Raymour & Flanigan Opens New Store

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Raymour & Flanigan recently opened its two-story showroom of furniture at 895 Riverdale St. During grand opening ceremonies, President and CEO Neil Goldberg noted that the new store represents a larger commitment to the area for associates and customers. The newly constructed 61,500-square-foot building is designed to create the best possible shopping experience for customers in an easy-to-navigate environment, added Goldberg. Equally important to the retailer is providing a wide variety of quality furnishings at “tremendous values” in a timely manner. The furniture retailer also offers an online room planner on the raymourflanigan.com Web site for added customer convenience in designing their rooms from the comfort of home or at the design center in the store. The store was built by Orlando Annulli & Sons Inc. of Manchester, Conn., and designed by Dal Pos Architects of Syracuse, N.Y.

Dobelle Chosen as WSC President

WESTFIELD — The Westfield State College Board of Trustees recently voted unanimously to offer the college president post to Evan S. Dobelle of Pittsfield, president and CEO of the New England Board of Higher Education. Thomas J. Foley, chair of the college’s Board of Trustees, and Interim President Barry Maloney are scheduled to present Dr. Dobelle’s name to the state Board of Higher Education for final approval in the coming days. Foley said the board is “enthusiastic” about the prospect of working with Dobelle, and has “high expectations.” The presidential search committee presented its recommendations to the Board of Trustees after reviewing applications from 60 individuals, including those recommended by its search firm, EFL Associates of Boston. Dobelle was one of the three semifinalists invited to visit the Westfield campus this month to meet with students, faculty, staff, and trustees. Trustees collected input from all members of the campus community, including alumni, to help them make the final choice for the 19th president of Westfield State. Dobelle also has served as president of the University of Hawaii system, Trinity College in Hartford, City College of San Francisco, and Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts. He has an Ed.D., as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees, from UMass and an MPA from Harvard University. Before his career in education, Dobelle was mayor of Pittsfield from 1973 to 1976. He was also treasurer and deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee and national chairman of the Carter-Mondale Presidential Exploratory Committee.

Six-Point Creative Works Opens Office

SPRINGFIELD — A new advertising agency has selected the downtown area as its startup location on Stearns Square. Founded by three partners with many years of creative experience, Six-Point Creative Works is a full-service agency offering advertising, public relations, packaging, Web site design, brand building, and marketing communications. The company’s emphasis is on creative campaigns for building sales and increasing brand share. The owners are former agency owners David Wicks (Wicks Graphics), Marsha Montori (Montori Consulting), and Meghan Lynch, former director of operations for the Momentum Group. The three have many years of experience providing creative services for companies across Western Mass., as well as national accounts. The new firm is located at 293 Bridge St., Suite 409. For more information, call (413) 746-0016 or visit www.sixpointcreative.com.

Hampden Bank Opens Indian Orchard Branch

INDIAN ORCHARD — Hampden Bank opened its Indian Orchard office at 187 Main St. earlier this month. The facility marks the bank’s eighth full-service office location in Hampden County. The 3,300-square-foot facility is designed to make both transactional and consultative services convenient for customers. The space sports a modern look and, among other conveniences, offers customers drive-thru banking services, a drive-up ATM, and a walk-up cash dispenser. On-site parking for more than 20 vehicles is also available. Nicole Dionne has been named branch manager, assisted by assistant branch manager Luis Rivera.

State Agency Awards CDH Patient Safety Award

NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) was recently awarded the 2007 Betsy Lehman Patient Safety Recognition Award at the fourth annual Betsy Lehman Patient Safety Conference in Boston. CDH was praised for implementing improvement initiatives that, over time, have eliminated hospital-associated infections such as central-line bloodstream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia. CDH Quality Director Donna Truesdell, RN, MS, CPHQ, emphasized that the hospital has not completely eliminated all hospital-associated infections. “Critical to our success has been engaging front-line staff in finding ways to implement best practices, but more importantly, setting the expectation that we will eliminate hospital-associated infections,” she said.

Ciecko Wins Holyoke Design Contest

HOLYOKE — Brendan Ciecko of Ten Minute Media was the logo design winner of the recent Creating Holyoke design contest. The Wistariahurst Museum and partners Holyoke Heritage State Park, the History Room of the Holyoke Public Library, the Children’s Museum at Holyoke, and the Enchanted Circle Theater sponsored the logo design contest which was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The initiative is the concept of a city-wide exhibit focusing on the strength of Holyoke’s immigrant history interwoven with the story of an industrial center within a unique and beautiful landscape. Ciecko’s design will have wide exposure, featured in all Creating Holyoke marketing, including letterhead, signage throughout the city, walking and driving tour brochures, and Web sites.

New History Museum Receives Grant

SPRINGFIELD — The SIS Charitable Fund recently awarded a $725,000 grant to the new Museum of Springfield History to assist with renovation work. The new museum is being built at 85 Edwards St., across from the Quadrangle museums. The grant is the largest award ever given by the fund, which strives to assist local charitable causes.

Yale-Genton To Close Doors

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Yale-Genton, a landmark across the Valley for more than 86 years, is going out of business. Yale-Genton specialized in tailored clothing for men, adding women’s clothing and casual wear in recent years. Mark Berman, owner, conceded that industry trends away from suits and tailored clothing eventually took a toll on the company. The store, which employs 15 full-time and five part-time workers, will close on or before Feb. 13.

Litron Ramps Up For Laser Services Growth

AGAWAM — At a time when other companies are trying to shore up sales, Mark Plasse, president of Litron Inc., says he’s worried about too much work. Plasse recently created three Litron divisions — medical, aerospace, and industrial — and adds he is being careful to keep the company’s focus tight and growth ambitions “well-guided.” In January, Plasse will announce a new, fully automated process for high-volume tube cutting with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability at the Medical Device & Manufacturing West Trade Show in Anaheim, Calif. He explained that the process is based on proprietary auto-feed tube-cutting machinery developed by Litron specifically to help medical market suppliers find a cost-effective, high-quality alternative to offshore processing. In other news, Plasse said the company recently received certification for its Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Control System. The certification was sought to verify Litron’s reliability in the handling of critical components while supplying laser welding, hermetic sealing, and other laser processing services.

Discounted Portraits Raise Funds for Baystate Children’s Hospital

SPRINGFIELD — To raise funds for Baystate Children’s Hospital, Robert Charles Photography in East Longmeadow is offering a limited number of portrait sessions for families and children at a reduced price through the end of December. The special Holiday Collection includes a photographic session and a framed 8x10 portrait signed by the artist, a $420 value, for $199. Subjects will select the image they want for their framed 8x10 portrait during a separate viewing, at which images will be displayed on a large plasma screen. This collection also includes a private clothing consultation with the studio. For every collection sold, the studio will donate $50 to Baystate Children’s Hospital. This is the second year Robert Charles Photography has offered this program to raise funds for the hospital. To date, they have been able to raise more than $11,000, and this year hope to exceed $15,000. For more information, call Robert Charles Photography at (413) 525-4263.

Hartford Courant Sells the Valley Advocate

HARTFORD, Conn. — The Hartford Courant has agreed to sell its alternative weekly the Valley Advocate to Newspapers of New England (NNE). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Executives with the Courant said in a statement the sale of the Valley Advocate allows the Courant to focus on its core Connecticut properties. The Advocate is based in Easthampton, Mass. “This is a good acquisition for Newspapers of New England because the talented people at the Valley Advocate will help strengthen the company’s footprint in their market,” Steve Carver, president and publisher of the Courant, said in a statement. NNE publishes the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the Valley News in Lebanon/Hanover, N.H., and the Recorder in Greenfield Mass, along with other papers in the area.