Picture This
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Outlook 2018
The Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce staged its annual Outlook luncheon on March 9 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. More than 650 attendees heard a host of speakers updating the regional, state, and national economic pictures. Keynote speakers were Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker, Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and Congressman Richard Neal.
Photos by Ed Cohen Photography
Neal gives his annual federal outlook
State Rep. Carlos Gonzales, right, talks with Michael Knapik, who recently left his position as head of Baker’s Western Mass. office to become Baystate Health’s lobbyist
From left, Gene Cassidy, president and CEO of Eastern States Exposition; Penni McLean-Conner, chief customer officer and senior vice president of Customer Group at Eversource; and Mike Mathis, president and COO of MGM Springfield
By the Book
Phillips Insurance Agency Inc. is sponsoring the Anna E. Barry Elementary School in Chicopee through the Link to Libraries Business Book Link sponsorship program. The three-year, $1,500 annual contribution will provide 300 new books to the Barry School library each year. Five volunteer readers from Phillips Insurance will also visit school classrooms once a month, read to students, and give each child a new book to take home and keep. At the end of each school year, students will have a home library of seven books. Pictured, from left: Sarah Whiteley, employee benefits account executive, Phillips Insurance Agency; Christopher McMaster, account executive, Phillips Insurance Agency; Laurie Flynn, president and CEO, Link to Libraries; Abbie Meulemans, grade 4 teacher, Chicopee; Krystal DeJesus, grade 4 teacher, Chicopee; and Maria Cafaro, grade 4 teacher, Agawam.
Beaming with Pride
On Feb. 28, Holyoke Community College celebrated a topping-off ceremony in front of the HCC Campus Center, now in the middle of a two-year, $43.5 million, top-to-bottom renovation. The building is expected to reopen for the fall 2019 semester. Topping-off ceremonies are held before the last and highest beam is fixed to the frame of new buildings. Traditionally, the beam is painted white and signed by work crews and others involved in the project and adorned with a small evergreen tree and an American flag. By the time it was lifted, the 10-foot beam was covered with signatures from the HCC community, including current student Erin Burns (below), who signed the beam for herself and her sister, father, and mother, all of whom attended HCC. The renovation will add about 9,000 square feet to the 57,727-square-foot building.
