,” Goodhue continued. “The good part about it is, people have thought very carefully about the environmental impact, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — just follow the best practices you know, none of which are crazy or over the top. They just make good design sense.”

The Springfield Data Center, currently under construction on the former Technical High School site.

The Springfield Data Center, currently under construction on the former Technical High School site.

Some of the same focus on energy efficiency is evident at the Springfield Data Center (SDC), set to open in 2013 on the site of the former Technical High School. The facility will be one of the state’s two primary data centers, backing up and supporting the Massachusetts Information Technology Center in Chelsea.
New York-based Skanska USA, the contractor for the SDC, has also incorporated a number of energy-efficient elements in aiming for Silver certification under LEED. “This is one of the most energy-efficient buildings of its type in the United States right now,” said Steve Eustis, senior vice president and project executive for Skanska.
The design includes selecting materials that are energy- and water-efficient and incorporates ‘daylight harvesting,’ which uses sensors in the lighting system to shut off the lights when there is sufficient daylight; 90% of the occupants will have daylight views. The roof will be also be a reflective white, and HVAC systems were designed with energy conservation in mind. In fact, the air-conditioning system that cools the computers will capture the waste heat and reuse it.

Securing the Data
Of course, protecting computers from heat damage while keeping energy costs low is only one balancing act a data center must perform. Another is keeping data private while not hindering the ability of the facility’s users to conduct and share their research.
“Security is of critical importance. If you’re doing medically oriented research, for instance, you might have sensitive patient data in the center, and it’s very important to protect that,” Goodhue said. “At the same time, this is a research center, and it’s very important to give people as much flexibility as possible to share data.
“So we have these two conflicting constraints, and we handle that in two ways,” he continued. “One has to do with the physical infrastructure. There are maps that label every room as a security zone, with relatively small lists of people who are allowed to go into each room in the building, and that drives our keycard-access system. Your ID will let you inside doors and won’t let in others.
“So, if you’re an electrician servicing the transformer,” he went on, “you probably don’t need to go into the computer room, so that person’s card will let him into the transformer room and maybe one or two other adjacent rooms. Similarly, if you’re operating a computer in the computer room, you probably have no business hanging around the transformers.”
The other element is how networking is handled, Goodhue continued.
“Every institution that uses the facility — Harvard, MIT, UMass, and so forth — already has well-developed methods of protecting data when it flows across their networks,” he said. “So, imagine that, on the floor, there’s one network that we’ve arranged so it’s an extension of the MIT campus network, and one we’ve arranged as an extension of the Harvard campus network, and so on. Each exists here in parallel universes; they don’t see each other, but are kept separate. If you’re at MIT, you can think of the building as just another building on campus, but farther away, and BU folks can see it the same way.
“That gets you the protection,” he noted. “So how do you get flexibility?”
For that, the center uses what Goodhue called a “meet-me switch,” which allows two or more users from different networks to exchange data. “Again, it’s the balance between access and flexibility and making sure the data is protected and controlled.”
In addition, each rack of computers has its own set of keys, so only authorized people can access each one. “This isn’t like the movies where you see these places with barbed wire and armed guards and so forth,” he said. “We are a high-tech facility, and we’re very careful about protecting it, but we’ll put on a slightly friendlier face than what you see in the movies.”

Little Things
Goodhue said the MGHPCC will open on time and under budget, but that’s far from the only positive aspect of it.
“People often ask me, ‘what’s one unique thing about the data center that makes it the best in some way?’” he told BusinessWest. “But there’s not just one thing. It’s lots of attention paid to literally hundreds of details that gets you there.”
And that’s when the real excitement — the research itself — begins.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Reaching New Heights

By
John Murphy Jr., with account administrator Bonnie Moynihan
Construction Sections
Eastern General Contractors Raises the Bar for Community Involvement

John Murphy Jr., with account administrator Bonnie Moynihan

John Murphy Jr., with account administrator Bonnie Moynihan, who has been with the firm for 24 years.

When John Murphy Jr. was young, he wanted to become a musician or pilot. And although the founder, president. and CEO of Eastern General Contractors Inc. in Springfield did not end up pursuing either of those careers, he has spent the past 40 years orchestrating complex construction projects that often involve dizzying heights.
“We do anything that’s vertical,” Murphy said as he talked about jobs his full-service construction company has completed, such as building air-traffic control towers in Worcester, Cape Cod, New Haven, Conn., and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, as well as many high-rise buildings. EGC just finished replacing the siding on six hangars at Westover, which are so high that he had to bring in a crane from Missouri to reach 150 feet into the air to handle the work.
The majority of EGC’s projects are public-sector in nature, with many undertaken for the federal government, and Murphy’s employees work throughout New England. But the company is grounded in Springfield, and both he and his staff spend many weekends engaged in volunteer work that ranges from building handicap ramps and installing elevators in local churches to a complete renovation of the Dunbar Community Center in Springfield and maintaining the cottages and buildings at Camp Atwater, a summer camp for boys and girls in North Brookfield, which they’ve done for 20 years.
In fact, Murphy believes successful businesses have a responsibility to give back to their communities. “The late economist Mark Friedman once said, ‘there is one and only one social responsibility of business, and that is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase profit,’” he told BusinessWest. “But we subscribe to a different value system. Although we certainly set the highest bar in corporate ethics, it reaches far beyond dollars and cents. Our company is not just a money-making machine or a balance sheet; it is a human enterprise run by caring people who understand the impact of the work we do in our immediate community.”
Murphy likes to fly under the radar, but has received so many accolades and plaques commemorating the volunteer work his company does that they line the walls of his office as well as the rest of the building.
Mayor Dominic Sarno gave him a key to the city in recognition of his work, and he has been feted in Boston as well as Washington, D.C. for those volunteer efforts. But he doesn’t like fanfare, and the interview he agreed to do with BusinessWest was the first since he established his company.
Still, he takes pride in the fact that EGC provides jobs for local people and serves as a flagship for community involvement. “We will continue to find innovative ways to forge ahead in that direction,” he said, recounting local projects as well as a scholarship association he started with a friend that awarded $500,000 to deserving high-school seniors in his hometown of Ridgeland, S.C. “There is so much that is needed, so we do what we can.”

History of Success
Murphy said he was introduced to both construction and social responsibility during his youth.
“My father was a handyman, and we built things together; I thought it was interesting,” he said, adding that his parents spent their weekends doing volunteer work and always took him along “to help someone.”
Before starting his own business, he spent 10 years working in production control at Hamilton Standard in Windsor Locks, Conn., which made aircraft parts. He said the responsibility he had there played a role in his later success in the construction business.
“There were 1,200 parts in a jet-fuel control, and I had to do all of the coordination required to build them,” he said. “When I began building homes, it seemed simple, as there were only about 30 components to keep track of.”
Murphy opened a construction firm he called Eastern Home Builders and Developers, and began building single-family homes while he was still employed at Hamilton Standard. The business took off quickly, and Murphy left Hamilton Standard when it became too overwhelming to work two full-time jobs.
During the ’80s, his company built a number of single-family homes in Springfield under the federal Housing and Urban Development Section 235 program, which allowed qualified families to purchase them with a $200 down payment.
As word of the quality work he did began to spread, Murphy received repeated recognitions, which included being named Contractor of the Year in 1987 and 1988 by the Small Business Administration.
When the government discontinued the HUD program, he switched his focus to historic preservation and high-rise projects, and changed his business moniker to Eastern General Contracting Inc.
The most challenging job the company has undertaken was a recent $6.5 million renovation of the four-story Whaling Museum in New Bedford. “Everything inside had to come out. It was challenging because the museum is on a corner and we couldn’t touch the exterior,” Murphy explained.
The company removed the roof, then began disassembling the building piece by piece, floor by floor, until they reached the basement. However, everything had to be labeled and saved so it could be put back inside when the renovation work was complete.
“There were planks used in the original construction that had been shaved with an axe that we had to take out in one piece,” Murphy said. “We had someone stationed inside the building with a radio who had to communicate to the crane operator outside because the person operating it couldn’t see what needed to be done inside. It was very challenging.”
Another difficult project involved installing five elevators in a 28-story library at UMass Amherst. “When we got to the 28th floor, we had to use a helicopter to put the equipment inside. The wind was blowing, and the opening was only four feet wide, so we had to make sure everything was dropped in exactly right,” Murphy said, explaining that renovation is challenging to begin with “because when you open up a wall, you don’t know what is behind it.”
The company recently finished a renovation of the historic Fanueil Hall in Boston. “We removed the moldings, the ceiling tiles, the window sashes … and everything had to go back in the way it came out,” said Murphy. “It was extremely challenging, but I like to see the finished product and be able to say, “I did that.”

High Stakes
Murphy said he likes to continually raise the bar for himself and his employees.
“Turning a vision into a multi-million-dollar reality is a lofty goal that many people aspire to, but precious few achieve,” he said. “I began by setting a goal, and once I reached it, I continued to set another, then another. You have to look at where you came from and where you are, at as well as the obstacles you have to jump across to move forward. I always say, ‘I am pleased, but not satisfied, because I think we could do more.’”
So they do whatever is needed and take pride in their accomplishments. “I tell my employees repeatedly that we have to be three times better to be considered half as good, and as long as we have that philosophy, we will be successful,” Murphy said. “People hire us because we save them time, worry, and money.”
The majority of his employees have been with him for at least two decades and share his philosophy of giving back to the community. “They often ask me what we’re doing on the weekend,” he said.
Their 20-year history of volunteerism at Camp Atwater began after it closed. “It was in great need of repairs and someone asked me if I could help,” Murphy said. Over the years, he built a laundry there and renovated a kitchen and recreation hall. In addition, “I took my crew there, and we built five cabins, supplying the labor and materials.
“I really believe in giving back,” he continued, adding that, at one point, his staff built a cottage at the camp from the ground up, finishing it in one day. “People were running all over, but we got it done,” he said. “When we do a project, we try to accelerate everything and do whatever it takes to make the customer happy.”
EGC still maintains a cottage at the camp which is used as a recreational building for staff members. The camp named it ‘the Murphy’ after him, but, again, it was not an honor he wanted.
Still, the donations, labor, and materials ECG has provided for nonprofits is remarkable, and requests for help continue to pour in. So, in recent years, Murphy has had to pick and choose carefully how to spend his resources.

Bottom Line
EGC’s portfolio is substantial, but Murray said his employees are his most valuable asset. He has 31 full-time staff members and about 50 field employees.
“We are a family, and I appreciate the support I get from them as well as their honesty, loyalty, and integrity,” he said. “For many years, we have produced quality products in a timely and cost-effective manner, while providing jobs for members of our community and contributing to funds that keep our local, city, state, and federal governments up and running.
“We will continue to find innovative ways to forge ahead in the direction of larger building contracts and enhancing the community services we provide for free,” Murphy went on. “But our proudest goal will continue to be the success of our families and the success of the families around us.”

Transforming the Landscape

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Commercial Real Estate Sections
Pittsfield Strives to Generate Interest in Business Park at GE Site

Above, the GE Pittsfield Works in 1946. At top, an aerial shot of the portion of that same property that has become the William Stanley Business Park.

Cory Thurston says the name William Stanley Business Park was chosen to recognize the power of innovation, in this case the work of an inventor credited with, among other things, the development of the induction coil, or transformer.
Stanley, a long-time engineer with Westinghouse, created his prototype in 1886, in Great Barrington, but his concept, which made it possible to spread electric service over a wide area, would most dramatically change the landscape — and in many different ways — in nearby Pittsfield. It was there that he started the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Co., the venture eventually purchased by General Electric and later renamed the GE Pittsfield Works, a sprawling large-transformer-manufacturing complex that, at its height in the 1960s, employed more than 13,000 people.
Today, Thurston, executive director of the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA), is hoping that innovation can again transform this property near Silver Lake more than a quarter-century after GE announced that it was closing the massive plant. The 52-acre business park, created on roughly a dozen various-sized parcels, transferred to the city by GE in recent years, officially opened in early June with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Mountain One Financial Center in a corner of the property off East Street.
The facility, a 6,735-square-foot, LEED-certified structure dominated by glass, is catching the attention of the city and the region, said Thurston, who is confident that it will also capture the imagination of the business and development communities, and eventually help repopulate the mostly barren acreage with a broad mix of businesses.
“It showed the naysayers, who didn’t believe anything would ever happen here, what can be done,” he explained, adding that the quick timeline for the project — it was announced in April 2011, ground was broken that August, and construction was completed on March 30 — demonstrates how the city is committed to making things happen on the property.
Moving forward, one possible catalyst for redevelopment could be a planned 20,000-square-foot life-sciences building, said Thurston, adding that the venture could be funded through a $6.5 million earmark granted to Pittsfield as part of the Commonwealth’s Life Sciences Bond Bill.
Intended as a stage-two facility for companies looking for room to get to the next stage, the 20,000-square-foot center would be a facility that could house and foster the kind of innovation that gave the park its name.
Beyond that initiative, though, the park could become home to anything from retail to light industrial; from green-energy ventures (there’s already a 1.8-magawatt solar power array on the property) to municipal facilities.
“We’re optimistic,” said Thurston. “Typically, in the Northeast, 70% of your economic development comes from within, from expansion of companies in the market already. We’re focusing quite a bit on making sure that our existing businesses have opportunities to grow, while we’re also looking at other options such as government facilities.”
There are a number of challenges involved with redeveloping the former GE complex, said Thurston, listing everything from the stigma attached to brownfield sites, even though this one has been cleaned, to competition in the form of perhaps 1 million square feet of former mill space in Berkshire County vying for the attention of startups and established businesses alike. But he is optimistic that the park can soon become a center for both innovation and jobs, as it was decades ago.
“We believe that this is a model for cooperative remediation and redevelopment efforts across the country,” he told BusnessWest while looking over a large aerial photograph of the GE complex taken decades ago. “There is enormous potential here.”
For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest ventured to Pittsfield to learn how officials there hope to transform the landscape in this section of the city and, in some ways, have history repeat itself.

Current Events
Thurston said it’s difficult to quantify or even qualify the impact GE’s operation had — and still has — on the city.

This view from the northeast shows some of the vast open space now available for redevelopment with the transfer of the former GE property to the city of Pittsfield.

“Let’s just say GE made Pittsfield,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the manufacturing complex certainly contributed to the social and economic fabric of the community. But there was considerable controversy as well, especially in the form of environmental contamination involving land at the site, Silver Lake, and the nearby Housatonic River (GE agreed to pay $250 million to clean it up). Meanwhile, the demise of the transformer plant also led to years of economic struggle, outmigration (many young people left the city when GE did), and ongoing, often-painful efforts to reinvent and diversify the city’s economy.
And part of that reinvention is the redevelopment of the property on which Stanley Electric and then GE operated for close to a century, a project that has been ongoing for more than 13 years now and is defined by both challenges and opportunities.
Fast-forwarding through the years since a definitive economic-development agreement between GE, the city, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other parties was inked, Thurston said the 52 acres now under PEDA’s control have been remediated and transferred to the city for redevelopment. The pace of progress has often been frustratingly slow — the last parcels were not transferred until earlier this year — but significant momentum has been generated in recent months.
Standing outside the front door of PEDA’s office on Kellogg Street, which has a commanding 360-degree view of the site, Thurston hit the highlights. Pointing to his far right, toward Silver Lake, he referenced the solar installation completed by Western Mass. Electric Co. in 2010, as well as Mountain One’s project.
Turning to his far left, he pointed out a large 16-acre parcel on which several GE buildings once stood. It is, to the best of Thurston’s knowledge, the largest open, developable (“unimpeded” was the word he chose) tract in Pittsfield, and land that could be subdivided any number of ways to suit the needs of developers.
And, sweeping his hand to the right, he pointed out Woodlawn Avenue and the now-closed bridge (built in 1906) over the railroad tracks that run through the middle of the complex. The street, formerly a private way that bisected GE’s plant, will be repaired and made a public road, and a new bridge will be constructed by the state, said Thurston.
“This will hopefully be a real catalyst for our rebuild,” he said, noting that the site, hemmed in by residential neighborhoods and narrow, winding side streets, will need a secondary form of access in the form of an open Woodlawn Avenue to reach its full potential. “Finishing up these key infrastructure pieces is very crucial for us and our ability to put a large manufacturing facility or retail center that employs a large number of people on one of these sites.”
As he talked about that process, Thurston said the plan has several basic components, all designed to increase awareness of the site and its many amenities, and then bringing prospective tenants to PEDA’s door.
At present, the city is conducting some target marketing, while also working to connect with a host of public and private partners on the project, he continued, noting that this constituency includes a number of players.
Cory Thurston, seen in front of a map of the new business park

Cory Thurston, seen in front of a map of the new business park, says the site has amenities that could attract ventures from across several sectors of the economy.

For starters, there are state agencies that assist businesses in efforts to expand or relocate within the Commonwealth, he noted, listing the Mass. Office of Business Development and the Mass. Alliance for Economic Development, among others. There are also regional agencies such as the chambers of commerce serving the Berkshires, as well as 1Berkshire, which exists to stimulate new job growth and economic opportunity in the region by sparking collaboration between artists, designers, cultural institutions, and businesses.
Meanwhile, another potential partner, and major asset, as Thurston described it, is CSX Corp., which has a rail line that runs through the middle of the site and, with Woodlawn Avenue, creates four sectors of redevelopment.
“We’re working with their economic-development team to identify rail-friendly tenants that might be interested in an opportunity in downtown Pittsfield,” he explained. “They’re in a large growth mode, and rail service could be an important factor in drawing people to this site.”

Watts Next?
PEDA and these various partners have what Thurston considers a very salable product, one with amenities attractive to businesses in a variety of sectors.
At the top of this list is developable land that is in many cases ‘shovel-ready,’ a technical term used to describe land that is clean, fully permitted, and, as the phrase suggests, ready for a shovel.
Other parcels don’t quite fit that description, said Thurston, listing that aforementioned 16-acre parcel, for example, which has elevation changes and old foundations as the primary but still minor challenges to be overcome.
Another amenity, he told BusinessWest, is location, which is driven home in promotional aerial photographs of the site that prominently feature Crystal Lake and the nearby Berkshire mountains.
Beyond scenery, though, Pittsfield is located roughly halfway between Albany and Boston, said Thurston, and thus could be an attractive option for emerging technology and life-sciences companies operating or doing business in both markets. There is also the Berkshires’ still-affordable high quality of life, he went on, adding that this mix of selling points should turn some heads.
However, there are some challenges as well, including an economy still in recovery mode, that aforementioned stigma about brownfield sites, especially one with such a high profile, and a huge glut of former mill space in Pittsfield and surrounding communities that offers an attractive alternative to business owners, and one that usually carries a lower price tag than new construction.
“We’re confronting the same challenges being faced from a manufacturing and industrial perspective across the Northeast,” he explained. “New construction is difficult, and we have a lot of wonderful facilities in Pittsfield and across Berkshire County, like some of the old paper mills that have been repurposed, where businesses can grow and expand; there’s a lot of competitive real estate that still stands.”
But overall, Thurston believes the business park is the proverbial right place at the right time, and he thinks the planned life-sciences building is a potential-laden project that could drive that point home, while also creating some potential future tenants.
As currently conceived, the center would go beyond a typical incubator, providing next-stage companies with the shared lab space, broadband capacity, and other amenities needed to make that jump to where they’re ready to begin production and take on employees.
“This would be a nice, low-cost, quality-of-life facility that they could move their venture to and continue their growth and development,” he said, adding that the next phase in the project is convincing the state to release the earmark, a process that is already underway. “We want to create something new and exciting in Pittsfield.”
Overall, PEDA will be patient with the broad redevelopment process, said Thurston, adding that, in every way possible, it will “leave its options open.”
That sentiment applies to everything from potential reuses — the site has been mentioned as home to everything from retail complexes to municipal facilities, including a new courthouse and police station — to individual parcels.
Indeed, while it is likely that the 16-acre parcel mentioned earlier will be subdivided, PEDA will not do that until options for one larger user have been explored and exhausted.

Getting Amped Up
While it’s extremely unlikely that the former GE site will again be home to 13,000 jobs, said Thurston, the business park created there has vast potential to again play a lead role in shaping the economy of Pittsfield and the surrounding area.
What that shape will be is anyone’s guess, he noted, adding that it will take years to fill in the canvas.
But the process is well underway, momentum is building, and there are clear signs that this facility can live up to the name it’s been given.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Fueling Progress

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Environment and Engineering Sections
MassDEP Program Will Recycle Organics for Clean Energy

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Results Program (CERP) is an innovative, first-of-its-kind new program that was launched in November 2011 by the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Department of Energy Resources (DOER). The program is designed to maximize the combined resources of both agencies to better advance the siting and successful implementation of renewable-energy and energy-efficiency projects.
A key goal of CERP is to promote an increased capacity in the Commonwealth for anaerobic digestion (AD) — a process that breaks down food and other organic material to produce a renewable biogas (largely comprised of methane). This biogas is then combusted to generate electricity and heat. Just over a half-year from launch of this new program, the agencies are making great strides toward this goal.
Diverting commercial organic wastes (such as vegetable waste from farms, food processers, grocery stores, institutions, and restaurants) from the waste stream and converting them to a useful fuel has many significant benefits. Removal of these materials from the waste stream saves them taking up limited capacity in the state’s landfills.
In addition, because Massachusetts has some of the highest solid-waste disposal rates in the country (ranging from $60 to $90 a ton, nearly double the national average), recycling organic material for reuse can considerably offset disposal costs for the businesses that generate these materials. Furthermore, producing renewable biogas from anaerobic digestion is a sustainable, renewable energy solution. Active capture and use of methane from the breakdown of organic material reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and diminishes our dependency on fossil fuel.
MassDEP is working with DOER, the Mass. Department of Agriculture, the Mass. Clean Energy Council, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that, by 2020, the Commonwealth is generating 50 megawatts of electricity from this renewable source — up from the fewer than 10 megawatts being generated now. These partners also have a goal of diverting 350,000 tons per year of organic material from landfills and incinerators to anaerobic digestion and other organics-processing facilities; organic material represents more than 25% of the total amount of waste currently being thrown away in Massachusetts.
MassDEP and its partner agencies have identified specific steps to increase diversion of organic material for productive reuse via anaerobic digestion and other processing facilities. Those actions include streamlining and clarifying regulatory requirements, increasing diversion of food waste at large businesses and institutions to ensure a supply of material for anaerobic digestion, and encouraging appropriate siting of more anaerobic digestion projects across the Commonwealth.

What’s Next?
MassDEP is in the final stages of amending its solid-waste regulations to facilitate significant expansion of the state’s capacity to process and recycle source-separated organics and other recyclable materials. Concurrent amendments to regulations governing municipal wastewater-treatment plants will allow those facilities to accept appropriate source-separated organics for AD processing, which will in turn boost their energy production and reduce their operating expenses. The agency has been working with stakeholders to address the thoughtful comments received on draft regulations earlier this year, and MassDEP’s final AD regulations are expected to be published by this fall.
In addition, agencies have made great progress conducting a preliminary evaluation of sites on public lands that may be well-suited for new anaerobic-digestion facilities. We have narrowed the sites to a manageable list of eight, and are meeting with the state Division of Capital Asset Management, agency heads, and host communities to talk about the feasibility for siting these demonstration projects.
Massachusetts has already made significant progress in diverting organics from the waste stream and has been a leader in working with commercial generators of organics on building an infrastructure for collection. Over the past decade, MassDEP has worked extensively with major supermarket chains in Massachusetts, and as a result more than 300 of the 600 supermarkets are diverting organics (produce and breads) from disposal for compost at nearby farms. MassDEP has also worked with a number of other business sectors that generate significant quantities of food waste to help them establish diversion programs. Sectors with active diversion programs include hotels, colleges and universities, convention centers, hospitals, and large restaurants.
Given the importance of diverting organic materials away from landfills and into beneficial renewable energy, the Commonwealth will soon be proposing adding commercial organics to the other materials currently banned from landfills and incinerators.
The Patrick-Murray Administration seeks to put all of these pieces together so that, before too long, all commercially generated organic waste is diverted from disposal and processed through AD to harvest the renewable fuel source.
In many European countries, large-scale anaerobic digestion of organic waste has proven successful in the creation of jobs, improving energy independence, stimulating economic growth, and being an important component of the renewable-energy strategy. Through the combined efforts of DOER, MassDEP, and other key stakeholders, Massachusetts is leading efforts to make this a reality in the Commonwealth.

Kenneth Kimmell is commissioner of the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection.

PicThis

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Departments Picture This

Send photos with a caption and contact information to: ‘Picture This’ c/o BusinessWest Magazine, 1441 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103 or to [email protected]

Celebrity Read Aloud

Roderick Ireland, chief justice of the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court and a Springfield native, was the guest reader for the Link to Libraries Celebrity Read Aloud Program at William DeBerry School in Springfield. As a youngster, Ireland attended DeBerry School. He read to fourth-grade students and explained how important his education was and how much he enjoyed reading as a youngster and now as chief justice. The students presented him with a certificate of appreciation for attending their school and reading. Link to Libraries invites local and regional dignitaries to become part of its Celebrity Read Aloud Programs and read to area students. For more information, call (413) 224-1031, or e-mail [email protected].

Scholarship Winners

When Thomas E. Cosenzi passed away in 2009, it was not only ownership of the TommyCar Auto Group that passed to his children Carla and Thomas M., but his legacy of giving back to the community. That legacy was evident when the four recipients of a 2012 Tom Cosenzi Scholarship were recently awarded their checks for $1,000 at Country Nissan on Route 9 in Hadley. The scholarships, awarded each year to graduating seniors, helps students with demonstrated leadership and community involvement continue their education at either a two- or four-year institution. The program has expanded to other area high schools, with this year’s winners coming from Hopkins Academy in Hadley, Northampton High School, Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley, and Greenfield High School. From left are: Nicole Himebaugh of Charlton; Anaisa Garcia of Florence; Carla Cosenzi, president of TommyCar Auto Group; Rita Pirozhkov of Greenfield; and Steven J. Keith of Hadley.

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of June 2012.

AGAWAM

Ad-Venture
10 Castle Hill Road
Jay Berger

Barry Rothenberg
335 Walnut St.
Barry Rothenberg

Deveno Landscaping
577 Springfield St.
David Deveno

K. Kudlic Trucking Inc.
491 Springfield St.
Kristen Kudlic

The Sand Trap
1399 Suffield St.
Kristine Mele

Vella Limousine
511 Springfield St.
Richard Vella

CHICOPEE

Sonic Value Transportation
129 Exchange St.
Ali O. Koseoglu

Total Exterior Services
218 Pondview Dr.
Lisa A. DelMonte

Yankee Auto Sales
162 Chicopee St.
Russell R. Foisy

EASTHAMPTON

Artisan Builders & Craftsmen
19 Plain St.
Aaron Scott

Mamadou Group Painting & Decoration
13 Arlington St.
Mamadou Diedhiou

Mountain View Antiques & Collectibles
51 Holyoke St.
James P. Delnero

Omni Ohana Media and Design
14 Playa Ave.
Sara H. Gomes

The House Doctor
29 Ward Ave.
Chris S. Black

HOLYOKE

B & C Cleaning Services
12 Evergreen Dr.
Brent Lavigne

Contemporary Auto Sales
63 Shawmut Ave.
Stephen Stathis

Flamingo
319 High St.
Sinung Yi

Kentucky Fried Chicken
2241 Northampton St.
Michael Houston

Tony’s Radiator Shop
84 North Bridge St.
Alan Barthelette

VK Restoration
92 Race St.
Vitek Kruta

LUDLOW

Alegria Dance & Fitness
658 Center St.
Debra Nunes

Jeffrey’s Suit Rack
287 East St.
Jeffrey Clemons Sr.

Lavoie Development Corporation
733 Chapin St.
David Lavoie

NX2 LLC
656 Center St.
Armando Nunes

NORTHAMPTON

DeLong Construction LLC
76 Bancroft Road
Edmund Lennihan

Hampshire Sheriff’s Office
205 Rocky Hill Road
Robert Garvey

Pine Street Publishing
10 Pine St.
Fred Contrada

Red Thunder Audio
20 Highland Ave.
Ezra Teboul

Retro Service
26 Strong Ave.
Jeanne Mulvey

Valley Green Feast
PO Box 632
Maggie Shar

Yankee Mattress Factory Inc.
104 Damon Road
Joseph Noblit

SPRINGFIELD

Metro Chrysler Jeep Dodge
484 Boston Road
Metro Auto Sales

Omega Provision
21 Garvey Dr.
Jose E. Hernandez

Organic Apparel
122 Mooreland St.
Yazmarie Quinones

Paula’s Porch Catering
207 Nottingham St.
Vivian L. Hatwood

Proex Physical Therapy
1150 Hall of Fame Ave.
Michael J. Mulrenan

Torres Painting
37 Castle St.
Juan Torres

Valley Automotive Inc.
160 Taylor St.
John Lizak

Your Way Catering
156 Chalmers St.
Bernard J. Carriere

Youth Urban Multimedia
1809 Roosevelt Ave.
Tammy Sharif

WESTFIELD
Egerton Home Improvements
44 Prospect St.
Ethan Egerton

Spring Hill Properties LLC
246 Russellville Road
Wayne Cowles

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Affordable Home Improvement
533 Elm St.
Pavel Pauasyuk

Cleaning Connection
76 Elmwood Ave.
Nathan Grenon

Great Plains Transportation
92 Great Plains Road
Dennis Koshechko

I Home Installations LLC
33 Angeline St.
Ray Auger

La-Prestiges Salon and Spa
533 Union St.
Yelena Ivanov

MCL Mechanical Services Inc.
26 Kelso Ave.
Marc C. Lichwan

TD Bank
969 Riverdale St.
TD Bank

Westside Check Cashing
205 Elm St.
JMT Check Cashing Inc.

BANKRUPTCIES

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Arcand, Deborah L.
88 Whittier St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Bacigalupo, Richard J.
Bacigalupo, Elsa M.
324 Spring St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Belcher, Valadia C.
18 Vassar St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Bergeron, Beverly A.
1583 Riverdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Berkshire Yard Works
Dolan, Nicholas B.
Dolan, Neesha M.
a/k/a Cole, Neesha M.
2326 Jacobs Ladder Road
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Bernat, Maureen
PO Box 366
Bondsville, MA 01009
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Bickel, Floyd Norman
45 Lake Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Bonafila, Laurie A.
95 Corey Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Brea, Juan O.
P.O. Box 6225
Springfield, MA 01101
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Broughton, Christopher D.
15 Lawndale St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Caliendo, Erika
198 Leland Road
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Canning, Clay K.
Canning, Kimberly J.
203 Pheland Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Carter, Edward Charles
60 Jeanne Marie St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/12

Casamento, Deana M.
183 Parkedge Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Chartier, Kathleen H.
29 Chartier Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Chateauneuf, Jeffrey P.
Chateauneuf, Sheila M.
84 Cherryvale St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Consolati, Christopher M.
25 Putnam Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Corbett, Terras I.
837 Partridgeville Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Davidson, Theodore Z.
Davidson, Susan M.
P.O. Box 45
Goshen, MA 01032
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Dellea, Janet L.
2 Crossway St.
Lee, MA 01238
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Dunbar, Charles Thomas
25 Hartford St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Ewing, JR
P.O. Box 872
Chicopee, MA 01014
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Fellows, William C.
Fellows, Joy A.
22 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Figueroa, Samuel
8 Meadowbrook Lane
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Flanagan, Michael J.
Flanagan, Miranda
13 Dexter St., Apt. 2
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Flap Jack Willie’s Restaurant
Holmberg, William G.
P.O. Box 764
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/12

From Hair On
Rosazza, Elizabeth Ann
P.O. Box 203
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Gardner, Sandra M.
a/k/a Madden, Sandra M.
193 Elberon Ave., Apt. 4G
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Gutierrez, Luis E.
Gutierrez, Maria E.
201 Locust St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Hebert, Donald P.
Hebert, Joan L.
120 Glendale Circle
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Henriques, Marino
525 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Hess, John P.
Hess, Susan E.
91 Deepfield Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Hills, Beverly D.
a/k/a Schwartz, Beverly D.
49B Crown St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Imme, Nicole M.
845 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Jones, Richard A.
224 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Kasperek, Christopher Paul
Kasperek, Karen Marie
306 Barry St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Knas, Matt J.
Knas, Teresa
202 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Kowach, Lou Ellen
10 Paula Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

LaClair, Jeremy Adam
71 Lakeview St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Lafleur, Debra Jean
25 Kendall St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/12

Lake, Kimberly Y.
88 King Arthur Dr.
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Lane, Heather S.
42 Tilda Hill Road
Florida, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Lange, Stephen R.
PO Box 73
South Barre, MA 01074
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Laplante, Carole M.
a/k/a Stone, Carole M.
a/k/a Dauplaise, Carole
54 Stimson St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Lasky, Paul L.
P.O. Box 837
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Lenox, Dianne M.
127 Vadnais St.
Chicopee, MA 01020-3026
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Leon, Maria C.
a/k/a Leon, Maria Del Carmen
6 Lionel Benoit Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Lessard, Eileen M.
168 Groveland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Liverseidge, Mary
2 Sutton Place #10
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Lockett, Dessie R.
30 Marshall St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Lucien, Jean W.
Lucien, Guilene
53 Sherbrooke St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Lussier Plumbing
Lussier, Richard Leon
Lussier, Beverly Jean
1 Marlboro Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Maclachlan, Tracy Dawn
101 Sylvester St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/12

MacNeal, Karen L.
25 Thomas St., Apt. 21
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Majka, Daniel E.
Majka, Danielle M.
93 South Maple St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Marte, Josefina
130 Hastings St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Matney, Donna M.
PO Box 317
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/12

Meade, Kathryn M.
61 Orlando St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Molinari, Lynne
99 Champlain St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Monday, Debra C.
a/k/a DeRose, Debra C.
P.O. Box 418
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Murphy, Michael S.
28 River St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Niemiec, David A.
Niemiec, Karen M.
5 Gloria Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/31/12

O’Connor, Richard Bruce
O’Connor, Margaret Diane
323 Green River Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/12

Osl, Miriam
70 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Pagan, Haydee
57 Farnum Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/12

Pasini, Robert M.
111 Lumae St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Paul, Christine A.
258 Oakham Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/12

Perreault, Brian H.
Perreault, Jennifer A.
22 Stone Road
Royalston, MA 01368
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/12

Quinn, Garald E.
45 Pulaski St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Ramos, Rigoberto
185 Leyford Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Richard, Kelly L.
470 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Rivera, Maria E.
40 James St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Rock, Dawn M.
a/k/a Puduski, Dawn M.
140 Union St., Apt. 15
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Rock, James M.
140 Union St., Apt. 15
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Rodriguez, Edward
28 Oliver’s St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Rodriguez, Maria D.
101 Lowell St., Apt. 3
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Rodriguez, Yavi
101 Beacon Ter.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/12

Rowley, Andrea L.
12 Renny Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Salgado, Edith
415 Hillside Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Sanchez, Roberto
1632 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Sanders, Carrie A.
166/168 West Main St., Apt 7
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Sinico, Shannon
135 Christian Hill Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Songini, Marie E.
80 Dawes St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Soto, Jasmin M.
138 Jasper St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Spooner, Ruth A.
118 Eagleville Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Stearns, Pamela J.
8 Carter St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Stewart, Gregory M.
98 Turnpike Road
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Sullivan, William F.
Sullivan, Mary A.
40 Porter St. Apt. 289
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Uribe, John F.
2 Belden Court, Apt. W-2
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Veremchuk, Peter
44 Sprague St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Vorce, Bernice E.
67 Mechanic St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Walker, Cynthia J.
28 Country Club Heights
Monson, MA 01057-9514
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Walker, Mark A.
1424 Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Wallace, Terrence A.
Wallace, Charlene L.
64 Mooreland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Wetherell, David C.
71 Coes Hill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Winn, Charles J.
Winn, Helen J.
a/k/a Main, Helen L.
86 Colonial Dr.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Wyllie, James C.
12 Wenonah Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Building Permits

By
Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of June 2012.

AGAWAM

Coopers Commons
161 Main St.
$4,000 — Interior renovation in Sheer Techniques Hair Salon

Lin Television Corp.
591 North West St.
$11,000 — Upgrade antenna panels

O-A Inc.
325 Silver St.
$108,000 — Renovation to office area

CHICOPEE

83 Worthen St. Inc.
650 Memorial Dr.
$1,075,000 — Additions at Metro Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

636 Chicopee St., LLC
636 Chicopee St.
$55,000 — Renovations

Basser Kaufman Mass. 310, LLC
672 Memorial Ave.
$12,000 — Install exhaust ductwork for two bakery ovens

Joe Lucas
366 Chicopee St.
$28,000 — New roof at Cavaliers Restaurant

Practice Properties, L.L.
444 Montgomery St.
$160,000 — Expand adult medical department on second floor

EASTHAMPTON

Autumn Properties
179 Northampton St.
$17,000 — Construct interior partitions

Thomas Bacis
90 Cottage St.
$3,000 — Remove overhead door and install new model

HOLYOKE

Holyoke Mall Company, L.P.
50 Holyoke St.
$260,500 — Remodel American Eagle store

Holyoke Mall Company, L.P.
50 Holyoke St.
$154,000 — Remodel Foot Locker store

River Valley Counseling Center
317-319 Beech St.
$17,000 — New roof

Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield
22 Westfield Road
$11,500 — New roof

LUDLOW

Mapletree Square Condo Association
200 Center St.
$82,000 — Reshingle

NORTHAMPTON

City of Northampton
170 Glendale Road
$25,000 — Add three additional antennas

Smith College
4 Nielson St.
$1,532,000 — New HVAC and new roof at Dewey House

Smith Vocational High School
Burts Pitt Road
$25,000 — Install solar array

Thornes Marketplace, LLC
150 Main St.
$25,000 — Renovate tenant space

SOUTH HADLEY

Center for redevelopment
15 College St.
$12,000 — Commercial renovation

Gerry’s Music Shop
80 Lamb St.
$20,000 — Addition

Mount Holyoke College
Morgan St.
$2,370,000 — Commercial renovation at Mandelle Residence Hall

Mount Holyoke College
50 College St.
$55,000 — Install elevator at Buckland Hall

Mount Holyoke College
50 College St.
$339,000 — Interior alterations at Clapp Hall

SPRINGFIELD

A & R Transport
33 Caldwell Dr.
$50,000 — New roof

Alfredo Improta
1021 Main St.
$454,000 — Renovations to existing building

City of Springfield
50 Empress Court
$476,000 — New roof at Mary E. Walsh School

Colvest/Columbus Springfield, LLC
1259 East Columbus Ave.
$125,000 — New tenant office fit-out

Freedom Credit Union
1976 Main St.
$17,500 — Install new drive-up ATM

Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc.
66 Industry Ave.
$254,000 — 3,950-square-foot remodel for office space

Springfield College
45 Island Pond Road
$191,000 — Renovations for classrooms and offices

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Eastern States Expo.
1305 Memorial Dr.
$45,000 — Strip and reroof gift shop

Greater Springfield YMCA
79 Great Plains Road
$7,000 — Repairs to Pavillion

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
413-253-0700
• Aug. 15: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m., at the Amherst Brewing Co, 10 University Dr., Amherst. Join us for the debut of Live United 365 brew. Help the United Way of Hampshire County and network with chamber members at the same time. Admission: $5 for members, $10 for non-members.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
 • July 18: Summer Sizzle, 4:30-7:30 p.m., at the Chicopee Moose Family Center, 244 Fuller Road in Chicopee. This year’s theme is a Mexican Fiesta. More details to come. Sponsored by Freedom Credit Union and United Bank. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members.
 
GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
• July 27: The 28th Annual Golf Tournament (sold out), at Southampton Country Club. Check in is at 8 a.m., with a shotgun start at 9. Would you like to donate a raffle prize and/or to the golfer’s gift bag? Contact the chamber with your raffle prizE or gift donation.

GREATER HOLYOKE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376
• Aug. 15: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m. Hosted and sponsored by Hamel’s Creative Catering at the Summit View Banquet and Meeting House, 555 Northampton St., Holyoke. Admission is $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members.
• Aug. 22: Summer Salute Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at the Yankee Pedlar, 1866 Northampton St., Holyoke. Cost is $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

QUABOAG HILLS
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.qvcc.biz
(413) 283-2418
 • Aug. 25: Community Celebration 2012, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Join Life’s Memories & More and the Collaborative for Community Health for a day of community celebration. Crafters, artisans, and vendors will be on hand with a bounty of great items to view and purchase. Enjoy musical entertainment. Get a henna tattoo or treat yourself to one of the collaborative services like chair acupuncture, chair massage, or Reiki, and try some delicious food. For more information, contact [email protected] or call (413) 283-4448.

THREE RIVERS
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.threeriverschamber.org
(413) 283-6425
• Aug. 6: Monthly meeting of the Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce, 7-8 p.m. at the chamber offices, 2376 Main St., Three Rivers. This meeting is open to the public.
 
WEST OF THE RIVER
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com  
(413) 426-3880
 • July 18: Chairman’s Luncheon. WRC’s chairman and executive committee invite members to join them for lunch to discuss WRC activities, network, and discuss how WRC can bring greater value to its members.
• July 19: Economic Development Committee Meeting. This committee meets to address how WRC can enhance the economic development of Agawam and West Springfield. If you would like to join this committee, e-mail [email protected] for more information.
• Aug. 1: Education Committee Meeting. This committee meets to address how WRC will support and promote educational activities within Agawam and West Springfield. If you would like to join this committee, e-mail [email protected] for more information.
• Aug. 1: Wicked Wednesday, West of the River Chamber of Commerce After Five.
• Aug. 20: 9th Annual Golf Tournament at Springfield Country Club. Proceeds will go toward the WRC Educational Fund, which supports the Business Education Grant Program and student scholarships for Agawam and West Springfield Students. To register or for more information, contact the chamber at (413) 426-3880 or at www.ourwrc.com.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
• July 18: Board of Directors Meeting, 8-9 a.m. in the President’s Boardroom at Westfield State University.
• August 1: Fund Development Committee Meeting, 8-9 a.m. at Air Compressor Engineering, 17 Meadow St., Westfield.
• August 8: Executive Committee Meeting, 8-9 a.m., at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield, 8-9 a.m.
 
YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.springfieldyps.com  
• July 19: July Third Thursday, Great Lake Escape, 5-8 p.m. at Louie B’s Restaurant, 101 Point Road, Southwick. A sampling of Bud Light Lime will be provided by Williams Distributing. This event, as always, is free for for YPS members and $10 for non-members, and will include food and a cash bar.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

NEBA Golf Tournament
Aug. 26: New England Business Associates (NEBA) will host a golf tournament on at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit NEBA’s skills-training, supported-employment, academic-achievement, and self-employment programs for individuals with disabilities. The tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 1 p.m., and an awards and dinner ceremony will follow the finish. Sponsorship opportunities are available, and all golfers will have an opportunity to participate in contests and win prizes. To participate in the tournament and/or become an event sponsor, visit neba.eventbrite.com or contact David Parkinson, tournament director, at (413) 821-9200, ext. 145, or [email protected].

Massachusetts Chamber Business Summit
Sept. 9-11: The Massachusetts Chamber board of directors will conduct its annual Business Summit and Awards Ceremony at the Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis. The two-day meeting allows participants to meet with business professionals from across the state, as well as listen to state and local elected officials who will discuss the future of business in Massachusetts. Additionally, representatives from the Mass. Office of Economic Development will discuss loans, grants, and tax incentives available to business owners. Industry experts will also be on hand to discuss topics such as leveraging social media, search-engine optimization, and health care cost containment. The winners of the Business of the Year Award and the Employer of Choice Award will also be announced during the summit. For more information, call (617) 512-9667 or visit www.masscbi.com.

World Affairs Council Annual Meeting
Oct. 10: Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash will speak at the World Affairs Council of Western Mass. Annual Meeting & Dinner in the Mahogany Room of the Springfield Sheraton Hotel in downtown Springfield. More details will be forthcoming. Lash is an internationally recognized expert on practical solutions to global sustainability and development challenges. Before he became president of Hampshire College in 2011, he served as president of World Resources Institute (WRI), an environmental think tank with offices in eight countries and partners in more than 50 countries. WRI is an international leader on issues ranging from low-carbon development to sustainable transportation. From 1993 to 1999, Lash was co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, a group of government, business, labor, civil-rights, and environmental leaders appointed by Bill Clinton that developed visionary recommendations for strategies to promote sustainable development. He played a key role in the creation and success of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, which in 2007 issued the highly influential “Call to Action” on global warming. Prior to WRI, Lash held posts as director of Vermont Law School’s Environmental Law Center, Vermont secretary of Natural Resources, and Vermont commissioner of Environmental Conservation, as well as as a federal prosecutor. For more information on the event, call (413) 733-0110.

Western Mass. Business Expo
Oct. 11: BusinessWest will again present the Western Mass. Business Expo. The event, which made its debut last fall at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, will feature more than 180 exhibitors, seminars, special presentations, breakfast and lunch programs, and the year’s most extensive networking opportunity. Comcast Business Class will again be the presenting sponsor of the event. Details, including breakfast and lunch agendas, seminar topics, and featured speakers, will be printed in the pages of BusinessWest over the coming months. For more information or to purchase a booth, call (413) 781-8600, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.wmbexpo.com.

40 Under Forty Reunion
Nov. 8: BusinessWest will stage a reunion featuring the first six classes of its 40 Under Forty program. Details on the event will be forthcoming. What is known is that it will be staged at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke, and will be open only to 40 Under Forty winners, sponsors, and their guests, as well as judges of the first six contests. For more information on the event, call (413) 781-8600, or e-mail [email protected].

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook Departments

Bell & Hudson Acquires Walsh/CDI Agency
BELCHERTOWN — Bell & Hudson Insurance Agency recently announced its acquisition of the Walsh/CDI Insurance Agency Inc. at 15 Central St. in West Brookfield. The West Brookfield office will continue to operate as Walsh Insurance Agency until Oct. 1, when it will take on the Bell & Hudson name. The office will continue at the same location and with the same staff, including Kathy Savary, long-time office manager for Walsh/CDI Insurance Agency. “We are pleased with this merger, as it enables us to continue offering the same level of local service our customers are familiar with, and also allows us to offer more insurance carriers,” said former owner Patricia Walsh. “Bell & Hudson is a respected independent insurance agency, and we are proud and pleased to be part of the team.” Led by President James Phaneuf and Vice President Matthew Phaneuf, Bell & Hudson now has 16 employees, including 12 licensed agents. The agency is one of only 28 independent insurance agencies in Massachusetts holding the coveted Five Star Award of Distinction presented by the Mass. Assoc. of Insurance Agents. In 2007 Bell & Hudson was named Business of the Year by the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce, and in 2011 the Insurance Journal named Bell & Hudson the Best Independent Insurance Agency in the East to Work For. Bell & Hudson Insurance Agency offers property, casualty, life, group health, and accident insurance for businesses and families.

Holyoke Medical Center Ranks No. 1 in State for Stroke Care
HOLYOKE — The Stroke Collaborative Reaching for Excellence (SCORE), a voluntary, statewide quality-improvement collaborative administered by the Mass. Department of Public Health (DPH) that supports primary-stroke-service hospitals, recently ranked Holyoke Medical Center first out of 58 hospitals in Massachusetts, including large teaching facilities, for stroke care. Defect-free care is achieved when a patient receives the appropriate care based on clinical guidelines. “Holyoke Medical Center is proud that our hard work and passion for providing great care was recognized by this prestigious award from the DPH’s SCORE program,” said HMC Stroke Program Clinical Manager Angela Smith. “We strive to provide exceptional care to all of our patients. This award represents that every stroke patient that comes through our doors receives the highest quality of care.” The rating evaluated adherence to 10 stroke consensus measures and required that each stroke patient receive all 10 measures. Holyoke Medical Center had the highest score in the state. This was one of several awards the medical center received at the annual award ceremony of the American Heart/Stroke Assoc. and SCORE. The medical center also received awards for being the highest performer on the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale and the American Stroke Assoc. ‘Get With The Guidelines’ Gold, Gold Plus, and Target Stroke Honor Roll awards for consistently exceeding quality-care benchmarks for stroke and administering the clot-busting drug t-PA within 60 minutes of hospital arrival.

Elms College Social Work Program Reaccredited
CHICOPEE — The Social Work program at Elms College recently received Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) reaffirmation of accreditation through 2020. The accreditation is effective for all bachelor’s degree programs, including the traditional undergraduate degree, weekend college degree, and Social Work degree-completion program available through a partnership between Elms College and Springfield Technical Community College. Under the direction of Program Director Dr. Mary Brainerd, the Social Work department began a self-study in July 2011 that included three volumes addressing the 10 competencies as required by the CWSE’s Commission on Accreditation (COA). In February 2012, a COA representative made a site visit to the college and met with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the advisory board. In June 2012, the COA voted to reaffirm Elms College’s accreditation for eight years. “The accreditation is a lengthy, involved process, but it is very important for our program,” Brainerd said. “Without it, our students would not be able to sit for their Social Work licensing exam after graduation and would not be able to enroll in master of Social Work programs in advanced standing, which allows them to complete a graduate degree in one year.” Elms College began offering Social Work as a concentration in the Sociology Department in 1960. The program was first accredited by CWSE in 1982. It was the first accredited undergraduate social-work program in Western Mass. Today, the program offers a four-year undergraduate curriculum that educates students to become competent and effective entry-level generalist social-work practitioners. There are currently around 90 Social Work majors, including students who complete a bachelor’s degree on the STCC campus. The Social Work program has successfully gone through the reaccreditation process five times since 1982.

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies Departments

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Arcand, Deborah L.
88 Whittier St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Bacigalupo, Richard J.
Bacigalupo, Elsa M.
324 Spring St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Belcher, Valadia C.
18 Vassar St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Bergeron, Beverly A.
1583 Riverdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Berkshire Yard Works
Dolan, Nicholas B.
Dolan, Neesha M.
a/k/a Cole, Neesha M.
2326 Jacobs Ladder Road
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Bernat, Maureen
PO Box 366
Bondsville, MA 01009
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Bickel, Floyd Norman
45 Lake Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Bonafila, Laurie A.
95 Corey Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Brea, Juan O.
P.O. Box 6225
Springfield, MA 01101
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Broughton, Christopher D.
15 Lawndale St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Caliendo, Erika
198 Leland Road
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Canning, Clay K.
Canning, Kimberly J.
203 Pheland Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Carter, Edward Charles
60 Jeanne Marie St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/12

Casamento, Deana M.
183 Parkedge Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Chartier, Kathleen H.
29 Chartier Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Chateauneuf, Jeffrey P.
Chateauneuf, Sheila M.
84 Cherryvale St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Consolati, Christopher M.
25 Putnam Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Corbett, Terras I.
837 Partridgeville Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Davidson, Theodore Z.
Davidson, Susan M.
P.O. Box 45
Goshen, MA 01032
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Dellea, Janet L.
2 Crossway St.
Lee, MA 01238
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Dunbar, Charles Thomas
25 Hartford St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Ewing, JR
P.O. Box 872
Chicopee, MA 01014
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Fellows, William C.
Fellows, Joy A.
22 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Figueroa, Samuel
8 Meadowbrook Lane
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Flanagan, Michael J.
Flanagan, Miranda
13 Dexter St., Apt. 2
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Flap Jack Willie’s Restaurant
Holmberg, William G.
P.O. Box 764
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/12

From Hair On
Rosazza, Elizabeth Ann
P.O. Box 203
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Gardner, Sandra M.
a/k/a Madden, Sandra M.
193 Elberon Ave., Apt. 4G
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Gutierrez, Luis E.
Gutierrez, Maria E.
201 Locust St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Hebert, Donald P.
Hebert, Joan L.
120 Glendale Circle
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Henriques, Marino
525 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Hess, John P.
Hess, Susan E.
91 Deepfield Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Hills, Beverly D.
a/k/a Schwartz, Beverly D.
49B Crown St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Imme, Nicole M.
845 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Jones, Richard A.
224 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Kasperek, Christopher Paul
Kasperek, Karen Marie
306 Barry St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Knas, Matt J.
Knas, Teresa
202 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Kowach, Lou Ellen
10 Paula Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

LaClair, Jeremy Adam
71 Lakeview St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Lafleur, Debra Jean
25 Kendall St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/12

Lake, Kimberly Y.
88 King Arthur Dr.
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Lane, Heather S.
42 Tilda Hill Road
Florida, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/12

Lange, Stephen R.
PO Box 73
South Barre, MA 01074
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Laplante, Carole M.
a/k/a Stone, Carole M.
a/k/a Dauplaise, Carole
54 Stimson St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Lasky, Paul L.
P.O. Box 837
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Lenox, Dianne M.
127 Vadnais St.
Chicopee, MA 01020-3026
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Leon, Maria C.
a/k/a Leon, Maria Del Carmen
6 Lionel Benoit Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Lessard, Eileen M.
168 Groveland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Liverseidge, Mary
2 Sutton Place #10
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Lockett, Dessie R.
30 Marshall St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Lucien, Jean W.
Lucien, Guilene
53 Sherbrooke St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Lussier Plumbing
Lussier, Richard Leon
Lussier, Beverly Jean
1 Marlboro Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Maclachlan, Tracy Dawn
101 Sylvester St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/12

MacNeal, Karen L.
25 Thomas St., Apt. 21
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Majka, Daniel E.
Majka, Danielle M.
93 South Maple St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Marte, Josefina
130 Hastings St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Matney, Donna M.
PO Box 317
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/12

Meade, Kathryn M.
61 Orlando St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Molinari, Lynne
99 Champlain St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Monday, Debra C.
a/k/a DeRose, Debra C.
P.O. Box 418
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Murphy, Michael S.
28 River St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Niemiec, David A.
Niemiec, Karen M.
5 Gloria Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/31/12

O’Connor, Richard Bruce
O’Connor, Margaret Diane
323 Green River Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/12

Osl, Miriam
70 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Pagan, Haydee
57 Farnum Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/12

Pasini, Robert M.
111 Lumae St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Paul, Christine A.
258 Oakham Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/12

Perreault, Brian H.
Perreault, Jennifer A.
22 Stone Road
Royalston, MA 01368
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/12

Quinn, Garald E.
45 Pulaski St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Ramos, Rigoberto
185 Leyford Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Richard, Kelly L.
470 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Rivera, Maria E.
40 James St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Rock, Dawn M.
a/k/a Puduski, Dawn M.
140 Union St., Apt. 15
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Rock, James M.
140 Union St., Apt. 15
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Rodriguez, Edward
28 Oliver’s St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Rodriguez, Maria D.
101 Lowell St., Apt. 3
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Rodriguez, Yavi
101 Beacon Ter.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/12

Rowley, Andrea L.
12 Renny Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Salgado, Edith
415 Hillside Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Sanchez, Roberto
1632 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Sanders, Carrie A.
166/168 West Main St., Apt 7
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Sinico, Shannon
135 Christian Hill Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Songini, Marie E.
80 Dawes St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Soto, Jasmin M.
138 Jasper St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Spooner, Ruth A.
118 Eagleville Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Stearns, Pamela J.
8 Carter St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/12

Stewart, Gregory M.
98 Turnpike Road
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/04/12

Sullivan, William F.
Sullivan, Mary A.
40 Porter St. Apt. 289
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/12

Uribe, John F.
2 Belden Court, Apt. W-2
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

Veremchuk, Peter
44 Sprague St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/01/12

Vorce, Bernice E.
67 Mechanic St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Walker, Cynthia J.
28 Country Club Heights
Monson, MA 01057-9514
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/12

Walker, Mark A.
1424 Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/12

Wallace, Terrence A.
Wallace, Charlene L.
64 Mooreland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/12

Wetherell, David C.
71 Coes Hill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Winn, Charles J.
Winn, Helen J.
a/k/a Main, Helen L.
86 Colonial Dr.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Wyllie, James C.
12 Wenonah Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/12

People On the Move

By
Kevin Hart
Departments People on the Move

Mark R. Tolosky

Mark R. Tolosky

Mark R. Tolosky, president and CEO of Baystate Health, was recently awarded the prestigious 2012 William L. Lane Hospital Advocate Award from the Mass. Hospital Assoc. (MHA) in recognition of his “exceptional leadership.” During his 20-year tenure at one of the largest health systems in New England, Tolosky has helped transform Baystate Health into one of the Top 15 health care systems in the country, as recognized by Thomson Reuters. Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the MHA, noted that Tolosky “has driven the transformation of the North End of Springfield into a vibrant ‘medical mile,’ constructing new facilities, creating jobs, improving the local community, and contributing to the economic development of the city.” Nicholas added, “under Tolosky’s leadership, Baystate Health and Health New England are also nationally recognized for top levels of quality and safety, most notably through advances made in clinical care, the adoption of health-information technology, and the development of team-based and patient-centered medical homes.” Each year at the association’s annual meeting, the MHA publicly acknowledges one senior hospital executive who exemplifies exceptional leadership and the characteristics to which all hospital and health system leaders should aspire. Tolosky was nominated by Richard B. Steele Jr., chairman of the Baystate Health Board of Trustees, and his senior leadership team at Baystate Health. “Mark sets a stellar example as a CEO who tirelessly advocates for improvement, inclusion, responsibility, preparation, taking the high road, and the importance of collaborative, positive relationships,” noted one letter in support of Tolosky’s nomination. According to Nicholas, it was the first time in the nine-year history of presenting the award that the MHA executive committee was unanimous in its selection.
•••••

Eugene J. Cassidy

Eugene J. Cassidy became the seventh CEO of the Eastern States Exposition (ESE) in its 95-year history on June 27. He joined ESE as Director of Finance in 1993, and was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in March 2011. He succeeded Wayne McCary, who retired June 26 after 21 years at the helm of the West Springfield institution. “The Big E is a balance of agriculture, industry, and entertainment all designed to move the core mission of the exposition forward while retaining the roots on which it was built,” said Cassidy. He is accredited as a certified fair executive by the International Assoc. of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) and is actively involved as a member of the budget and finance and program committees. He is a frequent presenter at IAFE meetings on the local, regional, and national levels and served as program chair of the organization’s International Convention in Las Vegas in 2010. Cassidy began his career at KPMG Peat Marwick in Springfield. He then served as treasurer of Chicopee Cooperative Bank and Colonial Mortgage Co. and was assistant vice president of Park West Bank and Trust Co., all wholly owned subsidiaries of Westbank Corp.
•••••
Andrea Robitaille, P.E., recently joined Tighe & Bond Inc. as a Project Engineer. She brings to that position eight years of professional experience with the firm’s expanding structural-engineering team. Robitaille has provided bridge design and inspection, construction design, and transportation-planning services for numerous clients and projects throughout New England.
•••••
David Kalman, M.D. was recently promoted to President of Springfield Medical Associates, a multi-specialty group gractice with locations in Springfield and Enfield. Kalman has been a practicing gastroenterologist since 1927.
•••••
Amy Royal

Amy Royal

Amy Royal, founding partner of Royal LLP, the Northampton-based woman-owned boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm, has been invited to speak at the ExecuSummit 7th Annual National Employment Practices Liability Insurance Conference at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. in October. She will present on minimizing emotional-distress damages in employment-litigation claims.
•••••
Danielle Nicklas

Danielle Nicklas

Danielle Nicklas, an attorney with the Springfield-based firm Cooley, Shrair P.C., has been appointed to serve on the Mass. Bar Assoc. (MBA) Health Law Section Council. Each council is charged with formulating and recommending policy and legislative positions, developing CLE program content for the MBA, and producing articles for Section Review and/or Lawyers Journal. Nicklas focuses her practice on the area of health law with a concentration in health care compliance, risk management, Start, and anti-kickback regulations.
•••••
Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart

Holyoke-based Mohawk Communications announced that Kevin Hart has joined the staff as Director of Operations. Hart has more than 15 years experience in the telecommunications field, from high-end PBX systems, to fiber installation, to managing communication networks for mid- to large-sized businesses. He will be managing the customer service department along with the outside technicians and various other projects.

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

Paid Sick Leave Sent to Study by Lawmakers
BOSTON — Backers of a bill that would require certain employers to offer workers earned paid sick leave acknowledged in recent months that it would be an uphill battle to get the legislation passed this session. They were proven right when the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing sent the bill to a study, according to the House clerk’s office, effectively killing its chances of becoming law this session, with the Legislature planning to recess at the end of July. The paid sick-leave bill was drafted by state Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera and released favorably this year from the Labor and Workforce Development Committee co-chaired by the Springfield Democrat. Paid sick-leave benefits for workers have become a perennial issue on Beacon Hill, backed by a broad coalition of organizations and lawmakers who argue that legislation would improve productivity, reduce turnover in the workplace, and drive down health care costs by allowing people to seek primary care during the day rather than visiting emergency rooms after hours. Many business groups, however, including the Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, warn that forcing employers to provide certain benefits could discourage hiring at a precarious time for the economy. Coakley-Rivera’s bill would have allowed workers at companies with more than 10 employees to earn up to seven paid sick days a year, while employers with between six and 10 employees would have been required to allow employees to accrue up to five paid sick days. Business, however, strongly resisted mandating sick leave, warning the bill could cost the economy as many as 12,000 jobs and claiming that such policies are best established by employers.

Construction Employment Stagnates in June
ARLINGTON, Va. — Construction employment stalled in June as more former construction workers left the industry, according to an analysis of new federal data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The lack of current job openings, along with the departure of experienced workers, suggests a potential skilled-labor shortage may be developing, construction association officials warned. “Employment in the construction industry has fluctuated within a very narrow range — 1% above or below the June level of 5.5 million — for more than two years now,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. While the latest figure was 14,000 higher than one year earlier, the June 2012 total was just 2,000 higher than in May and in June 2010. “Construction employment has essentially been stagnant for much of the past two years.” Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for former construction workers fell to 12.8%, the lowest June rate since 2008 and much better than the 15.6% rate in June 2011 or the 20.1% rate in June 2010, Simonson noted. He added that, over the past two years, nearly 750,000 experienced workers have either found jobs in other industries, returned to school, retired, or otherwise left the workforce. “It will be hard for construction firms to get those skilled workers back when demand picks back up.” There was little difference among construction segments in terms of recent job gains or losses, Simonson noted. Residential construction added 1,700 total jobs in June and 8,900 (0.4%) over 12 months. Non-residential construction firms lost 600 jobs in June but added 4,300 (0.1%) over 12 months. Within the residential segment, residential specialty trade contractors added 7,600 jobs for the month and 14,100 (1.0%) over the past year, reflecting ongoing strength in multi-family construction. In contrast, residential builders — mostly single-family homebuilders — lost 5,900 positions in June and 5,200 (–0.9%) over 12 months. Non-residential job gains for the year were concentrated among non-residential building contractors, which lost 1,000 jobs in the latest month but added 4,300 (0.7%) over 12 months. Heavy and civil-engineering construction firms shed 2,000 jobs in June and 1,800 (–0.2%) in the past year. Non-residential specialty trade contractors boosted employment by 2,400 since May but only 1,800 (0.1%) since June 2012. Association officials noted that one bright spot for the industry was the 27-month highway and transit bill the president recently signed into law. They said the legislation includes many significant reforms that will allow more existing transportation funds to be invested in highway and transit construction projects, as opposed to unrelated programs. “This measure will certainly help staunch the decline in construction employment among highway and transportation builders,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Congress understands that investing in infrastructure is one of the best ways to support growth within the private sector.”

Summit Focuses on Academic Advising
SPRINGFIELD — More than 70 community-college faculty and advisors met at the Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) campus to participate in an academic advising summit on June 22 to focus on advising as a collaborative approach. The summit workshops explored national best practices in academic advising, apprised academic advisors of National Academic Advising Assoc. (NACADA) services and resources that support more effective academic advising, and detailed how to improve both individual academic-advising skills and overall campus academic programs. Sessions included topics about career exploration and advising tools, introduced advisors to the Advising Is Teaching program, and discussed important updates to advising software. Keynote speaker Susan Kolls, associate director of Student Account Services at Northeastern University and a member of the NACADA board of directors, said students today are faced with a variety of challenges. They work hard both in and outside the classroom balancing school, work, and families; they struggle with financial issues; and many are in the military, often finishing their schoolwork while in the combat zone. “We’re looking at the whole student,” said Kolls. “None of our students are only students, and if we don’t look at the things that impact them, if we only look at the academic side, we can’t help them with the things outside of school.” Knowing a student’s background, Kolls said, can help advisors understand how a student is better, or less, able to cope with their situation. Through her interactive session, Kolls questioned how to get faculty, staff, and advisors to think about all of the contributing factors that impact a student’s success. According to Kamari Collins, STCC’s director of Academic Advising, the summit allowed advisors from the region to get together and start a conversation. “It was a good way to have everyone focus and strengthen our campus as a whole, and it was a great opportunity for us to share our best practices with our colleagues at the other community colleges.” The summit, made possible through the Board of Higher Education’s Vision Project Performance Incentive Grant, was available to the four community colleges in the Western Mass. Vision Project Exchange: Berkshire Community College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, and STCC. This was the first time STCC has hosted the summit.

Hiring Lukewarm in June
NEW YORK — Hiring was lukewarm last month, with employers adding jobs but not enough to bring the unemployment rate down. The economy added 80,000 jobs in June, the U.S. Labor Department reported, barely an improvement from the 77,000 jobs added in May. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained at 8.2%. Economists surveyed by CNN Money had expected to see employers add 95,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged. The labor market has been volatile this year, with job growth starting off strong in the first couple months of 2012. Then a disappointing slowdown in the spring led many to wonder whether the recovery was taking a turn for the worse. June’s weak growth added to those fears. The economy needs at least 125,000 jobs added each month just to keep up with population growth. Revisions from previous months also showed the economy gained 1,000 fewer jobs in April and May than originally thought. Overall, the job market has a long way to go to climb out of the deep hole left by the financial crisis. Of the 8.8 million jobs lost, only about 3.8 million have been added back. Roughly 12.7 million Americans remain unemployed, and 41.9% of them have been so for six months or more. Another 88 million out-of-work people were not even counted as unemployed because they didn’t look for a job in the last four weeks.

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

UMass President Awards $750,000 for Innovative Faculty Research
BOSTON — UMass President Robert Caret recently announced nearly $750,000 in grants to faculty members from the President’s Science and Technology Initiatives Fund to support six promising research projects, which range from creating standards for testing robotic systems to detecting financial fraud in large-scale securities data to developing new skin-cancer imaging technologies. The initiatives showcase a range of innovative research being undertaken by UMass faculty members that contribute to the growth of the Commonwealth’s economy, especially in the science and technology sectors, and extend the boundaries of human knowledge. The grants provide seed funding to accelerate research activity across all five campuses and position researchers to attract larger investments from external sources to expand the scope of their projects. “The Science & Technology fund advances the work of producing the discoveries and technological breakthroughs that will improve lives, create jobs, and preserve our planet,” said Caret. “It supports the ideas and inventiveness of our faculty and fosters a culture of collaboration across all five campuses that attracts investments and underscores our role as an innovation engine for the Commonwealth.” This marks the ninth year the President’s Science and Technology Initiatives Fund awards have been handed out. It’s one of three funds that President Caret taps to help advance the work of UMass faculty members: the other two are the Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property Technology Development Fund and the Creative Economy Initiatives Fund. Since 2004, the Science & Technology Fund has provided $7.5 million to UMass researchers, which, in turn, has generated $207 million in funding from outside sources for vital research efforts and led to the creation of nearly 20 research centers on the five campuses. UMass’s annual research expenditures climbed to $587 million in fiscal year 2011; that same year the university generated income of $36.5 million from faculty discovery and innovation. To date, the President’s Science & Technology Fund has financed more than 60 projects representing the breadth of academic inquiry at UMass. Locally, a grant project at UMass Amherst called ‘Big Data Informatics Initiative (BDI2)’ focuses on areas such as detecting financial fraud in large-scale securities data, correlating video/audio surveillance data to spot trends or anomalies in real time, and smart-meter data processing by energy utilities. Collaborators include the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, Holyoke Gas & Electric, MIT, and commercial partners such as EMC, Nokia, GE Global Research, and Yahoo Research. The total awarded was $136,250.

MCDI Transitions to Family Self-sufficiency Focus
SPRINGFIELD — The Massachusetts Career Development Institute Inc. recently announced a transition in its core services that will increasingly revolve the agency around family self-sufficiency initiatives and de-emphasize some workplace-training programs, many of which are now being undertaken at the community-college and vocational-secondary-school level. The move will have the immediate impact of downsizing the organization by 15% of its current workforce. The agency will also plan to relocate to a smaller, more efficient training and educational facility within Springfield as it transitions to a more appropriate operating model, according to Timothy Sneed, executive director of MCDI. The new emphasis at MCDI will be on career counseling and training tracks that are in high demand, eliminating those that are being shifted to other training sources. However, MCDI will continue its vocational training programs that address the growing employer demand in health care through its Certified Nurse Aide/Home Health Aide and Medical Office Professional training programs. Sneed said he anticipates an opportunity for MCDI to grow into other health-related training programs based on employers’ needs. Sneed indicated that, in an effort to focus on program strengths, MCDI is evolving into an agency that supports “family self-sufficiency” and will provide a host of direct and indirect resources in support of the family. “There has been a shift in the funding landscape with respect to vocational training, and most federal and state dollars are targeted at funding community colleges and technical-high-school programs,” said Sneed. “So, in many areas MCDI has been duplicating services with more training funding going to the community colleges and vocational programs at the secondary-school level. We will continue to provide multiple levels of adult basic education and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) together with career and academic advising. Our support-services strategy will include job-readiness and life-skills training, which is so critical in today’s job market. We will temporarily discontinue our trade programs in culinary arts, precision-manufacturing technology, and sheet-metal welding and fabrication.” He continued, “while this reorganization is difficult, we see this as an opportunity to strengthen our core training programs with a vision of future expansion opportunities. The impact upon a portion of our workforce is truly unfortunate. At the same time, our management and board of directors see this as a positive step in the long-term viability of MCDI and, most importantly, those we serve in our community.”

GSCVB Unveils 2012-13 Pioneer Valley Visitor Guide
SPRINGFIELD — The Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) has unveiled the new 2012-2013 Guide to Masachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, which is now available by ordering online at www.valleyvisitor.com. The guide is free of charge and is a collaboration between the GSCVB and the Franklin and Hampshire County Regional Tourist Councils. The guide, a 112-page publication, contains information about some of the region’s top attractions, accommodations, and restaurants. The book offers new features, including a listing of farmers’ markets and expanded listings of attractions, accommodations, restaurants, shopping, transportation, recreational sites, colleges, and prep schools.

Opinion

By
Opinion
Fueling the Next Wave of Biotech Growth

The staggering impact of the nationwide economic malaise has caused every state to examine what it can do to attract the industries that will drive sustainable growth over the long term. We were reminded once again of why the life-sciences industry in Massachusetts is the envy of states across the country — and why we can’t become complacent about it — when 15,000 biotech professionals from 65 countries descended on Boston for the BIO Convention last week.
The local economy has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past two decades, as industries that once dominated the local landscape have been reduced to a shell of what they once were, and newer, technology-driven industries have grown to fill the void. The life-sciences industry has experienced unprecedented growth during that time, buoyed by a unique combination of local assets, including world-class universities and hospitals; substantial federal funding for research; a strong, local venture-capital community that understands the vagaries of our industry; and, more recently, the active involvement and support of the Commonwealth.
Employment at Massachusetts biotechnology companies has grown more than 50 percent over the past decade, to nearly 50,000, and even managed to grow during the depths of recession from 2007 to 2010. The average salary of a biotech worker is more than $95,000, substantially higher than the estimated state average salary of approximately $54,000. And with construction cranes looming not just over Cambridge and the Boston waterfront, but also reaching well out into the suburbs, Central Mass., and the South Coast, it is clear that investment and optimism in the future of the industry in Massachusetts remain strong.
But it was evident at the convention how dangerous it would be to become complacent. Other states and countries were there competing to lure away our state’s biotech companies and talent. They have many tactics at their disposal, including strong financial incentives, tax breaks, lower labor costs, and, in some cases, a fairly convincing argument about quality-of-life benefits outside of our state.
I experienced this first-hand as CEO of Organogenesis Inc., a biotechnology company based in Canton that has successfully developed two regenerative medicine products that use human cells to stimulate the body’s natural ability to repair and regenerate itself.
When we began planning five years ago to expand our operations, our top choice was Massachusetts. But when other states offered us incentive packages that topped what was initially offered here, we couldn’t help but listen. When we were offered a package of incentives that would potentially make us more competitive and more sustainable, we were set to leave the state and expand elsewhere.
A lot has changed since that time, for Organogenesis and for Massachusetts. We are now in the midst of a major, multi-year expansion that will more than triple the size of our presence in Canton, to more than 300,000 square feet. Our global headquarters, R&D, and manufacturing facilities will remain in Massachusetts. The decision to remain and grow here was driven primarily by incentives provided by the state under its 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative, signed into law in 2008. Massachusetts has provided us with grants, low-interest loans, and a competitive tax rate, and we in turn have invested five times that amount to build our new facilities. We are delivering on the pledge to create hundreds of new jobs in the years ahead.
The state’s investment in the future of Organogenesis made a critical difference at a crucial time in our history. Dozens of Massachusetts companies are wrestling with the same questions about long-term growth and sustainability. The competitive race for growing industries like ours will only get tougher.
With all that has been done to make Massachusetts a more attractive magnet for biotechnology, we will constantly be challenged to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Geoff MacKay is president and CEO of Organogenesis Inc., and chairman of the MassBio board of directors.

Optimistic View Point

By
Bill Tragakis
Golf Preview Sections
15 Years in the Making, Cold Spring C.C. Opens for Business

Fan Du

Fan Du says its was views from the top of the hill, like this one, that helped inspire her father to make the long-stalled Cold Spring Country Club a reality.

After a number of false starts and mis-steps, the long-awaited Cold Spring Country Club in Belchertown opened its fairways this spring. There has been the expected curiosity factor among regional players, getting the operation off to a solid start, but management understands that the key to success isn’t getting the attention of the golfing community — it’s holding it.

Fan Du says there was a great deal of buzz, or anticipation, that accompanied the recent opening of Cold Spring Country Club in Belchertown — and with good reason.
After all, this track, located just over the Ludlow line in a former apple orchard, has been more than 15 years in the making. Over that time, there have been several ownership groups involved, a well-chronicled foreclosure, and enough fits and starts to prompt the residents of that area to wonder if the vision would ever become reality.
“People have been waiting a long time for this course to open — there has been a lot of curiosity,” said Du, whose father, Sheng Du, a successful businessman in China and avid golfer, is the man responsible for resurrecting the project. He was able to look past the problems, she said, and focus on both the incredible views from the hilltop where the clubhouse was eventually constructed — and also the vast potential of the property to become home to a golf course and much more.
The challenge moving forward, said Bill Tragakis, head golf professional and club manager, is to maintain and build upon that buzz, and channel it into what will become a multi-faceted business venture, launched during a difficult time for the golf business in general and the economy as a whole.
But the requisite pieces are in place or on the drawing board, said Tragakis, adding that the highly anticipated golf course is merely the first one to fall into place. Others include the club’s 19th hole, a restaurant now open to the public that was launched with expectations that it could become a popular destination for residents of Belchertown and surrounding communities, as well as a large banquet facility to be located further up the hill and a housing component that has no timetable as of yet but will likely be commenced when that sector improves.

Bill Tragakis

Bill Tragakis says Cold Spring is off to a solid start with both memberships and public play, and it will need continued support for those constituencies to be successful.

The success of each of these specific ventures, as well as the larger development, will depend on management’s ability to capture and keep the public’s attention, said Tragakis, adding that the golf course itself is off to a solid start with membership (more on that later), as well as public play, despite a rainy spring, and the restaurant is drawing positive reviews from those who have discovered it.
In both cases, the goal is to bring people back repeatedly, he explained, noting that every course in the region is confronting the same basic challenge, and must respond accordingly.
“The keys are impeccable conditions for the golf course and superb customer service, and that’s where our focus has been,” he said. “This club has a resort appearance, and that’s by design.”
For this issue and its focus on the region’s golf industry, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the Cold Spring development, and why its managers look to the future with optimism and confidence born from a combination of persistence and imagination.

Designs on Success
Du, who has assumed a leadership role at the club with her husband, Willie Guo, told BusinessWest that one of the many assignments that had to be carried out over the past several months was selecting a logo for the venture, a branding mechanism now affixed to everything from ball markers to shirts; from golf-bag towels to a wide variety of head gear.
“There’s a lot that goes into this, and it took a while to create this look,” she said with a laugh, while displaying the eventual winner — the words Cold Spring juxtaposed against a leaf. The image contains several colors, including red, orange, gold, and a few shades of green, and it was chosen, said Du, to spotlight what is perhaps the club’s best selling point — the scenery, especially at fall foliage season.
It was the views at that time of year that captivated her father, said Du, adding quickly that the scenes from the top of the hill, which he discovered while looking for business opportunities in Massachusetts, were certainly not enough to prompt the requisite sizable investment in the project. Indeed, the initiative had to make good fiscal sense, she went on, something that outwardly appeared unlikely given the challenged state of the local golf industry and the prevailing opinion that this region was already saturated, if not oversaturated, with places to play.
But market analysis, not to mention instinct, indicated that there was room in the market for a higher-end, semi-private course that offered something distinctive, said Tragakis, formerly the pro at Hampden Country Club, adding that he believes that Cold Spring delivers those qualities.
The elder Du acquired the property in 2009, said his daughter, adding that preliminary construction on the course resumed soon thereafter, with grass put down early in 2010. Construction of the ornate clubhouse and a maintenance building commenced in 2011, and the course was open for business on May 1 for members and June 1 for the general public.
What the golfers have found is a test that is both stern and somewhat unique, said Tragakis, who points to the scorecard for some evidence. It has yardages for five tees, including championship markers that stretch the track to 6,521 yards. “And that’s the longest 6,521 yards you’ll ever play, because the actual yardage is somewhat hidden,” he said, noting that there are some uphill stretches, particularly the rugged par 4 18th, to go with some downhill holes, and a rare route to a par of 71.
Indeed, there are six par 3s (three on each side), and five par 5s, he said, noting that a typical par 71 would have four of the former and three of the latter.
The course architects, Armstrong Associates, located in New Mexico, essentially took what the land offered, and designed an intriguing test for players of all abilities, said Tragakis, adding that this is one of the many ingredients necessary to attract a large and diverse audience.
Overall, he describes Cold Spring as a mix of Crumpin Fox (in Bernardston) and the Ranch (Southwick), meaning the former’s tight, tree-lined fairways — which dominate the front side — and the latter’s open, sweeping fairways, prevalent on the back nine.
Thus far, the course has been successful in attracting both members and public play, said Tragakis, and it must continue to do both if it is to be profitable. “My goal is to make this golf course a fun, enjoyable experience for everyone,” he explained, “but especially for the members. We need them to come back, and we need to keep growing those numbers; that’s our rainy day money.”
The membership count now exceeds 200, and continues to climb each week, something unusual at this time of year, months after most area players have settled on a club to join for the year, he said, adding that many former members of nearby Hampden Country Club (now under new ownership) have joined Cold Spring. An attractive senior membership rate ($750) has attracted more than 70 people from that demographic group.
Meanwhile, there has been a steady stream of public play, with visitors from across Western Mass. and even Northern Conn., which Tragakis attributes to that aforementioned buzz factor, as well as some aggressive, targeted marketing.
The club has focused mostly on radio, including the expensive option of taking slots during Red Sox games and related programming, he noted, adding that the pitch line used at the end of each spot — “it’s the reason you play golf” — sums up how the club intends to differentiate itself.
The specific marketing message has varied through the first several months, he went on, adding that in the late winter and early spring, before the season started, the club was focused on memberships. Later, the emphasis was on the fact that the club had opened for play, and most recently, the accent has been on stressing that, despite its appearance (including the elaborate stone entranceway now under construction), Cold Spring is in fact open to the public, as is its restaurant.

Aggressive Course
And that’s important, because attracting golfers is just part of the success quotient, said Du, adding that there will eventually be several components to this venture.
For starters, there’s the club’s restaurant, called simply the 19th Hole Bar and Grille, which, like a growing number of facilities at public and semi-private courses (including The Ranch and Crumpin Fox), is open to the public and will be in operation year-round.
Ron Riopel, food and beverage manager for Cold Spring, said the restaurant is relatively small (just over 70 seats inside), but can accommodate more than 120 on a large patio that boasts sweeping views of the course and the hills beyond, and will likely stay open until at least mid-fall.
Beyond the scenery, the outdoor area will feature live music on many evenings (a ‘Caribbean Night’ was staged recently), and a menu Riopel described as “simplified but elegant.”
Elaborating, he noted that the fare extends well beyond traditional post-round food (most of it fried), and includes such options as pan-seared Pacific Ponga, a Vietnamese white fish.
The 19th Hole opened to members and the public on June 1, and like all new eateries, went through a breaking-in period, during which kinks were worked out and staff members came fully up to speed, said Riopel, adding that, as with the golf course, there has been a curiosity factor surrounding the restaurant that has prompted many area residents to take the drive up the hill.
And, also like the course, repeat business will be a function of delivering a quality experience, he continued, noting that he believes the facility should fare well in a region that doesn’t have a deep roster of competing restaurants.
Tragakis said some of the recent marketing has made reference to the dining element, underscoring its importance to the overall operation. “We have focused on food and beverage in these spots,” he explained. “We’re not going to forget about golf — we’re still a golf course — but public dining is a big part of what we’re doing, and I think the restaurant will do very well.”
Other components of the Cold Spring business plan are on the drawing board, to one degree or another, said Du, who told BusinessWest that plans are being developed for a banquet hall that will sit above the clubhouse.
The facility will be large in scale, and meet what she considers a recognized need in the Quaboag Valley region, she went on, adding that there is no immediate timeline for construction.
The same can be said for a housing component that most experts say is a key to the success of any large golf operation. There is considerable land on which to build houses or condos, she noted, adding that market analysis is currently ongoing, and it is likely that work will begin over the next five years.

Successful Roll Out
If all the pieces fall into place as expected, Cold Spring will become a formidable player in the large and seemingly ever-changing local golf market, said Tragakis.
He acknowledged that the industry is faced with many challenges — from the still-sluggish economy and its broad impact on discretionary spending, to stagnancy and even retreat in the number of people taking up the game, to the vagaries of the weather.
But venues that succeed in creating enjoyable and memorable experiences can overcome those issues, he continued, adding that Cold Spring has enormous potential to do just that.
“The view from up here is good,” he said, using that term in both a literal and figurative sense, “and we think it’s only going to get better.”

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of June 2012.

AGAWAM

4U Siding and Roofing
605 Southwick St.
Dmitry Bruskiy

Agawam Wellness
430 Main St.
Nichole Hines

Christo’s & Sons Landscaping
129 South St.
Mark Christodlous

Custom Cabinet and Millwork Inc.
62 Suffield St.
Garrett Kimball

Wargamers’ Terrain
73 Tobacco Farm Road
Joe Linares

Tucano Applications
14 Mansion Woods
Leonardo D. Mascarenhas

AMHERST

Deepening Roots Farm
793 Bay Road
Andrew Korza

Ganna Designs
2 Morgan Place
Crystal Nielsen

Hess Express
468 West St.
R.J. Lawlor

Majik Management Consulting
279 West St.
David Majka

Renew Vitality
324 Middle St.
Rosamond Wulsin

CHICOPEE

Abundant Wellness Center
94 Chicopee St.
Deborah Boulanger

D & D Sales
815 McKinstry Ave.
Donald Perusse

Dave & Lisa’s Artful Furnishings
165 Front St.
David Murphy

DES Auto Technologies
439 Chicopee St.
David Stearns

Eris Construction
26 Casino Ave.
Erisnaldo Santos

Pioneer Valley Landscaping
45 Dresser Ave.
James Hebert

West Side Home Improvement
429 Front St.
Viktor Lapik

GREENFIELD

Driscoll’s Company
45 High St.
John J. Driscoll

Lipton Mart
100 Mohawk Trail
Michael Lipton

SMD Contracting
278 Main St.
Stephanie M. Dudos

Zemi
176 Main St.
Maya Meyers

HADLEY

Crystal Gardens Unlimited
140 Mount Warner
Crystal Boucher

Hadley Dry Cleaners
206 Russell St.
Hwa J. Han

Interskate 91 North
367 Russell St.
William Hoeffer

Riverside
373 River Dr.
John Kershlis

Shaolin Kung Fu Center
231 Russell St.
Ryan Budny

Z Auto
105 East St.
Michael Zera

HOLYOKE

Emmanuel Jewelry Store
311 High St.
Tai W. Kang

Luigi’s Christian Book & Music Store
103 High St.
Eddie Rivera

M & M Mini Mart
46 Franklin St.
Naz B. Naji

Real China Restaurant
1529 Northampton St.
Shi Z. Liu

Stop N’ Go
915 Main St.
Sagheer Nawaz

Valley Hall
26 Hadley Mills Road
Gabriel Reyes

Who’s Next Barber Shop
241 Main St.
Omar Peralta

PALMER

Crimmins and Graveline Insurance Agency
1382 Main St.
Thomas Graveline

N.M. Construction
11 Conant St.
Nathaniel Messier

Reskewed Things
1444 North Main St.
Charles L. Hood III

Trackside Tire Service LLC
1237 Park St.
Norman J. Ashline

Track Side Trains
1294 South Main St.
Greg Flamand

SOUTHWICK

R.B. Distributors
375 North Loomis St.
Russell Jones

Shawn Rutola Electrician
25 Eagle St.
Shawn Rutola

SPRINGFIELD

L & G Signs & Designs
120 Kimberly Ave.
Leroy A. Davidson

L & Q Game Shop
182 Oakland St.
Luis Lopez

L & S Transportation
118 Cardinal St.
Liliya Dudrova

La Garita Convenience
1212 Main St.
Betsy Lozada

La Zona Supermarket Corporation
24 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Hector Merejo

Lazy Valley Winery Inc.
34 Front St.
Scott Santaniello

Lil Divas Boutique Salon
65 Sycamore St.
Elizabeth Matos

MJA Construction
11 Gold St.
Nelson Menjivar

One Stop Cuts
494 Central St.
Charlette Gentry

Pink Peace
5 Danaher St.
Michelle LaPorte

R. Rocca Construction
169 Carver St.
Roger H. Rocca

Richard R. Rulnick
79 Embassy Road
Richard R. Rulnick

Simply Divine Beauty Lounge
607 Dickinson St.
Kelly Rochelle

So Fresh, So Clean
94 Wilbraham Road
Michael R. Marshall

Spring Street Super Grocery
121 Spring St.
Jose M. Rijo

T-Shirt Time
427 State St.
Hernesto Olmo

The Vela-Villalobos Corporation
1350 Main St.
Eduardo H. Vela

The Brothers Grocery
314 Bay St.
Virginia Leonor

Top Performance Heating
58 Davenport St.
Dorsey Cupe Jr.

Tsvor Construction Company
113 Michon St.
Aleksandr Tsvor

Ummi’s Haven Daycare
16 Glendell Terrace
Saliyhah A. Wadud

Valley Inn Boston Road
339 Boston Road
Bryan L. Townsend

Vigo Remittance
432 Belmont St.
Western Union

WM Development Company
1 Monarch Place
Joseph A. Lashinger

West Indian Taste Inc.
320 Wilbraham Road
Cornel Forbes

WESTFIELD

Boise Cascade LLC
33 Fowler St.
Jim Wickham

Bshara Catering
110 Airport Road
Paul Bshara

Cherished Loved Ones Home Care
244 Birch Bluffs Dr.
Carolyn Giordano

Lucky Spa & Nails LLC
303 East Main St.
Huan V. Huynh

Marek Jewelers
7 Day Ave.
Scott Marek

The Country Clipper
9 Russell Road
Sara Noska

The Sharing Tree
27 King St.
Karen E. Eaton

WEST SPRINGFIELD

98 Front Street
98 Front St.
Suzanne Halpin

A and N Transport
33 Craig Dr.
Andrew Ngure

Acumen Data Systems Inc.
2223 Westfield St.
Edward W. Squires

Aquatique Pools
730 Union St.
Robert E. Genereux

Beautiful Rooms
42 Myron St.
Gary R. Okun

Dream Events
43 Belle Ave.
Daria Krasnov

E-Zee Mart
83 River St.
Arshad Iman

First Niagara Benefits Consulting
225 Park Ave.
First Niagara Risk Management Inc.

Galaxy 900
32 Pine St.
Ralph T. Dalise

Gamelli Vending
203 Circuit Ave.
Justin P. Gamelli

Odd Jobbers
67 Armstrong St.
Jared Hamre

Subway
1329 Riverdale St.
Steven Petow

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies Departments

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Arroyo, Braulio
57 Bevier St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Ayala, Sebastian
557 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Basile, Christopher J.
47 Cass Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/16/12

Batchelor-Morehouse, Lori A.
199 Batchelor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Beech, Thomas D.
PO Box 199
Oakham, MA 01068
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/21/12

Bellefleur, Guy Donald
2020 Calkins Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Blackburn, Barak S.
60 Riverboat Village
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/12

Bothwell, Patricia A.
126 Sears Road
Goshen, MA 01032
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Boucher, Jr., Daniel B.
21 Revelle Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Boze, Roy D.
Boze, Kathyleen F.
37 Hummingbird Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Bradley, Edwin D.
Bradley, Susan M.
20 River Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Brown, Jeanette E.
1259 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Brown, Peter K.
Brown, Michelle L.
126 Elmore Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Burke, Kellie Anne
48 Dunstable St.
Boston, MA 02129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Capponcelli, Scott B.
Capponcelli, Dana J.
114 Franklin St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Carpenter, Kenneth J.
341 Montcalm First
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Chmura, Elizabeth A.
11 Hunting Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Chrusciel, Lorrie A.
59 Rising St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Clinton, Deborah
103 El Paso
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/12

Corbett, Stephen H.
129 Spruce Hill Ave.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Couture, Scott A.
53 Independence Road
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Daniele, Antonio E.
49 Dayton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/12

Deuso, Randall J.
94 Duryea St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/12

Erlanger, Richard Martin
176 Columbus Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/21/12

Etter, Arthur A.
P.O.Box 4422
Springfield, MA 01101
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Feinberg, Lynne Amy
121 Willow St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Fusco, Susan D.
41 Rogers Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Galipeau, Denise A.
55 Arnold Place Apt. 2
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Garnier, Albert N.
Garnier, Donna M.
194 Parkerview St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/21/12

Gibson, Michael J.
Gibson, Tammy F.
95 Ward St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Greenleaf, Paul R.
21 Hazelwood Terrace
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/12

Grubert, Susan E.
6 Furrow St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Hamilton, Elizabeth Martha
73 Barrett St. #3104
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Hayden, Mary E.
a/k/a Wheeler, Mary E.
a/k/a Maloney, Mary E.
598 Southwick Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Hayward, Patrick D.
124 Birchgrove Dr.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/12

Helfont, Jeffrey A.
44 Shawmut St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/12

Hroncich, John M.
6 Morgan Mannor
Lenox, MA 01240
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Kizershot, Julie Michelle
16 Market St. Apt. 3B
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Koske, Robert M.
Koske, Christine A.
62 South Meadow Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Kremensky, Robert E.
128 College Highway
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Lachowicz, Kim M.
a/k/a Cannon, Kim
45 Hancock Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Lambert, Joseph
88 Watson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/30/12

L’Ecuyer, Peter
L’Ecuyer, Cheryl
12 Highland St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/12

Lee, James W.
291 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/12

Leighton, Christine
a/k/a Hoggard, Christine
177 Jasper St
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/22/12

Lepper, Thomas A.
Lepper, Margaret R.
756 Shaker Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/21/12

Lyons, Lori L.
22 Puffin Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Malo, Aubrey Mae
a/k/a Cayo, Aubrey
P.O. Box 110
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/12

Mandella, Michael A.
P.O. Box 122
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/12

Marion, April L.
1 Upper River Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/12

Marshall, Shelley Lynn
a/k/a Stewart, Shelley Lynn
50 Coolidge St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Martinez, Hector N.
Martinez, Otilia
15 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/30/12

McCarthy, Mary
a/k/a Schulz, Mary
42 Franklin St., #7
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Michael Epaul Photography
Michaels Woodworking
Epaul, Michael V.
259 Harkness Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Michael R. Labbe Plumbing
Labbe, Michael Rene
18 North Farms Road
Haydenville, MA 01039
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Mooney, Bruce Arthur
23 Linden Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Morehouse, Todd M.
P.O. Box 1132
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Mullaney, Matthew J.
Mullaney, Katherine J.
34 Pine Hill Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/12

Mushenko, Laura A.
88 Birch Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Nartowicz, Alan L.
74 East Colrain Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Nicotera, Andrew D.
Nicotera, Lisa B.
3 Emily Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Niemczyk, Bruce John
56 Liberty St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/12

O’Brien, Michael E.
O’Brien, Joanne M.
15 Fuller St.
Lee, MA 01238
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/12

Ollivierra, Rosalyn F.
254 Hillsdale Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/22/12

Oquendo, Epifanio
Marquez, Maria
21 Bowers St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Ott, David E.
Ott, Norma J.
14 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Packard, Albert
Packard, Mary
a/k/a Smith, Mary
126 Feltham Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Pecor, Denise Alice
a/k/a Callander, Denise A.
755 Curran Highway
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Penna, Kathleen M.
6 Robbins Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/12

Philpott, James M.
154 Glenwood St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Pike, Catherine M.
61 William St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Potter, Jeffery C.
Potter, Krystyna J.
9 Gates St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Pretlow, Juan P.
22 Knollwood Cir.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Price, Sarah Elizabeth
a/k/a Turati, Sara E.
319 West St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/12

Quenneville, Kevin B.
Quenneville, Tina M.
81 William St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/22/12

Regan, Denis C.
94 Fuller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/12

Reynolds, Sarah A.
4 Locust St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Rivera, Ramon
103 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/12

Robinson, Billy J.
779 Old Keene Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/12

Sanders, Dreana Chevon
17 Brunswick St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Segundo, Eric
Segundo, Melanie
28 Lamont St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Sheehan, Kathleen Marie
58 Russellville Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Shields, Caroline A.
a/k/a Boland, Caroline A.
14 Brainard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Shumate, Ryan
2205 Boston Road, Apt. 01
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/12

Simurda, Stephen John
50 Middle St., Apt 2
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/12

Smith, David Cloutier
33 Fountain St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Sprague, Donna M.
25 North Wake Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/12

St. Marie, Diane
30 Holiday Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/12

Torcia, Francis C.
Torcia, Mary
7 Oxford Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/17/12

Tougas, Angelica Storm
a/k/a Chrabascz, Angelica Storm
83 Highland St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/12

Unforgettable Cuts
Maxwell, Tonia L.
102 Brooklyn St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/29/12

Urban, Wendy L.
186 Pine St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/12

Vazquez, Luis A.
283 Walnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Vazquez, Rolando
33 Flower Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/12

Wehr Constructions
Wehr, Mark C.
122 Manning St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/12

Witter, Beverly H.
47 Forge Pond Road
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/12

Word, Phillip P.
19 Beechwood Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/12

People On the Move

By
Paul DiGrigoli
Departments People on the Move

Wolf & Company, P.C. recently announced the promotion of Mark O’Connell, CPA, to the position of President and CEO of the firm, effective July 1. O’Connell has been a member of the 100-year-old company since 1997, and spearheaded the development of its Springfield office, which he most recently served as dirctor. O’Connell will continue to work out of the Springfield office. He is a member of Wolf & Company’s financial-institutions group, and formerly held a seat on the firm’s executive committee, which establishes the firm’s policies and strategic direction.
•••••

Thomas R. Creed

Thomas R. Creed

TD Bank has named Thomas R. Creed Senior Vice President and Market Commercial Credit Manager in the new Credit Management Division in Springfield. Creed will direct approval, underwriting, and portfolio-management, staff, and procedures supporting TD Bank’s commercial-banking business in Western Mass. Creed has 27 years in banking and related fields and serves as chairman of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority and on the board of the Economic Development Council of Western Mass.
•••••
United Bank announced the following:
• Amy Bilodeau has been promoted to the position of Personal Banking Officer at the West Springfield branch. She joined United Bank in 2008 with nearly 25 years of banking experience gained at the former Westbank, now New Alliance Bank, in West Springfield; and
Ronald A. Gannett

Ronald A. Gannett

• Ronald A. Gannett has joined the bank’s Beverly loan production office as a Senior Vice President in Commercial Baking, focusing on commercial real-estate opportunities in the Greater Boston area. He will assist in building the bank’s brand and commercial real-estate business in that area, while complementing the current activity in the Greater Worcester and Springfield areas.
•••••
American International College announced the following:
Linda Dagradi

Linda Dagradi

• Linda Dagradi, a 1971 AIC graduate, has been promoted to Vice President for Enrollment Management. Dagradi has most recently incorporated Admissions, Marketing, and Financial Aid into the umbrella of Enrollment Management to aid AIC in growing its student population both at the undergraduate and graduate levels; and
Nicolle Cestero

Nicolle Cestero

• Nicolle Cestero has been promoted to Vice President for Human Resources. In that position, she will supervise and direct the human-resources activities of the college.
•••••
Business Network International (BNI) Western Mass. recently appointed Jason Turcotte as Managing Director for the region. Turcotte will be responsible for overseeing and providing continued structure, training, and support to the chapters and members of BNI Western Mass. He will ensure that every chapter is following the BNI system and is on pace to achieve goals, as well as supporting the leadership teams within the region.
•••••
Elizabeth B. Rairigh

Elizabeth B. Rairigh

Elizabeth B. Rairigh, AICP, recently joined the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission as a Historic Preservation Planner. She holds a master’s degree in Historic Preservation and a master’s in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
•••••
Thomas A. Miranda, an attorney with Springfield-based firm Cooley, Shrair, P.C., recently presented the seminar “Using Mediation to Settle Property Disputes” at the 2012 spring session of the CPE Forum at Holyoke Community College Kittredge Center. The forum provides educational programs to business professionals, including CPAs and CMAs. Miranda also recently presented a session on “Business Entity Organization and Structure to Limit Liability” at a Hampshire County Bar Assoc.-sponsored small-business-entity seminar.
•••••
Richard J. Kos

Richard J. Kos

The Board of Directors of Hampden Bancorp Inc., which is the holding company for Hampden Bank has named Richard J. Kos, Esq. to Chairman of the Board of the company and the bank, effective immediately. Kos has been an attorney at the firm of Egan, Flanagan & Cohen, P.C. since 2004 and is a partner of the firm. Prior to that, he had been in private practice since 1978, and was mayor of Chicopee from 1997 to 2004. Kos has a bachelor of science degree in Economics from Amherst College, and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School. He currently serves as a trustee of Our Lady of the Elms College, chairman of the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Incorporators of the Mason Wright Foundation of Springfield, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County. He has held prior directorships with the Pioneer Valley Red Cross, the Polish National Credit Union, Providence Place, the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., and the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation. He had been
an incorporator of Chicopee Savings Bank.
•••••
The YMCA of Greater Springfield announced that four area leaders from the business and non-profit communities recently joined its Corporate Board of Directors. They are:
John Doleva

John Doleva

• John Doleva, President of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame;
Lorenzo Gaines

Lorenzo Gaines

• Lorenzo Gaines; Program Director for ACCESS Springfield;
Paul DiGrigoli

Paul DiGrigoli

• Paul DiGrigoli, Owner/CEO of DiGrigoli Salon and DiGrigoli School of Cosmetology; and
Jeffrey Poindexter

Jeffrey Poindexter

• Jeffrey Poindexter, an attorney with Bulkely, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP.
•••••
Friendly Ice Cream in Wilbraham recently announced the following appointments and promotions:
• Walter Kwiecien has been promoted to Director of Information Technology;
• Lionel Bisson is now Director of Training and Quality Assurance and will direct all training and development function and the quality assurance inspection process;
• Ana Alves, with the company since 1977, has been named Manager of Restaurant Technology and will be responsible for managing and developing point-of-sale systems;
• Valerie Doggett has been named Audit Service and Quality Service Assurance Manager, where she will be responsible for conducting quality service audits in both company as well as franchise-owned restaurants;
• Joseph Stiefel, a member of the IT Department since 2006, has been named Project Manager, and will be responsible for leading program development projects as well as supporting current systems from a programming and database perspective;
• Melany Howe has been appointed Senior Manager for financial planning and analysis, providing financial support and analysis for restaurant operations and all marketing and promotion activities;
• Matt Vitorino has been named Senior Financial Analyst, and will provide financial support and analysis for retail, co-pack and franchise operations;
• Christine Klingaman has been named the Franchise Business Consultant supporting several of Friendly’s franchise organizations as a liaison between the franchises and Friendly’s Support Center;
• Lynne Geiger, a 25-year employee, was named Point-of-Sale Systems Administrator, where she will be responsible for developing and maintaining Friendly’s POS systems as well as maintaining various software platforms;
• Richard Del Valle has been appointed Vice President of Restaurant Operations Support, where he is responsible for all restaurant operations support and quality assurance and training.

An Unparalleled Vision

By
Executive director Rexene Picard
Sections Workforce Development
One-stop Career Centers Rely on Partnerships to Fulfill Their Missions

Executive director Rexene Picard

Executive director Rexene Picard says FutureWorks has made changes in the way the agency serves customers due to shifts in the economy and advances in technology.

When one-stop career centers began opening across the state 16 years ago, David Gadaire said, the mantra connected to them was “no wrong door.”
“The concept was one of universal access,” said the executive director of CareerPoint in Holyoke. “If someone needed to brush up on their skills, get help with writing a résumé, learn to network, or get more training, they could find it under one roof, whether they were a school-age person or an older worker.”
The concept was forward-thinking, but the funding was never in line with the complexity of need that job seekers brought to the table. Still, the problem wasn’t nearly as evident in the early years when the economy was flush.
“For the first few years we were open, 50% of the people we saw were employed,” said FutureWorks Executive Director Rexene Picard, explaining that many came to the center to brush up on skills or take a Saturday class.
Gadaire agreed. “In the beginning, we had enough resources. It was a different game then, and the funding we had supported people who needed to harness their skills,” he said.
FutureWorks and CareerPoint achieved national recognition in 1998 when they were selected as Career Centers of the Year by the National Alliance of Business.
“It was a tremendous honor, but the funding kept dissipating as the numbers grew,” Gadaire said. “We were originally chartered to serve 7,000 people a year, and last year we served between 14,000 and 18,000. The numbers have gone up steadily, and although they have plateaued in the last few years, it is only because our capacity is so overstretched.”
The unemployment office has a representative at both centers, and many people confuse the entities. But the former is run by the state, while the one-stops were established through competitive charters.
CareerPoint was chartered as a nonprofit and opened 16 years ago via a partnership that included the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, Holyoke Community College, the Department of Transitional Assistance, and the UMass Donahue Institute. “They joined together because there was a disconnect between the jobs that were available and the skills of the people available to fill them,” Gadaire said.
The story of FutureWorks is quite different. It was opened in 1996 as the first one-stop in the state by the Employment Training Institute in Ringwood, N.J., owned by Ken Ryan. Granting a charter to a private, for-profit corporation was controversial, but “it gave us a chance to think outside the box,” Picard said. “In the beginning, we said that what we did was not going to be about numbers, it was going to be about customer service. We had welcome centers and made people lifetime members. We could have fallen under the realm of social services, but we felt we were role models for job seekers and wanted to reinforce soft skills, so the center had the atmosphere of a business,” she told BusinessWest.
Although their evolution has been different, it soon became apparent that the needs of the people who came through the doors of both centers were complex, and the funding to help them was far from adequate. “In 1998 when the Workforce Investment Act was passed, the intent was that community partners would support the one-stops. But it never happened,” Picard said.
Still, they have found a way to meet a myriad of complex challenges. “We don’t tell our story well, and it’s a very impressive story,” said Gadaire. “But if 10,000 more people came to our door, I don’t know what we would do.”

Complex Situation
After CareerPoint received its award, it became even more committed to its mission, said Gadaire.
“Universal access meant we had to serve the older worker, the school-age person, professionals, and mid-level executives who found themselves out of work and needed to grow their skills, as well as people with a disability, those who had been incarcerated, homeless people, and individuals who didn’t have an education or didn’t speak English,” he explained. “All of those things required a more significant amount of time than the one-stops were prepared to address. But we realized that we were part of the answer for every one of those populations.”
Since the state did not have money to serve these subgroups, CareerPoint began writing grant proposals, seeking help from corporations and forming alliances with a wide variety of venues, such as the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office.
Today, it operates via seven or eight funding streams and grants that are continually changing. “We have a youth center due to six or seven grants, but we had to carve out a funding strategy,” Gadaire noted.
Finding sources of revenue is a constant struggle because the number of organizations looking to them for help continues to rise. “We’ve tried to create a marketing budget, but it keeps dwindling away. If the choice is marketing or helping a homeless person, the answer is obvious,” he said.
Although the agency initially provided free in-house training for businesses, it began to charge for those services. “We conduct sessions for businesses to help them manage their workforce. We’re giving a series of workshops right now to teach mid- to upper-level managers leadership skills — how to resolve problems, make their workers more productive, and avoid turnover,” Gadaire explained, adding that his organization is also set to launch a videoconference-training program to teach businesses how to conduct remote, face-to-face interviews, which he says will save them time and money.
Since the way people find jobs has changed, CareerPoint has two computer labs where people can become versed in new software and learn how to apply for jobs online. It also stages classes in networking, résumé writing, and a host of other topics related to finding employment.
When the one-stop center opened, it had 36 staff members, but that number has been reduced to around 30. However, it has compensated by forming alliances with many agencies and organizations. It has nine people from different agencies stationed within its office, and makes use of interns.
CareerPoint has also benefitted from countless hours of volunteer help from the Americorps Volunteers in Service to America program. VISTA volunteers have worked with youths involved with gangs as well as seniors, and include one volunteer who is the center’s information-technology manager. “We’ve also tried to build bridges with Westover Job Corps and agencies that offer veterans’ services,” Gadaire explained.
The agency’s staff members are so dedicated that, when they were told recently that two positions had to be eliminated, they offered to save them by taking a 10% pay cut for six months. Gadaire was against the idea, but finally agreed that everyone (including himself) would do it, and much to his surprise, it worked.
“These people are extraordinary; they believe in the community and want to make a difference,” he said. “But they are always exhausted, and I forever worry about burnout.”
Many sit on local nonprofit boards where they build partnerships. “Our partnerships are absolutely critical,” he said. “We are not experts in everything, but hopefully, if we do it right, we can expand our capacity. The community is better-served by our willingness to partner on just about every issue.”

Radical Changes
When FutureWorks opened, it was the only one-stop center in the state operated by a private company. Although profits were capped, Picard said many grassroots organizations and labor groups were upset that a private firm was operating with funds from the state and federal government.
So, in January 2002, after a series of meetings with then Springfield Mayor Michael Albano and Bill Ward, director of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, the owner agreed to turn over FutureWorks, with the caveat that it become a nonprofit agency. “The decision meant a lot in terms of restructuring,” Picard said, noting that the corporate headquarters of the Employment Training Institute handled the agency’s finances and human-resource issues.
“It was like starting a new company,” she said. “But having our own board of directors turned out to be one of the best things that happened; we had a very business- oriented team, and the community began viewing us differently.”
The change in status also allowed FutureWorks to pursue grants and funding unavailable to it as a private company. “We also began partnering with staff from other agencies,” Picard said.
One of its most profitable ventures was a shared contract that allowed the agency to work with welfare recipients in Hampden County. “We put more welfare recipients to work than in any other part of the state,” she said.
But despite such gains, the customer base continues to mushroom. “When we started, we saw between 3,000 and 5,000 people a year; last year, we served more than 16,000 individuals,” she noted, adding that FutureWorks consistently leads the state and serves more minorities, youths, and individuals with disabilities than any of the other career centers. “But in order to do so, we have had to look outward to other opportunities.”
These include a unique partnership with the Department of Revenue. The joint effort allows FutureWorks to work with non-custodial parents to help them get jobs so they can pay child support.
The program began as a pilot and expanded to include the family court system. In time, FutureWorks received a performance-based contract to extend the initiative. “It’s been a great program, and we have been told there is only one other place in the nation doing this. It’s in Tennessee, but we are unsure if we will be able to continue it,” Picard said, adding that they have not heard if their latest grant proposal will be extended.
Since Springfield is four times the size of Holyoke in terms of population, FutureWorks receives more funding than CareerPoint. But agency partners are equally critical to its ability to serve people and their on-site representatives. Those partners include Westover Job Corps, the Mass. Rehabilitation Commission, the Department of Education, the Resource Partnership, Hampden County Jail, the Mass. Commission for the Blind, the Commonwealth Corp., and state agencies such as the Department of Social Services and the Division of Employment and Training.
As the labor market has undergone change, FutureWorks has focused on health care and precision manufacturing, since those industries continue to experience growth.
The agency takes advantage of every opportunity, and was the second one-stop in the state to receive a national emergency grant related to a weather disaster. Picard said the Regional Employment Board received $3 million after the tornado on June 1, 2011 that allowed FutureWorks to hire people to do humanitarian work as well as clean-up, which in some instances led to full-time employment.
“We hired four staff people to administer the grant money; two focused on Springfield, and the other two focused on Monson and Brimfield,” Picard explained, adding that the agency has also deepened its link with Springfield Technical Community College.
“There is work taking place on both sides of the fence,” she said, adding that the agency has an STCC staff member on site.

Changing Tide
Gadaire said the one-stop career centers are opportunistic.
“Sometimes a program starts because we can easily fill a need, and sometimes the need has been there, and we finally find a way to fill it. But we don’t ever give up trying,” he said.
Picard agreed. “The one-stops have achieved a 50% rate of employment for the people they serve,” she said. “We’re here to give people hope.”

PictureThis

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Departments Picture This

Send photos with a caption and contact information to: ‘Picture This’ c/o BusinessWest Magazine, 1441 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103 or to [email protected]

NCCJ Awards

The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), founded in 1927 as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, recently presented its Annual Human Relations Awards at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Six area residents were honored for their dedication to fighting bias, bigotry, and racism and promoting understanding and respect for all. Far left, from left: honoree Michael Sobon, president of O’Connell Oil, and his wife, Joan; honoree Ronn Johnson, principal, R.D.J. Associates; honoree Carol Leary, president, Bay Bath College; honoree Brian Tuohey, president, Collins Pipe; honoree Caleb Wilkie, a Westfield High School junior and youth community organizer, Andrea Kandel, executive director of the NCCJ. Left, Wilkie addresses the audience as he accepts the 2012 Youth Award.


WBOA Gala

The Women Business Owners Alliance of the Pioneer Valley Inc. (WBOA) recently celebrated its 2012 Woman of the Year Event and 30th Anniversary Gala at Chez Josef in Agawam. The mission of the non-profit organization is to build confidence and success, and empower women entrepreneurs. At left, Freda Brown (left), treasurer of WBOA and owner of Divorce Financial Services, who was honored as the 2012 Woman of the Year, stands with Susan Kelley, center, owner of Kelley Tax Service and vice president of WBOA, and Monique Leyda, senior account manager with Bishop Technologies.





YMCA Dinner

More than 350 guests filled the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the recent YMCA of Greater Springfield’s 160th anniversary celebration. The event featured a keynote address by successful sports and business leader Mannie Jackson, and entertaining insight on Boston sports from Boston Globe sportswriters and ESPN commentators Jackie MacMullan and Bob Ryan. Left, the scene at Center Court as the crowd salutes Springfield College President Richard Flynn.









From left, Kirk Smith, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Springfield; Bob Ryan, Jackie MacMullan, Mannie Jackson; and John Doleva, CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame












From left, Steve Bradley, vice president of Government & Community Relations and Public Affairs, Baystate Health; Tom Creed, senior vice president and Market Commercial Credit Manager in the new credit management division of TD Bank; Kirk Smith; Kathy Treglia, vice president of Education & Government Relations at the YMCA; David Woods, principal of Woods Financial Group; and Victor Woolridge, vice president of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers








Dancers from the Dunbar YMCA Family & Community Center, who performed a tap dance number directed by Shirley Similari.

Social Media Policies

By
ROSEMARY J. NEVINS
Law Sections
NLRB Rules Most Proposed Provisions Are Too Broad in Nature

ROSEMARY J. NEVINS

Rosemary J. Nevins

In their quest to protect company interests and private information, many employers have developed social media policies restricting the use of such media by their employees with regard to workplace matters.
Responding to the increasing number of challenges to such policies, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has recently issued its third report involving its review of the social media policies of seven different companies. Upon completing its review, the board determined that several of the policy provisions involved in six of the seven cases were overbroad and therefore, unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The seventh case involved a revision of that company’s social media policy, which the board deemed to be lawful under the act.
In its two earlier reports the board’s focus was on notifying employers that their social media policies should not be so all encompassing as to ban employee activity protected under federal labor law. The board cautioned that an overly broad policy could potentially violate Section 7 of the NLRA, which protects an employee’s Section 8(1)(1) right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid and protection. Interestingly enough, the board determined that this caveat applies to both union and non-union employers alike.
In determining the lawfulness of each policy’s provisions, the board first analyzed whether the policy, as written, would “reasonably tend to chill employees” in the exercise of their rights under the NLRA by specifically restricting those rights. Absent such an explicit restriction, the board then focused on the following considerations:
• Whether an employee would reasonably conclude that the policy does prohibit protected activities;
• Whether the employer adopted the policy in response to union activity; and
• Whether the employer has applied the policy in such a manner as to restrict protected activity.
Examples of Unlawful Provisions
Among the many provisions deemed to be unlawful as written in the policies reviewed are the following:
• A provision including a general condemnation of posting “offensive, demeaning, abusive or inappropriate remarks on-line.”
Reason: Such a provision is overly broad and might potentially restrict an employee’s protected right to criticize its employer’s treatment of employees.
• A provision requiring the employee to ensure that information shared about the company is completely accurate, not misleading, and non-public.
Reason: Such a provision would be reasonably interpreted to apply to discussions about a criticism of the employer’s treatment of its employees.
• A provision preventing an employee from commenting on any legal matters, including pending litigation or disputes.
Reason: Such a provision restricts employees from discussing the protected subject of potential claims against the employer.
• A provision instructing employees not to share confidential information with co-workers — for example, their rate of pay, work schedules, etc., among other topics unless those co-workers need the information to do their jobs.
Reason: Employees would construe such a provision as prohibiting them from discussing information regarding the terms and conditions of their employment.
• A provision to prohibit employee’s release of confidential guest, team member, or company information.
Reason: This provision would reasonably be interpreted as prohibiting employees from discussing and disclosing information regarding their own conditions of employment, as well as the conditions of employment of other employees.
• A provision threatening legal action, including criminal prosecution, in addition to corrective action up to and including termination, where an employee violates any portion of the employer’s policies regarding confidential information.
Reason: Since the rules were found to be unlawful, the reporting requirement was also unlawful.
• A provision that cautions employees not to post information about which they are uncertain and to resolve any doubts as to whether they should post that information by checking the designated personnel.
Reason: Any rule that requires employees to secure permission from an employer as a pre-condition to engaging in Section 7 activities violates the Act.
• A provision that cautions employees to treat everyone with respect by refraining from posting offensive, demeaning, abusive, or inappropriate remarks on-line and reminding them that they are expected to abide by the same standards of behavior in the workplace as well as in their social media communications.
Reason: The first part of this provision proscribes a broad spectrum of communications that would include protected criticism of the employer’s labor policies of treatment of employees. The remaining portion is ambiguous as to its application to Section 7.
Among other findings, the board posited that even a “savings clause” stating that the policy would not be construed and applied in a manner that improperly interferes with employees’ rights under the act will not pass muster.
Lawful provisions include those that are clearly written and limit their application to examples of specific illegal or unprotected conduct that would not reasonably be construed to be protected activity.
One example of such a provision is one proscribing “harassment, bullying, discrimination, or retaliation that is impermissible in the workplace, and to be impermissible between co-workers online, even if it is done after hours, from home or on home computers.”
Similarly, it would be lawful for an employer to proscribe employees from posting information online in the employer’s name or in a manner that could reasonably be attributed to the employer without written authorization from the designated company agent.
Err on the side of caution and carefully review your social media policies.

Rosemary J. Nevins, Esq. specializes exclusively in management-side labor and employment law at Royal LLP, a woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm; (413) 586-2288; [email protected].

Passing Thoughts

By
Law Sections
10 Things to Know About ‘Scary’ Retirement-plan Beneficiaries

Ann I. Weber, Esq.

Ann I. Weber, Esq.

The terrific thing about retirement plans (including individual retirement accounts) is that they grow income-tax free within the plan. The price of this benefit is that, upon distribution, income tax is assessed on the entire amount distributed. At the death of the plan participant, individual plan beneficiaries can stretch out the distributions over their life expectancy and defer income taxes until a distribution is actually received.
Minimum distributions (MRDs) are required over this period, and spouses have special rules applying to them, which allows them to add 10 years to the payout period. This works wonderfully for most beneficiaries because it allows income taxes to be paid over time with all taxes on the amount not distributed deferred.
However, this may not be such a great benefit if a minor, disabled individual, or otherwise scary person is named as a beneficiary of the plan, because the plan participant may not want such an individual to receive their distributions outright. Here are 10 things to think about if you have potential plan beneficiaries in this situation.

Minors. Many parents do not want their children to receive a large sum of money outright. In Massachusetts, the age of majority is 18, but many parents would tell you that maturity arrives much later.

Disabled Persons. For persons under a legal disability who are receiving public benefits such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), any mandatory income payment will be considered countable income for purposes of any benefits to which they might otherwise have been entitled. The value of the entire plan will be considered a countable asset if the disabled person can access the plan proceeds on his or her own. As a result, an individual on Medicaid or SSI who is the named as a beneficiary of the plan could very likely lose his or her medical or supplemental assistance as a result. The retirement benefits would then be spent down to pay medical and other expenses until the disabled individual was impoverished and could reapply for benefits.

Otherwise scary persons. These may include, among others:

• Business owners. Many business owners have personally guaranteed business debts and do not want any retirement benefits they receive from their parents (or any other plan participant) to be subject to claims of their creditors.
• People who are or may be going through a divorce. Most plan participants do not want their retirement funds going to an ex-spouse.
• Technical adults. Many people do not mature at 18, and parents may be concerned that a child might not have the skills to handle a significant sum of money, leading to some unwise decisions.
• Individuals in risky occupations. Doctors, lawyers, and maybe even Indian chiefs may be concerned about possible malpractice or other claims of unknown amounts and, consequently, do not want to have the outright ownership as a plan beneficiary.
• Temporary situations. An individual may be in a precarious situation at the present time, but is likely to resolve it sometime in the future.

Conventional Trusts. Most conventional trusts are tricky to use as retirement-plan beneficiaries because retirement-plan benefits paid to a trust are subject to income tax in full upon receipt. Thus, if such a trust is named as a beneficiary of the plan, the plan benefits would ordinarily be distributed to the trust in full, and would be subject to income tax in the year of receipt.
When a Conventional Trust Is a Good Idea. Where the plan beneficiary is very young or under a legal disability and receiving needs-based public benefits such as Medicaid or SSI, the payment of tax might be an acceptable price to pay for the security of having the asset managed by a trustee and distributed to the beneficiary only at the trustee’s discretion.
When a Non-conventional Trust is Better. Special trusts blessed by the IRS can protect the undistributed portion of the plan benefits while allowing a trust beneficiary to receive minimum required distributions (MRDs) annually. They work well when the plan participant is concerned about naming the beneficiary outright.
‘See-through Trusts’ Great for Scary Beneficiaries. A see-through trust can be created by the plan participant and named as the beneficiary of the plan. At the death of the plan participant, the trustee receives from the plan and distributes to the trust beneficiary only the mandatory annual MRD. For scary beneficiaries, these trusts can be a home run, and the trustee can be empowered to reach the rest of the plan asset in its discretion.
Discretionary Trusts. Though not as clearly blessed by the IRS, it is also possible to name a trust with multiple beneficiaries as the named beneficiary of a retirement plan. The advantage here is that the trustee can decide how to apportion the MRD (and additional principal payments, if desired) among trust beneficiaries. The measuring life for the MRDs is the life expectancy of the oldest beneficiary. Note, however, that these trusts are more technical, and stricter rules apply regarding remainder beneficiaries.
Trustee Must Be an Independent Third Party. The beneficiary may not be named as a trustee because the discretionary ability to reach the principal of the trust may render all the plan assets subject to the claims of creditors, divorcing spouses, etc.
Trustee May Name the Beneficiary Trustee at a Later Date. In circumstances where the plan participant wishes to limit access to the plan for a limited period only, the trustee may be given the authority to name the plan beneficiary as successor trustee at a certain point or at the trustee’s discretion. This works well for individuals whose financial situation or level of maturity is likely to change for the better — for example, when an individual undergoing a divorce is no longer subject to claims of the spouse, or when a child reaches a certain age.
Although there are no perfect solutions in this situation, with a little pre-planning, retirement plans can be transferred to these special beneficiaries in an optimal fashion.

Attorney Ann I. Weber is an attorney with the Springfield-based firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., and concentrates her practice in the areas of estate-tax planning, estate administration, probate, and elder law, and has a particular interest in creative estate planning for authors and artists, farmers, and landowners. She is a board member and past president of the Estate Planning Council of Hampden County Inc., and is a former (and founding) board member and current member of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She is also a frequent author and speaker on issues regarding estate planning; (413) 737-1131.

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