BusinessWest

Woody Allen once joked, “I’m not afraid to die … I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

The quote has been borrowed and bastardized in countless ways over the years, mostly by people addressing the subjects of death and dying.

Bill Ward, executive director of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, has put it to a different use.

He summons it when he talks with people about confronting business and societal matters that maybe they don’t want to confront, but must. It takes a definite lack of fear — and generous amounts of determination — to prevail in such situations, he said.

And those are the qualities that have guided Ward through a career in which he has been motivated largely by two other quotes, these from his mother — well, sort of.

“She was always saying that there’s no justice in this world,” said Ward, who told BusinessWest that this annoyed him because he was an idealist. “She always said that justice isn’t something that’s there, that you participate in — it’s something that you have to build.

“She also said that I could be part of the solution or contribute to the problem,” he continued. “And if you’re part of the solution, you must be engaged, and that’s been a philosophy that’s guided my life and my work.”

Indeed, Ward has spent the bulk of his professional life engaged — specifically, he has helped create and carry out solutions — and also working to create some justice, or access, in the form of employment opportunities, especially for groups that have historically encountered hurdles and roadblocks in their attempts to secure meaningful employment. Those constituencies include the minority populations, those lacking basic skills, and the traditionally underemployed.

“There are a lot of places where we have to create justice,” he said, “and I found mine in jobs.”

As one example, he cited the Minority Employment Program, created in the mid-’80s. “That was the first big initiative we took, raising money from banks, foundations, and other sources; we placed 480 minorities into jobs.”

This was followed some years later by a private-sector summer-jobs program that created opportunities for hundreds of young people across the region. Other success stories have included recent efforts to put more qualified machinists in the pipeline, and a merger of the REB and the Hampden County Employment and Training Consortium, which has streamlined workforce initiatives and saved more than $400,000 in administrative costs.

Not everything has gone smoothly, and some programs haven’t worked as well as their architects might have hoped, but that merely brings to mind another Woody Allen quote: “If you’re not failing now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything innovative.”

There has been plenty of innovation in Ward’s work, especially with regard to the one-stop career centers FutureWorks and CareerPoint, established in 1996 and soon thereafter winning awards and attracting visitors from across the country trying to duplicate their success and uniqueness; they were the first competitively bid one-stops in the nation.

“Over the first four years, people from more than 30 states came to see the design of these one-stops,” he said. “Why? Take the system that existed in the typical unemployment office … it was dysfunctional and not business-friendly; our centers are private, not-profit operations that were designed to replace the government entity. Today, these two centers are still outpacing all other centers across the state in terms of service, etc., and it’s not by accident.”

The latest example of innovation and solution-finding is a broad effort called “Building a Better Workforce — Closing the Skills Gap on the Road to Economic Resurgence.” The REB is a lead player in the initiative, along with the George and Irene Davis Foundation; groups like the National Tooling and Machining Assoc.; institutions such as Square One, the Mass. Career Development Institute, and area community colleges; and a host of employers, including Baystate Health and Mercy Medical Center.

The first steps in the program were announced last year, and they were crafted to achieve some momentum with regard to the workforce plans’ four main strategic goals: establishing universal kindergarten, improving young education proficiency and career awareness, increasing adult literacy education services, and increasing technical training in high-growth/high-demand industry sectors.

As he talked about the REB’s work and its successes, Ward never used the word ‘I,’ always opting instead for ‘we,’ because he noted that the progress made isn’t the result of one person or one organization.

“It’s taken teamwork to achieve all that we’ve done over the years,” he said, adding that he’s been blessed to be able to work with talented individuals — from grant writers to program administrators; from elected leaders to business executives who have not only served on his board but mentored him along the way. “I’ve been very fortunate to have great people to work with on these programs, all of which have been models that have implemented the concept of access and creating that sense of justice that would give a chance to people who might otherwise not have that chance.”

In summary, Ward has never been afraid of trying to bring a little justice to the world, and he’s always been there to make sure it happens.

Which means he’s made a mockery of still another of Woody Allen’s quips: “70% of success in life is just showing up.”

Ward has never just shown up. And for that, his mother would be proud.

— George O’Brien

Alyssa Carvalho described it as a “good problem to have.”

She was talking about April 14, and a scheduled ‘CEO Luncheon’ to be hosted by MassMutual Chairman and CEO Stuart Reese. The Young Professionals Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) started the luncheon series last year as another way to carry out its broad mission to “engage, involve, and educate” its members.

The problem? Well, seats to the monthly luncheons are limited in number, said Carvalho, the group’s current president and, during the day, membership manager for the Greater Springfield Conventon & Visitors Bureau. The typical count is 20 to 30, to ensure intimacy and the opportunity for one-on-one dioalogue, but Reese and MassMutual will likely find a way to accommodate many more than that. Still, not everyone will be able to go.

“And everyone will want to go,” she told BusinessWest, adding that she and other officers will have to contrive some method of determining which members will be able to circle that date on their calendars. As she said, that’s a good problem to have, and it’s a scenario that shows just how far this organization has come in two years.

From quasi-humble beginnings, YPS has grown to more than 200 members, expanded and diversified its program offerings, and garnered enough respect to prompt Reese to donate a few hours of his precious time to impart some “words of wisdom,” as Carvalho called them, to this young, diverse audience.

“We worked very hard to get him, and we’re thrilled that he would take the time to speak to our group and open it up to more people than we would normally have,” she said. “Our members are excited about the chance to be sitting in the same room with that caliber of speaker; the fact that he’s willing to do so speaks to the importance of our work — these are the emerging leaders in the community.”

This higher profile has earned YPS a place in this first class of Difference Makers, along with some sky-high expectations for the future — which Carvalho and other officers are determined to meet in what might be considered another good problem to have.

“We’ve done very well so far,” she said, “but we know we have to keep building, doing more in the community, and providing more value for our members.”

YPS got its start in Springfield in late 2006, when a small group of younger professionals — all graduates of the Leadership Institute, a partnership between the ACCGS and Western New England College to teach mid- and upper-level managers the skills needed to become effective leaders — conceptualized a group that could handle a number of assignments. They would range from giving people something to do to providing programs on professional development; from helping to educate members on the issues of the day to providing some reasons for young professionals to stay in the Pioneer Valley and become valuable contributors to its progress and livelihood.

The overriding goal, said Carvalho, is to help members “plant roots,” and develop lasting connections to the region and its business community.

While the group’s founders were ambitious and had lofty expectations, even they might be surprised by how quickly and profoundly the group has become a real force in the community. In addition to the 200 members, there are 900 ‘subscribers,’ those who have a connection to the group and attend some of its events.

Since its start, the organization — which takes a name similar to other groups in the region, including young-professional societies in Northampton, the Berkshires, and Hartford, but is different from these groups because it is independent — has been consistently adding programs, forming collaborative partnerships with other groups, and, in general, making its presence and influence felt.

It’s making a difference.

In addition to the CEO lunches, which have featured leaders and business owners ranging from ACCGS President Russell Denver to Springfield Falcons General Manager and co-owner Bruce Landon, the group has staged monthly networking events called Third Thursdays. It has become involved with the Division II college basketball tournament staged in Springfield each March, and last fall it partnered with Rock the Vote and other groups to encourage young people to register to vote and understand the issues involved with the presidential election.

YPS also conducted a number of events and programs to connect young people with the arts, promote mentoring, and facilitate efforts to give back to the community. It even created an award — the Young Professionals Society of Greater Springfield’s Excellence in Leadership Award — which is given to a graduate of the Leadership Institute who has distinguished him or herself through community involvement, civic leadership, and professional excellence. The first winner was Elizabeth Cordona, director of Gov. Patrick’s office in Springfield.

For 2009, the goal is simply to build on the momentum created over the past two years by continually looking for new ways to meet and expand the group’s mission, as expressed in one of its slogans: ‘live, work, play, and stay,’ said Carvalho, who told BusinessWest that her work as president has become what she called “a second full-time job.”

“I’m putting in maybe 30 or 40 hours a week toward this,” she said, adding quickly that other officers are logging similar time handling YPS affairs. “And I need to, because there’s so much happening and so much to do.”

Sounds like another one of those good problems to have.

— George O’Brien