Month: August 2013

The Entering Class at Baystate Has a Decidedly Regional Feel

Dr. Margo Rockwell is one of many residents at Baystate who have ‘moved back home’ this summer.

Dr. Margo Rockwell says she recently came across a journal she kept while winding her way through the eighth grade.
She said she just happened to open the book to an entry that today seems loaded with prescience — and irony.
“I hurt my ankle playing soccer, and so I came to the hospital,” she said, paraphrasing what she put down on paper 17 years ago. “I talked about going up to the NICU [neonatal intensive-care unit, where her father, Gary, worked as a neonatologist], where my dad showed me around, and I saw all the babies. And I wrote, ‘maybe someday I’ll be able to work at the NICU — I think that would be fun.’”
Well, that day is here. Sort of.
Rockwell is now a pediatric resident at Baystate Medical Center, and will undertake a rotation in the NICU sometime within the next year. She’s also one of an unusually large number of people who grew up in this region who are part of the new class of residents at Baystate and started work just about a month ago.
Indeed, Rockwell said she found her journal after “moving back home,” a phrase that many at Baystate are using this summer. In some cases, it means back to the house they grew up in, while for others it simply means Western Mass.
BusinessWest talked recently with four of these local residents — a phrase that certainly has a double meaning — three of whom are in the same field, pediatrics, or ‘peds,’ as it’s called. Their stories vary in some respects, but the common denominator is that on March 15, ‘Match Day’ for thousands of medical students across the country, they were thrilled to get the news that they would be coming back to this region.

Dr. Adam Kasper, who recently moved back into his childhood bedroom, says Baystate was his first preference when ranking hospitals for his residency.

“I was born here, and my mother was an RN here,” said Dr. Adam Kasper, a 2005 graduate of East Longmeadow High School. He would go on to Lehigh University and then Temple University Medical School, which still distributes old-fashioned letters in envelopes to let students know where they’ll be going for their residency.
As Kasper opened his, he was confident he’d be staying in this time zone — eight of the 12 teaching hospitals he interviewed with are in the Northeast — but was pleasantly surprised to read simply ‘Baystate Medical Center.’
“I’ve got my old bedroom back,” he said, describing his parents’ home as an intermediate-term living plan. “I plan on moving out in the fall, but it’s very nice to be at home; it made the transition from medical school to residency so much less stressful.”
Dr. Elizabeth Langmore-Avila won’t be moving back to her childhood home, but she will be returning to the area where she grew up — she was born in Blandford — and has already worked professionally in the behavioral-health field.

Dr. Elizabeth Langmore-Avila says she finds work in behavioral health, and especially with those battling substance abuse, to be professionally rewarding.

She’s called many other places home along the way, though. She went to college at Vassar in New York, then lived in Mexico for a number of years, where she went to drama school and did community work with children. She returned to this country to pursue a master’s degree at Antioch College in Keene, N.H., and then returned to this region to work, settling in Amherst for awhile before heading off to medical school at A.T. Still University in Mesa, Ariz., where she would focus on psychology (more on that later).
Revisiting Match Day, she said she had interviewed at hospitals on both coasts, but Western Mass. was her preferred landing spot.
“I realized that it has a lot to offer in terms of what I’m looking for,” she said, listing both professional opportunities and quality of life. “And I decided I wanted to come back.”
That goal became reality when she woke up after a long night’s work in an emergency room to see a message on her phone left by someone with the prefix 413. It was the director of Baystate’s Psychiatry program offering her a welcome.
For this issue, BusinessWest revisits four such message deliveries and what they meant to those who received them, but also looks ahead with those individuals at where their current experiences in the place they call home might take them.

Meeting Their Match
As Dr. Laura Koenigs, director of the Pediatric Residency Program at Baystate, talked about Match Day, she referenced what she called the “computer in the sky.”
Others we spoke with used similar language, calling it simply “a computer” or “the computer,” or “a very complicated logarithm.” What it is, where it is, and what it’s called, no one seemed to know.
What they did know is that the software program in this computer would somehow determine their fate — for the next four years and possibly for the duration of their careers in medicine.
It’s called Match Day, because that’s when thousands of matches are announced, said Koenigs, adding that both medical students and teaching hospitals that interview them send their preferences for various specialties to that aforementioned computer, which ultimately analyzes a host of factors and determines where each medical-school graduate will go next.
“You rank programs, and the programs rank you, and you get matches — that’s what the computer does,” said Langmore-Avila, adding that med school students first learn if they’ve been matched (and more than 80% are), then must wait five agonizing days to find out which hospital they’ve been matched with.
Teaching hospitals like Baystate will weigh everything from academic performance to Springfield’s climate — “the cold and the dark can really impact some people,” said Koenigs, referring to the region’s long winters — when they submit their preferences. Meanwhile, medical-school students, some of whom will apply to a few dozen hospitals, will have their own criteria and priorities.
This year, the pediatric program took on 12 new residents, with half of them calling Massachusetts home, and four from the Pioneer Valley.
Dr. Shannon Rindone is among them.

Dr. Shannon Rindone says she gravitated toward pediatrics because she finds the work challenging and rewarding.

She received her diploma from East Longmeadow High School four years before Kasper (“he graduated with my little brother”), and by then had a pretty good idea that she wanted to follow her parents into the healthcare field — her mother is a nurse at Mercy Medical Center, and her stepfather does the same at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
“I’ve always been surrounded by it,” she said, referring to the world of medicine. “My mother always said I could be whatever I wanted, and when she would bring me to work, I just loved it — I enjoyed talking to the doctors, the nurses, and the patients, and then I wound up working at Mercy myself as a patient-care technician.”
She said she was first drawn to pediatrics, or what she called “the little people,” while working at Cambridge University Hospital in England as a midwife care assistant. (She went overseas to be with her then-fiance as he worked toward his MBA at Cambridge.) She would go on to attend medical school at Nova Southeastern in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and is now a DO, or doctor of osteopathic medicine.
On Match Day, she remembers being nervous and also somewhat jealous when a friend attending another medical school received her news a full half-hour before she did. When the e-mail finally arrived, she saw several words, including her name, but the only one she read, or cared about at that moment, was ‘Baystate.’
“The real preference was to come back home, and this is home,” she said, noting that she interviewed at many institutions, including a few in Florida.
She doesn’t, and couldn’t, know what tackling the rigors of a residency 1,000 miles from home, family, and friends would be like, but she acknowleged that having a support system close by (her mother and Mercy Medical Center are a half-mile away) is comforting.
“But at the same time, after a 16-hour day, sometimes you just want to put your head on a pillow, and your sister may want you to come over for dinner,” she noted. “And that can sometimes be difficult, because it’s hard for everyone to understand that you’re exhausted; you’re home, and they want to see you.”
She told BusinessWest that her career could take one of a number of paths, but she has developed a passion for pediatrics, and has shifted her focus there from her original pursuit, the ob/gyn field.
“I realized that the reason I liked obstetrics and gynecology was because of the family interaction and the baby, the product, at the end,” she explained. “And I really fell in love with just dealing with kids of all ages.”
Currently on the rotation known simply as ‘the wards,’ or the ‘floors,’ Rindone said this involves seeing and treating patients in the Children’s Hospital, and represents a steep learning curve.
On the wards, she encounters children suffering from everything from meningitis to seizure disorders to fever. “It’s hard to see them when they’re like that, but it’s wonderful to know you’re helping them and easing the parents’ anxiety.
“Working with kids makes me smile every day,” she went on, “and you can’t complain about a job that makes you smile.”

Close Calls
Kasper can relate.
He said he was drawn to pediatrics while moving through the core clerkships during his third year of medical school at Temple. These also included internal medicine, surgery, family medicine, ob/gyn, and others, with pediatrics somewhere in the middle.
“I just found that I was more interested in the material,” he said of his chosen specialty. “I actually didn’t mind going home and reading about the topics as much as I did some of the other rotations. I just found that I enjoyed going to the hospital a little more each day — I knew this was where I was supposed to be.”
Elaborating, he said he liked the “patient population,” found his personality is better suited for that field than others, and, overall, considered it both more challenging and more rewarding than other areas of practice.
“The potential impact that you have,” he explained, “is much greater than when you’re treating a 70-year-old who’s been smoking for the past 50 years and has no intention of changing anything he does no matter what you say.”
Currently on the genetics rotation, Kasper said behavioral development is next, and as he looks ahead, he’s eyeing each of the segments with equal amounts of anxious anticipation and “dread about how well I’ll perform in them, because I’m still getting my feet under me and getting used to working at this hospital.
“They’re equally exciting to me right now because I’m entering residency the same way I while I was in medical school,” he continued. “I don’t know exactly where I want to go in pediatrics, so each thing is a possibility.”
Rockwell said she’s in a similar state, one where the options are many and most have yet to be explored in depth.
She segued into medicine while majoring in geology and comparative literature at Hamilton College in New York. “You could write about rocks, I guess,” she said with a laugh when asked what one could do with those degrees, adding quickly that she always had medicine in the back of her mind, did pre-med work at Hamilton, and was an EMT on campus.
She enrolled at the University of New England Medical School in Maine, where, like Kasper, she zeroed in on pediatrics rather late in the game — it was her last rotation, and she found she enjoyed working with children and families.
On Match Day, she was in surgery at a hospital in New York City when the clock struck noon and the results are posted. “The surgeon let me scrub out,” she recalled. “I opened my phone, and it was there in an e-mail: ‘Margo Rockwell; Baystate Medical Center; Pediatrics.’
“You were waiting all year for that e-mail, so it was pretty exciting,” Rockwell went on, adding that pediatric endocrinology was her first rotation, and that two months in the NICU, November and May, lie ahead.
She said she might get to work with her father, although they will likely be on different teams. And in the meantime, he’s been a great resource. “I certainly ask him a lot of questions.”
Meanwhile, Langmore-Avila is working with much older patients in Baystate’s Adult Psychiatric Treatment Unit, the adult inpatient facility at the hospital, one of many rotations she’ll experience this year.
Many of those she sees each day as part of a team of professionals have substance-abuse issues, she said, adding that it was work in this realm several years ago at the Riverbend Medical Group that inspired her to go to medical school and pursue work in that field.
“We admit patients, evaluate them, treat them as necessary, and monitor their progress,” she explained, adding that such individuals are then released either into the community or to a treatment facility.
This is work she finds rewarding on a number of levels, especially when she and other members of a team can change the course of someone’s life.
“I did a lot of substance-abuse treatment before medical school, and found it’s a field that I really like,” she said of her chosen path in healthcare. “It’s very much on the front lines, and it’s an opportunity to help someone who may have hit rock bottom. That’s a tragic state of being for a person, and if I can be there in the moment and try to help someone come out of that, get through that … that’s very important to me; it’s very meaningful.”

Local Flavor
As she walked with BusinessWest to the NICU for a few photos, Rockwell pointed to a small courtyard area where staffers can enjoy a meal or a quiet moment.
“That’s where I used to bring pizza for my dad,” she said, adding that she would often deliver him snacks when he was on call for stints that could last 24 hours or more.
Soon, the two might be sharing lunch or dinner there again, only this time they’ll both be wearing white coats and badges identifying them as doctors.
That journal entry logged all those years ago hasn’t officially come to fruition yet, but the younger Rockwell is a giant step closer to making it all reality.
For now, though, she’s another of Baystate’s local residents, and one of many happy to be back home.

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

Second and Long

Features

Despite Rough Start in Division I, Optimism Abounds for UMass Football

John McCutcheon says the move to Division I doesn’t come without risk, but the potential rewards are great.

One win, 11 losses.

That’s not a record many football teams would celebrate, but the UMass Minutemen see the 2012 campaign differently: as a floor from which there’s nowhere to go but up.

After all, this was a squad coming off a down year in 2011, then moving to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and competing for the first time in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), also known as Division I.

It was a move, John McCutcheon said, that was a long time coming.

“The level at which we participate in football has been talked about on this campus for probably 25 years,” said McCutcheon, athletic director at UMass Amherst. “Several studies were done, all of them, for the most part, saying the same thing: as the state’s flagship campus, UMass football should be positioned at the highest level, just like we’ve done with basketball, hockey, and other sports.”

To accomplish that goal, he went on, the school had to find the right conference, tackle some significant facility improvements which sent the team to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro for home games (more on that later), and put together a long-term financial model that made sense.

“As with any decision of this magnitude, many agreed with this — obviously, we presented it to the trustees, who supported it unanimously — and some didn’t,” McCutcheon said. “We understand that, and that’s a healthy process. There are folks following this who want to see how we are doing with this transition. We take that seriously. It’s a big move for us and does not come without risk. Our job is to make sure we manage this as efficiently as possible, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

John Sinnett, assistant athletic director, added that UMass is widely known for its educational offerings and research prowess, and the rest of its athletic department is regarded at a similar caliber. “To have football stuck in the I-AA level wasn’t accomplishing much for the mission of the university.”

The move to Division I, he noted, offers income streams that don’t exist at the I-AA level, specifically bowl and television revenue. Meanwhile, “with all the conference realignment that has gone on, this move is also geared toward the next 20 years, not just right now. It could lead to an opportunity to be in a larger conference that has more financial benefits for the university. So this is a multi-layered, multi-decade project.”

McGuirk Stadium on the UMass campus will be ready for Division I play in the fall of 2014, when home games will be split between Amherst and Foxboro.

Right now, however, Head Coach Charley Molnar’s team has more immediate goals, such as improving on that one-win season and drawing larger crowds to Gillette while the on-campus McGuirk Stadium continues to undergo extensive renovations. As BusinessWest discovered, hopes are high on both fronts.

Playing Catchup

Moving the Minutemen to the FBS made so much sense, McCutcheon said, that many casual sports fans thought they already played at that level.

“The irony is, outside of Massachusetts, most people in the country thought we were Division I already, and they were surprised when they learned we were I-AA, because of the perception of our men’s basketball presence. And being the state university for Massachusetts, it’s probably where we should have been.”

The team slated its non-conference schedule ambitiously, but regional rival UConn shut the Minutemen out 37-0 in week one, followed by 45-6 and 63-13 losses, respectively, to the Big Ten’s Indiana and Michigan, the latter a top-20 power. The games got more competitive during the MAC portion of the schedule, including a 22-14 triumph over winless Akron, but the final tally was still 1-11.

Sinnett noted that, while FBS universities can offer 85 football scholarships, compared to 64 in I-AA, the only players specifically recruited as Division I prospects were freshmen in 2012. Over the next few years, that number will rise, while each class of FBS recruits gains in experience, so, theoretically, the team should show marked improvement each year.

“You’re going to have a culture of athletes who understand what it takes, understand what the competition is like, who are better-suited mentally and physically to play at that level of competition,” he said. “But there’s still a learning curve.”

“Remember,” added McCutcheon, “those scholarships go to incoming freshmen. In football, it takes awhile for a freshman to mature physically and contribute on the field.”

He added that Molnar has made an effort to recruit from both inside and outside the Commonwealth.

“Charley has put great emphasis on recruiting the state of Massachusetts; he’s doing a great job keeping players close to home. But we know that, for any program to compete at the national level, you have to reach beyond the immediate boundaries. That’s true for all schools. Kids from New Jersey don’t necessarily want to stay in New Jersey, and Massachusetts kids don’t always want to stay in Massachusetts. Some recruits are looking for a more urban situation, and some, a more rural situation. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and for each recruit, we’re trying to match up with their needs.”

Sinnett said the program will do a better job meeting its financial projections this year as well, because for the first time, it will share in bowl and television revenue from the MAC, and road games against Wisconsin and Kansas State will reap the program $900,000 and $750,000, respectively. Other high-profile, big-payout road games have been scheduled for the next several seasons as well, including Penn State in 2014 ($850,000), Notre Dame in 2015 ($1 million), and Florida in 2016 ($1.25 million).

“Any time you do long-range forecasting, you have to make adjustments as you go along which reflect real life,” McCutcheon said, noting that TV and bowl revenues and the aforementioned road payouts will be higher than originally anticipated, while corporate support of the program has some room for improvement. “Our projections of increased revenues are significant, and I think that, overall, we have a very solid financial plan for the future.”

Travel Plans

Plans to improve home-game attendance, meanwhile, are equally crucial, if not moreso.

UMass struck a five-year deal with Gillette to host games there to accommodate the McGuirk renovations, which include a new press box, visitor boxes, training facilities, and handicapped-access upgrades, all required by the NCAA for Division I programs. McGuirk will be ready for action in 2014, and for that season through 2016, home games will be divided between Amherst and Foxboro.

“The concept was originally misunderstood by many,” McCutcheon said. “Some people thought we were leaving [McGuirk] and never coming back. That was never the intent.”

But playing home games 100 miles from campus posed real issues last season, when attendance at Gillette averaged under 11,000 per game. That’s a concern, because the NCAA requires FBS schools to average 15,000 spectators per home game at least once every two years; if it doesn’t meet that goal, the school is ineligible for a bowl game the following year and is placed on probation for a decade.

But there is reason to believe average attendance will reach 15,000 this season, Sinnett said. For one thing, UMass was stuck last year playing the day after Thanksgiving — a MAC tradition, but a tough draw. The Minutemen played in front of just 6,000 fans that afternoon, but they will not host a Black Friday game this year, which should boost their per-game average.

Also, he noted, “we have more name-brand teams — we’re bringing in Vanderbilt, an SEC team which went to a bowl game last year. People will be excited to see that. Maine will bring in a lot of people. And I think the team will be better this year, which helps.” Group sales, corporate partnerships, and season-ticket sales are all on the upswing, he added.

Looking down the road, “we feel pretty confident in future home games against UConn and BC. Those regional rivalries will help attendance,” Sinnett added. In fact, UMass would like to develop a tradition of playing non-conference games against those regional players, as well as New Hampshire and Rhode Island, to cultivate a culture of New England football that will benefit all the schools.

Meanwhile, McCutcheon praised the atmosphere and amenities at Gillette. “The facility itself is state-of-the-art; you’re not going to find a better venue. Also, it’s very close to a large percentage of our alumni base. More than 100,000 alumni live within a half-hour of Gillette, while 20,000 live within a half-hour of Amherst. We’re basically getting closer to our alumni.

“The challenge is, a lot of these folks haven’t been engaged with our program, being in the eastern part of the state, so we’re trying to make them more aware of what we’re doing, more invested in the program,” he continued. “It takes some time to get into people’s heads. We realize the Boston market is a tough market — it’s traditionally pro-oriented — and we’re going to have to pick away at it and carve out a niche.”

Sinnett agreed, noting that “people who went to games at Gillette really enjoyed the experience. People who sat in the club seats really loved that atmosphere.”

When the games start rotating in 2014, he noted, UMass football will be serving two distinct fan bases — Boston-area alums and fans who enjoy visiting Gillette, and students and fans in and around Amherst who love the pageantry of on-campus games and the tradition of McGuirk.

“Having that flexibility will really help us,” he told BusinessWest. “Say we have a big game against UConn or BC; we can do that at Gillette, and we can shoot for 30,000 to 40,000 fans. If it’s a midweek game on ESPN against a team from the MAC, we can play that at McGuirk. I think families in Eastern Mass. will love the games at Gillette, love the amenities, love the experience, while Western Mass. fans might not want to travel to Gillette, because that’s a long day. It adds a lot of flexibility for fans.”

Winning Spirit

McCutcheon repeatedly emphasized that, from a timing perspective, the move to the FBS was a good decision.

“An opportunity with the MAC came forward, Gillette solves our immediate facility needs, and we felt, looking at all those things, the financials made sense for us,” he said. “The road we are on now is more challenging. We never said football would be 100% self-supporting; no sports are. But we felt that it would be more self-supporting [in Division I] than it would be otherwise.

“We think it was the right move to make,” he concluded. “I still believe that 100% today. But it’s going to take some time and effort. Coach Molnar is making progress, but it takes a little time; it doesn’t happen overnight. There are no shortcuts. You have to stay committed, stay focused, but I do think, in the long run, it will be a great opportunity for our university.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Community Profile

Community Profile Features

Great Barrington Has Become a True Destination

It’s been difficult for Doria Polinger to keep enough handmade chocolates on the shelves of the store she opened about a month ago on Railroad Street in Great Barrington.

“Almost everything I make has sold every day — business has been amazing, even though we are tucked away and many people find us by surprise,” she said about H.R. Zeppelin Fine Handmade Chocolates.

Polinger began looking for the right location for her specialty shop several years ago. The Stockbridge resident and New York City transplant chose Great Barrington because of its “urban feel” and the mix of people who pass through the town. “There are tourists, people who live here year-round, and people who have second homes,” she explained. “Everyone comingles well, which is nice.”

Doria Polinger says her business thrives in Great Barrington, even though many visitors find her by accident.

The town is the center of what’s known as the Southern Berkshire District, and is the cultural and commercial hub of the area. Sean Stanton, chairman of the select board, said 90% of the surrounding communities don’t have grocery stores, gas stations, and other basic services.

“Our infrastructure serves residents and people who come here in the summer as well as the surrounding communities,” he told BusinessWest, adding that Great Barrington gets a steady stream of traffic due to its central location.

Route 7 is the town’s Main Street, and Route 23 passes west to east. It combines with Routes 7 and 41 in the western part of town and Route 183 in the eastern part, which also follows a section of Route 7 northward from Route 23, before splitting toward the village of Housatonic. As a result, people from Boston, Upstate New York, and the New York metropolitan area are among the many tourists who visit Great Barringtons’s bustling downtown, where streets are home to small storefronts that sell products ranging from clothing made from hand-woven fabric to homemade food products that include cheese, bread, barbecue sauce, and meat and produce from local farms.

Richard Stanley, who built the four-screen Triplex Cinema downtown and owns other real estate, said the extent of Great Barrington’s vitality can be understood by the fact that, although the town only has 7,700 full-time residents, it is home to 65 restaurants, a number of art galleries, and the well-known Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, as well as many specialty stores and small businesses.

Richard Stanley says the Triplex Cinema he developed has helped to revitalize the town and turn it into a thriving resort destination.

“We’re ground zero for the Berkshires, and the diversity of the population is incredible,” he noted. “There are artisans, business people, and people in financial services here.”

Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin agrees. “We’re not only a residential community, we are an employment hub — 10,000 people come here to work,” she said, adding that many second homeowners enjoy Great Barrington year-round.

Stanley concurs. “We’re a second-home community for the New York metropolitan area.”

The agricultural community is also thriving. “Many young people are coming back to the area purchasing land to develop as farms, and people are also coming here to learn how to do organic farming,” Stanton said. “We have an internship program for sustainable agriculture, two garden centers, and a lot of landscapers.”

Stanton operates Blue Hill Farms, which is a mixed livestock operation, and says much of the town’s land is under conservation easement and/or agricultural-preservation restrictions.

“Although most of it is being used, there is other land which could be designated as agricultural,” he said, “which would reduce the property taxes on it by 75%.”

Logging Growth

Great Barrington has been honored with many accolades that attest to its character, which include being named the “number-one small town in the U.S.” last year by Smithsonian magazine.

Since its early beginnings, the town has been divided into two sections: the downtown area and Housatonic Village, located on its north side. In its heyday, Housatonic was a booming mill village that provided employment for generations of townsfolk, getting its name from the Housatonic Manufacturing Co. located there.

The village is important in Great Barrington’s history due to its mills, and today, the space within some of them has been transformed into offices, businesses, and apartments with ample room for growth. “There is a fair amount of vacant space available in two of the mill buildings,” Stanley said.

He purchased his first building in town in 1989. “It was just another sleepy place on the map then, and people thought I was nuts,” he told BusinessWest. “It was so quiet, you could shoot a cannon down most of the streets at 5 o’clock.”

But over time, New York residents discovered its beauty and began buying second homes there. In addition, a parking lot was constructed, Stanley built his Triplex Cinema, and the town that had served as a retreat for the wealthy during the Gilded Age was rediscovered. “Today, people come here for the town’s unique combination of beauty, for movies and entertainment, for its restaurants and stores, and for the local art galleries,” Stanley said.

Sean Stanton, a farmer and chair of the town’s select board, shows off one of the Great White Tomatoes he grows at Blue Hill Farms.

But although town officials have created partnerships to bring in more tourists, they have also taken steps to ensure that Great Barrington retains its pastoral setting and recreational opportunities. The town contains 3,000 acres of state-owned forest property and has an unlimited number of hiking trails. It is also home to Ski Butternut, and its close proximity to Catamount Ski Area in Egremont helps make it a busy place even during the winter.

And while the community has staged a stunning turnaround, there are projects in various stages of development that could make it even more of a destination.

Topping that list is the $30 million redevelopment of the former New England Log Homes factory site at 100 Bridge St.

“The Community Development Corp. of Southern Berkshire County owned the property for about 20 years,” said Stanley. “It was a brownfields site, but nothing was migrating, so they felt no sense of immediacy to do anything with it.”

But in past few years that changed, and several weeks ago preliminary plans were approved for the eight-acre property that will offer public access to the Housatonic River and provide mixed-use opportunities for businesses, nonprofits, and new restaurants. The plan calls for 50 to 70 new housing units and 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of commercial space.

Stanley sits on the board of directors of the development corporation, and said the state Department of Environmental Protection worked with the panel to determine the best use for the property. “The plan is threefold: to foster commerce on the retail level and create higher-paying jobs and a residential environment,” he said.

The anchor tenant will be Berkshire Co-op Market, which generated $8.3 million in sales last year and has outgrown its current location on Bridge Street. The market is owned by 3,500 members and offers locally grown meat, produce, and other products. It is expected to open next fall in a 10,000-square-foot space, which will include a café.

“The co-op supports local farms and is very active in the community,” said Betsy Andrus, executive director of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. “It helps entrepreneurs develop local products and was instrumental in creating a program in the schools after students reached out to them requesting better food. Plus, almost every restaurant in town is farm-to-table. They vary their menus according to the season.”

The redevelopment theme for the site, which is in line with the foodstuffs that will be sold there, includes a wellness center, and Stanley said doctors who practice alternative medicine have already expressed interest in office space.

He added that the site is within walking distance of the downtown, and the board of directors has agreed to think of it as an extension of Main Street because there are buildings available for business use in between.

One of them is the former Searles Middle School, which offers views of the Housatonic River and mountains and sits adjacent to the old Bryant School, which is being redeveloped. It will be the first project of its size to receive the LEED Gold designation in Southern Berkshire County and provides for a ‘destination’ mixed use of the property that respects the character of the historic buildings while enhancing public access of the Housatonic River and creating jobs.

Other development opportunities exist on the former Great Barrington Fairgrounds property. The 50-acre site was recently purchased by the Fair Ground Community Redevelopment Project Inc., a nonprofit group that plans to use it as a sustainable community resource for education, recreation, and agriculture, which would include community gardens and a greenhouse.

More opportunity lies at the Searles Castle, built in 1888, which has been on the market since 2007. The castle contains 40 rooms with more than 60,000 square feet of floor space and 36 fireplaces. After being converted from a private home, it was used as a private girl’s school, conference center, a golf course, and most recently was owned by the John Dewey Academy, which served troubled teens.

“The property has 80 acres of grounds with fountains and ponds,” Andrus explained. “The carriage house alone is beautiful and could be used for businesses.”

Destination Location

Overall, Great Barrington is flourishing. “The future continues to look bright as we get more diversity in terms of people and types of businesses and continue to support our farming community,” Stanley said.

Added Tabakin, “the quality of life here is wonderful. It’s a wonderful place to work, raise a family, and enjoy recreational activities.”

Stanton concurred, noting, “there is a lot going on here.”

Editorial

At Westfield State, a Large Case of Excess

There is little doubt that, since he arrived at the then Westfield State College campus in 2007, Evan Dobelle has done a number of things to raise the school’s profile and create a much stronger town-gown relationship.

For starters, he’s changed the school’s name to Westfield State University, something many institutions have done in recent years to make them themselves more marketable in foreign countries where the word ‘college’ simply doesn’t convey size or quality. He’s also undertaken a program to convert an old school building downtown into a dormitory, a move designed to make the school more visible and also a greater force in the local economy, while also building an elaborate new dorm on campus, one that comes with a $55 million price tag, part of an overall $170 million building program.

Such steps have earned him praise from many city and state officials, and Dobelle, never shy to tout his own accomplishments, recently told the Boston Globe that he’s made Westfield State the “hottest college in New England.”

Unfortunately for him, and the school, that quote appeared in a lengthy front-page Sunday Globe story that bore the headline “Where spending limits are purely academic.”

The piece chronicles years of lavish spending by Dobelle, including $8,000 for a four-night stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok (the bill amassed by a group that traveled there to promote the school and recruit Asian students), $10,000 for tickets to shows at Tanglewood, $4,000 for limousine rides, and much more, with many of these bills charged to the Westfield State Foundation.

That group essentially gave him a blank check to carry out his quest to remake the former teachers college into an educational powerhouse — and now it certainly has large amounts of regret; the foundation closed Dobelle’s credit card several years ago.

And it should have.

While Dobelle can seemingly defend any and all of his lavish spending — he said he put up a commencement speaker (and old friend) in a luxurious Lenox hotel because he wanted to build the school’s reputation — those at the foundation and many others at the school and on Beacon Hill now recognize that Dobelle has a real problem when it comes to spending other people’s money.

Actually, he’s had it throughout his career, as excessive spending was one of the reasons why he was fired by the University of Hawaii, although that school eventually rescinded the dismissal when Dobelle threatened to sue.

Westfield State probably doesn’t have to fire Dobelle, but it does have to take real steps to make sure this reckless pattern of spending is halted and that there is full disclosure about Dobelle’s travel records and his claims to have repaid the university for any and all personal expenses that were billed to the school.

Dobelle says he can justify all the expensive hotel rooms, travel, limo rides, and Tanglewood tickets as simply part of the enormous cost of taking this school to a much higher level. But no one can fully justify such excess when the school in question is a public university in a state with budget woes and many students who rely on aid and scholarships.

As we said at the top, Dobelle has done many good things at Westfield State, and has, indeed, raised the school’s profile. But the end doesn’t justify the means, and through his irresponsible spending, Dobelle has people talking about WSU again, but for all the wrong reasons.

He can change that conversation, but he needs to move quickly and decisively to restore trust.

Editorial Two

‘Tech Tax’ Imperils State’s Growth

The prevailing opinion is that Florida Gov. Rick Scott didn’t do Massachusetts any favors recently when he sent out letters to 100 Bay State companies essentially inviting them to explore the Sunshine State and discover why it makes sense to move operations there.

Actually, however, he did the state a huge favor.

He reminded everyone on Beacon Hill of something they probably knew — although they don’t act like it: that business owners have options when it comes to choosing where to locate or launch, and Massachusetts is increasingly looking like a less-attractive option.

The timing of Scott’s letter coincides with implementation of the Bay State’s so-called ‘tech tax,’ or software tax, a levy on ‘computer software design services,’ a controversial measure that is being fought by business owners, economic-development groups, legislators, and other constituencies that understand that it is arbitrary, confusing, and threatens to stifle one of the strongest pillars of the state economy.

But the tech tax is just part of the story. The larger piece is that this state continues to believe that it can tax and spend without consequence. The truth is that it can’t, and Rick Scott’s aggressive actions simply provide more proof of that.

But let’s back up a minute.

Massachusetts is still an attractive state in which to live, work, and do business. There is an enviable quality of life here, dozens of fine colleges and universities, a host of cities and towns that could — and often do — make those ‘best places to live’ lists, and a strong, educated workforce.

Maintaining all this takes resources, and for the past several decades, elected officials have essentially said that the only way they want to amass these resources is through new and different ways to tax individuals and businesses.

Indeed, in addition to the tech tax, the state recently implemented higher levies on cigarettes and gasoline. You can go to those wells only so often (although, in this state, we do so frequently), so to fund needed infrastructure and transportation programs, the state looked in a different direction — its burgeoning tech sector and the services it provides.

This new levy might truly be a lucrative source of tax revenue (that’s might; no one really seems to know how much it will generate), but its implementation shows — again — that legislative leaders are shortsighted and unable to grasp the big picture.

Forty-six states don’t have tech taxes, and for one big reason: they’re trying to grow that sector, which is one of a few with vast potential for creating new jobs in the years and decades to come. Massachusetts leaders know this well — they’ve seen it first-hand — but they’re acting as if they’re taking this sector for granted and that they don’t take people like Rick Scott seriously.

They should.

And they can show that they mean business — in both a literal and figurative sense — by taking steps to indicate that they know and care about the fact that business owners really do have options. The place to start is with a move to repeal the tech tax, which threatens everything from the growth of existing companies to the prospects for new tech startups.

And from there, the legislature can take additional steps to counter what is perhaps the strongest line in Scott’s letter: “it’s bound to get worse in Massachusetts.”

Like we said, Scott did the state a favor. Let’s see if Massachusetts is smart enough to take advantage of that.

Learning Opportunities

Features

Expo Seminars to Identify Paths and Obstacles to Growth

Duane Cashin says the Internet has — or should have — changed the way people approach selling.

“These days, when people want to buy something, they enter that process with a ton of information,” said Cashin, owner of Hartford-based Cashin & Co. and a noted expert in the areas of prospecting, sales process, and sales management. “With the Internet, people can thoroughly research things — consumers are more informed than ever, and that impacts the way people should sell.”

This development is one of many that Cashin will discuss in a program he calls “The Future of Sales and the Adjustments You Need to Make” — although he acknowledged that, in many ways, the future is now.

His talk is one of a dozen seminars now on the slate for the Western Mass. Business Expo, set for Nov. 6 at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, an event expected to draw more than 150 exhibitors and 3,000 visitors.

Other topics to be explored include everything from immigration law to cold calling; from the emerging workforce in this country to raising a company’s profile through YouTube.

And then, there are the “Emdees.” That’s the name that Amesbury-based McDougall & Duval Advertising Agency has given to a program — in the form of an awards ceremony — involving examples of the best and worst uses of social media.

“There are many issues and challenges involved with operating a business, large or small, today,” said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, which is once again presenting the Expo. “And as we approached this year’s event and its educational component, which is an important part of the show, we wanted to address some of these challenges and give business owners and managers information they could take to the office or the plant the next day.”

The seminars, which will run from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m., are grouped into three tracks — Sales & Marketing, Social Media, and Business Management — and are designed to be as interactive as possible, said Campiti, adding that the roster of programs was compiled after careful consideration of several dozen submitted proposals.

The full schedule of seminars is currently posted on the show’s website, www.wmbexpo.com. The programs to be presented include:

• “How TV and Social Media Have Affected Media Consumption,” presented by representatives of Comcast Spotlight;

• “Beyond an Entrepreneur,” presented by Paul DiGrigoli, president of DiGrigoli Salons and a noted motivational speaker;

• “Make an Impact with Multichannel Marketing,” presented by Tina Stevens, president of Stevens 470;

• “Leading Change,” presented by Lynn Whitney Turner and Ravi Kulkarni, principals with Clear Vision Alliance;

• “Am I Wasting Money and Time Doing Social Media?” presented by Paul Stallman, owner of Alias Solutions; and

• “Branding Bootcamp,” to be led by Meghan Lynch, president of Six-Point Creative Works.

Campiti said additional components of the Expo program, including breakfast and lunch speakers and other presentations, are being finalized, and will be announced in future issues of BusinessWest and posted on the website.

The day-long event will conclude with the Expo Social, which has become a not-to-be-missed networking opportunity since it was first staged at the 2011 Expo.

Comcast Business is once again the presenting sponsor for the Expo. Other sponsors include ABC 40/Fox 6, Health New England, and Johnson & Hill Staffing Services. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Fast Facts:
What: The Western Mass. Business Expo
When: Nov. 6
Where: The MassMutual Center, Springfield
Highlights: Breakfast and lunch programs; keynote speakers; educational seminars; Expo Social; more than 150 exhibitors
For More Information: Visit
www.wmbexpo.com or call (413) 781-8600.

Grape Expectations

Sections Travel and Tourism

Area Vintners Are Seeing the Fruits of Their Labor

Larry Godard says a close-knit network of vintners has sprung up organically across the region.

Larry Godard acknowledged that he considers them somewhat backhanded compliments. But he loves hearing them anyway.

“They’ll taste one and look at me and pause and say, ‘this is really good,’ and they emphasize the ‘really good’ part as if they are surprised at the high quality,” said Godard, referring to comments about the labels, including Red Hen Red, he’s now producing at Mineral Hills Winery at the Red Hen Farm in Florence.

Elaborating, he said that many of the growing number of visitors to Mineral Hills are from Connecticut and New York. They are wine connoisseurs, and they’ve been to many small wineries across the Northeast. But Western Mass. is a relatively new destination for many of them, and this is one of the reasons behind many of those ‘really good’ comments.

And Godard’s not the only one hearing them.

Millennials are a promising new customer base for Gary and Bobbie Kamen at Mount Warner Winery.

Indeed, he is the sole proprietor of one of a growing number of what could be called start-up vineyards and wineries across the Valley, including Black Birch Winery down the road in Southampton, Amherst Winery in Amherst, Mount Warner Winery in Hadley (which overlooks the UMass Amherst campus), Pioneer Valley Vineyard in Hatfield, Les Trois Emme Vineyard & Winery in New Marlboro in the Berkshires, and several others.

They are all part of something called the Massachusetts Wine & Cheese Trail, overseen by the Mass. Farm Wineries and Growers Assoc. (MFWGA), to which Godard belongs, but could eventually comprise a separate wine trail in the four western counties.

In the meantime, Godard and others like him — individuals with a passion for wine and the means and the inclination to go into business making and selling it — are creating what could be described as a community of vintners, and a close-knit one at that.

“A wine trail is already happening by default,” Godard said, explaining that he’ll send his guests to Black Birch and Amherst Winery, and they will in turn send their visitors along to the other wineries in the area. “We have a nice little cluster right here. In fact, Ian Modestow [partner with Black Birch Winery] came over one day to borrow a cup of yeast, like a neighbor borrowing a cup of sugar.”

Mary Hamel, a partner with Black Birch Winery, also noted the fellowship among the region’s wine makers. “That’s one thing about the wine industry that I think is very cool,” she noted. “You don’t feel like you’re in competition with anyone because we support each other, and the more wineries there are, the better it is for all of us.”

More wineries would seem to be a likelihood in every state because demand is growing, and there are many aging Baby Boomers eyeing wine making as a bridge to full-time retirement. According to the 2012-13 “State of the Wine Industry” report by Silicon Valley Bank, a California financial institution specializing the U.S. wine industry, Millennials and Baby Boomers are the two largest sectors of wine consumers, and consumption rates are growing most rapidly among Millennials and men.

And while a burgeoning wine trail will help the region’s vintners, an official trail will certainly be a boon to the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau (GSCVB).

Michele Goldberg, director of marketing for the GSCVB, told BusinessWest that, while the Connecticut Vineyard and Wine Assoc., with its established wine trail, is a longtime member, Western Mass. wineries fall perfectly into the emerging ‘farm-to-table’ movement in the tourism industry.

Ed and Mary Hamel of Black Birch Winery have doubled their visitation for wine tastings through great word-of-mouth referrals.

“From a tourism perspective, wine tasting is incredibly popular with groups and for ‘girlfriend getaways,’ and a future wine trail would be a welcome addition to our diverse list of things to do in the Pioneer Valley,” said Goldberg, adding that the tourism bureau is constantly fielding inquiries from meeting planners looking for unique after-hours activities for convention attendees.

For this issue and its focus on tourism, BusinessWest visited with several area vintners to talk about their businesses and their outlook on how wine can become a prominent part of the region’s economy and tourism sector.

Heard It Through the Grapevine

The stories beyond the wineries taking root in the Valley all vary, but there are many common denominators.

They were started, in most cases, by professionals who decided to turn a hobby into a business venture. These entrepreneurs had some struggles getting things both in the ground and off the ground, but they’re now seeing the fruits of their labors — in more ways than one. And they all will inevitably use the phrase ‘an art and a science’ to describe the process of making a fine wine.

Godard, former vice president at MassMutual, with his wife, Susan, a schoolteacher, is a great example of today’s vintner whose passion for making wine became his ‘second-life’ business.

They established their 60-acre Mineral Hills farm in 1984, and for years they had a well-established honor-system farm stand offering apples, blueberries, cider, and honey products from Susan’s bees. Soon their hobby grew to include a variety of flavors of wine made from apples, blueberries, and grapes. It was only after Godard retired from MassMutual in 2009 that he decided to “go pro,” as he called it, and turn the winemaking hobby into a full-time venture, launching Mineral Hills Winery in the fall of 2010. Godard now produces wines from French-American hybrid grapes, but also imports European vinifera grapes from California for his reds.

At Black Birch Winery, two couples share various duties to run one of the newest wineries in the area. Florence dentist Ian Modestow is the vintner, while construction and home-inspection-company owner Ed Hamel manages the two acres of new vineyards, with five more acres soon to be cultivated.

Modestow’s wife, Michelle Kersbergen, and Hamel’s wife, Mary Hamel, both dental hygienists, manage the marketing and outreach, but all four partners pitch in wherever needed.

Because the vineyards at Black Birch were planted in 2010 and are young (they still have about two years of maturity until they can be harvested), the proprietors currently source their grapes from Southeastern Mass. or the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Since June 2012, they’ve doubled their visitation, from 650 tastings to 1,480 this August, with wines priced between $16 and $20.

Hamel was one of the many who put ‘art’ and ‘science’ in the same sentence as she talked about wine making. “That’s why Ian is so good at it, because that’s what dentistry is, too,” she explained. “A dentist has to know the science, but has to be an artist to get your tooth to look exactly as it did before.”

The owners of Mount Warner Winery in Hadley — Gary Kamen, a UMass professor of Kinesiology who is in ‘phased retirement,’ and his wife, Bobbie, a strategic planner with AARP — agreed.

“I think the reason I enjoy grape growing and making wine is because they are both part art and part science, probably because of my science background,” said Gary Kamen. “Each person who gets into this business enters it with a different perspective.”

Like Godard and the partners at Black Birch, the Kamens started growing grapes with six cuttings, or vines, in their field in 2000. Soon they were making wine, and, like Godard, they decided to ‘go pro’ in 2010, opening their winery in June 2012. Now, with 725 vines per acre, they have six wines, including two dessert wines priced between $14 and $20.

Les Trois Emme Winery in New Marlborough, owned and operated by Wayne and Mary Jane Eline, is located just south of Ski Butternut in Great Barrington and minutes from the Norman Rockwell Museum and Tanglewood. While the rural town has a residential population of 1,400, it swells to more than 3,000 with tourists and second-home residents from New York.

Wayne Eline is a former chemistry teacher and high-school principal who, like Godard, took his hobby to a whole new level after retirement in 1999. The Elines set their first vines in the dirt in 2000, and by 2003, they were open for business.

“If you’re going to get into it, you’ve got to make it into a real business, rather than just playing games. It didn’t take long to go from where it was to where it is now,” he said, adding that he has tripled his yield over the past decade due to “getting really earnest” about the business in 2009.

The venture now produces 11 to 13 wines, with Stingy Jack Pumpkin, a white wine with a fusion of pumpkin spices, emerging as the most popular.

Age-old Tradition

Godard described wine tasting as a very personal experience — for both the taster and the winemaker — and something he’s getting used to as visitation numbers continue to climb.

But he admits that some comments, including those spiced with ‘really good,’ leave him amused and often surprised.

He recalled one visitor from California who commented, “your wines aren’t like our wines,” to which Godard jokingly replied, “that’s like saying your chicken isn’t like our duck.”

The difference, he said, is between French hybrid grapes that grow best in the Northeast, and European vinifera grapes that area vintners source from California, and the two very different climates in which they grow.

“Our wines are different, and they [people from California] should have learned their lesson, because they were treated the same way by the French until the French had their eyes opened when the California wines started taking gold medals at international wine competitions. And that’s happening here now.”

All four wineries have won awards regionally for their wines, and this is perhaps one reason why they’re seeing and meeting a number of avid wine lovers from Connecticut, venturing past that state’s wine trail.

To help bolster visitation, the MFWGA has been promoting the annual Massachusetts Wine Passport Program, which offers a $2 passport to 15 participating wineries in the state. Once the visitor has all 15 unique passport codes from each winery, they are eligible to enter a drawing to win a cellar full of Massachusetts wine.

For Goldberg and the GSCVB, anything that promotes regional ‘buy-local’ efforts is beneficial, and a Western Mass. wine trail would certainly help bring more people to the western counties.

“Eventually, having a number of successful wineries could lead to a Pioneer Valley Wine Trail, wine festivals, and harvest festivals,” she noted.

A number of wineries already feature their labels at area farmers’ markets, thanks to the Massachusetts Farm Winery Bill, backed by the MFWGA, which allows vintners in the Commonwealth to sell their wine at such venues.

Keeping with the theme, the Kamens’ philosophy is to make wine only from grapes and fruit that they grow.

“We intend to make a Massachusetts product out of a Pioneer Valley product.” he said, adding that his winery regularly attends the Amherst and the South Hadley farmers’ markets, while Hamel said Black Birch Winery has seen definite growth and awareness of their wines through their appearances at the Northampton Farmers’ Market.

Juicy Futures

Just this summer, the Wine Marketing Council, working with the Nielsen Co., released its annual statistics regarding the global wine market, and found that Baby Boomers spend the most on wine, but with more than 15,000 Millennials coming of age per day, a new target market is emerging. Bobbie Kamen is definitely seeing more young people at Mount Warner Winery.

“Millennials are very eager to try a lot of different things; it’s an exploration for them,” she said. “And if they like it, they’ll buy it.”

Hamel said Black Birch also sees a number of Millennials, which she considers somewhat surprising, but very promising for the future. “On our Facebook likes, the Millennials age group is the biggest,” she said, adding that, while they may not yet have the disposable incomes that Baby Boomers do, they appreciate fine wine and are establishing themselves as solid customers for decades to come.

While advertising will be important, trust in the valued word-of-mouth endorsement will become even more important to this younger generation in learning about the next new thing in wine.

“Word of mouth is really important for us no matter what age, because, yes, we’re in the business of wine,” Hamel stated, “but we’re also in the business of giving people a great experience.”

And at the moment, this is a business laden with potential — not only to spur economic development and jobs, but also to provide a big boost to a host of efforts to put Western Mass. on the map for many different types of visitors.

In other words, when it comes to wine and wineries, the region’s producers have grape expectations.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Creating a Sense of Place

Sections Travel and Tourism

Springfield Seeks State Designation for a Cultural District

Kay Simpson says creation of a cultural district will help Springfield brand its many attractions, while spurring economic development.

Evan Plotkin equated it to a business hanging out a sign that reads “under new management.”

Though he quickly acknowledged that the analogy isn’t perfect — the city hasn’t actually changed leadership at the top, and won’t for at least a few more years — he went ahead with it anyway, because he considers it an effective way to talk about what the creation of a cultural district in Springfield can and likely will do for the community.

“Business owners put out an ‘under new management’ sign on a restaurant, for example, when they want to change the dynamic,” said Plotkin, president of NAI Plotkin and a prime mover in ongoing efforts to revitalize and promote the city’s downtown. “They do it because they want people to know that something has changed, something’s different, something’s better — that people should want to come there again.”

Creating a cultural district can do very much the same thing for Springfield, he went on, noting that it will help the city brand itself and its many cultural attractions and, in many ways, give people a reason to give the community a look — or another look.

Kay Simpson agreed. She’s the vice president of Springfield Museums and one of the primary architects of a proposed cultural district that would cover several blocks downtown and include everything from the Armory Museum to the Paramount; from the Community Music School to the five museums in the Quadrangle; from Symphony Hall to the clubs on Worthington Street.

The formal application for creation of the district was sent to the Mass. Cultural Council (MCC) on Aug. 15, said Simpson, who literally knocked on some wood as she talked about what she considers decent odds that the city will join Pittsfield, Easthampton, Lowell, Gloucester, and other cities gaining state designation for a cultural district.

“This is a great tool for promoting the arts,” she said, adding that, beyond building awareness of the city’s attractions, creation of a cultural district will also better position the city for funding from such organizations as the National Endowment for the Arts, and also spur economic development. “A district can stimulate business, especially creative-economy businesses.”

Her optimism about the proposal’s chances is based on comments made by MCC officials who have walked the planned district already and provided input on the application and how it should be written, and also on the large volume of attractions and institutions packed into the multi-block area identified in the map to the right.

“It’s remarkable when you consider how many major cultural institutions are located in the downtown area,” she said. “This is not a huge geographic area, but there is a dense concentration of cultural assets.”

David Starr concurred. The president of the Republican and chair of the city’s Cultural Coordination Committee described the planned district as a “true gem,” and said its creation will provide new and potent opportunities to increase awareness of the city’s cultural amenities and build on that foundation.

“The problem has always been that these institutions never got the outside recognition that they deserved,” he explained, referring to the museums in the Quadrangle, the symphony, and other organizations. “A cultural district will help sell them and help brand them to not just the local area, but people outside this region.”

For this issue and its focus on travel and tourism, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the proposed cultural district and what its architects believe it can do for the city and its ongoing efforts to revitalize the downtown area.

Mapping Out a Strategy

The MCC’s Cultural Districts Initiative was authorized by an act of the state Legislature in 2010 and launched in 2011.

It was inspired by mounting evidence that thriving creative sectors stimulate economic development, said Simpson, noting that the prevailing theory has been that such districts attract artists, cultural organizations, and entrepreneurs, while helping specific communities create or strengthen a sense of place.

“By having the cultural-district designation, you’re creating an environment where all kinds of businesses can come into an area,” she explained. “These creative-economy businesses include everything from art galleries to graphic-design enterprises to coffee shops and restaurants.

“You’re creating a brand for a community,” she went on, “so that people from outside that community know that, if they go to the cultural district in Springfield, there’s going to be a lot for them to do. They can go to museums, see historic monuments and sites, and have lots to do in terms of both the visual arts and the performing arts.”

There are currently 17 cultural districts across the state, with more being proposed. They have been established in Barnstable, Boston, Cambridge, Concord, Easthampton, Essex, Gloucester (which has two), Lowell, Lynn, Marlborough, Natick, Orleans, Pittsfield, Rockport, Sandwich, and Shelburne Falls.

Springfield’s proposed cultural district would be bordered by East Columbus Avenue, Bliss Street, Stockbridge Street, High Street, Federal Street, Pearl Street, Dwight Street, Lyman Street, and Frank B. Murray Street, according to a prepared summary.

That section is home to number of cultural attractions and institutions, including the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, the Quadrangle, the historic Mattoon Street area, the MassMutual Center, Symphony Hall, CityStage, the Paramount, and the Community Music School, said Simpson, adding that it also includes several parks, some retail areas, and a number of restaurants, clubs, and hotels.

One of the required traits of a district, as set down by the MCC, is that it be walkable, said Simpson, noting that, while this comparatively large area — which officials originally thought might encompass two districts — constitutes a “good walk,” it meets that stipulation.

Most of the existing cultural districts have names that identify a specific neighborhood, landmark, or street. Easthampton’s, for example, is called the Cottage Street Cultural District, a nod to the many former mills and storefronts on that thoroughfare that have become home to arts-related businesses and agencies. Meanwhile, Lowell’s Canalway District takes its name from an historic section of that former textile-manufacturing center, which has also become a center for the cultural community, and spotlights the city’s most enduring character trait — its canals.

Those leading the drive for Springfield’s district recently ran a contest to name it; submissions are currently being weighed by a panel of judges, and a winner is to be announced soon.

By whatever name the district takes, it is expected to become a point of reference for Springfield, a vehicle for branding the City of Homes, and a source of momentum as the community seeks to build its creative economy and, overall, bring vibrancy to a long-challenged section of the city, said Plotkin.

In a big-picture sense, the broad goal behind the cultural district is to change the conversation about Springfield, he went on, adding that, in recent years, most of the talk has been about financial struggles (the city was run by a control board for several years), crime, poverty, and high dropout rates in the city’s high schools.

“This cultural district will build a sense of community,” he noted. “It will help break down some of those walls that people have about Springfield, including the sense that we’re a broken city with low self-esteem.

“We have to break out of that and build some pride and some community,” he went on. “We have to start doing things that will really change the city, and I believe a cultural district will do that. Doing this can help to start changing the conversation about Springfield and about what we really are culturally and what we have here.”

It can also help make a community more visible — and attractive — to those looking for landing spots for a company or sites for everything from day trips to meetings and conventions, said Simpson, who said creation of a cultural district in Boston’s Fenway area has apparently done all that.

“In the Fenway, they’ve said they have seen an increase in occupancy rates in office buildings and storefronts since the cultural district was created,” she said, noting that the area, home to several museums and other attractions, is in many ways similar to downtown Springfield. “Meanwhile, it has created for them the sense that they’re more recognized in terms of gaining political support.”

Sign of the Times

Springfield will probably find out sometime this fall if its proposal for a cultural district has been accepted by the MCC, said Simpson.

If all goes as those behind this initiative believe it will, then the city will soon have a new vehicle for marketing itself and perhaps making some real progress in ongoing efforts to change some of the perceptions about the community.

In other words, the ‘under new management’ sign can go on the door. It will then be up the city to make the most of that development. n

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

Not Just Kid Stuff

Sections Travel and Tourism

The Carle Celebrates a Decade of Connecting Generations

Eric Carle spends time with a mother and child at one of the museum’s many book signings.

Eric Carle may be legendary for his picture books for children, but kids aren’t the only ones welcome at the museum he founded in 2002.

“It’s a very unique concept in that it’s not a children’s museum,” said Alexandra Kennedy, executive director of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst. “It’s an art museum that celebrates picture books and really welcomes children. There are a lot of things to do here.”

What’s most gratifying, she told BusinessWest, is the way the museum cuts across generations.

“One of our favorite things is when families come in — grandparents, parents, and children — and each have a different reaction to what they’re seeing,” Kennedy said, noting that older visitors wax nostalgic for the books of their youth, while children experience the “immediacy” of having a world of literature opened up to them.

“Children’s literature has a unique place in everyone’s heart,” she continued. “And educationally, it’s a perfect thing; it embodies both storytelling and art making. It’s about children’s first experiences — being read to, reading, looking at art, making all those observations. There’s almost nothing like it in terms of an educational or emotional experience; there’s nothing like sitting on the lap of someone you love, being read a story. Every parent has experienced that.”

The goal of the Carle, then, is to reflect that sense of wonder and connection, and to inspire a love of art through high-quality picture books.

“The idea for creating the museum came directly from Eric and Barbara Carle; they had traveled extensively in Europe and Japan and had seen many picture-book art museums — especially in Japan,” Kennedy said, noting that the island nation boasts at least 20 such museums of different sizes. “They came back from one of those trips and started thinking, ‘why don’t we have a museum here in the U.S. to celebrate picture-book art? Maybe that’s something we can do.’ So they thought about it long and hard and started working on developing a museum.”

The Carle opened in November 2002 alongside the Hampshire College campus, and has been marking its 10th anniversary with a yearlong celebration that began last fall.

The Carle was an immediate success when it opened in 2002, far surpassing first-year attendance expectations.

“They really thought it through,” Kennedy said of the Carles. “They were very careful; they wanted to make sure people got to experience picture books in a lot of different ways — the idea being, they’d go to galleries to see a lot of original art, go to studios and use the same materials and techniques the artists use to make the books, come into the library to find their favorite books or listen to story time, and visit the auditorium for lectures about picture books and artists.”

Delicate Subjects

The museum has no permanent exhibitions; the displays are typically works on paper, which are sensitive to light in the long term, so they’re switched out regularly and replaced by other items from the museum’s vast collection.

The facility is divided into three galleries. The east gallery hosts rotating exhibits of major artists or major themes, while the central gallery is a place to celebrate one specific book at a time. “It’s a wonderful way for people to understand what the process is like for making books,” Kennedy explained, noting that a Charlotte’s Web exhibit earlier this year featured drawings from E.B. White’s original publication. The gallery is currently celebrating Robert Zakanitch’s A Garden of Ordinary Miracles, and later this year it will spotlight drawings from Louise Fitzhugh’s classic Harriet the Spy.

Meanwhile, the west gallery features rotating exhibitions of Carle’s work — a must, since many guests travel to the museum, often from long distances, specifically to enjoy the work of its founder. He has given a great deal of art to the facility, and there’s more coming — at 84, Carle has a book release scheduled for this fall, and he continues to produce abstract art as well, as evidenced by the four massive, colorful murals gracing the museum lobby.

But it’s the participation of other authors and artists — and, in the case of deceased illustrators, their families — that has taken the Carle to its current level of prestige, Kennedy said.

“When Eric and Barbara were working on the concept of the museum, they probably didn’t anticipate what the response would be from artists and their families to the collection. Now we have more than 10,000 pieces in the collection, including large bodies of work from William Steig, Leo Lionni, Arnold Lobel — all major artists.”

Many current writers and artists, she explained, appreciate the idea of a place where their work can be both safely preserved and also occasionally displayed. One of those is Mo Willems, the Northampton resident and Caldecott Award-winning author and illustrator of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: a Cautionary Tale, and the Elephant and Piggie books. He was the subject of an extensive exhibition at the Carle this year, and donated a bright red Elephant sculpture to the outdoor patio.

“We had a really big response to our Mo Willems exhibition. He’s definitely one of the most popular young picture-book authors here now, especially judging by kids’ reactions,” Kennedy said, noting that Willems visited and hid pigeons throughout the gallery, which young visitors were encouraged to find and exchange for temporary pigeon tattoos. “Mo is so playful, and his characters are so universal in their appeal. It has been the summer of the pigeon here.”

In addition, “he has been incredibly supportive bringing attention to the museum,” she noted. “When the Today show profiled him this summer, he said, ‘why don’t we shoot the segment at the Eric Carle museum? Suddenly, we were on the Today show. We’re fortunate that artists are very generous in sharing their own success with us; we’ve really appreciated that.”

Two-way Street

In return, the Carle has shared its own success with the community, notably through two National Endowment for the Arts grants funding year-long art-education projects in the Maurice A. Donahue School in Holyoke, featuring guest visits from nationally noted illustrators. The first such project took place in 2011, and the second will begin this fall. “The grants really allow us to bring our work to other schools that may not be able to have it,” said Sandy Soderberg, the museum’s marketing manager.

One visiting artist, Jerry Pinkney — whose works include the Caldecott-winning The Lion & the Mouse, among others — spent two days in a classroom in 2011, exposing children to the art of illustration through hands-on, interactive activities.

“The best way for a museum to get involved in the classroom is to be there,” Kennedy said. “That’s what is most exciting for the schools and kids.”

She told of one boy in Holyoke who had kept a sketchbook at home. “It was something few people knew about; it wasn’t part of his public life. And suddenly, he’s in a class where that’s being celebrated. Maybe one day he’ll want to be an illustrator.

“The goal of the program,” she continued, “is to make kids feel comfortable with books and how they’re made, to be able to look at them and think about the artist, think about the writer. In our world, where everything is happening so fast, that’s a pretty thoughtful experience to have in the second grade.”

In addition, the Carle has made an effort to increase the participation of artists and writers at the museum itself, from book signings to activities for children. “One of the things I love is having an artist or writer come and do story time in the library,” Kennedy said. “Some of them make it really special; they bring in an easel and do something interactive with the kids.”

With just seven gallery exhibitions per year, those events, as well as auditorium lectures, are another way to include more artists and writers, she explained. “Of course, guests love it; they have an intimate experience here, getting to know a professional children’s-book artist.”

Meanwhile, “we’re traveling our work more, going into more places,” she noted, noting that the Carle has shown parts of its collection as far away as Korea and will bring an exhibition to Japan soon. “It’s important, not just because it raises the visibility of what we do here at the Carle, but it’s also germane to our mission. We think the museum should be displaying this work. We want to draw in young families and create that next generation of young museum-goers.”

Immediate Hit

Since its opening, the Carle has drawn more than a half-million visitors from around the world, including about 30,000 children on school-sponsored visits. The museum benefited from an opening-year buzz in 2002 and 2003 that surprised even the facility’s main proponents.

“They had unprecedented visitation the first year, far beyond what they expected,” Kennedy said. “We’ve now settled in around 40,000 to 45,000 per year, which is what they thought it would be.”

This past year, however, has seen a jump in visitation, which may have something to do with publicity from 10th-anniversary events, or other factors may be in play. “It’s always hard to guess why we’re seeing an increase, or even a decrease. I’m guessing it has something to do with the recovering economy.”

Meanwhile, a Boston-based group called the Highland Street Foundation, which sponsors Free Fun Fridays at museums across the Commonwealth, hosted a free event at the Carle recently that drew 1,470 people; typically, Kennedy said, if 800 people come through the door, that’s a big day. “So many people who had never come to the museum before said, ‘I always wanted to come here.’”

Hopefully, she said, many of them will return.

“I think so many people feel that art museums are intimidating in some way, that they have to have some special knowledge about art to appreciate it. We want to take away that concern,” she said, noting that the Carle emphasizes the experience of interacting with the art, rather than just the work itself.

“To see all these families connecting over books, unplugging for storytimes,” Soderberg said, “I don’t think we could be more proud of the museum right now.”

That’s a happy ending indeed to the Carle’s first decade — with much more of the story yet to be written.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Team of Rivals

Back to School Sections

Five Colleges Inc. Forges Partnerships Between Schools

Neil Abraham says the five colleges have been collaborating as long as they’ve existed, but they’re finding new ways to work together.

The knot of Hampshire County schools known as the Five Colleges — Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and UMass Amherst — boast tens of thousands of students who share much more than a region.

They’re also able to attend courses on each other’s campuses, access free buses between schools, share library and dining services, attend open theater auditions, and much more, thanks to Five Colleges Inc., the Amherst-based consortium that has been dedicated, since its inception almost 50 years ago, to fostering partnerships and shared resources among the five institutions.

But even at the consortium’s inception, the concept of cooperation was nothing new at the colleges.

“The campuses have been collaborating almost as long as they have existed, sharing one thing or another,” said Neil Abraham, executive director of Five Colleges Inc. “The consortium is a separate corporation, founded in 1965, but that’s not when collaboration started. There were major collaborative efforts prior to that, ranging from intercampus buses to students being able to take courses at each other’s campus to library purchasing collaboratives.”

The organization began life as Four Colleges Inc. — Hampshire College would be chartered a year later, spurring a name change — focusing initially on library collaboration and course cross-registration among the campuses. At first, Abraham said, the college presidents assigned faculty members to the consortium, taking time away from the classroom to think about opportunities for collaboration, but the effort eventually evolved into a quasi-independent organization with 38 full-time employees and a $10 million endowment — but still requires heavy involvement from the individual colleges.

“These employees help grease the collaborative endeavors,” Abraham said, “but there’s far more energy put in by people employed by the campuses than even those 38 who work for the consortium enterprise.”

Kevin Kennedy says the economic impact of the Five College Schools Partnership is significant, and far-reaching.

Kevin Kennedy, communications director for Five Colleges Inc., said that “it’s important to keep in mind the tremendous value our member campuses themselves receive by collaborating.” He cited several examples, including:

• Nearly 40 joint faculty appointments, individuals who teach on multiple campuses and allow campuses to cover curricular areas that they might not otherwise be able to afford if they had to pay the full expenses of a tenure-track faculty member;

• A course interchange that allows students to take most courses offered on any member campus at no additional cost. “Thus our campuses are able to offer a richer, more varied curriculum to prospective and current students,” Kennedy said, noting that almost 6,000 courses are taken through the interchange each year;

• Open borrowing through the libraries, making 9 million volumes available to students, many more than they could access in one library alone; and

• A combined compliance and risk-management office that saves the four liberal-arts colleges hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

The consortium serves 35,000 students and 2,500 faculty members, also supporting two joint departments and a joint major, 15 interdisciplinary certificate programs, and those aforementioned cross-registrations.

That’s remarkable, considering the fact that these schools are also in competition with each other, Abraham said.

“Over the years, in the heat of the moment, there have probably been jealousies and competitive juices flowing in equal measure,” he said, but there’s also a shared recognition that some things can be accomplished — or, at least, achieved at a reasonable cost — only by working together.

It’s Academic

Take, for example, the Center for the Study of World Languages. Launched by Five Colleges Inc. in 1991, the program coordinates campus offerings in languages beyond the 15 or so commonly taught at the schools — 41 additional languages and dialects, in fact, not available at any of the colleges, from Afrikaans, Tagalog, and Zulu to Creole, Mongolian, and Xhosa.

“The interest level is too small for any college to hire a faculty member, but our center has developed curricula for students to have opportunities to study these languages,” Abraham said.

“Often, there’s a minimum cost to do something, such as a full-time salary,” he went on, but not enough interest on one campus to justify that salary. By creating and funding a program to meet that need, the consortium creates economies of scale. “Sometimes the best way to do things is to build larger communities where otherwise they would be painfully small, and that’s good for both faculty members and students.”

A similar program is the Five College Center for East Asian Studies, founded in 1976 and based at Smith. “This program is intended to improve how East Asian cultures are taught in our region’s middle and secondary schools,” Kennedy said, and does so by maintaining a resource library, publishing a monthly e-newsletter, and, most notably, conducting seminars, institutes, conferences, and workshops for college and pre-college educators.

The consortium also provides benefits to the community beyond the five colleges, he said. Take, for example, the Five College Schools Partnership, which has for several decades provided professional-development opportunities to K-12 teachers across the Pioneer Valley by pairing them with college faculty for real-world learning experiences.

“The Schools Partnership has led field trips to South Africa and Asia, to Civil War battlefields and Civil Rights battlegrounds,” Kennedy noted. “The program just completed a three-week institute on the Native Americans of New England that brought classroom teachers from as far afield as American Samoa — which I think is about as far afield as one can be and still be in America.”

The economic impact of the Schools Partnership is significant, Kennedy noted; in fact, the program has attracted some $6 million in funding over the years, which is mainly used to pay local teachers to participate in these activities.

Speaking of financials, each college contributes $1 million annually, and together, they provide another $1.4 million to fund the 40 joint faculty appointments. Five Colleges Inc. also takes in an additional $2 million in external grants each year, and typically spends close to $600,000 from its endowment, bringing its annual cash outlay to around $9 million.

In its annual report, the consortium’s board of directors praised the value proposition of the organization. “Through collaboration and cooperation, there are greater academic and intellectual opportunities for students and faculty members than could be offered at any single campus, greater efficiency in operations and administration, and greater opportunities for innovation. We should take advantage of these opportunities while remaining mindful and respectful of the differences that create the separate identity of each campus.”

As higher-education budgets come under increasing pressure, the board noted, the advantages of collaboration are more apparent than ever. “Five Colleges Inc. has a leadership role to play in demonstrating a model for higher education that is both pedagogically and financially sustainable.”

Moving Along

Because taking courses across campuses has become so popular at the colleges, the consortium had to come up with a strategy to transport students who don’t own cars. To that end, it has forged a relationship with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority to facilitate that, Abraham said.

“For awhile, we had a private express bus service in the ’90s,” he explained. “A few years after the PVTA formed, we negotiated with them, and now we provide the additional funding needed for them to run buses frequently enough so there would be better regional transport that met the needs of students to get reasonably quickly from one campus to another.”

That partnership — and its promotion of public transit — is one example of how Five Colleges Inc. supports sustainability efforts on the campuses. In fact, that was the theme of the consortium’s efforts last year, with the colleges encouraged to contribute in various ways. To wit:

• Amherst College hosted the Thoreau Foundation-funded Workshop in Environmental Leadership, a course open to all Five College students;

• Hampshire College formalized its Sustainability Initiative, exploring opportunities for change in all aspects of campus life, and initiated the Food, Farm, and Sustainability Institute as a summer program for students;

• Mount Holyoke College established five environmental indicators to measure energy use, greenhouse-gas emissions, recycling rate, campus land use, and stormwater management, which will be presented to the trustees annually;

• Smith College unveiled the Building Dashboard, an interactive technology that enables students, faculty members, and alumni to view, from any computer, the level of energy and water use in campus houses and buildings; and

• UMass Amherst expanded its permaculture gardens project, winner of the White House Campus Champions of Change Challenge, to serve all four dining commons. Meanwhile, the UMass Student Farming Enterprise opened a farmers’ market in the Campus Center.

Other consortium initiatives are technology-related, such as the Five College Fiber Optic Network, financed by all five campuses and coordinated through Five Colleges Inc. Fifty-four miles long, reaching from Springfield up around the campuses and back down, the project was completed in 2007 at a cost of just under $4 million.

There are economic benefits to the initiative, Abraham said. In addition to providing several towns in the Pioneer Valley with high-speed access, Five Colleges Inc. recently signed contracts with Cooley Dickinson Hospital to provide Internet access to two of its facilities, and with Crocker Communications to provide access to some of its clients, including HitPoint Studios, the game company that recently moved to Amherst. “We have a little subsidiary company that leases the fiber we don’t need to others,” he explained.

Meanwhile, even in today’s increasingly wired — and wireless — world, the colleges’ library collaboration remains just as important as ever, emphasizing the continuing value of books on paper.

“Libraries coordinate on buying, so they think twice before buying an extra copy of something if they can borrow it from another library,” Abraham said. “They’ll also think twice before they get rid of something.”

That applies not only to books, but to academic journals. “Professional journals are now available electronically, so people can find the latest and earlier research on their computers, but it’s nice to keep a print copy in case the electronic copy has a bad photograph or you need a higher-resolution version of something.”

New Opportunities

Five Colleges Inc. has its hands in many other initiatives, from Museums10 — a marketing and programming partnership among the art museums at the colleges and five other regional museums — to multi-cultural initiatives and mentoring programs.

Abraham cited the instinctive nature of how such programs come to life. They often begin, he noted, with one or more people saying, “boy, if we had a little help we could do better.”

As he told BusinessWest, “many of these things happen from that level of interest, rather than from some visionary saying, ‘there ought to be a program; let’s do this.’ Instead, it comes from people who want it and will put some sweat equity into making it happen. ‘Organic’ is the right word for how it all comes about.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Right Place, Right Time

Education Sections

MacDuffie’s New Campus in Granby Offers Room for Growth

Steve Griffin, left, and Tom Addicks say the Granby campus can help create a stronger balance between boarding and day students.

Steve Griffin wasn’t at the MacDuffie School campus on Ames Hill in Springfield when the June 1, 2011 tornado tore through the middle of it, uprooting huge trees and damaging century-old buildings as it moved east.

He started as head of the then-121-year-old school two weeks later, when the institution was still sorting out the damage, adding up the cost, and counting blessings — the tornado hit on the last day of classes, and students and staff took shelter in a basement, with no recorded injuries.

Originally, Griffin’s first assignment when he arrived was to oversee relocation of the school to new quarters on the grounds of the former St. Hyacinth seminary in Granby — a process that started roughly two years earlier — but the tornado changed that plan somewhat. The new first order business would be a healing process.

“We have many tornado stories from the campus,” said Griffin. “And from my standpoint, since I wasn’t here during the storm, I was unaware of the extent of it, but you had people, even a year later, opening file folders and seeing shards of glass fall out.”

But if the memories of the tornado and some of the physical evidence of that day still remain, MacDuffie has certainly moved on from that calamity and some years of economic struggle that preceded it, and the new campus in Granby has greatly facilitated that process.

Indeed, the move represented what Griffin called a “new day” for the institution, and in many respects.

He explained to BusinessWest that the new campus enables the school to market itself more effectively to a much wider audiences — from residents of Hampshire County communities such as Amherst and Northampton, who were previously intimidated by a commute to Springfield, to international students.

The sprawling campus, coupled with recent renovation and expansion efforts, are enabling MacDuffie to continue and expand its respected academic programs, while also making huge strides in efforts to take its athletic programs to a much higher level.

The former St. Hyacinth seminary in Granby offers an environment in which the MacDuffie School can grow, with more classroom space, boarding quarters, and several acres of playing fields.

At the Springfield site, there were no playing fields to speak of, said Tom Addicks, assistant head of school and a math teacher, adding that the school had to make use of various municipal parks and sports facilities. “And here, we have so many playing fields and a very in-depth sports program, and that was very appealing to us.”

The sprawling grounds that roll out like green carpet to the stately stone former seminary offers the classic New England preparatory-school experience that appeals to parents of American and international students, and allows MacDuffie to compete with nearby Wilbraham Monson, Deerfield Academy, and Suffield Academy, said Griffin.

“The site is a real gem; it’s got the ‘look’ when you drive up the drive — ‘majestic’ is a great word for it considering the open space, the pastoral setting,” he noted. “I think parents feel this will be a safe environment for their children to learn, both day students as well as international students.”

And there are now hopes — and high expectations — for growing enrollment in both the day and boarding categories, he went on, adding that enrollment is currently at 246, with a capacity of 270 and a firm resolve to get to that number.

For this issue and its focus on education and going back to school, BusinessWest toured the ‘new’ MacDuffie, and talked at length with administrators about why the new location and facilities will help students grow physically, culturally, and academically.

History Lesson

MacDuffie can trace its history back to one of the first graduates of Radcliffe College, Abigail MacDuffie.

In 1890, she and her husband, John, recognized a need in the Greater Springfield area for a strong college-preparatory school that would open doors for women and provide them access to to the same quality education they received at Radcliffe and Harvard, respectively.

They opened the MacDuffie School with 70 girls and quickly earned a reputation for excellence, one that would eventually draw students from across the area and around the world. By 1990, the school had taken on a far more international feel — in many ways out of necessity — with students from many foreign countries.

By the dawn of the new millennium, however, MacDuffie’s enrollment was falling, and the urban campus in Springfield, one that had charm but was still lacking in facilities, was viewed as one of the main reasons why.

The school’s board quietly began a search for a new, more suburban home, and eventually narrowed that search to the former St. Hyacinth’s, which had become a temporary home to Holyoke Catholic High School.

MacDuffie officials eventually commenced negotiations with Wayne Brewer, who was eyeing the site as home for the planned Granby Preparatory Academy, a facility he blueprinted based on a model very similar to MacDuffie’s. The school would go on to purchase the assets and intellectual property of Brewer’s business.

The school now owns 26 of the 500 acres at the St. Hyacinth’s location, with an additional 29 acres in negotiation. It has invested millions in building infrastructure, sports fields, and classroom improvements — including expanded dance, music, and art facilities — since the summer of 2011. Currently, a new computer lab is under construction within the main academic building, while a new, 400-seat auditorium, more classroom and boarding space, and sports facilities are in the planning stages.

The new location had an immediate and profound impact on enrollment, said Griffin, noting that there were 175 students at MacDuffie in the spring of 2011, and 206 enrolled by the start of classes that fall. The numbers have been steadily rising, due in large part to larger boarding facilities on the St. Hyacinth’s campus, which have enabled more students from overseas to enroll.

“There’s a real international appeal,” said Griffin. “The old campus was limited in its footprint, and we’ve been able to double the boarding population, and that’s just in two years.”

Moving forward, the school wants to grow enrollment in both the day and boarding categories, and create more balance within the student body; currently, 60% of those enrolled are boarding students, while the stated goal is a 50-50 split.

Historically, the school has been known for its performing-arts programs, specifically drama and dance, but is also noted for its math program, Addicks told BusinessWest. But while the academic offerings have never been an issue for the school, broadening its sporting opportunities had historically been a challenge.

The move to Granby has enabled the school to aggressively address such issues, said Addicks, noting that the MacDuffie Mustangs, members of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC), have moved to the AA division from the D division, a move made possible by improved facilities and a larger pool of student athletes.

The sports program includes boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball and lacrosse, badminton, cross country, golf, a swim club (which operates out of the Holyoke YMCA), tennis, ultimate Frisbee, and an advanced boys and girls basketball program that is bringing townspeople of Granby to the gymnasium.

“The town is realizing that this is some really high-quality basketball,” said Griffin. “The enhanced facilities have allowed us to broaden our appeal, so to speak.”

And broadening their appeal couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We survived the recession when other independent schools did not,” Griffin said. “However, while some private schools are recession-proof, most parents have to rely on more financial assistance these days.”

With day-school tuition at $20,250 (grades 6-8) and $25,250 (grades 9-12), and boarding tuition at $48,650 for all grades, Griffin and Addicks say MacDuffie’s prices are certainly competitive, and now offer additional value with the facilities at the new campus.

“I think our biggest selling point is the relationship we have between our teachers and our students, and our success at integrating our international students with our day students is a very important part of MacDuffie,” said Addicks.

Added Griffin, “we want our claim to fame to be known as the local full-service educational institution that can offer the individualized attention in a caring community.”

Common Ground

The tornado that touched down on June 1, 2011 represented a sad final chapter to MacDuffie’s long history in Springfield.

But as that book was closing, another was getting set to open 15 miles to the north.

The move to Granby was undertaken to give the school that new day that Griffin described, and the opportunity to grow and evolve in ways that were simply not possible on the Ames Hill campus.

Two years after the relocation, the picture is considerably brighter than it had been, and the potential for the future is as vast as the open spaces at MacDuffie’s new mailing address.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Solid Starts

Education Sections

A chart of the region’s early education and child care facilities

Click here to download the PDF

Course of Action

Health Care Sections

Spiros Hatiras Set to Take the Reins at Holyoke Medical Center

Spiros Hatiras is slated to take the helm at Holyoke Medical Center in September, succeeding long-time president and CEO Hank Porten.

Spiros Hatiras likened it to being homesick.

That’s how he chose to describe his mindset during what would become the latter stages of his tenure as chief executive officer of NIT Health in New York, a health-informatics company that specializes in the implementation of electronic medical records for hospitals and healthcare systems.

He enjoyed the work and found it rewarding in some respects, but the more he was in that position, the more he realized just how much he missed what he would later describe as his passion — leading a small community hospital.

“I really missed hospital administration,” said Hatiras, who joined NIT after a two-year stint as president and CEO of Hoboken University Medical Center (HUMC), where he also served as chief operating officer, vice president of Administration, and many other positions during a 19-year tenure. “I missed that sense of community, that relationship building that goes on when you’re part of a team.”

So Hatiras eventually put the word out to executive search firms that he would be interested in returning to that realm. But there were some caveats, or conditions under which he would like to do so, he told BusinessWest, adding that he set out what he called a “profile.”

The institution in question had to be in a good location, preferably the Northeast, he explained, adding that he preferred a community hospital with 200 to 300 beds in a small to mid-sized community (the situation at HUMC), and one with a good staff and a reputation for quality. The facility also had to be in “good shape,” which in this case meant the soundness of both the physical plant and the fiscal bottom line.

“I didn’t want to walk into a dire situation — I’ve been involved in those, and while it’s rewarding when you can pull out of one, I didn’t want to get back in a situation where, from day one, you’re struggling to keep your head above water,” he said, adding that one institution he was asked to consider could check all those boxes and thus fit that profile — Holyoke Medical Center, which was seeking a successor to Hank Porten, who announced he was stepping down after nearly 30 years at the helm of that facility.

Fast-forwarding a little, Hatiras eventually prevailed in a nationwide search for HMC’s new director; he is slated to start in early September. He spoke with BusinessWest late last month about why he chose to accept this challenge at this stage of his career, while also touching on the challenges moving forward — for all community hospitals, and especially HMC.

At the top of that list is fiscal stability, he said, noting that ‘survival’ is too strong a word for a facility that is in decent condition financially, but still must fight for every dollar in reimbursements from payers and aid from the Commonwealth.

“This is simply a hospital that needs to keep its eye on the ball,” said Hatiras, noting that HMC is what’s called a “safety-net hospital” in Massachusetts, one that receives a combination of state and federal assistance to offset the large amount of free care that such facilities provide; Mercy Medical Center is also one. “We need to make sure we don’t miss an opportunity when it comes to grant money and other programs.”

There are other matters to contend with, such as updating a long-term strategic plan for the facility, and also improving visibility and awareness of a medical center that has a solid reputation and many quality programs, but remains too much of an unknown quantity in this region.

“What I’ve heard loud and clear from everybody is that we do a lot of great things here — we’re the number-one stroke center in the state of Massachusetts for performance, and we have a lot of other great programs — but folks here think we don’t put it out to the community enough, and people don’t know about them,” he explained. “We need to figure out a way to get the message out, because if you do wonderful things and no one knows about them, you can’t get the recognition and the patients you need.”

Background — Check

Hatiras told BusinessWest that, unlike many hospital administrators today, he started out in direct patient care, as a physical therapist.

“I remember my first day on the job at St. Mary, which is what the hospital was called before it became University of Hoboken Medical School,” he said. “I got yelled at by the head nurse because, after I was finished with a patient, I left the bed rail down, and she was concerned about the patient falling out of bed.

“This gives me a good perspective; I’ve treated patients, I know what pain is like, especially in physical therapy, and know from a staff’s perspective what it takes every day to take care of patients,” he continued, referring to the many career stops he’s made and titles he’s held, ranging from corporate director of Rehabilitative Services to vice president of Post-Acute, Ancillary, and Support Services. “I started with patient care at the bedside, I’ve done home care, I’ve done nursing care and rehab — and my management style reflects all this. I’m easygoing, I can establish a rapport with patients and staff easily, and I’m personable. I like to walk around and talk to people, eat in the cafeteria, and chat with people; my door is always open.”

And at HMC, that door will be in the hospital, he went on, noting that Porten moved to what was supposed to be a temporary office in another building on the medical center’s campus during an extensive renovation and expansion project undertaken in the late ’90s, but that move turned out to be permanent.

“I’ll find space — I don’t care if it’s in a closet,” he explained. “For me, it’s very important for physicians, employees, and managers to easily access me, and for me to be close to patient-care areas.”

This is how it was at HUMC, which Hatiras led through a situation that could only be described as dire. Indeed, during his tenure, and while transitioning the hospital from municipal to private ownership, he implemented fiscal controls that resulted in a 50% reduction in operating losses, from a $22 million loss in FY 2008 to $11 million in FY 2009. He also achieved a balanced budget the next year, without a reduction in force, by negotiating concessions with employees, physicians, and vendors, which resulted in savings of more than $15 million for two years.

Other accomplishments at HUMC include implementation of an electronic-medical-records system, creation of a hospitalist program, and the securing of a number of grants for operational and infrastructure improvements.

The challenges at HMC will be different, as most all of the above, including financial stability, has been achieved. Looking ahead, he said, beyond finding space for his office, the immediate priorities are to meet with a host of constituencies — physicians, employees, the board of directors, business leaders, and Holyoke city officials — to get a better feel for how well the facility is serving the community, and where change and improvement is needed.

Hatiras said he’s already met with a number of employees and physicians during a few visits to the medical center for interviews, and a few others after he was hired. He came away impressed with the long tenures of many of those he met, but also somewhat intimidated by the notion that many will be retiring within the next decade or two.

“The longevity here is amazing,” he noted. “It seemed like everyone I met said they’d been here 30 years or more. That’s fantastic, but it’s also a challenge; we have to make sure we have good people to follow. That’s something we have to plan for.”

Let’s Get Fiscal

While he won’t have to contend with mass retirements any time soon, there are some matters that will need more immediate attention.

At or near the top of that list is being ready as a community hospital for what is still in many respects an uncertain future in the healthcare industry.

“This is a big unknown — I think healthcare reform is not done with us yet, not by a longshot,” he said, referring to payment reform — specifically, paying providers to keep people healthy, not just for treating them when they’re sick — and other issues. “Is there a formula under which community hospitals can survive? I think there is. I’m not of the opinion that you have to merge with someone or be affiliated with someone to survive, but it’s not an easy road, either.

“If you work with your community, if you work with your physicians, and if we’re heading in the direction of payment reform and population health, then I believe community hospitals have a better chance of leveling the playing field,” he continued. “If it continues to be simply a volume game in the future and a rates game, then that’s a harder game to win; the bigger hospitals get the bigger volumes, and they get the higher rates from private payers.”

Another issue moving forward is raising HMC’s profile in the region, he said, adding that this is a big part of the challenge of changing the perceptions, and habits, of people who believe they can get better care in Springfield, Hartford, or Boston than they can in Holyoke.

It’s a situation Hatiras said he faced in New Jersey, when he assumed management of the rehabilitation hospital within St. Francis Hospital (part of the Franciscan Health System of New Jersey), which operated in the shadow, figuratively and almost literally, of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, known for treating Christopher Reeve, among countless others.

“When they needed rehab, people automatically assumed that the best place to go, and the only place to go, was Kessler,” he said. “Here we were, the new kid on the block trying to attract those patients, and they would literally travel from our community 15 or 20 miles to the Kessler facility.

“Changing people’s perceptions is a lot of hard work,” he continued. “It’s relationship building, word-of-mouth referrals, and you have to make sure that people have a good experience and people feel good enough about it to tell others.”

At St. Francis, administration and staff did a lot of what Hatiras called “legwork,” which included everything from providing high-quality care to making sure that physicians in that area were aware of the outcomes, and that they were comparable, or better, than Kessler’s.

“That’s really the only way you can do it,” he went on. “Yes, you can put up a billboard, and you can put an ad in the paper — and those are necessary too — but the best advertisement, and the best marketing, is when people say, ‘I had a great outcome, the people were nice, I was in and out, I had a great experience.’”

Moving forward, HMC will try to use similar legwork, and perhaps some of those advertising vehicles, to make it known that it has a lot going for it, said Hatiras, from a location right off I-91 to a strong track record with regard to outcomes.

“We want to be the place for the immediate community, the neighborhoods right around the hospital,” he said, “but we also want to be the place for the people who choose to come here, because they’ve seen something good about it or heard something good about it, not just because they live next door. There is a lot to build on here.”

At Home with the Idea

In a month or so, Hatiras will no longer be homesick.

Instead, he’ll be home, in hospital administration, and presumably in an office in the main building at HMC not carved out of a closet.

As he talked with BusinessWest about the type of scenario he desired as he returned to hospital management, he said he didn’t want a dire situation, but certainly did covet a challenge.

“I get easily bored with routine,” he said with a laugh. “I need spice in my life. Healthcare in general provides enough of that, but if you’re in a small place that needs to fight for every dollar, that usually provides a little more spice.”

And that’s one more reason why HMC fit his ‘profile,’ and is now the next line on his résumé.

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

Company Notebook

Company Notebook Departments

Zasco Productions Makes Key Acquisition

CHICOPEE — In business for nearly 25 years, Zasco Productions has made yet another significant equipment investment. After an exhaustive search for the best manufacturer/partner, Zasco decided to make a large purchase of indoor/outdoor display modules from Oracle LED Systems of Los Angeles. With a large inventory of LED panels in its Chicopee warehouse, the Zasco team will have more than enough stock to create two massive, 16-foot-wide video-display walls. The panels can be assembled in virtually any size or shape that creative designers can imagine. Rated at a resolution of 9mm, the system is sharp for viewing even in intimate venues. The panels boast a brightness rating of 7,000 nits, meaning they have plenty of punch for outdoor events. They are also weather resistant. “We have absolute confidence in this product because it’s obvious that it was designed by people who understand the demands of the live-event industry,” said Michael Zaskey, owner and senior technical director. “We now own bright, high-resolution displays that we can present to our clients in a simple way: the best visual value that they can put before their audience.” The popularity of giant LED displays has exploded recently because they give event planners opportunities to display video, graphics, live social-media boards, and sponsorships without the cost of huge soft goods or the challenges of projection, such as the battle to be seen against high volumes of ambient light. “We fully expect that, once people get a look at this display, it will set the standard for events across New England,” Zaskey said. “Once again, we’ve got the best technology in the hands of our team of creative professionals. Whether clients need all of our services, or just cutting-edge displays, we are ready to deliver unparalleled options and excellence.” Zasco Productions was honored as the 2007 Business of the Year by the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce. The company provides turn-key production solutions that include video, audio, lighting, rigging, and design services.

Women Entrepreneurs Launch Female-focused Marketing, Design Firm

NORTHAMPTON — Meghan Rothschild and Emily Gaylord recently announced the launch of Chikmedia, a marketing and design firm focused on helping women-run organizations create comprehensive marketing strategies. The two partners seek to improve marketing campaigns, target messaging, and create designs that reflect individual business personalities. Rothschild and Gaylord met four years ago through their work with a local nonprofit and have been working together ever since. “Chikmedia is a brainchild born from a casual conversation we were having one day,” said Gaylord. “We were both assisting individual businesses with marketing, PR, or design and relied on each other for professional input on the work we were
doing.” Said Rothschild, “something clicked. We immediately knew this could work, as we are both very committed to exceeding expectations. And we’re both hilarious.” The two immediately got to work on a business plan, realizing that female-run organizations were of high priority. “Women running and owning their own businesses is becoming increasingly more common,” said Rothschild. “It’s important to remember that we are a small, female-run business, so we understand the importance of finding your voice in this economy.” The pair is already working with a variety of clients, including everything from local talk shows to area authors; community nonprofits to major restaurant chains. Chikmedia recently launched its website — www.chikmedia.us —along with a Facebook page (facebook.com/chikmedia) and Twitter account (@chikmedia).

Holyoke Medical Center Ranks No. 1 in State for Quality of Stroke Care

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

People On the Move

Departments People on the Move

Mary Paquette

Mary Paquette has been named Director of Dexter Health Services at American International College, where she will operate in a dual capacity, serving as both a clinician and Director of Medical Services. As a senior member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team, Paquette will have shared responsibility for division-wide strategic planning and assessment activities, manage the day-to-day operations of the campus health center, provide direct medical care, and respond to medical emergencies as required. Paquette will also serve as an advocate for student health needs, managing and providing leadership for a broad range of student-development-oriented departments and programs, which will focus on prevention and education to help students become knowledgeable healthcare consumers. Paquette served previously as associate director of health services at Western New England University. She earned her BSN degree from Elms College and her MSN degree from UMass Amherst. She also studied Coronary Care Nursing at Middlesex Community College and received OSHA/occupational medicine training at STCC, and works in the Emergency Department at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn. and Hartford Hospital.

•••••

Trisha Neill

Holyoke Medical Center announced the promotion of Trisha Neill to the position of Manager of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Neill received her BS in Physical Therapy from the University of New England, and during the past year, she completed her doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from Simmons College. She has worked in a variety of physical-therapy positions throughout Western Mass. and has been with Holyoke Medical Center for 11 years.

•••••

Spherion, a national recruiting and staffing franchise, recently announced that Brian Houle is the new local franchise owner/operator of the West Springfield office. Houle will be responsible for leading the growth of the firm in the region. He is expanding temp and temp-to-hire for non-clinical healthcare positions and will focus on professional-level positions for direct hire in the areas of accounting and finance, human resources, engineering and manufacturing, and sales and marketing. Houle has a BS from the University of Lowell and an EMBA from Suffolk University, and served in the Massachusetts National Guard.

•••••

Julie Buehler was recently appointed Vice Chancellor for Information Services and Strategy and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at UMass Amherst. Buehler, who has served as deputy CIO at the University of Rochester since 2008, will oversee UMass Amherst’s Office of Information Technologies. Working with the campus administration, individual colleges, and faculty governance bodies, and in coordination with the UMass system IT office, she will also plan and implement the campus’s information and electronic communication strategy, including academic, research, and administrative computing. Buehler, who was an American Council on Education fellow in 2010-11 at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has also been leading an organizational development initiative at the University of Rochester to strengthen communications, foster diversity, and improve the IT unit’s alignment with institutional goals. The pilot effort led to the creation of a new professional-development program for staff to share expertise and develop leadership skills. Buehler received her BS in accounting from the State University of New York at Geneseo and was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in 1994. She earned her MBA with a concentration in accounting and information systems in 1997 from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.

•••••

Kazimierz Borawski

Kazimierz Borawski, Vice President of Finance at United Bank, recently graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies at Babson College, an intensive two-year program for bank managers, run by the Mass. Bankers Assoc. Borawski, who joined United Bank in 2010, is primarily responsible for coordinating all phases of financial planning, asset-liability management, profitability analysis and reporting, peer-group comparisons, and investor presentations. In addition, he is a member of United’s Asset Liability Management and Enterprise Risk Management committees. His past experience includes a role as an accounting consultant in the Retirement Services division at MassMutual Financial in Springfield. Previously, he served as senior financial associate with JPMorgan Chase in New York City, in the investment banking division. Borawski has an MBA from Manhattan College and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Baruch College in New York.

Wings & Wheels Show Slated for Aug. 24-25

Features

Bud Shuback calls it a “bridge event.”

By using that term, he’s expressing the hope — and the confidence — that the first edition of the Great New England Wings & Wheels event, slated for August 24 and 25 at Westover Metropolitan Airport, will be a bridge between the massive air shows staged over the past several decades at Westover Air Reserve Base and Barnes Municipal Airport in Westfield, and the ones to come in the future.

There won’t be any of those shows for the immediate future, said Shuback, president of the Galaxy Community Council, the charitable organization that has assisted the 439th Airlift Wing based at Westover and other military-related groups for more than 20 years, noting that federal budget sequestration has eliminated the use of military aircraft — and facilities — for such events.

So, in an effort to carry out its work within the community, which includes support to groups ranging from the Pioneer Valley USO to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, the Galaxy Council has retooled with Wings & Wheels, an event that will likely enable it to raise more money to support those aforementioned groups.

As the name suggests, Wings & Wheels will feature planes, like the P-47 Thunderbolt, above, and more than 1,000 vintage cars.

Indeed, as Shuback explained, the council was not able to charge admission to the air shows, because they were staged on military installations, and thus relied much more on corporate sponsorships. It can, however, charge at the gate at Westover Metropolitan, and will do so ($10 for adults; children will be admitted free). With 20,000 or more people expected, this could be a highly successful fund-raiser.

While Wings & Wheels will not feature acts like the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, or the array of active military aircraft typical at previous air shows, it will have plenty to see, hear, and experience, said Shuback.

As the name suggests, there will be wings — static vintage and modern aircraft that will include several World War II-era models such as a B-25 Mitchell bomber, P-51 Mustang, F4U Corsair, TBM Avenger, and P-47 Thunderbolt, and several more modern planes.

And there will be wheels; indeed, more than 1,000 show cars are expected, representing every decade from the 1920s to the ’80s.

“This is a unique event that approximates an air show,” said Shuback, adding that Wings & Wheels represents the only chance area residents will have to see vintage aircraft because sequestration has resulted in the cancellation of all air shows in New England.

For more information on the event, visit www.greatnewenglandwingsandwheels.com.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS

www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Sept. 4: Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Sheraton Springfield. Charles Schewe, Ph.D., professor of Marketing at the UMass Isenberg School of Management, will present “The Millennials are Coming! Can You Hear the Flapping of Their Flip-Flops?” Some label them narcissistic, ungrateful, and entitled, while others note them as tech-savvy, family-centric and achievement-oriented. No matter the label, the Millennial, also known as Generation Y, worker is the fastest-growing segment of today’s workforce. By 2025, they will make up 75% of the world’s workforce.As businesses compete for available talent, employers cannot ignore the needs, wants, and attitudes of these young professionals, and bridging the generational gap is critical to running an effective organization.Schewe will take attendees on an entertaining journey through the generations to help organizations better understand the characteristics and values of today’s generation and how employers can adapt to successfully integrate these workers into the workforce.The ACCGS will also salute Friends of the Homeless on its 25th anniversary, welcome Kelly Services to the neighborhood as it moves into its downtown Springfield location, and introduce attendees to Audrey Szychulski, the new executive director at the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

• Sept. 9: “Federal Health Care Reform and Your Company,” 8:30-11 a.m., at the Delaney House in Holyoke. The Massachusetts Health Care Connector is offering a unique opportunity to hear from and speak with executives for key regulatory agencies on National Health Reform and its implementation in the Commonwealth. The program is presented in collaboration with the Associated Industries of Massachusetts. Reservations are complimentary but required by visiting www.aimnet.org/thesolution.

• Sept. 11: After 5 – MillFest, 5-7 p.m., at Ludlow Mills. The ACCGS is bringing back After 5 networking events bigger and better than ever with MillFest. This event will feature live music, great food, lots of fun, and, of course, networking. Sponsored by Chicopee Savings Bank with support from HealthSouth and Westmass Area Development Corp., this event is presented in collaboration with the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce, an affiliate of the ACCGS. Reservations are $15 for members, $25 for general admission. Proceeds will benefit the ERC5 Scholarship Fund. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

• Sept. 18: Western Mass. Business Forum, 8:30 a.m.-noon, at Holyoke Community College. Businesses operating today are often overwhelmed by state and federal environmental, health, and safety requirements. It’s especially tough for small and mid-size businesses to keep up to date. Join the EPA, DEP, and other state agencies and the state’s leading business organizations for a half-day briefing where you’ll be given the tools to run your business safely and in compliance with the law — and maybe save some money in the end. Presented in collaboration with Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Partners for a Healthier Community, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Reservations are $25 for the first employee per company, $15 per employee thereafter. Reservations must be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.

• Sept. 24: “Pastries, Politics, and Policy,” 8-9 a.m. at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. For those political and policy junkies. Join us for our debut event featuring a policy expert and member of Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration for a breakfast and roundtable discussion. Reservations are $15 for members, $25 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• Sept. 13: Amherst Area Chamber Luncheon, 12:30-2 p.m., at the Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave. Amherst. Sponsored by the UMass Five College Credit Union. Celebrate the growth and impact of local agriculture and the 20th anniversary of Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). Guest Speaker: Phillip Korman, executive director of CISA, who will discuss the economic impacts and growth of the “Local Hero” movement in the Pioneer Valley. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected].

• Sept. 25: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m., a block party at Florence Savings Bank, 385 College St., Amherst. Explore the whole group of businesses at Amherst Crossing: Amherst Pharmacy, Coldwell Banker-Upton Massamont Realtors, and Pioneer Valley Ideal Weight Loss. Enjoy tasty treats from Portabella Catering. Admission: $5 for members, $10 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected].

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• Aug. 22: Part 4 of a five-seminar series: “Marketing Strategies that Lead to Growth,” 8-10:30 a.m., at the PeoplesBank Conference Room, 330 Whitney Ave. in Holyoke. Concerned about delivering your profit? Unsure how to reach your target audience? Overwhelmed with all the media options available? Smaller businesses often lack the time to execute their marketing tasks and are challenged with budgetary constraints. This workshop, presented by Mary McCarthy, is designed for businesses seeking cost-efficient and effective marketing strategies that lead to growth and seamless communication with their customers. Join us and learn:
•Branding strategies that will effectively convey your marketing messages;
•How to distinguish your marketing plan from your competition;
•Effective ways to reach your target audience and foster loyal relationships;
•How to connect with today’s tech-savvy customers through social media; and
•Networking essentials that will help you get more business.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• Aug. 20: GRIST (Get Real Individual Support Today), 9 a.m., at the chamber office at 33 Union St., Easthampton. Are you a business of one? Are you a small-business owner without your own marketing department? Do you ever wish you had someone to toss around some ideas with about growing your business? The GRIST group can help. It’s a new chamber member benefit, an ongoing small group for business people who want to meet regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. This small group of 10 to 15 people is limited to chamber members and those interested in joining the chamber. We welcome interested guests to attend one meeting to see what the group is all about. GRIST meets the first and third Tuesday of each month from 9 to 10 a.m. at the chamber office. RSVP by the Monday preceding each meeting to Fran Fahey at [email protected] or Derek Allard at [email protected] to join the group. Or, call Fahey at (413) 529-1189 or Allard at (413) 282-9957 to find out more.

• Sept. 3: GRIST (Get Real Individual Support Today), from 9 to 10 a.m., at the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, 33 Union St., Easthampton. The GRIST group is a free member benefit, an on-going small group that meets regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. RSVP to Derek Allard at [email protected] or (413) 282-9957, or Fran Fahey at [email protected] or (413) 529-1189. The program is free to chamber members and future members.

• Sept. 9: NCYF 2nd Annual Golf Tournament, 11 a.m., at Cold Spring Country Club, 336 Chauncey Walker St., Belchertown. The tournament benefits services for children and their families at NCYF and Tri-County Schools in Easthampton. Registration at 11, shotgun scramble start at noon. Cost: $110, including golf, cart, lunch, and dinner buffet. More than $3,000 in raffle prizes. Acura and hot tub hole-in-one prizes. Contact Suzanne Welch at [email protected] or (413) 313-2820.

• Sept. 12: Networking by Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m. Hosted and co-sponsored by Eastworks, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Co-sponsored by Riff’s Joint. Hors d’ouevres provided by Riff’s Joint. Beer and wine available. Door prizes. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members.

• Sept. 17: GRIST (Get Real Individual Support Today), 9-10 a.m., at the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, 33 Union St., Easthampton. The GRIST group is a free member benefit, an ongoing small group of folks who meet regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. RSVP to Derek Allard at [email protected] or (413) 282-9957, or Fran Fahey at [email protected] or (413) 529-1189. The program is free to chamber members and future members.

HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

• Sept.10: “Grow Your Business with E-mail and Social Media Marketing,” 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Executive Conference Room, 177 High St., Holyoke. Sponsored by PeoplesBank and the Republican. Attendance is free. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

• Sept. 11: Legislative Coffee Hour, 7:45-9:15 a.m., at Sláinte, 80 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. Sponsored by Dowd Insurance, Loomis Communities, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite and Driscoll. Cost: $15 for members, $25 for non-members. Price includes a continental breakfast. Call the Chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up.

• Sept. 18: Chamber Annual Clambake, 5-7:30 p.m., at Holyoke Country Club, 1 Country Club Road, Holyoke. Sponsored by United Water and Pioneer Valley Railroad. The public is invited to attend. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

• Sept. 24: “The Power of E-mail Marketing,” with a bonus session, “Getting Started with Constant Contact E-mail Marketing,” 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Executive Conference Room, 177 High St., Holyoke. Sponsored by PeoplesBank and the Republican. Attendance is free. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

MASSACHUSETTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 525-2506

• Nov. 12: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon, at the DoubleTree in Westborough. Registration is at 9 a.m. For more information on ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 525-2506 or e-mail [email protected].

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• Sept. 11: Arrive@5 Monthly Chamber Networking Event, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored and hosted by Baystate Health Outpatient Center, Northampton Crossing, 325 King St., Northampton. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected].

• Sept. 26: Business Planning Workshop, 3:30-5 p.m., at the Northampton Chamber, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by the staff of the Franklin County Community Development Corp. This 90-minute session informs business owners about business planning, the loan process, where to get help, and how to launch a food product and use the Western MA Food Processing Center. Learn about available resources and walk out knowing your next step. Cost: free. RSVP required due to limited space. RSVP to [email protected].

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY

www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900

• August 15: Networking Social, starting at 5 p.m., at Sláinte, 80 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. This month we’re venturing down to Holyoke in order to host a joint networking social with the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield at Sláinte. Featured nonprofit: Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.

• August 22: Bare Mountain Hike, 6 p.m. Join us for a Thursday-evening hike up Bare Mountain. The short but steep 0.62-mile hike will take us to the 1,014-foot summit with unobstructed views of the Pioneer Valley. Bare Mountain is home to a former Strategic Air Command bunker (featured in the movie Edge of Darkness) that is now owned by Amherst College. You will need a pair of sturdy shoes, water, and a flashlight to enjoy this hike. RSVP on Facebook so we know that you’re coming. Meeting spot: the Notch Visitor Center parking lot, 1500 West St., Amherst.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• August 19: West of the River Chamber of Commerce 10th Annual Golf Tournament, at Springfield Country Club, West Springfield. Cost: $125 per golfer. Presenting sponsor: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino of New England. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 4: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., hosted By E.B.’s. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. Free for chamber members, $10 for non-members. Event is open to the public; you must pay at the door if you’re a non-member. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Sept. 9: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at Noble Hospital, 115 West Silver St., Westfield. Guest speaker: Mayor Daniel Knapik, who will speak about all that is happening around Westfield and field questions. Cost: free and open to the public. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 11: September WestNet Connection, 5-7 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Sponsored by CityStage and Symphony Hall. An evening of networking; don’t forget your business cards. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Walk-ins are welcome. Cost: $10 for members; $15 cash for non-members. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 13: Chamber Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by the 104th Fighter Wing ANG, 175 Falcon Dr., Westfield. Platinum sponsor: Westfield Bank. Gold sponsors: Berkshire Bank and United Bank. Guest speaker: Evan Dobelle, president of Westfield State University. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected].

Agenda

Agenda Departments

Wistariahurst Exhibition

Through August: Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke has unveiled its Summer Gallery Exhibition, “Behind the Scenery: Sketches to Cityscapes.” Local artist Caleb Colon gives an intimate look at the artist’s process of selection, direction, and creation, featuring displays of the works as paintings begin, progress, and finally reach completion. Works shown in the exhibition are inspired by local scenes and sites along the Connecticut River. Studies, sketches, and photos are also on view, showing another layer of the process. Works are on view through August. Gallery admission is $3.

Western Mass.Business Expo 2013

Nov. 6: Planning is underway for the Western Mass. Business Expo 2013, a day-long business-to-business event to take place at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. This fall’s show, the third edition of the Expo, which is again being produced by BusinessWest, will feature more than 100 exhibitors, seminars on timely issues of the day, special Show Floor Theater presentations, breakfast and lunch programs, and the wrap-up Expo social, which has become a not-to-be-missed networking event. Details of the specific programming will be printed in upcoming editions of BusinessWest and can also be seen online at www.wmbexpo.com or www.businesswest.com. For more information on the event or to reserve booth space, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.

Court Dockets

Court Dockets Departments

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

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT
The Bell Pump Service Co., d/b/a/ the Bell/Simons Co. v. Jim Doyle Heating and James E. Doyle
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $2,194.24
Filed: 6/12/13

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT
J. W. Sandri Inc. v. The Daily Stop Inc. and Amrik Singh
Allegation: Breach of contract and failure to pay: $148,931.88
Filed: 6/4/13

Thomas Maher and Barbera Maher v. Pratik-Sonam Corp.
Allegation: Negligence and failure to exercise due care in property maintenance, causing personal injury: $304,100.72
Filed: 6/7/13

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Kimberly A. Chartier, as mother and next friend of Tedy Chartier and Ronald M. Chartier, personal representative of the estate of Jeffrey A. Chartier v. New England Patriots, LLC, NPS, Arthur Sherman, and National Football League
Allegation: Wrongful death: $10 million+
Filed: 6/24/13

United Rentals v. New England Commercial Lawn Care Inc. and Francis L. Quinn
Allegation: Non-payment of rental equipment: $43,215.23
Filed: 6/18/13

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Ebenisterie Beaubois Ltee v. J & J Construction Architectural Woodworking Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract arising out of subcontract on a public construction project: $600,000
Filed: 6/12/13

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
Scott Littlefield v. Gold and Vanaria, P.C.
Allegation: Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: $10,000
Filed: 6/17/13

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Adam Plumb v. Red Cedar Solutions Group
Allegation: Breach of contract and non-payment for programming work: $14,075
Filed: 6/18/13

Wes Sicard v. Hartland Express
Allegation: Cab and tractor became unhitched, causing the plaintiff to swerve off the road and damage his vehicle: $5,930.52
Filed: 7/3/13

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Gene Demski v. Robert Kushner and Kushner Realty Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of balance for construction work rendered: $10,853.15
Filed: 6/25/13

Hillary Dupont v. Wendy’s International Inc.
Allegation: Plaintiff purchased a chicken sandwich and bit into a metal object resembling the tip of a needle: $952
Filed: 5/29/13

Lamar Central Outdoor, LLC v. Rocky Delamaro d/b/a All Commercial Roofing
Allegation: Breach of contract, breach of express and implied warranties, and fraudulent misrepresentation: $14,802
Filed: 5/28/13

Scott Hebert v. Beauty Gems
Allegation: Defendant breached contract to pay plaintiff for legal services and expenses: $11,013.45
Filed: 5/23/13

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Yellowbook Sales and Distribution Co. Inc. v. Michael Ventrice and Adventure Corp. d/b/a Big Adventures Family Fun Center
Allegation: Money due for suit on a judgment: $8,704
Filed: 6/6/13

Briefcase

Briefcase Departments

UMass Exploring Creation of Satellite Center in Downtown Springfield

The University of Massachusetts recently issued a request for proposals to lease classroom space in downtown Springfield, where it is considering locating a satellite center that would provide additional access to a high-quality, affordable education to Western Mass. residents and accelerate the university’s growing presence in the city and region. “We very much want to open a satellite center in Springfield because an essential aspect of our mission of service to the Commonwealth is working to build better lives and futures for people and communities, which is what this would represent,” said UMass President Robert Caret. “We know that the demand is there and that the business and political leadership supports it. The questions before us now are whether it is feasible to do this and whether there are sufficient resources available to help us meet this challenge.” He continued, “we view the issuance of the RFP as a critical next step in this process. We’re hopeful that the responses to it will begin to provide us with the clarity we need to move forward.” A study conducted last year by the UMass Donahue Institute, at Caret’s request, identified Springfield as a prime site for a satellite center in part because UMass Amherst, which would take the lead in overseeing it, already has a significant presence there. A number of UMass Amherst faculty and staff are engaged in Springfield in various ways, conducting research, teaching, or working in administrative capacities. They work in a variety of areas, including health, fine arts, creative economy, natural sciences, engineering and green industries, as well as management, sports, and education. UMass Amherst faculty and staff are involved in more than 120 programs in Springfield. UMass Amherst is also in the process of moving its public radio station, WFCR, from Amherst to Springfield. Last month, the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute, a partnership between UMass Amherst and Springfield’s Baystate Medical Center, received a $5.5 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. But UMass officials would like to take the engagement a step further by establishing a base in Springfield that would serve as a general portal to the resources of UMass Amherst and the entire UMass system. The satellite center concept envisions courses being provided by at least several and possibly all five of the UMass campuses. Officials said that the RFP process should reveal whether UMass is able to obtain space in a suitable location at an affordable price, which will help determine whether UMass can move forward with the satellite center project.

Melin to Step Down as CDH President

NORTHAMPTON — Matthew Pitoniak, chair of the board of trustees of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, announced on July 29 that, after 25 years of exemplary leadership, Craig Melin will resign as president and CEO. The move will be effective Jan. 31, 2014. Pitoniak said the board is pleased that Melin will stay on for six months to complete initiatives under way that are critical to the transformation of Cooley Dickinson in the face of environmental changes in health care, as well as its recently finalized affiliation with Massachusetts General Hospital. Melin said he chose this time to plan his leave because he believes that Cooley Dickinson faces a five-year transition and that it should be under one leader. As he was not prepared to commit to a 30th anniversary, he told the board and Mass General that he wished to “step down to clear the way for someone who can make the new commitment Cooley Dickinson needs.” Pitoniak said Melin’s decision was unexpected. Dr. Peter Slavin, president of Mass General, said, “I was very surprised to hear about Craig’s decision to leave Cooley Dickinson, to which he has been so passionately committed for 25 years. While I’m not happy about losing him from our team, I am pleased that Craig has agreed to stay on while we search for a new CEO. Our work to realize the benefits of the new relationship between Cooley Dickinson and Mass General will continue uninterrupted. I look forward to working with Craig over the next six months.” Besides the recently completed affiliation with Mass General, CDH and Melin have been deeply engaged in strategic initiatives, such as preparing for population health management, repositioning the organization to meet the budget challenges of the new lower-priced payment system, and improving the organization’s already-intense focus on quality. Melin said, “It has been an honor to lead Cooley Dickinson for the past 25 years. I look forward to working with the trustees, physicians, staff, and Mass General so that Cooley Dickinson continues on the path toward more exceptional care and better health for our community.” Pitoniak said he will form and then chair a committee that will conduct a national search for Melin’s successor. Slavin will be actively involved in the process.

Investment in Structures Expands in 2nd Quarter

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Non-residential fixed investment in structures expanded 4.6% on an annualized basis during the second quarter of 2013, according to the July 31 gross domestic product (GDP) report by the U.S. Commerce Department. This increase followed a 4.6% decline in the first quarter of the year. Fixed investment in equipment rose 4.1% in the second quarter, and overall investment in structures expanded 6.8%. Residential fixed investment increased 13.4% following 12.5% expansion in the first quarter. Fixed investment in the nation’s residential sector has been growing at a double-digit clip since the third quarter of 2012. Personal-consumption expenditures expanded 1.8% in the second quarter, with spending on goods rising 3.4%. Expenditures on services, on the other hand, advanced only slightly at 0.9%. Expansion in real private inventories contributed 0.4 percentage points to real GDP growth for the second quarter after adding 0.9% during the first quarter. Federal government expenditures declined 1.5% during the second quarter primarily due to a 3.2% drop in non-defense spending. Meanwhile, national defense spending dropped 0.5%. State and local government spending rebounded mildly, growing only 0.3% during the second quarter following three consecutive quarters of declines. In total, real GDP expanded 1.7% during the second quarter following a revised 1.1% increase in the first quarter of the year. “Overall, consumer spending remains at the heart of the nation’s economic recovery, including in housing-related categories,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). “However, today’s GDP report is only modestly reflective of recent increases in mortgage rates, which could soften residential investment growth in the months ahead. ABC continues to forecast roughly 2% growth in the U.S. economy in 2013, though the first half was associated with sub-2% growth. It remains likely that the economy will accelerate a bit during the second half of the year, but there continue to be headwinds such as rising interest rates, sequestration, and a loss in municipal confidence in the aftermath of Detroit’s bankruptcy.

Hiring Expected to Remain Stable in 2013

CHICAGO — U.S. workers can expect a stable employment environment over the next six months along with an upswing in temporary jobs. In CareerBuilder’s latest national survey, employers indicated that full-time, permanent hiring in the second half of 2013 will mirror that of 2012, while temporary and contract hiring is expected to increase 10% over last year. The survey, which was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder from May 14 to June 5, included more than 2,000 hiring managers and human-resource professionals across industries and company sizes. “Companies are adding more employees to keep pace with demand for their products and services, but they’re not rushing into a full-scale expansion of headcount in light of economic headwinds that still linger today,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “The projected surge in temporary hiring from July to December is evidence of both a growing confidence in the market and a recession-induced hesitation to immediately place more permanent hires on the books. However, the overall pace of permanent hiring is stronger today in various industries and geographies, and will continue on a path of gradual improvement for the remainder of the year.” Looking forward to the next six months, the study conducted by Harris Interactive shows that 44% of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees, on par with last year; 25% plan to hire part-time employees, up from 21% last year; and 31% plan to hire temporary or contract workers, up from 21% last year. In addition to recruiting for revenue-related functions such as sales and customer service, employers are placing an emphasis on roles involving newer technologies, big data, social media, and financial services. In the Northeast specifically, 43% of surveyed companies plan to hire full-time, permanent employees, down slightly from 44% in 2012.

IMF Forecasts Slow Global Growth

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts slower global growth in 2013 and 2014 than it did just three months ago, citing the prospect of a slowdown in key developing countries such as China and Brazil and a protracted recession in Europe. The international lending agency released an update of its World Economic Outlook issued in April, projecting the world economy will grow at 3.1% this year, down from a 3.3% forecast three months ago. The 2014 projection was cut to 3.8% from 4.0%. “The world economy remains in a three-speed mode,” said Olivier Blanchard, IMF director of research, at a news conference. “Emerging markets are still growing rapidly. The U.S. recovery is steady, but much of Europe continues to struggle.” Blanchard said growth almost everywhere is weaker than forecast in April, but downward revisions are particularly noticeable in developing countries. The IMF said the possibility of a more drawn-out slowdown in developing countries is a new risk that has emerged since April. One potential drag on global growth is the possibility that the U.S. will start tapering its extraordinary stimulus program of bond buying. The Fed program — known as quantitative easing — has injected more $2 trillion into financial markets since late 2008 and kept borrowing costs down. With markets already anticipating the tapering, the IMF said some developing countries are already feeling the effects in the form of falling share prices and depreciating currencies. A recession in the 17 countries that use the euro currency is shaping up to be deeper than expected, another factor pulling down the forecast, according to the IMF. The U.S. economy also looks weaker than previously expected, the IMF said, citing tight fiscal and financial conditions. The IMF lowered forecasts for U.S. growth to 1.7% in 2013, down from 1.9% in April, and to 2.7% for 2014, down from 2.9%. One reason cited was the sequester remaining in place until 2014, longer than previously projected.

Incorporations

Departments Incorporations

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties and are the latest available. They are listed by community.
AGAWAM

Square Liquors Inc., 132 Glendale Road, Agawam, MA 01001. Sheela Patel, 245 Whiting Farms Road, Holyoke, MA 01040. Liquor store.

BERNARDSTON

Ruder Small Bioceuticals Inc., 712 Brattleboro Road, Bernardston, MA 01337. Sales of animal, equine, and human products.

CHICOPEE

Westover Building Supply Inc., 37 Telegraph Ave., Chicopee, MA 01020. Marcus Thayer, 24 Rockland St., Springfield, MA 01118. Sales of building materials and construction supplies.

FLORENCE

Pioneer Precision Optics Inc., 296 Nonotuck St., Florence, MA 01062. Thomas McGrath, 470 Park Hill Road, Florence, MA 01062. Machine shop.

The Knighten Guild and Company, 199 Ryan Road, Floreence, MA 01063. David Agro, 89 Clark St., Brattleboro, VT, 05301. Nonprofit organization developed to create and produce events such with the purpose of: creating, strengthening and expanding the opportunities for local performers,

educators, crafters, artisans, and businesses to engage with local audiences.

GRANBY

Professional Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Western Massachusetts Inc., 5 County View Lane, Granby, MA 01033. Michelle Cayo, same. To promote the status of women business owners and professionals. Nonprofit organization established to empower women business owners and career-oriented women through participation in leadership, education and networking opportunities; to strengthen the positive impact for women in the business community in Western Mass.; to deal with all matters of common interest to women who work in mercantile, manufacturing, commercial and professional groups; to solicit, receive, invest and expend monies, dues and gifts, and to have all other powers as may be incidental to or necessary for the carrying out of the foregoing purposes; all to the end result that Western Mass. shall be a more prosperous, healthy and in all respects a more desirable place to work and operate their own business.

LEE

Romano Tree Service Inc., 300 Chestnut St., Lee, MA 01238. Lorenzo William Romano, same. Lumber and tree trimming, cutting and removal.

MONTAGUE

VR Trucking Inc., 194 Turners Falls Road, Montague, MA 01351. Vladimir Romashka, same. Specialty and dedicated services of transporting foods, commercial goods, vehicles, and other commodities via flatbed, container, and heavy-hauling trailers on a for-hire basis.

NORTHAMPTON

Weatherfield, Harris and Hobbs Inc., 29 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060. Nathand Blehar, same. Bar.

PALMER

Touched by an Angel Inc., 1022 Chestnut St., Palmer, MA 01069. Helena Stephens, same. Home care services.

PITTSFIELD

New Elm St. Convenience Inc., 155 Elm St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Piyush Shah. 1064 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Convenience store.

Whitney Center for the Arts Inc., 42 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Lisa Whitney, 312 West 105th St., Apt #1, New York, MA 10025. A facility for established and up-and-coming artists to showcase their talents; give back to the community by promoting and fostering arts and cultural related development in Pittsfield/Berkshires; and preserve the historic Thomas Colt house. Planned activities, music and dramatic performances, art gallery, rental space, corporate events, and other art- and culture- related activities

SPRINGFIELD

Mr. Fix It Home Maintenance & Improvement Inc., 685 Berkshire Ave, Springfield, MA 01109-1008. Santo Feliberty Jr., 22 MAARECO St., Springfield, MA 01109. Home improvement services.

Music Tribute Productions Inc., 52 Maryland St., Springfield, MA 01108. Anthony Manzi, same. Promotions of various entertainment and music.

PCMC Transportation Inc., One Federal St., Building 101, Springfield, MA 01105. Rose-Ann Gaskin-Rice, same. Transportation services.

Real Beef Music Group Inc., 113 Massachusetts Ave., Springfield, MA, 01101. David Hall, same. Music recording studio.

Two-Six for Kicks Inc., 28 Angelica Dr., Springfield, MA 01129. Khari Mitchell, same. Nonprofit organization established to accept donations of new and previously utilized sporting goods and equipment and make donations of this equipment to individuals and organizations within and outside of the United States.

Veterans First: Comprehensive Outreach Center of Western Mass. Inc., 721 State Street, Springfield, MA 01109. Charles Rucks, 101 Mulberry St., #213, Springfield, MA 01102. Nonprofit organization designed to assist veterans and their dependents to access and receive federal, state, local, and veterans benefits for which they are eligible and entitled, to enhance their lives.

Viz Connect Inc., 1350 Main St., Suite 1407, Springfield, MA 01103. Paul Cooleen, same. Mobile and online marketing services.

Web Wizard Inc., 195 Dickinson St., Floor 2, Springfield, MA 01108. Lawerence Shea, same. Broad-spectrum web services to business.

WESTFIELD

R F Transportation Inc., 30 Williams St., Apt. 6, Westfield, MA 01085. Alla Raylyan, same. Transportation services.

Rock Solid Services Inc., 241 Timberswamp Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Sydney Brodeur, same. Residential and small commercial general landscaping services.

Yurko Express, 125 Lapointe Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Yuriy Koval, same. Trucking.

Call to Action

Sections Technology

VizConnect Takes Mobile Marketing to New Heights

Ed Carroll,
co-founder of VizConnect

Ed Carroll says businesses, salespeople, or entrepreneurs who are not advertising on mobile devices are losing customers, and his claim is backed up by many studies, including a survey showing that more than 86 million people sought business information last year via their smartphones.
The co-founder of VizConnect in Springfield first became aware of the trend in 2004 when he was working as a television newscaster and Facebook began to gain in popularity. “I saw a paradigm shift taking place away from mainstream media, and one night I began thinking about how businesses could use it because they are completely underserved in that area,” said Carroll, who eventually came up with the idea for the high-tech company he started in 2011 with sales and marketing guru Brian Dee.
The company’s product, a video-based mobile marketing platform, is designed to help small companies or businesspeople keep pace with changes in the way products and services are marketed today.
“Large companies have staffs and people who keep track of trends, but 80% of the economy is small businesses, and they don’t have the budget to do what they need to do to compete in the mobile scene,” Carroll told BusinessWest. “There has been a huge shift to mobile marketing, and everyone in business needs to think about how to get their message onto a mobile device.”
VizConnect has grown quickly, and today is operated by a team of partners who oversee more than 400 distributors. The product they sell has been test-marketed and improved since it was introduced to the marketplace, and most of the distributors came on board in the last six months when the company took steps to grow its sales force, due to enthusiasm about the software.
When people scan a VizConnect QR code or text message a keyword with a code, they come face to face with options that allow them to watch a video, download a coupon, view items on sale or a customer testimonial, learn more about a product or service, communicate directly with the seller, or buy the product. They can access these with a simple click, and after they watch a video, their screen changes, giving them the option of clicking again to share it on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn; calling the company; making a purchase; or anything else the business elects.
“Right now most QR codes go to a static website; we have made them more dynamic,” Carroll said. “Our platform was designed to be a call to action.”
He explained that what comes up on the screen after someone texts to a keyword or scans a QR code can make or break a sale. “Research shows it takes the human mind about six seconds to decide whether to stay or go. It’s a yes or no,” Carroll said.
He added that businesses that fail to use simple techniques to engage customers on mobile devices will soon be left behind. “This is the 21st century, and it’s all about mobile.”
Dee agrees. “Studies show that people never get more than three or four feet away from their mobile devices, and where they get their information drives their decisions,” he said.
VizConnect’s platform costs $60 a month and allows clients to market their products or services in different ways to different audiences, which can include messages in more than one language.
The common denominator is that a customer is immediately given choices. They can click on a window that says ‘see more inventory,’ one that says ‘call,’ or another that prompts them to take a different action.
These options are customized and linked to up to 10 QR codes that can show different videos or display different information. “We have simultaneous multi-messaging so people can target a mailer to a Spanish- or English-speaking demographic. It’s a very versatile platform,” Carroll said, adding that it allows companies to capture the cell-phone numbers of people who visit their site.
“They can legally market to them until they text the word ‘stop,’” he explained, as he used his smartphone to demonstrate the sequence of events.

Menu of Options

Brian Dee says the company is adding distributors across the U.S. and is eyeing global expansion.

When the VizConnect video platform was first created, the text-messaging option did not exist. “The first year, we only had QR and video,” Dee explained.
But as text messaging grew in popularity, they integrated it into the software. “It allows consumers to have a choice,” Carroll said, adding that the majority of people choose the text-messaging option.
Dee agreed, noting that “QR codes have a place, but the jury is still out on them.”
However, they do serve a purpose. Since they can be created in color, many companies are using them as part of their brand. “We suggest that our customers use a QR code with their logo and the words ‘scan or text to’ a designated code next to it,” Dee said.
The text message prompt and/or QR code can be put on a business card, billboard, refrigerator magnet, T-shirt, or the menu a pizza shop staples onto a box. “The menu could sit in someone’s house for a year, and they could scan it every night to get the dinner special,” Carroll said. Codes can also be saved on a smartphone.
And if a QR code is scanned by just one person, then relayed to any form of social media, it can lead to a great deal of exposure. “If a code gets scanned once, it could be viewed more than 1,000 times by someone who has more than 1,000 Facebook friends,” Carroll said.
However, the texting option is far more popular. “It’s absolutely a key concept of our business and the one the majority of people are using,” Dee said, adding that each customer gets 10 QR codes that are married to a keyword and a short code that goes along with each of them.
Whether the customer sends a text message or scans the QR code, it takes them to the same interface. “Texting is an everyday part of American life, so it’s the perfect bridge for a small business to reach their customers on their smartphones,” Carroll continued, reiterating that it can drive them to a coupon, video, or whatever message or video the company or salesperson wants to project.
In addition, these messages can be changed on a daily basis as VizConnect gives clients the tools to deliver, manage, and store an unlimited amount of video.
“Video engages. It creates a response. It works,” Carroll said. “It’s the most engaging medium that has ever been created because it hits all the senses and invokes an emotion whether someone is visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Everyone who watches will be stirred to do something. It’s easy to create and doesn’t have to be long to be effective.”
Videos can be created at no cost with the client’s smartphone, and even a six-second video is effective.
“The longer it is, the more boring it becomes. And if you don’t like it, it’s easy to redo,” Carroll said as he picked up his smartphone to make a short video of himself talking. “If you have a restaurant and sell cheeseburgers, you can grab your phone and shoot a high-definition video and tell people it’s a great buy. Or you can serve one to someone and have them say, ‘this is delicious. You have to try it.’ Testimonials are the best way of getting new business, as they give you credibility.”

Spreading the Word
Carroll and Dee sold their product door to door for more than a year, all the while ironing out kinks and improving its efficacy. They also chose a select number of people to help them.
But after incorporating texting into the software, they made the decision to go public last November and offered people a way to join the company by becoming distributors.
They hold informational seminars every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in their offices on the 14th floor of the Sovereign Bank building on Main Street in Springfield for potential customers and salespeople, along with team-building conferences and training seminars.
“We have a direct selling platform, and in this economy, people thinking about starting their own business or developing a way to generate extra income can join us,” Carroll said, adding that they have plumbers, firefighters, and law-enforcement officers working for them.
The company also has six partners — four who are local and two in San Francisco. Carroll, an Associated Press and Emmy-award-winning on-air personality, has appeared on local television newscasts throughout New England as well as CBS Evening News, and spent many years producing and appearing in weathercasts, news features, and special programs.
Dee, the company’s secretary and chief sales officer, spent 20 years in sales, with a focus in sports marketing. His career includes managing credit-card marketing programs for MBNA America and Bank of America in conjunction with the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots, along with many major college sports teams.
President Paul Coleen was a former bond trader on Wall Street, while attorney James Henderson is treasurer and provides the company with legal counsel.
And they say news about VizConnect is spreading fast. Accolades include the fact that the company was named one of the top five technology start-ups to watch by Mass. High Tech and the Boston Business Journal last year.

Moving Forward
As the smartphone industry explodes, Carroll and Dee expect their business to continue growing. “It’s comes down to this: smartphones are where people go to get information to make a decision,” Carroll said.
Dee concurred. “We’re excited about the future as we continue to add distributors across the U.S. and eventually look forward to international expansion.”
Which makes perfect sense, with multilingual options and a product designed to keep pace with the times.

Get Together

Meetings & Conventions Sections

A chart of the region’s meeting and convention facilities

Click here to download the PDF

Time Travel

Conventions & Meetings Sections

Blantyre Takes Its Guests to Another Place and Period

While there are many words and phrases that have been used to describe Blantyre, the Gilded-age mansion in Lenox that is now a luxury resort coveted by business and leisure travelers alike, the most common refrain is that a visit there is like ‘going back in time.’

And guests will use such language to convey many different thoughts.

Commonly, it’s used in reference to the time, a century or more ago, when the Berkshires became the summer home for many of the affluent Americans who gave the Gilded Age its name and its lore, and ‘cottages’ like Blantyre dotted the landscape. Meanwhile, for the many fans of the PBS series Downton Abbey, a visit to the resort hotel provides an opportunity to see and taste the opulence and lifestyle of the Earl and Countess of Grantham — but without all the drama.

For those who know the story of Ann Fitzpatrick Brown, proprietress of the stately retreat for the past 33 years, a stay at Blantyre also provides a window into her childhood.

Ann Fitzpatrick Brown and Simon Dewar have positioned Blantyre as a destination for discerning travelers and groups.

Due to the success of her entrepreneurial parents, John Fitzpatrick and Janes Hayes Pratt Fitzpatrick, Ann and her sibling had the opportunity to see the world when they were young, and their visits come to life through more than 2,000 novels and picture books shelved in Blantyre’s many rooms.

“My father was a traveler, and we always went to beautiful places,” Fitzpatrick Brown recalled of her childhood. “I remember as a very young child going to Italy and the Hotel Spendido in Portofino, and I saw those white canvas umbrellas [on the esplanade]; every June we’d go to a place in Ireland, and when I was 10, I went to school in Switzerland.”

Beyond travel, Fitzpatrick Brown also developed passions for art, books, music, and fine cuisine early in life, and Blantyre reflects all of those interests — through everything from the décor to the menu to the wine list.

And while visiting the past, guests at Blantyre are certainly enjoying the present. Indeed, the resort enjoys the distinction of being one of four Forbes 5-star hotels in the Bay State, and the only one not in Boston. It is also in the globally elite category of hotels known as Relais et Chateaux properties, which must pass the most stringent standards for excellence in the hospitality industry.

Such accolades — but mostly the track record for fine service that earned them — have made Blantyre a popular, and repeat, landing spot for corporate and leisure travelers and accepted destination for business meetings and family gatherings.

The octagonal breakfast room is one of many opulent and intriguing spaces at Blantyre.

And when a business or group books the retreat, it books the entire retreat for what Fitzpatrick Brown calls “full-property takeovers,” meaning all 100 acres and every facility.

Corporate meetings and events at Blantyre include, well, everything. True to her strict rule of privacy, Fitzpatrick Brown would not say which corporations have taken their business there, but admitted they are “major” and usually in the Fortune-100 category.

The large music room is turned into a boardroom with the requisite AV equipment, large U-shaped table, and plush leather chairs, and the grounds and all amenities are available for the company’s daily use.

Aside from corporate meetings, there are also unique gatherings of the well-to-do. One example she cited, with very limited details, is that of a wealthy woman who flies her friends to exotic places every year to have their book-club meeting.

“Like her, our guests can go anywhere in the world, but they choose to come to Blantyre,” said Fitzpatrick Brown. Instead of, say, the French Riviera or the Swiss Alps, the book club will return for a second year to Blantyre.

As her vague comments suggest, guests also enjoy something else — privacy, before, during, and after their stay, something coveted by this discerning constituency.

“That’s the rule, said Fitzpatrick Brown, who was given the assignment of restoring the abandoned and derelict mansion when her father acquired it in 1980, and has considered it a labor of love.

For this issue and its focus on meetings and conventions, BusinessWest visited Blantyre and talked at length with Fitzpatrick Brown and others about what makes this resort a true destination that guests return to year after year.

History Lessons

Blantyre’s main house was built at the height of the Gilded Age in 1902 by Robert Paterson, an association of the Vanderbilts. The mansion was built on the site of a more modest home known as Highlawn, an estate that included a carriage house and potting shed that were retained by Paterson and are still part of the current Blantyre complex.

The patio off the music room offers guests a place to enjoy Blantyre’s finest wines before dinner.

For more than 10 years, the mansion was the site of fabulous parties and opulence, but with the introduction of the income tax in 1913, the curtain came down on the Gilded Age. For the next 60 years, Blantyre went through several transitions in ownership and eventually fell into serious physical decline.

But while the historic mansion was falling into disrepair, the Fitzpatricks were writing a number of business stories.

The first was the now-famous Country Curtains window-treatment boutique, which they launched in 1955. As that business grew, the Fitzpatricks acquired the failing Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, moved Country Curtains there, and restored the inn to its former glory. The family also acquired the Porches Inn next to Mass MoCA in North Adams.

Fitzpatrick Brown was a vice president at Country Curtains in 1980 when her career took a dramatic turn after her parents decided to take on another reclamation project.

“My father was at a bank meeting, and Blantyre, which had gone bankrupt for a second time, came up for sale,” Fitzpatrick recalled. “He said, ‘I’ll buy it.’”

The purchase price was $257,000, but the family knew that it would have to invest millions to bring it back to its former elegance.

Fitzpatrick Brown and her mother would invest more than money in this venture — they would also inject their imaginations and collective love of the arts, travel, music, and more.

Fitzpatrick Brown, who was formerly trained in sculpture — she earned a bachelor of arts from the University of Colorado — said Blantyre has become her canvas.

“A room to me is a piece of sculpture, and every room is all about not having one focal point,” she explained of her decorating style. “Some people like to decorate with one focal point, but I think it’s more relaxing to have all the rooms just flow together.

“Not everyone is going to like Blantyre, décor-wise. Minimalists will go running — they’ll run out the door quickly,” she went on, adding that perhaps the one word she would use to describe Blantyre is ‘romantic.’

Using a few more words, Travel and Leisure magazine called Blantyre the ‘Best Value over $550’ in 2007. Fitzpatrick Brown said she and her guests laughed at that designation, because a stay at the resort is very expensive, starting at $600 and ranging up to $2,000 a night year-round (two-night minimum), not including dinner.

But Fitzpatrick Brown and Simon Dewar, the resort’s general manager, say there is value that comes in many forms at this destination — from the no-tipping policy to the depth of the wine list,to the elaborate dinner menu.

Advice — on the House

When Blantyre opened year-round in 2005, the addition of a new spa in the 19th-century Potting Shed made Blantyre a more attractive option for the meeting and leisure travel industry, said Fitzpatrick Brown, noting that it has played host to a number of corporate retreats.

Guests can choose from among 21 opulent rooms, eight in the elaborate main mansion (many with fireplaces), 10 in the quaint Carriage House, and three more in cottages. The main house has a lavish music room with its Steinway piano, used for corporate meetings and weddings, in addition to the glass-enclosed conservatory and the octagonal breakfast room. Blantyre is adorned with fresh flowers in every room, every day, and is known for its award-winning French cuisine and deep wine cellar.

“Everyone says that they feel like they’ve been transported back in time to a bygone era of gentler times; romance and elegance,” said Fitzpatrick Brown, noting that, since Downton Abbey made its debut in 2011, she’s heard many guests compare the resort and its amenities to that stately English manor.

“What that show has done is give us a category to compare to,” she said with a laugh, adding that the point of reference has become another marketing strategy in some respects, although Blantyre thrives almost entirely through word-of-mouth referrals.

Meanwhile, Dewar’s British accent and engaging personality help put guests in that Downton Abbey state of mind.

He became general manager in March 2012 after retiring as a British Army major, ending a career that included duty in the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, the Balkans, and other stations around the world.

He oversees a staff of 70 full- and part-time employees in the summer, and one that is somewhat smaller in the winter, and told BusinessWest that it’s not a stretch to go from the business of the military to the hotel industry.

“It’s not that dissimilar from commanding and managing soldiers, perhaps a few less bullets and grenades, and no need to wear a helmet every day,” he said jokingly. “And guests are demanding; they expect a very high level of service.”

Dewar’s foray to a new career in retirement led him to a culinary school in Connecticut and work at Blantyre, but Fitzpatrick Brown saw the leadership qualities that fit the resort perfectly.

Dewar joins the husband-and-wife team of Arnaud Cotar, Blantyre’s executive chef, who has been with the hotel for several years and focuses his French cuisine on local fruits and vegetables, and his wife, Christelle, who started as a server and is now the sommelier.

When the retreat opened year-round, the wine became important as a marriage to the food, said Fitzpatrick Brown, adding that Cotar’s extensive knowledge of wine, through her past education in Europe, led her to her current position.

Now with a 12,000-bottle wine cellar, Blantyre’s select vintages have taken center stage, and have prompted well-attended wine-tasting dinners that have introduced many people to the landmark and given it another source of business growth.

Fitzpatrick explained that some of those events in winter include outdoor ice skating in the ‘rink’ that is created by flooding the four Har-Tru tennis courts, and the “Sno Bar-B-Q,” which offers oysters on snowballs and shrimp cocktail, with Cointreau hot chocolate marshmallow floats.

In summer, when not visiting Tanglewood, the Norman Rockwell Museum, or walking to the Mount, guests can enjoy the heated outdoor pool or play on the formal, whites-required tennis courts and tournament-rated croquet lawns.

Parting Gifts

Fitzpatrick Brown said she’s never felt competition, locally or otherwise, because Blantyre is so different.

“We’re a house more than a hotel,” she said. “And that’s one thing my parents always lived by, because you can’t always be watching the other guy; it’s so destructive. So you just go full force, do the best you can, and it works out.”

It has worked out at Blantyre for many reasons — from that wine list to the views of the Berkshires; from the cuisine to the works of art created by Fitzpatrick Brown as she put her stamp on every room.

But mostly because a trip to this resort really is a journey back in time.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Sweet Smell of Success

Entrepreneurship Sections

Stinky Cakes Founder Mychal Connolly Has a Passion for Entrepreneurship

Mychal Connolly has turned his entrepreneurial success with Stinky Cakes into a vibrant speaking and writing career.

Several years ago, with his second son on the way, Mychal Connolly and his wife already had many of the items normally given at showers.

“We just wanted diapers — my son already had a crib and a playpen,” he recalled. “I said, ‘could we please have diapers?’”

As it turns out, no. Not as a gift, anyway. “Even though diapers were a practical gift, people want to give a fun gift; it’s not a one-sided experience.”

He found the solution to that dilemma in Stinky Cakes, the product he launched in 2009 with the express purpose of making diaper giving fun.

“My wife and I both love marketing, and we thought about how we could get baby-shower folks buying diapers,” he told BusinessWest. “We started thinking about what we could do to make diapers match the baby-shower theme, and one common item all baby showers have is a cake. So we thought, ‘OK if we made diapers look like a cake, it could be part of the theme.’”

The couple spent a few months trying to make the idea — essentially a bunch of diapers arranged in the shape of a cake and wrapped with decorative ribbon — work. When they had produced a prototype, they showed it to Connolly’s mother-in-law, who promptly bought one as a gift. When she returned from the party with several more orders in hand, Connolly knew he was onto something.

When they officially launched a business under the striking name Stinky Cakes — “people either love the name or hate the name,” he said, but they certainly remember it — the couple had two young boys and no reserve funds to tap, so they moved forward by making hard budget choices. “Instead of buying fancy clothes, we bought a website. Instead of going out to movies and restaurants, we bought business cards that sent people to the website. Eventually we saw revenue coming in from the website.”

Not knowing anything about media buying — and, again, with little initial money to work with — Connolly went to WMAS and worked out a deal for radio spots, and that helped, too. “We just worked our butts off. Most people who start business ventures quit after they don’t see any results, but the problem is not the product. It’s not the area. It’s not the consumers. It’s the entrepreneur.”

To say Connolly is passionate about entrepreneurship is an understatement. Beyond his business selling Stinky Cakes, he has written two books on entrepreneurship and regularly speaks to audiences on the topic — both in person and through a pervasive social-media presence, including a blog centered on starting and running a business.

He’s not convinced anyone can be an entrepreneur, but “if it’s in you, it can be nurtured. Entrepreneurs see the world differently. They don’t see a problem, just something that hasn’t been solved yet. They solve the problem, and then plug people in to keep that system going.

“Entrepreneurship is a mindset that creates systems to solve problems,” he reiterated. “That’s what entrepreneurship is. If you don’t create systems, don’t call yourself an entrepreneur.”

Candy Crush

Growing up in the Bahamas, Connolly probably didn’t call himself an entrepreneur, but he certainly had the mindset.

“My stepfather had a little pest-control business,” he explained, and as a child, he’d tag along on jobs. “I’m very analytical, and I paid attention, and I saw that, in wealthy people’s homes, their coffee tables always had business publications.”

He started watching finance shows on television even though the concepts weren’t exactly pitched to kids. “I’d watch the shows with the ticker, and I didn’t understand what people were saying, but I knew I wanted to. That’s how I started falling in love with entrepreneurship.”

Then, at age 9, he started a candy company “by mistake.”

He recalled that his grandmother would go to Florida and return with “loads and loads” of candy that was unavailable on his island, and he shared it with his friends. But he eventually grew tired of people hounding him for treats, so he started saying they were for sale, not free, just to get them off his back. “Instead of leaving me alone, they said, ‘how much?’”

He knew about concepts like price markup from those business magazines, so he started earning money selling the candy and chilly treats he’d make by freezing Kool-Aid. “My grandmother had no idea this stuff was going on,” Connolly recalled — but soon after she found out, the two teamed up in the business, and she eventually left her own job to sell candy — and did so until her death in 2005.

He had caught the sales bug, and already recognized that his mind was suited to identifying needs and meeting them. “If you told me 25 years ago when all this was happening that I’d be in Western Mass. doing this, I’d say you’re crazy,” he said. “But I always knew I would be an entrepreneur; I just didn’t know what the product would be.”

Fast-forward to 2009, the first full year in the diaper business, and early sales were strong. But the following year raised some serious issues that had nothing to do with baby gifts.

“I ended up working so hard on the company that I wasn’t sleeping, and I was eating really badly,” Connolly said, noting that his weight, which had been around 220, shot up 70 pounds, and he ended up becoming diabetic, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol to boot.

He sought help — and it’s a good thing he did. “The ICU doctor said that, if I hadn’t come in, I would have ended up in a diabetic coma. I could have died. Fortunately, I survived, and that made me grow up mentally as an entrepreneur. I always had this goal that, when I was done [building a company], I would start a foundation to help kids become entrepreneurs. But when I was staying in the ICU, I realized time is really precious, and tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.”

So for the next year and a half, he took his foot off the gas and “let Stinky Cakes run on autopilot” while he instead focused his energies on working with young people through Westover Job Corps, teaching them entrepreneurship, marketing, and leadership skills, among other things.

Many of the questions they asked him became part of his book Launch + Stand Out, in which he breaks down 23 different business ideas and discusses how he would apply the Stinky Cakes model to each of them. Throughout, he never loses focus on the importance of marketing.

“It’s not about the diapers; it’s about marketing and branding; that’s where it all happens,” he said. “Companies don’t go out of business because of lack of capital; they go out of business because of lack of sales.”

Changing Times

But Connelly is a natural marketer, expressing his passion for entrepreneurship through various forms of media, old and new, and, by extension, keeping his identity as Mr. Stinky Cakes at the forefront.

His blog — mrstinkycakes.com, of course — is one mode of communication. Others include an active social-media presence (and a book, Going Viral Unlocked, about using social media to grow a business), his public speaking through the Empact Connect network, and his role as entrepreneurial correspondent for The Engine, a radio show on WHYN 560-AM launched by Junior Achievement.

Connolly emphasizes financial literacy on the show, noting that people often don’t realize its importance. “If you give an entrepreneur $1 billion to start a company but he’s not financially literate, be prepared to give him another billion in a year.”

And it’s still not something adequately addressed in schools, he added. “We go to school to learn to read and learn to write, but where do you go to learn how to make money? Nowhere.”

He said guiding young people toward their own self-created success stories is especially gratifying.

“That’s the reason I’m a spokesperson for Junior Achievement, being able to help a kid who wants to be an entrepreneur, when no one is able to answer his questions for him. He’s got a mindset that most people are never going to understand, and when I see the lightbulb go on — when he thinks, ‘I can do this’ — that’s the best feeling.”

He recalled another satisfying moment, this one before an adult audience at Holyoke Community College. “When I was done talking, this lady comes up to me, crying. I said, ‘why are you crying?’ She said, ‘because what you said about overcoming fear — that’s the same thing my grandfather used to tell me.’ I said, ‘that’s not me talking, and it’s not your grandfather talking. That’s the successful version of you telling you where you need to go.’

That said, “not everyone is built for the fast track. I think the best entrepreneurs see the path from point A to point B and follow it; they don’t allow any noise or distractions to deter them.”

Again, whether it’s an e-commerce venture or any other type of business, “honestly, the key to it is marketing, marketing, marketing,” Connolly told BusinessWest. “There’s a market for everything. There are grandmothers blogging and writing books on knitting and making $1 million, because they have 50,000 people buying their $20 book.”

It makes sense that he’d come back to grandmothers, since his own played such a key role in his development as an entrepreneur.

“I don’t have an MBA, none of that stuff,” he said. “But I had that 9-year-old entrepreneurship moment with my grandmother, so I knew it worked. If I didn’t have that moment, I don’t think I would have started Stinky Cakes.”

Living the Dream

Connolly was quick to add, however, that entrepreneurship isn’t easy, even for those who grow up with that passion.

“Entrepreneurship is a lonely, dark place at times,” he said. “You speak a different language, and if you’re not around people who speak the same language, you have to have a mindset where you know where you’re going, and just keep moving forward.”

Even as his writing and speaking roles continue to grow, Stinky Cakes will continue to be a big part of Connolly’s life, although he has shifted the business model to emphasize the residual income streams developed by forging partnerships with other companies.

“That’s my baby; that’s why I call myself Mr. Stinky Cakes,” he said. “But I’m a serial entrepreneur; I love being involved with fun startups and companies that are growing. To me, that’s like breathing.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Entrepreneurship Sections

Valley Venture Mentors Stays Focused on the Big Picture

Scott Foster says there are many ways to qualify and quantify the physical growth and escalating impact of Valley Venture Mentors (VVM) since it was launched more than two years ago as a unique support system for entrepreneurs looking to start a venture or take one to the next level.

For starters, there’s the rising number of applications for six-month mentorship programs — there are now more than 30 for the six to eight slots that will comprise this fall’s cycle — as well as the fact that many of these are from individuals and groups outside the 413 area code, “because they don’t have something like this where they are,” said Foster, a business-law attorney with the Springfield-based firm Bulkley Richardson.

Scott Foster says VVM has drawn increasing interest from the region’s economic-development leaders.

There’s also the ever-greater interest being shown by economic-development leaders in VVM and its potential for spurring job growth in the region and state. Greg Bialecki, state Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, has described it as a “catalyst” organization in speeches he’s made. Meanwhile, representatives of the Economic Development Council of Western Mass. have been regular attendees of VVM’s monthly meetings.

And then, there’s acknowledgement among VVM’s leaders that this organization, like many of the ventures being mentored, is having some growing pains of its own. Indeed, said Foster, there are ongoing discussions about VVM hiring its first paid staff and moving into a permanent facility; it currently does most of its business in the spacious Bulkley Richardson boardroom.

Steve Willis, a VVM co-founder and mentor, and an entrepreneur who has launched several high-tech firms, said the organization is, in many ways, similar to the startups it serves.

“It has a small group of people who had an ambitious idea, and it was grown very carefully,” he explained. “It’s now ready for another round of financing to scale the business out. We have a set of ambitious plans in place, and it’s time to have a strategy and a business plan to grow this out.”

All of this is part of what Foster calls “creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

And he used that phrase — which isn’t technically accurate, because ecosystems exist only in nature — to describe an environment in which entrepreneurship (and the economic development and jobs that ensue) is encouraged and given an opportunity to thrive.

“The entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region is nascent, and it needs to grow,” he explained. “There’s a lot of passion for entrepreneurialism in the Valley, both on the mentoring side and the entrepreneur side, and what there wasn’t before was a community that this spirit could tap into in a cohesive, consistent way.

“What we’ve heard back from people involved in the program is that VVM has created the right atmosphere,” he continued, “one that allows people to come out, allows them to interact with one another, and drives them to want to build the ecosystem and make it stronger.”

Jess Dupuis says VVM has been instrumental in helping her map out plans for taking her beauty products venture to the next level.

Jess Dupuis is one of the many entrepreneurs expressing such opinions.

In 2010, she started a business called Olive Natural Beauty, which manufactures and distributes a line of olive-oil-based beauty products, now sold through 20 retail partners.

Dupuis said she applied to VVM earlier this year because, while her business seemed to be on the right path, she knew she needed to focus on the proverbial big picture, and needed some help doing so.

“Up to this point, I’ve been really flying by the seat of my pants in that I’m still a young business person and I’ve never been an entrepreneur before, so there are a lot of things I’m learning by trial and error,” she said, adding that what she’s received from her mentors and VVM as a whole amounts to real-time feedback.

“I wanted some guidance and feedback, especially on how to scale my business and take it to the next level, because up until now, it’s been 100% me,” she went on. “And it’s been an amazing experience; I’ve had the chance to speak with industry professionals and people who have gone through it.”

For this issue and its focus on entrepreneurship, BusinessWest looks at how VVM has grown and evolved since its creation, and to where the organization wants to go next as it works to create that ecosystem that Foster described.

Venturing Forth

When BusinessWest talked with Foster and VVM co-founder Paul Silva just after the initiative was launched in early 2011, they used a number of words and phrases to describe their organization, its mission, and its MO.

It was described as a “halfway house between the classroom and the real world,” a vehicle for providing “nourishment” to startups and next-stage companies, and a group dedicated to help entrepreneurs eliminate the “rookie mistakes” that often set a venture back or keep it from getting off the ground.

As she talked about her experiences with VVM, Dupuis said it has been all of those things. Elaborating, she told BusinessWest that her business is at a critical crossroads in terms of growth and development, with some important decisions to be made on everything from marketing to whether she needs to bring on a manufacturer and a distributor for her products.

“And before I take some of these steps, I wanted to talk with experts about what their thoughts are,” she said. “I want to be able to take those ideas and that feedback and use it as I put things down on paper into a formal plan.”

VVM’s entrepreneurial community provides what one of its mentees calls “real-time feedback.”

Here’s how the mentorship program works: first, VVM issues what amounts to a call for applications to what are now two cycles of mentorship, one in the fall and the other in the spring. Two tracks are now necessary, simply because the volume of applications has grown considerably, mostly due to the positive experiences of participants and word-of-mouth referrals.

“These individuals are talking about their experiences to other parts of the community — and by community, I mean beyond just the Pioneer Valley,” said Foster. “We’re getting applications from Providence, the Greater Boston area, Connecticut … people who are interacting with the program are going back and talking to other entrepreneurs, their friends, other mentors, and they’re realizing that this is unique in the way it’s delivering advice, the scope of the mentoring, and the openness of the community.

“We’ve structured something that allows an excellent exchange of ideas and support from the mentors, and also from the entrepreneurs to each other,” he continued. “The feedback we get from the teams that have been through it, and the mentors as well, is that it’s an excellent environment.”

The deadline for the next cycle is Sept. 1, said Foster, adding that there will be a “pitch camp” a few weeks later, followed by formal auditions later in the month. This multi-stage process, which will ultimately identify the six to eight ventures chosen for mentorship, was designed to create “good fits” — matches that work for both the companies and VVM.

And there are many reasons why an applicant may not constitute an effective fit, said Willis, listing such things as geography — a New Jersey-based individual or group might find it difficult to attend monthly sessions in Springfield — and the fact that some applicants simply might not be far enough along to benefit from mentorship.

“The fit is two ways,” said Willis. “Can we provide adequate service to them? And on their side, can they commit the time? Will they listen? Is this a good fit? It’s not necessarily about the business, but about the team and the people.”

Applications come in a number of flavors, said Foster, noting they range from “an idea that’s been well-thought through to a company that’s up and has a minimally viable product, and they’re looking to take it to the next level.”

When it comes to choosing applicants for participation, Foster said VVM and its mentors are what he called “generalists,” meaning they don’t focus on specific sectors, such as technology or the biosciences, and this quality has helped the initiative grow.

“There aren’t many generalist programs out there, and there are many advantages to having that quality,” said Foster, adding that ideas and business concepts that have come before the mentors have been both high-tech and low-tech, ranging from a complicated algorithm for engaging in currency hedging to a device that would monitor the natural gas entering a home or commercial building. “We’ve found that this leads to some great dialogue among the mentors and the teams that are there; they learn differently from each other, and they realize that, no matter what their sector is, they all have some similar challenges they’re going to have to face — how to hire people, how to staff up, how to raise money, how to communicate with people about your idea. Those are themes that reach across all the different kinds of businesses.”

Getting the Idea

Jess Greene’s venture is on the high-tech side of the ledger, but it also involves the arts.

In 2011, she created the website seekyourcourse.com, which is focused on “helping adults be more creative, and making it easier for adults interested in engaging their creative or artistic side in a class.”

Originally, the site, based on an advertisement-revenue model, was designed to host a database of educational opportunities for adults in the arts, she said, adding that it has undergone a host of changes since, and is now more focused on its blog, which boasts 26 regular contributors who post everything from tutorials to stories of their own creativity.

The venture remains a work in progress, a site devoted to engaging the strong online creative community, she went on, adding that the mentors at VVM have been instrumental in helping her shape a vision and business plan for what she called “seekyourcourse 2.0,” which will have more of a community focus and take the business concept to the next level.

She gathered ideas for this concept while on a four-month, 15,000-mile trip around the country, during which she met many of the people she communicated with online and welcomed their thoughts on what people might want and need from her site. And she’s shared that data with her mentors and also other mentees, like Dupuis. Through all those resources, she’s gained insight into everything from branding to revenue generation to driving traffic to her site.

“It’s great to suddenly have this community of people who have all this expertise,” she told BusinessWest while explaining how and why VVM has worked. “It’s a great environment.”

Dupuis agreed, and said VVM has been of considerable help with many aspects of her business, from hard financials to marketing to the challenging task of scaling a business and making it much bigger than it is.

Foster summed it all up by saying that VVM’s broad goal in her case was to make her a “smarter businesswoman,” and that this is the assignment with all the entrepreneurs it works with.

“No one is attempting to make these decisions for her,” he said, referring to business steps such as adding employees, ramping up or outsourcing production, or bringing on a distributor. “We just make sure that she has the information she needs to look at her business and figure out what makes the most sense for her as she tries to get to the next level.”

Dupuis cited proper branding of her line of products as just one of the many often-complex business-plan matters that VVM and its real-time feedback have helped her address.

“I graduated summa cum laude with a degree in marketing communications, so this is what I would consider my area of expertise,” she explained. “But VVM has really helped me hone in and think about how I want to brand these products. Do I want this to be a CVS-type brand, or is this a more luxurious brand that should be sold in Whole Foods? If you’re in one store, you may not be able to market to the other.”

Some important decisions will be made in the months to come, she went on, adding that VVM has given her plenty to think about.

Moving forward, the organization would like to do that with more individuals and teams, which brings Foster and Willis back to VVM’s own plans for taking itself to the next level.

Such ramping up could — and likely will — involve everything from hiring staff to establishing a physical presence with an office and meeting facility, to creating entrepreneurship competitions that will bring people to Greater Springfield and help strengthen that entrepreneurial community Foster described.

“This is moving from being an all-volunteer organization to one that will need staff,” he said. “We think we should be growing, and we’re still figuring out where our space should be in terms of an office and a co-working space that’s open to the teams. We know there’s a need for more educational programs, either offered by us or by others, that are targeted at this group of entrepreneurs.”

Funding will obviously be needed for all of this, he went on, adding that VVM is currently finalizing two grant applications that spell out the organization’s plans for growth and the many reasons why such development is important for the region. One is a response to a request for information from the Mass. Technology Collaborative, which has a mandate from the state to encourage mentorship programs across the Commonwealth, said Foster, adding that VVM was asked by that organization to submit information about its mission, programs, and successes to date.

“We’re making sure we have the right plan, and we’re looking at fund-raising,” he said, adding that the latter is going on mostly behind the scenes, but soon, the process of ramping up VVM will become much more public.

In Good Company

Looking at the present and possible future for VVM, Willis drew more analogies between the organization and the ventures seeking mentorship.

“We are, in a way, growing this the way we think startups should grow,” he explained, “and we have very similar issues to what small businesses are seeing.”

Coping with those issues is now a big part of that process of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem, an ongoing endeavor that is capturing the attention and imagination of economic-development leaders and business owners alike.

VVM has come a long way in two short years, and the future looks exceedingly bright for an organization that is getting down to business — in every way that phrase can be used.

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

Opinion

Building a Diverse Nursing Workforce

By CHERYL A. SHEILS

Healthcare reform presents new challenges and opportunities for the nursing profession, in both academic and practice settings. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released its report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” which included among its recommendations raising the education level of the nursing workforce.

The IOM recommends doubling the number of nurses with doctorates, and increasing the baccalaureate-prepared RN population to 80% from its present level of 50% by 2020.

The mandate for healthcare reform comes at a time of shifting population demographics. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos now account for nearly 10% of the Massachusetts population. Furthermore, the increase in the Latino population alone accounted for more than 60% of the state’s total growth between 2000 and 2009. Currently, nearly 21% of Hampden County is Latino.

Nursing’s leaders recognize a strong connection between a culturally diverse nursing workforce and the ability to provide quality, culturally competent healthcare to an increasingly diverse population. Unfortunately, national enrollment in baccalaureate nursing-education programs is not keeping up with the changes in population demographics. The American Assoc. of Colleges of Nursing’s 2011 annual report notes that Latinos account for just 6.8% of total baccalaureate enrollments. While these numbers reflect improvement over previous years, diversity of the RN workforce remains far less than that of the general U.S. population, and Latino RNs remain the most underrepresented minority group.

A main route to upward mobility and equality of opportunity for minorities in the healthcare industry is equity of access and success in achieving the baccalaureate nursing degree. A number of studies have shown that inadequate academic preparation and financial barriers are significant for Latino nursing students.

Here, taken from the higher-education literature as well as interviews with Latina nursing students, are recommendations for practitioners working in the field of higher education and, in particular, baccalaureate nursing-education programs.

• Establish seminars conducted by college financial-aid officers for low-income Latino families and students to provide them with information on how to finance a college education, including eligibility for Pell grants and assistance with the grant application process;

• Provide specific information to first-generation Latino students in secondary-education settings about how to set realistic goals for college, including what colleges and what careers to consider;

• Develop outreach programs with high schools in which student-affairs officers and college-student ambassadors help familiarize Latino high-school students and families with the various aspects of the college experience, with the added benefit of creating linkages between high-school and college students;

• Create credit-bearing college-transition programs that could be offered in 12th grade or during the summer before college to get Latino students ready for college-level work;

• Establish core groups of student advocates whose purpose it is to reach out to Latino students and help them connect with available resources on campus;

• Adopt proactive academic-advising systems that reach out to Latino students rather than waiting for a student to ask for help, and have bilingual staff available in academic-advising and resource centers;

• Establish connections with Latino nurses in the practice environment and with the local chapter of the National Assoc. of Hispanic Nurses for the purpose of developing a cadre of career mentors and professional role models;

• Create programs in which nursing graduate students advise and mentor undergraduate Latino students on earning credit toward their graduate degree;

• Provide professional-development programs that help nursing faculty examine their own attitudes regarding teaching diverse students and assist them in creating relevant cultural-competence curricula; and

• Place students in cohorts that follow the same course and clinical schedules throughout the nursing curriculum to facilitate the establishment of strong Latino nursing-student peer and study groups.

Cheryl A. Sheils, is a registered nurse and associate professor of Nursing at Elms College; [email protected]

Editorial

An Opportunity for Springfield

Administrators with the University of Massachusetts made it official last week: they’re taking a serious look at broadening their presence in downtown Springfield with what is being called a possible ‘satellite center.’

The university issued a request for proposals, one that states that it is seeking 25,000 square feet of space suitable for classrooms, faculty offices, and other uses, with the option of doubling that space at a later date. Proposals are due Sept. 3, and it’s safe to say there will be quite a few of them to consider.

That’s because there are a number of potential landing spots for such a facility, ranging from Tower Square to Union Station; from 1350 Main St. to the properties in Court Square — and all of them could use the boost that a UMass presence would provide.

There has been speculation building about UMass doing ‘something’ in downtown Springfield for years now, and a few months ago we warned that such a facility, like a casino in some respects, would not magically transform the city or even its downtown, and that expectations for how a satellite center might change the landscape needed to be kept in perspective.

That said, a UMass satellite center could be one of many momentum generators in the city’s central business district, even if the university takes just 25,000 square feet, which amounts to one or two floors in most of the office buildings and facilities mentioned above.

For starters, creation of such a facility will require a substantial build-out, which will mean construction jobs. It could also change the complexion of some of those office buildings and landmarks. For example, it would provide a major boost for a Union Station project that is progressing, but still needs a spark to generate interest from more retailers. A facility in Tower Square, meanwhile, would generate some needed foot traffic and generate some life in a landmark that is still a shell of its former self and is dominated by vacant storefronts, although the presence of Cambridge College has provided a lift. For 1350 Main St., UMass might help turn on the lights in some floors that have been dark for the better part of a decade, while at Court Square, a center could provide a solid foundation for future development.

And there are many other sites that could come into the picture, with similar opportunities for progress.

Beyond the benefits to the real-estate market, a UMass satellite would generate other benefits. It would bring young people, many of them with money to spend, into downtown Springfield, and it would introduce them to a city they might otherwise not experience.

Depending on what types of programs and classes are offered downtown, there might be more and better opportunities for students to undertake internships with Springfield-based businesses and establish relationships that could last for years or decades.

Also, a UMass presence might even bolster efforts on the part of city officials to inspire market-rate housing projects in the downtown that would provide a balance for the subsidized units that still dominate the landscape in that part of the city.

All this is speculation, and a downtown Springfield UMass facility is likely years from opening its doors. But speculation is good, as long as people keep those expectations in check.

A UMass satellite center is certainly not going to be a game changer, to borrow the phrase that so many elected officials and economic-development leaders like to use these days.

But it would help Springfield ultimately win what isn’t a game, but a very important and very necessary endeavor to change the complexion of its central business district.

Community Profile: South Hadley

Community Profile Features

Business, Family Roots Run Deep in South Hadley

When asked for his thoughts on the fire that recently gutted the Dockside restaurant at Brunelle’s Marina, Michael Sullivan paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

“The Brunelle family has been a cornerstone of the South Hadley business community for a long time,” the town’s administrator said. “It’s important to the community; people come to South Hadley to cruise on the Lady Bea or access the Connecticut River, and the Brunelles have built quite a reputation — and quite a business — there.”

It was a fitting thought, as several of those words — business, community, reputation, long time — were summoned again and again in discussing the economic character of South Hadley, a town where small, multi-generational family companies dominate a commercial sector that’s relatively tiny compared to neighboring communities like Chicopee, Amherst, and Hadley.

And it’s that deep-seated community identity that has the Brunelles firing up lunch and dinner under an outdoor pavilion while their eatery overlooking the marina is rebuilt.

“They’re resilient,” Sullivan said. “They’ve got all their permits reprinted up, everything is in place, and they’re looking to get back at it in quite an aggressive fashion — and we’re looking to do everything we can to support them.”

Dr. Steven Markow, owner of Village Eye Care and president of the South Hadley & Granby Chamber of Commerce, also expressed sympathy after the fire, noting that the Brunelles have been part of South Hadley’s business picture for a long time, but they’re far from alone.

“Carey’s Flowers has been around here for decades. All Star Dairy is a long-time, long-standing family business. There’s Chapdelaine’s Furniture, Jubinville Insurance, Ryder Funeral Home, and many others … there has been a lot of stability in that way. It’s a generational town in a sense, and the same is true of many businesses.”

That stability extends to residential life in what Markow calls a bedroom community. He said he recently consulted a world atlas from 1960 that listed South Hadley’s population at around 15,000; today, it’s just over 17,500.

Dr. Steven Markow says South Hadley is a generational town in many ways, for both families and businesses.

“I’ve been here for 17 years, and I’m just starting my 13th year in business — so, by South Hadley standards, I would be considered a newbie,” he said. “But as president of the chamber, I’d say we have a very diverse membership, and it’s that diversity that helps keep the economy somewhat stable and strong here. Of course, that’s true of the whole region. I think, relative to how things are in other parts of the country, we’re doing fairly well here, although we could do a lot better.”

Reversing the Fall

With a thriving town center driven by the bustling Village Commons — with its 100% occupancy rate and mix of retail, restaurant, service, and office tenants — and the more than 2,300 students at Mount Holyoke College, the challenge for South Hadley is to focus on more-challenged areas of town, such as the Falls, just across the Connecticut River from downtown Holyoke.

“We’re moving on with some new tools we think will be advantages for economic development,” Sullivan said, noting that the town recently invited John Fitzgerald, urban development coordinator from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, to talk about the usefulness of a redevelopment authority, which would have the power of eminent domain to seize private property. “We think, particularly in an older community, you need to amalgamate properties to make it viable or attractive to developers to come in and make investments. The redevelopment authority can be a wonderful tool.”

Sullivan said such a move is long overdue. “The Falls is an area that has been unintentionally neglected for a long period of time, and we need to be a little more dutiful and pay attention to it.”

The Brunelle family has kept food service going under an outdoor pavilion while they make plans to rebuild the fire-gutted Dockside.

The Falls will benefit next year from a new, $10 million public library overlooking the Holyoke Dam, and the neighborhood also received a profile boost this summer with the first Falls Fest, a free, all-day music event at the Beachgrounds, the recently renovated park beside the river.

“We got the buzz out, and everyone who was there had a great time,” said Markow, adding that the neighborhood has the potential for more such events. “The idea was, what can be done to revitalize the economy of the Falls? This was a wonderful step in the right direction. The bands who performed there thought it was the best place they had ever performed, because it provided everything one would need for a venue — food vendors, craft vendors, shade for a summer day, kids got to play in the splash park … it’s a great place to come listen to music.”

Sullivan also welcomes a multi-faceted approach to boosting the Falls. “That’s really our focus; we’re trying to revitalize and find adaptive reuses for the area, and we’re looking at having more events there. Some people say that the way cities get rediscovered is through those types of events. People come in and say, ‘wow, I never knew this was here; I want to invest.’”

Success Stories

Decades of investment are clearly visible at the Village Commons, across Route 116 from the college, home to six restaurants, Tower Theater, and a host of retail shops and other businesses.

“When I moved here 17 years ago, there were more retail shops in the Village Commons, but retail has gone through some tough times,” said Markow, whose eye-care practice neighbors the complex. “What’s evolved is more food and service, which probably is a microcosm of the whole economy in general. It’s the center of town, and it’s thriving; they’re doing very well there, and a couple of new food places went in recently. People like coming there; it’s a good, central location.”

Mount Holyoke itself provides much of the energy in that neighborhood, he added. “In my opinion, South Hadley is extremely lucky to have Mount Holyoke College in its midst because it’s a world-class higher-education institution, the first all-women college in the country that’s still in operation. It has a world-class art museum, outstanding faculty, and a first-class equestrian center that brings equestrian shows here and helps the economy. The college just brings the town to a higher level.”

Although South Hadley receives just 8% of its tax revenues from businesses, Sullivan noted, “what’s not listed in that statistic is Mount Holyoke College, a nonprofit business. If you put that into the valuation formula, as an economic-development engine, that is quite significant — the jobs it creates, the investments made by the college.”

A prestigious college is just one piece of the community’s education strengths, Markow added, which includes the new public library and plans for a new Plains Elementary School. “It’s this kind of development which helps to attract families to the community. When they see investment in the school system, that’s very important to new families coming into town.

“I try to work with the schools because I think having a high-quality school system is part of the formula that makes a community strong and stable,” he continued. “The new superintendent of schools here, Dr. Nick Young, has been a very willing partner. He wants to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship with the business community, and he’s really reached out to us.”

Despite the town’s strong points, however, commercial vacancies remain, Markow told BusinessWest, and there’s plenty of room for improvement in the town’s overall economic outlook.

“I don’t know what the answer is. How do you bring in new business when everyone is still holding back?” he pondered. “From the chamber’s perspective, we’re limited by our resources, and we could do more with more resources. My pitch is trying to get more businesses on the chamber; a large group has more clout than a small group. That’s one of our missions, to increase membership, increase resources, and be more effective in improving the quality of life in town and supporting the business environment.

“Personally,” he went on, “my mission as president is to see what we can do to improve quality of life in town because that’s going to attract new people to come live here, help stabilize the property values, and just make it a nicer place to live. What can we do to make it a nicer place to live? That, in turn, will trickle down and make the economy better.”

Coming Back

Markow noted that the town’s economic strengths are tempered by losses like the Big Y on Newton Street, which the property owner has no plans to retenant in the near future.

“That was a very disappointing occurrence because it had been a grocery store for quite a long time, and as New Englanders, we’re used to not changing. But what’s really disappointing is keeping the place vacant for a number of years, which I find unhelpful to the economic health of the town.”

On the other hand, Sullivan noted, “Village Commons is in discussion about expansion of their retail and mixed-use development. That’s exciting. So there are a lot of good things happening in a lot of different ways from an economic-development standpoint, but we still have a long ways to go.”

As for the Dockside, he applauds the Brunelles’ efforts to bring the restaurant back to life.

“That’s one of the places people go to recreate and spend money,” he said, including the Ledges and Orchards golf courses, McCray’s Farm, and the college area in that category. “It’s all about destinations in the community.” n

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

What Happened to My Data?

Sections Technology

Understand the Dangers of Insufficient Backup Procedures

By SEAN HOGAN

Sean Hogan

Today’s businesses are operating at a blistering pace, and IT infrastructure has become the backbone of small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) across the nation. The complexity and strain placed on networks has exposed these businesses to greater security threats than ever before.

Natural disasters, power outages, employee errors, and failed system upgrades all pose significant threats to the network, and failing to address these risks can cause severe network damage and immobilize a company for hours, days, or weeks. The best way to combat this dynamic is to understand the risks, address the problem, and make sure the proper precautions have been taken.

One of the risks most easily mitigated is when data simply hasn’t been backed up. Oftentimes, organizations fail to have a regular backup procedure in place, whether partially or completely, and having a data-backup program can help get around this issue.

According to Symantec’s 2011 SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey, “only half [of SMBs] back up at least 60% of their data,” meaning they would lose 40% of their data in the event of a disaster. In addition, organizations often fail to back up corporate PCs, or take an all-or-nothing approach if it can’t be all-inclusive. For example, of those surveyed, 31% don’t back up e-mail, 21% don’t back up application data, and 17% don’t back up customer data.

The biggest benefit to having a process in place is that employees never have to redo work. If data is ever lost, it can be recovered rather quickly and with minimal effort.

Another risk to address is failing to protect branch offices or telecommuters. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ doesn’t exactly fare too well in the corporate arena. When businesses are subject to compliance or regulatory standards, they must ensure that all company endpoints are protected in an appropriate fashion. When there is a centralized IT support staff, they can often overlook users that are not primarily in the office, as in the case of salespeople, for example.

Failure to consistently back up company data is another common oversight. The benefit of having an automated or regularly scheduled backup is paramount. According to Enterprise Security Group, even with all the advancements in storage technology, only about 20% of backup jobs are successful. This is exactly why consistency and frequency are such key metrics in evaluating any backup solution.

Utilizing outdated equipment such as tape or disk media poses a threat in that these solutions are hardware, meaning they can be lost, stolen, or improperly stored. Any of those situations usually results in irretrievable data, therefore rendering that equipment useless when a recovery is most needed.

Today’s business continuity and disaster-recovery solutions address these risks and provide a software-based solution that virtualizes all data to the cloud. This enhances overall performance by providing greater accuracy, efficiency, security, and archiving functionality to a business’s disaster-recovery plan.

Simply put, technology has come too far for businesses to have to deal with the notion of losing important data and risking going out of business. With today’s powerful solutions and the assistance of a trusted IT advisor, SMBs can protect themselves, their employees, and their customers’ data from these threats.

Sean Hogan is president of Easthampton-based Hogan Technology, a business-technology company that specializes in increasing customer profitability and efficiency through the use of technology www.teamhogan.com

Show Time

Sections Technology

A chart of area audio-visual and multi-media companies

Click here to download the PDF

Doing Business as Certificates

DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of and July 2013.

AMHERST

Homespun Event Design/Catering, LLC

71 North Pleasant St.

Amanda Robertson

KS Dunn Associates

664 Main St.

Kathryn Dunn

Shoots to Roots Nursery

539 Market Hill Road

Elizabeth Riley

The Humble Baker

460 West St.

Brieta Goodwin

The New Salem Tea & Bread Company

460 West St.

Brieta Goodwin

Themis Vision Systems

16 Summerfield Road

Lin Tang

CHICOPEE

Good Vibrations Disc Jockey

62 Newbury St.

Henry Tessier III

Plaza Liquors

591 Memorial Dr.

Yogesh Patel

HOLYOKE

Almonte Market

549 South Bridge St.

Evaristo Almonte

RLS Construction Solutions

13 Roland St.

Robert Saunders

TWC Auto Body & Repair

56 Jackson St.

Jamil Roman

LUDLOW

Hair by Tami

322 West Ave.

Tamatha Seyler

Trademark Custom Installations

29 Barrett St.

Timothy Moir

NORTHAMPTON

Dalco Custom Works

91 North St.

David Collins

Hess Express

237 King St.

Richard J. Lawlor

Marinello School of Beauty

58 Pleasant St.

Rashed Elyas

Megan’s Treasures

150 Main St.

Nancy Oles

Pizza Amori

18 Green St.

Eyup Atmara

Shop Therapy Northampton

135 Main St.

Adam Hazel

Tapestry Health

16 Center St.

Leslie T. Laurie

The Hair Room

30 North Maple St.

Christina M. O’Dea-Grail

Viva Wonderland Designs

49 Market St.

Ramona S. Ingram-Guerra

PALMER

China House Restaurant

1240 Park St.

Alby Ngan

Kopek’s Auto & Truck Service

1219 Thorndike St.

Christopher Kopec

LaBonte’s at Route 67

19 Breckenridge St.

Raymond LaBonte

The Computer Wiz

1605 North Main St.

Glen Whitney

Wayne’s Truck Services

21 Wilbraham Road

Wayne Chapin

SOUTHWICK

24 Karat Audio

3 Sefton Dr.

Robert Jurach

K.P. Corporation

587 College Highway

Subhash Patel

Myette Trucking

16 Gillette Ave.

Joseph Myette

SPRINGFIELD

Hancock Used Tires

462 Hancock St.

Soraya Nolasco

Heart N’ Soule Miniatures

26 Martel Road

Catherine S. Mein

Hispaniola Express

432 Belmont Ave.

Ramon E. Espinal

J & T Auto Repair

1307 Worcester St.

Justine M. Cote

K & S Restaurant Group, LLC

699 Sumner Ave.

Sabino Joseph

Las Delicias Elias Restaurant

30 Fort Pleasant St.

Alba H. Elias

Luz Lopez Consulting

471 Dickinson St.

Luz Zenaida Lopez

M.R.B. Remodeling

25 Gardens Dr.

Clifton Medeiros

WESTFIELD

Connors Home Improvement

164 Bates Road

Greg H. Connors

Eye 4 Detail

158 Elm St.

Russell A. Pikell

Hess

310 East Main St.

Amerada Hess Corporation

Oleksak Home Services, LLC

31 Schumann Dr.

James Oleksak

Sabrina Dobosz

45 Meadow St.

Sabrina Dobosz

Smoke Detector Solution

265 Elm St.

Curt Gezotis

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Applied Construction

69 Braintree Road

Glenn M. Spadoni

Applied Software Technology

59 Interstate Dr.

Edward R. Garibian

Chinaqtee.com

737 Piper Road

Ricardo Sustache

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies Departments

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

Bennett, Alfred L.

Bennett, Charlene A.

136 Main Road

Montgomery, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/29/13

Benouski, George J.

218 North Brookfield Road

Barre, MA 01005

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/08/13

Bongiovanni, Susan J.

118 Maple St.

Agawam, MA 01001

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/15/13

Bowler, Maria J.

107 Outer Dr.

Chicopee, MA 01022

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/28/13

Bruno, Michelle E.

58 Naismith St.

Springfield, MA 01104

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Bryskiewicz, Charles R.

180 Beauchamp Terrace

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Conroy, Timothy J.

Conroy, Michele L.

33 Eleanor Road

Pittsfield, MA 01201

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Cote, Raymond J.

97 Valier Ave.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Crosby, Deborah L.

12 Royce Court, Apt. E-6

West Springfield, MA 01089

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Cruz, Jaime

P.O. Box 1232

Westfield, MA 01086

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/09/13

Cullen, Donna L.

a/k/a Clifford, Donna L.

11 Dugan Road

Ware, MA 01082

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/12/13

Daniels, Steven W.

Daniels, Diane Marie

a/k/a Roy, Diane Marie

23 Ashgrove St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/09/13

Demers, Brigid Elise

56 Ward Ave.

Easthampton, MA 01027

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Dube, Diane R.

a/k/a Fontaine, Diane R.

129 Burlingame Road

Palmer, MA 01069

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/13/13

Ducharme, Daniel L.

Ducharme, Sharon

a/k/a Dietelbaum, Sharon

24 James St.

Feeding Hills, MA 01030

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/28/13

Elias, John P.

57 Clough St., Apt. B

Springfield, MA 01118

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/02/13

Escalera, Antonio L.

14 Elcon Dr.

Chicopee, MA 01013

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Garth, Steven

Garth, Marilyn B.

86 Baldwin Hill Road

Great Barrington, MA 01230

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/09/13

Gebeau, Charlee Dawn

a/k/a Blank, Charlee Dawn

2E Mansion Woods Dr.

Agawam, MA 01001

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/28/13

Giroux, Christopher M.

187 Lathrop St.

South Hadley, MA 01075

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Gomez, Noel L.

Gomez, Jacqueline A.

6 Hobbie Road

P.O. Box 244

South Deerfield, MA 01373

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Goraj, Thomas W.

Goraj, Dolores A.

21 Devens St.

Indian Orchard, MA 01151

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/15/13

Govan, Philip C.

Govan, Zaida

1042 Berkshire Ave.

Indian Orchard, MA 01151

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Haarmann, Kurt F.

90 Main St.

Hampden, MA 01036

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/10/13

Hogan, James M.

PO Box 513

Warren, MA 01083

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/30/13

Jarvis, Kenneth S.

P.O. Box 264

Westfield, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/30/13

Johnson, Carl Allan

Johnson, Cassandra Mae

3 Charles St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Johnston, Jenny

30 Benz St.

Springfield, MA 01118

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Joubert, Corrie L.

a/k/a Ybarra, Corrie L.

123 Hanson Dr.

Springfield, MA 01128

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/15/13

Klem, Katie J.

335 Stony Hill Road

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Korj, Milona

a/k/a Korzh, Ilona

46 Hillside Village

Ware, MA 01082

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/28/13

Lech, Antoni

117 Russellville Road

Westfield, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

McNeil, Francis J.

7 Fiske Hill Road

Sturbridge, MA 01566

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Mesecher, Ayten

a/k/a Yucepur, Ayten

47 St. Kolbe Dr., Unit D

Holyoke, MA 01040

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/10/13

Minto, Mandy

38 Lakeview St.

Southwick, MA 01077

Chapter: 13

Filing Date: 07/15/13

Mitchell, Donna Marie

30 Chapman Ave.

Easthampton, MA 01027

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/08/13

Munger, Mitchell R.

315 North Westfield St.

Feeding Hills, MA 01030

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/28/13

Otero, Andres

Otero, Doris

220 Casey Dr.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/15/13

Palmer, Christine M.

56 Mobile Home Way

Springfield, MA 01119

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Pedraza, Wilfredo

Sanchez, Glorimar

75 Bloomfield St., 2nd

Springfield, MA 01108

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Peeples-Dixon, Kimberly

86 Montrose St.

Springfield, MA 01109

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Pereplyotchik, Dimitry

27 Sunnyslope Ave.

Agawam, MA 01001

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/29/13

Phelps, Robert R.

231 Taylor St.

Granby, MA 01033

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 06/29/13

Poisant, Kevin John

55 South Shore Dr.

Sturbridge, MA 01566

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/09/13

Pratt, Thomas W.

155 Broadview Terrace

Pittsfield, MA 01201

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Reynolds, Patricia A.

29 Marshall St.

Northampton, MA 01060

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Rice, Frank S.

PO Box 482

Westfield, MA 01086

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/03/13

Roath, Victoria E.

43 Elm St.

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/02/13

Rodriguez, Julio A.

602 Newbury St.

Springfield, MA 01104

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/08/13

Rodriguez-Santana, Carmen

154 Oak St.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Chapter: 13

Filing Date: 06/30/13

Santiago, Bonaventa

1034 Carew St.

Springfield, MA 01104

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/12/13

Satenspiel, Robert

109 Sequena Dr.

Otis, MA 01253

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/15/13

St. Hilaire, Shannon M.

a/k/a Parker, Shannon M.

519 East River St.

Lot 101

Orange, MA 01364

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Stewart, Kathleen B.

5 Crosby St.

Great Barrington, MA 01230

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/02/13

Sullivan, Thomas A.

Sullivan, Janet L.

161-A Montague City Road

Greenfield, MA 01301

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/01/13

Thompson, Wilfred E.

Thompson, Ann Marie

a/k/a Isles, Ann Marie

131 Hope St.

Greenfield, MA 01301

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Velez, Joseph B.

Velez, Theresa P.

234 Oak St.

Indian Orchard, MA 01151

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/11/13

Wasilewski, Heather

112 Hampden Road

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Wilbur, Robert W.

Bertera-Wilbur, Jacklyn H.

1211 Carew St.

Springfield, MA 01104

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/12/13

Zavala, Jorge L.

Zavala, Lynn M.

106 Newland St.

Springfield, MA 01107

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 07/05/13

Real Estate Transactions

Departments Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

ASHFIELD

396 Buckland Road

Ashfield, MA 01330

Amount: $165,000

Buyer: Nelson Howes

Seller: Roger E. Howes

Date: 07/05/13

234 West Road

Ashfield, MA 01330

Amount: $215,000

Buyer: Carol A. O’Connell

Seller: Yvette Legall

Date: 07/03/13

BERNARDSTON

243 Bald Mountain Road

Bernardston, MA 01337

Amount: $277,000

Buyer: Matthew O. Trombley

Seller: Amy L. Slocum

Date: 07/10/13

DEERFIELD

14 Dickinson St.

Greenfield, MA 01301

Amount: $214,500

Buyer: George A. Lapenta

Seller: Ethan M. Wilkins

Date: 07/10/13

218 Greenfield Road

Deerfield, MA 01373

Amount: $467,500

Buyer: Gideon Porth

Seller: Francis G. Sobieski

Date: 07/02/13

16 Jones Road

Deerfield, MA 01342

Amount: $400,000

Buyer: Brian J. Carney

Seller: Eugene A. Rice

Date: 07/01/13

24 Kelleher Dr.

Deerfield, MA 01373

Amount: $252,000

Buyer: Hollianne B. Rappe

Seller: Edward W. Pepyne

Date: 07/03/13

35 Meadow Lane

Greenfield, MA 01301

Amount: $302,500

Buyer: Susan N. Lemeshow

Seller: James C. Pelletier

Date: 07/12/13

GREENFIELD

14 Carol Lane

Greenfield, MA 01301

Amount: $202,000

Buyer: Justin M. Allenby

Seller: William R. Perry

Date: 07/02/13

235 Federal St.

Greenfield, MA 01301

Amount: $425,000

Buyer: Florence Saving Bank

Seller: Kyprea LLC

Date: 07/01/13

3 Park St.

Greenfield, MA 01301

Amount: $175,750

Buyer: Bank New York Mellon

Seller: Wayne P. Kellogg

Date: 07/01/13

134 Wells St.

Greenfield, MA 01301

Amount: $160,000

Buyer: MHFA

Seller: Christen M. Wilcox

Date: 07/05/13

33 Woodleigh Ave.

Greenfield, MA 01301

Amount: $188,000

Buyer: Francis J. Twarog

Seller: Armando A. Bresciano

Date: 07/03/13

LEVERETT

32 Laurel Hill Dr.

Leverett, MA 01054

Amount: $500,000

Buyer: Leonard Strauss

Seller: Peter Longiaru

Date: 07/11/13

MONTAGUE

3 H St.

Montague, MA 01376

Amount: $173,000

Buyer: Andrew S. Toomajian

Seller: Christipher J. Pletcher

Date: 07/09/13

39 Oakman St.

Montague, MA 01376

Amount: $143,500

Buyer: Debra Beck

Seller: Mark D. Letourneau

Date: 07/12/13

NEW SALEM

357 Petersham Road

New Salem, MA 01355

Amount: $140,000

Buyer: Edward A. Mallett

Seller: Michael A. Lombard

Date: 07/01/13

NORTHFIELD

68 Pierson Road

Northfield, MA 01360

Amount: $116,667

Buyer: Mark K. Trumbull

Seller: Trumbull, John C., (Estate)

Date: 07/01/13

ORANGE

110 Drew Blvd.

Orange, MA 01364

Amount: $115,000

Buyer: Asam Stacey

Seller: South Middlesex Non Prof. Housing

Date: 07/12/13

125 Drew Blvd.

Orange, MA 01364

Amount: $127,000

Buyer: Eva Raynolds

Date: 07/12/13

20 Shingle Brook Road

Orange, MA 01364

Amount: $130,500

Buyer: Jason S. Rushford

Seller: Lesley J. Henley

Date: 07/01/13

245 Tully Road

Orange, MA 01364

Amount: $250,000

Buyer: David F. Bardsley

Seller: Stephen G. Thompson

Date: 07/01/13

98 Warwick Road

Orange, MA 01364

Amount: $147,500

Buyer: Aaron J. Stafford

Seller: Joanna L. Fisher

Date: 07/10/13

SUNDERLAND

31 Howard Hepburn Dr.

Sunderland, MA 01375

Amount: $300,000

Buyer: Robert E. Sabola

Seller: Frank R. Judice

Date: 07/09/13

122 Old Amherst Road

Sunderland, MA 01375

Amount: $126,900

Buyer: Valley Building Co. Inc.

Seller: Beneficial MA Inc.

Date: 07/12/13

40 Reservation Road

Sunderland, MA 01375

Amount: $270,000

Buyer: Ilana L. Schmitt

Seller: Michael L. Cendrowski

Date: 07/05/13

WENDELL

55 Morse Village Road

Wendell, MA 01379

Amount: $120,000

Buyer: Penny A. Fernet

Seller: Virginia E. Schimmel

Date: 07/08/13

WHATELY

21 State Road

Whately, MA 01093

Amount: $235,000

Buyer: Evelyn Lorenzi-Quinones

Seller: April Realty Investments

Date: 07/02/13

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

600 Cooper St.

Agawam, MA 01001

Amount: $139,500

Buyer: Sergey Bratnichenko

Seller: Samuel J. Misischia

Date: 07/08/13

34 Corey St.

Agawam, MA 01001

Amount: $220,000

Buyer: Meaghen J. Serra

Seller: Raymond J. Gobeille

Date: 07/12/13

15 Farmington Circle

Agawam, MA 01001

Amount: $609,500

Buyer: Stephen B. Pudles

Seller: Hillside Dev. Corp.

Date: 07/12/13

130 Walnut St.

Agawam, MA 01001

Amount: $247,800

Buyer: DJJ Investments LLC

Seller: Alexander Sokolson

Date: 07/12/13

232 Walnut St.

Agawam, MA 01001

Amount: $155,241

Buyer: US Bank NA

Seller: Lisa Pepper

Date: 07/10/13

60 Willow Brook Dr.

Agawam, MA 01001

Amount: $261,000

Buyer: Rohit Patel

Seller: Roda, Debra Ann, (Estate)

Date: 07/01/13

BRIMFIELD

61 John Haley Road

Brimfield, MA 01010

Amount: $300,000

Buyer: Brian E. Bigos

Seller: Marc N. Riel

Date: 07/01/13

351 Sturbridge Road

Brimfield, MA 01010

Amount: $250,299

Buyer: Ralph W. Nichols

Seller: Deutsche Bank National

Date: 07/03/13

CHICOPEE

1 Better Way

Chicopee, MA 01022

Amount: $8,391,700

Buyer: Avery Products Corp.

Seller: Avery Dennison Office

Date: 07/12/13

8 Bonneta Circle

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $142,000

Buyer: Kenneth Schreiber

Seller: Mainville, Bertha, (Estate)

Date: 07/12/13

259 Britton St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $130,000

Buyer: Dale J. Thouin

Seller: Gregoire, Joseph F., (Estate)

Date: 07/08/13

67 Cochran St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $267,000

Buyer: James M. Niedbala

Seller: Gary S. Toth

Date: 07/08/13

34 Como Dr.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $228,500

Buyer: Diana M. Lorenzo

Seller: Steven M. Page

Date: 07/10/13

72 Florence St.

Chicopee, MA 01013

Amount: $134,100

Buyer: Gary M. Bisiniere

Seller: Marie F. Lonczak

Date: 07/12/13

171 Grattan St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $227,000

Buyer: Nelson Goncalves

Seller: Helder Carvalho

Date: 07/01/13

19 Hillman St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $165,000

Buyer: Audrey Foster

Seller: Gerald R. Slota

Date: 07/12/13

527 McKinstry Ave.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $185,500

Buyer: Christina Turner

Seller: Russell Nubile

Date: 07/09/13

32 Morris St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $125,000

Buyer: MHFA

Seller: Oleg Moskvich

Date: 07/03/13

44 Schley St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Amount: $152,000

Buyer: Luis Diaz

Seller: David J. Klofas

Date: 07/09/13

EAST LONGMEADOW

162 Braeburn Road

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $195,000

Buyer: Brianna Perry

Seller: Luis F. Gutierrez

Date: 07/08/13

3 Canterbury Circle

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $373,800

Buyer: Michael D. Deflorio

Seller: Todd Z. Hayden

Date: 07/03/13

119 Dearborn St.

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $215,500

Buyer: Tabitha L. Mirsola

Seller: Jodi L. Terrell

Date: 07/01/13

40 Glendale Road

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $195,000

Buyer: Timothy R. Manning

Seller: Paul F. Manship

Date: 07/12/13

181 Hampden Road

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $131,500

Buyer: Matthew C. Trinceri

Seller: Leone, Joseph R., (Estate)

Date: 07/09/13

406 North Main St.

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $861,400

Buyer: Pecousic Mabrook LLC

Seller: Heritage Park

Date: 07/01/13

166 Porter Road

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $287,500

Buyer: Joseph B. Hutchison

Seller: Edward A. Clark

Date: 07/03/13

95 Ridge Road

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $314,000

Buyer: William R. Dennis

Seller: Charles H. Gray

Date: 07/08/13

10 Shelby Lane

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $320,000

Buyer: Wendy E. Osbourne

Seller: Winston E. Moore

Date: 07/02/13

29 Thompkins Ave.

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $263,000

Buyer: Harold House

Seller: Jessica E. Martin

Date: 07/08/13

118 Thompkins Ave.

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $153,900

Buyer: Matthew L. Weiss

Seller: Andrew J. Porcello

Date: 07/02/13

HAMPDEN

152 Allen St.

Hampden, MA 01036

Amount: $126,597

Buyer: Laurels RT

Seller: USA HUD

Date: 07/09/13

112 North Road

Hampden, MA 01036

Amount: $125,000

Buyer: Melissa L. McCarthy

Seller: Historical Society Of Hampden

Date: 07/10/13

HOLLAND

2 Bennett Lane

Holland, MA 01521

Amount: $245,000

Buyer: Eric J. Roppolo

Seller: Nicholas C. Kahl

Date: 07/02/13

54 Union Road

Holland, MA 01521

Amount: $145,000

Buyer: John W. Buckley

Seller: Elvis W. Dyer

Date: 07/09/13

HOLYOKE

49 Claremont Ave.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Amount: $159,900

Buyer: Sebastian R. Labonte

Seller: Frank B. Munson

Date: 07/01/13

25 Clinton Ave.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Amount: $151,000

Buyer: Jorge R. Albelo

Seller: Israel Lebron

Date: 07/02/13

75 Congress Ave.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Amount: $162,000

Buyer: Cladi Rodriguez

Seller: Kristina M. Acevedo

Date: 07/02/13

1086 Main St.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Amount: $121,000

Buyer: Shaylyn Fitzell

Seller: Joyce E. Johnson

Date: 07/03/13

1705 Northampton St.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Amount: $217,000

Buyer: 1707 RT

Seller: Matthew L. Donohue

Date: 07/09/13

95 Pearl St.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Buyer: Anne A. Pinkerton

Seller: Mary J. Curtis

Date: 07/01/13

62 Saint James Ave.

Holyoke, MA 01040

Amount: $122,778

Buyer: Midfirst Bank State

Seller: Wendy Ortiz

Date: 07/11/13

LONGMEADOW

281 Converse St.

Longmeadow, MA 01106

Amount: $374,000

Buyer: Anne T. Cavallo

Seller: Gregory Merchant

Date: 07/12/13

6 Farmington Ave.

Longmeadow, MA 01106

Amount: $430,500

Buyer: Matthew E. Galuska

Seller: Michael J. Greiner

Date: 07/01/13

25 Highland St.

Longmeadow, MA 01106

Amount: $325,000

Buyer: Alfonso D. Via

Seller: Daniel M. Bannish

Date: 07/10/13

70 Hopkins Place

Longmeadow, MA 01106

Amount: $255,000

Buyer: Vincent J. Martucci

Seller: Cheryl Mustain

Date: 07/01/13

44 Lincoln Park

Longmeadow, MA 01106

Amount: $181,500

Buyer: Nicholas J. Criscitelli

Seller: Brian E. Leverock

Date: 07/08/13

111 Meadowbrook Road

Longmeadow, MA 01106

Amount: $469,500

Buyer: Gregory M. Merchant

Seller: Adele Miller

Date: 07/12/13

389 Porter Road

Longmeadow, MA 01028

Amount: $205,000

Buyer: Wesley Berrios

Seller: Edward O. Fisk

Date: 07/08/13

12 Primrose Dr.

Longmeadow, MA 01106

Amount: $326,500

Buyer: Owen J. Moriarty

Seller: Grace S. Spingler

Date: 07/10/13

LUDLOW

40 Alfred St.

Ludlow, MA 01056

Amount: $160,000

Buyer: Patti L. Niedzialek

Seller: Timothy J. Boulrice

Date: 07/12/13

13 Berkshire St.

Ludlow, MA 01056

Amount: $157,500

Buyer: Ricardo Varandas

Seller: Christine M. Calheno

Date: 07/02/13

16 Carol St.

Ludlow, MA 01056

Amount: $122,000

Buyer: Brandi G. Hing

Seller: Helder D. Santos

Date: 07/03/13

45 Duke St.

Ludlow, MA 01056

Amount: $118,000

Buyer: Rachel L. Correia

Seller: Antonio Dias

Date: 07/08/13

58 Duke St.

Ludlow, MA 01056

Amount: $115,000

Buyer: Michael J. Kelley

Seller: Dawn M. Fortin

Date: 07/02/13

Olivia Circle

Ludlow, MA 01056

Amount: $130,000

Buyer: Derek Rodrigues

Seller: Rosewood Meadows Inc.

Date: 07/11/13

140 Posner Circle

Ludlow, MA 01056

Amount: $172,000

Buyer: Joshua M. Grandfield

Seller: Kevin J. Pearson

Date: 07/03/13

MONSON

492 Boston Road West

Monson, MA 01069

Amount: $120,000

Buyer: Michael E. Pelland

Seller: Keith E. Bourbonnais

Date: 07/11/13

20 High St.

Monson, MA 01057

Amount: $219,900

Buyer: Pamela M. Wentworth

Seller: Rebecca J. Provost

Date: 07/10/13

14 Maxwell Road

Monson, MA 01057

Amount: $241,000

Buyer: Kellie J. Miller

Seller: Leslie B. Halpern

Date: 07/03/13

PALMER

176 Boston Road

Palmer, MA 01069

Amount: $325,000

Buyer: Michael Laventure

Seller: Douglas L. Turley

Date: 07/01/13

34 Grove St.

Palmer, MA 01069

Amount: $152,222

Buyer: Midfirst Bank State

Seller: Paul D. Clark

Date: 07/03/13

2020 Pine St.

Palmer, MA 01080

Amount: $128,500

Buyer: Laura C. Courchesne

Seller: Mary A. Sainato

Date: 07/01/13

33 Ruggles St.

Palmer, MA 01080

Amount: $147,000

Buyer: 33-35 Ruggles Street RT

Seller: NSP Residential LLC

Date: 07/12/13

123 State St.

Palmer, MA 01069

Amount: $179,000

Buyer: Joshua P. Labarre

Seller: Janice L. Chmura

Date: 07/10/13

RUSSELL

81 River St.

Russell, MA 01071

Amount: $125,000

Buyer: Heather Washington

Seller: Robert N. Tingley

Date: 07/01/13

SPRINGFIELD

14 Amanda St.

Springfield, MA 01118

Amount: $142,000

Buyer: Sanh C. Tu

Seller: Nextgen Inv. Group LLC

Date: 07/12/13

62 Bartels St.

Springfield, MA 01128

Amount: $165,000

Buyer: William V. Plourde

Seller: Cassanelli, Frieda S., (Estate)

Date: 07/08/13

18 Bellevue Ave.

Springfield, MA 01108

Amount: $164,000

Buyer: Michel Campbell-Langford

Seller: Claudette C. Smart

Date: 07/09/13

227 Berkshire Ave.

Springfield, MA 01109

Amount: $410,000

Buyer: Stavros Center For Independent Living

Seller: Thibodeau Realty LLC

Date: 07/05/13

118 Catalpa Terrace

Springfield, MA 01119

Amount: $159,500

Buyer: Maria S. Mendez-Marchese

Seller: Kelly S. Eich

Date: 07/09/13

30 Corona St.

Springfield, MA 01104

Amount: $138,256

Buyer: Beneficial MA Inc.

Seller: Jose A. Medina

Date: 07/02/13

24 Daviston St.

Springfield, MA 01108

Amount: $127,800

Buyer: Braeden J. Dion

Seller: Utako Dwyer

Date: 07/12/13

28 East Allen Ridge Road

Springfield, MA 01118

Amount: $144,500

Buyer: Freddie Ladson

Seller: CDM Props. LLC

Date: 07/08/13

54 Edgewood St.

Springfield, MA 01109

Amount: $125,000

Buyer: Stacy E. Forrette

Seller: Ali Real Estate Inv. LLC

Date: 07/09/13

177 Ferncliff Ave.

Springfield, MA 01119

Amount: $175,000

Buyer: Multi Cultural Community Services

Seller: Martin J. Ochtabec

Date: 07/02/13

137 Gillette Ave.

Springfield, MA 01118

Amount: $163,900

Buyer: Anouson Souvannasane

Seller: Michael Jonnes

Date: 07/01/13

87 Fountain St.

Springfield, MA 01108

Amount: $143,000

Buyer: Miguel A. Velez

Seller: Regina L. Wong

Date: 07/11/13

63 Garvey Dr.

Springfield, MA 01109

Amount: $168,500

Buyer: Daniel L. Ford

Seller: Wayne R. Everett

Date: 07/08/13

14 Hartwick St.

Springfield, MA 01108

Amount: $125,000

Buyer: Stephen Gasco

Seller: James B. Mellitt

Date: 07/12/13

56 Kenyon St.

Springfield, MA 01109

Amount: $123,500

Buyer: Diane B. Davidson

Seller: Ada E. Torres

Date: 07/03/13

630 Main St.

Springfield, MA 01105

Amount: $850,000

Buyer: F. L. Roberts & Co. Inc.

Seller: 630 Main Street LLP

Date: 07/10/13

17 Old Brook Road

Springfield, MA 01118

Amount: $128,500

Buyer: Clara Y. Moyet-Gonzalez

Seller: Madeline E. Midghall

Date: 07/09/13

281 Parker St.

Springfield, MA 01151

Amount: $280,000

Buyer: Unifirst Corp.

Seller: City Of Springfield

Date: 07/12/13

134 S. Shore Dr.

Springfield, MA 01118

Amount: $176,000

Buyer: Brian J. Ward

Seller: Diana C. Shatzer

Date: 07/12/13

15 Signal Hill Circle

Springfield, MA 01118

Amount: $170,000

Buyer: Pasquale Darco RET

Seller: Campagnari Construction LLC

Date: 07/09/13

222 Spikenard Circle

Springfield, MA 01129

Amount: $152,500

Buyer: Jeremiah A. Begley

Seller: Ana I. Gomez

Date: 07/08/13

136 Webber St.

Springfield, MA 01108

Amount: $144,900

Buyer: Briana M. O’Malley

Seller: Anthony Carnevale

Date: 07/08/13

1412 Wilbraham Road

Springfield, MA 01119

Amount: $128,900

Buyer: Marsha M. Ivey

Seller: Courtney E. Boron

Date: 07/11/13

SOUTHWICK

3 Beach Road

Southwick, MA 01077

Amount: $117,900

Buyer: Edward A. Nitsch

Seller: Loriane Sylvain

Date: 07/09/13

30 Berkshire Ave.

Southwick, MA 01077

Amount: $127,000

Buyer: Alan J. Selden

Seller: Dorothea E. Neuwirth

Date: 07/10/13

79 Bungalow St.

Southwick, MA 01077

Amount: $165,000

Buyer: John A. Gentile

Seller: Ronald Vandervliet

Date: 07/10/13

96 South Longyard Road

Southwick, MA 01077

Amount: $259,900

Buyer: Laura A. White

Seller: Albert L. Deloreto

Date: 07/01/13

WALES

77 Mount Hitchcock Road

Wales, MA 01081

Amount: $317,252

Buyer: FNMA

Seller: Justin K. Roussey

Date: 07/01/13

24 Sizer Dr.

Wales, MA 01081

Amount: $159,900

Buyer: Gary Como

Seller: Terrance J. O’Keefe

Date: 07/02/13

WESTFIELD

66 Ampad Road

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $3,350,000

Buyer: A. Duie Pyle Inc.

Seller: AMPD GP

Date: 07/01/13

53 Bailey Dr.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $355,000

Buyer: Sruti M. Brahmbhatt

Seller: John T. Highberger

Date: 07/01/13

10 Conner Ave.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $143,900

Buyer: Oleg A. Katykhin

Seller: Peter J. Colo

Date: 07/12/13

440 Falley Dr.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $437,400

Buyer: Jason P. Queenin

Seller: John C. Healey

Date: 07/12/13

41 Flynn Meadow Road

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $1,145,000

Buyer: RSP Realty LLC

Seller: Cowles & Cowles LLC

Date: 07/12/13

5 Fowler St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $177,500

Buyer: Julie M. Cruz

Seller: Christopher R. Quill

Date: 07/11/13

20 Fowler Ave.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $154,600

Buyer: Jill A. Packard

Seller: Peter A. Ouellette

Date: 07/12/13

95 Franklin St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $199,900

Buyer: Marcus Allen

Seller: Tina D. Avery

Date: 07/11/13

114 Joseph Ave.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $175,000

Buyer: Sarah Bulmer

Seller: Kathleen S. Loomis

Date: 07/12/13

68 King St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $139,900

Buyer: Ru Zhao

Seller: Sabine C. Roskey

Date: 07/03/13

9 Laurel Ave.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $174,350

Buyer: Benjamin L. Standish

Seller: Sylvia J. Huff

Date: 07/12/13

129 Long Pond Road

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $162,000

Buyer: US Bank NA

Seller: Patricia R. Cavanaugh

Date: 07/05/13

57 Meadow St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $120,000

Buyer: 358 MLC LLC

Seller: Robert Hoernig

Date: 07/08/13

129 Montgomery St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $174,000

Buyer: Eric A. Collea

Seller: Richard P. Rix

Date: 07/12/13

24 Pheasant Dr.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $265,500

Buyer: Thomas S. Roskey

Seller: Carrie E. Gwozdik

Date: 07/03/13

22 Princeton St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $175,000

Buyer: Anthony R. Pedolzky

Seller: Erin E. Pedolzky

Date: 07/11/13

17 Rita Mary Way

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $385,000

Buyer: Brian T. Houser

Seller: Kristen M. Gladu

Date: 07/12/13

18 Toledo Ave.

Westfield, MA 01085

Amount: $287,000

Buyer: Jorge L. Badillo

Seller: Cristina Camerota

Date: 07/03/13

WILBRAHAM

5 Decorie Dr.

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $227,000

Buyer: David R. Irwin

Seller: Willis E. Post

Date: 07/09/13

5 Deerfield Dr.

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $535,000

Buyer: Harry L. Hoar

Seller: Mario A. Grosso

Date: 07/12/13

895 Main St.

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $236,000

Buyer: Beth A. Steil

Seller: Michael R. Harrison

Date: 07/12/13

46 Monson Road

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $165,000

Buyer: Sandalwood Stables LLC

Seller: Harold E. Porter

Date: 07/03/13

22 Pomeroy St.

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $225,000

Buyer: Ramez Y. Matta

Seller: John F. Maynard

Date: 07/10/13

4 Rochford Dr.

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $227,000

Buyer: Douglas L. Turley

Seller: Janice E. Wheeler

Date: 07/01/13

203 Stony Hill Road

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $356,000

Buyer: Elizabeth M. Cherella

Seller: Rakesh Talati

Date: 07/11/13

1084 Stony Hill Road

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $121,100

Buyer: Zachary K. Pueschel

Seller: Lois J. Wright

Date: 07/03/13

7 Victoria Lane

Wilbraham, MA 01095

Amount: $445,000

Buyer: N. P. Dodge

Seller: James G. Lane

Date: 07/12/13

WEST SPRINGFIELD

217 Ashley Ave.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $147,500

Buyer: Maria Villandry

Seller: Ann M. Clark

Date: 07/01/13

89 Austin Lane

West Springfield, MA 01013

Amount: $450,000

Buyer: Richard F. Spafford

Seller: Seth A. Pagliaro

Date: 07/12/13

32 Chapin St.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $122,000

Buyer: Ram K. Sanyasi

Seller: Robin K. Dunn

Date: 07/03/13

27 Chester St.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $215,000

Buyer: Bryan M. Bengle

Seller: Santino U. Valentino

Date: 07/12/13

454 Gooseberry Road

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $225,500

Buyer: Andrew J. McCoubrey

Seller: Robert A. Gray

Date: 07/12/13

118 Labelle St.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $159,900

Buyer: Peter V. Prewandowski

Seller: Christopher P. Seymour

Date: 07/09/13

105 Meadowbrook Ave.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $219,000

Buyer: Gary D. Hagar

Seller: Ann M. Higgins

Date: 07/08/13

913 Piper Road

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $133,000

Buyer: Aaron K. Jonah

Seller: Laurel E. Jonah

Date: 07/02/13

131 Queen Ave.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $164,000

Buyer: Nathan H. Bench

Seller: Christine Serani

Date: 07/11/13

437 Riverdale St.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $705,000

Buyer: Aum Sai Ram LLC

Seller: Siddhi Dhata LLC

Date: 07/11/13

21 Sean Louis Circle

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $417,500

Buyer: Steven M. Page

Seller: Diana P. Willis-Moriarty

Date: 07/10/13

122 Westwood Dr.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $285,000

Buyer: Robert A. Gray

Seller: Peter K. Sacuta

Date: 07/12/13

174 Wolcott Ave.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $188,000

Buyer: Edward C. Sullivan

Seller: Richard Spafford

Date: 07/11/13

176 Woodbrook Terrace

West Springfield, MA 01089

Amount: $246,000

Buyer: Joseph C. Kelley

Seller: Sherrill K. Brooks

Date: 07/05/13

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

25 Flintlock Lane

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $288,000

Buyer: Kevin A. Resmussen

Seller: Judith McNamara

Date: 07/02/13

145 Heatherstone Road

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $319,500

Buyer: Jesse S. Lingo

Seller: Anne Brudevold

Date: 07/10/13

54 Larkspur Dr.

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $460,000

Buyer: James H. Barnhill

Seller: Paula S. Russel RET

Date: 07/12/13

647 Main St.

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $151,000

Buyer: Joel M. Greenbaum

Seller: West Coast Realty Services

Date: 07/12/13

480 Middle St.

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $126,250

Buyer: Sara A. Eddy

Seller: Courtney P. Gordon

Date: 07/12/13

57 Olympia Dr.

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $1,200,000

Buyer: 57 Olympia Drive LLC

Seller: SIG EP Housing Of MA

Date: 07/03/13

276 Pelham Road

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $235,000

Buyer: Mark Hawkowl

Seller: James P. Nolan

Date: 07/11/13

506 Pine St.

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $305,000

Buyer: Josiah S. Litant

Seller: Katherine A. Tooke

Date: 07/10/13

451 South Pleasant St.

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $244,000

Buyer: Michael A. Floquet

Seller: Susan M. Mallett

Date: 07/01/13

2 Wintergreen Circle

Amherst, MA 01002

Amount: $389,900

Buyer: John A. Tesauro

Seller: Farhang Seihoun

Date: 07/12/13

BELCHERTOWN

411 East St.

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $370,000

Buyer: Joseph D. Bernard

Seller: Pamela M. Wentworth

Date: 07/03/13

38 Jensen St.

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $167,310

Buyer: Household Finance Corp 2

Seller: Debra P. Legrand

Date: 07/02/13

54 Jensen St.

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $196,400

Buyer: Matthew P. Valliere

Seller: Ansel Zinter

Date: 07/10/13

169 Munsell St.

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $352,000

Buyer: Filip Z. Muszynski

Seller: Susan J. Ruiterman

Date: 07/11/13

463 South Gulf Road

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $760,000

Buyer: Donald G. Carden

Seller: William L. Pohl

Date: 07/09/13

141 State St.

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $240,000

Buyer: Sophias Rental LLC

Seller: Wendy A. Bowers

Date: 07/01/13

399 Stebbins St.

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $325,000

Buyer: Katie Bodzinski

Seller: Francis M. Garrow

Date: 07/01/13

136 Summit St.

Belchertown, MA 01007

Amount: $180,278

Buyer: FNMA

Seller: Omar A. Piedra

Date: 07/10/13

EASTHAMPTON

9 Bayberry Dr.

Easthampton, MA 01027

Amount: $430,000

Buyer: Haytham M. Omar

Seller: Sam K. Vong

Date: 07/01/13

165 East St.

Easthampton, MA 01027

Amount: $115,000

Buyer: Jess D. Bemben

Seller: Pursuant, Stanislawa K., (Estate)

Date: 07/12/13

34 Glendale St.

Amount: $224,500

Buyer: Andrea M. Robitallie

Seller: Campbell, Gerard L., (Estate)

Date: 07/10/13

27 Holly Circle

Easthampton, MA 01027

Amount: $387,000

Buyer: David J. Strong

Seller: Diane L. Tsoulas

Date: 07/12/13

38 Pomeroy St.

Easthampton, MA 01027

Amount: $195,000

Buyer: Glenn T. Dahlquist

Seller: Jodi R. Lacoff

Date: 07/11/13

5 Truehart Dr.

Easthampton, MA 01027

Amount: $215,000

Buyer: Daniel A. Stern

Seller: Susan M. Pouliot

Date: 07/03/13

GRANBY

384 Batchelor St.

Granby, MA 01033

Amount: $261,900

Buyer: Christopher J. Durbin

Seller: Peggy E. Gay

Date: 07/05/13

179 East St.

Granby, MA 01033

Amount: $183,000

Buyer: Donald J. Duda

Seller: Gloria M. Shute

Date: 07/11/13

HADLEY

46 Rocky Hill Road

Hadley, MA 01035

Amount: $440,000

Buyer: William C. Podolak

Seller: Koloski, John F., (Estate)

Date: 07/10/13

17 West St.

Hadley, MA 01035

Amount: $512,502

Buyer: Benjamin Lenard

Seller: Mitziko Sawada

Date: 07/01/13

HATFIELD

41 Depot Road

Hatfield, MA 01038

Amount: $200,000

Buyer: Nourse Realty LLC

Seller: Belden FT

Date: 07/02/13

115 Elm St.

Hatfield, MA 01038

Amount: $240,000

Buyer: Diane L. Tsoulas

Seller: Hatfield Village LLC

Date: 07/12/13

7 Gore Ave.

Hatfield, MA 01038

Amount: $236,500

Buyer: Kathryn L. Beaupre

Seller: Jones, Jack D., (Estate)

Date: 07/10/13

NORTHAMPTON

57 Autumn Dr.

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $210,000

Buyer: Kara M. Sullivan

Seller: Laura W. Cummings

Date: 07/01/13

1195 Burts Pit Road

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $234,000

Buyer: Michael A. Purdy

Seller: Karen A. Milliken

Date: 07/12/13

51 Hatfield St.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $215,000

Buyer: Lillian Belmont RET

Seller: Amelia Wright

Date: 07/11/13

8 High Meadow Road

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $380,000

Buyer: Jara M. Sirois

Seller: Jyl L. Felman

Date: 07/01/13

162 Main St.

Northampton, MA 01053

Amount: $395,000

Buyer: Sven Huggins

Seller: Debra L. McNeice

Date: 07/08/13

25 Maple Ave.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $390,000

Buyer: Thomas T. Gu

Seller: Phyllis Zalesky

Date: 07/01/13

4 Market St.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $273,400

Buyer: 4-6 Market Street LLC

Seller: 4 Market St. LLC

Date: 07/03/13

66 Maynard Road

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $340,000

Buyer: Mark D. Mantegna

Seller: Crane, Helena J., (Estate)

Date: 07/09/13

250 North Maple St.

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $200,000

Buyer: Adam C. Holist

Seller: Debra B. Costello

Date: 07/12/13

15 Nonotuck St.

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $212,500

Buyer: Gregory A. Baker

Seller: Kanus Shallcross NT

Date: 07/09/13

18 Perkins Ave.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $324,000

Buyer: John E. Garber

Seller: Mark Dubeck

Date: 07/01/13

46 Pilgrim Dr.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $400,000

Buyer: Jeanne Comeau

Seller: Clute, Nartha, (Estate)

Date: 07/03/13

24 Pleasant St.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $195,000

Buyer: Lucy Peterson

Seller: Querencia TR

Date: 07/01/13

47 Revell Ave.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $300,000

Buyer: Christopher W. Lucas

Seller: Helene J. Ruskowski

Date: 07/01/13

111 Riverside Dr.

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $281,450

Buyer: Benjamin T. Weiss

Seller: Endreweit, Marie E., (Estate)

Date: 07/11/13

91 Round Hill Road

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $1,700,000

Buyer: Edgecliff TR

Seller: Kathiryn M. Carpenter LT

Date: 07/05/13

67 Ryan Road

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $260,000

Buyer: Rachel L. Decker

Seller: Brian A. Bordeaux

Date: 07/01/13

18 Stoddard St.

Northampton, MA 01060

Amount: $288,000

Buyer: Deirdre Cabral

Seller: Joseph S. Callahan

Date: 07/01/13

62 Straw Ave.

Northampton, MA 01062

Amount: $356,000

Buyer: Brian Baldi

Seller: Daniel Sirois

Date: 07/01/13

SOUTH HADLEY

2 Birchwood Place

South Hadley, MA 01075

Amount: $202,500

Buyer: Martha L. Vivan

Seller: Michelle H. Genest

Date: 07/02/13

5 Grove St.

South Hadley, MA 01075

Amount: $179,000

Buyer: Scott D. Andrews

Seller: Daniel Smith

Date: 07/01/13

10 Lakeview Ave.

South Hadley, MA 01075

Amount: $192,400

Buyer: Neil L. Desroches

Seller: Richard F. Marjanski

Date: 07/12/13

190 Mosier St.

South Hadley, MA 01075

Amount: $410,000

Buyer: Daniel P. Smith

Seller: Richard D. Kannenberg

Date: 07/01/13

9 Valley View Dr.

South Hadley, MA 01075

Amount: $410,000

Buyer: Jonathan S. Maxwell

Seller: Travis J. Willard

Date: 07/02/13

16 Virginia Dr.

South Hadley, MA 01075

Amount: $226,000

Buyer: Joshua A. Pearson

Seller: Patricia H. Mullen

Date: 07/12/13

SOUTHAMPTON

44 Bissonnette Circle

Southampton, MA 01073

Amount: $409,000

Buyer: Daniel P. Lech

Seller: G&F Custom Built Homes

Date: 07/02/13

74 Glendale Road

Southampton, MA 01073

Amount: $385,000

Buyer: Donald S. Bozek

Seller: Richard L. Truehart

Date: 07/01/13

27 Manhan Road

Southampton, MA 01073

Amount: $480,000

Buyer: Colby Brown

Seller: Timothy R. Deshaies

82 Russellville Road

Southampton, MA 01073

Amount: $197,000

Buyer: Eric S. Shepard

Seller: James S. Reese

Date: 07/01/13

24 Strong Road

Southampton, MA 01073

Amount: $275,000

Buyer: James S. Reese

Seller: Eric A. Reynolds

Date: 07/08/13

WARE

19 Berkshire Dr.

Ware, MA 01082

Amount: $222,500

Buyer: Jason Massenger

Seller: Steven N. Rineman

Date: 07/12/13

88 Dugan Road

Ware, MA 01082

Amount: $160,000

Buyer: Lynn A. Liquornik

Seller: Michael A. Topor

Date: 07/03/13

217 Greenwich Road

Ware, MA 01082

Amount: $242,910

Buyer: Jeffrey D. Jacobs

Seller: Jimmie Daniels

Date: 07/12/13

16 Meadow Road

Ware, MA 01082

Amount: $130,000

Buyer: Michael E. Guenette

Seller: Wendy Anderson

Date: 07/02/13

278 Osborne Road

Ware, MA 01082

Amount: $125,000

Buyer: Joel J. Harder

Seller: Patrick J. Krol

Date: 07/03/13

310 Palmer Road

Amount: $136,500

Buyer: Michael J. O’Connel

Seller: Gura, Stephanie R., (Estate)

Date: 07/03/13

WESTHAMPTON

10 Edwards Road

Westhampton, MA 01027

Amount: $120,000

Buyer: Jeffrey David Morse IRA

Seller: Timothy F. Tobin

Date: 07/02/13

59 Montague Road

Westhampton, MA 01027

Amount: $402,500

Buyer: George H. Hollywood

Seller: Jennifer A. Smith

Date: 07/01/13

213 Northwest Road

Westhampton, MA 01027

Amount: $292,000

Buyer: Deborah A. Rocque

Seller: Suzanne O. Wolf

Date: 07/01/13

WORTHINGTON

227 Scott Road

Worthington, MA 01098

Amount: $300,000

Buyer: Conrad Bauer

Seller: Mary E. Maclean

Date: 07/12/13

Building Permits

Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of July 2013.

AMHERST

Amherst Pelham Regional School District

21 Mattoon St.

$264,000 — Renovation of athletic locker room

Institute for Training and Development Inc.

8 Sunset Ave.

$10,000 — Construct rated firewall

Northland Investment Group

188 East Hadley Road

$40,000 — Interior renovation

ServiceNet Inc.

186 Harkness Road

$70,000 — Interior renovation

CHICOPEE

Atlantic Construction

18 Arlington St.

$30,000 — Reroof and new siding

GREENFIELD

Four Rivers Educational Foundation

248 Colrain Road

$500,000 — Connect two-story addition to north side of high school

Greenfield Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses

290 Shelburne Road

$400,000 — Construct new church building

Greenfield Corporate Center

101 Munson St.

$185,000 — Install elevator plus foundation

PDV Inc.

280 Main St.

$3,500 — Construct a file storage room

Stoneleigh Burnham School

574 Bernardston Road

$20,000 — Install 7,000-square-foot ceiling cover

HADLEY

Central Rock Gym

165 Russell St.

$25,000 — Install accessibility lift

Hollrock Realty, LLC

294 Russell St.

$4,000 — Renovation for office space

Paul Dibenedetto

8 Railroad St.

$31,000 — Create 1,565 square feet of space for new restaurant

LUDLOW

Big Y Supermarket

433 Center St.

$221,000 — Alterations

Gary Guilmette

70 Hubbard St.

$11,000 — Reshingle

Red Barn Motors

473 Holyoke St.

$1,000 — Alterations

Waters Edge Condominium Association

1 Waters Edge Dr.

$191,000 — New siding

NORTHAMPTON

Smith Child Care Center Inc.

557 Easthampton Road

$168,000 — Interior renovation and new roof

Smith College

76 Elm St.

$20,500 — Strip and shingle roof

Smith College

8 Paradise Rd.

$97,000 — Construct accessible entry with ramp and an accessible bathroom

Smith College

8 Paradise Road

$350,000 — Interior renovations at President’s House

PALMER

Palmer Land Holdings

105 North St.

$5,073,795 — Install 8,448 solar modules for ground-mounted solar field

Walnut Street Café

8 Walnut St.

$5,934 — New roof

SOUTH HADLEY

Mount Holyoke College

73 College St.

$47,000 — Interior renovations

South Hadley High School

153 Newton St.

$754,000 — New roof

SPRINGFIELD

Western New England University

1215 Wilbraham Road

$1,300,000 — 8,600-square-foot addition and renovation to existing three-story building

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Stephen Pack

43 Elmdale St.

$70,000 — Re-roof and replace windows

Wine and Cheese Barn

1305 Memorial Dr.

$50,000 — Erect 1,800-square-foot pole barn

PictureThis

Departments Picture This

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

Dirty Money

Six Flags New England recently presented buckets of dirty coins collected from a fountain in the theme park to the YMCA of Greater Springfield, in support of the creation of the new Agawam YMCA Wellness & Program Family Center. The Y team spent the afternoon at United Bank, also a great supporter of the Y, counting and cleaning the money, which amounted to just under $2,000. Left: Lori Stickles, personal banking officer from United Bank, helps Six Flags mascot Daffy Duck weigh coins after cleaning. Right: Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen (third from right) is flanked by Daffy Duck and Betty Grimaldi, Agawam Y committee member, as Stickles (far right) joins Jennifer Mance, director of Sales & Marketing at Six Flags New England (far left), and volunteers and friends of the Y.

New Digs

A ceremonial groundbreaking marked the official start of construction for two relocated auto dealerships, Northampton Volkswagen and Country Hyundai. The location is the former site of the Kollmorgen manufacturing plant on the corner of King Street and Damon Road in Northampton; the site will relocate the Volkswagen dealership from across Damon Road, and the Hyundai dealership from Greenfield. Both dealerships are slated to open in January 2014. Pictured, from left, are Carolyn Misch, senior land use planner, City of Northampton; Suzanne Beck, executive director of the Northampton Chamber of Commerce; and Carla Cosenzi and Tommy Cosenzi, co-presidents of TommyCar Auto.

Lots of Options

Autos Sections

A chart of area auto dealers

Click here to download the PDF

Entrepreneurial Drive

Autos Sections

Sarat Ford Lincoln Has Been a Long-running Success Story

Jeff Sarat says that taking risks has been a family tradition and will continue to drive their future success.

Jeff Sarat says his family’s lengthy history in the auto business — now approaching 85 years, with three generations of leadership — has been marked by what he called “calculated risk taking.”

And as he talked about manifestations of that operating philosophy, he pointed to the ceiling of the family’s Ford and Lincoln dealership on Springfield Street in Agawam, which he serves as president, and, more specifically, the chandelier that dominates it.

The ornate lighting fixture has come to symbolize what was a huge risk undertaken by his father, Jack, in 1989. As he retold a story he’s relayed often, Jeff said that his grandfather, John, who segued from farming into selling and servicing cars in 1929 and kept a firm hand on decision making within the family business, strongly opposed his son’s plans to expand the dealership across Springfield Street from where it was started.

But Jack pushed ahead with the plan anyway.

“My father had to have the steel delivered at night so my grandfather wouldn’t know,” Jeff recalled. “When the project was done, my grandfather walked in the building, saw that chandelier, and said, ‘Jack, you built a classy place.’ That was his seal of approval.”

There have been many other examples of successful risk taking over the years, from the Sarat’s family’s expansion efforts into Enfield and Northampton — with Ford dealerships operated by Jeff’s brothers, Chris and Scott, respectively — to aggressive expansion into the commercial truck market (more on that later), to recent endeavors, such as a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the Agawam dealership for a service and repair facility that is truly state-of-the-art.

And there are more on the drawing board, especially construction of a dedicated showroom for the Lincoln car line, with construction slated to begin later this year on the site of the now-closed Taylor Rental facility next door to the Agawam dealership.

Such moves represent risks, but they are becoming increasingly necessary in what is a changing, ultra-competitive auto-sales sector, said Jeff, who shares his father’s and grandfather’s entrepreneurial tendencies and drive for continual expansion.

“We’re always trying to grow the business and make it bigger and better,” he explained. “We’re consistently a top-10 dealer, but I’m not really happy with top 10 — I want to be number one.”

For this issue and its focus on auto sales, BusinessWest turns the spotlight on the Sarat family, their expanding auto group, and their plans to continue that pattern of taking calculated risks.

All in the Family

The stock market crash of 1929 was just a few months away when John Sarat, who loved to tinker with the cars being serviced at a local gas station when he wasn’t tending to his vegetable farm, decided to purchase his own gas station in Agawam with a partner.

That venture became increasingly focused on sales, said Jeff, noting that, as the economy went into prolonged freefall, his grandfather had to buy out his partner and somehow slug it out during the Great Depression as a sole proprietor.

He persevered, and his name was still over the door when the next generation, represented by Jack Sarat, started working at the dealership while in grade school, developing a passion for the industry in the process.

“My father never wanted to do anything else,” said Jeff. “He grew up on the lot, pulling weeds, plowing snow, cleaning off the cars … and we were raised the same way.”

The ‘we,’ in this case, are the three members of the third generation who have become involved in the family business — brothers Jeff, Chris, and Scott.

Jeff, the oldest, remembers snow days when the three were in school; before the classmates would head for the sledding hills, they would ride with their father to the dealership to plow and shovel snow, move cars, and handle myriad other assignments.

Along the way, they developed a similar passion for the business and a desire to make it a career.

“Before we built this building in 1989, my father essentially polled us,” said Jeff. “He said, ‘before I go out and spend all this money building a new building, do you guys want to get into the business?’ And we all said ‘yes.’ I was about 14 at the time.”

Today, Jeff Sarat is taking a leadership role in another round of expansion and risk taking that started with a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the service and repair facilities, that gives the Agawam dealership the room and the flexibility to service almost anything on wheels.

“We designed it with six lifts that enable us to pick up anything from a Ford Focus to a Ford school bus or a motorhome — that’s up to 72,000 pounds,” said Sarat, adding that, in response to both recognized need and trends within the industry, the new facility was designed to maximize efficiency and thus save time and money.

Elaborating, he said the large service bay allows two technicians to work on three lifts each, which means that if a part for a car on a lift is delayed, the technician can move on to the next job on the neighboring lift and not waste time switching vehicles.

“This is unheard of in this industry,” said Sarat. “Nobody gets three bays, especially three monstrous truck bays.”

And such large bays are needed, he went on, because of the company’s growing base of commercial truck sales, which represent a whopping 50% of the dealership’s revenue. This track record for excellence in that category dates back to 1997, when Jack Sarat had an opportunity to purchase 100 heavy-duty pick-up trucks, which represented the last of Ford’s inventory for that model year. With no model changes on the way for 1998, and a more expensive truck with a smaller rebate due in 1999, Sarat’s inventory was soon in demand, and many of those who bought then have become repeat customers.

“They sold like crazy, and by selling those ’97s, we earned more allocation [future new truck allowance per dealership] than anybody ever could,” Sarat explained. “And now we have people come from all over New England because we’ve built relationships; they know we have the trucks they want, and we service them, too.

“Those buyers are a very loyal buyer,” he went on. “You start that relationship with one truck, and before you know it, within a few years, as their business grows, you’ve sold them three, four, or five trucks.”

Next on the to-do list for the company is construction of a new showroom for Lincoln, said Sarat, adding that the dedicated dealership is reflective of another trend in the industry, as carmakers are demanding new and better facilities in which to showcase their specific models.

The new, 20,000-square-foot facility should help Lincoln build brand awareness and counter not only stern foreign competition in the luxury-car category, but also a surging Cadillac, which saw a 33% increase in sales last calendar year.

Lincoln was a hugely popular luxury model decades ago, but has lost significant market share, mostly to the foreign competitors in recent years, and is looking to recapture its place at the top of that category, said Sarat.

“Lincoln is going though a bit of an identity crisis, asking, ‘what do we want to be?’” he told BusinessWest. “They’ve created some new and exciting models and taken some gambles with the Lincoln MKZ. They’ve come out with some new products, and hopefully, Lincoln can regain what it once had. But it’s going to be a tough battle.

“And the new buildings are part of that,” he went on. “You need to make investments in these facilities. The buyers are coming to expect a certain level of size, quality, and convenience, and that’s why we’re separating the two buildings, to give them a unique experience.”

Full Tank

As the company remodels both the dealerships in Agawam, Sarat said, it may face a quandary of sorts.

Indeed, there is speculation that the chandelier may not fit with the style and image that Ford is trying to project with its showrooms. In short, its days might be numbered.

If they are, the company will lose a small part of its identity, but there are still plenty of other examples of the calculated risk taking that have enabled this venture to survive and thrive for 85 years.

And there are more to come.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Rolling Along

Autos Sections

Outlook Brightening for Auto Makers, Dealers

Mike Balise says manufacturers are building more cars than consumers will buy, which will benefit car shoppers by deflating prices.

The highways are getting a little shinier.

The Great Recession hit many industries hard, and auto dealers were no exception. As consumers put non-necessary expenditures on hold and hung onto their clunkers a little longer, the average age of cars on the road soared past 12 years.

But they couldn’t put off those trade-ins forever, and with the economy showing signs of life and consumer confidence inching up, carmakers and dealers are reaping the benefits.

“New-car sales are hot,” said Mike Balise, vice president of his family’s regional chain of dealerships. “The overall trend in the industry is up; they’re making 16 million cars again.”

In fact, just five years ago, that was the standard number of vehicles rolling off North American assembly lines. But after dropping below 16 million in 2008 for the first time in 10 years, new-car production bottomed out at around 8 million a couple years later. The fact that manufacturers are producing with confidence again bodes well for dealerships in Massachusetts and everywhere else.

According to the Fabricators & Manufacturers Assoc., manufacturers have curtailed production and instead focused on keeping their operations lean while still meeting the rising demand for auto parts — another result of aging cars on the road. They note that the increased production, expected to top 16.7 million units in 2015, will result in higher employment in auto manufacturing as well.

It will also impact the used-car market, Balise said. “You saw used-car values peak in the spring, and they’re starting to come down faster than they normally would because the new-car manufacturers are coming on stronger; they’ll suppress the market in terms of transaction prices.

“As these manufacturers ramp up capacity,” he explained, “they’re building too many cars. They’re talking about building 16 million, and that is true, but they’re only going to retail 14.5 million. The other 1.5 million will go to Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, your fleets, and they only use them six to 13 months. So there are going to be lots of 5-, 6-, 10,000-mile current-year used cars going to auction.”

In short, he said, “new-car sales are brisk, prices are going down, because the capacity to make cars is still greater than the marketplace, and that will lower the prices of cars and lower the value of late-model used cars.”

Lease of Their Concerns

Gary Rome, president of the Hyundai store in Holyoke and the Kia dealership in Enfield that bear his name, said he has not yet experienced a huge spike in business stemming from the new manufacturer confidence. “But our service and our parts sales have increased dramatically — about 28%.”

Leases are soaring too, he added.

“That’s the other thing — we’ve seen an increase in leasing from a lot of folks,” he said, noting that, on average nationally, leases account for around 11% of all new-car transactions. At Gary Rome, the number currently approaches 35%.

“People are looking to get more car for less money, which they can do with a lease,” he said, noting that the popularity of the option tends to ebb and flow according to how aggressively car makers are pushing special lease programs. “When manufacturers have inventory and they want to move it, they’ll incentivize the leasing to make it more enticing for customers. And customers are responding to that — interest rates are lower, payments are lower, with little or no money down.”

Retail incentives to buy have steadily decreased since peaking during the heart of the recession, when 0% financing was all the rage.

“In general, the car companies have shown some restraint in discounting,” writes Jim Henry in Forbes. “In fact, average actual transaction prices hit a record [in May] of $28,921, according to J.D. Power and Associates. That is what consumers actually paid, net of incentives. In May 2008, that number was $24,404.”

What they want to pay for, Balise said, hasn’t changed much.

“Mileage, reliability, and safety tend to dominate everything,” he told BusinessWest, noting that gas has hovered close to $4 per gallon for so long that people have made gas mileage a permanent part of their car-buying priorities.

“I think it’s always in people’s minds; they’re always considering it. Even my friends buying things like Denalis and Explorers — one guy in particular tows a racecar, and he was very conscious about a three-mile difference between two choices. For most people, it’s very top of mind, and certainly the manufacturers are producing models with better mileage than ever, lots of great choices.”

That enthusiasm has not, however, crossed over to electric vehicles.

“In general, I think that the tendency toward electric cars is going at a very slow pace,” Balise said, noting that GM has lowered the price of its Volt about 20%.

“Those cars seem to be more peripheral. No one bought the Volt except a few people who wanted to be at the cusp of that technology. Everyone else, if Chevy showed you a Malibu and a Volt and then showed you the price, 99 out of 100 people are going to choose the Malibu all day long.”

The U.S. government has attached tax incentives to electric cars, but Balise said consumers simply haven’t been responsive to them. “The government is trying to create a market that doesn’t exist. Who wants a car you have to recharge, and that takes three or four hours to recharge?”

Analysts have noticed the same trend. “Increased sales are in store for fuel-efficient cars and trucks, especially compact cars, subcompact cars, and hybrids. Despite fairly steady gas prices, consumers are finally ready to commit to these segments for longer than the length of a gas price spike,” noted Colorado-based Accurate Auto Body in its blog.

“They are not eager to commit to all-electric vehicles, though, so automakers will increasingly concentrate their efforts on plug-in hybrids and hybrids. And for those consumers desiring hybrid technology without the hybrid cost, additional hybrid features will be found in more economical conventional cars as manufacturers upgrade their efforts to meet the government’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards.”

Smart Shoppers

Meeting consumer demands has become more challenging at a time when shoppers are showing up at dealerships with more information and research than ever at their fingertips, Rome said. But he considers that not a negative, but an opportunity to meet their questions with knowledge and attentive service.

“We know that 90% of our customers are going on the Internet to do research, and our job is to provide them with efficient responses that are informative. It’s not unusual for customers to be on the lot at our dealership while using their smartphones to look elsewhere or verify information, to make sure they’re getting a good deal, to look at reviews, to make sure they’re doing business with the right dealership. It’s actually good to see.”

That’s because the Holyoke dealership recently won the Hyundai President’s Award for customer satisfaction, ranking sixth out of 812 dealers in the country. “We’ve seen stability, even in a down market, because of the way we treat our customers,” Rome said, which extends to the company’s charitable involvement in the community. “We have a mantra that we use here: people today come to expect more, so extraordinary is the new ordinary, and people have come to expect an extraordinary experience.”

Across the country, car buyers are increasingly seeking those experiences. According to more than 70 economists and analysts from business, academia, and government who participated in the Chicago Fed’s annual Automotive Outlook Symposium in May, the nation’s economic growth is forecast to be solid this year and strengthen somewhat in 2014; they expect that to translate to 15.3 million new-car sales this year and 15.8 million in 2014, after bottoming out at 10.6 million in 2009.

Truck sales are a particular bright spot. Kenny Veith, partner with Americas Commercial Transportation Research Co., noted at the symposium that, while heavy-duty truck sales are forecast to decrease from 278,700 units in 2012 to 262,300 units in 2013, they are expected to surge to 300,900 units in 2014, while medium-duty truck sales are projected to grow from 188,400 units in 2012 to 197,600 units in 2013 and 213,700 units in 2014.

“For domestic brands, rising pickup truck sales are expected to be another significant factor,” adds Henry in Forbes. “Pickup sales are an important sign of recovery in the housing market. They’re also big-ticket, highly profitable sales in a product segment where the domestic manufacturers still dominate. J.D. Power said it expects full-size pickups to account for 11.4% of industry retail sales, up from 9.7% in May 2012.”

Balise has seen that activity at his own dealerships. “It’s been a really good year for most manufacturers, and trucks are as hot as they’ve been in a long time,” he said.

Rome is confident enough in the industry outlook that he plans to renovate his Holyoke dealership, following a recent renovation of the Kia store in Enfield. “We’re going to reinvest,” he told BusinessWest.

In other words, he keeps rolling along — just like the industry as a whole.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Slow Climb