Month: September 2012
West of the River Chamber Taps into Youth
Michael Beaudry and Debra Boronski are completing the first year of a new management arrangement that saves the WRC a significant amount of administrative expenses.
Specifically, Pizzichemi, vice president of the Welcome Group Inc., which manages the West Springfield Hampton Inn and the Springfield/Enfield Holiday Inn, has passed the chairmanship of the West of the River Chamber of Commerce (WRC), to 32-year-old Michael Beaudry, owner of Azon Liquors and TEG Business Consulting, a small marketing and branding company that focuses on social networking, both in Agawam.
Pizzichemi is proud of his past year helming the WRC, the business organization that serves West Springfield and Agawam — the towns directly west of the Connecticut River — characterizing his tenure as the start as a new way of operating (more on that later). But he’s cognizant of the need to keep a membership-based business organization interesting, active, and, most importantly, growing. With technology radically altering the various ways of communicating and doing business, the board felt strongly that a shot of youthful energy was necessary.
“We went in [to a new era of the chamber] with eyes wide open, knowing that we needed to address younger business officers on the board, and we did that primarily by asking Mike to be the chairman this year,” said Pizzichemi. “The fact that he owns two small businesses, it’s really helped us expand our horizons to not be the typical stale chamber, but to be a vibrant new chamber that focuses on young, new people and young, new businesses.”
Beaudry represents the demographic that the chamber needs to pay attention to, added Debra Boronski, the new executive director of the WRC, who also runs the Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce (again, more on that later). “And that is why, at our recent annual meeting, we had a speaker who talked about how each generation works with, and needs to work with, each other in the workplace.”
One of Beaudry’s first goals will be an overhaul of the chamber’s website, which he says will be user-friendly — offering the ability to purchase event or program tickets online, and providing a broad interactive forum for members, as opposed to a static, administratively managed blog — in addition to more Facebook and Twitter outreach.
While other chambers — not just in the Western Mass. region, but across the nation — are wringing their hands, wondering what they are going to do about their aging membership, and how they should appeal to that younger population that’s necessary for their survival, the WRC is actively creating events and programming that appear to be attracting that target audience, while retaining current businesses.
With catchy new names for networking programs — ‘Wicked Wednesdays’ instead of the typical ‘After 5’ event, for instance — and more attention to business advocacy, the WRC is healthy and growing, and not a moment too soon.
For this edition of Getting Down to Business, BusinessWest sat down with the past and present chairmen of the West of the River Chamber, as well as the relatively new executive director, who have all ridden out a recent storm of uncertainty that could have spelled the end of the WRC.
At a Crossroads
“This chamber finished last year with more members than it started with,” Boronski proudly stated.
In any chamber’s book, that would be a success, but it’s especially gratifying for this group, considering its recent turmoil. About two years ago, faced with a monthly management-fee increase request by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS), which oversaw the administrative and event duties of the WRC, the board felt there was a need for an economical solution that wouldn’t continue to eat away at the bottom line.
“We were at a crossroads, where they asked us to contribute more money, and we just couldn’t see it; our board of directors formed a subcommittee to determine if there were any alternatives, because we literally had no idea if there was any alternative,” explained Pizzichemi.
The answer was to offer a unique deal to Boronski, who had been vice president of the ACCGS for 11 years and in 2008 founded, and remains president of, the Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, a statewide chamber which provides discount business benefits, but more importantly provides businesses a presence on every legislative level across the Commonwealth. The deal enabled Boronski to handle day-to-day WRC affairs as executive director, at a significantly reduced cost.
“Local chambers of commerce are looking at more effective ways to use their resources to better serve their members,” she said. “That’s how progressive this chamber is; they partnered with me and are using their member resources to provide services and products as opposed to paying rent, insurance premiums, and high salaries.”
Now, for the same $300 member fee plus $4 per employee (the creation of a ‘micro-business’ dues level for sole proprietorships is being discussed), which Pizzichemi said hasn’t been raised in four years, members not only receive the benefits of the WRC — including discounted or free consultation services, networking events, and business representation with both towns’ municipalities — but also reap all of the Massachusetts Chamber benefits.
Initially, the migration away from the ACCGS and the new managerial change were confusing to some members who left the chamber, thinking they had been members of the ACCGS, not the WRC.
“Some left because they thought that the ACCGS was a chamber, but it’s really a management organization, and they were members of the WRC all along, so the numbers dipped from 217 to 177 at one point. But we’re back up there,” Boronski explained, noting that the WRC surpassed its former peak last year, with 234 members.
Share the Wealth
As the WRC sorted out its new position as a standalone chamber with no bricks-and-mortar central office, it relied on old-fashioned teamwork and launched a mission to appeal to a younger audience while offering business advocacy and a set schedule of more events.
Boronski pointed to ‘Business with Bacon,’ which offers “breakfast with sizzling-hot topics,” which caused all to laugh — but the underlying feeling is that, be it funny, cute, or catchy … it’s working.
“We are getting members to come out for those and network, and our Wicked Wednesdays are attracting 50 to 70 people and that’s a strong showing,” said Beaudry.
But two years ago, there weren’t many events at all, Boronski said. “We’ve really made it a mission to have set schedules for purely networking events. In fact, the tag line for Wicked Wednesdays is ‘no cost, no agenda, no program, no kidding.’ That’s what small businesses need, to network and meet with people with no agenda other than that.”
“And,” Pizzichemi added, “the ability to offer real substance in the form of education and business support.”
He and Beaudry counted on their fingers the amount of money given out by the WRC in the form of grants. Six grants for $500 apiece were awarded a few years ago to member businesses for advertising assistance, and recently, four $1,000 business grants were awarded to help businesses with educational costs.
“For example, one of our auto-dealership repair services was awarded a grant to further the education of one of his technicians,” Pizzichemi said.
Another recent win for both the WRC and Agawam was the chamber’s advocacy for modifications to the business personal tax valuation that were ultimately passed, resulting in lowered taxes for hundreds of businesses. Other big hits include the recent approval of two solar-power developments (by Rivermoor Energy/Citizen’s Energy) for H.P. Hood and the town of Agawam, support for Costco’s liquor-store license and expansion, and the encouragement of a new economic-development administrator in West Springfield, which resulted in the recent hiring of Michele Cabral.
The three also point to the creation of the Agawam Small Business Assistance Center (ASBAC), which was initially funded by the town of Agawam but is now funded by the WRC. From the basics of Excel and QuickBooks to the ins and outs of social-media marketing, the ASBAC provides monthly educational seminars that help startup business members.
Next up for the WRC is the high-profile 6th Annual Food Fest West on Nov. 1 at Crestview Country Club. Pizzichemi anticipates almost 20 restaurants and more than 300 attendees.
“In a climate where almost every restaurant is overshadowed by franchises — certainly Riverdale Street in West Springfield is home to many — this elegant event celebrates our dining quality, but we do let the franchises in,” Pizzichemi said.
Along with the annual summer golf tournament and the hosting of candidate forums for local political races, ‘Coffee with the Mayor’ programs — open forum where members may converse with new West Springfield Mayor Gregory Neffinger and Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen — began this spring and have been well-received by members, said Beaudry.
As he takes charge, Beaudry’s goal is to achieve a constant flow of new, young businesses and retention of longtime members. Tapping his social-media knowledge, Boronski’s experience, and what he knows his generation needs to succeed in business, he and the companies that make up the WRC may just make this body’s transitional years a model for other chambers.
Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]
United Way: 90 Years of Meeting Needs
On occasion, we are asked, “why give to the United Way and not simply make a direct contribution to my agency of choice?” This is a very important question for all of us at the United Way, and here are a few answers.
The United Way is a volunteer-driven organization committed to addressing the most critical needs in our community. We determine those needs by researching and analyzing the prevalence of a social problem and the critical needs in the communities we serve. After gathering the data, we look for opportunities where an investment of funding will yield a measurable return on the investment.
We are no longer simply reporting the number of people served, but also focusing on the outcomes of the service provided. This no easy feat given the reality that it often takes years to change behaviors and achieve tangible outcomes and results, but we know we are making an impact based on benchmarks and regular reports. We are also implementing and supporting science-based and results-oriented approaches and service-delivery models that have demonstrated positive outcomes in communities like ours. We are holding the organizations (funded through a competitive grant-making process) accountable, and we are holding ourselves accountable to the thousand of donors and investors.
United Way of Pioneer Valley has embarked on its celebration of 90 years of service in the Pioneer Valley. Over the past decade, UWPV has distributed more than $50 million dollars to nonprofits serving children, families, elders, and individuals with special needs and circumstances. The dollars help support those services that feed the hungry and offer emergency housing and assistance for victims of domestic violence, homelessness, and fires. Critical funding is also dedicated to improving high-school graduation rates, early-childhood education, reading by grade 4 in Holyoke and Greater Springfield, and youth development and prevention services.
We recently launched a regional initiative to address income disparities, workforce development, and the financial stability of low-income and working families. These efforts will not only strengthen families, but will impact quality of life and economic development throughout the Pioneer Valley. Over the last three years, we have also committed resources to help nonprofits build greater capacity through partnerships and collaborations, so limited resources can provide expanded services to youth and families; every dollar invested leverages additional dollars from other funding sources.
Additionally, our financial support of Mass 211, an information and referral system, provides an immediate response to individuals searching for social services in their respective communities. Residents in our service area (Hampden County, South Hadley, and Granby) are the second-highest users of Mass 211 in the Commonwealth. What an amazing resource financed through contributions made to the United Way. These are examples of investments for the common good, and we will all benefit.
Our 90th anniversary has provided an opportunity to reflect, rejuvenate, and rejoice. We would like to thank our corporate, business, and social-service partners for hosting annual workplace campaigns, and our donors who make online contributions or send a check in the mail. Special thanks to the board of directors and our volunteer leaders, campaign coordinators, and local, regional, and statewide supporters. Your contributions of time, talent, and money truly make a difference.
Our resolve is to continue the rich tradition and history of this organization and do more to address the escalating social needs and conditions confronting our communities. How can we do more? Through the generosity and investment of individuals who believe they have a responsibility and desire to contribute to the common good of all. These people remain essential to our efforts. Please join us in celebrating our 90th anniversary. Visit our website (www.uwpv.org) for information about how you, too, can Live United … Today. Tomorrow. Forever.
Dora Robinson is the president and CEO of the United Way of Pioneer Valley.
Business Expo Offers Inspiration and Education to Attendees
A man who climbed Mt. Everest. A woman who built her business from nothing and sold it for over $200 million. The head of the company that makes FiveFinger running shoes. These dynamic speakers and more are all at the Western Mass. Business Expo on Oct. 11. Why would you be anywhere else?
“This Expo is exceptionally well-developed this year,” said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, which is producing this second annual event. “The variety of our inspiring, high-level speakers, informative programs, and the depth of our educational seminars are unmatched.”
From the Expo Kickoff Breakfast, with Mass. Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Freeland, presented by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS), to the Expo Luncheon with Michael Clayton, Ambassador for Trust, who led the most successful BBB in the nation, and 12 educational seminars throughout the day, the schedule is fully packed. After only one year, the success of the Expo’s outreach and the audience that it attracts demonstrate how it has evolved into yet another educational experience.
“We’ve created what we’re calling ‘co-located’ events,” said Campiti. “These are events that would have occurred elsewhere, but the ease of opening up to our public has brought them to the Expo.”
Of those events, the first, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., includes the Purchasing Management Association of Western New England, a membership organization that serves the manufacturing community and the purchasing arm of those companies. The group will host their monthly meeting with Herb Robins, who will speak on “Lean 8 Wastes and Inefficiencies.”
From 10 a.m. to noon, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, UMass, and the Scibelli Enterprise Center at STCC will sponsor a Business Service Provider MeetUp. This event offers the nonprofits and agencies that serve small startups and entrepreneurs a chance to meet each other and learn more about how each agency helps their clients.
From 1 to 4 p.m., the Assoc. of Operations Management, a group that supports the manufacturing sector, will welcome Birgit Matthiesen of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Assoc., who covers Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch, and works closely with U.S. associations toward heightened North American competitiveness.
In addition to more than 180 exhibitors, other highlights include Michael Matty of St. Germain Investment Management, who just recently climbed Mount Everest; Nancy Butler, author of Above All Else: Success in Life and Business; Michael Martin, GM of Vibram FiveFingers running shoes; four sessions about e-mail marketing and social media by Constant Contact; a Health Care Corridor; and the aforementioned co-located events that will provide impetus for the region’s business community to learn, build lasting relationships, and grow.
And speaking of relationships, the day will close out with what has become known simply as the Expo Social, where exhibitors and visitors can converse with each other from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Again, why would you want be anywhere else?
Sponsoring this entire event is Comcast Business Class, in addition to silver sponsors Health New England, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, and Stevens 470. Booths are going fast, but a few are still available and can be ordered by calling (413) 781-8600, logging onto www.wmbexpo.com or www.BusinessWest.com, or e-mailing [email protected].
When to Classify People as Independent Contractors
Employers beware. Hiring people as ‘independent contractors’ may provide a competitive advantage that seems tempting. However, the risks of misclassifying employees as independent contractors may far outweigh the benefits.
By classifying a worker as an independent contractor rather than an employee, a business may reap certain advantages. For example, the business may not be held vicariously liable to third parties in court for the negligent acts of an independent contractor as it would for an employee. The business may also avoid paying payroll tax, including the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) and Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), and also avoid payments toward state unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance. The business may also save substantial costs by not having to enroll the individual in any employee-benefit plans.
Unfortunately, the use of independent contractors carries with it the inherent risk that the federal or state government will determine that a business should have treated a particular person, or class of persons, as employees for tax, wage-hour, unemployment, workers’ compensation, or employee-benefit-plan purposes. To avoid running afoul of state and federal law regarding misclassification of workers, businesses need to examine their independent-contractor relationships, understand the risks, and consider taking appropriate steps to reclassify or restructure their relationships with these individuals.
In determining whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor, the most important factor is the employer’s right to direction and control over the individual. The more direction and control that the employer has, the more likely it is that the individual will be deemed to be an employee. Some of the factors to consider are whether the employer sets hours, provides an office and equipment, and gives instructions on how to perform tasks as opposed to the individual making his or her own schedule, being self-directed, and furnishing his or her own equipment and supplies. This is the test that has traditionally been applied by the IRS to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor for federal employment-tax purposes.
Many states, including Massachusetts, apply different tests for determining a worker’s status. The Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law (MICL) is among the strictest in the country and creates a presumption that an individual performing any service is an employee. To overcome this presumption, the party receiving services must establish that:
• The worker is free from its control and direction in performing this service, both under a contract and in fact;
• The service provided by the worker is outside the employer’s usual course of business; and
• The worker is customarily engaged in an independent trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same type.
The first part of the test looks at the degree of control and direction retained by the employer over the services performed by the individual. It is the employer’s burden to demonstrate that the services at issue are performed free from its direction or control and carried out with minimal instruction. An independent contractor completes the job using his or her own approach with little direction and dictates the hours that he or she will work on the job.
The second part of the test requires that the service the individual performs be “outside the usual course of business of the employer.” This requirement impacts any business that hires independent contractors to supplement its regular workforce. In 2003, for example, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts found that a newspaper had misclassified its newspaper carriers as independent contractors when the carriers were performing the usual course of business of the newspaper.
The third part of the test requires that the individual be customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or a business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed. In other words, is the worker wearing the hat of an employee of the employing company, or is he or she wearing the hat of his or her own independent enterprise? This requirement may be difficult to satisfy if the independent contractor works only for one company.
The MICL is enforced by the Fair Labor Division of the Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth. The Attorney General’s 2008 advisory concerning the MICL states that an employer’s failure to withhold taxes, contribute to unemployment compensation, or provide workers’ compensation for an individual is not considered when analyzing whether an employee has been misclassified. Nor is the existence of an independent-contractor agreement (although, according to the attorney general, the MICL requires that all independent-contractor relationships be reflected in written agreements or job descriptions). In other words, just because an employer believes that a worker should be an independent contractor and treats that worker as such does not make it so in the eyes of the law.
The attorney general can issue civil citations and institute criminal prosecutions against businesses and individuals for both intentional and unintentional violations of the MICL. More significantly, private citizens may file civil actions in court for themselves and others similarly situated, claiming that they have been misclassified as independent contractors but are, in fact, employees entitled to all the rights and protections under the Massachusetts Wage Act. The Wage Act is a particularly potent weapon since it imposes personal liability on officers and managers of companies who violate its provisions, including the MICL. In addition, the 2008 amendments to the Wage Act require a court to award treble (three times) damages plus attorney’s fees and costs to an employee who prevails on his or her claim.
Misclassifying employees as independent contractors may also subject a business to:
• Income-tax liability for monies that should have been withheld from the ‘wages’ of the ‘employees’;
• Employer FICA and FUTA contributions;
• Potential overtime pay and other wage claim liability;
• State unemployment-insurance payments;
• Workers’ compensation insurance premiums and potential liability for workplace injuries; and
• Other civil and criminal liability. Additionally, workers may be entitled to coverage and benefits under existing employee benefit plans.
There are several approaches a business can take to address these risks. It might:
• Evaluate relationships with independent contractors to determine whether the classification is proper under the MICL three-part test;
• Review all written independent-contractor agreements and modify them where appropriate;
• Ensure that all independent-contractor relationships are reflected in written agreements or job descriptions correctly describing the relationship and the party’s respective obligations;
• Begin treating misclassified independent contractors as employees; and
• Maintain independent-contractor relationships but take steps to limit potential exposure (for example, ensure that no independent contractor works more than 40 hours per week so that the business does not face potential overtime liability).
Keith A. Minoff is a Springfield-based attorney specializing in employment law and business litigation; (413) 301-0866.
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]
Swing of Support
The YMCA of Greater Springfield recently honored a longtime community supporter, David Demos, and welcomed sports celebrities to the 20th Annual Scantic Valley YMCA Golf Outing. The event was held at both the Country Club of Wilbraham and the new Cold Springs Country Club in Belchertown. From top, Kirk Smith, YMCA president and CEO; Jules Gaudreau of the Gaudreau Group and a corporate board member; Demos, honorary co-chair; Jim Rice, Red Sox Hall of Famer; and “Coach” Willie Maye of the Boston Celtics. At top: Chris Ott (left), YMCA personal trainer, and Paul McConnell, YMCA member, wait their turn on the greens. Smith (center) stands with Barry and Kim Sanborn of ProShred. Maye (far left) and Rice (center) pose with Day of Caring volunteers from MassMutual.
Common Ground
The historic Cooper’s Commons in Agawam recently celebrated the grand opening of a new marketplace of distinctive shops and services. The complex contains Cooper’s Gifts & Curtains and unique businesses in the former Country Squire Furniture Shop. The recent renovations complete phase 1 of two phases; phase 2 is expected to be completed in 2013. Surrounded by area supporters at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, above center, is Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen, and to his right is Kate Gourde, second-generation owner of Cooper’s Commons and Cooper’s Gifts and Curtains. Right, state representative Nick Boldyga, 3rd Hampden District, presents Gourde with a proclamation from the State House.
Family Business
Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. recently invited Dr. Michael Klein to speak to a group of family-business owners as part of an educational family-business event. Klein, at left at the head of the conference table, authored the recently published book, Trapped in the Family Business.
The following building permits were issued during the month of September 2012.
AGAWAM
Benchmark Senior
153 Cardinal Dr.
$8,000 — Repair water damage
Mr. Shower
646 Springfield St.
$50,000 — New roof
AMHERST
Amherst Montessori School
27 Pomeroy Lane
$2,092,000 — Construction of a two-story addition
Filion Leasing Inc.
150 College St.
$10,000 — New roof
Jones Library Inc.
43 Amity St.
$108,000 — Install new flooring, ceiling tiles, and lighting in the Woodbury Room
Northland Boulders, LLC
188 East Hadley Road
$116,000 — New roof
Town of Amherst Recreation
205 Triangle St.
$298,000 — Pool repairs and upgrades
CHICOPEE
Demayo-Chicopee Square, LLC
516 Montgomery St.
$38,000 — HVAC duct system
John Rusin
16 Bolduc Lane
$6,000 — Interior renovation at the Den
EASTHAMPTON
Bernard Gawle
90 Union St.
$37,000 — New roof
City of Easthampton
Lovefield St.
$10,000 — New roof
The Phillips Manufacturing Co.
17 Ward Ave.
$21,000 — New roof
HOLYOKE
92 Race Street, LLC
92 Race St.
$710,000 — Interior renovations
Holyoke Mall Company, LP
50 Holyoke St.
$323,000 — Renovate Old Navy store
Michael Ciolek S-H-R Trust
494 Appleton St.
$306,000 — Construct new masonry walls
NORTHAMPTON
Bridge Street LLC
82 Bridge St.
$10,500 — Exterior repairs
Smith College
12 Bedford Terrace
$4,000 — Repair porch
Smith College
50 Elm St.
$22,000 — Exterior repairs at Clark Hall
SOUTH HADLEY
Northeastern Sheet Metal
50 College St.
$58,000 — Sheet-metal work
SPRINGFIELD
A.I.C.
125 Cartland St.
$30,000 — Build three offices
Derf Realty
170 Carando Dr.
$120,000 — Renovate 2,800 square feet to expand existing tenant
John Salema
1218 State St.
$55,000 — Interior cosmetic renovation to office space
No Limit Investment Inc.
489-493 Worthington St.
$8,500 — Exterior renovation
Sanjay Patel
182 Boston Road
$106,000 — 1,860 square feet of space added to existing building
Walmart
1105 Boston Road
$500,000 — Install solar array on existing roof
WEST SPRINGFIELD
Balise Automotive
635 Riverdale St.
$10,000 — Remodel restrooms
Lattitude Realty, LLC
1338 Memorial Ave.
$200,000 — Renovate 2,600 square feet of commercial space
The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.
Ackerman, Robert M.
a/k/a Mejias, Gail T.
90 Garfield St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Amancio, Dawn M.
7 Main St.
Sturbrdge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Atkinson, Brenda S.
P.O.Box 375
West Springfield, MA 01090-0375
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Beckwith, Mary Ellen
a/k/a Tsavidis, Mary E.
a/k/a Humaston, Mary E.
114 Cross Road
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Bell, Jonathan Matthew
60 Grantwood Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/26/12
Bernacki, Irene C.
15 Wilder Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/01/12
Bernier, Robert L.
Bernier, Michele M.
12 Cedar Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Berthiaume, Nathan H.
413 Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/01/12
Bessette, Brenden Michael
56 Edgemont St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Beyond Green Construction
Jeffords, Sean R.
13 Terrace View
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Bibbo, Kevin J.
Bibbo, Marcy
a/k/a Bohacik, Marcy J.
316 Silver St.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/12
Blackburn, Jolene M.
71 Jordan St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/12
Braun, Lenore M.
a/k/a Salvas, Lenore M.
164 Fox Hill Lane
Enfield, CT 06082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Brennan, Brian P.
44 Murray Lane
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/24/12
Buck, Elizabeth V.
a/k/a Rodriguez Salas, Elizabeth
306 Zoar Road
Rowe, MA 01367
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Budrow, Stephen D.
1182 North Hoosac Road
Williamstown, MA 01267
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Butler, Sheila A.
193 El Bernon Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Cahill, Gary B.
21 Riverboat Village Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/29/12
Calderon, Carmen I.
38 Columbia Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/29/12
Campo, John Cruzan
Campo, Donna Marie
20 Second St.
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/28/12
Castine, Kimberly M.
30 Oaklawn Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Chrostowski, Lester
8 Lawrence Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/24/12
Clarke, Stephen R.
172 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Collazo, Richard O.
P.O. Box 4218
Springfield, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/29/12
Colon, Santa
30 Sedgelia St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/06/12
Cordero, Jose
4505 Silver St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/25/12
Costa, Christina Marie
200 Hillside Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Cranshaw, Arthur C.
Cranshaw, Gail M.
717 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/12
Cravish, Peter J.
100 Stearns Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/12
Cribben, Maureen S.
PO Box 60154
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/12
Crocker, Chad L.
Crocker, Maureen E.
96 Arnold St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/23/12
Cruz-Guzman, Jose A.
307 Chestnut St., Apt. 220
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/12
Day, Robert E.
Day, Darlene M.
PO Box 615
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/10/12
DelBuono, Angela Diane
a/k/a Hersey, Angela D.
64 Honey Pot Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Delgado, Israel
21 Florence St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Dempster, Beverly F.
6 Coache St.
Three Rivers, MA 01080
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Dias, Andrea M.
145 Chapin St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/01/12
Diehl, Andrew Preston
Diehl, Jessica Lynn
a/k/a Craft, Jessica Lynn
120 Union St., Apt. 2
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/16/12
DiNicola, Rae Ann E.
56 Marian Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/12
Duerr, Christine D.
125 Granville Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/06/12
Eckman, Harry A.
8 Colony Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/12
Edwards, Angela M.
72 Canterbury Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/07/12
Ellman, Leslie Dale
a/k/a Magier, Leslie Dale
81 Northumberland Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Ethier, Peter M.
88 Edgewood Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/27/12
Expert Garage
DeCosmo Construction
DeCosmo, Ted J.
DeCosmo, Jacquelyn F.
49 Cobblestone Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/12
Fernandes, Jose C.
208 Osborne Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/17/12
Fessenden, Craig E.
Fessenden, Jacqueline D.
362 Pleasant St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Fitzgerald, Tricia Ann
a/k/a Gzimalowski, Tricia
103 Merrimac Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/12
Fitzpatrick, Kimberly A.
98 San Miguel St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/12
Flebotte, Richard A.
Flebotte, Digna
70 Nathaniel St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/12
Forbes, Jean Leslie
a/k/a Gonzales, Jean L.
41 Off Lariviere Ave.
Three Rivers, MA 01080
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/12
Fosty, Cara
a/k/a Bernardo, Cara
202 Franklin St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/12
Fregeau, William C.
Fregeau, Janice M.
1350 Pleasant St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Fronc, Jennifer N.
15 North Prospect St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/26/12
Garcia, German Jr.
186 Joseph Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Garcia, Ronette T.
150 Lincoln Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Gibbs, Derryl D.
Gibbs, Shelia
21 Fair Oak Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/25/12
Giroux, Walter S.
42 Parkin St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/01/12
Gloster, Richard P.
Gloster, Linda M.
590 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/18/12
Grover, David A.
PO Box 190
W. Stockbridge, MA 01266
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/26/12
GR’s Automotive Forms
Robare, George N.
P.O. Box 243
Chicopee, MA 01014
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Gryszowka, Michael J.
Gryszowka, Victoria A.
a/k/a Govoni, Victoria A.
79 Line St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Haecker, April L.
a/k/a Neal, April L
a/k/a Miles, April L
794 West Housatonic St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Haecker, Steven J.
794 West Housatonic St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Hall, Kristin T.
600 Station Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Handy, Benjamin P.
Handy, Mara
a/k/a Moskowitz, Mara
P.O. Box 766
Stockbridge, MA 01262
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/15/12
Harrington, Henry W.
118 Church St., Apt. A
Williamstown, MA 01267
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/16/12
Harris, Mary A.
50 Red Brook Lane, Apt 6G
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Herd, Daniel M.
47 Keith Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/13/12
Hernandez, Antonio
PO Box 4702
Chicopee, MA 01014
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/17/12
Hicks, Arthur D.
Hicks, Jacqueline H.
a/k/a Sutton, Jacqueline H.
a/k/a Henderson, Jacqueline L.
519 East River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Hodgdon, Carmela R.
31 Elm St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/15/12
Hodge, Liz
59 Kenwood Park #2
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/12
Holloway, Terry J.
Holloway, Lisa Jean
39 Lawnwood St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Hunt, Matthew J.
522 West Shaft Road Unit
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Ireland, Patrick M.
36 Belleclaire Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/07/12
Jean Claude Hardwood Floors
Koffi, Jean-Claude Didier
9 Pearl St.
Adams, MA 01220
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/17/12
Johnson, Mary Lou
44 Jenks St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/12/12
Kansanen, Jorma K.
10 Summer St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/25/12
Keenan, Marc Edward
27 Montague Road, Apt. 31
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/25/12
Klein, Teresa
a/k/a Guz, Teresa A.
201 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/24/12
Krstyen, Nicole L.
283 Bennett Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/28/12
Lamp, Kelly A.
8 Standish Court
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/05/12
LaRochelle, Todd M.
25 East St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/13/12
Lawton, David Edward
5 Nichols Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/17/12
Lebeau, Carla M.
12 Gross Lane
Eathampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/26/12
Lee, Walker P.
Lee, Donna L.
450 Main St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/23/12
Lepage, Rudolph C.
Lepage, Erna J.
58 Kon Tiki Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/12
Lepak, Dawn M.
62 Water St.
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/06/12
Little Lambs Daycare
Mathurin, Michael P.
Mathurin, Jillian M.
26 Hayden St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/26/12
Log Home Restoration of Mass.
Woods, Walter L.
Woods, Lisa K.
50 Shepherd St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/12
Loring, Jason E.
342 Southwick Road
Apt. A9
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/12
Lusty, Kevin J.
218 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/26/12
Lyons, John Raymond
2 Phillips St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/06/12
Machnik, Mark J.
Machnik, Simone A.
110 Breckenridge St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Mann, Cheryl L.
a/k/a Courville, Cheryl L.
PO Box 544
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Martinez, Orlando
1309 St. James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Mazeika, Sarah A.
26 Chestnut Hill Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/29/12
McFaden, Edward L.
675 Woods Road
Oakham, MA 01068
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/18/12
McKnight, John R.
McKnight, Kathryn J.
20 Murphy Place
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Mendenhall, Karen S.
124 Bristol St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/12
Messer, Charles
Messer, Dawn M.
181 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/10/12
Michelson, Kevin B.
Michelson, Savida K.
18 Grand Oak Farms Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Miller, Ronald P.
Miller, Susie A.
16 Briarwood Place
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/10/12
Miller, Toby A.
33 Eddy St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Morgan, Gail M.
7 Nancy Dr.
Rutland, MA 01543
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Motyka, Ann
375 Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/10/12
Murray, Patricia J.
71 Kennebunk St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/12
Musa, Diane M.
66 Kanawha Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/23/12
Normand, Faith Marie
a/k/a Goulette, Faith M.
3 Griswold Circle
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/12
Novo, Mark
130 Parkside Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/18/12
O’Brien, Nancy M.
50 Warren Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Ortiz, Antonio
192 Hamburg St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/23/12
Pac, Anna
a/k/a Lavoie, Anna
110 Valley Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/12
Pasterczyk, Joel H.
350 Meadow St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/26/12
Payne, Michael T.
14 Penncastle St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/12
Pellerin-Duck, Melinda A.
3 McClelland Farm Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Perez, Melvin
87 Phoenix Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/12
Phillips, Tawnya Marie
76 Oakman St.
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/24/12
Pinches, Roger G.
a/k/a Pinches, Boomer
35 Orchard St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/12
Pizarro, Odessa Marie
a/k/a Covington, Odessa
197 Westford Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/01/12
Poreda, Paul C.
Poreda, Shelley L.
38 Nye St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Price, Rebecca R.
80 Barrett St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/23/12
Przybyla, Joseph J.
104 Stedman St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/23/12
Quintana, Luz M.
26 Princeton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Ramos, Nelson
Davila Ramos, Julisa
323 Tinkham Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Reeves, Teresa E.
35A Linden St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/18/12
Reyes, Nereida
74-76 Newland St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/12
Richard, Shawn L
Richard, Pamela J.
a/k/a Paces, Pamela J.
360 North Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Richardson, Kelli M.
151 Smead Hill Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/23/12
Richardson-Wright, Kena Lee
a/k/a Stanley, Kena Lee
63 Harvard Ave.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/01/12
Rivera, Elsa M.
a/k/a Rivera Hernandez, Elsa M.
604 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Robinson, Ted R.
P.O. Box 386
East Otis, MA 01029
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/12
Roche, Todd Michael
P.O. Box 245
Bernardston, MA 01337
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Rodriguez, Jeanette T.
81 Senator Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Rosario, Diosdada
532 South Summer St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Rovezzi, Tracy L.
28 Maple St.
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Royal, Jason Scott
Royal, Emily R.
a/k/a Vanbrocklin, Emily
64 Mystery Lane
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Ruiz, Nereyda
159 Eddy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/12
Ryan, Thomas H.
Ryan, Amie F.
15 Lasalle St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Scarpa, Amy K.
130 Rachael Terrace
Westfield, MA 01085-1881
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/30/12
Schlemmer, Irene Elizabeth
42 Emerson Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/26/12
Smus, Robert A.
5 Ballard St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/20/12
Sokoloski, Joseph Bernard
39 Highland Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Solano, Victor J.
127 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/16/12
Sousa’s Fine Floors
Sousa, Steven Wayne
151 Taylor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/17/12
Stanhope, Adam E.
25 Podunk Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/01/12
Stasio, Mark A.
5 Pearl Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/18/12
Stevens, Marilyn J.
PO Box 271
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/24/12
Tascon, Mario J.
249 Cooley St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/24/12
Tesini, Gary J.
Tesini, Karen N.
71 Bradway Road
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/14/12
Tessa Distributing,
Labrie, Paul J.
139 Jeanne Dr.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Theriault, Gregory S.
185 Sikes Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Theriault, Melissa H.
68 Redwood Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Trenholm, Michael E.
171 North Warger Road
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/12
Tucker, Reggie
31 Oak Grove Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Tuttle, Anthony J.
19 Merriam St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/12
Varnum, Daniel A.
324 Spring St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/12
Vone, Elizabeth A.
80 Colonial Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/28/12
Voyevodin, Aleksey N.
5 Woodlawn St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Warner, Shirley J.
93 Adams Road
Haydenville, MA 01039
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/03/12
Weaver, Karen
87 Belleclaire Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/17/12
Wedlake, Mark Nicholas
a/k/a Garoppolo, Mark John
193 Worthington St., Apt. 501
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/19/12
White, Scott E.
White, Sheri L.
3 West St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/21/12
Young, Joseph
26 Colfax St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/31/12
Zarichak, Peter C.
348 Granville Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/12
Ziter, Christina Maria
9 Pearl St.
Adams, MA 01220
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/17/12
New incorporations filed with the Mass. Secretary of State’s office were not available at press time. They will be printed in the next issue of BusinessWest.
Big Y Relaunches Education Express
WILBRAHAM — Citing a passion for education and a belief that strong schools build strong communities Big Y World Class Markets recently announced the return of the Big Y Education Express Program beginning Oct. 4. Through the program, shoppers help schools receive supplies such as new computers, software, books, math and science materials, sports equipment, and other items. Shoppers can sign up to support the school of their choice beginning Sept. 6, and points will accumulate from Oct. 4 through Jan. 1, 2014. Sign up is available online at bigy.com/educationexpress, through Facebook, or by filling out a form at the customer-service desk or any register at a Big Y store. When shoppers purchase participating products, marked with a school-bus logo on the shelf sign, and present their Big Y Express Savings Club or Silver Savings Club card, they earn points for the school of their choice. Schools can then redeem the points for free educational supplies. Customers can track individual contributions online, and schools receive point updates weekly and can redeem points at any time during the program. Since 1993, Education Express has awarded more than $13 million worth of teaching materials and classroom equipment to more than 2,000 schools in Big Y’s market area.
HCC Foundation Awarded Grant
HOLYOKE — The Holyoke Community College Foundation has been awarded a $200,000 grant from Urban Research Park CDE, LLC, to launch a technology career pathways program in partnership with Dean Technical High School and the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC). The collaborative project, called Career Pathways in Technology for Holyoke, is designed to enhance technology education for Holyoke and area residents by establishing a CISCO Academy at HCC and Dean Tech while leveraging educational opportunities through the MGHPCC. CISCO, a corporate sponsor of the MGHPCC, licenses its CISCO Academy curriculum to offer training and professional certifications in the latest technology to help prepare students to fill the global demand for networking professionals. The three-year grant will serve at least 150 students, 25 a year at Dean and 25 a year at HCC. Classes are expected to begin in January 2013, with the program in full operation at both Dean and HCC by September 2013. Career Pathways in Technology for Holyoke will offer both non-credit and credit courses. Non-credit courses will offer certifications that can lead to job placement and are expected to serve the region’s current workers seeking entry-level jobs or job advancement. Dean students will also have the opportunity to enroll in credit classes at HCC in Computer Information Systems to obtain a certificate or associate degree. “One of the goals is to create an educational pathway from Dean Tech to both the credit and non-credit opportunities available at HCC and ultimately into the workforce or toward further educational opportunities,” said Jeffrey Hayden, vice president for Business and Community Service at HCC.
Impressions Academy of Dance Performs at WDW
FEEDING HILLS — Members of The Impressions Academy of Dance recently traveled to Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to take part in a Disney Performing Arts Program. Dance groups, choirs, ensembles, and marching bands from around the world apply to perform each year as part of Disney Performing Arts at both Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World. Once selected, groups are given the opportunity to perform at the resort for an international audience of theme-park guests. Millions of performers have graced the stages of the Disney parks in the more-than-25-year history of the program. Disney Performing Arts offers band, choral, dance, and auxiliary performers the opportunity to learn, perform, and compete at the Disney World resort.
Springfield College Ranked by Magazine
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College was recently ranked in the top tier of the Best Regional Universities – North Region category in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 edition of “Best Colleges.” The ratings are based on such variables as peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, student selectivity, class size, alumni giving, and student-faculty ratio. “We take pride in this recognition,” said SC President Richard Flynn. “Springfield College is committed not only to academic excellence, but to providing an affordable private education. This latest ranking again confirms that our outstanding faculty and staff remain committed to providing a top-notch education for our students.”
Tighe & Bond Awards Scholarships
WESTFIELD — Through the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Tighe & Bond Inc. recently awarded its yearly scholarships to three local college students pursuing engineering degrees. According to David Pinsky, president of the civil- and environmental-engineering firm, “Tighe & Bond firmly believes in the importance of higher education for promising students who have the desire to pursue degrees in engineering. It also offers us a tangible way to support the future of the engineering practice which is essential to problem solving and the well-being of our society.”
Recipients include Johnniel Gomez, a 2012 graduate of Roger L. Putnam Vocational High School, who will attend UMass Dartmouth and study Civil Engineering and received the Philip W. Sheridan – Tighe & Bond Scholarship; Jason Arble, a 2012 graduate of Holyoke High School, who plans to study Electrical Engineering at UMass Amherst and is the recipient of the Edward J. Bayon Memorial Scholarship; and Aaron Sabbs, a 2009 graduate of South Hadley High School, who will be a senior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he is majoring in Civil Engineering, and is a recipient of the George H. McDonnell Scholarship for the fourth year running. All of the scholarships awarded are in memory of past Tighe & Bond presidents.
Winstanley Partners Revamps Race Website
LENOX — Winstanley Partners recently revamped the website for the annual Josh Billings Run Aground Triathlon, also simply known as the Josh, which occurred on Sept. 16. Founded in 1976, the race draws more than 500 teams, from weekend warriors to full-fledged Ironmen and Ironwomen, who converge at the Stockbridge Bowl with bicycles, kayaks or canoes, and running shoes. Phil Cohen, project manager at Winstanley Partners, explained that the agency worked in tandem with Race Director Patty Spector to switch joshbillings.com over to the WordPress content-management system, which makes additions and updates simpler and allows race coordinators and the all-volunteer staff to revise information throughout the year. The new site will also keep race enthusiasts informed and attract more athletes and spectators who routinely check race locations, routes, and results.
Nonprofits Work Together to Beautify Zoo Grounds
SPRINGFIELD — Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity (GSHFH) and the Zoo in Forest Park & Education Center joined together recently to improve the public grounds at the zoo during a volunteer event titled “Habitat Goes to the Zoo!” “Our primary mission is to provide decent, affordable housing to families, usually human families,” said Jennifer Schimmel, executive director of GSHFH. “Although this project falls outside of our typical mission, we are Springfield neighbors with the zoo, and the animals that live there need a little help with their housing as well. GSHFH is very adept at mobilizing and managing volunteers, and we are glad to be leveraging that talent on behalf of the zoo.” John Lewis, executive director of the Zoo in Forest Park, added, “we have spent much of this season recovering from big property damage from the storms of last year. We are so grateful that we were able to connect with Greater Springfield Habitat to put the finishing touches on many of our exhibits.” Habitat volunteers focused on painting 14 wooden buildings and animal sheds, he noted.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Awards $75,000 in Grants
BOSTON — To recognize Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ (BCBSMA) 75th anniversary, four not-for-profits each received a $75,000 grant to promote nutrition education and access to healthy foods. The BCBSMA 75th Anniversary Grants were awarded to the Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council, the Urban Food Initiative, Project Bread in partnership with Lynn Economic Opportunity Inc., and Boston Natural Areas Network. “For 75 years, Blue Cross has maintained a deep commitment to improving health outcomes and the quality of life for residents of the Commonwealth,” said Andrew Dreyfus, president and CEO of BCBSMA. “Many families continue to face financial hardship as a result of the economic downturn. With growing demand and shrinking resources, the safety-net services they turn to are severely strained. The BCBSMA 75th Anniversary Grants will help advance critical programs in the communities at greatest risk.” The four not-for-profit organizations were selected after a competitive process challenging them to develop programs to improve the lives of struggling families with children school-aged or younger in Massachusetts. Each organization takes a unique approach to advancing the health and nutrition of families facing economic hardship throughout the state. Locally, the Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council will implement a comprehensive nutrition education program geared towards influencing the eating habits of nearly 200 kindergarten students and their families located in three critical need elementary schools in Holyoke. The program provides education about eating and growing fresh produce, and includes field trips to local area farms. “Blue Cross’ support makes the Holyoke Kindergarten Initiative possible,” said Anne Cody, Kindergarten Initiative coordinator for the Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council. “Here in Holyoke, there is a large Latino population with strong preferences for culturally familiar produce. Thanks to Blue Cross, we can tie the students’ cultural backgrounds to local farming and healthy eating, which is an excellent approach to real and meaningful dietary preferences. We can’t thank Blue Cross enough for making the Holyoke Kindergarten Initiative a full, delicious adventure in local food and farming. Kids learn better when they eat better.”
Berkshire Money Management Named
Lead Sponsor of Artswalk
PITTSFIELD — First Fridays Artswalk, which began as the idea of local businesswoman Mary McGinnis and local artist Leo Mazzeo earlier this year, will become the first year-round monthly collaborative arts event in the Berkshires, thanks to a new lead sponsor. The local investment firm Berkshire Money Management has stepped up to the plate to support First Fridays Artswalk, enabling the initiative to continue into the winter and 2013. Berkshire Money Management President and Chief Investment Officer Allen Harris was impressed with the success of First Fridays Artswalk and saw an opportunity to help. “As a business owner, I see the incredible value of the arts and culture for the local economy and for our quality of life,” he said. “When I looked at the early success of the Artswalk and its positive impact for downtown businesses, it was clear to me that this needs to continue throughout the year.” He encouraged other local companies to also step up to the plate and support the event. Ferrin Gallery, who hosted the press conference announcing the new sponsor, was inspired by Harris to donate 15% of any sales made that day to First Fridays Artswalk. The events are held the first Friday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m. in downtown Pittsfield, featuring art shows in more than two dozen galleries, shops, and restaurants, often featuring artist receptions, artist talks, and other special events. McGinnis, owner of Gallery 25 and Mary’s Carrot Cake, has been measuring the direct economic impact in just the first four months of Artswalks. So far, she has documented more than $40,000 in sales of artwork and other items, and she’s not finished contacting businesses. Berkshire Money Management joins other major sponsors of First Fridays Artswalk, including Gallery 25, the Massachusetts Cultural Council/Cultural Pittsfield, and the Berkshire Art Assoc., along with the Berkshire Bank Foundation, Berkshire Heath Systems, Berkshire Theatre Group, and Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Downtown Artswalk partners include Empty Set Projects, Miller Supply, Berkshire Museum, Crowne Plaza, Brix Wine Bar, Marketplace Café, Downtown Pittsfield Inc., the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Pateez Boutique, Brenda & Co., Bagels Too, Berkshire Carousel Gallery, Steven Valenti Clothing for Men, Berkshire Community College Intermodal Gallery, Paul Rich Sons, Spice Dragon, Alchemy Initiative, Art.On.No, Treehouse, Gallery 25, Mad Macs, BINGO!, Wild Sage, Aerus Electrolux, Y Bar, Ferrin Gallery, Circa, the Lantern, West Side Clock Shop, and Berkshire Medical Center. For more information, visit www.firstfridaysartwalk.com.
Construction Unemployment Falls
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s construction industry added 1,000 jobs in August, lowering the unemployment rate in the sector from 12.3% in July to 11.3% last month, according to the Sept. 7 employment report by the U.S. Labor Department. Year over year, the construction industry added 17,000 jobs, or 0.3%, rendering it among America’s slowest-expanding industries. The non-residential building-construction sector lost 2,400 jobs for the month and 4,900 jobs, or 0.7%, compared to one year ago. August employment in the sector stood at 653,200 jobs. Employment in the residential building-construction sector slipped by 1,100 jobs in August, but increased by 5,200 jobs, or 0.9%, during the past 12 months. Residential building-construction employment in August stood at 564,000 jobs. Non-residential specialty-trade contractor employment declined by 6,400 jobs in August and is down by 18,900 jobs, or 0.9%, from same time last year. In contrast, residential specialty-trade contractors added 8,200 jobs for the month and gained 18,700 jobs, or 1.3%, from one year ago. The heavy and civil-engineering construction sector gained 2,800 jobs in August and added 17,400 jobs, or 2.1%, since August 2011. Across all industries, the nation added 96,000 jobs as the private sector expanded by 103,000 jobs and the public sector shrank by 7,000 jobs. Year over year, the nation added 1,808,000 jobs, or 1.4%. The nation’s unemployment rate in August fell to 8.1%, down from 8.3% in July. “The fact that the construction-industry unemployment rate in August declined to 11.3% — the lowest level since October 2008 — seemed to be a pleasant surprise,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “But under further examination, this is largely due to former construction workers moving to other industries or leaving the workforce altogether. On a national level, the Labor Department reports a record-high 88,921,000 Americans are not in the civilian workforce. What is more discouraging, 368,000 people simply dropped out of the labor force last month and did not even look for a job. In the non-residential construction category, the news is similar. The sector lost additional employment in August, is down on a year-over-year basis, and posted negative job growth in six of the past seven months.” Basu noted that investors remain concerned by rising energy prices, America’s ‘fiscal cliff’ regarding year-end tax-cut expirations, the November elections, and impending policy decisions regarding interest rates and money supply. “Until at least some of this uncertainty is resolved, the non-residential construction labor market will continue to underperform.”
Business Confidence Index Continues to Rebound
BOSTON — The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index added three points in August to 55.2, continuing its recuperation from an 8.5-point plunge in June to 48.3. “What we have seen in the past few months encapsulates the overall course of this economic recovery,” said Raymond Torto, global chief economist at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. and chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors. “We are beset by persistent uncertainties — the June survey took place at a time of disturbing news from Europe, and of course there are domestic concerns as well — while, at the same time, the recovery is consolidating and prevailing business conditions are generally positive.” Torto noted that midyear drops in both 2010 and 2011 lasted longer than this year’s single month of decline. “We’re already most of the way back to May’s level. The Index is up six points from last August and 7.5 over two years. For the AIM Index as for the economy, progress since mid-2010 has been slow and bumpy, but the overall trend is upward.” The AIM Index, which has appeared since July 1991, is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; a reading above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative. The Index reached its historic high of 68.5 on two occasions in 1997-98, and its all-time low of 33.3 in February 2009.
Photographers Click at Westfield State
Through Oct. 20: Westfield State University’s Arno Maris Campus Gallery is hosting “Through the Iris, the Photographic Perspective,” an exhibit featuring the work of local photographers Betsy Feick, Elizabeth Garcia, Bill Hughes, and Dan Minicucci. Feick’s collection, “The Meadows,” highlights local rustic scenery from Northampton. “My specialized infrared camera captures a part of the light spectrum invisible to our human eyes,” she said. “My slightly distorting wide-angle lenses put the viewer right in the picture and add an unearthly quality to the photos.” Garcia’s “Nebulous” is an abstract collection of photographs described as “science fiction-like.” There is a lack of clarity in terms of what subject matter the images are conveying and a slight level of confusion about how they were conceived. The collection “has cohesively morphed my visual aesthetics in painting and photography into an abstract world of suspension,” she said. “The ability to initiate imagination and pondering in the minds of others is an admirable gift that inspires me and sustains my intrinsic visual engagement as an artist and viewer.” Meanwhile, Hughes’ “Dream Sketches,” she said, “are pictures which explore visual possibilities that may exist when time, space, and motion are allowed to accumulate through the lens of a camera and be recorded. Finally, Minicucci’s photos reflect the more than 15 years he has spent documenting the flora, fauna, and scenery of the Westfield River Watershed. There will be an artist’s reception on Oct. 4 from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with live music and refreshments. Normal gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 2 to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 2 to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. The gallery is located in WSU’s Ely Campus Center.
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 a federal prosecutor. For more information on the event, call (413) 733-0110.
Brown, Warren to Debate
Oct. 10: Massachusetts citizens will soon cast ballots for U.S. senator in a nationally followed race. On behalf of the Western Mass. U.S. Senate Debate Consortium, the Springfield Public Forum will serve as coordinator of one of the debates between Republican Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren. Slated for Symphony Hall, this will be the only debate between the candidates held in Western Mass. Tickets are required, but are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis at various locations in the area, including the Economic Development Council, 1441 Main St., Springfield, as well as from event partners Mass Live, New England Public Radio, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the Republican, UMass Amherst, the Amherst Valley Press Club, Western New England University, WGBY, WGGB (abc40 and Fox 6), WSHM (CBS 3), and WWLP (NBC 22). Tickets are general admission only.
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.
Novelist, Playwright to Speak at STCC
Oct. 12: Andrea Hairston, novelist and playwright, will visit the region as part of the Ovations series, sponsored by the Chicopee Savings Bank Endowment for Academic Excellence, the STCC Office of Academic Affairs, and the STCC Honors Program. There will two performances, at 10:10 and 11:15 a.m., in Scibelli Hall. Both are free and open to the public. Hairston is the Artistic Director of Chrysalis Theatre. For more than 30 years, Hairston has created original music, dance, and mask productions. In 1997, Hairston turned her interest to science fiction and wrote a sci-fi theatre jam, Archangels of Funk. She also published her first sci-fi novel, Mindscape, which won the Carl Brandon Parallax Award. Tony Award winning playwright Pearl Cleage said, “Andrea Hairston’s Mindscape starts with a vision of the way things ought to be and then takes us along on the amazing journey that must be undertaken to make that vision a reality.” Hairston has spent her career exploring the links between arts and science. This multi-faceted presentation will feature readings, music, and performance. For additional information about the Ovations series, contact Philip O’Donoghue at (413) 755-4233 or [email protected].
An Evening of
Classical Music
Oct. 19: The New England Farm Workers’ Council, the North End Educational Development Fund, the Student Prince & Fort Restaurant, and the Puerto Rican/Latino Leadership Council will present “Diversecity,” an evening at Springfield’s Symphony Hall with the internationally renowned Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring 70 musicians and guest singers. The symphony will be conducted by Maestro Rafael Enrique Irizarry III, with special guest Kevin Rhodes. The event, starting at 7:30 p.m. and hosted by Bax & O’Brien of Rock 102, is intended to bring local residents together in celebration of the strength, diversity, and cultural richness of this region and its people. Tickets may be purchased at symphonyhall.com or ticketmaster.com.
Writer, Essayist to Speak
Nov. 5: Anne Fadiman, a writer, essayist, and author whose first book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, won her a National Critics Book Circle Award, will visit the region as part of the Ovations series, sponsored by the Chicopee Savings Bank Endowment for Academic Excellence, the STCC Office of Academic Affairs, and the STCC Honors Program. There will two performances, at 10:10 and 11:15 a.m., in Scibelli Hall. Both are free and open to the public. The Washington Post called Fadiman’s book “an intriguing, spirit-lifting, extraordinary exploration.” The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tells the story of Lia Lee, the daughter of Hmong immigrants from Laos, who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1981. What follows is the story of a clash of cultures as well as an examination of the U.S. healthcare system. The book is often taught in university literary journalism courses across the country and serves as a casebook for cross-cultural sensitivity. Fadiman also is the author of Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader and At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays. She currently resides in Whately and is a professor of English and writing mentor at Yale University. For additional information about the Ovations series, contact Philip O’Donoghue at (413) 755-4233 or [email protected].
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].
ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555
• Oct. 2: Rake in the Business Tabletop Showcase, 4:30-7 p.m., 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. The ACCGS has joined the Greater Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield chambers of commerce to bring members an affordable way to market their business. Platinum Sponsors: Charter Business, PeoplesBank, and Westfield Bank. Gold Sponsors: BusinessWest, First Niagara Bank, the Westfield News, and Harrington Insurance. Tables cost $100 and include table covering, skirt, and electricity (if needed). This opportunity is open to chamber members only. Make table reservations online at www.myonlinechamber.com, by calling CecileLarose at (413) 755-1313, or e-mailing larose@myonlinechamber. You may also fax your form to (413) 755-1322. The cost to attend the event is $5 if pre-registered, $10 at the door.
• Oct. 11: The Western Mass Business Expo, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., MassMutual Center, Springfield. The ACCGS is partnering with BusinessWest on the event, which starts with the Chamber Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in the ballroom, where Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Freeland will release the report “Time to Lead: the Need for Excellence in Massachusetts Public Higher Education.” Also planned are brief comments by area college presidents. Tickets cost $25 per person for breakfast and $45 per person for lunch. For reservations to the breakfast or lunch, contact Cecile Larose at [email protected], or register online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
• Oct. 17: Business After 5, 5-7 p.m., Six Flags New England, Agawam. Come join the chamber as Six Flags offers an inside look at the Looney Tunes characters and how they prepare to meet the public. Sponsorships are still available for this event. The Chamber has reduced the price of its After 5 this season to $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Reservations are accepted at www.myonlinechamber.com or by emailing Cecile Larose at [email protected]. There will be food and a cash bar.
• Oct. 26: Super 60 Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Chez Josef, 176 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam. This annual chamber event recognizes the top 60 companies in both revenue and growth. Presenting sponsor is Health New England. Other sponsorship opportunities are still available. Guest speakers are Stanley Kowalski III, owner and founder of FloDesign Inc., and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki, who will show how government and private industry can work together successfully in this environment. Cost is $50 for members, $70 for non-members. Reservations can be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by emailing Cecile Larose at [email protected].
Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700
• Oct. 4: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner, 5:30-9 p.m., Lord Jeffery Inn. Annual Awards Dinner presented by PeoplesBank. Emceed by Monte Belmonte of 93.9 FM. This year’s A+ Awards recipients are the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Legacy Award for Environmental Leadership; Ray Shafie, former owner of Copy Cat Print Shop, Lifetime Achievement in Business; Chris Riddle, retired architect and founder of Kuhn Riddle Architects, Lifetime Achievement in Business; Youssef Fadel, New England Promotional Marketing, Chamber MVP. Additional sponsors: Health New England, J.F. Conlon & Associates.
• Oct. 12: Chamber Legislative Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., Lord Jeffery Inn. Cost: $15 for non-members, $12 for members.
Franklin County Chamber of Commerce
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463
• Oct. 12-13: Brick & Mortar International Video Arts Festival, 4-10 p.m., downtown Greenfield. A walking tour of video art. Free admission. See www.greenfieldvideofest.org for more information.
• Oct. 19: Breakfast Series Program, 7:30-9 a.m., Bella Notte Restaurant, Huckle Hill Road, Bernardston. Thank you to U.S. Rep. John Olver. Sponsored by Greenfield Cooperative Bank and the Academy at Charlemont. Cost: $12 for members, $15 for non-members. Call (413) 773-5463 for reservations.
Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
• Oct. 6: Casino Night, 6-11 p.m., One Cottage St., Easthampton. Come try your luck at an array of gaming tables. Lucky winners will win prizes. Hors d’oeuvres and a cash beer and wine bar throughout the evening. Major Sponsors: Easthampton Savings Bank, Finck & Perras Insurance Agency. Cost: $25 in advance, $30 at the door. For more information, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org.
• Oct. 11: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m., hosted and sponsored by Cooley Dickinson Southampton, Rehabilitation & Outpatient Services, Big Y Plaza, College Highway, Southampton. Hors d’oeuvres and door prizes. Cost: $5 for members, $15 for non-members.
• Oct. 22: Celebrity Bartenders Night, 6-9 p.m., Opa-Opa Steakhouse & Brewery, 169 College Highway, Southampton. Join us for a night of fun with local celebrities mixing drinks. Your tips benefit the chamber’s holiday-lighting fund. Raffles and fun. Free admission.
Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce
www.holyokechamber.com
(413) 534-3376
• Oct. 2: Rake in the Business Table Top Showcase, 5-7:30 p.m., Chicopee Castle of Knights. Four area chambers — Holyoke, Chicopee, Westfield, and ACCGS — are getting together to present a tabletop mini-trade show. Tables cost $100. Call (413) 534-3376 to register, or sign up online at www.holyokechamber.com.
• Oct. 3: Sales Training Breakfast, 7:45-9 a.m., the Log Cabin, 500 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. “How to Close the Sale in the New Economy,” Marc Wayshak, author of two books on sales and leadership, shares his revolutionary selling system for salespeople, entrepreneurs, and companies alike. Cost: $25 for members, $30 at the door and for non-members. Call (413) 534-3376 to register, or sign up online at www.holyokechamber.com.
• Oct. 10: Autumn Business Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., the Log Cabin, 500 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Sponsored by the Republican and Holyoke Medical Center. Recognizing new members, business milestones, and networking breakfast meeting. Cost: $20 in advance, $25 at the door, $30 for non-members. Call (413) 534-3376 to register, or sign up online at www.holyokechamber.com.
• Oct. 17: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., the Pioneer Valley Railroad train at Holyoke Heritage Park. Business networking event to take place on a train car and caboose, including a 50/50 raffle, a variety of door prize, and complimentary appetizers and beverages. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Call (413) 534-3376 to register, or sign up online at www.holyokechamber.com.
• Oct. 22: “Building a Small Business” Seminar, the PeoplesBank Conference Center at the Kittredge Business Center. Reception at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. panel discussion on “Writing a Business Plan, Sales, Marketing, Networking, and Adapting to a Changing Economy.” Free admission. Call Joanna Brown at (413) 552-2253.
Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900
• Oct. 3: Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m., 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Sponsored by Innovative Business Systems, Crocker Communications, and Pioneer Training. Cost: $10 for members.
Professional Women’s Chamber
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310
• Nov. 14: November Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Max’s Tavern, MassMutual Room, Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield. Guest Speaker: Lynn Ostrowski of Health New England. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for non-members.
Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
• Oct. 2: Rake in the Business Table Top Showcase, Castle of Knights, Chicopee. Presented by the Greater Chicopee, Greater Holyoke, Greater Westfield, and Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. Exhibitor tables cost $100.00 (Westfield’s new members get a 50% discount), and each receive six extra passes to the show. Cost: $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Each ticket is entered into a drawing for a Kindle Touch with a leather case. Platinum Sponsors are Westfield Bank, PeoplesBank, and Charter Business; Gold Sponsors are BusinessWest, the Westfield News, First Niagara, and Harrington Insurance Agency Inc. Call Pam at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected] to register.
• Oct. 17: WestNet Oktoberfest, 5-7 p.m., East Mountain Country Club, 1458 East Mountain Road, Westfield. Sponsors: Comcast and Frosted Swirl Cupcakes. Cost: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members. Your first WestNet is always complimentary. Call Pam at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected] to register.
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.
HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Alexander C. Richardson v. HSBC Bank, USA National Assoc., as trustee for Wells Fargo Home Equity Assets Backed Securities
Allegation: Chapter 93A damages for wrongful foreclosure without following statute: $100,000
Filed: 8/13/12
David Walczak v. Mass Central Railroad Corp.
Allegation: Negligent maintenance of railroad track causing plaintiff to be thrown from his bike: $35,509.91
Filed: 8/13/12
Norman Lloyd Jr. v. Adam Quenneville Roofing & Siding Inc.
Allegation: Failure to pay earned commission: $40,000
Filed: 8/20/12
Rachel L. Beiermeister v. Crackel Barrel Old Country Store Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $2,003,000
Filed: 7/31/12
HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Amhad Development Corp. v. Amherst Assoc. Development Inc.
Allegation: Breach of construction contract: $50,000
Filed: 7/12/12
Felix Perez v. Anthony’s Dance Club Inc., et al
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $40,000+
Filed: 7/27/12
R.E. Laplante Construction Inc. v. Harold L. Eaton Associates Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract to supply accurate land survey: $25,000+
Filed: 7/2/12
Ruth M. Braman v. Ian Modesto, D.M.D
Allegation: Negligence in extraction of 22 teeth: $100,000+
Filed: 7/13/12
Western Mass Recycled Metals v. ABC&D Recycling Inc.
Allegation: Breach of management and operation agreement: $125,000+
Filed: 8/3/12
SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Avery Investment Properties, LLC
Allegation: Balance due on workers’ compensation insurance policy: $43,272
Filed: 8/10/12
Polygon US Corp. v. Simard’s Family Restaurant
Allegation: Non-payment of labor and materials provided for water-damage restoration: $4,006.38
Filed: 8/10/12
West Springfield Auto Parts v. Brake King
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $97,929.35
Filed: 8/14/12
West Springfield Auto Parts v. Rycorp Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $51,565.21
Filed: 8/14/12
WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Tighe & Bond Inc. v. Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract and balance due for engineering services rendered: $36,513.89
Filed: 8/9/12
What’s Next for America’s First National Blueway
It used to be called “America’s best-landscaped sewer system.”
But no one’s laughing at the Connecticut River anymore, which is now being held up as a model of how dozens of diverse stakeholders — individuals and groups focused on such diverse goals as conservation, recreation, education, and economic development — can come together to benefit one of the nation’s longest rivers.
The river’s recent designation as the first National Blueway — part of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative — reiterated that success.
“This designation was based on 60 years of partnerships,” said Andrew French, project leader for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Sunderland, noting that the Connecticut River Watershed Council, a group that advocates for the environmental health of the river, formed in 1952.
“And so much has happened since then,” French continued. “It went from being characterized as the best-landscaped sewer to a partnership that’s being used as a model for the National Blueway system.”
That partnership, he said, has, over the years, brought together stakeholders from the realms of conservation, education, recreation, and economic development, many under the aegis of Friends of the Conte Refuge, a loose coalition of individuals and groups with interest in the health of the river and its watershed. And it’s critical that these parties work together, French stressed, or none of their individual efforts will be successful.
Andy French says myriad stakeholders were crafting strategies for river use long before the Blueway designation.
Those with a stake in the Connecticut River hope the Blueway designation helps to achieve just that, and advance goals that have been decades in the making.
Blue By You
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal has long been interested in the Connecticut River from both the ecological and economic angles. He told BusinessWest that, while the Blueway distinction doesn’t bring additional federal funds to the river’s stakeholders, it is meant to unify existing conservation efforts into a more cohesive strategy, one that preserves important U.S. rivers as natural interstate corridors that benefit both people and wildlife.
“The Connecticut River represents a great achievement for conservation and protection,” Neal said, adding that achievements like Blueway status “keep the idea of our scenic waterways in front of all of us.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said earlier this year that the Blueways program aims to protect and popularize the country’s rivers by taking a holistic approach to conservation. Unlike the current patchwork of federal protections, which typically only cover certain segments of a river, a national blueway will include the entire river “from source to sea,” as well as its surrounding watershed.
Salazar visited Hartford in May to announce that the 410-mile Connecticut River and its vast watershed, encompassing land in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, would be the first Blueway. In fact, according to the Appalachian Mountain Club, more than 10% of the U.S. population lives within 100 miles of the river’s 7.2 million-acre watershed.
“The Connecticut River watershed is a model for how communities can integrate their land and water stewardship efforts with an emphasis on source-to-sea watershed conservation,” he said at the time. “I am pleased to recognize the Connecticut River and its watershed with the first National Blueway designation as we seek to fulfill President Obama’s vision for healthy and accessible rivers that are the lifeblood of our communities and power our economies.”
Andrew Fisk, executive director of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, said the designation was gratifying for those in his organization, as well as the Conte Refuge, because it affirms the work they and others have already done in transforming the river from a polluted problem to one bounding with recreation and wildlife. Fisk said Salazar’s advance team was impressed by the region’s ability to bring more than 40 organizations together to work on issues of water quality, land conservation, and recreation.
French agrees. “That’s the direction we’ve been going in. I think America’s Great Outdoors is an outstanding initiative, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a public servant; I really believe that. I like it because it’s looking at the ecology of the landscape, it’s looking at the economy of the landscape, and it’s looking at the demand for space in the landscape. In many ways, it’s getting ‘real.’ We’re living within a working landscape, and we need to figure out how to do education, recreation, and conservation in that landscape.”
With that in mind, he continued, “over a year ago, after the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative came about, we were talking to members of Friends of Conte, and we said, ‘hey, this potential Blueway initiative seems like a good opportunity.’
It’s also an opportunity that was aided immeasurably by the waterway’s designation as an American Heritage River (AHR) in 1997, Neal said. In angling for that title, Neal actually traversed the entire length of the river — mostly by boat, but occasionally by car at impassable points. He said the Clinton-era AHR program brought additional funds for sewage cleanup as well as a ‘navigator,’ a federal employee charged with working with communities to identify resources for river cleanup and use.
“Because it had that designation,” Neal said, “it moved the river up in terms of priority” for later developments like the Blueway program.
The hope of the Blueway program is that many different stakeholders can form a network under the Blueway umbrella, creating a seamless system that will filter down to users in the form of information on water quality, recreational opportunities, and other aspects of the Connecticut River and its watershed. The fact that those partnerships already existed, French said, was clearly a factor in earning the Blueway designation.
Working Tidal
The America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, Salazar notes, is an attempt by the Obama administration to set up “a community-driven conservation and recreation agenda for the 21st century.” That agenda has three aspects: protecting and restoring lands of national significance, building a new generation of urban parks, and increasing the national focus on rivers. Joining with pre-existing partnerships, such as those that exist around the Connecticut River, demonstrate “how the federal family can be an effective conservation partner for community-led efforts.”
Still, the Blueway designation alone won’t make much difference in itself. “It will only do as much as we choose to do,” French said. “If you’ve got a foundation and a forum to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate, and you don’t use it, then nothing is going to happen.
“But a lot is already being done in this area,” he continued. “I look at the National Blueway system as an opportunity to just ramp it up a little more and save time and money. The landscape will benefit from Cabinet-level commitment.”
It’s a landscape that deserves the attention, Neal said. “It’s huge, and there are so many great stories along the Connecticut River — the sheer beauty and how important that river was to the success of those communities in the Valley. If you look at the seal of the city of Springfield, the Connecticut River is on that seal.”
French said it’s the interplay of economic and ecological interests that makes his partnerships so vital.
“Recreation is a big part of America’s outdoors; it connects people with the great outdoors. If you’re going to recreate outside, the environmental quality and conservation of the land is key. And if you don’t accompany your conservation efforts with recreation in mind, then the sustainability of your conservation potential is going to suffer. The same holds true for economics; quality recreation can lead to economic opportunities.
“The National Blueway system, in many ways, is being modeled after parts of the Silvio Conte Refuge,” he added. “It’s very much in line with what we as partners are trying to accomplish in the Connecticut River watershed.”
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555
• Sept. 13: ACCGS Board of Directors Meeting, 8-9 a.m. Location TBD.
• Sept. 14: ACCGS Legislative Steering Committee, 8-9 a.m. at the TD Bank Conference Center, Springfield.
• Sept. 19: ERC Board of Directors Meeting, 8-9 a.m. at the Gardens of Wilbraham.
• Sept. 28: ERC5 Chamber Annual Golf Classic, at the Country Club of Wilbraham. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with a 12:15 shotgun start. Cost is $110 for golfers. To register and for sponsor information, contact Roberto Nieves at (413) 755-1318.
AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700
• Sept. 25: Chamber Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. at the Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave., Amherst. Introducing UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, who assumed his role on July 1. He is the 11th chancellor of the flagship campus. Tickets are $12 for members, $15 for non-members.
CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
• Sept. 13: The Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce Annual Auction and Wine, Beer & Spirit Tasting, 6-9 p.m. at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, 500 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Music by the Eric Bascom Jazz Trio. Bid on great auction items including Red Sox tickets, restaurant gift certificates, golf clubs, massages, gift baskets, and more. Sample wine, beer, and spirits from Berkshire Brewing, Commercial Distributing, Commonwealth Wine & Spirits, Opa-Opa, V1 Vodka, and Williams Distributing. Discounted tickets at $35 must be purchased in advance by calling (413) 594-2101 or online at www.chicopeechamber.org. Tickets will be $40 at the door.
FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463
• Sept. 21: Chamber Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., at the Franklin County Tech School, Turners Falls.
GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
• Sept. 13: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange “Fall Fling,” 5-7 p.m. at Opa-Opa Steakhouse & Brewery, 169 College Highway, Southampton. Sponsored by All About You, LLC. Door prizes, Hors d’ouevres. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for non-members.
• Sept. 14: Karrin Allyson & Amherst Jazz Orchestra Bear Fest 2012 Concert, 7 p.m. at the White Brook Middle School, 200 Park St., Easthampton. Sponsored by the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are $15 for general admission. For tickets and more Bear Fest info, visit www.easthamptonbearfest.com
GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www. holycham.com
(413) 534-3376
• Sept. 12: Legislative Coffee Hour, 7:45-9:15 a.m. at the Summit View, 555 Northampton St. Sponsored by Dowd Insurance Agency and Loomis Communities.
Featuring local elected officials discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth, Holyoke, and our businesses in the months ahead. Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Call Wanda Zabawa at (413) 534-3376 for reservations, or register online at holyokechamber.com.
• Sept. 19: Holyoke Chamber Clambake, 5-7:30 p.m. at Holyoke Country Club
Presented by United Water and sponsored by Holyoke Gas & Electric and Westfield Bank, this seafood feast features lobster, steamers, clam chowder, make-your-own strawberry shortcake bar, and much more. Raffle prizes; $1,000 cash prize putting contest; and 50/50 Raffle. Get ninne holes of golf and a cart for only $15. Tickets are $30. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to reserve tickets, or register online at holyokechamber.com.
GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900
• Sept. 12: Northampton Chamber Monthly Arrive @5, 5-7 p.m. at the Northampton Athletic Club, 306 King St., Northampton. Arrive when you can, stay as long as you can. A casual mix and mingle with colleagues and friends. Sponsored by United Bank, United Personnel, and Dietz & Co. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900
• Sept. 13: September Networking Social. Location TBD.
PROFESSSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310
• Sept. 19: Professional Women’s Chamber Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m, at the MassMutual Room at Max’s Tavern. Keynote Speaker is Carla Oleska, CEO of the Women’s Fund. Tickets are $25 for PWC members, $35 for non-members.
QUABOAG HILLS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.qvcc.biz
(413) 283-2418
• Sept. 14: 2012 QHCC Annual Golf Tournament, at Cold Spring Country Club, 336 Chauncey Walker St., Belchertown. Sponsored by Monson Savings Bank. Please consider sponsoring this event early. Enjoy a relaxing day of golf at the newest golf course in the area. Registration is at 10 a.m., shotgun start at 11. Dinner is at approximately 4 p.m. To register, contact [email protected], or call (413) 283-2418 for more information. Win this tournament, and your team can display the first QHCC championship trophy.
SOUTH HADLEY/GRANBY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.shchamber.com
(413) 532-6451
• Sept. 18: Beyond Business, 5-7 p.m., at the the Old Firehouse Museum, 4 North Main St., South Hadley. Honor our premier members. Invitations will follow with details.
WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880
• Sept. 13: Programs Committee Meeting. Committee meets to discuss and develop WRC’s membership meetings, events, and promotions. If you would like to join this committee, e-mail [email protected] for more information.
• Sept. 13: Economic Development Committee Meeting. 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.
• Sept. 20: Economic Development Committee Meeting.
• Sept. 21: Executive Committee Meeting. A closed committee meeting of the chairman of the board, vice chairman, previous chairman, secretary, and treasurer. If you have something you would like addressed at this meeting, e-mail [email protected].
• Sept. 25: Board of Directors Retreat. A closed meeting of the board of directors. If you have something you would like to see addressed at this meeting, e-mail [email protected], and your comments and questions will be forwarded appropriately.
GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
• Sept. 13: Downtown Comes to Campus, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Westfield State University will showcase 18 downtown vendors in the Tim & Jeanne’s Dining Commons to students, staff and faculty. The event is free. There will be giveaways, raffle prizes, and demonstrations. Contact Pam Bussell at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.
• Sept. 14: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce September Breakfast. Registration is at 7:15 a.m., and the program begins at 7:50. Hosted by the 104th Fighter Wing, Air National Guard Base, 175 Falcon Dr., Westfield. Sponsors: Platinum Sponsor, Westfield Bank; Silver Sponsors: Easthampton Savings Bank, Field Eddy Insurance, Noble Hospital, United Way, Walmart, and Westfield Gas & Electric; Bronze Sponsors: Expert Tire and Renaissance Manor. Speaker: Brian Barnes, Airport Manager, Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport. Tickets are $25 for chamber members, $30 cash for non-members. Contact Pam Bussell at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected] for tickets or for more information.
• Sept. 19: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce WestNet After 5 Networking Event, 5-7 p.m., at Stevens 470 Marketing & Creative, 470 Southampton Road, Westfield. Speaker: Karen Rubin, executive director, Amelia Park Children’s Museum. Tickets: chamber members, $10, non-members $15 cash. Contact Pam Bussell at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected] for tickets or for more information.
Auction and Wine, Beer & Spirit Tasting
Sept. 13: Wine tasting is a spirited, thirst-quenching and good-natured adventure. And when it is the annual Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce Auction & Wine, Beer & Spirit Tasting Event, it is also a fund-raiser for a not-for-profit community resource that supports local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and the overall development of the region. Chicopee Savings Bank is the presenting sponsor of this year’s event, to be held at the Log Cabin from 6 to 9 p.m. William Wagner, president of Chicopee Savings Bank, and John Baran, station manager of WWLP-22 News, will serve as emcees. The event will include gourmet food stations. and wine, beer, and spirit samples will be available from Berkshire Brewing, Commercial Distributing, Commonwealth Wines & Spirits, Opa-Opa, V1 Vodka, and Williams Distributing. The event will also feature a silent auction, and the Eric Bascom Jazz Trio will also provide music. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. The general public is invited. To reserve tickets, contact the chamber at (413) 594-2101 or www.chicopeechamber.org.
The Big E
Sept. 14-30: From live music and parades to sea lions and a circus, there’s something for everyone at the Big E. Country music artist Rodney Atkins will play a concert at the outdoor Comcast Arena Stage on Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. The Big E’s Mardi Gras Parade returns to the fair with eight custom-made floats specially designed and built by the Kern Companies of New Orleans. The Big E Super Circus features aerial daredevils the Marinofs, the wonder dogs of David Rosaire’s Perky Pekes, the equilibristic ability of Dany Daniels and Edina, comedy, and more. In addition, the Big E will feature a show with the Peking Acrobats, horse shows, the U.S. Freestyle Motocross National Championship series, hypnotist Catherine Hickland, the Sea Lion Splash show, and much more. Look for details and show times at www.thebige.com. Gates open each day at 8 a.m., and building exhibits are open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Avenue of States is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Storrowton Village is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Craft Common is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the Midway is open Sunday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Reading and Book Signing
Sept. 17: Author and education advocate Jonathan Kozol will read from his latest book on at 7 p.m. in the Leslie Phillips Theater at Holyoke Community College. The event is free and open to the public. After the reading, Kozol will discuss and sign copies of Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-five Years Among the Poorest Children in America. He is an author and educational activist known for his non-fiction books on public education in inner-city schools, beginning with Death at an Early Age in 1967, which he wrote after working as a teacher in the Boston public-school system where he was fired for teaching a poem by Langston Hughes. The book won a National Book Award. In Fire in the Ashes, Kozol revisits the schools and children he first wrote about in his books Amazing Grace and Rachel and her Children. For more information, contact Liz Golen, HCC Student Activities coordinator, at (413) 552-2418 or [email protected].
‘All Souls’ Author
to Discuss Memoir
Sept. 21: As part of the Ovations series, sponsored by the Chicopee Savings Bank Endowment for Academic Excellence, the STCC Office of Academic Affairs, and the STCC Honors Program, Michael Patrick McDonald will discuss his coming-of-age memoir All Souls. There will be two performances, at 10:10 and 11:15 a.m., in Scibelli Hall. Both are free and open to the public. All Souls is an account of McDonald’s upbringing in South Boston during the turbulent 1970s. MacDonald, the ninth child in a family of 11, was raised by his mother. Four of his siblings died tragically, two of whom were associated with Whitey Bulger, the notorious crime czar of South Boston. Much of All Souls deals with the power Bulger held over South Boston and the tragic effects that had on MacDonald’s family. MacDonald will return to STCC, where he captivated the audience three years ago, to talk about Whitey Bulger and the legacy Bulger leaves behind. USA Today calls MacDonald “a born rabble-rouser whose emotional power numbs the reader’s reason.” For additional information about the Ovations series, contact Philip O’Donoghue at (413) 755-4233 or [email protected].
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 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.
Novelist, Playwright
to Speak at STCC
Oct. 12: Andrea Hairston, novelist and playwright, will visit the region as part of the Ovations series, sponsored by the Chicopee Savings Bank Endowment for Academic Excellence, the STCC Office of Academic Affairs, and the STCC Honors Program. There will two performances, at 10:10 and 11:15 a.m., in Scibelli Hall. Both are free and open to the public. Hairston is the Artistic Director of Chrysalis Theatre. For more than 30 years, Hairston has created original music, dance, and mask productions. In 1997, Hairston turned her interest to science fiction and wrote a sci-fi theatre jam, Archangels of Funk. She also published her first sci-fi novel, Mindscape, which won the Carl Brandon Parallax Award. Tony Award winning playwright Pearl Cleage said, “Andrea Hairston’s Mindscape starts with a vision of the way things ought to be and then takes us along on the amazing journey that must be undertaken to make that vision a reality.” Hairston has spent her career exploring the links between arts and science. This multi-faceted presentation will feature readings, music, and performance. For additional information about the Ovations series, contact Philip O’Donoghue at (413) 755-4233 or [email protected].
An Evening of
Classical Music
Oct. 19: The New England Farm Workers’ Council, the North End Educational Development Fund, the Student Prince & Fort Restaurant, and the Puerto Rican/Latino Leadership Council will present “Diversecity,” an evening at Springfield’s Symphony Hall with the internationally renowned Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring 70 musicians and guest singers. The symphony will be conducted by Maestro Rafael Enrique Irizarry III, with special guest Kevin Rhodes. The event, starting at 7:30 p.m. and hosted by Bax & O’Brien of Rock 102, is intended to bring local residents together in celebration of the strength, diversity, and cultural richness of this region and its people. Tickets may be purchased at symphonyhall.com or ticketmaster.com.
Writer, Essayist to Speak
Nov. 5: Anne Fadiman, a writer, essayist, and author whose first book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, won her a National Critics Book Circle Award, will visit the region as part of the Ovations series, sponsored by the Chicopee Savings Bank Endowment for Academic Excellence, the STCC Office of Academic Affairs, and the STCC Honors Program. There will two performances, at 10:10 and 11:15 a.m., in Scibelli Hall. Both are free and open to the public. The Washington Post called Fadiman’s book “an intriguing, spirit-lifting, extraordinary exploration.” The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down tells the story of Lia Lee, the daughter of Hmong immigrants from Laos, who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1981. What follows is the story of a clash of cultures as well as an examination of the U.S. healthcare system. The book is often taught in university literary journalism courses across the country and serves as a casebook for cross-cultural sensitivity. Fadiman also is the author of Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader and At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays. She currently resides in Whately and is a professor of English and writing mentor at Yale University. For additional information about the Ovations series, contact Philip O’Donoghue at (413) 755-4233 or [email protected].
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].
A Textbook Example of Effective Job Sharing
While job sharing is hardly a new concept — it’s at least a few decades old by most accounts — it has rarely succeeded, or even been tried, at a high-level administrative post, such as vice president of Philanthropic Services at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which is now being shared by Kristin Leutz and Katie Allan Zobel. For one of them (Leutz), this is a chance to live out research she did while attaining a master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Springfield College. For both, it’s a way to achieve coveted work/life balance while also carrying out highly rewarding work. What they’ve been doing for the past seven years can be described with one word: pioneering.
There’s a small pile of rocks — one of the owners actually called it a “sculpture” — sitting in the middle of the table, or leaf, that lies between the desks occupied by Katie Allan Zobel and Kristin Leutz.
These items come in all sizes and shapes (including a few that look like hearts — Leutz collects and treasures those), and they were brought back to Springfield from many different travel destinations. Most are gifts from one to the other, but some were found and simply added to the mix.
Kristin Leutz says the unique job-sharing situation she entered allows her to live out the research she did at Springfield College and MassMutual.
That starts with a job — vice president of Philanthropic Services for the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts — and its salary and needed benefits. They also share an office, a copier, that leaf with the rocks, a bookcase that is far too cluttered for either one’s good, the nameplate outside the door, and even the door itself (items chosen by both, ranging from newspaper cartoons to art created by Leutz’s youngest child, now compete for space).
It’s been this way since the late fall of 2005, when Zobel and Leutz applied as a team for a position then called director of Development, and prevailed over several traditional hopefuls — meaning singular men and women — in a decidedly different candidate-selection process (more on that later).
Currently, Leutz works Mondays and Tuesdays, Zobel takes over on Thursdays and Fridays, and they’re both in on Wednesday, or what has come to be known, alternately, as ‘overlap day,’ ‘hand-off day,’ and ‘pass-the-baton day.’
Between them, they have raised between $5 million and $8 million per year, said Kent Faerber, former president of the foundation and now interim president, and been highly successful in a multi-faceted position that has involved everything from fund-development management to PR and marketing, to promoting philanthropy across the region.
“This has been a very challenging job to share because of the sophistication of the work and the need for our external constituency to feel that their relationships with the foundation are seamless,” he told BusinessWest. “While a prospective donor might make initial contact with one of them, the other needed to be able to pick that up whenever he or she might call back or make contact later. They have developed quite extensive routines of information sharing and collaboration despite the fact that they are normally not in the office or on duty at the same time.”
When asked how they are able to succeed in this unique and challenging sharing arrangement, Leutz and Zobel used different words and phrases to say what amounts to the same thing: they work hard at it. And they need to, because, while having two minds working on all that goes into this job description is certainly beneficial for the foundation, such a scenario can get complicated.
“To try to figure this out is not simple; it’s not a straightforward thing,” Zobel said of job sharing in general. “We’re true pioneers.”
That’s a word that both used early and often, because there is very little job sharing going on in this region in general, and only a few examples from across the country of it working at such a high administrative level. The two are well-aware of this, and understand that their partnership could be considered ground-breaking and a potential model.
For this issue and its focus on women in business, we take a look at this unique employment arrangement, how it came about, and why, seven years later, it’s stronger than ever.
Sharing the Wealth
Carol Leary, president of Bay Path College and a long-time (now former) board member and president of the Community Foundation, remembers the search that eventually brought Leutz and Zobel to the organization — as well as her reaction to a situation (a teamed pair of candidates) that she hadn’t seen before and hasn’t seen since, at least at that level.
“I really didn’t have to be convinced very much — I loved the concept of trying it,” she recalled. “My sense was that the worst thing that could happen was that it wasn’t going to work … and I figured it was well-worth the risk because we didn’t want to lose either one of them.”
But Faerber, president of the foundation at the time, remembers that there was considerable skepticism among other members of the search panel, especially about the logistical aspects of such an arrangement. What eventually swayed them, he believes, was the prospect of putting two strong, creative minds to work on the many challenges and opportunities that would confront whomever held that title.
Katie Allan Zobel says she wanted to work for the Community Foundation, but couldn’t handle a 55-hour week, and the job-sharing arrangement allowed her to advance her career goals.
How these two minds came to sit across the table from those interviewers is an intriguing story, which starts at Amherst College in the mid-’90s, where Leutz and Zobel worked together in the broad realm of fund-raising and alumni relations.
They thrived in those roles, but Leutz eventually left the school to pursue a master’s degree in something called Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology at Springfield College. This is an emerging field, she explained, that involves the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations, and covers many aspects of human resources and organizational development, including a wide range of work/life balance issues and trends.
These specific areas of study defined her master’s thesis work at MassMutual. “I was looking at what they called alternative work arrangements there,” she explained, adding that job sharing was part of the mix, but there was a very limited study pool. “I did a large-sample survey and qualitative study of their employees and what kinds of work/life arrangements they were using — alternative schedules, part-time work, and other initiatives.”
She would eventually go on to work for the company as an organizational-development consultant in the Human Resources department, working on what amounted to the human side of a large-scale implementation of the SAP technology system. Little did she know that soon she would be taking much of what she learned in the classroom and at the financial-services giant and applying it to what amounts to a pioneering experiment.
Fast-forwarding somewhat, Faerber reached out to Zobel in the early fall of 2005 when she was an independent consultant (Amherst College was one of her clients) and asked if she could provide temporary support for the Community Foundation when its director of development was stricken with the cancer that would eventually take her life, and was then on leave of absence.
Zobel recalls being somewhat reluctant at first, but agreed, and soon found the work rewarding and the foundation an organization she enjoyed working for. “I was here for three months, and came to realize what an amazing resource the Community Foundation is. I had no idea the extent of their work and the way in which they did that work; it was both surprising and so engaging that I wanted to stay and apply for that position.”
But she determined fairly quickly that the 55-hour work week that the job entailed was something she didn’t want at that time in her life, with two young children.
Zobel recalls initial discussions with Leutz (who by this time had left MassMutual after the birth of her first child, ironically because she couldn’t work out the flex-time arrangement she desired) about the possibility of sharing this job. She did so without knowing the full extent and specific direction of Leutz’s graduate work — “I knew it was organizational development, but not much more than that” — and found her very open to what at that time amounted to exploring uncharted territory.
“This was a chance to live out my research and test it out,” Leutz recalled. “I was working way too many hours at MassMutual after the birth of my son, and didn’t have the work/life balance that I wanted. Here was the work/life expert having no balance; it was like the shoemaker’s children having no shoes. I was home with my son and ready to work, but not full-time.”
“When Katie came to me with this opportunity, which represented a chance to work in philanthropy in a way that I hadn’t before, I was excited,” she continued, “and I knew how to structure the job. So we applied for the position as a team.”
Work in Progress
Since getting the job and putting both their names on the plate outside their office, Leutz and Zobel have had an additional — and unique — segment attached to an already-lengthy job description: making their employment arrangement work for all parties involved.
This assignment involves everything from financial considerations, or costs to the organization, to ensuring seamless (that’s another word both women used repeatedly) delivery of services to the many kinds of clients who work with the Community Foundation.
As for the financial side of things, if two people are going to take a job that would normally be carried out by one individual, they theoretically can’t cost more than that one person would if things are going to work out for the company. And for the most part, that’s been the case with Leutz and Zobel.
Neither one has needed health insurance through the organization, which helps — if both did, that would be an additional expense — and their salary and other benefits amount to no more than what one individual would earn. There are some additional expenses — two computers and two phones are required, and if they travel together on conferences, there are two plane tickets and two registration fees (they split a hotel room) — but not many.
As for achieving a seamless operating environment, this involves constant and highly effective communication and making the very most of those aforementioned hand-off days.
Backing up a bit, the co-vice presidents went into some detail about what the foundation does and what their responsibilities are.
The foundation itself administers a charitable endowment consisting of approximately 528 separately identified funds (totaling $110 million) serving Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. The foundation also plays a central role in the charitable distributions from four large private foundations in the region, administered by Bank of America and representing approximately $24.6 million in additional charitable assets.
As for Leutz and Zobel, their official job description reads this way: “manage fund development and donor services; provide charitable gift-planning services to individuals, families, and groups, including planned gifts and gifts on non-cash assets; serve as a partner to local professional advisors assisting their clients in charitable giving; promote philanthropy in the region among stakeholders including institutions, individuals, and corporations.”
There are myriad responsibilities that go with that description, said Zobel, adding that, for two people splitting a week to carry them out, there must be communication, organization, and efficient sharing of those most important ingredients: information and opinions.
Elaborating, Zobel said she and Leutz will use Tuesday evening and then their traditional Wednesday carpooling (they both live in Amherst) to stay abreast of what’s happening with their many constituencies and plan a smooth flow of service and teamwork.
“On Tuesday evening, Kristin puts down in an e-mail to me what we call our ‘transition memo,’” she explained. “It explains everything that has happened, with highlights and bullets and an ongoing project list that we continually update; some things come off the project list, while others are added on that we need to do.
“We use that Wednesday commute to talk things over,” she continued. “I’ll have read the memo, looked it over Tuesday, and we’ll talk about those things that really need discussion.”
Said Leutz, “we basically talk on the phone a lot on our off days as well. We try to respect time off, but we wind up talking a lot because it makes things easier. And we use that commute to make the most out of discussing things that need decisions together or relationships that we share equally.”
Checking Your Balance
And while this job-sharing relationship has worked out well for the Community Foundation, it has also been everything Leutz and Zobel could possibly have expected from it — and more.
Indeed, they both talked about how this arrangement has done more than help them achieve work/life balance. It has also enabled them to be in a creative, rewarding job they could not have taken on otherwise, while also putting them in a collaborative environment that has allowed them to stretch their collective imaginations and become even better at what they do.
It’s such an attractive work environment that Leutz has stayed in it far longer than she has any other employment situation.
“I’m a restless person — this is the longest I’ve stuck with anything,” she said. “And I think that’s because I’m a collaborative thinker; even if I was working full-time, I would want to work this way, with people, because it enhances my production.”
Zobel agreed. “To do this kind of work on your own would be much harder. I can get a lot of feedback from Kristin throughout the week and from week to week about what I’m doing right, what I should change … I get infused with new energy.”
The downside to the arrangement, or at least one of them, they said, is that they are now latched to each other career-wise, a fairly tenuous situation, but one that neither one is worried about at the moment. After all, the relationship has survived a parental leave (Leutz had her second child a year after they took the job) and the need for both to earn higher wages, which they’ve accomplished through outside consulting work.
“You have to be much more creative with your own career to stay committed to someone at this level,” said Zobel. “That’s not necessarily a disadvantage, but it’s certainly a challenge.”
When asked if job sharing is a viable option for area companies and individuals working for them, both Leutz and Zobel said they provide ample proof that such arrangements can work.
But both employer and employees have to fully understand the concept, its many potential benefits, and the myriad challenges before they attempt to implement such a practice, they said.
And that starts with individuals fully understanding that, when they split a job, they take half the salary. That sounds simple, but many don’t get that part, said Zobel.
“People get all excited about this idea when we talk about it,” she told BusinessWest. “What Kristin and I wanted was a really meaningful, significant, meaty job, and you don’t usually get that in a part-time job; you either have to work much more than part time, or you work part-time and don’t get everything you want.
“Many of our peers feel the same way,” she went on. “And that’s why they get so excited about this. But then when they realize they only get half the salary, they get these startled looks on their faces.”
Moving beyond that all-important consideration, such arrangements can only work when the two individuals can work together effectively and establish a very high level of trust, something that has been accomplished in this case.
“I know when I’m not here, the work is getting done at as well as I would have done it, if not better,” said Leutz, “because Katie is here and I have complete trust in her.”
In general, job sharing has worked best with positions like administrative assistant, Leutz explained, but it has been effective in a variety of settings and with many different job titles.
“Any job share should be able to be matched to the work and to the role, but there are certain jobs that would be very difficult for people to share, and there are many ways that people structure job shares,” she said. “Some people have very discreet responsibilities and don’t overlap very much, and other people share everything because of the nature of the work.
“There are examples from around the country where executive-level employees, women and men, have been able to do this,” she continued. “But they have tended to structure these arrangements very creatively depending on the organization and the needs of the job. And we figured we had to do that here; we had to really understand the nature of the work and make ourselves flexible.”
Looking back, Leutz and Zobel both noted that they didn’t have all the answers for that search panel back in 2005, and that it’s taken the ensuing seven years to completely fill in their canvas. They’re not sure how long this relationship will go on, but for now they’re more than content to continue their pioneering efforts.
Two the Future
The level of sharing between Leutz and Zobel apparently goes further than the two understood — at least until recently.
Indeed, Leutz has one of those office chairs with a large rubber ball as the seat — chosen for ergonomic reasons (something else she learned while studying I/O Psychology). And when BusinessWest noted that Zobel uses a more traditional model, she admitted to her office mate, “I often use yours when you’re not here,” which was news to Leutz.
But beyond the chair, the door, the copier, and the four weeks of vacation, the two share something else — a firm desire to make this situation work both for them and the organization. It’s been something they’ve certainly had to work at, and it is that commitment to not merely a job, but also a truly unique work arrangement, that has made it successful.
You might say it’s a working situation that’s rock solid — and in more ways than one.
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
Financial Reporting at the Speed of Business: It’s Possible
Charlotte Cathro
With a few changes to how data is accumulated and processed, this can be accomplished.
Managers need to frequently monitor the financial statements of a business. Management oversight is an important component of internal control to ensure that processes are running smoothly. Typically this includes a review of the actual results of the period in comparison to the previous period or an established budget. Reviewing this comparison highlights unexpected activity and may indicate errors or fraud. It may also alter the outlook for future periods, and budgets are most effective when they are flexible and adjust for business changes.
In these economic times, companies need to be able to react quickly to indications of a poor outlook. The business may have bank restrictions for its debt, and will want to monitor the status of these ratios to prevent noncompliance. Cutting costs and scaling back budgets might be necessary to stay afloat. On the other hand, if business results are better than expected, management can use this information to increase investment or expansion. When the review of the financial performance is done well after the period ends, management has less time to make such decisions.
Up-to-date cash-flow information indicates what money is available for use in operations and what excess can be invested or distributed to the owners. Some investment opportunities, such as acquisitions of brands or other companies, may present themselves suddenly and require a quick turnaround. Available cash may also allow the company to pay invoices before they are due in order to take advantage of vendor discounts. However, many companies don’t reconcile their cash to the bank until month’s end, and may not even be entering transactions on a daily basis.
Automation can speed up the financial-reporting process. Transactions that are recurring in the same amount, such as rent, depreciation, and amortization, can be entered in advance. Reversing entries can be set up within the system to reverse the following month. Many organizations are moving from batch-processed systems, which update the financial software on a periodic basis from subsidiary ledgers such as accounts payable and inventory, to real-time systems. These real-time systems process transactions to all related modules immediately. Without the need to post batches and check that they were properly transferred, month-end closing is therefore expedited. Ideally, with these systems, reports can be run daily showing the current financial standing of the business.
Use of the Internet allows for much more up-to-date information. Electronic fund transfers are fixed to be paid on a specific date, unlike checks, which are delayed by receipt and time to clear. Online billing and bank statements allow businesses to keep track of transactions long before they receive statements in the mail. Bank accounts can be reconciled on a daily or weekly basis. Expenses can be entered as soon as the desired period of activity is complete. Businesses should sign up to view activity online for banks and vendors that provide this service.
Some information might not be available within the time frame. For example, bills for less-organized vendors can be received well after the expense was incurred. In order to make sure that the financial statements are as reliable as possible, estimates should be recorded for income and expenses expected to apply to the period. Estimates are acceptable as long as they are reasonably developed and would not change the outcome of any decision-making. A review of the records from the last few periods can be undertaken to indicate what items might be currently missing. Once the documents actually come in, the estimates can be reversed and the actual amounts recorded.
Timely financial information does come with a cost. The reliability of the data should not be sacrificed for speed. In some cases, investment in more advanced accounting software may be required, as well as additional staff or overtime hours for existing employees. However, the increased time in the interim could offset the time required at month-end and year-end close. Both the financial cost and additional stress of providing more timely financial information should be determined and weighed against the benefit it provides.
Charlotte Cathro is a tax manager with the Holyoke-based CPA firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; (413) 536-8510; [email protected]
The Growing Problem of Tax-return Identity Theft
One of the great scams being perpetrated today is what’s known as tax-return identity theft. Unscrupulous thieves are using stolen identities to prepare tax returns on behalf of unsuspecting individuals, and reaping thousands of dollars per false return filed.
How big of a problem is it? Treasury Inspector General Russell George said back in May that criminals who file fraudulent tax returns by stealing people’s identities could rake in an estimated $26 billion over the next five years because the IRS cannot keep up with the volume of the fraud. That’s a sobering figure.
How do you know if you have been subject to tax-return identity theft? Basically, after you file your actual tax return, you will get a letter from the IRS that says something like, “thank you for filing your tax return. However, we already received your tax return back in February.” That should trigger a big alert that something is seriously wrong. Residents of Puerto Rico have it even worse, since they don’t need to file a U.S. tax return unless they have U.S. activity. As such, when their identities are stolen for tax-return purposes, they don’t even get a warning letter, because they may not have had to file a U.S. tax return. Thus they don’t even know their identities were stolen in the first place. As a result, Puerto Rico has become a priority for the IRS.
The identity thieves basically make up everything on the tax return and prepare the return in such a way that a huge refund is expected. The refund is sent electronically, and the thieves now have loaded-up debit cards. The average theft appears to be in area of $5,000, and the aggregate problem is in the billions of dollars.
It is absolutely imperative that people be more diligent with respect to whom they provide their private and financial information. Further, it is more important than ever for businesses to be extra diligent in the safeguarding of that information. Massachusetts General Law CMR 17 mandates that organizations maintaining private information do so with strict accordance to the law. Therefore, ask how your lawyer, accountant, tax preparer, medical center, new or used car dealer, mortgage lender, bank, etc., safeguards your personal information.
I don’t believe it is unreasonable to predict that random, educational ‘spot testing’ by taxing authorities, in the form of actual physical visits, is in the future to help alleviate the hemorrhaging of personal information. As such, the best advice I can offer to everyone is to prepare to be able to explain to clients, customers, and the IRS, for that matter, exactly how you safeguard private information.
Here’s an example. Our office is on the top floor of our building, and there is no elevator access after working hours or weekends and holidays without an access key. Besides the small fortune we invested in electronic security, our office is equipped with motion alarms and continuously recording cameras. We have a camera in our file room. With the permission of our building owner, we even have cameras outside of our leased office space. That’s how serious we have become with security.
Although this whole issue is due to unscrupulous individuals, I believe both the IRS and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts bear some responsibility here. The rush to mandate e-filing for everyone obviously happened faster than the IRS and the Commonwealth’s ability to monitor it, as we can see from the epidemic of tax-return identity theft. At least with paper returns, W-2s were attached, and the returns were signed by taxpayers and preparers. Presently, none of these safeguards are required by thieves, and the proverbial rooster is in the electronic hen house.
Tax returns can be filed electronically from anywhere; interestingly, one of the great tax-return identity-theft operations originated out of the Dominican Republic. The only reason this operation was discovered was because several New York City postal employees were contracted by the thieves to deliver tax refunds to certain P.O. boxes. The only ones captured were the postal employees, because the organizers of the fraud were never caught.
Even the IRS inadvertently discloses personal information. I am personally aware of a very recent situation where an IRS letter was inadvertently sent to the wrong address. As a safeguard, the IRS letter indicated only the last four digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security number. The recipient wanted to do the right thing and wrote a letter to the IRS with a copy of the original letter, in the hopes that the IRS would understand that they had the wrong address. The IRS responded with a “thank you, we’ll get back to you” and, as an added bonus, provided the entire Social Security number of the taxpayer to this complete stranger. Now that is a very serious breach of security. We have notified the IRS Commissioner in Washington of this particular situation, and we hope we are able to help prevent an unfortunate security breach from occurring again.
Exempt organizations need to be more careful also. Lois Lerner, the IRS director of Exempt Organizations (and a Western New England University graduate), in a speech this past April at Georgetown University, warned about “an important issue of the day.” Between 2001 and 2006, more than 132,000 charities included at least one Social Security number on their tax returns. Those were the Social Security numbers of donors, trustees, employees, directors, scholarship winners, and the tax preparers themselves (the last of which is inexcusable, given the availability of preparer tax-identification numbers). Thus, make sure that any not-for-profit organizations that you are involved with aren’t revealing anyone’s private information, because once it’s on Guidestar, it’s public.
In summary, tax-return identity theft is real, and it’s going to be with us for a while. In the interim, it is imperative to be more diligent with your private information than ever before, ask more questions of those who maintain your private information, file your tax returns as early as possible (thus circumventing a theft), and, for business owners and professionals, treat your customers’ and clients’ private information as though it were currency, because, frankly, it now is.
Paul L. Mancinone is a principal with Paul Mancinone Co., P.C. in Springfield. His practice is primarily focused on taxpayer representation before federal and state agencies, and also has a recurring client base of individuals and business entities; [email protected]
The DOL’s Revenue Ruling Is Much Ado About Nothing
Charlie Epstein
Let’s get to the real facts: some fees will continue to stay hidden. Many carriers are already rushing to circumvent the DOL’s disclosure requirement for participants’ 401(k) plans by continuing to bury them in the plan’s mutual-funds expense ratio. They will do this by creating new mutual fund share classes.
There are three levels of potential fees that participants may pay when they are enrolled in 401(k) plans:
• Fund-expense ratios. This is the amount deducted on a daily basis from each mutual fund to pay for the 12b-1 fees, commissions, advertising, and the money manager. (Note: not all funds pay 12b-1 funds, such as index of ETFs.) There is a real misnomer here regarding disclosure and transparency to participants. The truth is that the majority of participants will still not know or understand what they are paying for with this expense because it will not appear on their quarterly statements.
The expense ratio, which is declared in basis points as a percentage (such as three-fourths of a percent), will remain buried in the fund. On top of this, it will now be hidden in a pile of disclosure papers, which 401(k) record keepers must provide on an annual basis to each participant. The expense ratio for each fund will appear in this disclosure report with a per-$1,000 conversion rate per $10.
Confused yet? Of course you are, and participants will be, too. Most 401(k) plan participants (85%) don’t know and don’t want to know about any of this, and these 16- to 25-page annual reports will end up in file 13.
Have you refinanced your home mortgage lately? Thanks to Dodd/Frank, consumers receive 10 times the amount of ‘disclosure information’ they did prior to the 2008 credit crisis. Who do you think is really reading any of that information? Once again, big-government and bigger-bureaucracy do-good thinkers failed to understand a basic principle of investing: the majority of 401(k) participants don’t read the information they have now. The real proof: the majority of this information has been readily available on participant websites for years, and employees still don’t read it.
• Asset charges and wrap fees. Some 401(k) plans may charge an additional asset fee or wrap fee to cover the record-keeping expenses or fees and commissions to the plan’s advisor. If your 401(k) plan has this expense, you have not been aware of it, and it will appear for the first time starting this month. The 401(k) record keepers must convert this expense into a dollar amount and show it subtracted from the participant’s account each quarter.
Many in the press have stated that millions of participants will take to the streets when they see this hidden cost suddenly appear on their statements for the first time. I say it will be much ado about nothing. Yes, some (the minority) will read it and respond, ‘what is this?’ and go racing to their HR departments, in revolutionary mode, demanding answers. They will be told, ‘there is no free lunch, and you have been paying this; you just didn’t know!’ The vast majority will either not even notice it, notice it and not care, or notice it and realize, ‘wow, just as I thought. I have been paying something for my 401(k). I just didn’t know what, and now I do.’
I have been managing 401(k) plans for three decades. Years ago, a handful of the carriers we worked with started disclosing fees. Of all the plans we managed that began disclosing fees on their quarterly statement — did the employees react negatively? Once we met with them and showed them they had always been paying fees and that they just didn’t see the fee on their statements, the majority smiled and joined the ‘yes, Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore, and there is no free lunch’ club. That was six years ago, and no one has complained since.
Just last week, I had a meeting with the CFO of a company whose plan we had changed to a new 401(k) provider a year ago. The new provider has been reporting all fees as a dollar amount deducted from participant accounts on a quarterly basis for four quarters. When I asked the CFO if anyone has questioned this amount, he responded (rather embarrassed), “no one has said a peep, and, to tell you the truth, I didn’t even notice it on my statement.” This is the company CFO. He’s the guy responsible for watching every penny the company spends, and he didn’t even notice what he was spending on his own retirement account.
• Participant fees. These fees are usually charged directly to a plan participant to cover the cost of receiving a ‘paper’ quarterly statement, perhaps $1.25 per quarter, or to take out a loan, maybe a $100 flat fee.
The bottom line here is everyone knows there is no free lunch, even in a 401(k) plan. What matters most is what participants do with this information and what advisors can do to support greater participant success.
The 401(k) represents one of the best mechanisms for the average working American to save and invest for a secure future. The fact that some participants may be surprised that this system has a cost pales when compared to the surprise these same individuals will have if their future living expenses cost more than their ‘paychecks for life’ can handle.
Charlie Epstein, CLU, ChFC, AIF is the founder of the 401k Coach Program, which offers expert training for financial professionals to develop the skills, systems, and processes necessary to excel in the 401(k) industry and facilitate successful retirement outcomes for plan sponsors and participants. He is the author of the book Paychecks for Life, which offers nine principles for participants to turn their 401(k) plans into a secure retirement income. He has frequently been named to 401kWire’s Top 100 Most Influential People in the 401(k) Industry List and Top 300 Most Influential DC Advisor List. He is a member of the Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council; (413) 478-8580; [email protected]
Eastover, a Blast from the Past, Has a New Owner and New Vision
Two inexpensive Adirondack chairs sit side by side overlooking the Mt. Greylock range and October Mountain on one of the highest points of the 550-acre Eastover Hotel & Retreat campus in Lenox. They were put there by the facility’s new owner and head chef just to grab a few minutes to relax whenever they can.
“But every time we look, guests are sitting in them, and we never get a chance,” laughed Josh Mouzakes, executive chef for the recently purchased 100-year-old Gilded Age mansion and retreat property. “We picked them up at BJ’s … it’s kind of our joke.”
The fact that these two haven’t had many opportunities to sit and enjoy the stunning view bodes well for Eastover. For starters, they haven’t had the time, because they’ve been busy with a massive restoration effort that is still a work in progress. And when they have found a few minutes, paying customers have beaten them to it.
There haven’t been any of those at Eastover for some time. Indeed, this resort with an intriguing though somewhat checkered past that included rock concerts and get-togethers for nudists (more on all that later) had fallen on hard times — make that very hard times — in recent years, and is now looking at a future dominated by vast potential but also question marks.
That’s because the new owner, Long Island resident and former software engineer Yingxing Wang, doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do with the place. She has some ideas, mostly involving education, science, and nature — her original vision was for an international student exchange and destination for teens to learn about farming and gardening — but the vision is still coming together.
While work continues on the mansion, which Wang acquired for just under $5 million, the facility has reopened and hosted a few events, such as a fashion show — Wang and Mouzakes both call this summer a “test run” — with more on the docket, including a weekend rock festival later this month, a mini-Woodstock aptly named BerkshireStock.
After that, well, it’s probably up to the imagination of people who see and read about Eastover and imagine the possibilities, said Wang, who did essentially that, only on a much grander scale, when she first saw the mansion. Curiosity eventually led to speculation, and a rehab job she couldn’t have imagined when she signed on the dotted line.
“I was curious about what was behind the brick and iron fence on East Street,” she told BusinessWest. “But I didn’t comprehend the extent of the structural work at the time.”
The intensively private Wang, who declined to be photographed for this story, deferring to staff instead, didn’t say how much she and her husband, a partner in a computer firm, have sunk into this restoration, but hinted that it’s more than the purchase price.
From a business perspective, she’s not sure when or even if she can recover those costs, but for now she’s content to let her imagination be her guide and business partner.
For this issue and its focus on meetings and conventions, BusinessWest ventured to Lenox to chronicle the emerging next chapter in the story of Eastover. No one knows how it will unfold — not even the people writing it.
Donna Zsofka says the Old Stable, featuring a new sound system, is spacious enough to host up to 475 guests.
Past Is Prologue
That story begins in 1910, near the end of the Gilded Age, when Harris Fahenstock, a founding member of the First National Bank of New York, built the estate as a summer cottage, one of many that were built in Lenox during that period.
Sold by Fahenstock’s heirs in the 1940s, the property was eventually acquired by Stamford, Conn. resident George Bisacca at auction for a mere $41,500. He founded Eastover Resort in 1947.
Bisacca, a former clown in the Ringling Brothers Circus (which explains the strange primary ‘clown colors’ painted all over the mansion basement walls), made his money in a tire-repair shop. According to local legend and some published reports, he was entrepreneurial, a free spirit, a forward thinker, and a partier. Blending those traits, he created a then-rare resort for singles, which thrived in the ’50s and ’60s. He later added family-oriented activities as the young Baby Boomers shifted their leisure-time needs.
A Civil War buff, Bisacca had an extensive war-memorabilia collection, and kept a herd of bison on site, which, in addition to the unique ‘lifestyle-themed’ weekends (for bikers, nudists, non-drinkers, and women only), made Eastover a one-of-a-kind destination in the Berkshires and the Northeast in general. Bisacca’s daughter and granddaughter, Dorothy “Ticki” Winsor and Betsy Kelly, respectively, continued the resort theme after his death until 2003.
Wang admitted that she knew little of this history when she first encountered Eastover, and “fell in love with the place.”
Josh Mouzakes brings not only culinary expertise to Eastover, but also experience opening hotels.
Indeed, while reports say the mother-daughter team that operated Eastover after Bisacca’s death proudly boasted that little had changed since the resort first opened in 1947 (which was a plus for a strong following who happily returned year after year), that phrase also applied to the 20-plus buildings and the entire infrastructure. In short, there was no upkeep.
“There really wasn’t any infrastructure,” said Wang, adding that recent, and costly, renovations include new slate roofs on the stately stable, which houses the giant dance hall, the largest of its kind in Western or Central Mass.; a water main and sewer main; fiber optics and cable TV; a completely renovated indoor pool and slate walkways; all new, ADA-required handicapped ramps and bathrooms; working exit signage; sprinkler systems; and much more.
Wang admits that most developers would have bulldozed the place and started over, but she was able to look past all the work and see the beauty and potential that was clearly there. And she thanked town officials for facilitating her efforts.
“I have to say that the board of selectmen are pro-business, and considering the amount of work that we have done over the past three years, it would be nearly impossible in this time if we didn’t have their help.”
One person she credits with a majority of that help is Lenox Building Inspector William Thornton Jr., whom she has leaned on considerably after realizing the full extent of the money pit she’d purchased.
“I joke that Bill was our most affordable consultant; he knows code by heart, and I call him on his cell phone when I have a question instead of some expensive consultant,” she said, adding that her professional association is very serious. “Yes, he is strict, but very fair, and he is demanding of everybody.”
Thornton isn’t the only one Wang leans on as she dives into a business venture and an economic sector — hospitality — that she admittedly knows little about.
She’s also relying heavily on Mouzakes, who brings not only culinary expertise to the equation, but also experience with opening hotels.
The reason he is now the chef at Eastover is due to his connections to well-known master chefs in the New York area and Europe, and as a quasi-hotel consultant, based on his experience in opening hotels on Long Island, New York, and, most recently, the five-year, $20 million rehab of the Lord Jeffery Inn in Amherst.
He said his cuisine style is contemporary American with French-influenced techniques (picture food creatively arranged on a plate that not only offers phenomenal flavor, but looks like art).
“The easiest way to categorize it is with local, sustainable, modern ingredients,” he explained. “If we can get the best food we can get, as close as possible, and use properly rained skills, that will be our signature.”
“That’s what we treat food here like — art,” added Wang. And the fresh ingredients for that art will soon start growing right outside the slate patio with an herbal garden on the site of the former outdoor pool area, which was in such distressed condition, it had to be filled in.
Looking Forward
When asked if Eastover is or will become competition for neighboring exclusive destinations such as Cranwell Resort Spa & Golf Club and Canyon Ranch, Wang paused and then offered some levity.
“The reason we have no competitors is because no idiot in this world would invest so much money in this,” she told BusinessWest before turning more serious and noting that Eastover won’t be like those resorts in many respects. “We are different; the focus on nature is what sets us apart.”
She stressed again that she doesn’t know exactly what the resort will become, but she knows what it won’t be.
“I’m not exactly sure how we will end up, but we are not a fancy hotel with room service,” she explained. “We are a retreat to enjoy nature, and if you are looking for that other type of place, then it’s not here.”
She also knows that her original vision — of a destination for foreign-exchange students — is not economically viable. But she and her staff of nearly 30, including Mouzakes and Donna Zsofka, the event coordinator, are letting clients and potential clients help shape what Eastover can become.
Things started with a grand-opening weekend in June, which both Wang and Mouzakes say had its share of successes and small disasters. Shortly thereafter came an international fashion show that brought young people from the New York City area. On the calendar are a fund-raiser later this month for the Berkshire Grown project, which supports local farmers and food pantries, as well as BerkshireStock.
Wang said that two-day event will present 30 local and regional bands (who are all selling tickets) and could attract several thousand concertgoers and overnight campers to the property. “We can handle up to 5,000 easily because that field is a natural amphitheater,” she noted.
“Aside from our opening weekend, people have come to us with events they want to do here,” said Mouzakes, pointing to BerkshireStock as a prime example of how the venue will likely be become popular for people looking to stage events and get-togethers that would be considered beyond the ordinary.
Now open for business, said Zsofka, is the Tally Ho Pub, which offers unique seating in the former horse stalls (10 per booth), and is open to the public Fridays and Saturdays. Weddings, family reunions, and corporate events can be booked in the wood-paneled library or two other lavish mansion rooms that can accommodate 25 to 40 people, while the light-drenched Terrace Room can seat nearly 150.
Big enough for any event, said Zsofka, the Old Stable, with its new sound system, allows seated dining for 350 guests with a total capacity of 475, and at some point, Mouzakes will be refining the plans for a fine restaurant that will draw produce from local farmers as well as that soon-to-be-added herbal garden.
In the mansion, Wang is adding high-end bathrooms to each of the large second-floor former bedrooms (all have original fireplaces), which will reduce the guest rooms from 15 to 12, but offer at least one floor of exclusive quarters.
For now, marketing has been limited and understated (there is a Facebook page), said Mouzakes, adding that word-of-mouth is helping people discover — or, in many cases, rediscover — Eastover. Both he and Wang believe curiosity on the part of many who came here decades ago is helping to fill hotel rooms, generate inquiries about future events, and, yes, fill those aforementioned Adirondack chairs.
And it is the resort’s early success in attracting young people that has Wang encouraged — and on a number of levels.
She said her many visits to Lenox have convinced her that the area needs an infusion of youth — not that aging Baby Boomers are not welcome; they certainly are — but she is also encouraged by the younger demographic’s interest in the environment and getting in touch with nature.
“I am surprised to find that the upper-middle generation is not appreciative of the environment; it’s the young people who are,” she noted. “They have been taught about nature since they were young in school, and we need to figure out how to bring more young people here.”
Time Will Tell
While Eastover is officially open for business, there is still considerable work to be done at what could be called a resort-in-progress.
“I tell my staff to just follow your heart — everything will follow,” said Wang. “I also tell them to appreciate the process.”
That process won’t actually end, said Wang and Mouzakes, noting that the vision for the new Eastover, if it can be called that, will probably take years to become reality.
It might just be that long before these two can actually get to sit in one of those Adirondack chairs. But they’re certainly not complaining, because that means they’re very busy, and that people are once again discovering Eastover.
Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]
Scuderi Group Continues to Seek Its Next Breakthrough
A prototype of the Scuderi split-cycle engine.
“Our biggest hurdle, basically, was getting the engine to work. That took a lot of engineering,” said Bill Wrenn, director of marketing for the Scuderi Group, the West Springfield-based company that has spent the past decade attempting no less than a revolution in energy-efficient automotive technology.
“We first fired it up on June 25, 2009; that’s when we got the prototype up and running for the first time,” Wrenn continued. “And that really was the biggest question leading up to that point: will this work? Well, it not only works, but it has worked a lot better than anyone had thought originally.”
The promise of the Scuderi split-cycle engine, as it’s called, is that it could dramatically increase the efficiency of a machine — the internal-combustion engine — that has been notoriously resistant to such efforts in the more than 130 years since it was invented.
It all began in the mind of Carmelo Scuderi, who developed the concept shortly before he died in 2002. His sons — Sal, Stephen, and Angelo — have spent the years since honing the idea, raising millions of dollars in research funding, and preparing to market the final product. They were aided in building a prototype by Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas., and have since opened offices in the automotive hotbeds of Germany and Japan, making the Scuderi brand an international presence.
But the amount of hype surrounding the engine has some wondering when it might finally appear in a marketable vehicle. To which Wrinn urges patience, while fully acknowledging the complicated nature of the Scuderis’ efforts.
“Anyone who’s not skeptical about this engine doesn’t understand the complexity of the combustion engine,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s not like trying to build new office furniture and sell it; these are very scientific processes we’re working on.”
But he pooh-poohs any notion that the auto or energy industry has hindered progress on a more energy-efficient machine. “We’ve had no visits from men in dark blue suits telling us to go away,” he said with a laugh. “But the attraction has varied from continent to continent and continues to change.”
Change Resistant
The first four-stroke piston engine was developed in 1876, and remains the primary design of engines today. And despite the myriad changes to automotive technology over the past century-plus, the efficiency of this engine design has remained largely unchanged. Specifically, it operates at about 33% efficiency, meaning that only one-third of the energy in each gallon of fuel is used to power the machine, and the rest is lost through friction and heat.
The Scuderi Group believes their model could finally change that equation. They note that the heart of the internal-combustion engine is a piston connected to a crankshaft, moving up and down in a cylinder through the intake, compression, power, and exhaust strokes. In a typical four-stroke cycle engine, power is recovered from the combustion process in these four separate piston strokes within each single cylinder.
The Scuderi split-cycle engine changes the heart of the conventional engine by dividing the four strokes of this cycle over a paired combination of one compression cylinder and one power cylinder. Gas is compressed in the compression cylinder and transferred to the power cylinder through a gas passage.
The gas passage includes a set of uniquely timed valves, which maintain a precharged pressure through all four strokes of the cycle. Shortly after the piston in the power cylinder reaches its top, center position, the gas is quickly transferred to the power cylinder and fired (or combusted) to produce the power stroke.
By splitting the strokes of the cycle over a pair of dedicated compression and power cylinders, the design of each cylinder can be independently optimized to perform the separate tasks of compression and power.
Stephen Scuderi briefs Japanese media about the Scuderi split-cycle engine.
“To put it in perspective, we’re at the genesis of a new thermodynamic process, a new way of creating combustion that has never been discovered before,” he said. “We’re discovering interesting new facts about the engine’s potential ability to do certain things and how much power it can produce.”
Since the prototype was completed, Wrenn said, “we’ve spent a lot of time collecting statistics and measurements and simulating how the engine would work in typical vehicles. One test took a typical European economy-class vehicle — these are some of the most efficient vehicles in the world — and, with the Scuderi engine, took the car through a typical drive cycle in various driving modes. What we found was, where normally those cars would get 52 miles to the gallon, the Scuderi engine got more than 65. On the emissions side, we emitted 85 grams of CO2 per kilometer, compared to a conventional engine with 104 grams per kilometer.”
Beyond the basic concept, the company is generating additional energy savings from an innovation it calls the air hybrid, in which it stores energy as compressed air during braking and feeds it into the combustion cylinder when the car is accelerating. Electric hybrids also use braking force to store energy, but in a battery, and the Scuderi Group points out that batteries are costly, heavy, and wear out — and are hazardous to dispose of.
Sal Scuderi told the Wall Street Journal recently that the company is getting close to licensing its technology for production, but scoring an automotive customer is challenging. “You can’t beat [incumbent engine designs] by a little bit. You have to beat them by a lot.”
The test Wrenn cited may fall under the ‘little bit’ category, but, “since then, the data has gotten even better,” he told BusinessWest. “Since then, we’ve made tweaks on our valve systems, and we’ve found that we can manipulate it even more, increasing power and also bringing down fuel combustion. That has been an extremely exciting discovery.”
The Next Phase
Wrenn said the Scuderi family is fond of the quote often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: “first they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”
“We’re definitely going through those stages right now, and we’re turning a corner where it’s becoming more accepted,” he said. “It’s been really interesting.”
For example, “our engine has applications in other industries,” he noted. “I think everyone has associated us with the automotive industry. Yes, it’s a car engine, but we are now being looked at as a solution not just for automotive applications, but power generators, compressed-air energy-storage solutions, and distributed power.”
He said the Scuderi Group has negotiated with multiple manufacturers in more than one industry and could be close to a licensing deal, although he could share no details yet. But he said the confidence of the family in their father’s dream has never wavered.
“As new discoveries have created new opportunities for success, we’re even more excited about it,” Wrenn said, adding that one of the most intriguing parts of the process has been opening up the concept to engineers of all stripes.
“The family chose long ago to begin to promote the technology, but at the same time it’s being developed, we wanted to bring the engineering community along for the ride,” he explained. “We’ve always known that, once the engine starts to get worked on by the greater engineering community around the globe, they’re going to discover a few new things and make it better. We think that’s fascinating and a great thing.”
In other words, the biggest news with the Scuderi split-cycle engine is still a ways down the highway — and this globetrotting family is enjoying the ride.
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
PeoplesBank Branch Achieves Gold Status for Green Design
The branch pre-treats stormwater runoff with a landscaped and vegetated rain garden, so that about 80% of suspended solids in the water are removed on site before entering the stormwater system.
Peoples made news in 2011 when its new branch on St. James Avenue in Springfield received Silver certification from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a program of the U.S. Green Building Council that promotes energy-efficient and ecologically friendly construction across the country.
This summer, PeoplesBank exceeded that benchmark with its new branch on Memorial Avenue in West Springfield, to which LEED has awarded Gold certification, only the second community-bank branch in Massachusetts to achieve that status. Bowen says it won’t be the last.
“For years, PeoplesBank has been supporting the community in a variety of ways. That’s what community banks do,” Bowen said. “We have taken that thought — supporting the community — and extended it to the environment.
“These green branches, built in a very responsible way, are a natural progression for us,” he added, noting that customers have been receptive to a host of environmentally conscious efforts — including the bank’s financing of more than $50 million in wind, hydroelectric, and solar-energy projects throughout the region.
“They’re a key part of why we do this. It’s a value that’s important to our customers, and whenever we can, as a company, we try to align our corporate values with those of our customers, community, and employees.”
On Point
LEED operates on a system of points, which developers amass with each ‘green’ feature implemented in a building project. Among the amenities at the new PeoplesBank branch in West Springfield are:
• A healthy interior space that utilizes low-VOC paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, furniture and carpets. VOC stands for volatile organic compounds, which can be unhealthy to breathe in;
• Improved indoor air quality using high-efficiency air filters and dedicated room exhaust systems;
• Cool-roof materials that reduce the amount of solar heat absorbed and radiated back into the environment;
• Increased natural daylight in the building, reducing the need for interior lighting;
• Installation of recycling bins for metal, plastic, glass, paper, and cardboard;
• Drought-resistant landscaping and irrigation systems to reduce water consumption;
• Systems that reduce clean-water usage by more than 44%;
• Energy-saving HVAC and lighting systems; and
• More than one-third of all building materials were extracted, harvested, recovered, or manufactured within 500 miles of the project site, reducing the need for fossil-fuel-consuming transportation.
The building also scored points for replacing an existing structure, rather than using undeveloped land, Bowen explained.
“West Springfield is not a new construction,” he said. “We used the footprint of a building which had been at that location, and when you reuse land, reuse an existing property, you’re keeping waste and demolition material from landfills. In fact, we recycled 95% the [demolition] material that was there. By reusing materials and recycling, it certainly reduces the impact on the landfill, and that gets greater credit in the LEED process.”
Because the building operates more efficiently than a conventional bank branch, the improvements will pay off over time in cost savings. That’s true of the St. James Avenue site as well, but the West Springfield site went beyond that first LEED project in other ways, contributing to its Gold status.
“Here, we’ve got a rain garden that collects water runoff, and we’ve got drought-resistant landscaping. Those were two features not fully implemented with St. James Avenue,” Bowen said. “And then we’ve got the usual high-efficiency water, and we’ve made strategic use of lighting, which reduces utility costs. And the low-emitting paint is also a green element — all these things make buildings better and healthier for people to work in.”
LEED by Example
Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, chair of U.S. Green Building Council, Massachusetts Chapter, West Branch, noted that PeoplesBank is in many ways a community organization with responsibilities in its cities and towns. “It is a bank that supports local investment is already tied to the community in a big way. So when then choose to do something better, everyone benefits.”
The bank’s environmental investments have far-reaching effects, Bowen said. For instance, the hydroelectric power generation financed by Peoples will help supply energy to the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke.
“We want to bring that care for the environment into our core banking activities,” he told BusinessWest, and so the green branches are an expression of that.”
Expect such branches to become the norm, too, as PeoplesBank expands. It has already broken ground on a new branch in Northampton which will seek LEED certification, and another to follow in Wilbraham will do the same.
“We’re committed to building all our branches green” going forward, Bowen said. In addition, the bank is installing electric car charging stations at its West Springfield and Northampton locations, as well as its corporate headquarters in Holyoke — reflecting what the president calls a green-centric culture throughout the company.
“We have an active environmental committee that runs an Earth Day Fair every year, in addition to many other activities, to keep us focused on being green at home and work,” he said.
“Being green and doing business in an environmentally friendly way and supporting energy efficiency and community efforts that accomplish these same efforts — that’s all part of our values. That’s where our passion lies, and it’s that passion that makes PeoplesBank unique.”
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
Some Business Ideas to Challenge Our Thinking
The company president was excited about a popular cartoon depicting warriors fighting a battle with bows and arrows, along with a suited salesman carrying a machine gun and a briefcase. “Can’t you see I have no time to see a salesman,” says a beleaguered officer. “I’ve got a battle to fight.” Ironically, this is the same executive who nixed new opportunities for his company to grow its sales.
Ideas challenging the status quo can face roadblocks in just about any company, whether in sales, marketing or, most importantly, the future. Yet, it may be that those are ideas that can let in more light so that effective change can take place. Here are six of them:
• Business owners can be wrong. Scratch entrepreneurs, and it doesn’t take much to discover their immense pride in the business and, ironically, a dogmatic belief in their own ideas that may do it damage.
A president of a highly successful industrial business became so enamored with breaking new ground in his industry by selling equipment on the Internet that he made a substantial investment in an e-commerce Web site without taking the time to determine whether or not customers would purchase his company’s type of products online. The venture failed — and, worse yet, just at the time when the recession began taking its toll on the economy.
What we think about our business can distort reality and interfere with meeting today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.
• Everything is never on the table. It’s pure posturing, and anyone who puts it to the test gets hurt. Just ask GM’s recently fired marketing chief, Joel Ewanick. He’s the one who came up the Chevrolet campaigns “Love it or return it” and “Chevy runs deep.” He also opted out of Super Bowl advertising and cancelled GM’s Facebook ads just prior to the social-media giant going public.
Most revealing, he also discovered that other things run even deeper at GM; namely, “that ain’t the way we do it around here.” When someone says, “everything is on the table,” don’t believe it. They may think they mean it, but putting them to the test can be dangerous. There are always ideas, practices, and activities that are untouchable.
• It’s all about strategy. When the Boston Business Journal asked Mark Kerwin, deputy director and chief financial officer of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, about the biggest challenge he faces in his field today, he gave his answer in six words: “staying strategic as opposed to tactical.”
Steve Jobs couldn’t have said it better. First and foremost, he was a brilliant strategist. His commitment was to building a company that built beautiful things that consumers admire and love to use in their daily lives. It’s no accident that M.G. Siegler of TechCrunch describes Mountain Lion, Apple’s latest operating system, as “definitely the most polished and robust version of OS X yet.”
Tactics are easier to understand and far more fun, but most of the time, they’re temporary and don’t advance us to the goal.
• ‘Customers for life’ is deception. Why? Because it’s counterintuitive, naïve, and even dangerous. Yet, these three words seem so ingrained in our thinking that Googling them produces 1,390,000 results. Even against such a mountain of evidence, it’s still an illusion.
On the face of it, it should be obvious that customers are never for life: they die, find a better deal, move, change their lifestyles, retire, or want something new. In B2B, some merge or sell, go out of business, or become obsolete.
In spite of doing everything possible to keep customers happy and satisfied, they still leave. Yet, bloggers, speakers, and business writers implore us to embrace the belief that we can keep them forever.
Businesses are best served by abandoning mythical thinking, such as customers for life, and embrace reality with a nothing-is-forever mentality.
• Downed by the demon of self-deception. More than just about anything else, self-deception is the biggest human stumbling block, and just about every business is plagued with this unrelenting problem.
In a study of a group of college students, researchers discovered that cheating gives students false confidence in their abilities, according to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The upshot seemed to be that, once we lie, it doesn’t take much for us to convince ourselves that we’re not lying.
Ask the president of a highly successful consumer-services company to describe his primary business objective, and he would undoubtedly say, “putting our customers first.” In all sincerity, he would mean it. Yet, this same president sent a letter to his customers filled with dozens of references as to why customers should do business with his company, but no rationale was given as to why it would benefit the customers to do so. It was as if he was writing the letter to himself.
To test out just how widespread self-deception is in business, watch the employees’ faces when the president or sales manager is holding forth on the company’s newest product launch, announcing next year’s goals, or the need to increase productivity. Then, you can see the clash of two quite different realities.
• Forget about the ‘Great Person.’ At Talbot’s, the women’s clothing retailer, there has been a parade of CEOs, each one with the answer to the company’s troubles and each one taking it deeper into lower sales and increased debt. The story is the same at Yahoo, where hope now hangs on yet another CEO.
It might be helpful if boards of directors stopped wanting to believe that the next executive holds the key. The ‘Great Man/Person Theory’ has had its day, even though its vestiges can be found everywhere, including business.
The fallacy rests in believing that success will follow with the right person. But, as science writer Matt Ridley notes, innovation depends on exchange. For example, he points to Uruk, in Southern Mesopotamia. It “was probably the first city the world has ever seen, housing more than 50,000 people within its six miles of walls. Uruk, its agriculture made prosperous by sophisticated irrigation canals, was home to the first class of middlemen, trade intermediaries.”
Arguably, it’s the same in America: Silicon Valley in technology, Boston in medical care, New York in finance, and Las Vegas in casinos.
As Ridley points out, “in the modern world, innovation is a collective enterprise that relies on exchange.”
In business, as elsewhere, ideas, as much as action, make a difference. Companies that put action above ideas may find that they are doing a lot of things backwards.
John R. Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales consultant and business writer. He publishes a monthly e-newsletter, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales”; (617) 774-9759; [email protected]; johnrgraham.com
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.
HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Easthampton Savings Bank v. JRE Masonry & Restoration Inc. and Amanda and Jerome Ezold
Allegation: Failure to make payment on a revolving line of credit: $74,711.84
Filed: 7/17/12
Forish Construction Co. v. Dallaswhite Corp. and DeNardo Realty, LLC
Allegation: Defendant has failed to pay for services rendered and materials supplied: $132,329
Filed: 8/9/12
J.D. Contracting Inc. v. Seaver Construction Inc. and Berkley Surety Group, LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract for services, labor, and materials: $439,163.54
Filed: 7/31/12
HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Akiva Cahn-Lipman v. Smith College
Allegation: Breach of employment contract: $86,293.92
Filed: 8/2/12
DGA Realty, LLC v. University Motors, LLC
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $100,000
Filed: 7/12/12
M.J. Moran Inc. v. Standard Builders Inc., Amherst Inn Owner, LLC, and Amherst Inn Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract on construction project: $703,754.55
Filed: 7/16/16
Safe Environment of America Inc. v. G.V.W. Inc. and Berkley Regional Insurance Agency
Allegation: Failure to pay for asbestos and other environmental services provided: $600,000
Filed: 7/10/12
Collins Electric Co. Inc. v. Standard Builders Inc., Amherst Inn Owner, LLC, and Amherst Inn Co.
Allegation: Breach of construction-project contract: $811,503.44
Filed: 7/16/12
NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Easthampton Savings Bank v. Core Chiropratic Clinic
Allegation: Default on revolving business credit note: $12,014.66
Filed: 7/6/12
SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Dolliff & Co. Inc. v. Hampden Structural Systems Inc.
Allegation: Balance due for brokerage Services provided: $8,424.32
Filed: 8/9/12
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Performing Arts Building and Renovation
Allegation: Non-payment on workers’ compensation policy: $6,442.04
Filed: 8/10/12
Patmar Supply Inc. v. Duziem Laboratories
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $6,375.16
Filed: 8/7/12
TD Banknorth, N.A. v. Vins Inc. and James Rothera Jr.
Allegation: Default on promissory note: $20,098.34
Filed: 8/6/12
United Rentals v. Hergon Design Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment for materials, equipment, and services on a construction project: $10,240.40
Filed: 8/14/12
WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Tighe & Bond Inc. v. Fortis Property Group, LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract and balance due for engineering services rendered: $12,435.91
Filed: 8/9/12
The following building permits were issued during the month of August 2012.
AGAWAM
Coyote Realty, LLC
1340 Springfield St.
$750,000 — Construct new Wendy’s restaurant
Polish American Club
139 Southwick St.
$54,000 — Repair damaged roof trusses
AMHERST
Amherst College
Seligman Dorm
$35,000 — Renovations
Guidera Realty Trust
446 Main St.
$7,000 — New roof
Hampshire College
Lemelson Art Building
$55,000 — Renovation of existing office space
Holyoke Property Management
160 Old Farm Road
$70,000 — Install two new generators
CHICOPEE
Chicopee Crossing, LLC
536 Memorial Dr.
$38,000 — T-Mobile fit-out
D&D Chicopee Realty, LLC
49 Highland Ave.
$17,000 — Interior renovation
EASTHAMPTON
Interland Real Estate, LLC
180 Pleasant St.
$40,000 — Repairs for second-floor AC system
Jeanne Moore
69 Ferry St.
$25,000 — Install three antennas
Williston Northampton School
11 Payson Ave.
$10,000 — Exterior repairs
HOLYOKE
Baystate Health
361 Whitney Ave.
$72,000 — Tenant fit-out
Daughters of the Heart of Mary
1365 Northampton St.
$13,000 — Renovate existing chapel
Suffolk Realty Associates, LLC
56-58 Suffolk St.
$40,000 — Install three new wireless antennas
NORTHAMPTON
Robert Defresne
155 Industrial Dr.
$115,000 — Renovate office and enlarge break room
Smith College
44 College Lane
$290,000 — Reconstruct stairs and ramps
Smith College
Green St.
$101,000 — Divide classroom into four offices
SOUTH HADLEY
Integrity Development and Construction
216 Pearl St.
$83,000 — Construct garage
SOUTHWICK
Shatz, Schwartz, and Fentin PC
22 Industrial Park
$1,500 — Three upgraded antennas
SPRINGFIELD
Briarwood Seven, LLC
11-31 Park St.
$230,000 — Exterior renovations
Buckley, Richardson and Gelinas
1500 Main St.
$1,161,000 — Office renovations on the 26th and 27th floors
CBRE
1316 Carew St.
$30,000 — Convert drive-thru teller to ATM
Paperchine
40 Progress Ave.
$113,000 — Renovation of an office and addition of a conference room
Ronald McDonald House
34 Chapin Terrace
$162,000 — Renovate kitchen
TD Banknorth
1360 Carew St.
$57,000 — Renovation of ATM room
Valley Psychiatric Services
505 East Columbus Ave.
$108,000 — New office space and break room
WEST SPRINGFIELD
Costco Wholesale
119 Daggett Dr.
$779,000 — Erect 2,995-square-foot addition to the northwest corner of existing commercial building
John Salema
95 Memorial Ave.
$70,000 — Renovate donut shop sales area
Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies
3925 East Broadway
$120,000 — Renovate 3,556 square feet of existing space
Bankruptcy petitions were not available at press time. They will be printed in the next issue of BusinessWest.
The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of August 2012.
AMHERST
ADG Contracting
18 Edgehill Place
Douglas Olsen
Cat and Dog Housecall Practice
760 Station Road
Christine Massaro
Clearpoint Communications
72 Pelham Road
Eddy Goldberg
Gamer Geek Heroes
34 Pomeroy Lane
Phillip Lanson
Hawkins Meadow
370 Northampton Road
Lucy Carlson
Quantum Breakthrough
401 Main St.
Deborah Maclin
Voice Male Magazine
44 North Pleasant St.
Emily Danielle
CHICOPEE
Precisions Barbershop
97 Main St.
Benjamin F. Lester III
Renewed Strength
222 Langevin St.
Dawn Jarrell
Re-Threads
246 Montcalm St.
Kelly Bicket
EASTHAMPTON
One Match Films
1 Cottage St.
Jeff Derose
Paint and Pixel
12 Fox Run
Margrette Twardowski
HADLEY
Comfort Inn
237 Russell St.
Laxman Parmar
ECO ATM Inc.
367 Russell St.
Drew Spayenta
Hartsbrook School
193 Bay Rd.
Stephen Volkmann
HOLYOKE
Belden Jewelers
50 Holyoke St.
George Frankovich
China House
322 Appleton St.
Hong Z. Wang
Kay Jewelers
50 Holyoke St.
George Frankovich
M.J. Transcriptions
20 Easthampton Road
Katie Jones
Patalarga Auto Repair
63 Commerical St.
Pablo Guerrero
NORTHAMPTON
Alexis Design
5 Strong Ave.
Alexis Neubert
Blue Ox Greenscapes
11 Franklin St.
Michael Felbeck
Easthampton Pet Sitting
726 Park Hill Road
Anne Pilewsky
Great Specs
15 Hawley St.
Jeffrey Bostian
JB Auto
605 North King St.
Joseph Barker
Local Lead Solutions
45 Maple St.
Garrett Fitzgerald
Lovelight Designs
44 Ridgewood Terrace
Joseph Sandler
Robinson Real Estate
35 State St.
Steven Slezek
Tech Cavalry
355 Bridge St.
Brian Scanlon
PALMER
Ken Wheelock Painting
54 South St.
Kenneth Wheelock
Lazy Lady Farm
60 Olney Road
Paul Lukaskiewicz
Milltown Inc.
3033 Main St.
Lance Ferrell
P-Madrid Human Services
44 Squire St.
Margaret Warrington
Palmer Package Store
1015 North Main St.
Jorge Martins
Pawhead Produce
3090 Palmer St.
Robert Schoonover
POS
51 Squire St.
Jay Heinicke
The NR Group
43 French Dr.
Nathan Olson
SPRINGFIELD
Short Line Track Inspection
5 Louis Road
James Anthony
A Touch of Class Remodeling
760 Sumner Ave.
Eddie Alicea
Aaron’s
1275 Liberty St.
Ray Simmons
Acorn Learning Center
62 Noel St.
Rita Panasian
Action Center
1 Armory Square
Bob Giannino-Racine
Ambassador Car Wash
1095 State St.
Jaime Rodriguez
BBP & Fast Transport
17 Olmsted Dr.
Ricky D. Boone
Bamboo House
676 Belmont Ave.
Hieu Le
Bezalel Prophetic Art
1676 Carew St.
Triny E. Vargas
Calvin Auto Repairing
170 Massachusetts Ave.
Calvin Fearing
Chestnut Transport
238 Rear Chestnut St.
Christopher J. Ortega
Color Your World Painting
2207 Page Blvd.
Johnson H. Lamont
CS-MA LLC
34 Rocus St.
Shawn P. Carroll
Delicias Caribenas
127 Stafford St.
Otero A. Luis
Ermosa Hair Design
20 Arnold St.
Carmen M. Silva
Ferrero Plumbing & Heating
200 Abbott St.
Jason M Ferrero
Gold Pizza
459 Main St.
Turkmen Tayfun
Gugies Trucking
36 Beauregard St.
Steven A. Gugenberger
IBS Electronics
225 Armory St.
Jonathan J. Waitt
International Health Services
604 Cottage St.
Margarita Blanter
J3T Set Design Group
108 Upton St.
James Frances
JBL Construction Company
100 Progress Ave.
Teixeira Carlos
WESTFIELD
Hair by Julie
34 School St.
Julie Ryan
JEP Distributing
18 Gladwin Dr.
James Schiep
Southern States Cooperative Inc.
323 Lockhouse Road
Wayne Sine
Westfield School of Music
347 Elm St.
Isabelle Boggs
WEST SPRINGFIELD
Colmatt Associates
50 Wishing Well Way
Sandra M. Fletcher
El Safi Supermarket
532 Main St.
Ashraf M. Galal
Haireast Inc.
8 Chestnut St.
Jennifer Gamelli
Metamorphosis Massage
201 Westfield St.
Kathleen A. Cullinan
NTB
400 Memorial Ave.
Orland Wolford
Park Street Convenience Store
54 Park St.
Pravinbhai Patel
Rehab Resolutions Inc.
1111 Elm St.
Sofia Zanzarella
Stop & Save
2011 Riverdale St.
Alqaim, Inc.
The Courtyards
1139 Westfield St.
Mass Courtyards
Westside Aikido
452 Main St.
Lorraine Dianne
Wingate at West Springfield
42 Prospect Ave.
Michael S. Benjamin
New incorporations filed with the Mass. Secretary of State’s office were not available at press time. They will be printed in the next issue of BusinessWest.
STCC, Eastern States Exposition Partner on Internship Program
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) and the Eastern States Exposition (ESE) recently announced a scholarship that creates internship opportunities for STCC students in the Civil Engineering Technology program. Through a donation from Eastern States Exposition, the college created the STCC Civil Engineering Excellence Fund this past June to support a Civil Engineering Learning Laboratory at the exposition facilities. The laboratory will provide STCC students with the opportunity to apply classroom skills outside the campus in a working environment. The partnership between STCC and the ESE will provide a unique learning opportunity to STCC students. Selected interns will receive a scholarship and be recognized at the annual STCC scholarship and awards ceremony. Students will develop project organization, management, and communication plans; catalog, review, and digitally archive historical blueprints and engineering documents; interview and gather facility development history; locate the exposition site’s structural, sewer, electrical, and roadway systems; provide updated digital schematics and renderings of the site using industry-standard software; and recommend areas for consideration for future analysis and verification. “It’s a unique opportunity for our students because it allows them to have a historical perspective of what they are working on,” said STCC Foundation Interim Director Robert LePage. “It’s a really great hands-on learning experience.” STCC student Carlos Cruz is the first student to participate in the program and began work this summer. Under the supervision of STCC Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering Technology Robert Vetrano, Cruz already has scanned more than 600 of the exposition’s drawings, converted them into TIF format, cleaned the images, and finally converted them into PDF format. Next summer, LePage said he hopes to have at least three or four additional interns to help with the project, and credits the Eastern States Exposition with stepping forward to become the first local organization to support the scholarship program. “It’s an interesting project,” said LePage. “And it’s nice to support and partner with an organization like the Eastern States Exposition, with such a strong mission and focus on education.” LePage noted that, while the ESE is the first organization to step forward to contribute to the STCC Civil Engineering Excellence Fund, there are opportunities for other area businesses to get involved.
Colony Hills Capital Announces Acquisition
WILBRAHAM — Colony Hills Capital, LLC (CHC), a Wilbraham-based real-estate-investment firm, recently closed on the $14 million purchase of Wynthrope Forest Apartments, a 270-unit, garden-style community located in Riverdale, Ga. Wynthrope Forest, built in 2000, occupies 28 acres of land. “Because Wynthrope Forest was an REO, we were able to acquire this tremendous asset at an excellent cost basis and significantly below replacement cost,” said David Kaufman, vice president with CHC. “With minor capital improvements and instituting best-in-class management disciplines, I believe our investors will be rewarded with strong risk-adjusted returns.” CHC was joined by equity partners Plymouth Opportunity REIT and Redwood Real Estate Partners in the investment, as well as Morgan Stanley, which provided the mortgage financing on the property.
Big Y Opens Latest Store
in Franklin
SPRINGFIELD — Big Y recently opened its newest World Class Market at 348 East Central St. in Franklin. The 56,866- square-foot market boasts many new innovations both inside and outside of the store. Bowdoin Construction Corp. served as the general contractor for this location, in conjunction with several local subcontractors, such as Tom Gioloso Construction Inc., for the completion of this $14.5 million investment that began in September 2011. “All of us at Big Y are excited to offer the Franklin community with a brand-new shopping experience and a new option for their grocery and lifestyle needs,” said Big Y’s president and chief operating officer, Charles D’Amour.
AJE Financial Services Moves into New Quarters
LUDLOW — AJE Financial Services in Ludlow recently moved into new offices at 588 Center St. in Ludlow. Previously located on 364 East St. in Ludlow, the company had outgrown its former location. Owner and President Robin Wdowiak said he is pleased to be able to keep the business in town. “AJE Financial Services has been a part of the Ludlow business community for 17 years, and we are thrilled that we were able to find a suitable location right here in town,” said Wdowiak. “I grew up in Ludlow and know many of the residents here, so there is always a neighbor-helping-neighbor feeling to the services that we provide.” The company staged an open house on Sept. 6.
Allison Ebner
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MassMutual Retirement Services Division recently announced the addition of Christopher Stout as Sales Director to support its growing presence in the Southeast region. Stout joined the division on Aug. 1 and will be responsible for business development and sales support of MassMutual’s third-party and dedicated distribution channels focusing on retirement plans in the small-plan market.
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Todd Kirton
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Sean West has been promoted to Manager of Ticket Sales for the Springfield Falcons, an AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. West was initially hired by the Falcons as an account executive following the 2011-12 season. He will oversee the ticket department, working closely with team staff and the local community to increase both season and group ticket sales.
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Suzanne Beck, Executive Director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the interim director for the emerging regional Hampshire County Chamber of Commerce, and the founding directors of that new organization recently announced the addition of two additional new Founding Directors:
Molly Keegan
Ruth Constantine
Both will offer increased geographical representation as well as a voice for the area’s local chambers and its colleges and universities. The formation of the regional chamber was announced in March, and founding directors and regional organizations have invested over one-third of the $400,000 needed over two years to bring the concept to fruition.
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The Sisters of Providence Health System recently named Dr. Mary Tarail Chief Medical Officer for Providence Behavioral Health Hospital. Tarail, who previously served as the Associate Medical Director of Geriatric Psychiatry at Providence, will now be responsible for the medical leadership at the facility, including the coordination of all patient care and safety, quality assessment, risk management, patient satisfaction, and improvement in health care programs, and will serve as a liaison between the medical staff and administration. Previously, Tarail served as the Inpatient Unit Chief for Geriatric Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York and was also the Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic at the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital. She is fellowship-trained in the psychiatric treatment of older adults and is sub-specialty board-certified.
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FieldEddy Insurance recently appointed Michael Collura as Account Executive, Commercial Lines. Collura, a Certified Insurance Service Representative in Massachusetts, will advise new and existing clients on insurance risk-management techniques.
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Hospice Services of Western Mass. announced that David McDougall, D.O. has become the Medical Director for its Feeding Hills office. McDougall graduated from the University of Osteopathic Medicine & Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa in 1995. His post-graduate training was done at Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo, New York followed by a residency with Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. He is board-eligible in internal medicine and is a member of the Long-Term and Sub-Acute Team at Hampden County Physician Associates caring for patients in local skilled-nursing facilities.
It’s Time to Be Very Smart About Things
We were encouraged to read recently that Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno has backed off on his stance that only one casino proposal involving the city would be forwarded to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for consideration.
“I have instructed our city departments and our consultants to conduct an open, fair, and robust competitive process that will allow me to choose the project or projects that best meet the city’s selection criteria,” said the mayor in a prepared statement issued a few weeks ago, one that used the words that should define this process until it is concluded: open, fair, and robust.
And it is with those words in mind that we applaud that decision and offer another strong reminder that, given the gravity of the situation, city officials must be extremely diligent in every decision made involving this matter, because mistakes can be costly, and in a number of ways.
And there is already ample evidence that the city hasn’t done that kind of diligence before making some rather critical decisions involving the casino issue.
But first, regarding the mayor’s decision to allow casino proposals, in the plural, to move on to the Gaming Commission: this makes all the sense in the world, because it heightens the competition, improves the city’s odds of eventually landing a casino within its borders, and brings a much higher level of integrity to the process.
Indeed, singling out one proposal would put too much power in the hands of the Springfield Casino Site Committee — when it belongs with the state Gaming Commission — and raise questions about the overall integrity of the process, given that this panel was selected by city councilors that have more than a passing interest in where the casino goes.
Initially limiting the Springfield casino sweepstakes to one horse is one of those decisions that apparently were not thought through by those who have been making them. And there are more examples of this.
Such as the hiring of the Chicago-based law firm now consulting for the city on the casino matter. That firm, Shefsky & Froelich, is a lobbyist in Illinois for MGM Resorts and Penn National Gaming, two of the casino companies vying to place a facility in the City of Homes.
Officials with Ameristar Casinos, another company that wants to build in the city, have raised questions about whether the consultant’s relationship with its competitors indicates a possible lack of neutrality on the matter, and they are right to do so. Shefsky & Froelich is now asking for a ruling on the matter from the state Ethics Commission, and Stephen Crosby, chairman of the state Gaming Commission, has gone so far as to ask Sarno to postpone the process for selecting a casino until the matter of a potential conflict of interest is resolved.
It seems logical that these questions should have been answered before the firm was hired, because failure to do so raises more questions about competence and integrity.
Meanwhile, there are questions about the Springfield Casino Site Committee itself, mainly about why the general manager of a local television station (Bill Pepin, of WWLP-TV 22) is a part of that mix.
MGM Resorts has already spent thousands of dollars with the station, and other players will likely do the same, creating what would by all accounts be a huge conflict of interest. Pepin is a very intelligent, thoughtful individual who has done a lot for Springfield over the years, but he simply shouldn’t be on this committee and accepting advertising dollars from casino companies at the same time.
In defense of those who have made these decisions over the past several months, they are maneuvering through uncharted waters; the state and this city have never gone through a process like this before. Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find an individual or company that doesn’t have some stake in the outcome of this casino contest.
That said, though, it’s critical that all those involved with this matter be extremely thorough, fair, and transparent in everything they do in order to ensure a process that is above reproach.
