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40under40-LOGO2011Nominations Sought for the Class of 2011

Since BusinessWest launched 40 Under Forty in 2007, it has recognized 160 young professionals who have made their mark across Western Mass. — not only for their career success, but their commitment to their communities. Now in year five, the 40 Under Forty program — which includes a must-read issue profiling the winners and an always-well-attended gala in the spring — has become one of the most anticipated events in the region’s business community, one that has nominees constantly setting the bar higher.

By JOSEPH BEDNAR

Jeff Fialky understands what it takes to succeed in business today.
An attorney with Bacon & Wilson, P.C., Fialky was chosen one of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty in 2008, in recognition of his career success and community involvement. He’s one of 160 young professionals throughout Western Mass. who have been honored in this way since the program’s inception in 2007.
But as president of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, he’s got a clearer perspective than most on the dedication it takes to succeed at a young age, because he sees it every day in fellow YPS members.
“In this economy, there are a lot of start-up entrepreneurs, a lot of young professionals working maybe twice as hard as they’d have to work in a better economy,” Fialky said. “It’s great that we can promote some of these individuals who have distinguished themselves from their peers.”
Now entering its fifth year with a call for nominations, BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty has captured the respect of the region’s business community and continues to demonstrate that Western Mass. is home to a creative, motivated, and successful group of young business leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators — people who are redefining what it means to build successful businesses and serve their communities with whatever spare time they have left over.
“Clearly, YPS and 40 Under Forty have walked a parallel path,” said Fialky, noting that both came into being around the same time. “In that time period, YPS participants — meaning both the membership and officers and directors — have looked at 40 Under Forty with extremely high regard, as a competitive process, a reward, and a distinction in the community that is heavily sought after.”
Kate Campiti, BusinessWest’s associate publisher, is gratified to hear that 40 Under Forty has reached that kind of status in the local business community.
“It makes me proud that it’s something that people aspire to, and it does put them on the map,” she said. “It’s something they can use as a résumé builder, as a symbol of excellence.”
As the nomination process opens for the class of 2011, BusinessWest expects another flood of nominees from a broad range of careers; the 160 previous honorees have emerged from law, education, retail, health care, social services, finance, and many, many other fields. In all cases, they have been successful in business and active in civic volunteerism, the latter being a critical consideration when judging applicants.
As in the past four installments of 40 Under Forty, this year’s winners — chosen by a panel of judges comprised of area business leaders and previous honorees — will be profiled in an upcoming issue of BusinessWest (always a must-read issue) and toasted at a gala reception in the spring.
Meghan Lynch, managing partner for Six-Point Creative Works and one of last year’s honorees, said she was impressed with the wide variety of industries and positions represented by the class of 2010.
In addition, “I was happy with the amount of community support at the event,” she said. “That was a fantastic networking event, and when I left I was proud to have been a part of it. I made quite a few contacts at the event, and the winners have been really good about reaching out to one another, making time to reconnect and get to know each other afterward. I was definitely impressed with a lot of other folks, and it was certainly a very good representation of the talent in the Valley.”
The nomination form can be found on page 35 of this issue. It will be reprinted in upcoming issues as well, and may also be printed from businesswest.com. The deadline for entry is Feb. 18.
Fialky says members of YPS take the nomination process seriously, as evidenced by the healthy number of society members chosen for recognition during the past four years. The same goes for Northampton Area Young Professionals, another group that’s typically well-represented in each class.
“I personally congratulate members of YPS who are 40 Under Forty honorees every year — I send out handwritten cards — and that number has increased exponentially over the past few years,” Fialky said. “It’s terrific that both the Young Professional Society and the 40 Under Forty have walked down these same paths.”
Campiti said the ever-increasing profile of the recognition program is cultivating a healthy sense of competition among area professionals.
“I think it’s making them more competitive with each other, and it is making the young up-and-comers think about their future and plan strategically how they will position themselves. That only makes the group stronger. To win, they really have to stand out.”
Fialky also embraces the competitive aspect of the event, saying that being chosen one of the 40 Under Forty is an honor worth striving for.
“The competition raises the bar for everyone,” he said. “Some folks have submitted nomination forms for a couple of years and haven’t been elected, and that only makes them think they need to work harder in the community and from a personal-branding standpoint. I think that’s great.”

Past 40 under Forty winners

Class of 2007
William Bither III, Atalasoft
Kimberlynn Cartelli, Fathers & Sons
Amy Caruso, MassMutual Financial Group
Denise Cogman, Springfield School Volunteers
Richard Corder, Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Katherine Pacella Costello, Egan, Flanagan & Cohen, P.C.
A. Rima Dael, Berkshire Bank Foundation of Pioneer Valley
Nino Del Padre, Del Padre Visual Productions
Antonio Dos Santos, Robinson Donovan, P.C.
Jake Giessman, Academy Hill School
Jillian Gould, Eastfield Mall
Michael Gove, Lyon & Fitzpatrick, LLP
Dena Hall, United Bank
James Harrington, Our Town Variety & Liquors
Christy Hedgpeth, Spalding Sports
Francis Hoey III, Tighe & Bond
Amy Jamrog, The Jamrog Group, Northwestern Mutual
Cinda Jones, Cowls Land & Lumber Co.
Paul Kozub, V-1 Vodka
Bob Lowry, Bueno y Sano
G.E. Patrick Leary, Moriarty & Primack, P.C.
Todd Lever, Noble Hospital
Audrey Manring, The Women’s Times
Daniel Morrill, Wolf & Company
Joseph Pacella, Egan, Flanagan & Cohen, P.C.
Arlene Rodriquez, Springfield Technical Community College
Craig Swimm, WMAS 94.7
Sarah Tanner, United Way of Pioneer Valley
Mark Tanner, Bacon Wilson, P.C.
Michelle Theroux, Child & Family Services of Pioneer Valley Inc.
Tad Tokarz, Western MA Sports Journal
Dan Touhey, Spalding Sports
Sarah Leete Tsitso, Fred Astaire Dance
Michael Vann, The Vann Group
Ryan Voiland, Red Fire Farm
Erica Walch, Speak Easy Accent Modification
Catherine West, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.
Michael Zaskey, Zasco Productions, LLC
Edward Zemba, Robert Charles Photography
Carin Zinter, The Princeton Review

Class of 2008
Michelle Abdow, Market Mentors
Matthew Andrews, Best Buddies of Western Mass.
Rob Anthony, WMAS
Shane Bajnoci, Cowls Land & Lumber Co.
Steve Bandarra, Atlas TC
Dr. Jonathan Bayuk, Hampden County Physician Associates
Delcie Bean IV, Valley Computer Works
Brendan Ciecko, Ten Minute Media
Todd Cieplinski, Universal Mind Inc.
William Collins, Spoleto Restaurant Group
Michael Corduff, Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House
Amy Davis, New City Scenic & Display
Dave DelVecchio, Innovative Business Systems Inc.
Tyler Fairbank, EOS Ventures
Timothy Farrell, F.W. Farrell Insurance
Jeffrey Fialky, Bacon Wilson, P.C.
Dennis Francis, America’s Box Choice
Kelly Galanis, Westfield State College
Jennifer Glockner, Winstanley Associates
Andrea Hill-Cataldo, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services
Steven Huntley, Valley Opportunity Council
Alexander Jarrett, Pedal People Cooperative
Kevin Jourdain, City of Holyoke
Craig Kaylor, Hampden Bank / Hampden Bancorp Inc.
Stanley Kowalski III, FloDesign Inc.
Marco Liquori, NetLogix Inc.
Azell Murphy Cavaan, City of Springfield
Michael Presnal, The Federal Restaurant
Melissa Shea, Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn
Sheryl Shinn, Hampden Bank
Ja’Net Smith, Center for Human Development
Diana Sorrentini-Velez, Cooley, Shrair, P.C.
Meghan Sullivan, Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn
Michael Sweet, Doherty Wallace Pillsbury & Murphy
Heidi Thomson, Girls Inc.
Hector Toledo, Hampden Bank
William Trudeau Jr., Insurance Center of New England
David Vermette, MassMutual Financial Services
Lauren Way, Bay Path College
Paul Yacovone, Brain Powered Concepts

Class of 2009
Marco Alvan, Team Link Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Gina Barry, Bacon Wilson, P.C.
Maggie Bergin, The Art of Politics
Daniel Bessette, Get Set Marketing
Brandon Braxton, NewAlliance Bank
Dena Calvanese, Gray House
Edward Cassell, Park Square Realty
Karen Chadwell, Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C.
Kate Ciriello, MassMutual Financial Group
Kamari Collins, Springfield Technical Community College
Mychal Connolly Sr., Stinky Cakes
Todd Demers, Family Wireless
Kate Glynn, A Child’s Garden and Impish
Andrew Jensen, Jx2 Productions, LLC
Kathy LeMay, Raising Change
Ned Leutz, Webber & Grinnell Insurance Agency
Scott MacKenzie, MacKenzie Vault Inc.
Tony Maroulis, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce
Seth Mias, Seth Mias Catering
Marjory Moore, Chicopee Public Schools
Corey Murphy, First American Insurance Agency Inc.
Mark Hugo Nasjleti, Go Voice for Choice
Joshua Pendrick, Royal Touch Painting
Christopher Prouty, Studio99Creative
Adam Quenneville, Adam Quenneville Roofing
Michael Ravosa, Morgan Stanley
Kristi Reale, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.
Amy Royal, Royal & Klimczuk, LLC
Michelle Sade, United Personnel
Scott Sadowsky, Williams Distributing Corp.
Gregory Schmidt, Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, P.C.
Gretchen Siegchrist, Media Shower Productions
Erik Skar, MassMutual Financial Services
Paul Stallman, Alias Solutions
Renee Stolar, J. Stolar Insurance Co.
Tara Tetreault, Jackson and Connor
Chris Thompson, Springfield Falcons Hockey Team
Karl Tur, Ink & Toner Solutions, LLC
Michael Weber, Minuteman Press
Brenda Wishart, Aspen Square Management

Class of 2010
Nancy Bazanchuk, Disability Resource Program,
, , Center for Human Development
Raymond Berry, United Way of Pioneer Valley
David Beturne, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County
Maegan Brooks, The Law Office of Maegan Brooks
Karen Buell, PeoplesBank
Shanna Burke, Nonotuck Resource Associates
Damon Cartelli, Fathers & Sons
Brady Chianciola, PeoplesBank
Natasha Clark, Springfield School Volunteers
Julie Cowan, TD Bank
Karen Curran, Thomson Financial Management Inc.
Adam Epstein, Dielectrics Inc.
Mary Fallon, Garvey Communication Associates
Daniel Finn, Pioneer Valley Local First
Owen Freeman-Daniels, Foley-Connelly Financial Partners and
, , Foley Insurance Group
Lorenzo Gaines, ACCESS Springfield Promise Program
Thomas Galanis, Westfield State College
Anthony Gleason II, Roger Sitterly & Son, Inc. and
, , Gleason Landscaping
Allen Harris, Berkshire Money Management Inc.
Meghan Hibner, Westfield Bank
Amanda Huston, Junior Achievement of Western Mass. Inc.
Kimberly Klimczuk, Royal, LLP
James Krupienski, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.
David Kutcher, Confluent Forms, LLC
James Leahy, City of Holyoke and Alcon Laboratories
Kristin Leutz, Community Foundation of Western Mass.
Meghan Lynch, Six-Point Creative Works
Susan Mielnikowski, Cooley, Shrair, P.C.
Jill Monson, Adam Quenneville Roofing & Siding Inc.
, , and Inspired Marketing & Promotions
Kevin Perrier, Five Star Building Corp.
Lindsay Porter, Big Y Foods
Brandon Reed, Fitness Together
Boris Revsin, CampusLIVE Inc.
Aaron Vega, Vega Yoga & Movement Arts
Ian Vukovich, Florence Savings Bank
Thomas Walsh, City of Springfield
Sean Wandrei, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.
Byron White, Pazzo Ristorante
Chester Wojcik, Design Construction Group
Peter Zurlino, Atlantico Designs and Springfield Public Schools

Joseph Bednar can be reached
at [email protected]