Agenda

STCC Diversity Series

Sept. 30: Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) will kick off its 2015-16 Diversity Series with an appearance from bestselling author and youth advocate Wes Moore at 11 a.m. in the Scibelli Hall gymnasium. Moore — a veteran, Rhodes scholar, and founder of BridgeEDU — has authored several successful books, including The Work: My Search for a Life That Matters; The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates; Discovering Wes Moore; and Forcefully Advancing. Moore has been featured by USA Today, Time, People, Meet the Press, The Colbert Report, MSNBC, and NPR. He is the host of Beyond Belief on the Oprah Winfrey Network and is the executive producer and host of PBS’s Coming Back with Wes Moore, which focuses on the reintegration of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their return home. As the founder and CEO of BridgeEDU, an innovative college platform that addresses the college-completion and job-placement crisis, Moore created the program to reinvent freshman year in a way that gives students real-world internship and service-learning opportunities as well as core academic classes. Moore’s appearance is made possible through the support of Baystate Health, MassMutual, PeoplesBank, An African-American Point of View, the city of Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, the STCC Black Professionals Group, and the STCC Diversity Council. The event is free and open to the public. An author signing will be held at 9:30 a.m., and copies of Moore’s books will be available for purchase. For additional information, call Myra Smith at (413) 755-4414. For a complete listing of STCC Diversity Series events, visit www.stcc.edu/diversity.

Get On Board!

Oct. 8: OnBoard, a Springfield-based nonprofit organization that matches qualified individuals and area boards of directors, is inviting local organizations and businesses to participate or become a sponsor in the “Get On Board!” event in October. The event, to be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, will connect local organizations with individuals looking to increase their community involvement. OnBoard was founded in the mid-’90s by attorney Ellen Freyman of Shatz, Schwartz & Fentin, P.C. The group’s mission is to help organizations expand their governance diversity by enlisting women, people of color, and other under-represented populations to their boards of directors/trustees, committees, and advisory groups. OnBoard has been connecting qualified people in the Greater Springfield area with organizations seeking leadership that reflects the diversity of the region. The cost for organizations to register to participate in the event is $125. As a nonprofit organization itself, OnBoard relies on the support of local businesses in order to hold ‘Get On Board.’ A number of funding options are available to local businesses who are interested in contributing to the event, including a $500 community-partner sponsorship and a $1,000 general-sponsorship opportunity. To register or become a business sponsor, visit www.diversityonboard.org.

Rake in the Business Table Top Expo

Oct. 13: The Springfield Regional Chamber is once again partnering with the Greater Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield chambers of commerce on the 18th annual Rake in the Business Table Top Expo and Business Networking Event from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Castle of Knights, 460 Granby Road, Chicopee, sponsored by Nuvo Bank & Trust Co. The expo provides local vendors an affordable opportunity to exhibit products and services to consumers. Last year, more than 100 vendors participated in the event, including photographers, marketing firms, staffing firms, banks, entertainment venues, and health insurers. Exhibitor space is available for $125, which entitles the exhibitor to an eight-foot, skirted display table and two complimentary entry passes. Electricity is limited but available upon request. The Table Top Expo is open to all chamber members as well as the general public for a nominal fee of $5 per person in advance, $10 at the door. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com. The event is sponsored by platinum sponsors Health New England, PeoplesBank, MedExpress Urgent Care, and Noble Visiting Nurse and Hospice Services; gold sponsors Nuvo Bank, Peoples United Bank, and BusinessWest; and silver sponsors Spectrum Business, Chicopee Savings Bank, Elms College, Dave’s Truck Repair, the Republican, Easthampton Savings Bank, and First American Insurance Agency. For more information or to exhibit, contact Sarah Mazzaferro at [email protected] or (413) 755-1313.

HRU Recognition Event

Oct. 15: Human Resources Unlimited will present its annual Recognition and Fund-raiser Event at Springfield Country Club, 1375 Elm St., West Springfield. Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m., and the program runs from 7:45 to 9 a.m. The Sheldon B. Brooks Employer Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to YMCA of Greater Westfield; the Employer of the Year Award will be presented to Harrington Memorial Hospital; the Rookie Employer Award will be given to Plastipak Packaging; and the Armand Tourangeau Volunteer of the Year is John Ernst. RSVP by Friday, Oct. 2 at [email protected] or (413) 781-5359. The breakfast is by invitation only, and seating is limited to the first 200 people. The suggested minimum donation is $100. Proper business attire (jackets for gentlemen) is required. The gold sponsors are Hub International (formerly FieldEddy Insurance) and United Bank, and BusinessWest is the media sponsor.

Western Mass. Business Expo

Nov. 4: Comcast Business will present the fifth annual Western Mass. Business Expo at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, produced by BusinessWest and the Healthcare News in partnership with Go Graphix and Rider Productions. The business-to-business show will feature more than 150 companies, seminars and Show Floor Theater presentations, breakfast and lunch programs (the former featuring Harpoon Brewery CEO Dan Kenary as keynote speaker), and a day-capping Expo Social. Current sponsors include Comcast Business, presenting sponsor; Health New England, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, MGM Springfield, and Wild Apple Design, director-level sponsors; the Isenberg School of Business at UMass Amherst, education sponsor; Elms College, information-center sponsor; and 94.7 WMAS, media sponsor. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Exhibitor spaces are also available; booth prices start at $750. For more information on sponsorships or booth purchase, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.