Day: July 12, 2018

Westfield city officials and leaders with Westfield Gas & Electric, the city’s municipal utility, unveiled a new marketing campaign Tuesday called ‘Go Westfield.’

The slogan might not fall into the categories of ‘highly imaginative’ or ‘cutting-edge,’ but the campaign itself is a worthy initiative and an example of what more cities and towns in this region need to be doing — building their brands.

This is a tricky subject for some industry sectors and especially municipalities — ‘why are they spending money to hype the city when there are roads that need paving and sidewalks to be fixed?’ is an often-heard refrain.

But brand building is as important an exercise for municipalities as it is for businesses in every sector. If you have a good story to tell and you want to grow your business — or if you want to bring more businesses and residents to your city, as is the case here — you need to tell that story.

And Westfield’s story is a very good one. It has ample land on which to build, a turnpike exit of its very own, an airport, a municipal utility offering attractive rates and high-speed internet service, a downtown that’s coming back after years of decline, Stanley Park, a great ice rink, a state university, and much more.

‘Go Westfield’ will tell that story through a new website, a promotional video, and some advertisements in regional outlets and industry journals. As with any branding campaign, one never knows what the results will be, but it’s safe to say that this proactive step is far better than trying to let the city sell itself.

There’s a reason why Coke continues to pound the airwaves with ads even though everyone knows that brand. The same with McDonald’s, Ford, and Geico. If you want to grow your brand, you have to promote it and keep it in the public eye.

“It’s critical that we communicate our strengths,” Westfied’s mayor, Brian Sullivan, said at the unveiling.

He’s right about that, and there are lessons there for all area cities and towns.

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Community College (BCC) has been awarded $5.5 million for a major project that will transform the first floor of the Field Administration building into a One Stop Student Success Center.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced this award on July 10 at Westfield State University. Baker launched a capital investment plan for public higher education and encouraged the submission of proposals that would benefit the Massachusetts economy and support student success and completion.

The governor’s plan includes $190 million in FY19 for public higher education. BCC was selected as one of six projects for higher-education institutions across the Commonwealth.

The One Stop Student Success Center concept was conceived in 2015. It will transform the student experience by making the entire admissions and enrollment process easier. The project will renovate the first floor of the Field Administration building, which currently houses Enrollment Management, Advising, Career and Transfer services, Financial Aid and Student Accounts, and Admission and the college registrar.

“The vision for this project was to create a comfortable and inviting central location where students and community partners have all of their college service needs met efficiently in one place,” said Ellen Kennedy, BCC president. “Receiving the funding for this project is an exciting opportunity for both the college and the Berkshires. We will continue to expand our efforts to reimagine not only our buildings and grounds, but also, most importantly, how we can best serve our students so they thrive in the local and statewide economy.”

BCC is currently completing $34 million in campus projects for the renovation of Hawthorne and Melville halls, including a connector with upper and lower courtyards, paving of the parking lots and access roads, and installing a community turf field for football, soccer and lacrosse.

“When we originally designed the One Stop Student Success Center, we were focusing on student engagement, retention, and graduation rates,” said Adam Klepetar, vice president of Enrollment Management. “The One Stop will do this by making the first floor of Field a student-facing space — a welcoming environment with all key onboarding offices located in one central place — while also creating opportunities for office efficiencies and providing collaborative workspaces for community-based partnerships.”

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield detailer Paul Frasco of Pro and Local Mobile Detailing has been handpicked for the second year by master detailer Renny Doyle to the 15th annual Air Force One Detailing Team. Frasco and 64 other professional detailers from around the nation will visit Seattle’s Museum of Flight July 15-22.

They will continue their annual cleaning and preservation of the first Air Force One on display at the museum, but they will also take their first shot preserving the museum’s newest acquisition, a Boeing B-52G Stratofortress bomber known as Midnight Express. Built in 1960 as a nuclear-armed Cold War platform, it was used extensively during the Vietnam War, and was active during Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, which led to the release of 591 prisoners of war in 1973.

Frasco is trained and certified by the International Detailing Assoc. and by Doyle’s Detailing Success. He makes the weeklong commitment on a voluntary, pro bono basis.

Doyle has spent 15 years restoring the historic presidential jet to its original glory. The plane was a flying Oval Office for Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. It was in distressed condition when Doyle was first approached by the Bush administration in 2003 to put his skills to work to save it. It took more than a decade to fully restore the brilliance of the paint and clarity of the bright work (aluminum). Until 2016, the plane lived outdoors on the tarmac, exposed to the elements, requiring a robust annual cleaning, polishing, and protection for its paint and aluminum.

These past two years, the plane has found a home under the museum’s new, open-air Airpark Pavilion. Although it is mostly protected from the elements, it is still exposed to the region’s damp climate and extreme temperatures, requiring a rigorous cleaning, polishing, and application of a paint sealant to protect it from year to year.

Also on the agenda this year is polishing the B-29 Super Fortress, a WWII bomber the team began restoring in 2011; cleaning and polishing the first-ever Boeing ‘Jumbo Jet’ 747; polishing the supersonic Concorde Alpha Golf, which they have been working on since 2014; and numerous other priceless aircraft on exhibit at the Museum of Flight.

“Cleaning something as big as a jet airplane has its challenges, but when you are cleaning aircraft valued at hundreds of millions of dollars and that have such historical significance in aviation history, it requires unique skills and knowledge of paint and bright work not found in most detailers,” Doyle said. “The first time I laid eyes on Air Force One 15 years ago, I doubted whether it could be saved — that is how challenging the project was; however, I see what Paul has done, and I know what he can do. He is one of the best of the best.”

Added Frasco, “to see Air Force One shining in the sunlight from year to year is a testament to our commitment, hard work, and skill. I am proud to be a part of this project the past two years, and I am excited about tackling that B-52 this year. I look forward to many years ahead as a caretaker of aviation history.”

SPRINGFIELD — The deadline to nominate an individual or organization for the second annual Healthcare Heroes awards has been extended one final time, to Friday, July 13, at 5 p.m. To nominate someone, visit healthcarenews.com or businesswest.com, click on ‘Our Events,’ and proceed to ‘Healthcare Heroes.’

This recognition program involving the Western Mass. healthcare sector was launched last spring by HCN and BusinessWest. The program was created to shed a bright light on the outstanding work being done across the broad spectrum of health and wellness services, and the institutions and individuals providing that care.

Nomination categories include ‘Lifetime Achievement,’ ‘Emerging Leader,’ ‘Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider,’ ‘Innovation in Health/Wellness,’ ‘Health/Wellness Administrator,’ and ‘Collaboration in Healthcare.’ Winners will be profiled in both magazines in September and feted at the Oct. 25 gala at the Starting Gate at GreatHorse in Hampden.

Healthcare Heroes sponsors include American International College (presenting sponsor), National Grid (partner), and supporting sponsors Renew.Calm, the Elms College MBA program, and Mercy Medical Center/Trinity Health Of New England.