Home 2008 April
40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 35: Owner, Market Mentors

Once Michelle Abdow got her feet wet in marketing, she had to dive in.
“My big debut was working for a broadcast group in Eastern Mass.,” said Abdow of a role that included helping the company place media buys in other markets and otherwise target its dollars. “I also worked in the restaurant business; whenever we had big campaigns we were able to see immediate results from it, and I decided I really liked the field. It’s very rewarding to help clients.”
It’s even more rewarding to do it while calling the shots, which Abdow has done since launching Market Mentors, a West Springfield-based marketing and advertising firm, in 2002. “We’re a full-service marketing firm; we do all aspects of strategy, media buying, design services, public relations — everything to do with marketing and advertising.”

Succeeding in a world as fast-moving as advertising, one in which players need to stay on top of trends, if not ahead of them, requires a broad approach to reaching customers, said Abdow.

“Some companies call themselves full-service, but they’re really not. We truly are full-service; we can help with any type of buying, any aspect of marketing. We subscribe to Arbitron and Nielsen Media Research, and we have our fingers on the pulse of current ratings data. That’s a big expense for us, but I believe firmly in having access to resources like that if it helps our clients.”
In addition, she said, “we have an in-house writer, graphic designers, a complete creative services team. If we’re going to help people grow their own businesses, we need to invest in ours, and have the right people in place.”
Like many of this year’s Forty Under 40, Abdow balances work and home responsibilities — she and her husband have two children — with a healthy dose of community involvement; she’s on the boards of the Salvation Army and the Springfield Technical Community College Foundation, donates PR and advertising for the Shriners Circus, and helped bring back back the Coats for Kids program in Springfield, among other efforts.

“I believe it’s very important to give back to your community,” she said. “I live here, I operate a business here, and I’m raising my family here. I also encourage my employees to get involved in something they feel they can wrap their arms around. We really need it.”
That’s Abdow, always making a pitch.
Joseph Bednar

Sections Supplements
Springfield’s Newest Destination Boosts City’s Curb Appeal
Peter Pappas

Peter Pappas stands in front of the nearly completed River’s Landing, as landscaping and exterior lighting are completed.

For years, what is now known as the old Basketball Hall of Fame stood vacant, and early in 2006, people were only cautiously optimistic about a big change to the property proposed by two developers who trace their roots back to Springfield. Two years later, the landscaping is being finished and the signage is going up at River’s Landing, and gradually, the city’s riverfront is becoming the place to be, both night and day

In the main kitchen at Onyx Fusion Bar and Restaurant, executive chef Isaac Bancaco is devising a number of dishes that pair international flavors with the traditional ingredients of New England fare.

“It’s tradition with a twist,” said the Hawaiian, recruited by Onyx to bring his unique flair to Western Mass. “Contemporary cuisine using local ingredients is going to be one of our trademarks. It celebrates what’s already here, and brings something new to the table, too.”

This is an apt description of the ‘east-meets-west’ menu at Onyx; fusion, after all, is the calling card of the restaurant. But it’s also an effective metaphor to describe what’s happening at the larger complex in which it operates: River’s Landing, the reincarnation of the former Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and Springfield’s newest destination.

Located adjacent to the new Hall of Fame, next to the Connecticut River, and flanked by I-91, River’s Landing is the brainchild of Peter Pappas and Michael Spagnoli. The two Springfield natives submitted their proposal for a day-into-night entertainment venue centered on health, fitness, and upscale dining to the Springfield Riverfront Development Corp. (SRDC), the private real-estate entity that owns the land, in late 2005.

The partners are dually located on the East and West coasts; Pappas is an East Longmeadow-based real estate developer and importer/exporter, and Spagnoli, a chiropractor, owns a number of medical offices scattered across the country, including several in California, where he now resides.

At the time of the request for proposals, Pappas and Spagnoli, doing business as River’s Landing LLC, were competing against a wide range of proposals for the ‘old hall,’ including a hotel and a public market. But at the end of the day, the duo’s vision won the bid based in part on the upscale yet cohesive feel it aimed to create on the still-expanding stretch of the riverfront that includes not just the Hall of Fame, but also a Hilton Garden Inn and four popular eateries — Max’s Tavern, Coldstone Creamery, Pazzo, and Pizzeria Uno (a fifth, Sam’s Sports Bar, will open in the Hall later this spring).

“It’s a perfect fit with the Hall of Fame and the restaurants that are already doing well here,” said Pappas. “There’s a theme developing that we’re really excited about.”

David Panagore, chief development officer for the city, agreed. He said the look and feel of the riverfront is one that is evolving with the Hall of Fame at its center, augmented by other sports- and fitness-related activities and a good measure of dining and hospitality options.

“There’s a theme here of physical activity that means there’s much more to do along this stretch that eat,” he said, noting that, as development talks continue, the city will be looking to broaden this theme. “We’re looking closely at ‘event commercial’ opportunities that are semi-public, if not public. Five single-family homes, for instance, aren’t even in the realm of possibility. We need something to drive visitors.”

He said the consistency of the River’s Landing project — few major changes have been made to the original proposal — is also an important aspect, because it has helped maintain faith in the riverfront’s future, and has also helped to create a strong base from which to spur further growth.

“It’s about follow-through and keeping promises,” he said of the undertaking by Pappas and Spagnoli. “That’s what’s happened here.”

Going with the Flow

Pappas said he hopes River’s Landing will serve as a model for future projects, adding that, indeed, most of the original plans have stayed intact throughout the planning and construction process, now nearing completion.

L.A. Fitness, a national health club chain, expressed interest in the property early on, and is now putting the finishing touches on a three-story facility that will be the company’s second-largest location in the country, encompassing 60,000 of the 75,000 available square feet on the property. It’s expected to open for business on May 1.

Onyx, also three stories tall, covers 12,000 square feet, and opened for dinner and cocktails last month, the same week the city hosted the Division II college basketball tournament. Development of the remaining 3,000 square feet of the building’s footprint is being completed now, in order to house a Boston-based physical-therapy and sports-medicine outfit.

At the project’s start, Pappas and Spagnoli pledged $9 million in private funds to the endeavor. In 2006, when the partners first spoke with BusinessWest, they noted that this figure could rise to $13 million.

To date, Pappas said they have actually invested $14 million into the project, but lean more heavily on the fact that, as River’s Landing enters its first month as a fully functioning entity, the property is completely occupied, and improvements such as landscaping and exterior lighting, all geared toward making the building attractive and visible from the highway, are moving toward their completion on schedule.

“Action breeds action,” he said. “When people see what’s going on here, they’ll feel more comfortable with coming to the riverfront to use it. I can’t wait to see people walking along the river again.”

Walking through the building, Pappas, who’s added ‘restaurateur’ to his list of titles, said attention has been paid to spurring that action inside and outside of its walls, as well as to the city’s legacy, especially as the birthplace of basketball.

This attention can be seen in its design and in the roster of firms involved with the project; several are local businesses, while some were pulled from other regions to add a metropolitan flavor to River’s Landing.

“The basic structure of the building is the same,” said Pappas, noting, however, that it has received a considerable facelift. “The windows have been replaced, but they still offer views of the river, the Hall of Fame, the highway, and downtown, on different sides. Not only can people inside see out, but others can see in and take note that there’s a new level of activity here, and feel safer because there are eyes on them.”

Current Events

A bright gold now adorns much of the exterior, and the familiar row of multiple, vertical signs that stretch across the side of the building facing the highway, once carrying illustrations of famous Hall of Fame inductees, remains, but is now being redesigned to match the new décor.

Onyx, owned and operated by Pappas and Spagnoli, has essentially become the facility’s showpiece. The Amherst-based architectural firm Kuhn Riddle handled much of the design, while California-based interior designer Julia Wong, whose work recently appeared on E! Entertainment Television, was brought in to create a cohesive visual flow throughout the 300-seat establishment.

“We’ve incorporated the ideas of imagination, elegance, and a journey,” said Pappas, weaving from the lobby, which features a glass ‘water wall,’ into the bar and lounge area, with its multi-screen video wall and amber onyx bar.

“The design is also ‘green,’ including low-flow water systems in the bathrooms and bamboo flooring,” he noted, adding that Onyx also offers free wireless access for patrons and will soon add an outdoor patio dining area.

Onyx opened for lunch recently, and the final addition to its repertoire, a coffee and smoothie bar during morning hours, will commence in conjunction with the grand opening of L.A. Fitness, in order to better integrate the two businesses.

The club includes an Olympic-sized pool, a full basketball court on the second floor overlooking the Hall of Fame, and multiple exercise, weight, and cardio rooms. Pappas said the club’s management has been pre-selling memberships for three months, and expects to welcome thousands of members.

All of this activity is a positive sign for Springfield, said Panagore, adding, however, that there’s still a long road ahead with regard to riverfront development.

“The project is going well, and with the hotel on one end and River’s Landing on the other, this is becoming a destination site in Springfield,” he said. “In terms of moving forward, we continue to have discussions about alternative uses for the visitors center — the original study talked about co-locating it within the Hall of Fame. We’re investigating how to better position that resource, so we can drive more visitors there.”

With the York Street Jail now razed, there is another major development opportunity on the riverfront that Panagore said the city is monitoring closely.

“We’re focusing on ensuring that anything happening at the site proceeds properly. We don’t want to be getting ourselves in a snarl, or tripping over ourselves,” he said. “ We’ll clear the site and start looking for development opportunities that complement those that are already down there.”

Panagore added that the riverfront offers what he calls “curb appeal” as seen from I-91, and to be truly successful, the area must not only attract new traffic but send that traffic farther down the road.

“The riverfront projects are initially important,” said Panagore, emphasizing the word ‘initially,’ “because they help bring people to Springfield and turn around the image of the city. People who would not otherwise come to Springfield now have a reason. But we really need to move some of that energy into the downtown, so our focus is on the entire core of the city.”

There are some challenges, however, in the move to better connect the riverfront to downtown, said Panagore. While he said the city is in the middle of “ongoing discussions” regarding the maintenance and renovation of the riverside walkway that runs parallel to the Connecticut River and extends from River’s Landing to the Memorial Bridge, there are some physical impediments.

“The state has a little less than $1 million earmarked to spruce up the walkway,” he said, “But Route 91 is always going to be a constriction. The underpasses between the riverfront and the downtown are also an issue, as is the railroad. Physical barriers naturally deter visitors from taking that route; we will try to put as good a face on it as possible.”

Still, many of these conversations relate to what Panagore said is over the next hill for Springfield, while other hurdles, the largest of which is the ‘old hall’ and what to do with it, have been cleared.

“Right now, we’re working on current successes,” he said. “There are always larger conversations about Springfield’s vision, but the work is well underway, and we’re getting up on our feet.”

Going Swimmingly

A diverse mix of activity on the waterfront, long a distant hope, is now becoming a reality for the City of Homes, and it has also provided a new venue for cuisine like Bancaco’s, which draws from his own traditions and is colored by those he’s learning more about in New England.

One of his favorites is the hazelnut mahi-mahi with Maine lobster hash, and he said he’s hoping to introduce even more of these ‘east-meets-west’-inspired creations to diners at the newly opened eatery.

“Pairing traditional ingredients and techniques with those that are modern is the best definition of the word ‘fusion,’” he said.

Watching servers and prep cooks bustle in a kitchen located where he once came to learn more about some of basketball’s greats, Pappas nodded in agreement.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

Sections Supplements

Breakfast (7:15 A.M.)

The keynote speaker is Steven Antonakas, commissioner of Banks for the Commonwealth, who will speak on the subject of “Banking, Business Regulations, and Our Economy.” He will discuss the banking and mortgage issues impacting the region and the nation, and also the proliferation of banks and whether this is a good thing for business.

Microbrew Tasting (12-2 p.m.)

Attendees can sample craft beers distributed locally by Williams Distributing, including offerings from Magic Hat Brewery and the Hook and Ladder Brewery.

Business Seminars

Subjects range from new health insurance regulations to blogging; from information technology and how to use it to innovation — what it is and what it means. (See the full schedule, page 20.)

Taste the Market (3-5 p.m.)

During this two-hour period, attendees can sample items from the menus of several of the region’s finest restaurants. The dining establishments are sponsored by show exhibitors.

Hair Styling

Attendees can enjoy free haircuts from DiGrigoli Salons. Owner Paul DiGrigoli and his team will be styling and cutting hair throughout the day.

Sections Supplements
A. Crane Construction Will Build Just About Anything
Andrew (left) and A.J. Crane

Andrew (left) and A.J. Crane say cultivating relationships, not aggressive bidding or advertising, has fueled the success of their family business.

Andrew Crane says a “goofy motto” has long been at the heart of what A. Crane Construction is all about.

“Picnic tables or bridges,” he said, “it doesn’t matter.”

Not that he’d plaster the slogan on a sign or anything. The storefront in the Aldenville section of Chicopee that serves as headquarters of this 20-year-old construction business is modest, even unobtrusive, yet is still a step up in noticeability from the first 17-plus years when the company eschewed advertising and even a number in the phone book.

Yet, Crane said, he has developed a loyal clientele based on the values of quality work, attentive service, and a willingness to do any type, and any size, of commercial or residential job.

“I’ve always been in the construction business,” said Crane. “My grandfather was in it, and I liked it as a kid. My first real job was working for Daniel O’Connell for a couple of years, and from there I went on to homebuilding for a company that built post-and-beam homes.” After that, he spent eight years in the family business before striking out on his own in 1988.

For the better part of two decades, A. Crane Construction conducted business out of a house in Chicopee, doing jobs only for people Crane knew personally. A couple of years ago, he moved to Grattan Street and published a phone number — but his philosophy of attracting work remains unchanged.

“About 95% of our clients are people we know. It has always been that way,” he told BusinessWest. “We’ve built big stores, and we’ve hung mirrors. My first job was Chapdelaine’s Furniture in South Hadley, and then that summer I built a million-dollar house. But if someone calls me up for a storm door, I’ll do that, too.”

At a time when larger builders are being hard-hit by dramatic economic shifts, it’s a philosophy that has kept his team working and profits coming in.

Hammering Home a Point

After starting out alone, Crane gradually hired a team; he employs 10 people today, and the same people-we-know philosophy has taken root there, as well. “The first guy I ever hired is still here,” he said. “The second guy, too.”

Intentionally staying small, Crane has resisted the temptation to expand too quickly, which he claims would compromise quality. That has proven to be a solid business strategy at a time when increased competition in the building industry (see related story, page 29) has pushed bids downward and made it difficult for conventional firms to make a profit. Crane says he has avoided the low-bid trap by cultivating a reputation for personal service and quality control — and a stable of loyal clients — allowing him to earn more realistic profits without cutting corners.

“People who go for the lowest price these days can’t be interested in doing it for a long time,” he said. “For one thing, they can’t do it for that price if they’re properly insured; that costs a certain amount of money.

“I’d say the biggest single challenge in construction is to keep yourself legitimate,” he continued, arguing that the reputation of all builders is compromised by small, renegade contractors who act unscrupulously, whether by using shoddy materials or failing to have adequate insurance. “Anyone can put up a storm door, but I’ll bet you could go out and find six or seven out of 10 doing this business who are not properly insured. That hurts the general public, because if someone ever gets hurt or damage occurs, they won’t be able to recoup it. If everyone competing at some level works to get people a better product at less risk, they’ll be doing a good thing for the industry.”

Crane is especially proud of his term as president of the Home Builders Assoc. of Mass. (HBAM), which ended last June. He had served the organization at the local and state levels before that time, all the while learning about issues that affect his industry. The role saw him warning lawmakers of the influence that homebuilding wields over the economy locally and nationally; “nobody believed it, but now the bubble has burst, and the economy is suffering as a result,” he said. And it also led him to push for a law requiring anyone with a construction supervisor’s license to complete continuing education courses on a regular basis; after stalling last year, that bill has made progress on Beacon Hill.

“They need continuing education to learn safety rules, how to write contracts, all the things that protect the consumer. We almost got it done last year and had to wait for another session, but I’m glad it’s happening,” he said, noting that his time with the HBAM has given him an appreciation for aspects of the business that affect customers.

“I encourage every business to belong to a trade association, whether it’s for teachers, doctors, dentists, whatever,” Crane told BusinessWest. “It kind of validates your existence in business, I think, and keeps you current on all the legislative issues. It really does set you apart from the average, everyday guy.”

Steady On

Among his customers over the years, Crane has built stores and revamped displays for Manny’s TV and Appliance, as well as building facilities for Jerry’s Music Shop in South Hadley, Ondrick Natural Earth in Chicopee, Class Grass Garden Center in Granby, a 60,000-square-foot commercial complex on Cape Cod, and the Home Builders Assoc. itself. Through the years, he has seen a roughly 50-50 split between homebuilding and commercial work.

“Every year, there’s a decent-sized commercial job and a bunch of home remodeling. I have 10 remodeling jobs now, and another appliance store to build,” he said. “I like the challenge of doing both; it helps to manage the cash flow. And, again, it’s mainly people we know, not Joe Shmoe calling me to build a tire shop. And our customers keep coming back.”

“We seldom competitively bid,” said Crane’s son, A.J., who joined the company four years ago. “Plans are sent to the office all the time, but we’re often too busy.”

A.J. Crane was intrigued enough by his family’s business to earn a Civil Engineering degree to teach him everything from reading blueprints to managing large-scale construction projects. “I like working in an industry where there’s something to show at the end of the day. I’m lucky in that I have a lot of say in the day-to-day operations. My dad wishes he was in the field more,” he said, as his father nodded and smiled.

“We’ve got the second generation coming in,” Andrew Crane said, “but I’ve always operated this place like a family business. The guys who work here have become close. They’re not just employees; we care about their welfare, and we want them to work safe and happy.”

With that in mind, Crane likes the pace of growth so far, keeping the company small enough so that it doesn’t get stretched too thin. That reflects that oft-mentioned focus on individual attention, and the way it breeds loyalty. “We want to make decisions for customers like it’s our own stuff,” he said.

Besides, Crane still wants enough time in the day to shepherd schoolchildren through a crosswalk outside his office. “The cars fly by here,” he said. “When the kids get out of school, if I see them, we run out and cross them. I don’t mind. It’s a good thing.”

And just a few more people he’s getting to know.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at[email protected]

Sections Supplements
Green Environmental Consulting Works with Business Owners to Clear the Air
Adam Lesko

Adam Lesko, owner of Green Environmental Consulting, says indoor air quality is one of the most pressing issues associated with ‘green building.’

In the biz, it’s called IAQ — indoor air quality, an often-misunderstood aspect of environmental health and compliance.

According to Adam Lesko, owner of Green Environmental Consulting (GEC) in Florence, there are a number of things that can negatively impact the air we breathe, ranging from mold to asbestos to poorly functioning ventilators.

Sometimes, these issues lead to less-than-healthy working conditions or so-called ‘sick buildings,’ and Lesko has made it his life’s work to serve as the doctor on call.

“We specialize in indoor air quality,” he said, noting that the specialty includes remediation techniques, but also the creation of management systems for buildings, their environmental systems, and record-keeping mechanisms. “All of this relates back to the company name. It’s ‘green’ for a reason — air quality is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to environmental compliance.”

But environmental services like those offered by GEC haven’t always been in high demand.

“In the past, people have not looked at air quality as a place where long-term, positive changes could be made,” said Lesko. “Instead, most people have seen the regulations they must adhere to and the standards they’ve had to meet, and not been able to see past the upfront costs.”

Air Apparent

Today, though, environmental-compliance assistance is in increasing demand. This is due in part to a greater awareness and response to IAQ and other health- and environment-related concerns on both state and federal levels; the EPA, for example, has launched a comprehensive Indoor Environments Program, which includes guidelines for schools and school districts, homes, offices, and institutional buildings.

Trends in the marketplace, including a greater focus on ‘green building’ and LEED-certified construction, are also helping to put IAQ in the spotlight. This, in turn, is making air quality more relevant to a number of other industries, including commercial real-estate markets, construction, health care, and even education.

More than ever, said Lesko, property managers and owners are realizing a need to test for poor air quality and other environmental hazards, and to remediate any issues and avoid complaints from tenants, clients, or employees. Failure to do so can result in costly renovations and cleanup efforts, low productivity, and, in many cases, some bad publicity that can hurt a building’s reputation.

“Anyone who operates any kind of large facility has to think about this,” he said, “and we have plenty of residential work, too. The trends really follow the media — if 20/20 runs a piece on the dangers of mold, we get a lot of calls from homeowners. If there’s a news story about the mountain of paperwork facilities are required to keep, and how it keeps growing, then we hear from colleges, hospitals, schools … you name it.”

Breathing Life into the Industry

In essence, GEC provides options to clients designed to create healthier indoor working conditions. Lesko said most often, this translates into remediating issues with asbestos and mold (“mold is big this time of year,” he said, “and asbestos is always big”), upgrading air-quality infrastructure and plans (including ventilation and filtration systems), and monitoring and testing areas in which employees work to ensure they meet health and safety compliance standards.

“We do a lot of work with industrial hygiene and database solutions to manage environmental information,” he explained, noting that, until very recently, facilities charged with maintaining environmental information often did so with a pad and pencil, storing records in a conventional file cabinet.

“New technology eliminates the need for a physical paper trail and data entry, and increases access to information, thus limiting the potential for a hazardous situation,” he continued. “The most commonly cited issue associated with environmental regulations is the need for thorough, accessible records.”

Lesko had worked in this field for several years, the bulk of those with a national firm specializing in the field of environmental consulting, before striking out on his own in 2006.

“I saw an opportunity to produce a quality product, and I liked the idea of owning a local company,” he said. “I felt I could do a better job — when people work with us, they’re going to be working with a senior-level employee every time.”

His timing was good, too. Now working with a diverse set of clients in the midst of the biggest environmental boom in American history, Lesko leads a team of four, assessing needs, providing solutions, and usually offering some educational components, too.

“There have been a number of studies, for instance, looking at how air quality affects employee productivity,” he said. “In turn, there’s a lot of research on how we can improve efficiency by improving the indoor environment. Healthy employees are happy employees, and we’re definitely seeing more people take that idea seriously.”

Building Excitement

As green trends continue to explode, he said opportunities for GEC are multiplying as well. Lesko has already carved a niche for himself working with a wide range of clients, addressing their clean-air needs. He’s worked with a number of educational institutions across Western Mass. and Northern Conn., including Tantasqua regional schools, Granby public schools, Belchertown public schools, and Smith College. He also works with a number of real-estate brokers and developers offering assessment services on various properties in preparation for a sale, as well as general contractors, offering compliance assurance and monitoring programs.

“Developers are often surprised by the amount of remediation they’re required to perform on a property, and too often, that surprise comes after a property has been purchased,” said Lesko. “Our stance is that pre-investigation, so to speak, is a really smart way to do business because it offers more information on a property that can be used when negotiating prices or taking out a loan.

“There is a real and true cost associated with environmental compliance that too few people acknowledge,” he added.

There’s a residential arm of GEC too, through which Lesko and his team provide testing and inspection services to identify issues caused by lead paint, mold, asbestos, and other hazards.

But in addition, Lesko said he’s gradually moving GEC further into the green-building sector — an area in which environmental compliance is becoming more intrinsic than ever.

“We’re doing more already on the green-building side of things,” he said, “especially in the field of testing. I definitely hope this in an area in which we can grow, because there are opportunities to work with all types of buildings — both old and new.”

GEC is working toward attaining its own LEED certification to better serve the building sector. Lesko said part of the decision to move in this direction was, as in the past, driven by media attention to green-construction practices, but it’s a trend he says will likely forge significant positive changes in the industry.

“This is a good industry to join,” he explained. “Some might say that there’s been almost too much marketing of green building and green products, but a lot of good has already come out of that aggressive stance, and it’s always healthy for us to think about these things.”

Lesko says that this trendy thought process notwithstanding, green building, with environmental compliance as one of its key tenets, is leading to the design of more efficient buildings.

“It’s great because it’s driving people to think more proactively, to think about things more intelligently, and to design tighter buildings.”

The going-green phenomenon is shedding some light on Lesko’s work, which revolves around finding invisible foes and bringing others out of the shadows. “Now, more people are seeing that changes to air quality can create benefits,” he said.

And for him and his clients, that is indeed a breath of fresh air.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

Features
Comcast Brings a New Bundle to the Small-business Marketplace

Doug Guthrie

Doug Guthrie says Comcast Small Business Voice addresses the direct needs of what has been an underserved constituency.

Doug Guthrie says small businesses have traditionally been overlooked, or “underserved,” as he put it, when it comes to voice services, which is ironic, because they dominate the economic scene in most regions, including the Pioneer Valley.

“Small businesses have pretty much had to take a back seat to bigger companies when it comes to phone service,” said Guthrie, vice president of Comcast’s so-called Connecticut-West Region, which encompasses the Valley. He told BusinessWest that his company is hard at work on remedying that situation with a new product rolled out earlier this year. It’s called Comcast Business Class Voice, part of a ‘Business Class’ bundle of voice, data, and television services that is similar in many ways to the company’s Triple Play package of those three services for residential customers. The new offering should help businesses operate more effectively, said Guthrie, while also saving money in the process through monthly charges as low as $99.

Business Class Voice includes unlimited local and long-distance calling for one price, as well as features ranging from auto attendant to a host of caller ID services to three-way calling. The new product brings a number of benefits to small businesses, said Guthrie, starting with choice, meaning a viable option to the phone company. But it also offers an effective bundle, those aforementioned cost savings, and the ability for smaller companies (those with under 20 employees) to operate as much larger entities.

“The idea behind this product is to make the small-business guy feel like the big-business guy,” he explained, adding that this concept is captured in Comcast’s materials to market the new product, which feature the tag line, ‘turn your office on.’ “We’re providing power to the business people.”

Meanwhile, for Comcast, which does business in 39 states, Business Class Voice and the new bundle provide what Guthrie and others expect will be an effective vehicle for capturing a larger share of the small business market within its substantial footprint, which is pegged at $12 billion to $15 billion nationally, by most estimates.

The immediate mission, or challenge, for the company, Guthrie acknowledged, is to convince would-be customers that a cable giant that has also gained a solid footing in the business of providing reliable, high-speed Internet service can also provide a quality voice service.

He believes the product quality will speak for itself, literally and figuratively, and that Comcast can build on the track record it has compiled within the residential market.

“We have a considerable amount of experience providing voice services to residential customers,” he explained. “We want to take that know-how to the small-business market, where there is enormous potential for growth.”

Voice of Reason

Anthony Facchini says his law firm was quick to be among the first to sign on for Business Class Voice and the Comcast business bundle.

Springfield-based Facchini & Facchini has three lawyers (brothers Anthony, Richard, and Michael), 10 employees, and seven phone lines, said Fracchini, and saw in the Comcast package an opportunity to pay one bill instead of two or three, reduce some expanses, and gain better quality, reliability, and service response.

Three months after signing on, he’s reporting all of the above.

“Our bill used to be about $450 a month, and we’ve probably cut that in half,” he said. “Our Internet is much faster and more reliable, and the phone service is good; there have been just a few hiccups with it, but the service has been tremendous.”

Facchini & Facchini represents the kind of customer, and the type of response, that Comcast had in mind when it spent the bulk of 2007 putting together its new product — one that would give it the opportunity to compete against AT&T’s package of phone and Internet service that runs for $90 per month, or closer to $130 when mobile phone service is added to the mix — while also building the sales and service team that would bring it to the market.

Such small businesses have traditionally had few, if any, choices besides AT&T for land-line services, said Guthrie, adding that he believes Comcast’s business bundle will compete effectively, garner significant market share — perhaps 20% — and meet or exceed the company’s goal to create a $2.5 billion business by 2011.

He bases that estimate on the quality of the package, the quantity of specific features and services, and, perhaps most importantly, the opportunity the Comcast bundle provides for businesses in terms of cost savings and greater efficiency.

These are the selling points being stressed by a sales force amassed by Ed Gallagher, a 20-year veteran of the communications industry recruited by Comcast to become vice president and general manager of Buisness Services for Comcast’s NorthCentral Division, which encompasses all of New England. Gallagher was given the task of putting what Guthrie called the “building blocks” in place for the new business venture.

Assignments included the hiring and training of a sales force for all regions, he said, adding that, by the end of 2007, Comcast had more than 2,000 employees across the country dedicated to the small- and medium-sized business efforts, including about 750 business salespeople and 1,400 technicians.

They’ve been busy of late, said Guthrie, adding that early response to the bundle has been positive, and no doubt helped by a softened economy that has business owners thinking about costs and how to reduce them.

“All companies are looking to trim their expenses and become more efficient,” he explained. “This is the right product at the right time.”

And Western Mass. has the demographics to be the right place, he continued, adding that small businesses dominate the landscape in the 35 area communities to which the company provides service. These include Springfield, Holyoke, Westfield, Northampton, Greenfield, Longmeadow, and West Springfield.

“We see Western Mass. as a strong growth area for us,” he explained, adding that many businesspeople in the area are familiar with Comcast through their residential cable, Internet service, or even cable advertising. Such relationships, coupled with the new voice product and the “business Triple Play,” as he called it, all add up to opportunities to take market share.

Guthrie told BusinessWest that, while Business Class Voice is a new product, and it is part of a new small-business bundle, the company is bringing a significant amount of experience to this initiative that makes ‘new’ a bit of a misnomer.

For starters, Comcast is the fourth-largest residential phone provider in the nation, so it brings voice experience to the table, he explained, and it has been offering its Triple Play — cable, Internet, and voice — to residential customers for years.

“Comcast already delivers reliable voice service to thousands of business owners where they live,” said Gallagher. “These business owners now have the option of choosing Comcast for all their communications needs where they work.”

Answering the Call

“Comcast means business.”

That’s another of the marketing slogans being used for the rollout of the new small-business bundle, and it has meaning on a number of levels, said Guthrie.

First, it speaks to the company’s focus on bringing better services to small-business owners. But it also reflects the company’s aggressive plans to take market share in an increasingly popular small-business sector, which, as he said, offers vast potential.

Whether Comcast will meet its ambitious goals remains to be seen, but the company’s intentions are as clear as a bell — or a strong dial tone.v

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Opinion
Investing in the Nation’s Future

In Mumbai last November, I addressed a conference of India’s leading CEOs. Their interests had a single focus: what makes the American system of higher education such a powerful force for U.S. prosperity?

It was not an idle question, as India builds economic momentum. From 12,000 miles away, they understood something easy to lose sight of here at home — that this country’s distinctively open, varied, and competitive system of higher education has served both as an escalator of individual social mobility and as an engine of our country’s economic growth. Can we afford not to continue to invest in the future of our people and our nation?

Since the GI Bill dramatically expanded America’s middle class by educating half of all returning World War II veterans, the personal value of higher education has been broadly accepted. It opens your mind, and it also expands your prospects. According to the U.S. Census, over the past 20 years, households with an increase in real income were overwhelmingly headed by someone with at least a college degree.

Perhaps less obvious but equally important is the vital role of higher education in our economy as a source of both innovators and innovations. Indeed, MIT economist and Nobel Laureate Robert Solow estimates that more than half of America’s economic growth since World War II can be traced to technological innovation — much of it spawned through government-funded, university-based research.

Backed by extensive federal investment, America’s research universities have invented many of the disciplines and technologies that define modern life, from computer science to biological engineering, from the laser to the foundations of the Internet. If you doubt the value of federal research funding, consider this: over the past 30 years, NIH investments of $4 per American per year in cardiovascular research have led to a 63% decrease in mortality from heart disease. Yet, the Administration’s proposed NIH budget for FY 2009 represents a drop of 13% from 2003 in actual, inflation-adjusted health-science spending.

Our local economy benefits profoundly from the dense concentration of colleges and universities. The region’s eight research universities employ nearly 50,000 people and provide a total regional economic impact, including everything from payroll and construction costs to student spending, of more than $7 billion. What’s more, when research universities attract federal research dollars, those funds not only support individual labs, but buoy the state’s economy as well.

Our system of higher education has, indeed, earned the envy of the world, as I heard in India. According to a Shanghai Jiao Tung University survey, the U.S. still boasts 17 of the world’s top 20 research universities. Not surprisingly, other countries are actively copying our success. China is making dramatic investments in its universities, with the aim of vaulting five of them into the top-20 ranking by 2020.

In this global context, it is particularly important to understand America’s higher-education system as a strength to be nurtured. We must continue to improve the quality of higher education and to increase accessibility. America needs a highly educated workforce. The nation also needs the fruits of university innovation. At this moment of exceptional promise in fields from energy technology to cancer research, the federal commitment to basic research is faltering. Funding for research in the physical sciences has been flat for decades. Overall federal research investment has fallen from 2% of GDP in the mid-1960s to eight-tenths of 1% today.

The result of such shortsighted research investment policies can be measured in opportunities lost: opportunities to attract the best young researchers, to accelerate the clock of discovery, and to conquer humanity’s most urgent challenges. It is time to ask just how much it would it be worth investing, as a nation, to invent our way to a better, cleaner, healthier future.-

Susan Hockfield is president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This article first appeared in the Boston Globe.

Sections Supplements
Builders Extend Their Reach to Keep Their Crews Working
David Fontaine

David Fontaine says that his company, like most in the region, has had to travel farther to find work.

Over the past few years, commercial builders in the Pioneer Valley have lamented an influx of competition from contractors outside Western Mass. With opportunities sluggish and margins tight, many Springfield-area builders are returning the favor, seeking work — and often finding it — in Eastern Mass. and Connecticut. That geographic flexibility is critical, some say, at a time when a slowing economy and soaring costs for fuel, materials, and insurance have made it much more difficult to stay profitable.

Go east.

That seems to be the mantra for commercial builders based in Western Mass., many of whom say the Valley isn’t as fertile with projects as it was a few years ago.

“We do about 75% of our work outside the Springfield-area market,” said David Fontaine, president of Fontaine Brothers in Springfield. “The Western Mass. marketplace has really been struggling over the last few years, and we’re far healthier in Eastern Mass. I really don’t know why; it’s not for lack of trying, but rather a lack of opportunity. Most of our employees travel at least 50 to 75 miles a day each way, which is a far cry from where we were six or eight years ago.”

Dennis Fitzpatrick, president of Daniel O’Connell Sons in Holyoke, which is heavily involved in both commercial construction and civil projects, agreed. “Local projects have become a smaller and smaller piece of our business,” he said. “The private, commercial side is at a standstill here. We do a lot of work for colleges and universities, and that segment of the market — well, I wouldn’t say it’s robust, but it continues to expand in Western Mass., and that’s good for us.

“It certainly helps when the economy slows down to have diverse geographic coverage and to have a diversity of project types as well,” Fitzpatrick added. “It gives us some stability and more places to find work. This used to be a very local business, but it’s not anymore.”

Surveying the Landscape

Private-sector spending on construction suffers during economic downturns as well, but for different reasons than those that afflict the public purse.

“In the private real-estate market,” Fitzpatrick said, “companies aren’t going to make an investment when they don’t have faith in the future of the economy, and there’s not as much confidence as there was two years ago. On the civil side, things like wastewater treatment, business is slow as well, as the state and municipal governments are struggling with tax revenues.”

While public-work opportunities “muddle along,” said Fitzpatrick, Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration has given contractors some hope by proposing more funds for projects aimed at boosting that part of the economy, but construction companies are taking a wait-and-see approach to those prospects.

“The public sector is very quiet and has been for more than two years,” Fontaine noted. “In terms of general construction, the public-school market is basically nonexistent. Some public-safety facilities and libraries come around, but they’re very few and far between, especially in this general geographic area.”

Fontaine would like to express more optimism in the public sector, but said waiting can be frustrating. “I’ve read about a lot of studies, but I don’t know of many municipalities around here that are able to turn a study into a project,” he said.

As a result, his company is busy tackling fire stations in Eastern Mass., a bus-storage facility in Gardner, school projects in Waltham and Lawrence, and work for the Worcester Housing Authority. Yes, he’s also picked up jobs at Berkshire School in Sheffield, Western New England College in Springfield, and Williston Northampton School, but far more often, he’s sending crews east of the Valley.

O’Connell is also tackling some major work in Western Mass. — in addition to the new federal courthouse in downtown Springfield, the company has taken on multiple projects at Northfield Mount Hermon School and UMass and performed civil work for the Springfield Water and Sewer Authority, just to name a few recent jobs — but it has also followed leads to the east as well as south to New Haven.

Tim Pelletier, president of Raymond R. Houle Construction in Ludlow, reported “a fair amount of activity” heading into the spring. “We haven’t felt any shock waves yet.”

Elaborating, he said Houle is coming off a good 2007, and the outlook seems bright, especially given the general economic uncertainty in the air. “I can’t say we have work banked up until the end of the year, but it’s enough to keep us busy for awhile.”

Fueling Costs

But even for builders with plenty on their plates, other factors are putting on the squeeze — none more so than the cost of fuel, which has risen to rarely seen levels over the past month.

“The economy as a whole is a real problem for contracting, and fuel is the biggest one,” said Joseph Gallo, president of Bruschi Bros. in Ludlow. “What happens is, you bid for a job that might last two or three years. You can try to anticipate how costs like fuel and insurance could go up, but beyond that, there’s no way of getting reimbursed.

“It’s difficult to compensate for the way fuel has gone up and eaten into profits — if I make a profit,” he added. “If I bid too high in anticipation of those costs, I won’t get the job. So these economic factors are really creating havoc, especially in Western Mass.”

Andrew Crane, president of A. Crane Construction in Chicopee, said his company’s five trucks use $300 in gasoline per day, and he is taking pains to coordinate trips, something he never had to worry about before. “It really eats into the bottom line,” he said. “I can’t give my guys anything extra, which they probably deserve, because of costs that continue to go up, most of them related to petroleum.”

Those rising costs pose a harsh irony for builders who have found increasing opportunities outside the Valley. But flexibility, they insist, is a must in this business.

“The last two years have been difficult for us,” Fontaine said. “We’ve diversified with smaller-volume projects, smaller jobs, and just decided to travel.

“The private-sector market, metal buildings, small shopping centers, have been busy, but I don’t even see as much of that going up right now,” he continued. “In the surrounding 30 or 40 communities within 60 miles of here, it doesn’t seem like anyone is doing much of anything.

However, he added, “there are still a few very large projects out there. Smith College has some good-sized things going on.” In fact, the higher-education construction niche continues to flourish, with major projects underway or recently completed at several area institutions. Fontaine said private colleges in particular don’t follow general economic trends when deciding to expand.

“On the contrary, I think the private sector waits and tries to capitalize on a down economy, to get more bang for their buck,” he explained. “The money is there; they just pick and choose when they’ll spend it.”

The state of the residential-building market, which has been hit by a slowdown nationally, generally doesn’t directly affect commercial construction, but there are some crossover concerns. Take Bruschi Bros., a general contractor that specializes in site work, utilities, and road work, particularly in subdivisions.

“The way the economy is going, it could be a tough year,” said Gallo. “They plan these subdivisions years ahead of time; they want to plan ahead and get architects and funding in place. But if they can’t sell the homes, that cuts into their equity and cash flow,” meaning a possible slowdown in new projects to bid on.

Bottom-line Concerns

As Western Mass. has become a more competitive region for construction, one marked by slimmer profit margins, Crane said his company has been able to weather some of the difficulty by cultivating repeat business (see story, page 33). Other successful builders say the same.

“A lot of it depends on whether you have a customer base or you’re just scanning the Dodge report for work,” said Pelletier. “Fortunately, we have that customer base.”

It seems that, particularly on the cusp of a recession, the most important thing for a contractor to build might be relationships — both within the Pioneer Valley and, increasingly, many miles away from it.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at[email protected]

Departments

Care Center Annual Dinner

April 29: The Care Center on Cabot Street in Holyoke will celebrate its students and staff at its annual dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Log Cabin, also in Holyoke. The event features performances and presentations by Care Center students, including ballroom dancing. The Care Center provides services to pregnant and parenting teen mothers and their children. The celebration is being sponsored by Weiss Consulting, PeoplesBank, and the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. Dinner and dancing are free, and guests will be invited to make a meaningful gift at the event. For more information, call (413) 532-2900, ext. 128. For details on the Care Center, visit www.carecenterholyoke.org.

Marketing Program

April 30: Anne West, founder and president of the Atlanta-based consulting firm Strategic Communication Counsel, will present “Remarketing Marketing … Creatively” at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke. West offers a down-to-earth look at some common strategies and tactics that marketers overlook. The morning event is sponsored by the Ad Club of Western Mass. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., with the seminar slated from 8 a.m. to noon. Registration includes a continental breakfast, seminar, and handouts. The cost is $75 for Ad Club members, $85 for non-members, and $50 for students. To register online, visit www.adclubwm.org.

Financial, Estate-planning Workshops

April 30, May 14, May 21: Applewood at Amherst, a part of the Loomis Communities, will host a free public series of financial and estate-planning talks, all beginning at 7:30 p.m. On April 30, Peter Ziomek, J.D., of Ziomek & Ziomek, will discuss wills, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, and trusts. On May 14, Eva Thomson of Thomson Financial Management will share methods of maximizing one’s assets for a fulfilling retirement and beyond. The series concludes on May 21 with Hyman Darling, J.D., of Bacon and Wilson, P.C., reviewing ways to personalize one’s legacy through ethical wills, pet trusts, charitable bequests, gift annuities, or specific burial instructions. All talks will be conducted in the meeting room at Applewood at Amherst, One Spencer Dr., Amherst. Reservations are encouraged and may be made by calling Kelley Murphy at (413) 253-9833.

Women’s Professional Development Conference

May 1: Bay Path College in Longmeadow will host its 13th annual Women’s Professional Development Conference at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Actress Jane Fonda will be the keynote speaker for the affair, which is planned from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For a complete list of workshops and speakers, visit www.baypath.edu. Tickets are $250 for the general public and $225 for Bay Path alumni, with an early-bird registration deadline of April 17. A vendor fair is also planned throughout the day.

RTC Digital Marketing Series

May 2: “Using Social Networks as Marketing Tools” will be offered by the Regional Technology Corp. (RTC) from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the tele-classroom at the Springfield Technical Community College Technology Park in Springfield. This is the second seminar in RTC’s Digital Marketing Series, and will offer guidance on developing new relationships with clients, partners, and other key players in one’s industry. Presenters at the seminar will include Mark Firehammer, co-founder of Rumetagro Relationship Technologies, and Morriss Partee, the founder of EverythingCU.com. The class is free to RTC members and costs $50 for non-members. Advance registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Suzanne Parker at (413) 755-1301 or via E-mail at [email protected].

Business Market Show

May 7: The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield Inc. will host its 2008 Business Market Show from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The show will feature more than 225 booths offering products and services to help, enhance, and grow one’s business. Attendance is free with a business card, and no registration is required. For a complete schedule of workshops throughout the day, as well as exhibitor listings and parking locations, visit www.businessmarketshow.com.

Customer-service Seminar

May 8: Marty Clarke, president of Martin Productions and author of Communication Land Mines: 18 Communication Catastrophes and How to Avoid Them, will present a seminar titled “Customer Service Land Mines and How to Avoid Them” from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Clarion Hotel in West Springfield. Clarke’s program will lay out a road map of how one can avoid common and damaging customer-service land mines, and begin to set a company apart in the most powerful way possible. Clarke will offer an encore seminar titled “Leadership Land Mines: 8 Managerial Catastrophes and How to Avoid Them” from 1 to 4 p.m. The presentations are presented by the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast (EANE). The cost for either the morning or afternoon session is $179 for EANE members or $229 for non-members. The cost for the full day is $279 for both sessions for EANE members, and $329 for non-members. For registration information, visit www.eane.org.

Wine Tasting and Auction

May 9: The Chicopee Chamber of Commerce will host a wine tasting and silent auction at the Castle of Knights on Memorial Drive. Proceeds raised from the event will be used to fund chamber events. For more information on the event, visit www.chicopeechamber.org.

‘Defining the Goals’

May 20: Agawam High School is hosting a “Defining the Goals” expo from 8 to 10 a.m. Companies are invited to share products or services, as well as employment needs for the future. The event will be an opportunity to showcase a company and enlighten students regarding its operations and the educational requirements necessary to secure employment in various industries. The event is being sponsored by Engineering Projects in Community Service, Life Science Career Development grants, and MassLive. The event will include a coffee reception, scheduled presentations, and a question-and-answer session. For more information or to RSVP, E-mail [email protected].

Woman of the Year Banquet

May 21: The Women’s Partnership of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield will honor Kristina Drzal Houghton as its Woman of the Year at its annual banquet planned at Chez Josef in Agawam. The award represents the recognition of extraordinary achievement by a woman in the Greater Springfield community whose efforts exemplify the leadership, community involvement, and professional goals of the Women’s Partnership. A reception begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:15. Tickets are $35 each, and the deadline to register is May 9. For more information, visit www.myonlinechamber.com.

Torch Awards

May 12: The Better Business Bureau of Central New England Inc. (BBB) will stage its anual Torch Awards & Breakfast at the Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, starting at 7:30 a.m. At the event, the BBB will honor American Pest Solutions Inc. of Springfield with its prestigious “Torch Award. It will also extend its Honorable Mention distinction to another local company, Moving/Odd Job Unlimited of Chicopee. “The purpose of this award is to recognize businesses that operate with integrity, trust, and marketplace ethics in their approach to commerce,” said Ray Frias, president of the BBB. “The Better Business Bureau is aware that there are businesses that maintain good business ethics and work every day to assure the public of their commitment to fair and honest business practices, and this award was established to focus attention on those good companies.” Also, BBB Student Ethics Award winner Evan Coleman from Amherst Regional High School will be presented with a $500 scholarship. This prestigious award recognizes students who live up to and inspire others with their commitment to ethical living. Individual seats at the event cost $20. Those interested in registering for the event may do so by visiting www.central-westernma.bbb.org/torch  or calling (413) 594-2163, ext. 105

Departments

Auditing Trash

Springfield Technical Community College students recently dumped the contents of several trash barrels on the sidewalk in front of Putnam Hall. The student leaders are interested in promoting recycling on campus and planned the demonstration to show other students how much of what is thrown in trash cans could, and should, be recycled. Here, students pore over the contents to help make their point.


Think Green

Westfield State College recently staged a ‘Think Green: Campus and Community Fair’ on the campus green and in the Ely Campus Center. The fair was part of the college’s Sustainability Day activities. The event featured a number of exhibits highlighting issues and products involved with conservation and sustainability. At left, James Rovezzi, director of Environmental Services, pretends to kick the tires on a new Smart Car from Hoffman Auto Group. Above, Kit Dobelle, wife of WSC President Evan S. Dobelle, talks about gardening with gardening expert and television personality Pernell Gerver.


Community Health Fair

The 87 students in the senior class of Nursing at Springfield Technical Community College put on their annual community health fair on April 15, with information booths, displays, and speakers on subjects ranging from asthma, body enhancement (tattooing and piercing), and child safety to maternal health, diabetes, and much more. At left, from left, Dustin Hamel, Myraida Vasquez, Tasneem Khan, Yolette James-Miller, and Meron Woldekidan present information about nutrition. Below, from left, Jennifer Hall, Kristina Lysenko, and Tracey Stanlewicz focus on teen pregnancy.


Funding Milestone

The Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI) in Springfield reached an important funding milestone recently, passing the $10 million mark in federal funding for life sciences initiatives. New federal support in the amount of $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) was secured, which will be used to fund expansions, equipment purchases, and new hires. Founded in 2002, the PVLSI is a research partnership of Baystate Medical Center and UMass Amherst, and is focused on biomedical research and the role it can play in economic development. Posing with a ceremonial check are, from left, Mark Tolosky, CEO of Baystate Health; Lawrence Schwartz, Ph.D., science director of the PVLSI and professor of Biology at UMass Amherst; U.S. Rep Richard Neal; and Dr. Paul Friedmann, executive director of the PVLSI.

Departments

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties, and are the latest available. They are listed by community.


Marks Meadow Parent Guardian Group Inc., 813 North Pleasant St., Amherst 01002. Deborah Timberlake, 180 Summer St., Amherst 01002. (Nonprofit) To support the Marks Meadow Elementary School by providing support for educational and recreational needs, and community building.

BELCHERTOWN

Minuteman Drywall Builders Inc., 107 South Washington St., Belchertown 01007. Michael Allen, same. Drywalling.

Morgan Kimball Contracting Services Inc., 89 Howard St., Belchertown 01007. Morgan Kimball, same. Contracting and construction services.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Family Bike Inc., 217 L Shaker Road, East Longmeadow 01028. Raymond D. Plouffe, 36 Lovers Lane, Somers, CT 06071. Raymond D. Ploutfe, 217 L Shaker Road, East Longmeadow 01028, registered agent. Bicycle and other sporting equipment sales/repair.

GRANVILLE

Metal Dreams Inc., 1467 Main Road, Granville 01034. Len Elie, same. Fabrication and installation of heating & cooling products, etc.

HAYDENVILLE

Northampton Soap Box Derby Inc., 4 North Farms Road, Haydenville 01039. Timothy McQueston, same. (Nonprofit) To aid the development of youth in Western Massachusetts through the aspects of soap box derby racing, etc.

HOLYOKE

US 1 Construction Inc., 56 Jackson St., Holyoke 01040. Joseph J. Miller, same. (Foreign corp; CT) Construction management service.

LUDLOW

Affordable Bathroom Solutions Inc., 541 Center St., Ludlow 01056. Diane Robbins, same. To deal in the installation of wall systems for bathrooms in the home.

MONSON

Island Design Build Inc., 109 Lakeshore Dr., Monson 01057. Joseph Viens, same. Residential and commercial design and construction.

NORTHAMPTON

Parenting Resource Directory Corp., 241 Jackson St., 6D, Northampton 01060. Lori Bess Schmidt, same. (Nonprofit) To provide to the public a free printed version of parenting resource directory, a corresponding Web site, etc.

SOUTH HADLEY

Cal-A-Hearty Corp., 18 Mulligan Dr., South Hadley 01075. Pasquale J. Calabrese, 4 Cherry Lane, Granby 01033. Golf course food and beverage facility.

Progressive Windows Inc., 160 Old Lyman Road, South Hadley 01075. James Stanley Shields, Jr., 192 Berkshire Ave., Southwick 01077. To operate as a home improvement contractor to residential housing, commercial structures, etc., principally windows.

SOUTHAMPTON

Neh Inc., 15D College Highway, Southampton 01073. Ethan A. Holmes, 62 Line St., Southampton 01073. Retail — gardening supplies.


 

Southampton Stone Company Inc., 7 Center St., Southampton 01073. Michael W. Broda, same. Stone work and stone sales.

SPRINGFIELD

Boricua Construction Inc., 634 Plainfield St., Springfield 01107. Oswaldo Ramos, same. Construction and management of real and personal property.

Dream Decor Inc., 756 State St., Springfield 01109. Abdul Sattar, 14 Chestnut Hill Road, South Hadley 01075. Sale of variety merchandise.

Good Food and Exercise Healthy Life Education Inc., 70 Chestnut St., #209, Springfield 01103. Michael A. Bruce, Sr., same. (Nonprofit) To educate people about the importance of eating good food, especially organic food, getting good exercise, etc.

Interproduce Inc., 679 White St., Springfield 01108. Ali Bulut, 17 Pioneer Circle, Springfield 01119. To sell fruits and vegetables.

JC Logistcs Inc., 25 Paige Hill Road, Springfield 01010. Suzanne Ferris, same. To operate a freight brokerage company, etc.

Lessard Home Solutions Inc., 12 Arcadia Blvd., Springfield 01118. Timothy P. Lessard, same. Residential plumbing and heating.

Premier Education Group Foundation Inc., 189 Brookdale Dr., Springfield 01104. David Stanford, 120 Ridgecrest Dr., Westfield 01085. (Nonprofit) (No specific purpose stated.)

SUNDERLAND

New England Hockey Factory Inc., 54 North Plain Road, Sunderland 01375. Leonard B. Quesnelle, same. (Foreign corp; DE) Hockey training camp.

WESTFIELD

Level Best Builders Inc., 106 Ely St., Westfield 01085. Stephen G. Herbert, same. Construction — remodel residential properties.

Meyers Enterprises Inc., 65 Franklin St., Westfield 01085. Eric Meyers, 33 Hawk Circle, Westfield 01085. Laundry service.

Sullivan Siding & Windows Inc., 83 Pinehurst St., Westfield 01085. Kevin Sullivan, same. A siding and windows business including installation.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Alli Enterprises Inc., 292 Belmont Ave., West Springfield 01089. Deborah Y. Alli, same. Management and consulting company.

Diamond Cabinet & Vanity Inc., 184 Wayside Ave., West Springfield 01089. Kimberly M. O’Connor, same. Home remodeling.

Encore Realty Inc., 117 Park Ave., Suite. 201, West Springfield 01089. Erik Szyluk, 7 Park Ave., Ste. 201, West Springfield 01089. To own and operate a real estate brokerage and ancillary services business.

Inspirations Food Designs Inc., 1338 Memorial Ave., West Springfield 01089. Jeffrey Daigneau, 26 North Alhambra Circle, Agawam 01001. Restaurant, lounge and food catering.

Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the months of March and April 2008.

AGAWAM

All Seasons Vending
52 Hamilton Circle
Edward A. White

Q.P.C. Cleaning Company
498 Franklin St. Ext.
Jon Lund

AMHERST

Blair, Cutting & Smith Insurance
25 University Dr.
Encharter Insurance LLC

CHICOPEE

Alarmworks
66 Main St.
Joseph Cebula

Bell’s Contractors LLC
24 Casino Dr.
Gabriel Valerim

J.G. Woodcrafters
40 Newbury St.
James R. Grooms

RPS Designs
196 Fletcher Circle
Robert F. Perry

Rye Landscaping
104 Johnson Road
Kyle Methot

Twins Variety
112 Ducharme Ave.
Rita K. Desai

EASTHAMPTON

Angel Trucking
11 Lux Ave.
Donald Pomakis

Massage for Better Health
413 Liberty St.
Elizabeth Molitoris

The Real Estate Connection
247 Northampton St.
Nancy Nickerson

Wolf Investigations
7 Mt. Tom Ave.
Raymond Redfern

EAST LONGMEADOW

MiMi’s Consignment
32 Shaker Road
Brad Sulewski

Studio Nails
30 Shaker Road
Jennifer Nguyen

Worthington Rare Coins
174 North Main St.
Bruce James Miller

HOLYOKE

Goodwill Industries
254 Maple St.
Steven Mundahl

Hot Topic Inc.
50 Holyoke St.
Jim McGinty

Purnima S. Adlakma M.D.
1221 Main St.
Purnima S. Adlakma

Rainbow Flowers & Gifts
878 High St.
Isis Feliciano

Ronald E. Gillis Insurance Agency
290 High St.
James R. Gillis

Walgreen’s
1588 Northampton St.
Gary M. Martin

Whitley’s Fitness Center
384 High St.
Dwayne Whitley

LONGMEADOW

Caren & Company
682 Bliss Road
Caren Demarche

FH Consumer Sales
785 Williams St.
Fred Halbstein

LUDLOW

Karen Weber LMT
360 Sewall St.
Karen Weber

Smith’s Cuttery
48 Hubbard St.
William Smith

NORTHAMPTON

Amazing.Net
135 King St.
JoAnne McGrath

Cordelia’s Dad
76 King St.
Peter Irvine

Harlow Luggage
196 Main St.
Robert Burdick, Jr.

Irohadis.Com
11 Fruit St.
Angela Diala Iroh

On Call Urgent Care Centers
51 Locust St.
Jill A. Griffin M.D.

Tea Culture
241 Main St.
Joseph P. Augustino

Unique Auto of Northampton Inc.
310 Damon Road
Richard P. Kida, Jr.

Wild Flora
61 North Main St.
Wendy K. Stamm

PALMER

Gliptone
1235 Park St.
Thomas Lyons

 

Grandmother Two Feathers
1343 Main St.
Jean Matus

Library Media Solutions
2029 Quaboag St.
April Jean Graziano

SOUTH HADLEY

Ashman Apparel
9 West Cornell Road
Phillip S. Sanford

Angelslayerink Tattoo
103 Main St.
Roland Abair

Ladies Landscaping
16 Upper River Road
Candice Demers

SOUTHWICK

AFAB
20 Meadow Lane
Paul Drake, Jr.

DW Berry Construction LLC
73 Will Palmer Road
David Berry, Jr.

Southwick Seamless Gutters
37 George Loomis Road
Michael J. Lyons

Quality Interiors
6 Second St.
Kim Andrea Jenks

SPRINGFIELD

Mill Park Realty Trust
77-111 Mill St.
Barbara Hill

Ms. Rhonda’s & Company
141 Boston Road
Rhonda Yvette

Multi-Sport Screen Printing
15 Park St.
Robert Riopel

Party Pagoda
91 Pinevale St.
Omniglow Inc.

Quick Sign Service
199 Acorn St.
Blas Rosa

Rose Nails
752 Sumner Ave.
Kristen Nguyen

Silver Tree Moon Designs
15 Mountainview St.
Meryl Lefkovich

Stellar Styles
One Federal St.
Stella M. Lyons

Still Champion the Undefeated
896 Main St.
Hector Javier

Top Rankin Hair Designs
864 State St.
Leon O’Neil Marsh

Twisted Tentacles Tattoo
298 Belmont Ave.
Enrique Guerra

William’s Fashions
280 Oakland St.
Glenny Gonzalez

Zara Child & Family Consulting
17 Lancaster St.
Dr. Rosa Ihedigbo

WESTFIELD

A.J. Precision Inc.
66B Mainline Dr.
Wade P. Austin

Fortini Construction & Plowing
511 West Road
Matthew Fortini

Fruit Palace
5 White St.
Orhan Dogan

Great Home Improvement
69 Franklin St.
Jason Padilla

J&E Towing
22 Cherry St.
Ernesto Sanchez

Walk on Docks LLC
337 City View Blvd.
Steven A. Booher

WEST SPRINGFIELD

AAA Recycling
1080 Riverdale St.
Patriot Recycling Inc.

Future Comp
123 Interstate Dr.
TD Banknorth Inc.

Royal Home Construction
758 Union St.
Vladimir Kozlov

Signature Designs
946 Elm St.
21 School Street Corporation

Susan Taylor’s Photography
30 Bobskill Dr.
Susan T. Taylor

The Angus Agency
767 Main St.
Angus Rushlow

Western Mass Hypnosis Center
201 Westfield St.
Thaddeus J. Muszynski

West Springfield Residence Inn
64 Border Way
Carson Russell

Whip It Solutions
152 Hillcrest Ave.
Dennis Tremblay

Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

Gerald E. Guiel v. M.J. Nails
Allegation: Pedicure performed negligently resulting in injury: $15,000
Filed: 3/31/08

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT

Homesavers Council of Greenfield Gardens Inc. v. Shaw Industries Inc. and Continental Flooring Co.
Allegation: Breach of construction contract: $330,000
Filed: 4/8/08

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Standard Funding Corp. v. Anthony’s Residential Contracting
Allegation: Breach of finance agreement: $3,426.36
Filed: 3/21/08

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Dale Auto Body Inc. v. Western Mass. Electric Company
Allegation: Breach of contract to provide services: $29,775
Filed: 2/25/08

Denise Melanson v. Video Communications Inc.
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $25,000+
Filed: 2/19/08

Fred Quagliaroli v. The Mardi Gras
Allegation: Negligence and personal injury suffered by plaintiff when pushed by Mardi Gras employee: $300,000
Filed: 4/11/08

Witalisz & Associates Inc. v. Whispering Pines at Root Road, LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract: $777,979.62
Filed: 1/30/08

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

John C. Urschel v. Bioshelters Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of promissory note and unfair and deceptive trade practices: $50,000
Filed: 3/27/08

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT

Francis Baldwin III v. The Premier Insurance Company
Allegation: Failure to pay personal injury protection benefit: $7,721.02
Filed: 3/31/08

Victory Steel Products v. Quabbin Well Drilling Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $13,640.14
Filed: 4/2/08

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

City Line Distributors Inc. v. Robe Inc. and Mark E. Robitaille
Allegation: Non-payment of produce delivered: $6,671.62
Filed: 1/29/08

Roy’s General Contracting Inc. v. MLS and IZS Enterprises
Allegation: Non-payment of general-contracting services: $2,697.00
Filed: 3/13/08

Tri-County Contractors Supply Inc. v. Total Renovations & Construction, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $8,489.29
Filed: 1/22/08

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

International Bar-Tech Solutions Inc. v. Southwick Electric Company Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract for goods and services: $11,288.19
Filed: 3/12/08

Departments

Big Y Named Outstanding Recycler of the Year

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Materials Recycling Facility (SMRF) Advisory Board has named Big Y Foods Inc. “Outstanding Recycler of the Year.” The award was created to recognize individuals and organizations that have made contributions toward increasing recycling within their community or region. Big Y was nominated for the award by the Center for Ecological Technology (CET), a local nonprofit organization that helped Big Y increase its recycling efforts. Big Y has been composting food waste at several locations and recycling cardboard at all locations for many years. In 2007, Big Y worked with CET to expand composting and recycling efforts. Seven additional locations started diverting food waste, wood, wax cardboard, and floral waste for composting. In the spring and summer of last year, Big Y started collecting film plastics for recycling at all locations. Shrink wrap from pallet loads and case plastics are collected in the back of the store, and consumer bags are collected in the front. All film plastics are baled and marketed to Trex for use in plastic lumber manufacturing. Big Y’s expanded composting program, new film plastics recycling, and cardboard recycling efforts account for more than 13,750 tons of material diverted from landfills last year. Big Y is also a member of the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection Supermarket Certification Program. In addition, Big Y has been promoting canvas shopping bags which are becoming more popular with shoppers. The SMRF accepts and processes residential recyclables from 78 communities in the four western counties of the state. The SMRF Advisory Board recognizes outstanding individuals, departments, and organizations for their efforts to increase and promote recycling in the region through the Recycler of the Year Awards.

Russell Biomass Receives Final Environmental Certification

RUSSELL — The 50-megawatt Russell Biomass project recently received a certificate approving the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) by Ian Bowles, state Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Bowles issued a statement that Russell Biomass has adequately and properly complied with the Mass. Environmental Policy Act and with its implementing regulations. Russell Biomass expects its wood-fueled power plant will provide Western Mass. with electricity equivalent to an oil-fired plant that burns 480,000 barrels of oil per year. Russell Biomass notes on its Web site that it expects to generate its power by burning wood chips, a byproduct of the forest-management and wood-product industries. With Bowles’ approval, Russell Biomass can now complete the process of having its 20 permit applications reviewed by state agencies. Russell Biomass anticipates a construction start date of this fall if all applications are approved. The facility will be built on the site of the Westfield River Paper Co. that has been closed since 1994.

Food Bank Goes Green

HATFIELD — April’s celebration of Earth Day was especially meaningful for the Food Bank of Western Mass. The Food Bank received its certification from the U.S. Green Building Council through the LEED (Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design) rating system earlier this year. LEED is the internationally recognized standard for environmentally sustainable, or ‘green,’ building. With a Gold rating — the second-highest level possible — the Food Bank’s Hatfield facility becomes one of a growing number of businesses and organizations around the world that are doing their part to minimize the environmental impact of their operations. When the Food Bank began planning the renovation of its warehouse and office space a few years ago, making the building green took high priority, not only to help the environment, but also because there is a cost savings associated with energy efficient design. With lead grants from the Kresge Foundation and the Mass. Technology Collaborative, as well as generous community support, the Food Bank completed the construction of its new building in 2006 and began the process of applying for LEED certification. Dozens of green features made the building eligible for LEED, such as water and energy efficiency, sustainable materials, green cleaning and maintenance products, and recycling. The Gold-level certification that the Food Bank received in 2008 represents above-average compliance and innovation in these areas. Some highlights of the Food Bank’s environmentally designed facility include a 30-kilowatt photovoltaic solar panel system on the roof of the building that supplies about 10-12% of the organization’s electricity; energy-efficient lighting, heating/cooling, and refrigeration systems that have reduced energy use by 35% per square foot despite a building that is twice its previous size; green cleaning products, recycled paper products, and low-toxicity paints and sealants; an employee carpooling program that saves at least 10,000 commuter miles each year; outdoor landscaping that emphasizes native plants and minimizes runoff and erosion; and the 60-acre Food Bank Farm in Hadley that preserves natural riverside habitat and produces dozens of crops each year without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or herbicides.

NewAlliance Increases Dividend

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. recently staged its fourth annual meeting of shareholders, and voting results supported management’s recommendations on all items. Four members of the board of directors were voted in for three-year terms: Douglas K. Anderson, former president and COO, Savings Bank of Manchester; Roxanne J. Coady, founder, president, and CEO of R.J. Julia Booksellers, Ltd.; John F. Croweak, former chairman and CEO of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut; and Sheila B. Flanagan, executive director of SBM Charitable Foundation Inc. Each was elected to a term expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders in 2011. Shareholders also voted to approve the NewAlliance Bank Executive Incentive Plan. The plan is a carryover from one that was in place before the bank’s conversion. However, to allow payments under the plan to be eligible for tax deductibility, shareholder approval of the plan is required periodically. In addition, shareholders voted to ratify PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP as the independent auditor for 2008. In a separate meeting prior to the annual shareholders’ meeting, the board of directors voted to increase the company’s quarterly dividend from 6.5 cents to 7.0 cents per share, a 7.7% increase. The dividend will be paid on May 16 to shareholders of record on May 6. NewAlliance Bancshares is the parent company of NewAlliance Bank, headquartered in New Haven, with $8.2 billion in assets and a network of 89 branches in Connecticut and Western Mass.

STCC Receives $150,000 Grant for Photovoltaic Practitioner Training Program

SPRINGFIELD — Taking another step in a statewide push to promote growth in sustainable energy, or the ‘green’-technology sector, the Mass. Technology Collaborative (MTC) has awarded a $150,000 grant to Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) for development of a photovoltaic (PV) practitioner training program in Western Mass. Photovoltaic, or solar-panel, installations are becoming an increasingly popular strategic initiative for businesses and institutions looking to control and reduce energy costs, according to Thomas Goodrow, vice president for Economic and Business Development at STCC, and the grant will advance efforts to foster job growth and economic-development opportunities in this sector. Elaborating, Goodrow said the focus of the two-year grant is to provide training and practical experience in PV design and installation for licensed electricians, individuals involved in a journeyman electrician-training program, architects, engineers, and general contractors. The project plan includes developing coursework in PV design and system installation, and seeking ISPQ (Institute for Sustainable Power Quality) accreditation for training and continuing education. The program is slated to begin this fall, with a 3- to 4-month certificate course of study that will provide students with hands-on experience in a field that is expected to offer significant growth opportunities. Individuals completing the program will be prepared to sit for the industry certification exam. The PV Practitioner Training program will be conducted by STCC’s Center for Business and Technology (CBT), in partnership with the George W. Gould Construction Institute; the Solar Energy Business Association of New England, a business association of solar-energy companies based or doing business in New England; the STCC Assistance Corporation; and renewable energy companies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont. Grant funds will be used, said Goodrow, to support curriculum development efforts that are already underway, to purchase equipment and materials that will allow students opportunities for hands-on experience, to gain national accreditation for the program, and to establish internship opportunities for students at solar-energy companies based in New England. The project team consists of STCC Assistant Vice President Mary Breeding, who directs CBT; Peter Vangel, professor and co-chair of the Laser Electro-Optics Department at STCC, who will serve as curriculum developer; Michael Kocsmiersky, vice president for Research and Development at Solar-Wrights Inc.; and Bill Stillinger, general manager of Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics Cooperative (PV Squared), a PV practitioner with many years of teaching, training, and installation experience in the field. Individuals who are interested in applying for the program should contact CBT at (413) 755-4502 or (413) 755-4225.

Bradley and Delta Celebrate Cancun Service

Windsor Locks, Conn. — Bradley International Airport (BDL) and Delta Airlines recently announced the launch of the airport’s first-ever nonstop scheduled service to Cancun, Mexico. The seasonal service to Cancun, which started April 12, operates on Saturdays between BDL and Cancun International Airport (CUN). Delta Air Lines Flight DL497 will depart Bradley at 10:40 a.m. and arrive in Cancun at 1:47 p.m. Delta Air Lines Flight DL498 will depart Cancun at 2:40 p.m. and arrive at Bradley at 7:33 p.m. Delta will operate this service using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with 16 business-class seats and 144 seats in coach class. Customers should visit Delta’s Web site, delta.com, or call Delta Reservations at (800) 221-1212 for the latest flights.

Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of March and April 2008.

AGAWAM

Six Flags New England
1623 Main St.
$8,200,000 — Construction of building including indoor “Dark Night Coaster”

CHICOPEE

Chicopee Marketplace
601D Memorial Dr.
$5,600 — Repair storefront facade at Radio Shack

Randolph Products
33 Haynes Circle
$42,000 — New roof

EASTHAMPTON

Bradley Robbins
1 Adams St.
$4,000 — Alterations

Mitchell Realty Trust
45-47 Union St.
$21,000 — New roof

Richard A. Boulanger
85-87 Union St.
$11,000 — New roof

Williston Northampton School
20 Greenwood Ct.
$20,000 — Construct bleachers

GREENFIELD

Elks BPOE of Greenfield
3 Church St.
$42,000 — Installation of fire sprinkler system

Greenfield Housing Authority
1 Elm St.
35,000 — Fire damage repairs

MacNicol, Tombs, & Brown, LLP
393 Main St.
$3,400 — Interior installation of door & glass panel to separate existing space

Middle Franklin Development Group, LLC
329 Conway St.
$51,000 — Interior alterations

HOLYOKE

City of Holyoke Water Department
West Cherry St.
$46,000 — Construct shelter and concrete pad for communications tower

Holyoke Mall Company, L.P.
50 Holyoke St.
$40,000 — Remodel existing store — “Icing”

Holyoke Mall Company, L.P.
50 Holyoke St.
$1,565,000 — Remodel existing store — “Pottery Barn”

LONGMEADOW

Clouthier’s Inc.
724 Bliss Road
$100,000 — Interior renovations

GPT-Longmeadow LLC
704 Bliss Road
$40,000 — Exterior alterations

 

LUDLOW

Barry Linton
409 West St.
$35,000 — New commercial construction

Barry Linton
407 West St.
$18,000 — Roofing and siding

Ludlow Housing Authority
87 State St.
$32,700 — Alterations

NORTHAMPTON

Big Y Foods
142 North King St.
$15,000 — Renovate former “Newstand”

First Congregational Church
129 Main St.
$409,000 — Replace plaster ceiling

First Congregational Church
129 Main St.
$832,000 — Replace slate roof

First Congregational Church
129 Main St.
$15,000 — Repair basement floor system

New England Telephone
61 Masonic St.
$81,500 — Replace AC system and minor electrical

The Coca-Cola Company
45 Industrial Dr.
$80,000 — Install footing and structural steel for mechanical unit

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Medical Center
759 Chestnut St.
$50,000 — Renovate two existing offices

Roger Zepke
154-156 Main St.
$26,000 — Interior remodel

Steve & Mike Ferraro
1680 Wilbraham Road
$20,000 — Interior renovations

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Fred Aaron
1680 Riverdale Road
$5,000 — Interior renovations to first floor retail space

Robin C. Taylor
255 Interstate Dr.
$72,000 — Renovate 3,070 square feet of office space

Departments

State Adds 2,900 New Jobs in March

BOSTON — The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development recently reported that monthly survey estimates show that 2,900 new jobs were added in Massachusetts in March, its largest monthly increase since November of last year and the sixth consecutive monthly increase in jobs. The state unemployment rate also held steady at 4.4%. Revisions to the February rate, published last month on a preliminary basis at 4.5%, show the rate edging down to 4.4% and an increase of 700 jobs instead of the loss of 700 as originally estimated. The Massachusetts rate continues to outperform the national rate, which increased from 4.8% in February to 5.1% in March. The state rate has been below the U.S. rate since June 2007. Over the year, the Bay State’s unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point from 4.6%. The largest job gains in March were recorded in professional, scientific, and business services, as well as leisure and hospitality. New jobs were also added in the trade, transportation and utilities, information, construction, and manufacturing supersectors. Also, education and health-services employment, at 632,600, was off 400 in March. Over the year, this supersector continues to show the strongest job gains at 14,900 and, along with the information supersector, posted the highest annual rate of job increase at 2.4%. Professional, scientific, and business services added 1,000 jobs in March, following a gain of 3,100 the previous month. Most of the 9,700 jobs added over the past year were in professional, scientific, and technical services industries such as computer systems design and scientific research and development. At 488,300, overall employment is up 2.0% from one year ago.

Financial activities employment was off 200 over the month due to declines in the real-estate and rental and leasing component. At 224,100, financial-activities employment is down 1,600 from one year ago, with real estate and leasing contributing to much of the loss. Trade, transportation, and utilities employment increased by 500 in March, largely due to retail trade posting its first job gain since last November. At 569,100, employment in this supersector is off 1,200 from one year ago. Retail trade lost 2,900 jobs over the year, while wholesale trade and transportation, warehousing, and utilities added 1,400 and 300 jobs, respectively. The leisure and hospitality supersector added 1,200 new jobs, the most jobs added among supersectors in March. At 305,200, jobs in leisure and hospitality have increased by 2,600 over the year. With monthly gains in each of the most recent five-month periods, jobs are up by 4,200 since October 2007. Information employment increased by 200 in March to 89,900. This supersector has added 2,100 jobs over the year and, along with educational and health services, posted the strongest annual growth rate at 2.4%. Manufacturing recorded a 200-job gain in March, its second consecutive monthly increase. At 292,900, employment is still down 4,000 or 1.3% from one year ago. Construction gained 600 jobs in March after having lost jobs over each of the four previous months. At 135,400, employment is off 2,000 or 1.5% from one year ago. The job numbers are the result of a monthly survey that uses U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology. More than 9,000 Massachusetts employers are surveyed to determine the number of jobs by industry. These estimates are the economic indicator used to gauge employment-growth patterns across the Bay State. The Commonwealth’s labor force increased by 2,300 over the month, as 3,700 more Massachusetts residents were employed and 1,500 less were unemployed. At 3,411,200, the labor force is slightly higher than at this time last year, as 7,500 more residents were employed and 7,000 fewer unemployed. Labor force estimates for Massachusetts, developed using the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics model, are based on information on Massachusetts residents’ employment and unemployment status, collected through a small, monthly sample survey of households.

Easthampton Awards Valley CDC Grant

EASTHAMPTON — Valley Community Development Corp. (Valley CDC) recently announced it has been awarded a $140,000 grant from the City of Easthampton for the provision of comprehensive business-development technical assistance (TA) to income-qualified Easthampton residents and businesses. Valley CDC is providing TA for a 15-month period that began April 1. The TA services that Valley CDC will provide include one-on-one counseling; business development, marketing, and technical computer workshops and seminars; credit counseling; referral to financial institutions; assistance with applications for financing; referral to professional and other resources for support and services not provided by Valley CDC; and continued outreach to artists and to former mills on Pleasant Street and Cottage Street. The grant also enables Valley CDC to retain its offices in the Eastworks building on Pleasant Street. 

Departments

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Badillo, Robert
Hague-Badillo, Megan K.
169 Conway St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/12/08

Barrelet, Irene Louise
a/k/a Schleipman, Irene
33 Kellogg Ave., Apt. 4
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Barry, Karon Marie
a/k/a Mullett, Karon M.
34 Putnam Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Benoit, Michael P.
Lopez, Breanna E.
a/k/a Benoit, Breanna E.
262 Green Ave.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

Bohl, Richard J.
Bohl, Sarah J.
450 Church St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Bosworth, Robert L.
Bosworth, Doreen P.
167 Froman St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/05/08

Braica, Tammy Lin
122 Beauregard Terrace
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

Brunette, Tami L.
19 Anderson St.
Three Rivers, MA 01080
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/08

Bunns, Tricia D.
Walter, Tricia D.
184 Hamburg St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Bydlak, Mark
68 Plantation Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/03/08

Cameron, Lucretia D.
1259 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/05/08

Carmel, David P.
200 Hillside Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/03/08

Claytopia
Wiseman, Jennifer J.
34 Main St., Apt 2
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/08

Crouch, Ann Rose
13B Fort Hill Road
Haydenville, MA 01039
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/12/08

Daniels, Deborah H.
P.O. Box 1823
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/08

DeCarlo, Diane
110 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

Farrier, Michael S.
174 Pineywoods Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Gauthier, Eric Jon
Gauthier, Kelli Anne
16 Horsham Place
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/08

Gladowski, Liane J.
2126 Baptist Hill Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/10/08

Groth, Joseph W.
291 Poplar Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

Hernandez, Luis A.
46 Moulton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/12/08

Hundley-Slater, Lisa D.
86 Norman St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/10/08

Hunsucker, Candice Kahrman
a/k/a Keddy, Candice
135 Raymond Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/12/08

Jessie’s Roofing & Siding
Vazquez, Efrain
PO Box 543
West Springfield, MA 01090
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Kaniecki, Pamela Ann
30 E Street Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/08

Kiely, Sharon
35 Maple St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/08

Kozak, Adam
34 River Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/08

Lampron, Thomas D.
39 Circular Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Lapa, Jessica
140 Joy St.
Chciopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Latour, Nancy A.
131 South St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/08

Lefebvre, Richard J.
Lefebvre, Ann S.
51 Pine Lake Dr.
Westhampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Lemaire, Faith A.
36 Merriam St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Lester, Donna
23 Joanne Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/05/08

Lubwama, Frederick M.
a/k/a Lubwama, Fred
52 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Lussier, Danielle
58 Ward Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Malone, Kelly Marie
7 Central Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

 

Marshall, Kellie R.
P. O. Box 1123
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Martinez, Igor A.
37 Ainsworth St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/06/08

McCann, Gregory Michael
216 Pineview Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

McChesney, Patricia Ann
Law Office of Patricia A. McChesney
22 Lessey St. #320
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/08

McClelland, Michael J.
McClelland, Theresa A.
P. O. Box 1974
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Miazga, Lidia B.
342 Southwick Road, Apt. C1
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Moore, Karen A.
36 Cosgrove St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

Morton, Carrie L.
48 Burma Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/08

Newman, Peter L.
Newman, Judith L.
163 Franklin St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Nunez, Juan
19 Van Horn Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/12/08

Olson, Michael Stafford
Olson, Jennifer M.
42 Wooodside Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/08/08

Panniello, Samantha M.
a/k/a Quinn, Samantha M.
149 Wheeler Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Perkins, Daniel R.
Perkins, Mary J.
P.O. Box 307
Brookfield, MA 01506
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/08

Poirot, Kathleen
22 Crotteau St.
Adams, MA 01220
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Reed, Mark Alan
23 Giffin Place
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/08

Renaud, Barbara Mary
790 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Reome, Alice C.
129 Catherine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/06/08

Riley, Carl F.
31 Sturbridge Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/12/08

Ryan, Nathan D.
Ryan, Beth G.
a/k/a Poulin, Beth G.
30 Grove Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/08

Scanlon, Patricia F.
225 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Schuerer, Pamela J.
19 Pennsylvania Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Scibelli, James
Scibelli, Shelby D.
150 Nottingham Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/05/08

Seda, William
76 Byers St., Apt. 201
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Shiraki, Clayton M.
Shiraki, Ann Mary
a/k/a Sinnamon, Ann M.
98 Shea Ave.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/08

Skipton, Joanne M.
66 Manor Court
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Sovinski, Ashley
7 Upper Church St.,
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Stanley, Gail E.
243 Union St., Unit 201
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/08

Storm, Gary D.
495 Appleton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/12/08

Suzumu, Fredricko
34 Steephens St.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/08

Thompson, Amy Lynn
356 Granville Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/08

Tietze, Laurie Ann
a/k/a Bryden, Laurie Ann
56 Clover Hill Drive
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/08

Tripicco, Thomas G.
72 Cleveland St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/08

Walter, Alvin
101 Mulberry St. #220
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/08

Wynne, Christopher H.
40 Celestine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/14/08

Zerbato, Frances Jo
62 New Hampshire Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/08

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 39: Founder and Owner, America’s Box Choice

Thinking outside the box comes naturally to Dennis Francis. So does thinking about the box and ways to shape it into a highly successful business venture.

But that would be expected from someone who founded a company called America’s Box Choice (ABC), a Holyoke-based enterprise that now does $2.5 million in sales annually only a few years after Francis started the operation from the back seat of his car.

After being laid off from a job at a box-making company in 2004, Francis decided to strike out on his own and act on a business idea that he wrote down on a napkin one day. “The general idea was just to sell boxes and moving supplies to people who were moving in the area,” he told BusinessWest. Just four years later, Francis is selling everything from mailing tubes to bubblewrap out of a 30,000-square-foot warehouse, and servicing more than 285 customers, including 180 UPS stores throughout New England.

But Francis’ ambition doesn’t stop with his company. He has been a major player in rejuvenating the Springfield Salvation Army’s Coats for Kids campaign. His company has provided boxes for the drive, and has transported the coats for cleaning. In addition, Francis rolled up his sleeves and helped families pick out coats during the annual distribution event last fall.

Francis told BusinessWest that seeing the families in need made him want to keep on giving. “You don’t realize how much help these kids need until you get involved,” he said.

Francis also continues to be an active volunteer for the American Cancer Society. After seeing cancer strike someone in his life, Francis turned to the American Cancer Society for support, and now makes every effort to give back. This year will be his seventh year volunteering at the annual We Can Weekend retreat for cancer patients and their families at Mount Holyoke College. “They helped me, so I want to give back,” he said. “It just feels good.”

When he’s not running his business or volunteering, Francis and his wife, Lori, like to travel. Recently back from a trip to Aruba, he said that, now that his business is off the ground, he’d like to travel more and perhaps take a trip across the country in the near future.

If he needs any boxes, he’ll know where to get them.

Laura DeMars

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 38: Attorney (Associate), Bacon Wilson, P.C.

Jeff Fialky had several options when he was job-hunting a few years ago, near the end of his stint with Adelphia Communications in Andover.

A few of them were with Boston-based law firms, and they were certainly attractive, he told BusinessWest. But another was with Springfield-based Bacon Wilson, where his father happened to be a partner. He eventually chose the latter, in part because it meant returning to an area he grew up in and loved. But there was more; he really wanted to get involved in the community and “make a difference,” and knew that the opportunities to do so — and the need to do so — were here in the Pioneer Valley.

“In Boston, they don’t really need people to raise their hand and volunteer,” he explained. “Here, they do; here, you can make an impact.”

And since joining Bacon Wilson nearly two years ago, Fialky has committed himself to “walking the walk.” Indeed, while building a law practice focused on business and commercial real estate, he has been active in the community on several levels.

He’s a board member with a number of organizations, including the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, the American Red Cross of the Pioneer Valley, and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, or YPS. He’s also on the Advisory Committee at the Springfield Enterprise Center at STCC.

Fialky said his involvement with the Chamber, YPS, and enterprise center helps satisfy his desire to foster economic development in the region. He told BusinessWest that the Valley provides an attractive quality of life, but to attract and keep more young people it must also offer career opportunities.

Fialky is devoting considerable energy to YPS, a group formed in 2007. He is one of many shaping a mission for the growing fellowship of young leaders, and helping it make a significant impact — there’s that word again — in the Pioneer Valley.

Perhaps his biggest challenge at the moment is finding time to grow his practice and serve those nonprofit groups, and that test will become even sterner this summer, when Fialky and his wife, Emily, are expecting their first child, a boy.

“This is something I’ve looked forward to for a long time,” he said of fatherhood, adding that it will soon be the most important line on his resume — and still another opportunity to make a difference.

George O’Brien

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 36: Co-owner, Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House

Michael Corduff was talking about banquets, events, and the need to be creative and cutting-edge in such work. Which brought him back to the goldfish.

It was the 2004 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame dinner, and staff at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House served sorbet in dishes atop glass bowls, each one containing a goldfish. The trick wasn’t so much in the presentation — although that was tricky — but in the preparation, specifically keeping and feeding the fish for three weeks before the event.

“They told us to get a few extra, because sometimes they don’t survive the trip from the bag to the jar,” Corduff recalled. “We stored them in our sous chef’s basement … we had to go around and feed 600 fish; that was really going above and beyond.”

Today, ownership at the Log Cabin, which later acquired the Delaney House restaurant in Holyoke, continues to go above and beyond, often with events to support area nonprofit agencies such as the United Way and the March of Dimes.

Corduff has played a pivotal role in these efforts since coming to the Log Cabin from the Springfield Marriott, which was his first career stop after emigrating from West Kerry in Ireland in 1989. He progressed from line cook to banquet chef at the Marriott, and was looking for a new challenge in the hospitality sector when he interviewed with Larry Perrault, then-restaurant manager at Twin Hills County Club. Perrault didn’t have a good match for him then, but advised him to check back in a few months, when he might have “something else.”

That something else turned out to be the Log Cabin, which Perreault had resurrected as a banquet facility with partner Peter Rosskothen. Corduff, named ‘chef of the year’ by the Mass. Restaurant Assoc. in 2001, would eventually become a partner, and today, he and Rosskothen remain as principals of this two-venue enterprise.

As he talked with BusinessWest, Corduff was preparing the Log Cabin for a night of boxing — an eight-bout card featuring New England area amateurs that reflected Holyoke’s tradition as a boxing hub. Like the goldfish, the boxing event was something different, something unique for this area.

You might say they were both events on a grand scale.

George O’Brien

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 20: CEO, Ten Minute Media

Brendan Ciecko certainly doesn’t act his age — and he rarely even shows it.

There are some exceptions to this rule, though, such as when Ciecko talks about hockey and how he loved watching the Springfield Falcons — and his role model, Manny Legace — when he was “really young.” Legace played in Springfield from 1994 to 1998!

Meanwhile, Ciecko says he’s only known the local AHL affiliate as the Falcons, a name they took in 1993, after being known as the Indians, then the Kings, and then the Indians again.

If it wasn’t for such references (and the fact that he looks like he’s barely out of Granby High School), one would never know that Ciecko is the only Forty Under 40 winner who can’t legally enjoy a cocktail at the May 22 party to showcase the winners. That’s right, he just turned 20 a few months ago.

But his list of accomplishments would be impressive for someone of any age. Through his business, which he started when he was 13 and eventually named Ten Minute Media, he has done Web site design work for Mick Jagger, Natalie Cole, Bob Seger, and others. His work has turned some heads among local business owners — Ciecko is starting to add many new clients within the 413 area code — and also among judges at the Ad Club’s recent ADDY Awards, where he took home Best in Show.

Ciecko attributes his business success to an acquired rare blend of artistic, or design, talent, and knowledge of technology (he calls himself a geek) and how it can be used to help both businesses and rock stars gain visibility and increased profits.

These days, perhaps Ciecko’s biggest challenge is trying to find time for a growing list of professional and personal pursuits. He’s successfully growing and diversifying Ten Minute Media, while also renovating some commercial properties he’s acquired, and traveling — he’s been all across Europe and is mulling South America. Meanwhile, he’s getting back into hockey after putting that sport aside for a while to handle more-pressing matters. He sold his old goalie equipment on eBay a few years ago, and has bought new gear that he puts to use in pick-up games.

And he still charts the career of Legace, his hero from when he was “really young.”

George O’Brien

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 36: City Councilor at Large, Holyoke

A lifelong Holyoke resident, Kevin Jourdain has made a career out of giving back to the community.

Fifteen years ago, he secured a piece of Holyoke history when, at age 22, he became the youngest person ever elected to the City Council. Now 36, he’s an at-large councilor, a seasoned veteran of Western Mass. politics, and an individual with a strong commitment to this industrial city and its future.

“My whole adult life has been in public service,” he said. “This is a great outlet to make a difference and an impact, as well as meet hundreds of people you never would have met before.”

Jourdain met some of those people through his extensive community service, entered into both as part of his duties on the City Council and on his own, to pursue personal passions. He’s a former board member of the T.J. O’Connor Animal Shelter in Springfield and the Valley Opportunity Council, and a current member of the Board of Trustees at Holyoke Community College.

“This position has been a pleasure because I feel strongly that HCC can become a real incubator of business and commerce for Holyoke,” he said. “It already has a great foundation and a strong sense of community, and I think it’s showing.”

That sentiment extends to other parts of Holyoke, too. Jourdain speaks enthusiastically about several projects in the city, including many with an educational component. He’s particularly excited about work beginning on a new intermodal transportation center, which, through a collaboration with Peter Pan Bus Lines, will create a bus depot in a former fire station, as well as an adult basic education center.

“This will be one more way to link Holyoke’s community,” he said, “especially its young people, to education in any way we can.”

Jourdain holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from UMass Amherst and an MBA from Anna Maria College, and is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor from the Massachusetts School of Law in Andover. That’s in addition to raising three children under the age of 6 (Kevin Jr., Jacqueline, and Allison) in Holyoke along with his wife, Shari.

“I think no matter how busy we are, there’s always time to give something back,” said Jourdain. “I like this community. I like living here, and I made a commitment early on to get involved.”

Jaclyn Stevenson

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 39: President, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services

One career was beginning while another was ending. And a local success story was born.

Andrea Hill-Cataldo was pursuing her graduate degree at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst at the same time Kelly Services, a chain of employment agencies, was taking back its privately managed franchises; one of those had been run by her aunt, who had been with Kelly for 35 years.

“So my aunt’s daughter and I started a company,” said Hill-Cataldo. “I was the sweat equity, and my cousin was the financial backing.” They hired two key employees of the former Kelly franchise, and Johnson & Hill Staffing Services hit the ground running in 1995.

“It wasn’t a typical startup,” Hill-Cataldo said of an operation that had plenty of connections right off the bat. “It had different challenges, like, how do I build an infrastructure to support this business coming in? At the beginning, we didn’t have computers, marketing … I was doing payroll for the staff at first, which wasn’t my skill set; I forgot to sign the checks the first week. But we built the business quickly.”

Johnson & Hill has grown, in fact, even when the general economy has not. “We tend to follow the economy, so if people expect a downturn, we see it first, and we usually come out of it first,” said Hill-Cataldo, explaining that employers will test the waters on an improving economy with temporary or temp-to-hire workers. “No business is recession-proof, but, having been through two downturns, I think we’re less reliant on the economy than some.”

Working a flexible schedule and juggling work and home obligations — she and her husband have a 4-year-old son, Frannie — can be tougher than a typical 9-to-5 job, said Hill-Cataldo. That’s especially true for someone heavily involved in civic leadership, on organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Cancer Society, and the YWCA. “It’s harder because there are so many responsibilities, and people depend on you for leadership, and you’re never done,” she said.

“But on the other hand, because I work for myself, I can make choices that are right for me personally, that wouldn’t be OK if I worked for someone else. To decide to be with my son today instead of making another sale — to be accountable to myself and not have anyone pressure me or question my priorities — that’s nice.”

Joseph Bednar

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 37: CEO, EOS Ventures

In Greek mythology, Eos is the god of the new dawn.

The name has become synonymous with new beginnings and hope for the future, and that’s why Tyler Fairbank attached it to his intriguing business enterprise.

EOS Ventures, launched just a few months ago, was created to help businesses, colleges, municipalities, and other large electricity users incorporate sustainable-energy programs. It was inspired by the successful installation of a wind-power turbine at Jiminy Peak in Hancock, which is owned and managed by Fairbank’s family, and it was prompted by the intersection of two powerful trends — skyrocketing energy costs and a desire among many businesses and institutions to ‘go green.’

The company will focus primarily on wind power, because of the experience gained at Jiminy Peak and the installation there named Zephyr, but it will also involve photovoltaics (solar power) and biofuels, such as biomass. The common denominators, said Fairbank, are ‘green technology,’ and much-desired energy independence.

EOS Ventures also represents a new beginning for Fairbank — sort of.

He’s always been involved in economic development, mostly from the standpoint of promoting and nurturing it, although he has exemplified it by helping to grow Jiminy Peak into a thriving, year-round venture. He has been active with a number of business groups in the Berkshires, from the Chamber of Commerce to the tourism bureau; from the Regional Competitiveness Council to the Berkshire Economic Development Corp., which he served as president. It was during that last stop that he helped write something called the Berkshire Blueprint, a roadmap for growth and diversification of the Berkshires economy.

In a few short months, Fairbank has gone from drafting the blueprint to being a shining example of what it espouses — a diverse economy dominated by small businesses that represent many business sectors.

The past few months have been a whirlwind — no pun intended — for Fairbank, who packed up his belongings at the BEDC and unpacked them at EOS offices at Jiminy Peak. His nomination for the Forty Under 40 class of 2008 was based mostly on his past work within the community, but also on his promise as an entrepreneur.

While getting this business off the ground won’t be a breeze, Fairbank believes he has the right venture at the right time — and thus, some wind in his sales.

George O’Brien

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 21: President, Valley Computer Works / Valley Technology Outreach

Delcie Bean had a lemonade stand in his youth like a lot of other kids, but his took the concept to a slightly higher level than most.

“I remember we had four tables with snow cone machines and laminated signs,” he said with a laugh, noting that, as long as he can remember, he’s had that entrepreneurial drive. “I’ve always loved the idea of running a business, making things grow, and seeing things change.”

He also didn’t wait long to move on to more serious pursuits after cornering the lemonade market. As a freshman in high school, Bean founded Valley Computer Works (then called Vertical Horizons), a computer-repair service. He wasn’t old enough to drive a car or open a checking account, but with some help from his family, he parlayed equal interests in business management and technology into a successful venture that continues to grow today.

Valley Computer Works still offers repair services, and also works with small businesses to manage IT operations. A third concentration, selling and servicing point-of-sale hardware and software, especially within the hospitality and restaurant industries, is growing.

At 21, Bean has already accomplished more than many seasoned professionals, but his ongoing interest in facilitating growth and change is not relegated to his own business. Six months ago, he launched Valley Technology Outreach, a nonprofit agency that collects and refurbishes computers in order to pass the hardware on to other nonprofits in the region.

This philanthropic endeavor is the latest in a string of efforts Bean has already put forth. At 17, he organized a ‘climb-a-thon’ of Mount Monadnock to raise money to build a women’s shelter in his native New Hampshire — “I loved seeing a need gradually turn into a building we could actually walk into,” he said — and after moving to Western Mass. with his family in 2000, he joined the board of directors for the Amherst Ballet, for which his sister is a dancer.

In the future, Bean has a few other ideas up his sleeve, including a foray into the real-estate sector. He’s also a consummate student, happy to admit he’s got plenty left to experience.

“I’m entirely self-taught,” he said. “I’ve always loved taking stuff apart and putting it back together — the more I pull things apart, the more I diversify my experience, and the more I learn.”

Jaclyn Stevenson

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 32: Director of Public Relations, Winstanley Associates

For Jennifer Glockner, it’s all about getting the word out.

The director of public relations for Lenox-based Winstanley Associates handles not only the regular PR work for her firm, but also similar duties for some big-name clients such as Spalding. Recently, she helped coordinate community events surrounding the visit of Prince Saud bin Thunayan Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, chairman of SABIC, the new owner of GE Plastics (now SABIC Innovative Plastics).

But it wasn’t always PR and the Berkshires for Glockner. Starting out in Kalamazoo, Mich. at a television station, she relocated to Denver, Colo. to become producer of a top morning show. The show even ended up with the highest ratings in the country for its market. Then, after meeting her future husband, who is originally from Pittsfield, she took another leap and moved to Massachusetts to become an advertising salesperson for the Berkshire Eagle.

“This is actually my third career,” she said. “Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking when I risked moving without a job or knowing anyone, but it was also nice to go off on my own.”

Despite her taste for new frontiers, Glockner thinks she’ll be staying put for a while. Since moving to Massachusetts in 2003, she has become involved with a variety of community organizations, including the Berkshire Leadership Program Committee, the Mass. Audubon Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries, and the Pediatric Development Center.

Most dear to Glockner, however, is the Junior League of Berkshire County. Initially coaxed by her mother-in-law to join so she could meet people and become familiar with the area, Glockner ended up falling in love with the organization. In fact, Glockner is slated to become the next president of the group.

“I am excited to take over as president. This is an organization with a great group of women in it,” she noted. “I know that we’ll get a lot done in the community over the next several months and have fun doing it.”

In her spare time, Glockner loves to ski, something she picked up in Colorado. But now that the snow is almost gone, you can find her and her husband, Theodore, trekking across the Berkshires with their loveable dog, Pudding, a 10-year-old chocolate lab, who can’t get enough of the outdoors — or carrots.

Laura DeMars

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 35: Partner, Hampden County Physician Associates

A food allergy — to a morsel of rice, a dab of peanut butter — can kill within minutes. And that, says Dr. Jonathan Bayuk, has many parents “totally freaked out.”

But as an allergist and immunologist, he sees his job as not just telling people what to avoid, but helping them live as normal a life as possible.

“There are a lot of myths out there, and also a need for teaching in the schools,” he told BusinessWest, adding that he consults, pro bono, with many local schools regarding their food-allergy policies.

To help dispel those myths, and also assist parents with managing their anxieties over a dangerous but manageable condition, Bayuk is writing a resource book on food allergies, including information on how responsive area restaurants are to allergy sufferers.

“We’re looking at restaurants and places where families go with kids, and rating them,” he said. “Some places can tell you what’s in everything, and the chef will carefully prepare your meal for you, and at others, there are no accommodations, and no guarantees.”

With a busy practice to maintain — in addition to training allergy and immunology residents at Baystate Medical Center — writing the book has been slow going, but Bayuk intends to finish it and distribute it free of charge. It’s a commitment to his field that also includes leadership of the Western Mass. Food Allergy Network, a nonprofit organization he founded in part to educate the public.

“Most schools are great about dealing with this issue, but sometimes — and I’m not sure why — they’re not as interested,” he said. But he suggested that finances often come into play. “The federal government subsidizes peanut butter, and schools are pretty strapped for cash, so they’re stuck — they really need the peanut butter, but parents need a peanut-free school.”

However, Bayuk said, most school officials are receptive to the issue when he talks with them face to face. “I haven’t had any situations where superintendents are resistant to it. It’s more, ‘let’s go ahead and make a policy if it makes sense for the kids.’

“I love my job,” he added. “I can’t think of a better one. I always feel good going to work because, most of the time, I can solve problems.”

And give the family a stress-free dinner out, too.

Joseph Bednar

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 36: Owner, F.W. Farrell Insurance

Tim Farrell, owner of F.W. Farrell Insurance in Greenfield, had no intention of coming back to Franklin County after college, and didn’t plan on working in insurance, either.

In fact, he was a Sports Management major at Salem State when, at 21, he returned home 13 credits shy to take over the family business after his father’s passing. But Farrell says he has no regrets. “The worst thing that’s happened to me was my dad dying, but the best was coming back to Greenfield,” he said. “If I hadn’t, I don’t think I would have been involved in so many things.”

‘Involved’ is an understatement. Indeed, Farrell was a long-time member of Greenfield’s Board of Selectmen before the community became the Commonwealth’s newest city and adopted a mayoral system in 2003. He joined the board at the age of 27, and while in office focused much of his energies on economic development, not just in Greenfield, but across the county.

“Greenfield is not an island,” he said. “Working on a county level, all towns together, can help us grow in a positive way. It can get us more noticed.”

One of the projects he started as a selectman was aimed at just that type of region-wide improvement. It involved rehabilitation of several mill buildings in Greenfield with considerable environmental and infrastructure issues to remedy. Farrell remained involved with the project throughout the transition of the city’s government, and last year was able to see the result of his work, a new assisted-living facility (The Arbors), open its doors.

“When I ran for selectman, my goal was to get the property clean and back on the tax rolls,” he said. “It took some time and millions of dollars, but now it’s back. I’m really proud of that.”

Now that the Board of Selectmen is history, Farrell said he’s mulled other political positions, and currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Greenfield Community College.

He said this position calls for a measure of hometown pride, and he’s developed just that as a business owner and civic leader in Greenfield.

“Had I not taken over the business when I did, it would have faced some tough issues,” he said. “My number-one priority is growing the business, but I’m always thinking about Franklin County and how everyone can work together. I’m going to keep doing what I can.”

Jaclyn Stevenson

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 30: Systems and Research Manager, Westfield State College

All women can be divas.

That’s a motto that Kelly Galanis lives by. Not only is she truly the self-proclaimed “diva of data,” as the systems and research manager for Westfield State College, but she also spends much of her free time helping other women find their diva side.

Galanis says her values for success were instilled in her at Bay Path College, where she spent six years attaining her associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees (the first person in the college’s history to earn three degrees consecutively). “I was able to collaborate with so many professional women there that I felt the need to do the same for other aspiring women,” she told BusinessWest.

As a member of multiple women’s organizations, including the Women in Philanthropy of Western Mass., Dress for Success and its Western Mass. chapter, and Massachusetts Women in Public Higher Education, Galanis continually lends her time to ensuring that all women share her drive to be the best they can be.

She also likes the fact that meeting with a variety of strong and successful women in these organizations lends clarity to tough topics and event planning.

“I’ve always enjoyed getting to know people,” she said. “Dealing with these women makes things go much smoother.”

Galanis has also found ways to incorporate her diva philosophy into her work at Westfield State. While managing the database for the Advancement and College Relations Department, something she helped bring online just a few weeks after she started her job there, Galanis also finds time to coordinate the Girl’s State Conference. This huge gathering brings high-school juniors together from across the state to participate in a mock government convention. “It’s great for the girls,” she said. “They get really excited about government topics.”  

Even with all of this on her plate, she still finds time to help senior citizens learn how to use eBay, Digital Scrapbooking, and Microsoft Office by teaching a class at WSC through its Lifelong Learning Program. “It’s a lot of fun to see them get so excited about learning how to use the different resources,” she noted.

With that, it’s hard not to think that the diva of data is more like a diva of empowerment, which, in the eyes of many, is quite divine.

Laura DeMars

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 38: President, Innovative Business Systems Inc.

Dave DelVecchio says he was blogging long before it became a national pastime.

“I don’t think they called it blogging then,” he said, referring to the mid-’90s, when he started using the Internet to reach out to friends, family, and colleagues in a manner designed to inform and entertain.

He’s still doing it, through his Web site, davedelvecchio.com, or “the new Dave’s World,” as he calls it, where you could learn much more about this member of the Forty Under 40 than you can in this space — probably more than you want to know. You can even hear a tune from Big Pain, the garage band for which DelVecchio, or the “king of low end,” plays bass — pretty well, actually.

And you can click on ‘Dave at Work’ and find out about Innovative Business Systems, which he serves as president. It is for his work at Easthampton-based IBS, and also his involvement in the Easthampton community, and not for music, that DelVecchio earned a spot among the ‘40,’ although maybe the judges did give the band a listen.

It is more likely that they were impressed with DelVecchio’s ability to take IBS, the IT-solutions company that he and four others purchased from founder Bill Tremblay in 2003, and guide it to steady growth, recognition as a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner (the corporation’s highest designation), and a Workforce Development Award from the Hampshire/Franklin Regional Employment Board.

The “five guys,” as they’re called at IBS — the others are Brian Scanlon, Scott Seifel, Ben Scoble, and Sean Benoit — have created an appealing workplace, said DelVecchio, an environment that provides the tools for professional growth, while also facilitating the often-difficult act of balancing work and life.

While directing IBS and also taking an active role with the Regional Technology Corp., DelVecchio is also involved, on a number of levels, in the revitalization of Easthampton. The former mill town, now officially a city, has reinvented itself as a center for the arts and home to a diverse mix of small businesses.

“This is a community on the rise,” said DelVecchio, who works and lives in the town, is former president of the chamber of commerce, and is entertainment committee chair of the Easthampton Fall Festival.

What else would you expect from the king of low end?

George O’Brien

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 32: President, New City Scenic & Display

Amy Davis grew up in Oregon, but as a third-grader, she wrote a report about Vermont — and New England has never lost its appeal.

She wound up studying Theater and Sociology at Marlboro College in Vermont — “I knew little about the area, but it sounded nice, so I came out here.” Then, after returning to the West Coast for a string of prop-building, special-effects, and related work in television and cinema, she earned her master’s in Scenic Design at UMass Amherst.

She could have headed west again, but an opportunity arose that convinced her to remain in Massachusetts. “There was a scene shop in Greenfield, and I had worked for them on and off while in grad school,” she said. “They eventually had to close, but for personal reasons, not any lack of business. I had inherited a little money, so my partner, Andrew Stuart, and I bought their equipment and materials.”

The two had already developed ties with some of the former owner’s clients, and began to cultivate others after launching New City Scenic & Display in 2005 at the Eastworks complex in Easthampton. Today, they design and build sets and displays not only for film, TV, and theater, but also for museums, restaurants, places of worship, trade shows, and other venues large and small. For example, New City recently designed and built a new bar for the Eastworks-based Apollo Grill.

“In our shop, we build, paint, do metal fabrication, work with wood, sew — a little bit of everything,” said Davis, who is also the company’s master welder.

Life was a whirlwind two years ago; in the space of six months, Davis opened the business, defended her thesis, and had her first child, Ava. Since then, entrepreneurship has given her more flexibility to be with her baby than she could have working for others. Although the pace is still hectic, she said, it helps that she loves her work.

“I like the fact that I never stop learning,” she said. “With every project I work on, I learn something new, whether it’s about design or how materials go together. But I couldn’t do this without Andy and Ava. To have such a great working relationship with my partner, and have such a fantastic daughter, make even the stressful parts of my job worth it.”

Joseph Bednar

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 28: Director of Operations, Spoleto Restaurant Group

When Bill Collins was 13 years old, visiting Northampton for the first time, he ate at Spoleto — and was impressed.

“At that point, I already wanted to follow in the family business, which was hotels and restaurants,” he said. “I was with my uncle, and I said, ‘you know what? I’m going to work at this restaurant someday.’”

After high school, Collins was managing an Applebee’s when he responded to a help-wanted ad for a waiter at Spoleto. To get his foot in the door there, he did both jobs for awhile, until Spoleto founder Claudio Guerra, who already operated three restaurants, began talking about launching Spoleto Express, a more casual eatery, in Northampton.

“I told him, ‘listen, I just want to learn how to open a restaurant from the best in this business,’” said Collins. “So I spearheaded the project when we opened Spoleto Express, and it was hugely successful.” Soon after, Guerra had Collins scouting out locations for other restaurants, and eventually made him director of Operations for a group of dining locations that now totals six.

In that role, Collins does a bit of everything, from overseeing the day-to-day details of the restaurants to advertising; from marketing to special events. “I’ve helped with the transition from a mom-and-pop style to a more corporate style,” he explained. “We’ve come up with new systems and procedures to manage the business. Claudio is such a visionary, and I have a lot of the corporate background, having managed at Applebee’s, so together we make a great team.”

The proof, he said, is in the doubling of the group’s revenues since he stepped into his role — and, of course, all the full bellies and smiling faces.

“For me, the biggest payoff is when I’m in the restaurant and I look around and see all these people eating, drinking, having parties and anniversary dinners, and I think back to when the restaurant was just bare walls,” he said. “And I know this was something Claudio and I created as an escape, where people can come and enjoy themselves.

“Many people appreciate art or music or different areas of life,” he continued, “but dining is such a special experience. To give them that experience, to make people happy, that’s my favorite part of this job.”

Joseph Bednar

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 37: CEO, Universal Mind Inc.

Todd Cieplinski has built a business by finding ways to make existing technology even better. Now, he’s turning that discerning eye in a new direction aimed not at the bottom line, but the greater good.

Cieplinski, CEO of Universal Mind Inc., a Web-based application design and consultancy firm with offices in Westfield and Golden, Colo., works with specific technologies, including those owned by Adobe, one of the largest Internet-based companies in the world. His company creates, troubleshoots, manages, and updates a wide variety of ever-changing applications, and the firm’s expertise, coupled with the lightning speed at which the Internet is evolving, creates abundant business opportunities.

But something else caught Cieplinski’s attention recently — the state of the computer labs in his daughters’ schools.

“The technology is antiquated; they’re not great labs,” he said. “I’m at the point in my life where I can’t stand on the sidelines and watch others take care of things, so I tasked myself with getting more involved to make an impact in Westfield.”

He thought he could leverage Universal Mind’s recent success — in 2007 alone, the company doubled its revenues, was placed on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S., and increased its staff sevenfold — but he didn’t want to simply throw money at the problem.

“I could have made a donation, but that’s selfish,” he said. “There’s a lot to be done in Westfield. I’d much rather roll up my sleeves and see what, as a technology company, we can bring to the table.”

Currently, Cieplinski is working to identify possible relationships that could lead to new equipment for Westfield’s schools, but he’s also drafting plans to create a training program for volunteers and teachers. “There are a lot of pieces; we want to upgrade the labs, get the teachers in there and provide training, and make sure everything is properly networked. In my eyes, we can do it.”

Beyond his work with Westfield’s schools, however, Cieplinski is fostering a greater passion to assist communities and businesses across the nation through more-efficient technology. “As a company, we’re striving to make an impact on how people perceive and interact with data,” he said, noting that improving that understanding, universally, is the greatest sign of success.

Jaclyn Stevenson

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 38: CFO and Executive Producer, Brain Powered Concepts

Three guys with day jobs — and a vision. That’s Paul Yacovone and his business partners, Eric Stevens and Fred Pokryzwa, who hope to eventually dedicate all their time to a sweet idea. That idea is the Berries, a children’s TV show they formulated after launching their production company, Brain Powered Concepts.

To date, they’ve created a pilot DVD, Friends Like You and Me, containing three episodes of high-spirited, musical, educational fun starring Straw, Blue, and Raz — and their cousin, Cran — played by four young, Boston-area actresses. The three partners are long-time friends, all with children, and Brain Powered Concepts originated with a conversation one evening about the TV shows their kids watched, and what was missing.

“We were looking for something different, something that has really positive role models, and I think we hit that,” Yacovone said. “We didn’t think there was a live-action show based in the U.S. quite like this. We love music, our kids love music, and we wanted a show that’s interested in music.” So, as it turns out, did others.

In 2006, Friends Like You and Me, for which Yacovone and company hired some well-regarded producers, screenwriters and composers, won the Seal of Approval from the National Parenting Center — the same accolate afforded to much higher-profile ventures, such as High School Musical and the recent film version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. “Kids love the show,” said Yacovone said, “and we want to get to national television and really begin to grow this brand. Word of mouth has been great for us, but now we want to take it to the level of a franchise.”

Working in marketing for Lego had already exposed Yacovone to the world of children’s entertainment, but he gets his best feedback at home, from his two daughters, ages 5 and 8. “They give me a feel for what they’re into, and that was very helpful when we made the show,” he said.

He tries to help them right back, volunteering with their Brownie troop; his wife, Tammie, is a troop leader. “It’s tough to juggle everything in life, so you have to prioritize,” he said. “You can’t be all things to everybody — but everyone can offer something.” And that’s some berry good advice.

Joseph Bednar

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 34: General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer, Hampden Bank and Hampden Bancorp Inc.

Ask Craig Kaylor what teaching and being a lawyer have in common, and he’ll probably tell you, “a lot.” In fact, he might even say that he was destined to find ways to marry the two.

Since the age of 10, Kaylor has dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but knew that he could be just as successful as a teacher since both of his parents were educators. “I always knew it was the law or teaching,” he told BusinessWest. In the end, the law won. “You can teach when you’re a lawyer, but it’s tough to practice law while you’re a teacher.”

Kaylor has made a name for himself in the legal profession. At 32 he was named general counsel of Hampden Bank and parent company Hampden Bancorp. He helped take Hampden Bancorp public last year, and was instrumental in helping the company achieve an ‘outstanding’ rating for its Community Reinvestment Act Committee. As a member of the CRA, Kaylor helps determine which community loans, service, and volunteering efforts will take place. It’s a huge effort, he said, since the committee logs about 6,000 service hours among just 100 employees.

But despite his success in the legal sector, Kaylor has never forgotten his second love, teaching. Not only does he spend a good amount of time educating his peers at Hampden Bank about the many aspects of legality, compliance, security, and risk management, he also teaches a payment systems class at Western New England College.

With 10 students in his class, Kaylor says his first year in a true teaching gig is going very well. He said it feels good to be sharing his knowledge with the up-and-coming generations. “I’ve had great role models in my life who have gone out of their way to help me, so it’s important for me to give back,” he said.

Giving back also includes coaching youth sports leagues in Longmeadow and Springfield for the past 17 years. In fact, this is the first year since 1990 that Kaylor is not coaching a team, but he has a good reason — becoming a father. His wife, Debra, recently delivered a son, James William.

Could this be another lawyer/teacher to grace the world? We’ll have to wait and see.

Laura DeMars

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 32: Founder and Treasurer, Pedal People Cooperative

Alex Jarrett likes bicycling. About five years ago, he and his partner, Ruthy Woodring, wondered whether they could turn that passion into a business.

“We saw that there were no city services for the recycling of trash, and we thought, ‘what if we could go around and pick up people’s recycling and bring it to the transfer station for them — and do it on a bike?’” So they did — and Pedal People was born.

“There are so many things we can do that don’t need gas-powered machinery,” said Jarrett, noting that, while Pedal People must use trucks to bring large loads of recycling to the transfer center, “it’s not very efficient for that truck to go to every house. That start and stop every time emits a lot of smoke, it’s really inefficient, and it takes a lot of energy.”

As the company started to grow, Jarrett and Woodring knew they didn’t want to be a conventional business, but a cooperative, with ownership shared among the workers. The payroll now includes 11 of them, and all new recruits must first complete a nine-month apprenticeship period to determine whether they’re a good fit with Pedal People. The customer roster totals several hundred throughout Northampton, Florence, and Leeds, in addition to a municipal contract with Florence.

“I think a lot of our customers choose us because of the environmental angle,” said Jarrett, noting that he’s also started a program to help people compost food scraps. “Composting doesn’t use any energy, and we can turn that into a locally available resource to help grow more food. I feel like that’s 100% recycling.”

Jarrett’s big ideas haven’t stopped there. He also founded the Pedal People Food Collective, which uses bicycles for bulk grocery purchasing and distribution, as well as Montview Neighborhood Farm in Northampton, an experiment in running a farm using only human power. He says he tries to find ways to use resources efficiently and protect the environment, but his bicycle-powered efforts do more than that.

“I have a passion for community, too,” he said. “When you’re out there on the bike, you can be accessible to people and talk to them. Instead of being in a car, in a box, you’re right there on the street with people, right in their neighborhoods. I get excited about that.”

Joseph Bednar

40 Under 40 Class of 2008
Age 32: Executive Director, Valley Opportunity Council

Stephen Huntley has a number of passions — that’s his word — competing for his time and energy these days.

One of them is making maple syrup, a process that is now a family affair also involving his wife, Christine, and children, Camren and Shea. It started as a hobby for Huntley when he was an accountant earlier in his career and needed a release during tax season. “I worked long hours and needed something besides work and sleep,” he told BusinessWest.

“I’d come home from work at 9 a.m. and boil sap for an hour.”

Today, there is plenty besides work and sleep to account for the hours in the day, but Huntley was still hard at work earlier this spring making syrup — his goal was 10 gallons, which requires 400 gallons of sap.

By day, Huntley is executive director of the Valley Opportunity Council (VOC), the Holyoke-based nonprofit agency with a $26 million budget and a broad mission to help the 25,000 people it serves to achieve measures of self-sufficiency.

It does so through a wide range of programming that involves literacy, GED, the Women, Infants and Children Program, the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program), a senior companion program, adult day health, child care, transportation, case management, and more.

Huntley recently steered the VOC through a trying yet satisfying $2.7 million project to rehab the former Mount Carmel School in Chicopee into a home for those services, a move that provides the council with more room and better visibility.

While rescuing that project, Huntley has also helped salvage more than 100 acres of farmland in his hometown of Deerfield from commercial or residential development. “That’s another of my passions,” he explained, referring to his work as part of the Deerfield Agriculture Commission. “I enjoy helping to preserve rural characteristics of suburban communities; there’s nothing like driving down country roads and seeing corn fields and open land.”

Huntley’s involvement in the community takes other forms. He represents Chicopee and Mayor Michael Bissonnette on the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority Board, for example, and also chairs the Emergency Food and Shelter Committee for the United Way of Pioneer Valley.

Looking over his resume, and that list of passions, one could say that Huntley specializes in getting out of — or into — some sticky situations.

Laura DeMars