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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Vann Group, providers of strategic consulting and transactional advisory services, announced its recently formed affiliation with ROCG Americas, the leading business exit and transition planning specialists in North America.

The first of its kind affiliation will be mutually beneficial. It will provide the Vann Group with access to the extensive proprietary planning resources and expertise that ROCG has developed over the past 10 years, while ROCG continues to build its capabilities with the addition of Kevin and Michael Vann, a father-and-son team that has a diverse set of skills and business experience. “As business transition specialists, we do much more than guide owners through the exit from their business,” said Ronen Shefer, CEO of ROCG. “We are unique because we focus on helping business owners achieve both their personal as well as their business goals, and the earlier we get involve, the chances of actually gaining a better quality of life and increasing business value improve tremendously. Ultimately, we help owners view and run their companies as investors would.” Michael Vann, CEO of the Vann Group, sees the affiliation as a great opportunity. “The ROCG team are the leaders in the succession/transition planning field, no one comes close.

Their team has a tremendous amount of real world experience and they have developed an approach to planning that can’t be matched,” he said. “Joining ROCG is a great opportunity for us to grow our planning practice and provide more value to our clients, because we’ll be able to access ROCG’s intellectual property and network of experienced transition specialists.”

Chamber Corners Departments

AFFILIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555
 
• April 29: ACCGS Beacon Hill Summit 2015, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Massachusetts State House. Hosted by state Sen. James Welch. Day-long opportunity to meet with members of the Baker-Polito administration and the Massachusetts delegation. Reservations are $180 per person and includes continental breakfast, transportation, lunch, reception, and all materials. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
• May 6: ACCGS Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Colony Club, 1500 Main St., Springfield. Speed networking — a fast-paced way to work the room. Sponsored by United Personnel. Reservations are $20 for members (in advance, $25 members at the door), $30 general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
• May 13: ACCGS After 5, 5-7 p.m., at the Residence Inn by Marriott, 500 Memorial Ave., Chicopee. Join us for our last After 5 of the season for a tailgate party, featuring food trucks with tailgating cuisine, parking-lot games like cornhole and ladder toss, music, and cash bar. Reservations are $5 for members, $10 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
• May 14: East of the River Five Town Chamber Feast in the East, 5-7:30 p.m., at Twin Hills Country Club, 700 Wolf Swamp Road, Longmeadow. Enjoy culinary tastings from local restaurants and caterers to benefit the ERC5 Scholarship Fund. Reservations are $25. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
• May 19: Professional Women’s Chamber Woman of the Year, 5:30 p.m., at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Honoring Anne Paradis, chief executive officer, Microtek Inc. Reservations are $55 and may be may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
• May 26: ACCGS Pastries, Politics & Policy, 8-9 a.m., at TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. For political and policy junkies. Reservations are $15 for members, $25 general admission, and includes continental breakfast. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
 
AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700
 
• May 6: After 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Bridgeside Grille, 9 Amherst Road, Sunderland. Register online at www.amherstarea.com or call the office at (413) 253-0700. Tickets: $10 for members,  $15 for non-members.
• May 27: After 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Florence Savings Bank, 377 Russell St., Hadley. Sponsored solely by Florence Saving Bank. Register online at www.amherstarea.com or call the office at (413) 253-0700. Tickets are $10 members, $15 for non-members.
• June 18-21: Taste of Amherst, on the Amherst Common. Featuring 22 individual restaurants on the common for a weekend of fun, food tasting, food demos, live music, kids’ area, zoo, and much more. Hours: June 18-19, 5-9 p.m.; June 20, noon-10 p.m.; June 21, noon-4 p.m. All food is under $5 per item. No entry fee.
• June 23: After 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at J.F. Conlon , 29 University Dr., Amherst. Sponsored in part by J.F.Conlon & Associates. Register online at www.amherstarea.com or call the chamber office at (413) 253-0700. Tickets: $10 per member, $15 per non- member.
 
GREATER CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
 
• May 15: Lunch & Learn, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Hampton Inn, 600 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. “ACA Compliance: Employer Requirements and Management Tools.” Learn about a solid, user-friendly road map for understanding compliance issues. Tickets: $15 for members, $23 for non-members.
• May 20: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Renaissance Manor on Cabot, 279 Cabot St., Holyoke. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
• May 21: Golf Tournament at Chicopee Country Club; 10 a.m. shotgun start. Registration: $125 per golfer.
• May 27: Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Elms College. Tickets: $23 for members, $28 for non-members.
• June 13: 5K Road Race/2-mile Walk. Begins and ends at Portuguese Club, 149 Exchange St., Chicopee. Registration: $25 per person; $15 for children 12 and under. Registration begins at 7:45 a.m. Fee includes T-shirt and free lunch provided by the Munich Haus.
• June 18: Mornings with the Mayor, 8-9 a.m., at the Willimansett Center West, 546 Chicopee St., Chicopee. Free for chamber members.
• June 24: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Wireless Zone, 601E Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
 
GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
 
• May 11: Monday Morning with the Mayor. “Getting Down to Business About Business: Casual Conversation with Mayor Cadieux,” 8-9 a.m., at Easthampton Savings Bank, 36 Main St., Easthampton. Free and open to the public.
 
GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376
 
• May 15: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored and hosted by Pic’s Place, 910 Hampden St., Holyoke. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for the public. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 or sign up online at holyokechamber.com.
• May 18: Annual Chamber Cup 2015 Golf Tournament Celebrating the chamber’s 125th Anniversary, at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Registration and lunch at 10:30 a.m.; tee off at noon (scramble format); dinner following game with elaborate food stations catered by the Log Cabin. 
Cost: $125 per player includes lunch, 18 holes of golf, cart, and dinner. Dinner only-$25. Awards, raffles, and cash prizes follow dinner. Tournament sponsors: Log Cabin and PeoplesBank. Corporate sponsors: Dowd Insurance, Goss & McLain Insurance Agency, Holyoke Gas & Electric, Mountain View Landscapes, Holyoke Medical Center, People’s United Bank, the Republican, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite & Driscoll. For reservations, call the chamber Office at (413) 534-3376 or register online at holyokechamber.com.
• May 21: Chamber Business Connections, 5-7 p.m., in the Atrium in the PeoplesBank building, 330 Whitney Ave. Sponsored and hosted by PeoplesBank. Join your friends and colleagues for this fun and casual evening of networking. Refreshments, door prizes, and 50/50 raffle. Cost: $19 for chamber members, $15 for non-members.
• June 19: 125th Anniversary Gala Ball, starting at 6 p.m., at the Log Cabin, 500 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Cocktails at 6, dinner at 7. Enjoy an elegant meal and dance to the music of the Floyd Patterson Band. Join Marcotte Ford as one of the major event sponsors by calling (413) 534-3376. Event is open to the public. More details to follow. 
 
GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900
 
• May 6: May Arrive@5, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored by Whalen Insurance Agency. For more information or to register, call the chamber at (413) 584-1900.
• July 1: July Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored by Pioneer Landscapes and Easthampton Electrical. For more information or to register, call the chamber at (413) 584-1900.
 
GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
 
• April 28: Southwick Home to Business Show. Hosted by Tucker’s Restaurant. For more information, contact Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• May 4: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at Renaissance Manor, 37 Feeding Hills Road, Westfield. Join us for our monthly coffee hour with Westfield Mayor Dan Knapik. This event is free and open to the public. Call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618 to register for this event.
• May 13: May After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at Armbrook Village, 551 North Road, Westfield. Sponsored by Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity and the ReStore. Refreshments will be served. Bring your business cards and make connections. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members; cash at the door. To register, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
• May 18: 54th Annual Golf Tournament, at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. Schedule: 10 a.m., registration and lunch; 11 a.m., shotgun start; 4 p.m., cocktail hour; 5 p.m., dinner. Title sponsor: Westfield Gas & Electric. Premium gift sponsor: Westfield Bank. Cart sponsor: Doctor’s Express.
• June 1: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at Westfield Vocational Technical High School, 33 Smith Ave., Westfield.
Free and open to the public. Register by calling (413) 568-1618.
• June 19:
Chamber Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. Platinum sponsor: Mestek. Golf sponsor: Berkshire Bank. Silver sponsors: First Niagara and Prolamina. Registered attendees of the chamber breakfast can golf at a discounted rate of only $65 at the Ranch following the breakfast. Call Bill Rosenblum, golf pro, to register at (413) 569-9333, ext. 3. Cost for the breakfast: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. For more information on sponsorships, to register, or to donate a raffle prize, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
 
PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310
 
• May 19: Professional Women’s Chamber Woman of the Year, 5:30 p.m., at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Honoring Anne Paradis, CEO of Microtek Inc. Sponsored by BusinessWest. Reservations are $55 and may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
 
WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• May 6:
 Wicked Wednesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Northeast IT, 777 Riverdale Road, West Springfield. Free for chamber members, $10 at the door for non-members. Event is open to the public. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events, hosted by various businesses and restaurants, that bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• May 20: Networking Lunch, noon-1:30 p.m., at the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative, 174 Brush Hill Ave., West Springfield. Must be a member or guest of a member to attend. Enjoy a sit-down lunch served while networking with fellow chamber members. Each attendee will get a chance to offer a brief sales pitch. Cost: $10 at the door, which includes lunch. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

Departments People on the Move

Anne Paradis

Anne Paradis

The Professional Women’s Chamber (PWC) announced that Anne Paradis, Chief Executive Officer for MicroTek Inc. in Chicopee, has been named the PWC 2015 Woman of the Year. The award, given annually since 1954, is presented to a woman in the Western Mass. area who exemplifies outstanding leadership, professional accomplishment, and service to the community. A celebration in Paradis’s honor will be held on May 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield. “We are thrilled with this year’s honoree — a truly inspiring and accomplished woman like Anne Paradis,” said Janet Casey, PWC board president. “She is a domestic trailblazer among women in the high-tech industry, and the opportunity that she has provided to people with disabilities speaks so deeply to her sense of compassion. Her achievements are spectacular and her generosity admirable.” Microtek was founded in 1983 with the mission of integrating individuals with disabilities into the workforce. The company provides custom cable and wire configurations, control panels, and enclosures for customers in the medical equipment, scientific test and instrumentation, life sciences, industrial, and retail industries. Paradis was tapped to lead the organization in 1987. Under her guidance, the company has grown an average of 15% each year, expanded its product lines and client base, and created more than 80 jobs. As well, Paradis has led the organization through construction of a new 22,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, obtained industry certifications as well as ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 13485:2003 registrations, and has been awarded the Massachusetts quality-of-service certification with distinction for employment services every year since 1996. Prior to joining MicroTek, Paradis served as a management and training consultant, served as the marketing director and employment design specialist for New England Business Associates, and spent nearly 10 years in the mental-health field. She is a member of the Baystate Health board of trustees and vice chair of its audit committee, past president of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts board of directors, corporator of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, and former president of the National Assoc. of Supported Work Organizations board of directors. She also served on the reference services advisory board for UMass and the electronic advisory committee for Chicopee Comprehensive High School. She is also active in the Social Enterprise Alliance, the Wire Harness Manufacturer’s Assoc., the Women Presidents’ Organization, and the Human Right Campaign, and in 2009 was named to the 21st Century Women Business Leaders Hall of Fame at Bay Path University. Tickets for the May 19 celebration, sponsored by BusinessWest, are $55. To register, visit www.myonlinechamber.com or e-mail [email protected].
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Paul Kleschick

Paul Kleschick

Paul Kleschick has joined American International College (AIC) as its new Registrar. Kleschick recently performed consulting work for a variety of colleges and universities. Prior to working as a consultant, he was registrar at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He previously served as the associate registrar at Georgetown University and Temple University. Kleschick graduated from Cabrini College in Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He earned his master’s degree from Temple University and his MBA from Philadelphia University.
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Melinda Graulau

Melinda Graulau

The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield announced that Eastfield Mall and Auburn Crossing General Manager Melinda Graulau has been chosen as its 2015 recipient of the Leadership Community Service Award. The award will be presented at the Leadership 2015 graduation ceremonies on April 16 at the Springfield Sheraton. Leadership 2015 is a unique collaboration between the ACCGS and Western New England University (WNEU) to teach middle- and upper-level managers the crucial thinking and problem-solving skills needed to prepare participants to be effective leaders in service to the community and their workplaces. Since 1990, the award has been presented annually to a citizen or organization that exemplifies the program’s values of leadership in the workplace and in the world and a commitment to community service. A 2012 graduate of the program, Graulau moved to Western Mass. in 2009 to take on the role of general manager at the two shopping malls for Mountain Development Corp. She leads a team of 40 and is responsible for temporary and permanent leasing, expense control, personnel development, contract negotiations, and community relations.
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J. Polep announced the promotion of Adam Kramer to vice president of Purchasing and Food Service. Kramer has been with J. Polep since 2006, most recently as director of Food Service. Over the past nine years, he has also been a field sales representative, district manager, and president of Grote & Weigel (a division of J. Polep).
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Country Bank’s annual meeting was held at the Worcester Art Museum last month. The evening’s agenda included the election of trustees, corporators, and officers, as well as a report of 2014 highlights and financials. The 10 new incorporators are: Dr. Mohammed Ahmed, Sheila Cuddy, Brian D’Andrea, Robert Dik, Mary Falardeau, Janice Kucewicz, Lauren Miller, Timothy Murray, James Paugh III, and Richard Poissant.
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The Westfield-based engineering firm Tighe & Bond announced the following:
Christina Jones

Christina Jones

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) named Christina Jones, a project engineer in the company’s Westfield office, the recipient of the 2014 ACEC/MA Young Professional of the Year Award. The recognition took place during ACEC/MA’s Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala on March 18 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge. Each year, this competitive award recognizes the accomplishments of one engineer, 30 years old or younger, based on their work and its societal impact. Jones, who is a licensed engineer in Massachusetts, was recognized for achieving significant successes within just five years of launching her civil- and environmental-engineering career. For the city of Chicopee, she provided construction administration and observation, research, and analysis for the first paving project in Massachusetts to implement cutting-edge intelligent-compaction technology. The result was a more streamlined, cost-efficient paving process, and better-quality pavement that is slated to have a longer life. Jones is also developing an integrated management plan for Chicopee, which will include working with regulators to advance green infrastructure as an alternative approach to separating combined sewer overflows. In addition, she is developing a unidirectional flushing plan for cleaning water-distribution pipes that will improve water quality and pressure throughout Chicopee. For two of Connecticut’s major water suppliers, Jones has developed hydraulic models of critical water reservoirs to assess the impact of new fish-habitat-friendly stream-flow regulations on reservoir management. This research enabled her to assist with reservoir-management decisions. Jones earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and environmental engineering, as well as her master’s degree in environmental engineering, from UMass Amherst. Her professional affiliations include the American Water Works Assoc., the New England Water Works Assoc. (where she is a programs committee member), and Engineers without Borders. She also previously served as a student activities committee member for the New England Water Environment Assoc; and
Michael Toto

Michael Toto

Michael Toto has been hired to manage the company’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) team. A senior electrical engineer with more than 21 years of experience, Toto has managed a wide range of commercial, industrial, and institutional engineering projects. He has provided engineering services to numerous well-known industry giants and prominent institutions. His expertise includes the study, design, permitting, construction management, construction administration, and startup of numerous building and infrastructure facilities. His portfolio of projects includes all phases of engineering for electrical infrastructure. As a project manager, he has led many project teams during various phases of projects simultaneously, and has been the leader on several jobs with multiple owners during his professional experience. Toto earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical power engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His professional affiliations include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Power Engineering Society, the National Fire Protection Assoc., the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the Assoc. of Energy Engineers.
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The regional law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that Attorney Kenneth Albano was recently appointed to the board of directors of the New England Chapter of the March of Dimes. Albano is also currently serving a second term as board chair of Massachusetts’ Western Division Chapter. The March of Dimes is a national organization whose primary mission is to reduce birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Upon learning of his appointment to the New England Board, Albano noted that “I am very pleased to continue my service to the important mission of the March of Dimes. The good work of the March of Dimes improves the health of Massachusetts babies and provides support to their families.” Albano is a senior partner with Bacon Wilson and a member of the firm’s corporate, commercial, and municipal practice groups. Bacon Wilson is one of the largest firms in Western Mass., with a total of 40 lawyers and approximately 60 paralegals, assistants, and support staff.
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Beloved Earth, the Pioneer Valley’s first ‘green’ cleaning company, hired Andrew Sbrega of Chicopee as its first residential services manager for Hampden County. Over the past four years, Sbrega worked for Tropical Smoothies in Holyoke and oversaw a team of employees while keeping the shop space clean and building customer relations. Beloved Earth owner Terra Missildine said Sbrega’s leadership experience will positively influence his work as a services manager. As a residential services manager, Sbrega will oversee a cleaning team designated to the Springfield area. Since beginning the position in January, Sbrega has gained residential and office clients in West Springfield and Longmeadow. He and Missildine are currently in the process of hiring Sbrega’s team. Beloved Earth’s current teams focus on clients in Hampshire County and book an average of 250 hours of cleaning per week. Missildine wants to expand into Hampden County, and she sees Sbrega as an ideal leader to begin that outreach. “Andrew is committed to green living. He really walks the walk,” she said.
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The Dowd Insurance Agencies announced that Nadine West has joined the organization as a commercial-lines account manager. “We are very excited to have Nadine join our team of insurance professionals,” said John Dowd Jr., president and CEO of the Dowd Insurance Agencies. “She has a great deal of industry experience and brings a lot of enthusiasm for customer service.” West has been specializing in property and casualty insurance since 1998. She is a licensed property and casualty producer and holds the Certified Insurance Service Representative designation. Prior to joining Dowd, West was employed by Borawski Insurance of Northampton. As a commercial-lines account manager, West will manage a roster of insurance clients at Dowd’s Holyoke office and support producers with business-development initiatives. She has a strong focus on customer service and is dedicated to continuing education opportunities as the industry advances. “I consistently challenge myself to stay on top of industry trends and learn all I can about my competitors and carriers to strengthen my industry relationships,” said West. “I have extensive training in sales, management, and customer service, and I look forward to applying these skills for the benefit of our customers at the Dowd Insurance Agencies.”
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Jonathan Soucy

Jonathan Soucy

Molding Business Services (MBS) announced it has taken on a new partner, Jonathan Soucy of Plymouth. He joins forces with partners Terry Minnick, Joel Minnick, and Andrew Munson, and will help bolster the firm’s M&A advisory and recruiting efforts. Soucy has more than 25 years of experience in precision injection molding and manufacturing. He holds a bachelor’s degree in plastics engineering UMass Lowell and an MBA from Suffolk University. For the past six years, Soucy served as the CEO of Plainfield Precision, a multi-national manufacturer of injection-molded components, metal stampings, and complex assemblies. During his tenure with Plainfield, he led a corporate-wide turnaround, developed and executed a strategic plan to build value, and successfully sold the various Plainfield companies to maximize shareholder return. Soucy’s move to MBS coincides with a Jan. 30 transaction that saw Plainfield Precision sell its final production facility — a precision automotive injection molder in San Luis Potosi, Mexico — to the U.S. subsidiaries of Nissha Printing Co. Ltd. Based in Japan, Nissha is a global manufacturer of printed films and owns Eimo Technologies, a Michigan-based manufacturer of decorative, injection-molded components. MBS advised Plainfield in the transaction. Soucy also spent nearly two decades with a Plainfield predecessor company called Pixley Richards. Pixley was a custom plastic-injection-molding company specializing in tight-tolerance parts. During his tenure there, Soucy held various roles in engineering and operations management until eventually leading a management buyout of the company and assuming the role of owner and CEO.
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The Springfield Falcons announced that Corey Cowick has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year Award for his outstanding contributions to the Springfield community during the 2014-15 season. The Falcons’ left winger has gone above and beyond with his efforts to give back to the community. He constantly takes part in appearances and volunteer opportunities, meeting fans and doing his part to help improve the local area. The Falcons have a strong dedication to bettering quality of life in the Springfield community by promoting awareness of education, exercise, and health along with donating time and resources. Cowick has been at the forefront of these initiatives, making countless appearances in schools, libraries, and community centers. He became the main speaker for the Falcons’ Stick to Reading program presented by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, the Teamwork program presented by TD Bank, and the Play It Forward program. Cowick has spoken to numerous students and young fans around the Greater Springfield area about the importance of literacy, ways to stay active and lead a healthy lifestyle, and the qualities of leadership and anti-bullying. Cowick also frequented Friends of the Homeless and served meals to clients along with personally donating winter and toiletry items during the holidays. He visited patients at Shriners Hospitals for Children and donated his time to answer phones at the 14th Annual 94.7 WMAS Radiothon for Baystate Children’s Hospital. He also participated in the sale of team-signed ornaments and green mystery pucks with proceeds donated to Toys for Tots and Baystate Children’s Hospital, respectively. Additionally, Cowick visited the Pioneer Valley PSO, where he visited with military families and spent a great deal of time conversing and getting to know each family. Cowick is now one of 30 finalists for the American Hockey League’s 2014-15 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the AHL later this month.
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Florence Bank announced that Stephen Bourgeois Jr. of Amherst has been named to the President’s Club for 2015. The President’s Club affords employees opportunities to nominate their peers for the honor, which recognizes superior performance, customer service, and overall contribution to Florence Bank. Bourgeois was nominated by numerous colleagues at Florence Bank. He is a senior teller and customer-service representative at the bank’s King Street office, and joined the bank in 2012. John Heaps Jr., president and CEO of Florence Bank, said, “we received so many comments about Stephen — everything from ‘he is the first to volunteer to take on projects or help in any way’ to ‘he maintains the perfect balance of professionalism and friendliness with our customers.’ His commendable work ethic and genuine desire to contribute make Stephen an outstanding member of the President’s Club.”
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Dr. Laura Iglesias Lino

Dr. Laura Iglesias Lino

Praised for her leadership and for using her skills in geriatrics and palliative care to help Spanish-speaking and other immigrant populations in Springfield, Dr. Laura Iglesias Lino has been named a recipient of the 2015 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award. Iglesias Lino, medical director for Geriatrics and Palliative Care at Baystate Brightwood Health Center/Centro de Salud and associate medical director for Hospice at Baystate Medical Center, is one of five physicians nationwide recognized with the award. The awards program honors leaders who advance palliative care in underserved areas and forge ties with various medical specialists to help people with cancer. “This cohort of physicians demonstrates that compassion, competency, and a healing presence are cherished by patients and their families and admired and respected by their colleagues,” said Dr. Richard Payne, chairman of the selection committee and the Esther Colliflower Professor of Medicine and Divinity at Duke University and the John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics at the Center for Practical Bioethics. “The awards will make a difference for their careers, and will assist them in building palliative-care programs in their communities.” Each of the five recipients was noted as being exemplary in one or more of four areas: medical practice, teaching, research, and community. Awards were made in three categories: senior, mid-career, and early-career. Recognized in the early-career category, Iglesias Lino will receive $15,000 to further her work in palliative care in Springfield. “Although I was her teacher and am decades older, I hope to match her dedication to patients one day,” said Dr. Maura Brennan, chief of the Division of Geriatrics, Palliative Care & Post-acute Medicine at Baystate Medical Center, and hospice medical director for the Baystate Visiting Nurse Assoc. & Hospice. “Dr. Iglesias Lino has an unassuming, gentle nature and is more likely to design programs for patents in need than write scholarly articles for publication. She has a beautiful soul and is precisely the type of physician our aging society needs. Dr. Iglesias Lino combines the best parts of a geriatrician and a palliative-care physician and is eminently worthy of this prestigious award.” Iglesias Lino received her medical degree from the Universidad Nacional San Agustin de Arequipa in Peru. She completed her internal medicine residency at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital/Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, followed by a geriatrics fellowship at Baystate Medical Center. She is board-certified in both geriatrics and palliative care. While at Baystate Brightwood Health Center, Iglesias Lino has developed a team-based program to ease caregiver stress and provide quality of life for patients with advanced dementias. Her knowledge and diagnostic abilities put her in high demand as a physician and consultant. Her teaching and caregiving skills have generated culture change in a clinic with little previous experience in geriatric or palliative care. The Cunniff-Dixon Foundation, whose mission is to enrich the doctor-patient relationship near the end of life, funds the awards. The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute that has done groundbreaking work on end-of-life decision-making, co-sponsors the awards. Duke University Divinity School’s Program in Medicine, Theology, and Culture oversees the selection process.

Company Notebook Departments

Normandeau Technologies Named Partner of the Year
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Normandeau Technologies (NTI) announced it has been awarded the 2014 Ericsson-LG Enterprise North American Partner of the Year Award at the Ericsson-LG Global Partner Conference held in Cancun, Mexico. The award celebrates the excellence Normandeau Technologies has achieved in helping to build the North American distribution channel for the iPECS communications platform and for its success in bringing IP telephony, unified communications, mobility, and call-center solutions to SMBs in industries such as manufacturing, insurance, realty, medical, education, government, and financial. Bob Rankin, general manager of Presence Management, the largest distributor of Ericsson-LG iPECS products in North America, noted, “NTI continues to expand sales of our award-winning iPECS LIK VoIP platform with the iPECS Unified Communications Solution (iPECS UCS) and iPECS Contact Center Suite Solution (iPECS CCS). We recognize and appreciate the continuous hard work NTI performs in their region, and we applaud their continued success with iPECS.” Successfully marketed worldwide with a dominant market share in South Korea, Australia, and South Africa, and significant market share in many other countries, the iPECS is a highly scalable and fault-tolerant platform that connects up to 1,200 endpoints per system and up to 300,000 endpoints with networking. It’s a versatile, premise-based IP phone platform with a competitive entry cost, five-year warranty, and one of the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). The Ericsson-LG UCS is a collaboration platform for organizations of virtually any size that integrates voice, presence, video conferencing, and instant messaging on the IPECS platform. The Ericsson-LG CCS is a multi-channel call-center solution providing intelligent management of multiple communication mediums. “We’re honored to receive this recognition for our sales success with the Ericsson LG line of advanced communication applications in the Massachusetts area and for our success in bringing these new technologies to our clients,” said Brett Normandeau, president of NTI. “Solutions like the iPECS UCS and iPECS CCS offer a tightly integrated, next-generation communications environment for telecom resellers at a very compelling price point.”

Survey Touts Growth of Whittlesey & Hadley
HARTFORD, Conn. — Whittlesey & Hadley, P.C., one of the area’s largest independent accounting, audit, tax, and business-advisory firms, ranks ninth in the 2015 Accounting Today annual survey of regional leaders in New England. The firm’s expansion into Western Mass. in August 2014 helped precipitate a growth in revenue of 10%. The average firm growth for top firms in New England was 6.8%. “From our early beginnings in 1961, our firm has continued to focus on achieving steady growth through unmatched service to our clients and the retention of a highly skilled and committed team of professionals,” said Managing Partner Drew Andrews. “Today, we are embracing a more aggressive growth plan that combines the acquisition of professional service firms throughout New England with a similar culture and philosophy as Whittlesey & Hadley, where our unwavering commitment to exceed client expectations every day, in every way possible, will prevail.” The annual survey is published in Accounting Today’s March issue and is based on total revenue.

Agenda Departments

CPE Forum
April 21 to June 2: The Continuing Professional Education Forum, held at the Westfield Athenaeum, has announced its seven-week spring series. All programs are three hours in length and start at 3 p.m. on the following Tuesdays:
• April 21: “The Dollars and Cents of Divorce,” Attorney Julie Dialessi-Lafley, Bacon Wilson;
• April 28: “Social Security Questions Answered,” Tim Flynn, Edward Jones;
• May 5: “Dealing with IRS Collection Division,” Attorney Eric Green, Green & Sklarz;
• May 12: “Income T’s: Today, Tomorrow, and Taxes,” Garry Heiney, Income & Wealth Advisors;
• May 19: “Why Are We Afraid to Invest?” Michael Callahan, Retirement Plan Advisory Services;
• May 26: “Exchange-traded Funds in Retirement Planning,” Michael Callahan, Retirement Advisory Plan Services; and
• June 2: “Massachusetts Employment-law Update,” Attorney Karina Schrengohost, Royal LLP.
The CPE Forum was established in 1980 by Josephine Sarnelli, CPA. She continues to volunteer her services in organizing 40 hours of educational programming each year. “The CPE Forum’s mission is to provide high-quality educational programs at a low cost to business professionals, including certified public accountants, enrolled agents, and others seeking continuing professional educational credits for licensing purposes,” she said. “It is also open to the general community.” The cost of attending the entire series is $50, which provides 21 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credits. “Besides being an incredible value, the CPE Forum offers a place for business professionals to meet, exchange ideas, and network,” Sarnelli added. All sessions are held at Lang Auditorium at the Westfield Athenaeum, 6 Elm St., Westfield. Payment is due at the time of attending. For more information, visit www.cpeforum.org or call (413) 746-9067.

Elevator-pitch Contest
April 22: Six local community banks will sponsor a live elevator-pitch competition at the 12th annual awards banquet for the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Initiative. Representatives from each institution — Berkshire Bank, Country Bank for Savings, First Niagara Bank, PeoplesBank, United Bank, and Westfield Bank — will also serve as judges at the annual event at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a new business. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride. The term is used when an entrepreneur pitches an idea to a venture capitalist to receive funding. The competition will feature a student representative from each of the participating local colleges: American International College, Amherst College, Bay Path University, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Hampshire College, Holyoke Community College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Springfield Technical Community College, UMass Amherst, Western New England University, and Westfield State University. The judges will pick the top three students, who will receive cash awards, with the winner receiving $1,000. Other features of the banquet include keynote speaker Aaron St. John, co-founder and CEO of Springfield-based HitPoint; entrepreneur and awardee exhibits featuring 76 student entrepreneurs from area colleges; and recognition of the Grinspoon, Garvey & Young Alumni Award winner, Bill Goldfarb of Lefty’s Brewery. For more information about the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, visit hgf.org or contact Cari Carpenter at (413) 335-3535 or [email protected].

Springfield Restaurant Week
April 23 to May 2: The Springfield City Council’s young professionals subcommittee, partnered with the Springfield Business Improvement District (BID), will serve up mouth-watering meals during Springfield Restaurant Week 2015. Many downtown and riverfront restaurants are featured in this event, including Chef Wayne’s Big Mamou, Currents (Marriott), Champions (Marriott), Luxe Burger Bar, Nadim’s Mediterranean, Panjabi Tadka, PICKS/MVP (Sheraton), Plan B Burger, the Fort/Student Prince, Theodore’s, Pizzeria Uno, Adolfo’s, McCaffrey’s Public House, Blackjack Steakhouse, and Shakago. Each restaurant will offer a special two- or three-course dinner menu for a set price of $20.15 per person. Further details and menus will be posted on springfielddowntown.com/dinespringfield. Event sponsors include Baystate Health, Williams Distributing, White Lion Brewing Co., Garten, LLC Landscaping and Services, Farmington Bank, MassLive, and Inspired Marketing Inc.

Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day 
April 25: Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a professional ballroom dancer who lost her lower left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, will be the keynote speaker at the 18th annual Rays of Hope Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MassMutual Center. “I refuse to be called a victim. I am not defined by what happened in my life. I am a survivor, defined by how I live my life,” said Haslet-Davis. The former corporate manager recently returned to the dance floor after having to relearn her craft. Through her appearances on CNN, Dancing with the Stars, The View, and other television shows — as well as at personal appearances before corporate and private audiences both large and small — she hopes her emotional honesty has served as an example to others looking to overcome adversity in their lives. Haslet-Davis has been honored with the 2013 Med Star Gala Victory Award and was recognized along with first responders from the bombing scene at the 2013 Schwartz Center Gala in Boston. She has also been honored with an On Cue Tribute Award and was named one of Cosmo’s Most Powerful Women of 2013. A CNN documentary detailing her first year after the marathon bombing, The Survivor Diaries, with Anderson Cooper, was recently nominated for an Emmy Award. In addition to the keynote address by Haslet-Davis, participants will be able to select from two workshops on a number of topics, including “Breast Reconstruction,” “Hormone Therapy and Sexuality after Breast Cancer,” “Tai Chi – Regain 8 Years of Youth,” Safe and Effective Skin Care Products after Treatment,” “Why Laughter is the Best Medicine,” and others. There will also be two sessions offered in Spanish only: “Yoga en Movimiento” and “Cómo Enfrentar los Efectos Psicológicos y Emocionales del Cancer.” This year’s event will again include an art display from the Rays of Hope-sponsored Art from the Heart program facilitated by Pat Hayes. Participants will also be able to choose from two interactive stations during the day. In “Paint Social Art!” a local artist will guide painters — no experience necessary — in creating their own mini-painting which they can display at home. At the “Creative Card Bar,” women from Life’s Memories and More will assist participants in a do-it-yourself card-making session. There will also be networking opportunities throughout the day and the chance to visit with several exhibitors selling a variety of breast-related products and more. A continental breakfast and buffet luncheon will be served. Registration is required. The cost is $35 per person, with the remaining expenses underwritten by Rays of Hope. Parking will be validated for the Civic Center Parking Garage only. For those unable to afford the fee, a limited number of scholarships are available for breast-cancer survivors by calling Sandra Hubbard at the Rays of Hope Outreach Office at (413) 794-9556. For more information on the 18th annual Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day, or to request a registration form, call (413) 794-9556. For more information on Rays of Hope, visit www.baystatehealth.org/raysofhope.

Family Craft Day
April 25: Forastiere Family Funeral & Cremation, which has served the Greater Springfield community since 1905, announced its first ever Family Craft Day, to be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Captain Charles Leonard House on Main Street in Agawam. “This is the time of year when we are celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. As part of our commitment to our community, we wanted to offer families a fun and creative way to mark those holidays, regardless of whether or not they have lost a loved one,” said Frank Forastiere, president and funeral director of Forastiere Family Funeral & Cremation. All are invited to create gifts for Mother’s and Father’s Day, for teachers and grandparents, as a remembrance of a lost loved one, or as a simple thank you. The Family Craft Day is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. To reserve a spot, call (413) 525-2800. For information about Forastiere Family Funeral & Cremation, visit forastiere.com.

Military Ball & Gala
April 25: The Pioneer Valley USO announced that the fifth annual Military Ball & Gala Honoring Our Troops will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. Presenting sponsors include Steve Lewis Subaru and 1812 Auto Body, and the Purple Heart sponsor is Bay Path University. Music will be provided by the Bronx Wanderers. Tickets are available by calling the USO office in Chicopee at (413) 557-3290. The Military Ball & Gala is the largest fund-raising effort of the year and funds many of the Pioneer Valley USO’s programs and services. It was designed in keeping with the long-standing traditions of formal military balls while allowing the public to attend and participate in a gala evening. Military formal and business dress is required. The Pioneer Valley USO serves the needs of active military and their families through the individual efforts of the volunteers, board of directors, and the public.

VVM Awards Ceremony
April 30: Valley Venture Mentors (VVM) will host its inaugural Accelerator Awards event at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The event will honor recent graduates of its new Accelerator Program, which is currently grooming 29 startup teams from across the Pioneer Valley for success by imparting meaningful business knowledge, structure, and tools. During the awards ceremony, the organization will award grants of up to $50,000 each to startup teams selected as finalists. The event runs from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and will include a lively networking reception as well as a dinner and awards program, featuring startup teams and an address by John Harthorne, founder and CEO of MassChallenge. This year’s Accelerator Program is funded by MassMutual, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, with the mission to support an entrepreneurial renaissance in Springfield and the Pioneer Valley. During the four-month Accelerator Program, each team is assigned to a peer-supported group, introduced to VVM advisors, and provided free co-working space in downtown Springfield. The teams engage in investment-readiness boot camps with hands-on training, expert-led lectures, peer collaboration, advisor meetings, and practice judging rounds. Teams also participate in VVM’s ongoing weekly workshops that cover strategy, innovation, marketing, sales, team building/dynamics, best practices, fund-raising, and introductions to term-sheet and valuation processes. The positive, rigorous training program is structured around the Lean LaunchPad curriculum, which emphasizes achieving the highest possible investment-readiness level and overcoming the three main causes of startup death: failing to achieve product-market fit, premature scaling, and team-member dynamics.

Not Just Business as Usual
April 30: The Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Foundation’s Not Just Business as Usual (NJBAU) event is one of the premiere networking events for business leaders in Western Mass. This annual celebration, in its sixth year, is a celebration of innovative thinking which gives participants the opportunity to learn from business experts while raising significant funding for the STCC WORKS scholarship program. The event will be held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A cocktail and networking reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with dinner and the keynote speaker, Google Engineering Director Steve Vinter, to follow from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Vinter has overseen the growth of Google’s Cambridge site from 15 software engineers in 2007 to more than 900 today. He is responsible for developing digital-publishing products such as Google eBooks, Google Play Newsstand, and Play for Education, and has over 20 years of industry experience working in the Boston area, focusing on building products and services for hundreds of millions of users of mobile and cloud computing. He also is the co-founder of MassCAN, a partnership of organizations which collaborate to inspire and educate students in Massachusetts to learn computing and prepare them to lead and innovate the future economy, which will be driven by computer technology. This year, NJBAU will feature interactive workstations featuring the STCC Mobile SIM and Engineering program. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are now available. Tickets are $100 each, and sponsorships begin at $1,500. For additional information or to become a sponsor, contact Christina Tuohey, STCC director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, at (413) 755-4475 or [email protected]. To purchase tickets online, visit www.stcc.edu/njbau.

EASTEC
May 12-14: With manufacturing a driving force of economic growth in the Northeast, as well as across the U.S., more than 12,000 business owners, engineers, designers, production managers, and purchasing executives will gather at EASTEC, the East Coast’s premier manufacturing event. Produced by SME, the biennial event takes place at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield and features more than 650 exhibitors and three days of complimentary educational sessions. In its 34th year, the event showcases the latest manufacturing technologies from additive manufacturing/3D printing to waterjet cutting, and provides access to industry experts sharing insights on how to foster innovation, increase productivity, and improve profits. This year, attendees will also get to see more than 300 new products being highlighted at the show. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with resources, research and purchase the latest technologies, and discover ways to improve productivity and increase profits. Meanwhile, the complimentary educational sessions will address trending topics such as automation innovations and Lean creativity, along with other major advancements in manufacturing. New features in 2015 will include keynote presentations from Carl Palme, applications product manager, Rethink Robotics; and Jason Prater, vice president of Development, Plex Systems. To learn more about EASTEC, view full conference and exhibit details, or register, visit easteconline.com.

40 Under Forty
June 18: The ninth annual 40 Under Forty award program, staged by BusinessWest, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House. The event honors the region’s most accomplished and civic-minded professionals under age 40, whose stories are told in this issue. Tickets to the event cost $65, and tables of 10 are still available. Order by calling (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or by visiting HERE. Sponsors include Northwestern Mutual (presenting sponsor), Fathers & Sons, the Isenberg School of Mamagement at UMass Amherst, Moriarty & Primack, Paragus Strategic IT, and United Bank.

Western Mass. Business Expo
Nov. 4: Comcast Business will present the fifth annual Western Mass. Business Expo at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, produced by BusinessWest and the Healthcare News in partnership with Go Graphix and Rider Productions. The business-to-business show will feature more than 100 booths, seminars and Show Floor Theater presentations, breakfast and lunch programs, and a day-capping Expo Social and the return of the Valley Venture Mentors Pitch Contest. Details about specific events, programs, and featured speakers will be printed in future issues of BusinessWest. Current sponsors include MGM Springfield, Expo Social sponsor; the Isenberg School of Business at UMass Amherst, education sponsor; DIF Design, silver sponsor; and 94.7 WMAS, media sponsor. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Exhibitor spaces are also available, with booth prices starting at $750. For more information on sponsorships or booth purchase, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.

Briefcase Departments

Rapid Population Growth in State to Continue
HADLEY — Newly updated population projections by the UMass Donahue Institute say recent growth in the state’s population will be sustained through 2015, with the rate then slowing through 2035. The newly released report, “Long-term Population Projections for Massachusetts Regions and Municipalities,” was developed by researchers at the UMass Donahue Institute’s (UMDI) Population Estimates Program and Dr. Henry Renski, associate professor of Regional Planning and director for the UMass Center for Economic Development at UMass Amherst. It provides detailed projections, or expected populations, at five-year intervals through 2035 by age and sex for all Massachusetts cities and towns and eight distinct Massachusetts regions. This 2015 series updates the last set released by UMDI in 2013. The study, produced with support from Mass. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, forecasts 11.8% growth in state’s population from 2010 to 2035, with population increasing by 771,840 over the 25-year term to a new total of 7,319,469. “Massachusetts has been growing very rapidly in the past few years”, said Susan Strate, Population Estimates Program manager. “It’s been growing more than twice as fast as the Northeast average, and twice as fast as it had between Census 2000 and 2010 on average. The new projections pick up on this recent, rapid growth before the natural forces of an aging population eventually start to slow things down.” Among the study’s most significant findings, the population aged 65 and over will almost double in 25 years, increasing from 902,724 in 2010 to 1,679,917 by 2035 — changing from 14% of the state’s total population to 23% by 2035. At the opposite end, the population aged 19 and under is expected to decrease by 57,000 people, changing from 25% of the state population to just 21% by 2035. Some areas of the state — including the Greater Boston, MetroWest, and Central regions — are predicted to grow at rates well above the state average, while others, including regions in Western Mass., will experience only slow growth. The Cape Cod region is expected to lose resident population if recent trends in migration, fertility, and mortality continue. This projection series picks up on the recent, rapid growth experienced in Massachusetts through 2014, estimated at 3% cumulatively since the 2010 Census and averaging 0.7%, or 46,492 persons per year, according to U.S. Census estimates. According to UMDI projections, growth will be sustained at this rate through 2015, adding about 245,000 persons in the first five-year period, and then gradually diminish over time, slowing to 0.2% annual growth from 2030 to 2035. By comparison, Massachusetts grew by 3.1% cumulatively in the 10 years from 2000 to 2010.

State Announces $1 Million Expansion of AgEnergy Grants
BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker announced that Massachusetts farmers will soon be able to apply to the expanded Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) AgEnergy Grant Program, thanks to new funding from the Department of Energy Resources (DOER). As a result of the efforts of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matt Beaton, DOER Acting Commissioner Dan Burgess, and MDAR Commissioner John Lebeaux, DOER will provide $1 million to support a two-year expansion of the existing AgEnergy Grant Program. “A vibrant agricultural community in Massachusetts is essential to building healthy communities and a stronger economy across the Commonwealth,” said Baker. “As we celebrate the impact agriculture brings to our economy and history today, the expansion of the AgEnergy grants will help our Commonwealth’s farmers address their energy needs and increase their future opportunities for competitiveness in the global marketplace.” Added Beaton, “the AgEnergy Grant Program is an important part of keeping Massachusetts farms operational and competitive, while ensuring safe, long-term local food production.” The AgEnergy initiative is an annual competitive program for Massachusetts agricultural operations seeking funds to build energy projects to improve energy efficiency and facilitate adoption of alternative clean-energy technologies. By implementing these projects, agricultural operations can become more sustainable, and the Commonwealth can maximize the environmental and economic benefits from these technologies. “Supporting local agricultural operations through clean-energy investments and equipment upgrades is beneficial for the Commonwealth’s farmers, local consumers, and our clean-energy industry,” Burgess noted. Since its inception in 2009, the AgEnergy program has helped 156 farms build a variety of energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects, providing funding of more than $2.2 million toward $12.3 million in total project-construction costs, achieving more than $900,000 in either annual energy savings or energy generation. Projects have included installations of variable-speed-drive vacuum pumps and heat recovery for dairy operations; thermal curtains, biomass boilers, and high-efficiency heaters for greenhouses; cold storage and high-efficiency refrigeration for vegetable farms and orchards; high-efficiency arches, heat-recovery, and reverse-osmosis equipment for maple-syrup operations; anaerobic digesters; and a variety of photovoltaic projects for all farming sectors. “These new funds will provide a tremendous boost toward strengthening MDAR’s resources and our ability to serve the Massachusetts’ farm community in its own efforts to become more sustainable in their energy use and choice,” Lebeaux said.

Unemployment Holds Steady in New England
BOSTON — The New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released New England and state unemployment numbers for February 2015. These statistics are supplied by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, which produces monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor-force data. Among the key points, the New England unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3% in February. One year ago, the New England jobless rate was higher, at 6.3%. Four New England states posted jobless rates that were significantly different from the U.S. rate of 5.5%. New Hampshire and Vermont (3.9% each) recorded lower-than-average unemployment rates. In contrast, Connecticut (6.4%) and Rhode Island (6.3%) had jobless rates that were significantly higher than the national average in February.

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
Esteban Sanchez-Mejias and Maria Hernandez v. Commerce Insurance Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract and refusal to issue agreed-upon settlement checks: $7,325+
Filed: 4/3/15

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
Lisa Wood v. Massachusetts Department of State Police, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Allegation: Plaintiff’s vehicle was struck by a Mass. State Police, resulting in injury: $91,922.18
Filed: 2/25/15

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Deborah G. Earle v. BJ’s Wholesale Club
Allegation: Negligent maintenance of property causing slip and fall: $7,183.16
Filed: 2/15/15

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
La Casse v. Lego Systems Inc.
Allegation: Defendant failed to compensate for damages to property: $42,524.55
Filed: 3/6/15

PALMER DISTRICT COURT
Hibu Inc. f/k/a Yellowbook Sales and Distribution Co. Inc. v. Alban Insurance Agency and Orlando Alban
Allegation: Monies due for breach of contract, monies owed, advertising, and other services rendered: $10,797.78
Filed: 3/4/15

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Caserta Co., LLC v. Chase Management Services Inc.
Allegation: Breach of commercial lease: $19,550
Filed: 3/19/15

Laura Bardelli v. GA and BJ, LLC d/b/a Ambiance HR
Allegation: Negligence in hair-removal service, causing significant burns and scarring: $25,000+
Filed: 3/18/15

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation Executive Director Mary Walachy will be the recipient of the 2015 Springfield College Humanics Achievement Award as part of the undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 17 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The award recognizes an individual or group who has exhibited courage in the face of adversity, demonstrated leadership in service to others, advanced diversity and inclusion, served as a champion for the oppressed, furthered education in spirit, mind and body, or contributed significantly to the understanding of the universe. Walachy took on the role of executive director of the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation in 1997, with her primary responsibilities including the development of the organization’s strategic direction and new funding initiatives and guidelines, as well as providing general oversight of the foundation’s administration. Walachy has overseen the Cherish Every Child Initiative as it assisted in the passing of universal PreK legislation in Massachusetts and highlighted the importance of long-term return on investing in early childhood education. Along with her work with Cherish Every Child, Walachy directed the Davis Foundation into new collaborative endeavors, including the CAN DO initiative between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Hampden County Regional Employment Board, which focuses on the nursing shortage in Western Mass. She also developed a partnership with Lumina, Balfour, and Boston Foundations to establish the Achieving the Dream Initiative, designed to address community college retention and graduation rates. Walachy’s dedication to the community does not end at the Davis Foundation. She is a co-chair for Homes Within Reach, a member of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce board of directors and executive committee, and a member of the steering committee for the Massachusetts Early Education for All campaign. Prior to joining the Davis Foundation, Walachy served as an executive director for the Mental Health Association of Greater Springfield after earning a master of Social Work from the University of Connecticut.

Construction Sections
Safco Foam Insulation Helps Homeowners Fill In the Gaps

Stuart Fearn (center, with certified sprayers Todd Kinney, left, and Tyler Jenson)

Stuart Fearn (center, with certified sprayers Todd Kinney, left, and Tyler Jenson) says customers see spray-foam insulation as an investment that pays off in lower heating and cooling bills.

Stuart Fearn was a mechanical engineer by trade, but when the plant where he worked closed 12 years ago, he decided to switch gears and try his hand at entrepreneurship, figuring the sky was the limit.

Well, the roof, anyway.

“I looked at a bunch of different fields I might get into, and I came across spray-foam insulation,” he told BusinessWest. “I had never heard of it before, and I looked into it and studied it for months. I talked to people in the industry — suppliers and contractors from other areas, all over the United States — and I found out this was the real deal. So I decided to start my own business.”

He launched his Hampden-based company, Safco Foam Insulation, in 2003, touting the product’s ability to seal buildings more tightly than with fiberglass insulation, thereby reducing customers’ costs for heating and cooling. The timing, as it turned out, was ideal because of what was happening with energy prices at the time.

“When I started, those prices had started to rise. So my first five or six years in business, I saw 30% growth every year. Now I have multiple trucks and full-time crews, certified sprayers who have been working with me for more than eight years. All we do is spray-foam insulation.”

The upside for customers, Fearn noted, is the quality of the product. “The only downside is that it costs more money — initially.”

However, he said, “we did a cost analysis, and the average payback time is three years. It’s a no-brainer; it’s money in the bank. I ask people, ‘what else are you going to spend money on in your house that’s going to pay for itself? Nothing.’”

About 75% of Safco’s business comes through building and remodeling contractors — with about a 50-50 split between commercial and residential jobs — and the rest of the Fearn’s clients are homeowners.

“I’ve insulated hospitals; last year, we did a brand-new hotel,” he said. “We did the Pine Point Library renovation on Boston Road in Springfield. And we’ve done five or six jobs for Kringle Candle, which is a super-green company.”

Fearn recently sat down with BusinessWest to explain how spray foam is creating more energy-efficient new homes — and perhaps extending the lives of some older ones.

Expansion Mode

Spray-foam insulation, he explained, is sprayed onto any open surface or studded wall after electrical and plumbing services are in place. In seconds, the product expands to 100 times its initial liquid volume, permanently adhering to the surfaces of the surrounding building materials and sealing all gaps. The foam takes less than one minute to cure, and can be covered with sheetrock boards within a few minutes.

Icynene, the specific spray-foam brand Safco uses, is ‘hydrophobic,’ drying quickly after contact with water and losing none of its insulating properties. But it’s also breathable, so any moisture in the building’s concrete or lumber escapes through the foam, thus eliminating any risk of mildew or mold.

“It’s a solid, so it controls air movement, and condensation is eliminated,” he explained. “When that happens, it prevents rot, mold, mildew, all kinds of bad things. And the building life is a lot longer.”

For those reasons and others, “it’s becoming more and more popular, not only here in Western Mass., but all over the country,” Fearn said. “In Eastern Mass., around the Boston area, inside of 495, spray-foam insulation is the rule right now. It has the majority of the market share in certain pockets of the country.”

He noted that, across the country, insulation sales overall went up 6% last year, reflecting an uptick in construction following several lean or middling years. “But Icynene sales and market share went up double that,” he said. “The spray-foam business is growing throughout the country, along with awareness of the product.”

That awareness is being driven partly by popular home-improvement shows on the HGTV and DIY networks, he said. “About 50 people at the Home and Garden Show told me they saw this on Holmes on Homes, which uses it almost every week. They’ve used spray foam on This Old House. It’s becoming mainstream, and building codes are now encouraging it.”

When Fearn launched his enterprise, there were spray-foam insulators in Pittsfield and Charlton, but the field has since become far more crowded as the product becomes more popular with contractors and homeowners.

“We’re in a good place right now, but it is a very competitive environment. That means everyone has to be cost-competitive — and I haven’t raised my prices in probably seven or eight years,” he told BusinessWest. “At the same time, we’ve invested in the best equipment so my guys can work more efficiently, so we don’t have to raise prices.”

That’s the same kind of long-term cost analysis that consumers and contractors bring to the spray-foam decision, he noted, understanding that the initial cost up front is eventually surpassed by lower heating and cooling costs.


Keeping Cool

The proof, to Fearn, is in satisfied clients, noting that his company has completed more than 2,000 jobs. He ran into many of them at the recent Western Mass. Home & Garden Show at the Eastern States Exposition, and counted at least 24 fellow vendors through which his company had obtained work.

Indeed, spray foam saw an explosion in popularity over the past decade; in 2008, it represented about 3% of all new-home insulation but rose to 11% in 2012, riding a tide of stricter home-energy codes, according to a report by Home Innovation Research Labs.

But that figure fell back to 8% in 2013, and it may have to do with cost, the report noted. “Home builders are economizing across multiple product categories, using fewer and less expensive materials. This was seen in porches, decks, windows, flooring, and other product categories.” Meanwhile, with spray foam more common in higher-end homes, the market shift toward multi-family homes, currently accounting for one-third of all new home starts, might be keeping spray-foam sales down.

Still, Fearn continues to make inroads with the product, recounting a customer he saw at the show, a homeowner from Enfield. “He said, ‘thank you, thank you … you insulated my Cape, and it’s unbelievable; it’s super warm up there. I don’t even run the heat on the second floor anymore; I just heat it from the first floor, and the second floor stays warm, within two degrees of the first floor.’

“He was ecstatic,” Fearn went on, “but I said, ‘if you think you’re happy now, wait until the summer.’ Customers notice an even greater improvement in the summer, especially in a two-story house. Because of the foam insulation against the roof, it stops heat from coming in in the first place.

“Most people in our neck of the woods, when they think about insulation, they think of the terrible winter that just ended, and everyone thinks about heating,” he added. “But when are all the electrical brownouts? In the summer.”

Simply put, he argued, a product like spray-foam insulation reduces dependence on air conditioning, which reduces the load on the entire electrical grid. “The peak load on the grid comes during the summer. If we want to lower electrical demand in the summer, most of it comes in the form of AC. If we could minimize that, it would go a long way toward helping out our entire electrical infrastructure.”

Fearn noted that homes don’t have to be small or aesthetically dull to save on energy.

“These buildings insulated with foam are super-efficient, and they’re going to be affordable to keep around,” he said. “There are large, Victorian houses in Forest Park and Hill-McKnight in Springfield, and they’re beautiful. But if there’s a little more price increase in energy, those may be extinct because people just cannot afford to live in them and heat them.

“A large portion of the existing housing stock that is like that,” he went on. “That’s very worrisome to me. But it’s also market possibility for me.”


Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Construction Sections
Union Station Project Moves to Critical Next Phase

Bob Aquadro

Bob Aquadro stands inside the gutted central concourse at Union Station. Inset: an architect’s rendering of the planned new concourse.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno had probably been inside the old terminal building at Union Station a few dozen times since he was elected in November 2007, for press conferences, meetings with state officials, and assorted other gatherings staged to inform the public about its pending revitalization.

He had become quite familiar with the dark, dank interior of the old station, which has sat vacant and unused for more than 35 years, and many of its features, such as the terrazzo floor, some relics from the golden age of rail, the central concourse, and the famous clock stationed at its south end, its hands seemingly frozen in time.

So the mayor was somewhat taken aback when he walked in the 89-year-old building earlier this month as BusinessWest was offered a tour and update on the ongoing construction there.

He barely recognized the place, and for good reason.

The interior had been gutted right down to the brick walls and the structural steel support beams. The skeletal steel frame of the concourse, with its various-sized arches, was all that was left of the once-proud centerpiece. The clock was gone, and the tunnel that connected the terminal with Lyman Street and the rail platforms above was open for the first time in what is believed to be three decades. The mezzanine and third floors, also gutted to the walls, were inaccessible because the stairways to them had been torn down.

“Wow … this is really opened up,” said Sarno as he walked in the front entrance with Kevin Kennedy, the city’s chief development officer. “This place is huge.”

The work to gut the interior, revealing just how massive the landmark on Frank B. Murray Way is, represents some of the still-early-stage work in a massive, long-awaited, $76 million project to convert the long-dormant station into an intermodal transportation center and, hopefully, revitalize the area surrounding Springfield’s famous Arch. For Sarno and Kennedy, this is a multi-faceted economic-development initiative, one designed to restore a landmark but also create momentum and spur additional activity.

But for Bob Aquadro, senior project manager with Holyoke-based Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, it’s merely the latest — and also one of the largest, most challenging, and most complex — projects in a long career in construction.

Indeed, this multi-phase endeavor entails both new construction — especially a six-level parking garage and adjacent bus terminal — and historic renovation of both the station’s interior and exterior. Meanwhile, it also involves a host of constituencies, especially the two railroads — Amtrak and CSXT — that own the rails above the station and run several trains over them each day at speeds sometimes exceeding 40 miles per hour.

This project also features some rather tight deadlines and extremely difficult work — with both of those elements in evidence with efforts to waterproof that aforementioned tunnel area, one of the next steps in this intricate process.

“This is one of the most complex processes that I have seen in many years — there are a lot of players, and there’s a lot to put together to make this come off properly,” Aquadro said, referring to the tunnel work specifically, but also the project as a whole. “And once we get the railroads on board, we have a detailed phase-in plan for going through their yard and digging up that tunnel.”

There will be many other challenges involved with this endeavor, and for this issue and its focus on construction, BusinessWest looks at how, collectively, they will make this project as intriguing as it is historic.

UnionStationOldDays

Union Station

At top, Union Station not long after it opened in 1926. Above, an architect’s rendering of the renovated station, bus depot, and parking garage.


Platform Issues

Union Station wouldn’t be the first Springfield landmark that Daniel O’Connell’s Sons has constructed — or reconstructed, as the case may be.

Indeed, the company handled the massive rehabilitation of the of the Memorial Bridge in the early ’90s, and it also handled the $60 million initiative to build a new federal courthouse on State Street, a three-year project that was completed in 2008.

Aquadro served as project manager for the federal courthouse work, as he did for construction of the new, $80 million Taunton Trial Court, his most recent major assignment, and another endeavor that stretched through three building seasons.

“Projects I tend to get involved with are generally very lengthy,” said Aquadro with a laugh, adding that work to revitalize Union Station and build its related components will certainly continue that trend. By the time a ceremonial ribbon is cut in 2017, he will have spent close to four years on this assignment.

As he talked about the project, he and Clerk of the Works Leroy Clink stressed that there are many moving parts and a number of intriguing elements — starting with the station itself.

It is coming up on its 90th birthday, said Aquadro, and it is certainly showing its age — not to mention the fact that it has spent more than half its lifetime is serious decline or complete dormancy.

Indeed, like most all of the grand rail facilities, many of them called Union Station, built in the first two decades of the 20th century — many conceived to replace earlier structures that ushered in the era of rail travel — Springfield’s landmark fell victim to the rise of air travel and the nation’s interstate highway system, both of which began altering the landscape in the 1950s.

Changes in how Americans got from one place to another eventually led to the destruction of many of those stations, including, famously (or infamously as the case may be), New York’s Pennsylvania Station, torn down in the early ’60s. Others fell into serious decline and were eventually revitalized and often repurposed. That list includes Washington D.C.’s Union Station, New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Boston’s North Station, Worcester’s Union Station, and many others.

Springfield’s Union Station had to wait much longer than those facilities, but perseverance, especially on the part of U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Kennedy, who once served as Neal’s senior aide, finally paid off.

Plans to convert the station into an intermodal transit center and mixed-use facility, which have been on the drawing board for more than 20 years, are finally becoming reality, although most of those mixed uses proposed over the years — everything from an IMAX theater to a day-care facility to various forms of retail — have been shelved or scrapped altogether.

What survived were plans to restore the station to something approaching its former glory — at least in terms of aesthetics — and outfit it to accommodate expanded rail service within the region, and also build a new facility that would handle intercity, and perhaps intracity, bus travel.

Work at the station has actually been underway for well over a year now, with much of it focused on asbestos removal — an intricate and time-consuming effort — and then demolition of the station’s former baggage area to make way for the new bus facilities.

Given the station’s advanced age and decades of dormancy, crews spent considerable time assessing its condition and looking for possible surprises, said Aquadro, adding that designers and engineers needed to know what they were up against moving forward.

“That’s one of the reasons we did all this work early, to help the designers see what’s here, because it is very difficult,” he told BusinessWest. “We had to remove a lot of asbestos, and just removing the roof gave us an awful lot of information. There were some surprises, but it goes along with the investigation; this structure was built under different building standards than what we use today, and all of that had to be looked at.”

The $76 million Union Station project

The $76 million Union Station project is a mix of new construction and historic renovation.

Dry Subject Matter

Until recently, most of the work at Union Station was conducted out of the public’s view, with asbestos removal and other steps inside the terminal, said Aquadro, adding that the physical landscape started changing with the demolition of the baggage building, which is not complete.

And it will continue to change in a number of ways over the next several months with the start of construction of the parking garage, the bus depot, and a new road that will connect Frank B. Murray Way with Liberty Street.

Still, much of the work will go on behind the scenes, said Clink, including the upcoming work to waterproof the tunnel area and safeguard the complex from rain water.

“The waterproofing that the original builders put on this facility has failed; for this to become a working train station, that water has to be stopped,” he explained, adding that decades ago there were efforts to restore the tunnel without dealing with the water problems, and they met with disastrous results.

“This passenger tunnel is such a challenging piece because there are so many parties involved,” he went on, listing Amtrak, CSXT, and the Mass. Department of Transportation as just a few.

Dealing with these parties has been time-consuming, frustrating, and, yes, expensive, he added, noting that rail officials charge the city (and therefore those budgeting this project) for the time and effort negotiating how the trains will continue running throughout this process.

But all that has occurred to date will likely be a relative walk in the park compared with what’s to come, said Clink, adding that the waterproofing work on the track level must be carefully orchestrated so as not to seriously disrupt rail service, while also keeping construction workers safe.

Elaborating, he noted, as Aquadro did, that all rail service cannot be halted while crews for the railroads essentially remove or raise track, and the construction company that wins the bid for this stage of the project builds what amounts to a waterproof membrane around the nearly century-old tunnel. Instead, the work will be done in five stages, one set of tracks at a time, with CSXT actually laying some new, temporary track — known as a shoo-fly track — so trains can effectively travel around the work in progress.

This work is called positive-side waterproofing, said Aquadro, and it cannot be done in cold weather, which means the clock is ticking. Winter is eight months away, but that time will go by quickly, and Aquadro estimates it will take perhaps five or six weeks to complete each of the five phases.

“It’s a very tight timetable — there is very little margin for error,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the original starting date was April 1, which is now well in the rear-view mirror.

On the Right Track

Making the terminal building itself more weathertight will be much easier, said Aquadro, adding that water problems there were caused by leaks in the roof which will soon be addressed.

“And once it’s watertight, it’s sheetrock and studs, and off we go,” he said, referring to work to build out the old train station and its central concourse, which will have new and appropriate finishes and of obviously a more modern look.

The exterior of the building, while it still appears solid, needs some work as well, he said, adding that, when this project is completed, Springfield will have a unique and functional blend of old and new.

Like the trains that run above it, this project is all about moving parts, he noted in conclusion, and making everything run on time.

It’s a challenge — actually, a series of them — that he’s attacking head on.


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

Features
How a New Type of Virus Is Destroying Small Businesses

By DELCIE BEAN

Since the advent of the computer, even before the Internet, there have been viruses.

At its most simple form, a virus occurs when malicious computer code is hidden inside of other programs or data. While the concept of a virus itself is anything but new, just about everything else about them is.

Delcie Bean

Delcie Bean

A computer virus typically fits into one of three categories. First are nuisance viruses, typically created by a single person or a very small team that creates a virus that makes a computer do something that frustrates or annoys the user. In these cases, the most that is ever gained by the authors is bragging rights among their peers.

Second are resource viruses, which turn a computer into a robot that can be controlled by a hacker to do things like send spam e-mail. Typically the creator has a financial motive, but the end user whose computer is infected doesn’t typically suffer any consequences and, in many cases, might not even realize for months that they are infected.

For many years, these were by far the two most common types of viruses, but over the last 18 months, we have seen an unprecedented number of infections by a third category called ransomware. This type of virus infects a user’s computer and then holds the data contained on it hostage for a ransom.

As if that wasn’t scary enough, there is something else that makes this particular category a real concern. Normally a virus will come out, it will run its course, a protection will be developed by the antivirus community, and the problem will slowly fade out of existence. In this case, however, not only has the antivirus community been having a very hard time figuring out how to block it, each time they have been successful, the virus has come back a few months later even stronger and harder to stop.

The latest virus of this third category we find ourselves tangling with is called CryptoWall 3.0. We have been dealing with versions of this virus for the past two years; however, this latest strand is without question the most dangerous and complex virus that has ever hit the U.S. This is without question cyberterrorism, and the victims this time, more than ever, aren’t just home users, but businesses.

Once you get this virus, it immediately begins encrypting any data it can see. It scans your network drives, Dropbox, Google drive, and desktop, and encrypts everything it can touch. It is even able to infect your backups so you can’t simply just restore your files.

Once the files are encrypted, you have to pay a ransom to get them unencrypted. Some versions of the virus are even using a complex algorithm that estimates how much money they think you can afford. Most people end up with a $500 ransom at first that gets larger the longer you don’t pay it. However, you have only 30 days, and after that, you’re done. If you pay the ransom, they will promptly send you a key that will unlock all of your files. If you don’t, your files are gone forever because you will never be able to open them.

Over the last three months alone, I have personally seen a wide range of victims, including medical offices that have lost access to their electronic medical records as well as other critical patient data, law firms that lose access to client-management systems and case files, companies from all industries that lose access to their e-mail, municipalities that lose access to their billing systems, and manufactures that lose access to their ERPs.

In every single case, it was a work-stopping event where the business owner was put in the very difficult situation of having to decide to pay a ransom to an overseas terrorist or lose access to critical data forever.

In the short term, there is little we can expect from law enforcement. The terrorists seem to be aware of how to escape prosecution, using bitcoins as their form of ransom payment and being careful to never hit any one customer for more than a couple hundred thousand dollars, well beneath the realm of investigation for the FBI.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do. First, have your e-mail filtered externally by a reputable third-party cloud service. This helps to keep an e-mailed infection from ever reaching your network. Second, have a business-grade firewall that has the option of subscription-based security services, — and, of course, activate them. Third, use a remote backup application to back up your data offsite and in a way that the virus can’t infect. Fourth, make sure you are using a reputable anti-virus product that has a centralized management component, that it is installed on every machine, and that it is set up to send out notifications to whomever manages your IT if a threat is detected.

There is no silver bullet here — it just isn’t that easy. With just one of these groups estimated to have reaped $3 billion in revenue last year alone, stopping their attacks isn’t going to be easy, and it’s only going to get harder. Your best defense is to make sure you have well-educated and experienced resources looking out for your business’s interests.


Delcie Bean is founder and CEO of Paragus Strategic IT; (413) 587-2666, ext. 105; [email protected]

Features
Common Capital Program Helps Individuals Fuel Small Businesses

Common CapitalBeverly Weeks spent close to two decades as a librarian at West Springfield High School, so she understands the importance of researching matters thoroughly.

And that’s exactly what the now-retired Weeks did several months ago when she decided to reel in one of her investments, which she determined was too heavily focused on fossil fuels, and redirect that money toward something far more sustainable — and rewarding.

That research took her to Common Capital’s Community First Fund, which pools investments from people like Weeks and loans them to individuals trying to get a business off the ground or to that proverbial next level.

And that’s where her search ended.

“I was looking around for alternatives — I was searching for investments that would go back into my community, and this struck me as a good one,” she told BusinessWest. “I liked the fact that I would be making a loan that then makes it possible for a venture to get on its feet or add a new aspect or product to its business.

Claudine Baj

Claudine Baj says loans channeled to her through Common Capital have helped her expand her kitchen and bring in needed help.

“And I like the fact that it’s a loan, so the money keeps circulating,” she went on, adding that, as part of that extensive research she conducted, she read how Common Capital, formerly the Western Mass. Enterprise Fund, assisted some of those businesses crippled by the fire in a Hadley strip mall in the fall of 2013. “It’s rewarding to lend a helping hand — or a helping dollar, as the case may be.”

Such sentiments are exactly what administrators at Common Capital had in mind a few years ago when they decided to become part of what is now a national trend toward creating community loan pools to assist fledgling businesses.

Chris Sikes, Common Capital’s CEO, said this movement, if it can be called that, can be traced to New Hampshire, and it has quickly spread to many other areas of the country.

That’s because the concept is fairly simple, and — to the growing number of people who, like Weeks, desire investments that that can in some way be categorized as ‘sustainable’ — it’s also quite appealing.

Here’s how it works locally: the Community First Fund will accept donations of any size from $500 to $50,000 (the old floor was $1,000, but it was lowered to enable more people to participate). The loan term is three years with a 2% annual rate of return (better than most currently advertised CD rates certainly), with interest paid to participants semi-annually. Common Capital’s initial goal was to raise $500,000, but that has been passed — approximately $600,000 has ben amassed to date — and the new target is $1 million.

Contributions are pooled and placed in Common Capital’s general fund, where they are loaned to a diverse and growing roster of entrepreneurs who need some capital to make an important step forward, whatever that might be.

People like Claudine Gaj.

She started the Magic Spoon, a catering business, in 1998, and, over the ensuing years, has recorded steady if unspectacular growth. By early last year, she had come to a point most entrepreneurs reach, where she really wanted and needed to bring in help.

Jerry Zalucki, seen here with his wife, Suzanne

Jerry Zalucki, seen here with his wife, Suzanne, says that, when banks wouldn’t listen to his plans for his fledgling business, Common Capital would.

First, though, she needed to expand her facilities and add equipment, and to do that, she needed capital. She has found it through two loans facilitated by Common Capital and channeled through the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream loan program, launched by the Boston-based company’s founder, Jim Koch.

“I went to a Brewing the American Dream event, a meet-and-greet, and I got to meet Jim Koch,” Gaj recalled. “He said, ‘where do you want to be?’ And I said, ‘I really want to hire someone who has skills so I can get out of the kitchen, do more marketing, and be the boss, not the business.’

“He said, ‘what’s stopping you?’ and said, ‘I need to remodel my kitchen,’” she went on, adding that the second loan ($8,500) came through in January. She has, in fact, hired someone, and is “getting there” when it comes to bringing in more business.

Baj is, in many respects, the type of small-business owner that Common Capital assists, said Sikes, adding that the unofficial mission behind the Community First Program is to put more companies like Magic Spoon in the portfolio.

Thus, the program represents the quintessential win, win, win scenario. Donors win because they enter into totally safe investments (loans are secured by Common Capital) with a decent rate of return while spurring economic development and job creation in the region; loan recipients win because they secure financing they probably couldn’t receive from traditional sources; and the region wins because the fund is fueling a recognized surge in entrepreneurial activity.

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the Community First Fund and the many different ways it can measure success.


The Ride Stuff

Jerry Zalucki was searching for the right words. It’s not that he didn’t know what to say — he certainly did. He just didn’t know how, at least without offending a large group of business professionals.

He was trying to describe the commercial-lending environment in early 2011, just a few years after the Great Recession, and, more specifically, what it was like to be on the other side of the table from those doing the lending — or not.

“Let’s just say … well, let’s just say … it wasn’t a good time to be out there for looking for a loan,” he told BusinessWest, adding that it was his misfortune to be seeking some capital at that time for a venture called Auto Custom Leathers, an offshoot of a larger enterprise that had been sold.

It specialized in after-market leather and vinyl auto interiors — its current marketing slogan is ‘cover your ride with our hides’ — and Zalucki was able to use his own money to get the business into what he would approximate as first, maybe second gear.

“We had about 1,000 patterns, and I had the know-how, the knowledge, and the market idea, and thought I could make a go of it,” he recalled. “I had a little bit of money and did what I needed to do to get it going — but I knew it wasn’t enough.”

Indeed, to gain any real speed, Zalucki knew he needed capital, but the banks weren’t bashful about saying no, without even really hearing him out, at least in Zalucki’s estimation.

“You know when someone looks like they’re listening, but you know they’re not really listening … that’s how I felt. I had an idea, I did the numbers, I crunched everything, but no one cared,” he recalled, adding that a friend put him in touch with Sam Ortiz, director of Lending at Common Capital, who not only listened, but asked a number of questions.

Fast-forwarding a little, Common Capital was able to award Zalucki a $100,000 loan and a $50,000 line of credit. He used that capital to buy some equipment and expand the venture. His workforce went from eight to 15, and to accommodate the new growth created by that expansion, Common Capital awarded him a second package totaling $225,000.

“If it wasn’t for them, there’s no way I would have continued, and no way all this would have happened,” said Zalucki, adding that, while he’s not exactly in the driver’s seat, figuratively speaking, he certainly has his business on the right road.

In essence, Common Capital was created to help people like Zalucki and ventures like Auto Custom Leathers, said Sikes, adding that the Community First Fund, which accurately reflects the agency’s mission statement, was launched so the institution could assist more ventures like this one.

“Our goal as a nonprofit and as a community lender is to create economic opportunity,” he explained. “And central to that is creating a local, sustainable economy, and one of our main strategies for doing that is getting the community involved in its own economy.

“We have the ‘buy local’ movement, and we have the ‘invest locally’ movement as well,” he went on. “The Community First Fund provides an opportunity for people to invest locally and see their loans go into local businesses, create jobs, generate more local goods and services, and provide area residents and businesses more opportunities to buy local goods and services. We see this as a multiplier effect.”

In many respects, the timing for the launch of the program could not have been better. Indeed, several forces are coming together to make the Community First Fund a vehicle for economic development — and an attractive investment.

First, Baby Boomers — and also the generations behind them — are coming into money, record amounts of it, noted Sikes, quoting statistics showing that the Boomers stand to inherit something north of $30 trillion through what’s known as the ‘great wealth transfer.’ Meanwhile, many Boomers have done pretty well themselves, he went on, adding that many are seeking not only places to put their money, but places that meet a growing sense of environmental and societal sustainability — and responsibility.

At the same time, there is a great deal of entrepreneurial energy in the region, said Sikes, citing the efforts of groups such as Valley Venture Mentors and others to encourage entrepreneurship and mentor small-business owners. Also, with the arrival of MGM Springfield, there may be opportunities to do business with the casino giant for those with the wherewithal to take advantage of them.

Inevitably, most small-business owners will need capital, he continued, and some will need to turn to what would be considered non-traditional sources to get it.


Generating Interest

Chris Sikes, CEO of Common Capital

Chris Sikes, CEO of Common Capital, says the Community First Fund enables individuals to get involved with the local economy.

Helping to provide such funding is rewarding for Community First Fund participants on a number of levels, said Sikes.

“For the investor, it’s a chance to really feel and know that, financially, they’re investing in the community,” he said. “And that has a psychological, social, and even emotional impact on people, so they’re more concerned about the community.”

Elaborating, he said that, in the larger scheme of things, $500,000 or $1 million is not a large amount of money. But when one is talking about small (often very small) businesses, such an amount can go a long way and make a huge impact in the life of an enterprise.

“What we’re doing at Common Capital is really exciting, and we’re going to need a lot more local capital moving forward,” he explained. “Public monies are going to be diminishing, and the private investments are going to be more and more important.”

Those sentiments, or words to that effect in literature introducing and explaining the Community First Fund, resonated with Marty Wohl.

A Northampton-based dentist, he was, like Weeks, searching for investments that would do more than earn a respectable return. And he was motivated by the opportunity to get involved in a meaningful way.

“This program piqued my interest because, living in a community for a long time, you support different activities, causes, and charities,” he explained. “And this seemed a little like providing a fishing pole instead of a fish. It just made sense to provide funds that can be returned, but also make a difference.

“In a sense, it’s like a municipal bond, but obviously without any collateral or security or insurance,” he went on, adding that he became a participant nearly two years ago. “But being so local, it’s very effective for community building. And there’s a recognizable need for this, and that’s satisfying as well.”

Sikes said Wohl is typical of many donors to the fund in that he’s a professional from the Northampton-Amherst area (the northern portion of the region seems to be embracing this concept more than the Springfield area to the south), has a strong sense of community, and was looking for a sound, safe, and sustainable investment.

Moving forward, Common Capital’s goals are to grow the fund through wider participation, eventually improve the rate of return to make it more attractive, and perhaps give investors more control over where funds are directed — such as to a specific region or economic sector, Sikes told BusinessWest.

To reach more potential participants, Common Capital will more aggressively market the concept; to date, it has relied on word of mouth and information on its own website, common-capital.org. And one of the most effective ways to market the fund is simply to tell the stories of business owners who have been supported by loans from the agency.

“We want to get people excited about this, because it’s helping us do some great things in the community,” he explained. “We want to grow this fund and give it a broader impact across the region.”

Wohl’s first commitment to the Community First Fund will run its course in roughly a year. He’s already thinking about re-upping — he considers that a strong possibility — and might opt for a larger investment.

“I’ll decide that when the time comes,” he said. “Right now, I see no reason not to participate again.”

Weeks offered similar sentiments.

“I think this is something I may do again,” she told BusinessWest. “I didn’t give a whole lot the first time, but it was enough to make a difference, I hope, and I like that part about this.”


Bottom Line

Like everyone else who has secured a business loan, Baj now has some dueling emotions.

She’s elated that she received the money and is excited about what it means for her and her venture. At the same time, she’s naturally a little apprehensive about paying it back and taking the step forward needed to generate that revenue.

“We’re going to do some additional marketing and do whatever else we need to do to get where we want to be,” she said. “I’m not a grow-by-leaps-and-bounds person; it’s through small, steady steps — that’s how I want to run my business, because I never want to be too far ahead of what I can really handle. This is an exciting time for us.”

The Community First Fund was created to place more people in such a state, said Sikes, adding that he believes the program will continue to grow, gain momentum, and help write more entrepreneurial success stories.

That’s because, as he said, there are multiple winners in this scenario, including people like Weeks, who want to lend a helping hand — and a helping dollar.


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

Opinion
Now This Is a Sound Investment

We’re not at all sure how the nonprofit agency Common Capital intends to market its Community First Fund moving forward — to date, it has relied mostly on word of mouth — but we’re sure it could do a whole lot worse than letting Beverly Weeks become a designated spokesperson.

Indeed, the retired West Springfield High School librarian hits all the right notes and makes a truly compelling case as she discusses why she became involved with this endeavor (see story, page 6).

Weeks had become dismayed that one of her many investments was heavily involved with fossil fuels. She was looking for a different, more sustainable, and, well, more rewarding place to park some of her hard-earned money. After a lengthy search on the Internet, she found the Community First Fund.

Launched in late 2012, it invites area residents to invest in area small businesses — the startups and next-stage companies that often turn to Common Capital for help because they usually don’t qualify for traditional bank financing.

Weeks liked the terms of the loans — three years with 2% interest paid semiannually (much better than going CD rates and comparable to the return on a 10-year T-bill) — and really liked the fact that she would be helping a small-business owner, or perhaps two or three, get the money to move their enterprise forward.

“It’s rewarding to lend a helping hand — or a helping dollar, as the case may be,” she told BusinessWest.

Like we said, she would make a good pitchperson.

Not that Common Capital really needs one. We hope that this fund will essentially sell itself. The concept makes sense, and the timing is absolutely perfect.

The loan program is essentially risk-free (the loans are secured by Common Capital, which now has more than $3 million in net equity on its balance sheet), and it comes at a time when Baby Boomers are both coming into money — and looking for something to do with it — and approaching retirement.

And it also comes during a period of perhaps unprecedented entrepreneurial energy in the Western Mass. region.

Indeed, at all of the area’s many colleges, there is renewed emphasis on promoting and facilitating entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, groups and institutions ranging from Valley Venture Mentors to the Grinspoon Foundation to MassMutual are encouraging entrepreneurship and assisting companies with getting off the ground or to the next stage.

Eventually, such companies will need capital — to hire their first employee, or their second; to introduce a new product; to expand into a new market; to buy needed new equipment; or perhaps all of the above.

Common Capital has been there to assist such companies through a number of financing programs, and the Community First initiative will simply allow it to do more, because it will have more money to lend.

At the risk of sounding like one of those disclaimers at the end of an informational piece written by a certified financial planner, BusinessWest does not offer investment advice, nor does it recommend specific investments (there are experts who can do that).

But participation in the Community First Fund makes sense on a number of levels — from the relative safety of the investment to the return to the manner in which it will help fuel the entrepreneurship movement (OK, let’s call it that) taking place in this region.

What’s that word the experts use to describe such investments? That’s right, sound. That’s what this program is.

Just ask Beverly Weeks.

Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Amy Royal, principal and founding partner of Royal LLP, the boutique woman-owned, women-managed labor and employment law firm, was honored recently by the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition (MCC) at a ceremony at the State House in Boston. She was recognized for her efforts to diversify Royal LLP’s workforce by employing individuals with mental illness from the local community, with the support of Star Light Center and the MCC. State Rep. Ellen Story was on hand to present the award to Royal.

40 Under 40 Cover Story The Class of 2015
The Top Young Business and Community Leaders in Western Massachusetts

Diverse.
That’s a word that could be used to describe any of BusinessWest’s classes of 40 Under Forty winners. But with the class of 2015 (see the list below), an adverb like ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ would sem to be necessary.

That’s because this group of winners represents virtually every sector of the economy — from financial services to manufacturing; retail to healthcare; technology to nonprofit management; education to law. They also show the seemingly innumerable ways to give back to the community — from serving as a Big Sister to teaching young girls how to cheer; from service on nonprofit boards to work repairing homes in Springfield’s neighborhoods; from taking a leadership role in an Extreme Makeover project to service on the town of Orange’s School Building Committee (see the profiles of the five judge’s HERE).

The Class of 2015 will be feted at the annual 40 Under Forty Gala, set for June 18 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House. Always one of the most anticipated events of the year and best networking opportunities on the calendar, the gala will feature lavish food stations, entertainment, and the introduction of this year’s class, with individuals walking to the podium backed by a song of their choice. Download the flipbook of this year’s 40 Under Forty HERE

Tickets to the gala are $65 each, with tables of 10 still available. Tickets can be ordered by calling (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, for more information go HERE.

40 Under Forty Class of 2015


Presenting Sponsors:

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Sponsors:

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Photography for this special section by Denise Smith Photography

Community Spotlight Features
State School Project Tops Belchertown’s Priority List

Douglas Albertson

Douglas Albertson says redevelopment of the former Belchertown State School — and other highly visible projects — are lending momentum to the town’s growth.

With equal amounts of anticipation and relief, officials in this Hampshire County community talked about how redevelopment of the former Belchertown State School campus is finally underway — at least in a way that’s visible to passersby.

“We’re obviously excited about it,” said Town Planner Douglas Albertson with a touch of understatement in his voice. “We just approved a site plan for an assisted-living facility that will be built by the Grantham Group LLC in Marlborough.”

The development will include 83 units, and 40 of them will be affordable housing, he went on, adding that the town has a large senior population and the project will be particularly advantageous to older people who need a place to live but can’t afford market-rate rents.

The three-story structure, which will be known as Christopher Heights of Belchertown, is expected to cost $15 million. However, the Grantham Group has applied for $5 million in federal tax credits and another $2 million in state subsidies. Albertson said the developer is also seeking $250,000 in Community Preservation Act funds from the town, and the Board of Selectmen will vote on the request in May.

“Town officials, MassDevelopment, and BEDIC [Belchertown Economic Development & Industrial Corp.] have all worked hard to facilitate this project,” he told BusinessWest, adding that MassDevelopment is in charge of overseeing the cleanup of the former state-school property.

The Grantham Group was chosen to build the senior-living facility from among three entities that responded after MassDevelopment issued a request of interest for the site.

“They’re known for their assisted-living communities, and ever since the school closed, residents have said they would like to see one built on the land there, so we are thrilled that this is happening,” Albertson said. “It has great potential to enhance the community.”

He said the Grantham Group has developed dozens of assisted-living facilities, including the $13.4 million Christopher Heights of Northampton, which is situated in the Village Hill neighborhood on the grounds of the old Northampton State Hospital.

Although the property has been vacant for decades, several studies have been conducted to determine options for its reuse. Albertson said the last one was completed in 2009, thanks to $100,000 the town received from the state after the campus was designated as a priority development site.

At that time, Belchertown officials hired RKG Associates to assess the land, buildings, and layout of the 85-acre campus. When they finished, Fuss and O’Neill, a civil and environmental engineering consulting firm, created a conceptual use plan based on RKG’s findings. The work was done in association with the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, and although they came up with two uses for the property, mixed-use development was seen as the most viable option.

“Our strength is that we are a residential community,” Albertson said, adding that the report stressed that any new residential housing should be targeted to fill gaps in Belchertown’s existing housing inventory, which includes housing for seniors.

The report also concluded that the western end of the property was the most suitable location for residential housing, and advised a gradual transition to mixed-use buildings, then to businesses on the eastern end of the campus near the railroad.

“We’re still using their concept in our work with MassDevelopment,” Albertson said, adding the state agency is developing a master plan for the property.

The report also found the town had enough infrastructure to support dense development on the campus, and Albertson told BusinessWest that Belchertown officials have kept the property in mind over the years as they upgraded and expanded sewer and water distribution lines.

“Provisions have been made to accommodate expansion in that sector of town,” he said, adding that, after the buildings are razed to make way for the new assisted-living complex, the town will seek to bond up to $1.2 million for road construction and utilities over a period of several years.

For this, the latest installment in its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest looks at developments in Belchertown and how the state school project is expected to create momentum on several levels.

School of Thought

Belchertown State School for the Feeble Minded opened in 1922, had a storied history, and was closed in 1992 due to multiple lawsuits that cited inhumane conditions and poor treatment of patients. In 1999, the state turned the property over to the town, and the Board of Selectmen created the BEDIC to manage it and appointed a board of directors.

Although town officials did their best to secure the buildings, Albertson said, the structures have been vandalized over the years. And although a number of proposals were put forth for the site, none of them ever came to fruition.

However, that has finally changed, and the first signs of new life at the old state school could be seen last month when Springfield-based Associated Building Wreckers started working on the three acres where Christopher Heights will be built. The company removed asbestos and other hazardous materials from the area and will begin demolishing buildings in the section known as Pad I this month.

“The work is being paid for with state funding,” Albertson said, explaining that the Commonwealth has released $4 million of $10 million approved to conduct a comprehensive cleanup of the state school campus.

The town also instituted a special type of zoning for the site late last fall, and its Business Neighborhood Center District plan design will provide aesthetic consistency with the surrounding neighborhoods, while encouraging economic development. It will increase possible uses for the property, but site-plan approval by the Planning Board will be required for each development in the district.

“The one thing that was excluded is single-family housing because we didn’t want to compete with local builders who are finishing up subdivisions in town or hope to create new ones,” Albertson explained. “However, we do want to encourage housing for single people, seniors, and artists or artisans who want to create a studio and live and work in the same place. We would also like to have enough density so that people can patronize businesses on the property and work there.

“And now that the economy is improving, things are getting busy in other areas of Belchertown again,” he went on, adding that economic development has gained real momentum over the last year and many home-based businesses are also thriving. “It’s a hidden economy in Belchertown, and some of these businesses do expand.”

Belchertown has two new restaurants that are doing well, he went on. Oneis Almeida’s Café, which was built on an empty lot last summer near the state school campus on Routes 202 and 21, “has been a real success,” Albertson said.

Antonio’s Pizza by the Slice has also gained a following since it opened late last spring in its newest location on 31 Federal St.; others are in Amherst, Easthampton, Rhode Island, Texas, and Illinois.

“The owners saw an opportunity for a sit-down restaurant here,” Albertson said, adding that the location was home to Saporito’s Pizza before it was purchased in the early part of 2014. “The parking lot was packed immediately after they opened, and they have been busy ever since.”

Nelson’s Barber Shop also opened on the first floor of a house on North Main St. that had been a poorly maintained rental property for decades. “The neighbors are happy about it,” Albertson said, noting that the upper story is still a residential rental, but the entire ground floor is occupied by the business.

In addition, Belchertown’s first tattoo shop opened in February in the same strip mall as Antonio’s Pizza, and Surner Heating Co., which provides fuel and service throughout Hampshire County, is expanding its Belchertown facility.

“They’re adding propane and putting in two large underground tanks; the city recently approved the site work, which began several weeks ago,” Albertson said, adding that the property includes a building that houses a mini-mart, several apartments, and a gas station on Federal Street. “Their heating-oil storage tanks are also at that site, and they lease one to Noonan Oil; the business expansion reflects the fact that fewer people want to heat with oil. Propane is another option, and many people like to cook with it.”

Looking Ahead

Town and state officials hope Christopher Heights will spark renewed interest in the Belchertown State School property.

“The redevelopment of the campus has been a long-awaited project, and we’re excited about it. When it is done, we anticipate growth in surrounding areas; we believe it could be a catalyst for the whole area,” Albertson said. “The campus has always been pretty, but it hasn’t been maintained — but that is about to change.”

He cited a small plaza across the street from the property as an example of a site with room for growth. “The complex could be expanded. Plus, there are several other parcels available nearby,” the town planner said, adding that Easthampton Savings Bank opened a branch last year at the entrance to the grounds of the former state school.

Christopher Heights will support 65 construction jobs and create 40 permanent positions, and when the assisted-living community is complete, a long-neglected area in Belchertown will finally begin to realize its potential.

“We believe that, once the Grantham Group develops a portion of the site,” Albertson said, “it will give others the confidence to follow.”

Belchertown at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1761
Population: 14,735
Area: 52.64 square miles

County: Hampshire
Residential Tax Rate: $17.89
Commercial Tax Rate: $17.89
Median Household Income: $52,467
Family Household Income: $60,830
Type of government: Open Town Meeting; Board of Selectmen
Largest Employers: Belchertown High School; Super Stop & Shop; Cold Spring School

* Latest information available

Opinion
A Bitter, Necessary Pill for Holyoke

There is considerable angst, not to mention anger, in Holyoke these days, among residents and elected officials alike, as the state mulls whether to take over the city’s long-underperforming public school system.

And we certainly understand such emotions. No one wants to see a community cede control of its finances or its schools to the Commonwealth; receivership is truly an ugly term.

But sometimes, it is necessary. Sometimes, there is no real option. Sometimes, it is the proverbial desperate measure required in desperate circumstances.

This is one of those times.

Indeed, while some might argue that Holyoke Superintendent Sergio Perez, who came into this role less than two years ago, hasn’t had enough time to put his stamp on the system and engineer a turnaround, one can’t argue that the city has had plenty of time to generate improvement.

And it hasn’t happened.

In some ways, this is understandable. Reversing more than a decade of underperformance and unacceptably high dropout rates doesn’t happen easily. It usually happens only when those in authority have a license to institute bold initiatives and extricate themselves from restrictions forced upon them by powerful unions.

This can happen when a receiver takes charge.

It has happened in Lawrence — a city very similar to Holyoke demographically, with a high percentage of Hispanic residents — where receivership went into effect in 2012.

There, according to statistics quoted by the Boston Globe, the dropout rate has decreased by 46% since 2011, the graduation rate has gone from 52% in 2011 to 67% last year, and the number of level 1 schools (those deemed least in need of improvement) has tripled over the past three years.

State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester cited Lawrence’s improved performance as he talked about the urgency of the situation in Holyoke and his recommendation that the state take over Holyoke’s schools.

As we said at the top, this is a drastic, yet needed step for this city and its schools. Holyoke is registering considerable progress when it comes to entrepreneurial energy and economic development. But for this city to truly revitalize itself, its schools must improve, thus giving students a chance to succeed in a changing, more technology-driven economy.

The state wouldn’t be punishing Holyoke by taking over its schools; it would be aiding in its comeback. v

40 Under 40 Features
BusinessWest to Present New Award to 40 Under Forty Alums

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Presenting Sponsor:

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When BusinessWest launched its Forty Under 40 program in 2007, it did so to identify rising stars across our region — individuals who were excelling in business and through involvement within the community — and celebrate their accomplishments.

Today, BusinessWest is announcing a new award, one that builds on the foundation upon which 40 Under Forty was created. To nominate someone for this award, go HERE. To review an honoree’s profile piece from the year they were honored go HERE.

It’s called the Continued Excellence Award. Sponsored by Northwestern Mutual, this honor, as the name suggests, will be presented to the individual who, in the eyes of a panel of three judges, has most impressively continued and built upon the track record of accomplishment that earned them 40 Under Forty status.

The award will be presented at this year’s 40 Under Forty Gala on June 18 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, and will providing a fitting climax to what is always a memorable evening.

This will be a nomination-driven process, with nominations due to BusinessWest by 5 p.m. on May 22. Eligible candidates are those from all eight 40 Under Forty classes prior to the current year.

BusinessWest will announce this year’s judges in its May 4 issue. Judges weighing the nominations received will consider:

• How the candidate has continued and built upon his or her success in business or service to a nonprofit;
• How the candidate has continued and built upon his or her record of service within the community;
• How the candidate has become even more of a leader within the Western Mass. community;
• How the candidate has contributed to efforts to make this region an attractive place to live, work, and do business; and
• How the candidate has been able to inspire others through his or her work.

The judges will first narrow the field of nominees to five candidates, who will be informed that they are finalists for the coveted honor — an accomplishment in itself. The judges will then choose a winner; the identity of whom will not be known to anyone but the judges until the night of the event.

Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, said the award was created to recognize those who have taken already-impressive résumés — it takes one of those to become a 40 Under Forty honoree — and committed themselves to add new lines to it.

“All of our 40 Under Forty honorees — and there are, with this year’s class, 360 of them — are leaders; they excel in their chosen profession, and they give back within the community,” she said. “This award seeks to identify those individuals who continue to build upon their track record of excellence and find new ways to improve quality of life in this region.”

Kate Kane, managing director of the Springfield office of Northwestern Mutual, presenting sponsor of this year’s 40 Under Forty program and this new award, agreed.

“The 40 Under Forty program has provided this region with an effective vehicle for recognizing those individuals across Western Mass. who are doing great things, and doing them at a relatively young age — accomplishments that often go unrecognized,” she said. “With this new award, we wanted to go a step further and recognize individuals who have made an even deeper commitment to this region.”

While doing all that, the new award will certainly build upon the excitement and prestige of the 40 Under Forty program, and add still another level of suspense to what is already one of the best-attended and most anticipated events of the year.

“This should provide a thrilling climax to what will be a great night,” said Campiti. “This is an event people wait for all year, and now we can add still another layer of excitement.”

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Chief Financial Officer, Polish National Credit Union; Age 39

Jennifer Gallant

Jennifer Gallant

Jennifer Gallant’s interest in finance was sparked by a memorable business teacher in high school. The class was in accounting, however, and she didn’t see herself as the numbers-crunching type.

“I did two years of accounting in college, but I switched it up to do finance,” she said. “I like the analytical side; I have a lot of accounting experience, but I prefer analyzing numbers versus crunching them, and that’s what got me into finance.”

Gallant started her career as a teller at a local credit union before working her way up to CFO, later joining Polish National Credit Union in the same capacity. “I do asset and liability analysis, I oversee the budget, I approve and monitor all expenses, I do investing, I analyze the rates, and I supervise the accounting department,” she explained. “I’m a member of the executive management team; we all work together to run the credit union.”

She said she enjoys the challenge of analyzing the budget and making sure the credit union is operating within it — and, if not, determining why and taking steps to fix it. But she also enjoys mentoring high-school and college students who are interested in finance — in effect, paying forward what that business teacher did for her.

“We have a branch at Chicopee Comprehensive High School, and the tellers are high-school students, so we interact with a lot of students already,” she explained. “If we see potential there, or if someone expresses an interest in some area of the credit union, we’ll bring them on as a summer intern. It really helps show them the big picture of the credit-union industry.

“We’ve had some enthusiastic candidates go on to college to study finance, accounting, or business management,” she added. “I enjoy sharing my experiences with the interns, helping them figure out what they want to do. If that future is here, locally, that’s fantastic.”

Along with her full-time job, mentoring roles, and raising three children, Gallant also finds time to give back to the community through such organizations as Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen, where she serves as board member, finance committee member, and HR committee chair.

“I love the feeling I get from helping people,” she said. “I understand everyone leads a busy life these days, and it’s easy to let those things fall by the wayside, because you don’t have to do them. But if everyone had that mentality, who would do those things? I just think it’s important.”

— Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Architect, Studio One Inc.; Age 36

Christopher Novelli

Christopher Novelli

Chris Novelli says he’s been drawing, designing, and stretching his imagination for about as long as he can remember.

“I would draw little floor plans of my room and rearrange the furniture on a monthly basis almost,” he recalled of his grade-school years. “I had no idea what an architect was … I was just trying to find different ways to make my room better.”

He soon came to fully understand what an architect was, and after drafting classes in high school further fueled that desired to create, he attended the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Fast-forward several years and one intense internship at Studio One Inc. in Northampton, and Novelli is now a fixture at that company.

He’s been an integral part of a number of intriguing projects, including historical preservation and adaptive reuse of the Colle Opera House in Turners Falls, a long-abandoned landmark transformed into offices for technology companies; design and renovations of the both the interior and exterior of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Springfield for its 100th anniversary; design and construction of the new Hubert Place for WestMass ElderCare, an affordable senior-living facility in South Hadley; and, most recently, design and construction of the new Magazine Commons for Mental Health Associates, affordable housing for people with disabilities who were displaced from their homes by the 2011 tornado.

Each of these projects and countless others came with specific challenges and, usually, a very high degree of difficulty, said Novelli, adding that clearing such obstacles and devising solutions to complex problems is just one of many things he loves about his profession.

“You get to be creative on a daily basis, and there’s incredible variety — each day is different,” he explained. “One day I’m working on something that’s totally creative and artistic, the next day I’m working through technical details. The next time I’m on the job site working with the general contractor, and the day after that I’m giving a lecture at UMass. There’s always something new and different going on, and I really like that aspect of my work.”

Meanwhile, Novelli makes ample time for his family — wife Lisa and children Ethan, Samantha, and Jocelyn — and his community, Wilbraham, donating time and imagination to both the town’s Vision Task Force and Vision Action Committee. Indeed, drafting a blueprint for effective work-life balance is just another challenge he’s embraced.

— George O’Brien
Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Owner, Celia Grace Wedding Dresses; Age 31

Marcelia Muehlke

Marcelia Muehlke

By now, many people in the Pioneer Valley know Marcelia Muehlke’s story — or at least how it starts.

She was getting married six years ago, and as preparations got underway in earnest, she began an extensive search for a maker of fair-trade wedding dresses. “For my wedding, I wanted a dress that would reflect my values for human rights and environmental sustainability, and I was concerned about child labor being used on my dress,” she recalled. “So I said, ‘I’ll just find a dress that I can feel good about instead of worrying about.’”

Upon finding no dress label that could meet those standards, she set about creating one. Indeed, not long after completing her MBA at UMass, she traveled to Asia and set up a supply chain that could create high-quality garments that she and her clients could feel good about. She began working with a group of women in a sewing group in Cambodia, contracted with a designer in New York, and got her business — her dream — up and running.

She would call it Celia Grace, a brand derived from her own name and a word she says has many definitions, “including ‘goodness’ and ‘beauty,’ which is what we stand for.”

Three years later, she’s selling dresses across the country and in Europe, and is being touted as one of the region’s more intriguing, and successful, entrepreneurial success stories. Awards and accolades include a Grinspoon Entrepreneurial Success Spirit Award in 2011, a finish in the money at the UMass Pitch Competition in 2012, and a second-place finish at Valley Venture Mentors’ pitch contest during the Western Mass. Business Expo in 2012.

Her success in those competitions reflects the quick and now-global success of the brand, which is, in many ways, the right product at the right time — when a growing number of women are paying as much attention to where and how a dress is made as they do to how they look in it.

“We enjoyed some really exciting growth last year, and this year is off to a great start,” said the mother of a 1-year-old daughter. “This is the high season for wedding dresses, and it’s just an exciting time for us.”

She joked that she’s still waiting for a top celebrity to choose her label and thus give the brand a marketing boost and perhaps even more credibility. But otherwise, her product — and her dream — are exceeding every expectation.

— George O’Brien

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Owner and Operations Manager, Beloved Earth Co.; Age 33

Terra Missildine

Terra Missildine

Terra Missildine says there’s a lot more to being a ‘green’ cleaning company than simply using organic products. And she would know.

Indeed, she and her husband, David, started such a company — Amherst-based Beloved Earth — before the business community and public at large really knew, or appreciated, what green cleaning was. And they’ve learned many things over the years as they’ve set the standard in this realm.

This includes everything from determining which product manufacturers are truly green — they all say they are — and which ones are simply capitalizing on a movement by using that word, to ‘batching’ customers to reduce travel time and thus their carbon footprint.

“We respect a triple bottom line,” said Missildine, noting that the company focuses on what she called the 3 ‘Ps’ — people, profit, and planet. “We want to be a positive impact not only for our clients, but also in the community, for our employees, and for the environment.”

As she retold the story of how she and David got into this business — something she does often and in a wide array of forums — Missildine said it happened out of both desire and necessity.

“In 2005, my husband and I were newlyweds, and he found himself unemployed suddenly,” she recalled. “I was in school studying sustainable living at UMass Amherst. So we decided to start a company together, and we wound up being the first green cleaning company in Western Massachusetts, and it just took off from there.”

The two knew what they were doing when it came to cleaning, but learned on the fly in terms of doing it in an environmentally friendly way. Today, the company boasts a deep portfolio of residential and commercial clients across Western Mass., including the Eastworks building, Hilltown Cooperative Charter School, Brain Balance Achievement Center, Keller-Williams Real Estate’s locations, and many others.

Meanwhile, as she and her husband continue to grow Beloved Earth, Missildine is also advancing another business initiative, one that will focus on the specific needs of entrepreneurs with young children. Again, she’s working from experience — she and David have a 1-year-old daughter.

“I’m hoping to open the doors of a co-working space in the Holyoke area that has on-site childcare,” she said. “It will specifically cater to the parent-entrepreneurs, the work-from-home professionals, and freelancers, so they can be great parents and great businesspeople, without having to choose one over the other.”

— George O’Brien

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
President, Northeast IT Systems; Age 36

Joel Mollison

Joel Mollison

As a student at Greenfield Community College in the mid-’90s, Joel Mollison couldn’t have imagined himself forging a career in information technology, much less starting his own business in that field. But circumstances changed things, and in a big way.

“I got into this industry by default,” he explained. “I actually started out as a mechanical engineering major and found out I hated it. But along the way, I bought a very expensive computer to do some of my engineering at home. I had a problem with it … I had a warranty from Staples. They wanted me to send it out for six to eight weeks during the middle of the semester, which simply wasn’t feasible.

“So I wound up fixing it myself — taking the cover off, replacing the parts, voiding the warranty, and all that fun stuff,” he went on. “That’s when I got under the hood and decided that this was something I was interested in.”

In other words, he learned by doing, a pattern that would continue after he changed his major to information systems and followed up his associate’s degree from GCC with a bachelor’s from American International College.

Indeed, after surveying a job market that was still quite weak after the dot-com bust that followed Y2K, he decided his best option would be to go into business for himself. He called the venture Joel Mollison Computer Services before taking on a business partner and changing the name to Northeast IT. Today, there are 10 people on the payroll, and the company has a diverse portfolio of clients ranging from municipalities and chambers of commerce to small businesses such as law firm Royal LLP.

A dozen years after getting started, Mollison said business ownership continues to be a learning experience, with no shortage of challenges and new ones seemingly every year.

“There were some lean years in the beginning because I really didn’t know what I was doing,” he recalled. “No bank would touch me, so I started things with credit cards and boot-strapping. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but you learn from those mistakes, and you get better as the years go on. It’s all worked out, but it’s been a long ride — with a long way to go.”

While that ride continues, he’s set to embark on another learning experience — he and his fiancée, Christine Grynkiewicz, are planning a wedding for this fall.

— George O’Brien

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Owner, Ruggeri Real Estate; Age 37

Joseph Ruggeri

Joseph Ruggeri

Joseph Ruggeri’s life has been rife with opportunity. His family owned a business, he attended private school, and he was able to travel. “It was a given that I would go to college, do well, have a career, and make money. My life has been very fortunate,” he said.

However, he knows that many people lack the same opportunities, and as a result, Ruggeri says he has devoted his life not only to “establishing his reputation as a hardworking, fair, and trustworthy member of the community,” but also to opening doors for others.

He volunteers for many organizations, but he says his most important assignment is to be a good father and family man. Ruggeri and his wife Taffy have a 4-year daughter, Sofia, and a 1-year-old son, Anthony. “I regard the measure of my success by how I raise my kids and the quality of my family life,” he said.

Ruggeri took over his grandfather Alfonso’s real-estate business and said he was an excellent role model. Today, he takes pride in helping people purchase homes. “When someone buys a home, they are investing in the future,” he said. “A home is something that can appreciate in value.”

Ruggeri serves on the board of Greenfield Public Library, Friends of the Greenfield Public Library, and the Greenfield Community College Foundation, and is co-chairing its annual fund-raising campaign for the third year.

“The library is important; some people can’t afford a computer or even to buy a book, and it gives them access to those things, while GCC provides the opportunity to get an affordable education,” he explained. “It can break cycles in families when a person earns a college degree.”

He added that GCC also allows teens in high school to take classes before graduation and helps people get the education or training they need to enter a new profession.

He is proud to be an elected clerk of the Greenfield Board of Assessors, and has held the position for six years. Ruggeri is also a two-year appointee of the Greenfield Building and Construction Committee and former member of the Greenfield Sustainable Master Planning Committee.

“But, most of all, I am a proud father,” he said. “My family and wife motivate me and give me purpose in life, and I want my children to have opportunities here in the future.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Podiatric Surgeon, Western Massachusetts Podiatric Associates; Age 36

Dr. Anthony Sarage

Dr. Anthony Sarage

From his grade school days, Dr. Anthony Sarage was intrigued by medicine. “I always wanted to do something in the medical field — that was always something interesting to me — but there were so many different medical specialties out there.”

What wound up grabbing his interest were the lowly feet — not a part of the body people often think about enough, or at least not as much as they should, especially as they get older or are especially active.

As a podiatric surgeon, he treats patients of all kinds — from newborns to geriatric patients — at Western Massachusetts Podiatry Associates, P.C. in East Longmeadow.

“I joined back in 2007 and have been a partner for the past four years,” said Sarage, who performed his residency in reconstructive foot and ankle surgery. “There’s a wide variety of things we see on a daily basis, from medical management to surgery to sports medicine. It really is a comprehensive foot and ankle practice.”

The practice boasts additional locations in Northampton and Ware, and Sarage performs surgery at Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Mary Lane Medical Center, and Mercy Medical Center. He has also served as a trustee of the Mass. Podiatric Society since 2012, an examination reviewer with the National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners since 2008, and the Springfield College Alumni Assoc. since 2000; at college, he racked up numerous academic awards and was class president for four years.

In addition to the variety of conditions he treats on a daily basis, his practice also has a partnership with the Baystate Wound Care Center, he noted, an important aspect of podiatry since effective wound treatment is often a key factor in limb preservation.

Sarage understands the importance of healthy feet for an active lifestyle, as he and his wife, Dawn — a nursing administrator at the Hospital of Central Connecticut — are avid fans of the outdoors, enjoying running (including half-marathons), cycling, and golfing, among other activities. But he’s a sports fan of the more passive kind, too.

“I’m definitely big into the Patriots, Bruins, and Yankees,” he said. “Yes, a Patriot and Yankee fan. That’s not an easy thing to be.”

Sarage’s love of family — he and his wife had a daughter, Lea, late last year — is just one more reason podiatry makes sense for him.

“My job is more conducive to a 9-to-5 schedule, as opposed to being up all hours of the night and weekend,” he said. “That’s a big draw, the lifestyle and family standpoint.”

— Joseph Bednar
Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Certified Financial Planner, New England Financial Group; Age 38

Keith Tatlock

Keith Tatlock

The ‘lock’ in Keith Tatlock’s last name reflects his mission in life. Security is important to him, and the principles he learned in the military permeate everything he does.

Tatlock is a major in the Air National Guard at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, where he serves as aircraft maintenance officer, as well as an award-winning certified financial planner. “The military has played an important role in the backbone of who I am,” he said. “It allowed me to develop skill sets and leadership abilities, and the camaraderie and discipline were a natural fit.”

In fact, Tatlock has demonstrated the Air Force values of “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in everything” throughout his career.

He became a certified financial planner in 2005, and leads a team that manages $70 million in assets for New England Financial Group (NEFG). He has more than 300 clients, has grown the business by more than 28%, and has been recognized among the top 10 of company producers. “It’s important to help my clients put a plan into place that will protect them during different stages of their life,” he said.

Tatlock was named NEFG’s Associate of the Year in 2006 and its Top Associate in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. In addition, the group he oversees was recognized as the company’s Top Advisor Team in 2012 and 2013. “Money is a very sensitive subject, and integrity is an important factor in my work,” he said.

Tatlock is a member of the Financial Planning Assoc. of Massachusetts, where he supports military personnel, especially those stationed overseas. He’s also a chartered federal benefits employee consultant who has been feted for his work with federal employees, the military, and public-school teachers.

He and his wife Christina are parents to 5-year-old Jake and 1-year-old Lyla. Meanwhile, he has received four Accommodation Medals for Meritorious Service and climbed the ranks in the Air National Guard, where his leadership skills were recognized in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He was deployed to an undisclosed location in support of Operation Freedom in 2012 and says it has been easy to transfer his military leadership skills to his civilian career. “It’s important to help keep people secure,” he said. “If you are not putting in 110%, you are not putting in your top performance.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Senior Academic Counselor, Holyoke Community College; Holyoke City Councilor; Age 39

Jossie Valentin

Jossie Valentin

Jossie Valentin has been helping people — often in the most difficult of circumstances — all her adult life. It’s a road her mother foresaw.

“My mom always said she knew, since I was a little kid, that I would be helping people in some way,” Valentin said. “We would always talk about that. She was a huge part of instilling this in me; she made a lot of sacrifices for me to get a good education and go to college and make sure I was on the right path.”

Armed with degrees in psychology and forensic psychology, and licensed as an alcohol and drug counselor, Valentin’s former roles include program director of the Arbor House, a substance-abuse residential treatment program in Holyoke, and program director of the Psychiatric Evaluation and Stabilization Unit at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow.

Since 2006, she has served Holyoke Community College students as a bilingual senior academic counselor. “Because it’s a community-college setting, there’s such diversity of students in terms of age and other factors,” she said. “We can have somebody just out of high school or someone who just got laid off from a job, starting on an all-new track.

“I specialize in working with students most in academic trouble,” she added. “Some students are on academic probation or have been dismissed from the college and are trying to get back on track. A lot of personal issues come up to cause them to fall off track.”

Also in the spirit of helping people, Valentin also won a seat on Holyoke’s City Council in 2013.

“All my professional experiences prepared me to be city councilor in Holyoke, working with our community. I wanted to get involved with different initiatives within the community — it’s not just about serving on boards or putting my name out there, but getting to know people of diverse backgrounds and trying to help them. You can get a call from a constituent asking about a pothole and end up talking about mental-health or substance-abuse services.”

Valentin also co-founded the 2014 Holyoke Walk Against Violence rally, and is the co-founder of the Holyoke LGBT Task Force, an organization that recognizes the dignity of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities — an offshoot of the mentoring work she and her wife, Myriam Quiñónez, did helping Holyoke teenagers (including future Mayor Alex Morse) establish a ‘pride prom’ for LGBT youth.

“My mother had high expectations of me,” she concluded, “and I need to make sure I’m giving back and paying it forward.”

— Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Attorney, Marinosci Law Group, P.C.; Age 29

Bridget Fiala

Bridget Fiala

When she first started out in law, Bridget Fiala worked for a firm that handled a broad variety of work, but she never found a niche she especially liked.

That changed when she joined Marinosci Law Group, which is strictly a real-estate law firm, handling both commercial and residential transactions and refinances. “I represent people who are buying and selling their houses, as well as the bank in regard to the transaction,” she said.

Fiala finds the work appealing, she noted, because she can usually put her head on her pillow at night without dwelling on the often-troubling aspects of other legal practices.

“I like working with people at what can be a very exciting time in their lives — when they’re buying a house for the first time or selling their first house. Maybe they recently had a baby, and they’re trying to find something bigger. Whatever the case, it’s usually not a terrible situation, unlike people who work in family law, bankruptcy, things like that.

“It’s a pleasure helping people with a good part of their lives,” she added, “something that generally makes them happy.”

As a political science major in college, Fiala has long been interested in government and politics, which led her to run for West Springfield’s Town Council in 2013, becoming one of its youngest-ever members.

Meanwhile, she has donated her time and energy to a number of local civic organizations, including the West Springfield St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, Dr. Seuss Read Across America, Clean Up West Springfield, Operation Santa, and Taste of the Valley, to name a few.

“When I graduated law school and had the ability to give more of my time, I was also burdened with debt — so it felt like all I had to give was time,” she said. “I was able to donate my time to give back instead of writing that big check.”

Fiala is most gratified that so many of her community-oriented efforts revolve around her hometown.

“It’s huge for me. I was born and raised in West Springfield, and I was a user of all those programs, so this is my way of giving back,” she said. “I love the town I live in. I’m not going to go anywhere else; I want to raise my family here and help grow the town and make it better, get involved, and try not to miss out on an opportunity to help out if I can.”

— Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
President, Hadley Printing Co.; Age 38

Chris Desrosiers

Chris Desrosiers

Chris Desrosiers remembers Hadley Printing — the small, one-man shop started by his grandfather, Alexander, and then acquired by his his father, Mark, and uncle, Dean — being a huge part of his life growing up. He recalls being at the shop handling odd chores while in grade school, before graduating to more serious roles on the production floor during summers in high school.

But he never intended to be part of any third-generation ownership team. In fact, after graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology and its printing management program, he went to work for a printer in Boston. Everything changed, however, in 2003, when Dean decided he wanted to sell his ownership stake in the company. Chris saw this as a unique, and unanticipated, opportunity to return to Western Mass. and scratch an entrepreneurial itch, and he partnered with his brother, Greg, to acquire those shares.

A decade later, they completed the acquisition, buying out their father, and today they’re full partners in a business that is setting the tone in a changing, increasingly competitive printing industry.

While Greg is focused primarily on sales and marketing, Chris is involved with operations, and he played a huge role in expanding the company’s services to the larger-scale printing projects demanded by many commercial customers, thus helping it double sales since 2003.

The third-generation owners have invested heavily in equipment and people, a trend that continues with the acquisition of a new Kumari five-color, 40-inch press recently installed at the Holyoke plant. “This will help us take that large-format commercial segment to a new level,” he explained. “This investment will pay dividends.”

He’s expecting a similar return on investment from the time and energy he’s contributing to efforts to groom the next generation of printing professionals, through his involvement with Dean Technical High School and its graphic communications program.

“A business like ours is so technology-driven, it’s really a trade handled by craftsmen,” he explained. “The staff we have here is in their 40s, 50s, and 60s; we have a lot of talent here, but over the next 10 years there’s going to a be a lot of attrition, and finding people who not only have interest, but also the talent and experience, is tough these days. I got involved at Dean because I wanted to help develop new talent for this trade — and this business.”

— George O’Brien

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Co-owner and Partner, A. Crane Construction; Age 32

Andrew Crane

Andrew Crane

Andy Crane says he doesn’t have much downtime between work and family, but he devotes a decent chunk of what he does have to “old-man softball” and especially touch football. He plays mostly defensive tackle in the Western Mass. Touch Football League, and when its fall season ends, the squad plays through the winter in a domed facility in Greenfield on Friday nights.

“I really like football. It’s a good release, although it’s almost time to give it up — my joints are starting to creak and crack,” he joked, adding that he won’t have to look hard for new uses for that time if he is forced to retire.

Indeed, Crane, the father of two (ages 7 and 1) is co-owner of A. Crane Construction in Chicopee, a venture started by his father (also named Andrew) that specializes in all phases of residential and light commercial construction and also manages condominium complexes and other types of commercial real estate.

The Cranes divide the various, and many, responsibilities, with the elder serving as primary salesperson and the younger handling outside operations and most day-to-day activities. They make all the key business decisions as a team, and together they’ve generated strong, steady growth over the past several years.

While providing effective leadership for the company, Crane is doing the same within the community. He is immediate past president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Assoc. of Western Mass., and is still heavily involved locally as chair of the organization’s building maintenance committee and the Home Show committee, and he’s also on the state board.

He’s also on the board of the Pioneer Valley Red Cross and serves as chairman of the committee that selects the organization’s Hometown Heroes, and he played a key role in an Extreme Makeover project in 2011 as construction manager.

Most recently, he was named to the board of Westmass Area Development Corp., which oversees several industrial parks in the region, the latest being the Ludlow Mills initiative.

He’s been on that board only a few months, but he takes great pride in its mission to spur economic development.

“I really enjoy the work — bringing economic opportunities to the region is rewarding on many levels,” he explained. “I don’t see any other way to grow Western Mass. other than bringing industry here; with industry comes people to work here, and when people work here, I get to build houses for them.”

In other words, he gets to help build momentum in many different ways.

— George O’Brien

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Operations Manager, CRD Metalworks LLC; Age 36

Patrick Davis

Patrick Davis

Patrick Davis says his Williamsburg-based company, CRD Metalworks LLC, flies under the radar.

“We’re not trying to be too big for our britches; we’re very earnest, humble people, doing the best we can,” he said of the forestry-products manufacturing firm, which employs 15 people full-time. “We’re nestled here in the hills of Massachusetts, and we’re proud to be local employers in our industry. We’re not a household name in Western Mass., but ask someone working in the forestry industry who we are, and they’ll know immediately.”

Specifically, he noted, “we are the nation’s largest manufacturer of firewood-processing equipment. Basically, a firewood processor takes a length of tree and splits the wood; it’s all mechanized.”

Davis didn’t plan on working in the forestry industry; as co-founder of Montague Webworks, he was an Internet marketing professional serving clients throughout the Valley. Christopher Duval, CRD’s owner, hired Davis in 2007 to help grow his business, and in 2009, Davis sold his marketing firm to his partners to work full-time as CRD’s operations manager. In that role, Davis manages virtually all aspects of the rapidly expanding enterprise.

“Since 2009, we’ve multiplied the growth of the company 15 times; we were a $300,000 company, and now we’re a $10 million company,” he said of the firm, which now ranks as the number-two company in its industry domestically, with about 400 active clients in 41 states and 12 foreign countries. “It’s been quite a ride. We’ve done that through our marketing efforts, but also because we have an exceptionally good product. It’s a family-owned company, and our market segment loves that.”

Despite the challenges of his wide-ranging job, however, Davis finds plenty of time for civic involvement as well, chairing the Orange Town School Building Committee and serving on the boards of his church and area professional organizations.

“I just got elected to the elementary-school board in Orange,” he said. “I live in a small community, and I was raised in a very small, tight-knit, Roman Catholic family. I’m a firm believer that you should put your resources where they can be most effective. I don’t fancy myself a politico, but if you have the leadership ability to speak on behalf of others who can’t or choose not to do it themselves, it’s important to do so.”

Davis also sees civic involvement as setting an example for his two children.

“I take my role as a father very seriously,” he said. “When they ask questions, it gets them involved, too, and they know it’s important to do things for others.”

— Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Clinical Ethicist, Baystate Medical Center; Professor, Elms College; Age 29

Peter DePergola II

Peter DePergola II

Peter DePergola remembers, during his school years, doing his homework inside Baystate Medical Center’s intensive care unit, which his single mother managed. “I was surrounded by members of our community, and I remember feeling passionate about the difficult decisions being made — the impossible and emotionally devastating decisions.”

Those run the gamut from underage pregnancies and abortion to end-of-life calls — some of the most complex, wrenching, and emotionally charged cases doctors face.

As he got older, DePergola wondered, “wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing to provide support and decision-making models to help individuals, not necessarily to get through the process easier — no matter how prepared you are, it’s never easy — but to make better sense of a difficult process?”

Today, that’s the role he plays as a clinical ethicist at Baystate.

“It’s a burden and a blessing to be invited into the most intimate corners of people’s lives — usually when they’re most vulnerable — and asked to deliver some sort of wisdom,” he said, adding quickly that the patient or family is always in charge. “Ethics is a recommending body, not a decision-making body. I help patients and families come to a decision they believe is best for them.”

Not many hospitals employ a full-time ethicist, but DePergola thinks the role will become more common in the next decade or so. His own job is multi-faceted, from speaking with families to training medical students in ethics to helping formulate hospital policy on various individual and public health issues.

DePergola also lectures at Elms College, teaching nursing students about healthcare ethics, business and MBA students about international business and global ethics, and theology students about how ethics applies to religion.

“I always joke with my students that I hold teaching spots in every major division at Elms — except for education, so I can’t promise I know what I’m doing,” he laughed, before noting that his broad background and degrees in philosophy, theology, and healthcare ethics enable him to show students “how the decisions we make contribute to the people we’re becoming.”

He returned to the idea that, despite the critical issues his patients face, his job is a privilege. “I’ve spent a lot of time with individuals who are facing the most difficult times of their lives. Many end up dying. But they’ve taught me about living and all the things that make life valuable and worth pursuing.

“I’m lucky to have extremely meaningful conversations all day long,” he added. “As difficult as it is, I always end up feeling richer than I did when I came in.”

— Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Vice President and Store Manager, TD Bank; Age 35

Gregg Desmarais

Gregg Desmarais

Gregg Desmarais knows that everyone faces challenges and obstacles in life.

“But I tend to see the silver lining in things and try to change bad situations into good ones,” he told BusinessWest.

Last April, he recruited a team of volunteers from TD Bank to landscape and paint an elderly widow’s home during the Revitalize Community Development Corp.’s National Rebuilding Day. They were unable to finish their work due to freezing rain and bitter cold, but he convinced them to volunteer again the following Saturday.

“It’s so rewarding. I take advantage of any opportunity I can to get out of my suit and tie, get my hands dirty, and give back to the community. I want to make Springfield as healthy, safe, and beautiful as it can be,” said the RCDC board member, who served as chairperson for three years during the Community Foundation’s annual Valley Gives fund-raiser.

Desmarais’ dedication and passion for people have helped him succeed at TD Bank. He started four years ago as an assistant store manager in Agawam, was promoted to manager and assistant vice president of his hometown bank in Westfield, and was later chosen to lead the institution’s flagship office in downtown Springfield in 2013.

Since that time, he has been assigned to high-profile projects and won many accolades. He was a 2012 TD Bank nominee for the CEO Leadership Award; feted as a TD Bank Top Performer in 2012, 2013, and 2014; and selected to attend the bank’s prestigious TD Leadership Training Program.

Desmarais also earned two quarterly ‘Wow Stars,’ which recognize top performers in specific areas within a seven-region area with more than 100 offices.

He said his parents instilled a strong work ethic in him, and family is his highest priority. He and his wife Michelle are parents to 2-year-old Ryan, and the family roots hard for the four-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

Desmarais is a former member of the United Way of Pioneer Valley’s grant approval board and wakes up every day wanting to do better than the day before. “I love helping people get their dream home and plan for retirement,” he said. “I also love helping people stay in their homes when they can’t afford necessary repairs. Any opportunity I have to give back to the community makes me feel good.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Information Technology Services Officer, Country Bank for Savings; Age 35

Eric Devine

Eric Devine

Eric Devine says the desire to excel at everything he does is programmed in his DNA.

He is responsible for Ware-based Country Bank’s information-technology system, and has played a significant role in the institution’s recent technology-upgrade efforts aimed at streamlining services. In fact, Devine and his staff were recognized countless times for their ability to meet and surpass expectations, and although he admits his job can be challenging, he loves it and looks forward to going to work every morning.

“I am very competitive with myself and strive to exceed demands,” he told BusinessWest. “I like to be the best at everything I do and believe I am fortunate to work for a great company with a great team of people.”

Devine served as president of the John Boyle O’Reilly Club for eight consecutive terms and stepped down in January to spend more time with his wife Jennifer and their 5-year-old twins, Alana and Erin. But he began going to the club with his father when he was a child, and says it has always played an important role in his life. “I grew up in the Irish community, and the club is my second home.”

He was the 2015 Springfield Grand Parade Marshal for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and a member of the Parade Committee. During his tenure at John Boyle O’Reilly, Devine helped to host a wide variety of events, expand the number of children’s sports teams, and raise funds for many worthy causes.

He was feted with the Christopher Burnham Award in 2014, which was presented to him by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal. He received the Paul G. Caron Award in 2008 and is actively involved with Griffin’s Friends Children’s Cancer Fund at Baystate Health Foundation. Inc. and participates in the group’s Marathon Challenge as a marathon runner and fund-raiser (he also ran the Boston Marathon in 2013).

Devine also serves on an advisory committee at Porter and Chester Institute and helps determine what students need to learn to be prepared for the workforce. In addition, he served as the 2014 chairman for the Committee to Elect Aaron Saunders for State Senate. He and his wife are also on the Boston 2024 Olympic Citizens Advisory Group.

That’s quite a schedule to keep, but Devine is undaunted. “I am passionate about always doing my best.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Director of Education and Marketing, Fazzi Associates; Age 38

Lindsay Doak

Lindsay Doak

At a time when the population is getting older and tens of millions of Baby Boomers head into their retirement years, the work Lindsay Doak is doing is more critical than ever.

Specifically, Doak — director of education and marketing at Fazzi Associates, a home-health and hospice consulting and research firm — designed the National Healthcare Learning Center, an online education delivery system utilized by healthcare organizations throughout the world. “It has really taken off,” she said. “We have more than 50,000 logins to the center every month, everyone from IT coding to management.”

Her latest initiative is work with community colleges and other institutions to deliver training that will fully certify home-health coders — an important project because of a national shortage of medical coders. The targeted program allows low-income workers the opportunity to move beyond minimum-wage jobs.

“There’s a huge need for coders because the code set is changing so much,” she said of the healthcare industry’s move from the ICD-9 standard to ICD-10, set to launch this fall.

In addition, the educational alliances Doak has built at Fazzi with state and national organizations like the National Assoc. for Home Care, the National Physical Therapy Assoc., and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization are helping improve care and reduce rehospitalization for the growing population of American seniors.

“The Baby Boomers are now entering home health care, and with healthcare reform, home health has become a big player to reduce costs and keep people out of hospitals,” she said. “When we can take care of patients at home, we really reduce those costs. And the need for these services is going to expand exponentially.”

Meanwhile, Doak makes time to volunteer in the community, including work with the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and a former spot on the board of the Hampshire Regional YMCA. She’s also a board member at Whole Children, an organization that offers a wide range of after-school, weekend, and vacation enrichment programs for children, teens, and adults, especially those with special needs.

“That gives me great satisfaction,” said Doak, who chairs the group’s marketing and fund-raising committee, and is currently promoting next month’s Wild Goose Chase fund-raiser at Look Park. “I have a child myself, and my child isn’t perfect; I see the struggles, what it’s like to have a kid dance to his own beat. A lot of schools don’t accept that, so an organization that accepts anyone, that’s all-inclusive, there’s such a need for that. It’s so fulfilling to be a part of it, and make sure these kids are successful.”

—Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Assistant Director, Office of YMCA Relations, Springfield College; Age 38

Erin Friedman

Erin Friedman

Erin Friedman says the philosophies of Springfield College and the YMCA have a lot in common.

“Our mission is all about educating the whole person — spirit, mind, and body — for leadership and service to others,” she said of the college where she’s worked for the past decade, “and the Y’s values and principles are truly aligned with that.”

Perhaps it’s unsurprising, then, that the two entities share a history and heritage, and a partnership that dates back to the establishment of the college in 1885, when it was known as the School for Christian Workers, she noted. “Today, that partnership with Ys across the U.S. and around the world still exists at our core and our foundation.”

One of Friedman’s roles in the college’s Office of YMCA Relations is to “recruit and ultimately place the next generation of YMCA leaders, preparing leaders to work in a wide range of careers,” she explained, adding that the YMCA is primarily focused on youth development, social responsibility, and healthy living.

Among the students examining opportunities in those areas are Bronwen Stern and Jessica Lajoie, juniors at Springfield College whose letter to BusinessWest was among many supporting Friedman’s nomination to 40 Under Forty. They talked about traveling with their advisor and mentor to YMCA conferences locally and across the country, connecting with potential employers and learning experientially.

“For us, Erin is not only an advisor, but a role model. She is the most kindhearted and selfless person we know,” they wrote, noting, as one example, her involvement with the Sexual Assault Victim Advocate program on campus, which helps people who have experienced a sexual assault. “She truly is devoted to not just making Springfield College better, but improving the community of Springfield as a whole.”

Friedman said she stresses real-world learning for a reason. “A college degree today is not enough; you need to be able to distinguish yourself,” she said. “It’s important to connect with opportunities to learn beyond the classroom, and connect with professionals from all over. Our ultimate goal for young people is to become the best version of themselves as possible and help them discover what they’re really passionate about.

“If you’re in a job where you’re counting days to Friday and or counting the hours in the week,” she added, “perhaps you’re not where you need to be. For me, it’s highly rewarding helping people find meaning and purpose. That’s what we can provide.”

— Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Municipal Services Coordinator, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Age 29

Joshua Garcia

Joshua Garcia

A quick look at Joshua Garcia’s résumé reveals a deep commitment to the community — and especially his hometown of Holyoke.

Indeed, he has served on the city’s School Committee — a role he reluctantly relinquished after moving out of his ward to accommodate a growing family — and currently serves as board chairman for Nueva Esperanza, an agency devoted to promoting entrepreneurship and spurring economic development in the city. Over six years, he served in a number of capacities for the Holyoke Housing Authority, and he has officially announced his plans to run for city treasurer this fall.

But while Holyoke is his passion, the region is, well, his new job — at least in a manner of speaking.

Since June 2013, Garcia has been serving the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission as municipal services coordinator. In that role, it is his responsibility to coordinate collaborative partnerships between the PVPC’s 43 member communities and provide project-management expertise. He’s also tasked with providing technical assistance to local governments to facilitate what he called “cross-jurisdictional shared municipal opportunities” with the goal of reducing costs and improving service efficiencies.

“My role is to get municipalities to cross-collaborate in order to share resources,” he explained. “When it comes to specific municipal functions of local government, be it inspectional services or public health … instead of communities focusing on trying to provide these themselves, we encourage them to work with a nearby municipality and share resources.”

As examples, he cited a scenario where two communities, each paying a part-time inspector, could collaborate and together hire one full-time employee, and another where smaller towns could share a full-time public-health nurse. In both cases, the participating communities would save money.

And such creative steps will become necessary in the years to come, he told BusinessWest, because municipal budgets are getting increasingly tighter. “It’s about trying to bring regional solutions to local issues.”

While concentrating on the region, Garcia is also firmly focused on family. His twins are now 3 years old, and his wife, Stefany, has battled back from a bout with lupus that nearly claimed her life.

“They worked a miracle there,” he said of the doctors and nurses that treated Stefany. “And all of this has shifted my priorities; I’ve been focused on family and creating a bright future for them.”

He’s doing the same for Holyoke — and the region.

— George O’Brien

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Owner and Executive Director, InspireWorks Enrichment Inc.; Age 32

Jim Angelos

Jim Angelos

Remembering the learning opportunities he had as a kid, Jim Angelos worried that today’s students are missing out. So he decided to do something about it.

Armed with a degree in business and sports management from Elms College, Angelos launched InspireWorks Enrichment in 2007, partnering with local school districts and municipal park and recreation departments to offer after-school programs and summer camps.

“I had opportunities when I was younger, and I wanted to make sure kids today have something — especially with specialty subjects like music and art being cut out of school budgets,” he explained. “Unfortunately, right now, in a lot of school systems, teachers have to teach to a test, and they’re cutting out other programs. School systems see us as a way to enhance the curriculum.”

Starting with Agawam, then Longmeadow, with plans to expand into other communities, InspireWorks’ after-school offerings focus on a broad area of learning, such as science, engineering, or painting.

These curriculum-based enrichment programs, aimed at students from kindergarten through grade 8, aim to balance education and entertainment, Angelos noted. “The goal when designing classes was to disguise the learning; the kids just see it as a fun program.”

But it’s fun with a purpose, because the programs attract students with a predilection for a certain subject and enhance what they receive in school. “The after-school programs allow us to go in depth around certain subjects. For example, if they sign up for our science classes, they may already have an interest in that area, and we go into things like rocketry, physical and chemical reactions, dry-ice demonstrations, things along those lines.”

Meanwhile, the summer programs in Agawam and Chicopee (so far), like the after-school programs, strive to go beyond what kids might get at other camps, with activities ranging from swimming, archery, and sports to cooking, science, engineering, and fine arts.

“We’ve been fortunate to get a lot of positive feedback from our parents,” he told BusinessWest, adding that he’s also struck up a partnership with the Connecticut National Guard to offer programs for children of parents serving overseas.

With a full-time staff of about 30 people, InspireWorks served more than 2,500 students last year, and also maintains a camper leadership training program to help young adults develop leadership skills and job experience — starting the circle all over again.

It all comes back to what Angelos finds most gratifying about his company. “It gets kids excited about learning.”

— Joseph Bednar

Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
CEO, Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts; Age 38

Elizabeth Barajas-Román

Elizabeth Barajas-Román

Elizabeth Barajas-Román has lived in many places — she was born in Lincoln, Neb., attended college in Ohio (Oberlin) and Cambridge (Harvard), and spent many years in Washington, D.C. But in many respects, home has always been the public library.

“When I was young, my mother essentially educated herself, at the public library, in how to set up her own business,” she explained while tracing the origins of her passion. “And that helped set us in the right direction when it came to education. Supporting the public library is something that’s always been close to my heart.”

And it still is today in her new place of residence — Northampton, where she spends many hours at both the Forbes Library and the Lilly Library in Florence, engaged in a host of programs.

While doing so, she is writing the next chapter in what has already been an intriguing career. Indeed, after stints as a city planner in Cambridge, director of Policy & Operations for the Justice Research Institute in Boston, reporter with the Daily Hampshire Gazette, director of Policy for the Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and campaign manager for Pew Charitable Trusts, she became CEO of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts last summer.

Her ambitious goal is to scale up the WFWM’s already-impressive track record for supporting programs for women and girls and position them as leaders within the community, and the organization is making considerable progress with meeting it.

Indeed, the Women’s Fund is currently seeking proposals for an additional round of grant making that will total $240,000 and include initiatives in each of the four western counties.

Meanwhile, she’s been meeting with a number of groups and individuals to gauge specific needs within the community and generate opportunities to continue and enhance partnerships that help expand the WFWM’s mission and broaden the already-considerable impact of its philanthropy.

It’s a learning experience that is ongoing and occupies most of her time. However, she is involved within the community in several other ways, most recently as a member of state Treasurer Deb Goldberg’s Financial Literacy Trust Fund Board, which plans to incorporate a range of initiatives, including money management, college affordability, and programming to support wage equality in the Commonweralth.

“The Women’s Fund’s mission is to invest in the lives of local women and girls in order to create a better community for all,” said Barajas-Román. “Serving on the board will provide an important perspective for our work in Western Massachusetts.”

— George O’Brien
Photo by Denise Smith Photography

40 Under 40 The Class of 2015
Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Studies, Western New England University School of Law; Age 38

Erin Buzuvis

Erin Buzuvis

Erin Buzuvis says that, when most people hear the phrase ‘Title IX’ — which states, in part, that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance” — they inevitably think of sports.

And while equality on the playing field, something lacking before this legislation, is certainly a part of this now-44-year-old statute, there is much more to it, said Buzuvis, who would know.

Indeed, she is one of the nation’s leading authorities on Title IX, has published numerous articles and book chapters on the statute, and has been quoted on the subject in a number of media outlets, including the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“One thing we’re seeing nationally is increasing recognition of Title IX’s application to areas other than athletics, which is not to say that we’ve reached full equality in athletics and we’ve decided to move on,” she explained. “Title IX is a very generally worded statute about sex discrimination and education, and there is now increased awareness of Title IX’s application to campus sexual assaults.

“Roughly 100 schools are now being subject to investigation by the Department of Education for their lack of sufficient policies and practices to prevent sexual assaults on campus,” she went on, adding that this was an aspect of the statute that had been unexplored in recent years.

Exploring the wide range of issues involved with gender and sexual equality is the informal mission of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Studies at Western New England School of Law, which Buzuvis helped launch in 2012 and now directs.

The center serves as an educational resource for the law school, the university, the legal community, and the general public, she explained, adding that it enables WNEU Law to provide students with unique opportunities to learn about gender and sexuality legal issues — and there are many of them — and graduate with a concentration in that emerging area of the law.

“We’re working on an upcoming program about housing-discrimination issues and challenges, and the legal response to those issues for the LGBT community, and we had a program last year on domestic-violence issues in the NFL,” she said, adding that the center was created to shine a spotlight on such matters — and keep that light on.

— George O’Brien

Photo by Denise Smith Photography