Congressman Neal to Headline ‘Building & Sustaining Livable Communities’ Event

HOLYOKE — OneHolyoke CDC will host a lunchtime event, “Building & Sustaining Livable Communities,” featuring U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, on Monday, June 16 at noon at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke.

The event will feature speakers Neal, ranking member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, who will offer a perspective from the federal level; Richard Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, who will offer a perspective from the business community; and Elise Rapoza, senior research associate at MassINC Policy Center, who will provide a viewpoint as a public policy expert, presenting her report on “Fostering Mixed-income Neighborhoods to Close the Economic Divide.”

There is a suggested donation of $50 for the event, which includes lunch. To register, visit oneholyoke.org/sustaining-communities.

Michael Moriarty, executive director of OneHolyoke CDC, will serve as moderator for the event, which aims to begin a conversation around how resources, innovation, advocacy, and collaboration all play a role in weathering the current instability of federal cutbacks, the specter of a recession, and related uncertainties affecting gateway cities and other communities large and small.