Month: May 2010

By
Departments

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

Armstrong, Susan Vee
186 Munson St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Ayala, Lorenza Nivia
165 East Main St., Apt. 410
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Barnes, Sigmund C.
66 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Barr, Benjamin J.
54 Riverboat Village Road
SouthHadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Bassett, Raymond T.
56 Oak Dr.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Bernier, Christopher Taylor
Bernier, Christina Lee
346 Newhouse St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Bertelli, Christopher
2 Athens St.
EastLongmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Blanchard, Mark D.
30 Hall St. Apt. #1
NorthAdams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Bliven, William
Bliven, Melissa C.
Noyes-Bliven, Melissa C.
Noyesbliven, Melissa
51 Beech St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Boardman, Leah D.
a/k/a Peiffer, Leah D.
23 Soda Springs Creek Dr.
Sheffield, MA 01257
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Boehm, Kathleen E.
194 Draper St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Bristol, Matthew
Bristol, Tammy
a/k/a King, Tammy L.
163 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Broman, James E.
1368 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Buturla, Douglas J.
Buturla, Linda M.
a/k/a Archangeli, Linda M.
32 Locke Ave.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

C & D Towing
Bishop, David M.
Bishop, Corinne M.
21 Leroy Court
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Camara, Kathleen M.
112 L St., Apt. C
TurnersFalls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Canning, Donna M.
a/k/a Ryan, Donna M.
a/k/a Burns, Donna M.
377 Walnut Hill Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Carr, Christopher Ryan
Wallinovich, Amy
a/k/a Carr, Amy
5 Crane Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Carroll, Michele A.
15A Hampshire Heights
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Clegg, Robert M.
87 Pleasant St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Clinton, Deborah
103 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Cold Springs Electrical
Moren, Norman S.
332 Rockrimmon St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Colon, Eulogio
Colon, Maribel
106 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Costello, Carol A.
21 Hitchcock Ave.
P.O. Box 599
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Courchesne, William C.
34 Carpentier Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Cruz, Jason M
157 Savoy Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Daley, Valerie Ann
82 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Deane, Timothy P.
13 Center St.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

DeJesus, Cheryl A.
778 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01021
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Derby, Jennifer R.
28 Melbourne Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Design Solutions
Mueller, Anita Marie
8 South St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Desilets, Celia F.
68 Franklin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Desrosiers, Gene G.
28 Shepard Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Destromp, Brian H.
53 Grove St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Dieppa, Nicole
14 Fontaine St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Dintzner Electric, LLC
Salon Perfections, LLC
Pyramid Properties
Dintzner, Michael V.
Dintzner, Theresa A.
163 South Westfield St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Dove, Derek
17 Library St.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Edwards, Jeffrey F.
P.O. Box 45
West Warren, MA 01092
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Ellis, Alicia Eldica
284B High St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Facto, Glen R.
1 Gross Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Flores, Juan E.
Flores, Antonia I.
57 Lawler St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Gagnon, Eric A.
20 Williams St.
Chester, MA 01011
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Gary, Marion C.
672 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Gaudette, Eric R.
P.O. Box 521
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Gauthier, Edward
38 Colorado St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Gilboy, James W.
P.O.Box 172
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Godbout, Kathleen A.
69 Lathrop St.
Unit 19-8
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Godere, Stanley G.
13-15 Felix St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Gordzelewski, Loretta Joan
369 Beacon Circle
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Goudreau, Brian P.
Goudreau, Tracy L.
41 Bellevue Dr.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Green, Eric D.
21 Frederick St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Hastings, Martin W.
Hastings, Celia M.
2 Cheney St. Ext.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Hebert, Brian E.
152 Gilbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Hlava, Wallace
Goldstein, Lenore Sue
7 Lyman Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Hoel, Ketill
342 Park St.
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Hume, Stephen A.
549 Russell Road, #7D
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Isabelle, Robert W.
Isabelle, Mary J.
15 Editha Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Ivanov, Dmitriy
Ivanova, Natalya
93 Noble St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Jackowitz, Michael L.
Jackowitz, Jennifer E.
12C Boyden Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Jean, Raymond J.
153 West River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Kane, Matthew J.
20 Partridge Lane
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Kochan, Stephen L.
Kochan, Jennifer L.
21 Union St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Krause, Alison J.
51 Josephine St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Kubik, Jonathan Edward
48 Jones Ferry Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Kumiega, Kimberly L.
a/k/a LaPlante, Kimberly L.
105 Erin Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Laferriere, Raymond Jacques
Laferriere, Lorna Ann
116 Wachusett St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/18/10

Lapa, Jessica
140 Joy St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Laporte, Diane M.
5 Danaher Circle
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Larouche, Gregory Allen
Larouche, Kristin Elizabeth
577 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Lauer, Robert E.
36 Isaac Bradway Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

  

LeClair, Darryl J.
1403 Worcester St.
IndianOrchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Lepper, Thomas A.
Lepper, Margaret R.
756 Shaker Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Loncrini, Teresa
387 Allen St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Mack, Nicole E.
163 Sarty Road
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

MacLure, Robert H.
61 Bay State Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Maggard, John B.
397 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Maloney, Patrick M.
55 Coffey Hill Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Marquis, Andrew Roland
Marquis, Esther Shirley
233 Park St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Marshall, Clayton C.
Marshall, Colette A.
1790 South Main Road
Otis, MA 01253
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Matos, Janice Ivette
66 White Birch Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

McDonell, Kevin Michael
18 Pinebrook Circle
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Melendez, Carmen
a/k/a Almodovar, Carmen
6 Gerard Way, # J
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Miller-Facto, Sheryl J.
1 Gross Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Mitchell, Shane L.
Mitchell, Julie A.
29 East St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Morales, Jorge A.
Morales, Luzgarda
56 Everett St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Morin, Michael
23 Atkins St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Morrissette, Tracy M.
96 Highland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Moynahan, John Richard
Moynahan, Linda Carol
442 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Natale, Katherine Marie
11 Mulberry St.
Leeds, MA 01053
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Nentwig, Jeffrey E.
28 Wells Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/27/10

O’Connell, Martin W.
24 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Oles, Everett C.
Oles, Jane A.
73 Smith St.
Williamstown, MA 01267
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Parker, George D.
Parker, Karen M.
25 Thayer Road
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Paulin, Becky M.
43 Depot St.
P.O. Box 36
Bernardston, MA 01337
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Pena, Yazmin
38 Edmund Wynne Circle
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Petersen, Jason Frederick
Petersen, Maranda
a/k/a Hanks, Maranda
14 Bromley Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Pettengill, Audrey
68 Court St., 3rd Fl.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Prattis, Susan M.
27 Hisgen Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Pronovost, Susan M.
89 Pennslyvania Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Quist, John W.
19 Oldwood Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Rainaud, Mary K.
10 Elm St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Rankins, Kevin E.
Rankins, Gwen C.
102 South Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Rivera, Nilsa
1059 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Rivera, Ramon
103 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Rodriguez, Bellamar
67 Northbridge St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Roncarati, Lynndia
309 Parker St.
EastLongmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Roy, Real Gilles
Roy, Diane Patricia
17 Stuyvesant St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Santiago, Yarelys
69 Edbert St., Apt. K
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Savoie, Scott A.
111 Myrtle St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Schabot, Raymond T.
Schabot, Barbara S.
52 Stratford Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Self, Shannon Lynn
12 Norman St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Selin, Gina M.
a/k/a Willoughby, Gina
135 Spring St., Apt 2B
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Sicard, Jody
44 Hillside Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Siedel, John C.
Siedel, Crystal D.
30 Carlton Ave
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Sokul, Joseph William
Sokul, Sandra Gale
37 Pike Road West
Sheffield, MA 01257
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Sorel, Peter Roland
284 Hermitage Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Stone, Lisa J
84 Riverview Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Stoops, Krista J.
232 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Szczepanski, Elizabeth
315 Wilbraham Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Szczepanski, Mark
315 Wilbraham Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Thibault, Rachel Lea
45 North East St. #2
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Thomas, Donna M.
71 Quincy St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Torres, Freddy
a/k/a Quinones, Freddie
Torres, Madelyn
a/k/a Figueroa-Torres, Madelyn
35 Hazelhurst Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Tremblay, Jody Lynn
a/k/a Normoyle, Jody L.
75 Cabot St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Tremblay, Michael John
75 Cabot St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Tyler, Corinne P.
a/k/a Trevallion-Tyler, Corinne P.
30 Coventry Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Vadeboncoeur, Kevin
38 Rapalus St.
IndianOrchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Vazquez, Daniel V
13 Norfolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Webber, Charles A.
Webber, Edna A.
954 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Wensley, Robert J.
Wensley, Holly C.
a/k/a Schnepp, Holly C.
617 Parker St.
EastLongmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Wheeler, Kevin M.
26 Olmsted Dr.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Wiggins, James D.
Wiggins, Julia A.
16 Haumont Ter.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Williams, Cesira L.
I Union Ave., Apt. 1
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Williams, Cynthia M.
170 Meadowbrook Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Williams, Warren W.
170 Meadowb
ook Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Yolish, David B.
Sargent-Yolish, Anne M.
7 Crocker Ave.
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Zabielski, Diana Marie
147 Sunset Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Zanga, Jason A.
Zanga, Kathleen C.
a/k/a Stone, Kathleen
272 Sanders St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Ziviak, Stella
81 Maryland St
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

u June 2: ACCGS Breakfast, 7:15 to 9 a.m., hosted by Springfield College. Cost: members $20, non-members $30.

u June 9: ACCGS After 5, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by the Delaney House, Holyoke. Cost: members $10, non-members $15.

u June 10: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., hosted by Springfield Marriott. Keynote speaker: Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal. Cost: members $40, non-members $60.

u June 28: WRC 7th Annual Golf Tournament, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., hosted by Crestview Country Club, Agawam. Call the chamber for more information.

Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield
www.springfieldyps.com

u June 17: YPS Third Thursday, hosted by Pazzo Restaurant, Springfield. See chamber Web site for more information.

Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce
www.amherstarea.com

u June 18: Breakfast, 7:15 yo 9 a.m., Town Common under the Taste Tent; sponsored by Dr. Hauschka Skin Care and Museums10. Cost: members $12, non-members $15. 

u June 23: After Five New Member Reception, 5 to 7 p.m. Recognizing J.F. Conlon & Associates; Prudential Sawicki Real Estate; Ziomek & Ziomek; Blair, Cutting & Smith Insurance. Sponsored by Whirlwind Fine Garden Design, Center for Extended Care, and Greenfield Savings Bank. Cost: members $5, non-members $10.

Chicopee Chamber of Commerce
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

u June 9: Golf Tournament, 10 a.m. shotgun start, hosted by Chicopee Country Club. Cost: $125 per golfer, includes 18 holes with a cart, lunch with a beer or soda, dinner, and golfer’s gift; $20 for golfer’s package, includes 25 raffle tickets and one mulligan; $115 for sign up to golf; $135 for sign up to golf and golfer’s package.

Franklin County Chamber of Commerce
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

u June 9: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted and sponsored by Promark Graphics, Easthampton, co-sponsored by Riff’s Joint. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, host beer and wine. Cost: members $5, non-members $15.

u June 18: Wine and Microbrew Tasting, 6 to 8 p.m., One Cottage Street (corner of Cottage and Union streets), Easthampton. More than 50 wines and microbrews, fine food, raffle. Wine and microbrew sponsor: Westfield Spirit Shop. Food sponsor: the Log Cabin and Delaney House. Benefactor: Finck & Perras Insurance Agency. Cost: $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Purchase online at www.easthamptonchamber.org or call the chamber office. Proceeds to benefit chamber community programs.

Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

u June 16: Chamber After Hours, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by Wistariahurst Museum Carriage House, Holyoke. Sponsored by Vin’s Cloth Car Wash and Holyoke Gas & Electric. Presented by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors. Cost: members $5, non-members $10.

Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

u June 2: Arrive @ 5, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by Northampton Education Foundation, held at the Hotel Northampton. Sponsored by Dr. Hauschka Skin Care Inc., Greenfield Community College, and United Bank. To register, contact Jenna at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected]

u June 15: Meet & Eat, 7:30 to 9 a.m., hosted by Union Station, Northampton. To register, contact Jenna at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected]
Northampton Area Young Professional Society
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900

u June 6: 11th Annual A Walk/Run to Remember, 8 a.m. to noon, hosted by Hampshire Regional YMCA, Northampton. The Garden: a Center for Grieving Children and Teens invites participants to walk (1 mile) or run (5k) in remembrance, for health, or just for fun. Register online at www.signmeup.com/69175

Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce
www.qvcc.biz
(413) 283-2418

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

South Hadley/Granby Chamber of Commerce
www.shchamber.com
(413) 532-6451

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce
www.threeriverschamber.org
413-283-6425

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

u June 9: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce WestNet (After 5) Networking Event, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by Stevens 451, Westfield. Participants are invited to bring a friend and a door prize to highlight their business. Cost: members $10, non-members $15. For reservations, call (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected]

u June 11: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce Spring Breakfast, 7:15 to 9 a.m., hosted by Stanley Park Pavilion, Westfield. Guest Speaker: Charlie Baker. Head Greeter: state Sen. Michael Knapik. Participants are invited to bring a friend and a door prize to highlight their business. Cost: members $20, non-members $25. For reservations, call (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected]

Editorial

By
Opinion
Region’s Colleges Are Economic Engines

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno calls it “playing to our strength.”
That was his way of conveying the manner in which area colleges, including all those that call his city home, are becoming more powerful forces in local economic-development efforts.
It’s not exactly a recent phenomenon — colleges have always played an important role in the region’s economic health and well-being, from their local purchases to their huge payrolls to seemingly constant new construction. But in recent years, and especially over the past 18 months or so, area schools have been front and center with initiatives that can, and probably will, have enormous benefits for area cities and towns.
Sarno was responding to news that American International College has been granted preferred-developer status for a project involving three key pieces of the Mason Square neighborhood — two sections of the massive former Indian Motocycle building and the long-vacant fire station next door. The college is looking at everything from a cyber café to a new home for its radio station in the fire station, and everything from housing options to incubator space in the Indian building.
The project is still very much in the due-diligence stage, and the college will move forward only if several funding sources can be tapped. But even if the vision for the properties doesn’t become reality, area colleges will clearly continue to be huge forces in economic-development efforts.
Start with the state university, which is playing a lead role in the efforts to bring a high-performance computing center to downtown Holyoke, a project that could change the face, and the fortunes, of the Paper City. UMass Amherst is also making its presence felt on Court Street in downtown Springfield. The university will be moving one of its departments into a building in that historic area — a project, conceived with generous amounts of encouragement and help from the city, that is expected to be the first of many that will increase the school’s visibility and impact there.
Meanwhile, Westfield State College is eyeing major investments in that city’s still-struggling downtown. WSC President Evan Dobelle helped change the landscape of some neighborhoods in Hartford when he was president of Trinity College through the creation of several public-private partnerships, and he is looking to do the same in the Whip City through a plan to put more student housing in the urban core, and thus boost existing businesses and attract new ones to the Elm Street corridor.
There are countless other examples:
• Springfield Technical Community College created a technology park in the former Digital Equipment Corp. complex across Federal Street from the campus, a gambit that has succeeded in bringing nearly 1,000 jobs to that complex of buildings. A few years later, the school opened a facility now known as the Scibelli Entreprise Center, that is both an incubator and home to agencies that help small businesses get off the ground and to the next level.
• Holyoke Community College is a partner in a project that will not only bring a learning center to a former fire station in the city’s downtown, one that will help give adults skills to succeed in the workforce, but also become another cornerstone in the revitalization of that city.
• Springfield College has, for many years, undertaken programs to improve quality of life in the neighborhoods surrounding the school, which are some of the poorest in the city, if not the state.
• Bay Path College has, for 15 years now, organized a women’s leadership conference that has imparted key lessons on life and business, and it has initiated a number of programs to help spur entrepreneurship.
• The Five Colleges in Hampshire Country have contributed in innumerable ways to the cultural and economic health of the Amherst and Northampton area.
The list goes on. Every school has stepped up, and the involvement is becoming deeper and more imaginative.
“Playing to our strength.” The mayor got it right. The area’s colleges represent perhaps its greatest strength, and cities and towns must collectively work to help find and nurture new ways to tap into that strength.

Turn for the Better?

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Turn for the Better?
Features
New Attractions, Pent-up Demand for Fun Fuel Optimism in the Tourism Sector
Turn for the Better?

Mary Kay Wydra says deep budget cuts are forcing the Convention & Visitors Bureau to watch every dime when it comes to marketing.

By most indications, consumers are getting tired of having their vacations and day trips become victims of the recession. Many area attractions are reporting increases in visitorship as the large and important tourism sector heads into its busy season. This positive news is juxtaposed against severe budget cuts at the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, which means curtailed marketing at a time when the region could use all it can get. Overall, though, there is general optimism for the sector and the year ahead.

Mary Kay Wydra says that, for every $1 invested to promote tourism, there is a $40 return to the economy.

That’s why Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (GSCVB), was stunned last year when was she learned the state was cutting the bureau’s budget by 75%. “There are 128,000 jobs in Massachusetts dependent on the tourism industry,” she told BusinessWest. “Tourism is about jobs that range from taxi-cab drivers to people at front desks. And jobs are part of the economic recovery.”

The massive cut reduced the GSCVB’s marketing budget from $468,000 to $132,000, which is the lowest number it has had to work with since 1992.

So the bureau has had to be creative and make every dollar count. And the stakes are high; the recession has taken its toll on many attractions, but there is a general feeling that conditions are improving and people are seemingly more willing to spend money on entertainment. Some early numbers from some of the larger tourist venues, such as Springfield Museums, Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory, and Six Flags indicate that visitorship is rising over last year’s levels.

This would be a good year to have a substantial marketing budget, said Wydra, but that is not reality, so the bureau must spend what it does have in a scientific manner.

The GSCVB began its efforts by having marketing director Michele Goldberg conduct a survey of members, asking them to help prioritize their needs. Target markets have always included Southern Conn., Greater Boston, Hartford, and Upstate New York, so when members expressed a desire for more online marketing, Goldberg complied, although she cut out New York.

The bureau also created 25 partnerships with key players in the tourism industry, offering them the opportunity to be part of a cooperative funded largely by private dollars. “It allows an area attraction to take the lead role on our Web site, which cross-promotes other attractions,” Wydra explained. “We have facilitated it and funded it to the extent that we can, and been able to seed the program.”

This represents a very different tactic for the bureau, because, in the past, it leveraged state money to get private money. It also laid off employees and cut some forms of advertising entirely, such as purchasing a page in Yankee magazine.

Its other major marketing tool is the soon-to-be-released annual guidebook. In addition, the bureau is using Facebook, Twitter, and a blog that features prominently on their Web site.

“We have definitely taken a more proactive approach to public relations,” said Wydra. Measures include more press releases and talking to motorcoach opearators monthly, suggesting ideas such as a tour of the region’s country stores.

“We’ve had to be creative in our marketing strategies, but we are fully optimistic we will see an uptick this summer in tourism,” Wydra said. “The concept of staying close to home and enjoying local attractions was at its height in 2008 when gas was over $4 a gallon. People cut back on hotel stays, and last year the trend continued.

“But I think there is a pent-up demand for summer vacations, just because people have cut back for two years. Plus, national indicators show we are slowly growing out of the recession,” she continued, noting that hotel occupancy has increased since October and Greater Springfield has outpaced the state as a whole.

Wydra said ‘new’ is an important word in tourism, and the area offers that. The enshrinement at the Basketball Hall of Fame has moved to August with a full week of activities, Springfield Musueums has a new addition, and Barnes Municipal Airport will host an airshow this year.

Hands-on, experiential activities are another draw, and the region welcomed zip lines at Berkshire East and Zoar Outdoors last spring. “Berkshire East has already expanded and surpassed its goal,” Goldberg said.

Wydra said the bureau has done as much as possible to deal with the budget cuts. “We have a strong marketing program, but if we had received more funding, we would have been able to do more,” she explained. “Being very creative and very collaborative have been our key watchwords.”

View to the Future

While Wydra grapples with her budget challenges, those running area tourist attractions are being guardedly optimistic about 2010. Early numbers are positive, and if gas prices don’t go much higher, they predict that trend will continue, due largely to a combination of new or improved attractions and that aforementioned pent-up demand for holidays.

Holly Smith-Bove, president of Springfield Musuems, says overall attendance has continued to rise throughout the recession. She attributes this in part to the new Museum of Springfield History, which opened in October 2009 and has attracted new audiences to the Quadrangle complex.

The project, which entailed a $10 million renovation of the former Verizon office building on 21 Edwards St., began before the recession and and continued during the downturn. The lower level contains the Springfield History Library and Archives, while upper levels are home to a Rolls-Royce collection and the collection from the former Indian Motocycle Museum.

“There are many people who are followers of these brands,” said Smith-Bove, adding that the museums’ demographics have changed since the new facility was built. “Our adult audience is increasingly significant,” she said.

The museums have also seen an increase in demand for group tours. Marketing efforts include a recent membership drive via mailings that went out to 30,000 households. “We have backed that up with traditional advertising. We are also very involved with Twitter and Facebook,” Smith-Bove said.

So far, their efforts have been met with success. “We hope to continue the trajectory we are on. We have increased our attendance by 300% this year,” Bove-Smith said. “It’s been wonderful.”

Special summer attractions should draw crowds, she continued. “We have a really amazing exhibit in the Fine Arts Museum by New York Lego artist Nathan Sawaya, titled “The Art of the Brick.” It will take up most of the second floor and has generated a lot of excitement in other venues.”

Kathy Miller, general manager and special-events coordinator for Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield, is also optimistic about the busy months ahead, mostly because the first months of the year have been solid. “Between 2008 and 2009, we were at an even pace and were able to stay consistent,” she told BusinessWest. “But in 2010, our numbers have been up, which is wonderful.”

The conservatory has paid close attention to its marketing strategy, however. “We thought a lot about it and have kept a very close eye on it,” Miller said. “What we found is that, even though the economy took a downturn, people still need to do things for themselves that are nurturing, relaxing, and that don’t break the bank. And we fit that bill.”

On Mother’s Day, the facility reported a 60% increase in business over that same holiday last year. It held a special Mothers Day dinner promotion in the restaurant, and has done all it can to make it attractive and affordable.

“It has a warm atmosphere. We offer home cooking with huge portions and reasonable prices,” Miller said. “It has only been open four years, and we have seen a steady increase in customers every year. We attribute it to word-of-mouth referrals, along with TV and newspaper ads.”

This year marks Magic Wings’ 10th anniversary, and as public awareness grows that it is open throughout the entire year, many people have used the space for baby and bridal showers. “It’s one of the things that has helped us, in addition to our butterflies and animals,” Miller said.

Magic Wings and Lupa Zoo in Ludlow recently partnered to create a traveling show, in hopes that it will bring attention to both attractions, and the butterfly conservatory is part of a two-year-old Deerfield Attractions initiative. Those efforts include advertising via the Web site deerfieldattractions.com. “We want to let people know that we’re only a half-hour from Springfield and there is a lot to do here,” Miller said.

Waxing Optimistic

Yankee Candle in Deerfield saw a slowdown in traffic after the recession hit. “The end of 2008 was very tough, as was as the first half of 2009,” said CEO Harlan Kent. “But we were actually positive in the fourth quarter of last year for the first time in nine months. We felt good about that.

“Traffic is up,” he said. “But people are being very thoughtful in terms of spending and are sticking to a budget, although we have been able to entice them a little bit.”

Such enticements include new attractions in the flagship store. In addition to being “the Disneyland for candle lovers,” the company added a Pandora store, a Dylan’s candy store, and a Popcornopolis, Kent said.

“We call it retail-tainment, and have stores within our store. We have new ones planned and are in the process of opening up something different every three months.”

Other initiatives include hands-on activities, such as Wax Works, which opened a year ago and allows visitors to create candles and wax sculptures. “We add a new activity every few months,” Kent said. “Since people are staying closer to home, we hope to attract them with these kinds of exciting attractions.”

The company opened 39 new stores in 2009, keeping with its average during the past five years. “We expect to see some moderate growth as the economy improves, and are continuously investing,” Kent said.

On May 15, the company celebrated a complete makeover of its home store and continues to add activities, such as a three-day Longaberger Basket festival in June and a 5K run to benefit the American Heart Assoc. in August. There have also been adjustments to the menu at Chandler’s restaurant, which Kent said fared pretty well in 2009. “We are doing more advertising this year, getting back to more normal levels.”

Larry Litton, president of Six Flags New England and a board member of the GSCVB, said the recession didn’t significantly impact business at the park. Still, the management team took a very proactive approach.

“We have done very well. We ran some tremendous promotions that were sensitive to the fact that money was tight,” he said. In 2009, these promotions allowed adults to pay the same entry price as children. Those promotions are continuing this year, and the park is also offering its lowest season-ticket price since 2004.

Weather plays a significant role in its attendance, but in the end, Litton believes it boils down to the value offered. “We are the largest theme park in New England and have the number-one steel roller coaster in the world,” he said.

The facility’s water park boasts new attractions, including a Johnny Rockets restaurant, and management is bringing back popular events, such as the Glow in the Dark parade and a Starburst Concert Series, with acts that appeal to teens.

“We have made a lot of changes over the last four or five years to broaden our appeal and added a lot of show products for younger children,” Kent said. “If anyone hasn’t been here for four or five years, they would not believe the changes in the property. We started this year off very strongly and are expecting a huge year.”

Still, marketing dollars spent by the Convention and Visitors Bureau help area attractions significantly, and Wydra, Kent, and other board members have gone to Boston to discuss the tourism budget in recent weeks. “There is no better investment than tourism,” Kent said, “and we hope our message resonated with the Legislature.”

Main Street Building Block

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Main Street Building Block
Features
Glenn Edwards Believes the Time Is Right for His Springfield Properties
Main Street Building Block

Glenn Edwards is taking a glass-full-half outlook on prospects for commercial real estate in downtown Springfield, and especially his block.

It took Glenn Edwards a few years to put the entire block of buildings on Main Street in Springfield between Harrison Place and Court Street into his portfolio. He’s enjoyed mixed results since then, with the recession leaving ‘for lease’ signs in many windows along that stretch. And while the local market remains quite sluggish, he believes the time is right for him to fill some of those vacancies.

Glenn Edwards has his office in New York City, but he keeps close tabs on what’s happening in Springfield — and he should. After all, he owns all the buildings along the east side of Main Street between Harrison Avenue and Falcon Drive.

And for the most part, Edwards, who acquired those parcels between 2005 and 2007, likes what he’s hearing and reading about the City of Homes and especially its central business district. He’s actually pleased that the nearly vacant federal building will soon be almost full with Springfield School Department offices and other tenants (some downtown property owners were miffed that their buildings were not even given an opportunity to vie for that business).

Meanwhile, he’s encouraged by progress in Court Square, especially UMass Amherst’s decision to take one of the buildings there for one of its programs. He’s buoyed by some anecdotal evidence that the worst appears to be over for both the economy in general and the real estate market in particular, and, while he wasn’t thrilled to lose the Dennis Group as a major tenant in Harrison Place, he’s even finding something positive about that company’s relocation to the Fuller Block and the filling of that structure.

He believes all or most of the recent news bodes well for his efforts to lease up his properties, which include — in addition to Harrison Place, which has three vacant floors — what’s known as the Johnson’s Bookstore Building, Marketplace, the so-called Northwestern Mutual Building, and also 1341 and 1319-1331 Main St.

New life for the federal building and Fuller Block will add vitality to the downtown and leave two fewer options for companies that are looking to downsize, rightsize, find a better deal, or take an expansion plan off the back burner its been on since the recession hit high gear, said Edwards, noting that he believes there are many businesses in all these categories.

“As the economy improves, we fully expect Springfield to be part of the renaissance,” he told BusinessWest. “We expect to ride the next wave of real-estate activity.”

And within Edwards’ block of buildings, which together comprise around 45,000 square feet of available space in various shapes and sizes, there is “something for just about everyone,” said John Williamson, president of Williamson Commercial Properties, which is now handling leasing activities for the properties.

“We’ve have full floors in Harrison Place, including the first and second, which is some of the most visible space in downtown Springfield,” he said. “And we have a lot of other spaces with which we can be very creative.”

For this issue, BusinessWest talks at length with Edwards and Williamson about why they think they have the right places at the right time.

New Lease on Life?

Williamson joked that his new assignment with Edwards, for whom he handled the Harrison Place transaction in 2007, is essentially to “lease his way out of a job,” meaning to fill the properties in question.

As he goes about that task, he’ll face a good number of challenges, especially competition for tenants. Indeed, while some properties, like the Fuller Block and the federal building, are now effectively off the market, there are countless others in or near downtown with ‘for lease’ signs in their windows.

And, in many respects, this is still very much a tenants’ market, a phrase used repeatedly by brokers to imply that businesses that are ready and able to make moves can play those landlords with space to lease against one another and get some attractive deals.

But the biggest challenge may be that there are still not enough business owners and nonprofit managers ready to make those moves. In recent months, area brokers have used words like ‘quiet,’ ‘frozen,’ and ‘dead’ to describe the state of the local commercial real-estate market, and some have said that conditions now are even worse than during the prolonged recession of 20 years ago, when brokers could at least stay busy working for banks trying to rid themselves of properties on their OREO (other real estate owned) files.

However, the usually optimistic Edwards is seeing the picture a different way — with the glass half full, or at least approaching that level.

He said that activity has picked up in many of the markets in which he owns properties (that list includes municipalities ranging from Lynnbrook, N.Y. to Park City, Kan. to Clifton, Colo.), and that he fully expects that Springfield, home to perhaps the centerpiece of his portfolio, will eventually follow suit.

“It’s not going to be a tenants’ market forever,” he said, noting that, as bad as this downturn has been, it will be followed, like others before it, by a period when the laws of supply of demand will eventually begin to work in favor of property owners.

And he believes his block is well-positioned for the day when the pendulum starts to swing.

Granted, he has only what would be considered Class B space, or perhaps B+ in the case of Harrison Place, available to lease, but he notes that most Class A space in both the suburbs and downtown Springfield is occupied, and what isn’t — the vast majority of it is in 1350 Main St. or One Financial Plaza — is mostly being reserved for larger tenants.

So he believes this leaves opportunities for those properties across Main Street with the odd numbers, starting with Harrison Place.

Edwards acquired that landmark from the Picknelly family in late 2007, putting the entire block in his portfolio. The building was nearly full at that time, but the scene changed dramatically when Tom Dennis — who acquired the property in the late ’90s, built out the first two floors for his engineering firm, and later sold the property to the Picknellys — desired to once again own his space.

He departed for the rehabbed Fuller block in the summer of 2009, leaving one of those aforementioned ‘for lease’ signs in the front window at Harrison Place, through which countless pedestrians and motorists look every day.

That visibility, coupled with accessibility and pliable space, has attracted several tire-kickers, said Williamson, including a large law firm. He expects more tours in the weeks and months ahead as businesses look to take advantage of what is still, by and large, a tenants’ market.

The ultimate goal is to lease the first and second floors, both around 8,000 square feet, to one tenant. The best plan B is to find two full-floor tenants, he said, adding that there is flexibility for a number of other scenarios, but the preference is for larger tenants.

The same goes for the slightly smaller ninth floor, he said, adding that, overall, there is some 25,000 square feet, just over 33% of the total space, available in the building.

Moving south down what could now be called the Edwards Block, there are roughly 5,000 square feet available, or just under one-fifth of the total, in the Johnson’s Bookstore building, where Edwards and Williamson want to find more retail and office tenants to join FedEx Kinko’s, which moved in on the first floor last year.

There are nearly 6,000 square feet available (one-quarter of the inventory) at 1365 Main St., also called the Marketplace Building; all of the space, 5,298 square feet, in 1341 Main St., most recently occupied by Westfield Bank, which means it’s been vacant for some time; and just over 3,068 square feet in 1310-1331 Main, also known as the Peerless Building.

Overall, Williamson said his broad strategy for leasing up those buildings is “innovative,” and by that he means everything from imaginative lease deals that will serve both Edwards and his tenants to efforts to attract some of the many nonprofit groups operating in the Greater Springfield area, especially for the Westfield Bank building, which he believes is perfectly suited for one or, more likely, several such tenants.

“That property lends itself well to that kind of use,” he said, “and there are literally hundreds of these 501 C3s operating in this area.”

Space Exploration

When asked why he’s so bullish on the prospects for Springfield when others seem far less ebullient, Edwards says his attitude stems from seeing clear progress in several of the other markets in which he owns real estate.

“We’ve signed a number of leases over the past few months — there’s a lot of activity taking place,” he said. “We’re going to see that here, too. Tenants will be rightsizing and going from class C space to class B. Space will start to be absorbed again.”

Time will tell if — and when — he’s right about the Springfield market, but at the moment, Edwards likes what he sees. And he believes he’s well-positioned for when the turnaround begins.

George O’Brien can be reached at

[email protected]

Rough Drafts

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Rough Drafts
Features
Area Architects Have Designs on Business Improvement in 2010
Rough Drafts

Christopher Riddle, left, and John Kuhn say the recession has altered the landscape for architects in a number of ways.

The economic downturn hit the construction sector across the board, from builders all the way back to the architects themselves. While the historic effects are reportedly on the wane for this industry, local architects draw up their own tales of the Great Recession, and offer some thoughts on how they will recognize the signs of recovery.

Growing numbers of competitors from outside of the region, private-sector financing not readily available for new construction, and cutbacks in staff numbers and workdays … wait, wasn’t this just reported about the construction sector?

Recently BusinessWest spoke to the people holding the hammers about the nature of the building trades and how the economy was affecting them in unprecedented ways. While area tradesmen knew the news wasn’t very good, most reported on how they are successfully navigating these turbulent times.

However, another key component of the construction sector, the architecture industry, has also been finding its business hit, and hit hard, by many of those same forces, and they too have undertaken measures for successfully riding out the economic downturn.

John MacMillan is president of Rheinhardt Associates in Agawam. Like construction workers out in the field, he said that competitors from outside the area have been bidding on design jobs in numbers he’s never seen in his 25 years in the industry. “It’s very fierce,” he told BusinessWest.

But while industry analysts foresee the potential for grim times ahead in the construction sector, architects and those who monitor the industry have designs on a much better 2010.

Kermit Baker is the chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, and in that organization’s Billings Index, a monthly measurement of the number of projects ‘on the boards’ for architectural firms, he reported that, while billings were “at historically depressed levels in March,” that month’s confidence index of 46.1 reflected an increase from February’s 44.8.

This figure is the highest recorded since August 2008, and while an index rating over 50 is a mark of growth in the industry, March’s numbers indicate a four-point increase over the previous two months.

“We could be moving closer to a recovery phase,” Baker reported, expressing that old faithful known as cautious optimism. But he added that firms “are still reporting an unusual amount of variation in the level of demand for design services, from ‘improving’ to ‘poor’ to ‘virtually nonexistent.’”

It’s a familiar story for architects in Western Mass., who say their firms have faced challenges like nothing they’ve seen before. For this issue, BusinessWest looks at the blueprints for the business of architecture, and what designs some area firms have for a hopeful 2010.

Big Fish in a Small Pond

Leon Pernice has been designing buildings from his home office in West Springfield for close to 50 years — office buildings at the Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, several area churches, the municipal center of Brimfield, and numerous senior residential facilities.

Like everyone else, he said that competition has reached numbers that he’s never seen.

For such competition, he added, the number of jobs that his firm usually bids has dropped in reverse proportion. “There’s work out there,” he said, “but much less private work and more public. And when I say more public work, that doesn’t mean there’s a lot of it, though.”

For smaller projects, he said, firms are coming from far afield, which was once only the case for the largest regional jobs.

While large, high-profile projects typically had drawn architectural firms from all over the nation, something that Pernice said was perfectly understandable, “the top-tier projects are often financed by boards of directors or trustees who have different criteria for their selection process,” he said diplomatically, adding that he is unsettled by the fact that the smallest jobs also now see bidders from outside the area.

“When you have municipalities assigning their smallest work to architects out of the area … I don’t know how that works,” he said while shaking his head.

MacMillan agreed, noting that his firm has faced competition from outfits that never went after this market, meaning mid-scale to larger scale projects such as the Berkshire Medical Center, Belchertown Fire Department, Agawam police station, and currently the Holyoke Multi-Modal facility, among others.

“A lot of those offices are Boston-based or, in some cases, from New York. We never used to see them before,” he said. “We’re getting firms that used to work at a different tier — high-design firms from Boston or Cambridge, 100-plus offices with business-development staff and marketers.

“For ourselves, having this competition, with the bigger guys bottom feeding,” he continued, “we’ve had to shift some focus onto projects that used to be too small for us. That’s where we are now.”

Rheinhardt Associates has been designing for the public sector for more than 50 years, he said, and with stimulus projects and municipal upgrades that can’t be put off, that sector is where design work is holding steady.

In order to compete for the larger projects that come to bid, MacMillan said that his firm has taken a cue from the competition to remain a key player.

“We’ve teamed with larger firms,” he explained. “We realize that is what we have to do, because the day is not here where we can land the largest projects on our own, especially not with the competition.

“When the projects are local,” he continued, “that regional expertise is what we can bring to the table. Sure, it’s a smaller piece of the pie, but at the end of the day, we are supporting this firm competing against other large firms. This is unusual for us. In a better climate, the locals might carry the day entirely, but these are not the times for that.”

Back to School

As the current principal of Juster Pope Frazier Architects in Northampton, Kevin Chrobak said that some words of wisdom from one of the founders sketches out a winning plan for his firm.

“Jack Frazier used to have this saying, ‘you have to learn to enjoy the slow times as well as the fast times,’” he said.

As a means to that end, Chrobak said that JPF has a policy of “flex time” for employees, one of its techniques for riding out the economy. “It’s a win-win situation here,” he explained, “which gives people the ability to deal with their own schedules as they see fit. People have used flex time to spend more time with their families without really impacting our ability to do projects. It also makes them a bit more appreciative of working here.”

And during straightened times, he added, the firm doesn’t sweat the bottom line on a 40-hour workweek.

But JPF is fortunate as a smaller firm, with only six employees, not to be facing tough decisions at their drafting tables or their accounting ledgers.

“We have a strong portfolio of repeat clients, with decent projects,” he said. “But our size allows us to stay largely outside the harsh effects of the downturn. The bigger firms might feel the need to constantly bring in new projects, but we don’t really feel that burden.”

For a small office, Chrobak’s firm is responsible for numerous big-ticket projects, such as the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, the Longmeadow Fire Station, and the Springfield Visitor Information Center, to name just a few. He says that repeat clientele has been a major player in JPF’s strength and vitality through the recession.

“Having diverse clients and a diverse portfolio has helped us very well,” he said. But while his office stays busy with numerous projects, Chrobak said that he is aware that the number of projects in the area is small. “There’s just not a lot of new construction out there.”

UMass Amherst is consistently a source for much of the area’s vitality in design and construction, Chrobak said, adding that “they are a real boon to our firm as a source of design work for us, and the construction industry in general. They’re one of the few organizations that are doing any construction work on that scale. I don’t think they get enough credit for that.”

Christopher Riddle, a principal with Kuhn Riddle Architects in Amherst, made a wave-like motion with his hand to describe the variation he sees for this area’s architectural business, specifically addressing the market for educational work that has neither real highs nor lows. UMass and the overall strength of higher education has been a great lifeline for the region’s architects, he said.

“They have fluctuations, to be sure,” he said, “but they don’t go away altogether. They don’t go up and down with a great amplitude, but stay fairly regular with a consistent volume. A lot of our business is either directly or indirectly associated with the health of the education industry in Western Mass.”

Other sectors that are engaging projects are also known for their overall stability. Health care continues to draw new business, as does the transportation industry, which MacMillan said is responsible for a large part of his firm’s current planning.

In addition to the Maple Street project for the Holyoke transportation center, MacMillan said the PVTA is responsible for a good volume of work in rehabilitating many of its older structures. That repair and renovation market, he said, is a source of a lot of design work for many architects in the area.

Crediting UMass Amherst again, Chrobak applauded its House Doctor renovation program as a good source of work for many area firms, including his own for the past 20 years. Essentially it is a program whereby a small group of architects are hired on retainer to work on an equal number of projects for renovation.

“A lot of local firms really rely on that,” he said.

Sketching It Out

Riddle’s partner, John Kuhn, expects this recession to have a lasting impact on architecture.

“There is a shift toward sustainability and green systems,” he said. “And I think the days of subdivisions with McMansions on cul-de-sacs with funny names is over. That’s a completely dead market.”

In agreement, Riddle said that clients have had a renewed focus on buildings’ systems, with an eye towards energy efficiency and alternative means of making a building economically viable, not just at the ribbon cutting, but for a longer span of time.

Since the recession officially started in the fall of 2008, he said that KR has tackled four LEED-certified projects totaling $17 million. Its design for New England Environmental, an Amherst-based consulting firm, aims to be a LEED platinum structure, the highest level of certification.

Riddle said that energy systems are a particular interest of his, and he hopes this renewed enthusiasm drives more design projects in the future. “We spend a lot of time trying to optimize new construction,” he said, “trying to keep the energy consumption of new buildings down. It doesn’t matter how sophisticated new buildings are now. That’s easy. What you have to do is try to figure out how to deal with the enormous, vast numbers of existing buildings.”

Opting to look at the current market in a positive light, Kuhn said that “this recession brought a lot of creative change to the industry.

“It’s a very exciting time, in many ways, for architecture,” he continued. “The types of buildings that we’re working on, and the way we deliver projects, are all changing. The key is to stay nimble.”

Architectural Rendering

Responding to the positive forecast from the AIA, Kuhn said that he reads the industry reports, but he doesn’t take them too seriously.

“I don’t track the stock market,” he explained, “nor do I take to heart what I read on the front page of the paper. What I think of as indicators are the people you run into every day on a job site, what you hear from them at the coffee shops. What is the housepainter or carpenter or building owner seeing and saying?”

Those field notes are one way to find hope for an industry-wide turnaround, he said, but when all is said and done, he’ll know that business is picking up when the phones start ringing again.

Drawing upon the experience of increased firms at public bids, Pernice said that, for him, recovery will be manifest in smaller numbers of those competitors from out of the area.

“I’ll know it when you go to an open review session for a project to find eight people there instead of 28,” he said.

MacMillan said that his projections are for a flat quarter ahead, with his firm staying busy, but with smaller-scale and shorter-term projects than he is used to.

“We usually carry a backlog that’s anywhere from five to eight months,” he said, “and that’s very healthy. Today, it’s down to two months, max. When I start seeing a bigger backlog, I’ll feel comfortable.”

But echoing the hopeful uncertainty from most in this industry, he said that all it takes is one significant project to turn the tide altogether.

“That would be a huge bump for us,” he said. “So, it could be next week, or next month.”

OPINION

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Uncategorized
Health Care Fails Small Businesses

Not long after President Nixon took the unprecedented step of imposing peacetime wage and price controls, the American people learned a basic economic lesson: artificial controls don’t work unless underlying costs are controlled.

Four decades later, the Patrick administration is imposing controls on small-business health-insurance rates. The move will prove to be little more than an election-year reprise of Nixon’s failed effort.

The Commonwealth’s 2006 health care reform was supposed to address rising health-insurance costs for small businesses. It hasn’t — and small businesses are paying the price.

The Commonwealth Connector, an independent authority acting as an insurance-plan clearinghouse, was established to provide real choices and information needed to evaluate options. In theory, an informed and robust marketplace would bend the cost curve and get more of the working poor and lower middle class insured. The theory is right, but the implementation has failed in two key ways.

First, the Connector focused all its energy on providing nearly free products to the indigent. Its board seemed uninterested in market-rate products for small-business employees.

The Connector revenues come from selling plans, and selling nearly free products was the path of least resistance. Unsurprisingly, 90% of the Connector’s operating revenue has come from the fee it earns for state-subsidized plans.

The lack of focus on small businesses is evident. The Connector took three years to make information about provider networks and participating primary-care providers for small businesses available on its Web site. It took over two years to launch a small-employer pilot program; in more than a year, it attracted just 65 businesses and has now been replaced by a new program that offers only seven plans.

Implementation also fell short when the Connector chose to build a top-down bureaucracy rather than leverage the broker and private-market community. The quasi-governmental Connector has a $40 million annual budget and 45 employees earning annual salaries that average $100,000. Its board is heavily weighted toward government officials and unions.

Paternalistic fears about confusing people have led the Connector to overregulate and minimize consumer choice. Instead of engaging the private market by providing unique products, it has rejected or failed to renew products, resulting in offerings that simply duplicate ones already privately available.

This bureaucratic setup cannot provide choices that contain costs to employees and owners of small businesses — nor help address double-digit increases in small-business rates.

There is another path forward. Utah’s Health Insurance Exchange was started with a $600,000 appropriation and has no board and just two employees. It provides a technology backbone that enables brokers and businesses to take advantage of consumer-based options.

As its mission is to promote small-business growth, the Exchange is part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Private-sector partners provide unpaid policy advice on what businesses and employees need.

Fewer than 1,500 small business employees receive coverage through the Connector. In Utah, with a far smaller population, about 55,000 small-business employees have purchased health insurance through the Exchange. It offers 66 plans from a number of carriers, including the largest ones in the state.

The focus on business growth and input from the private market has helped promote other reforms. In its first year, the Exchange developed a database that compares the cost of care across all providers; four years after its creation, the Connector hasn’t developed a similar tool. Unlike Massachusetts, Utah has also passed tort and medical-malpractice reform.

We applaud the Connector’s success in insuring the indigent. But it has failed to give small businesses affordable, diverse choices.

Small-business owners cannot afford 25% annual hikes to already-astronomical health-insurance premiums, especially in this economic climate. Price controls will do nothing to control the underlying forces that drive health-insurance premium increases. And unless Massachusetts does the hard work of getting costs under control, Patrick could be remembered as the guy who tried to prop up the levy as the floodwaters surged in.

Jim Stergios is executive director, and Amy Lischko is senior fellow on health care, at Pioneer Institute.

Region’s Colleges Are Economic Engines

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Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno calls it “playing to our strength.”

That was his way of conveying the manner in which area colleges, including all those that call his city home, are becoming more powerful forces in local economic-development efforts.

It’s not exactly a recent phenomenon — colleges have always played an important role in the region’s economic health and well-being, from their local purchases to their huge payrolls to seemingly constant new construction. But in recent years, and especially over the past 18 months or so, area schools have been front and center with initiatives that can, and probably will, have enormous benefits for area cities and towns.

Sarno was responding to news that American International College has been granted preferred-developer status for a project involving three key pieces of the Mason Square neighborhood — two sections of the massive former Indian Motocycle building and the long-vacant fire station next door. The college is looking at everything from a cyber café to a new home for its radio station in the fire station, and everything from housing options to incubator space in the Indian building.

The project is still very much in the due-diligence stage, and the college will move forward only if several funding sources can be tapped. But even if the vision for the properties doesn’t become reality, area colleges will clearly continue to be huge forces in economic-development efforts.

Start with the state university, which is playing a lead role in the efforts to bring a high-performance computing center to downtown Holyoke, a project that could change the face, and the fortunes, of the Paper City. UMass Amherst is also making its presence felt on Court Street in downtown Springfield. The university will be moving one of its departments into a building in that historic area — a project, conceived with generous amounts of encouragement and help from the city, that is expected to be the first of many that will increase the school’s visibility and impact there.

Meanwhile, Westfield State College is eyeing major investments in that city’s still-struggling downtown. WSC President Evan Dobelle helped change the landscape of some neighborhoods in Hartford when he was president of Trinity College through the creation of several public-private partnerships, and he is looking to do the same in the Whip City through a plan to put more student housing in the urban core, and thus boost existing businesses and attract new ones to the Elm Street corridor.

There are countless other examples:

• Springfield Technical Community College created a technology park in the former Digital Equipment Corp. complex across Federal Street from the campus, a gambit that has succeeded in bringing nearly 1,000 jobs to that complex of buildings. A few years later, the school opened a facility now known as the Scibelli Entreprise Center, that is both an incubator and home to agencies that help small businesses get off the ground and to the next level.

• Holyoke Community College is a partner in a project that will not only bring a learning center to a former fire station in the city’s downtown, one that will help give adults skills to succeed in the workforce, but also become another cornerstone in the revitalization of that city.

• Springfield College has, for many years, undertaken programs to improve quality of life in the neighborhoods surrounding the school, which are some of the poorest in the city, if not the state.

• Bay Path College has, for 15 years now, organized a women’s leadership conference that has imparted key lessons on life and business, and it has initiated a number of programs to help spur entrepreneurship.

• The Five Colleges in Hampshire Country have contributed in innumerable ways to the cultural and economic health of the Amherst and Northampton area.

The list goes on. Every school has stepped up, and the involvement is becoming deeper and more imaginative.

“Playing to our strength.” The mayor got it right. The area’s colleges represent perhaps its greatest strength, and cities and towns must collectively work to help find and nurture new ways to tap into that strength.

Companies to Watch: BRIM AND CROWN

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Companies to Watch: BRIM AND CROWN
Features
Hat Shop Owner Is Brimming with Confidence
Companies to Watch: BRIM AND CROWN

Richard Little wants to match people to hats — from those who have never worn one before to “absolute hatters” who don’t leave home without one.

Richard Little’s original plan was to open a men’s clothing store.

That was the thought process about seven years ago as he was pondering when and how to make the transition from corporate employee (he had worked for Verizon for many years) to small-business owner. But his research told him there was already enough, if not too many, of those establishments in the Greater Springfield area.

However, it also told him something else: that there was a real need for a hat shop to serve both men and women. “There wasn’t anything like this,” he said, waving his arm toward the front of the Brim and Crown shop on White Street in Springfield.

This need was complemented by what Little could only describe as a passion for hats, which he’s been wearing for as long as he can remember. “I decided that, if I was going to do anything entrepreneurial, it should be something I love. And I really love hats.”

Not only that, but he loves matching people, and their personalities, to hats, from individuals who have never worn one before (a large constituency) to those who wear one practically every day — a group he calls “absolute hatters.”

Not everything has gone exactly according to script for Little, who opened the doors in 2005, but, by and large, he’s doing as well as he thought he might when he put the Brim and Crown on the drawing board.

He’s been helped by a moderate surge in the popularity of hats, especially among younger professional men (more on that later), and also by the emergence of the Kentucky Derby party in recent years (hats are a mainstay for such events) as well as the race itself, and even some larger special functions like the recent fund-raising tea for Square One; many attendees bought hats from him for the occasion. Meanwhile, he’s been hurt by the recession. “I’m in the ‘want’ business, not the ‘need’ business; people don’t really need hats,” he explained, adding that, in most respects, this is a luxury item.

But it’s one that has certainly turned into a sound business opportunity.

Like the optician who adorns his shop with photos of models wearing glasses, Little has his walls covered with pictures of people decked out in all types of hats. Many are actual customers, including some who needed items for the Square One tea and this year’s Kentucky Derby parties. There are also some models, and even a few actors: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr., in one of the famous scenes from the original Ocean’s 11, and also Johnny Depp wearing a brown felt model.

“He’s not a customer — yet,” Little said of Depp. “But I’m working on it.”

The current client list includes mostly Springfield-area residents, but there are some from Northern Conn. and others from Boston and other points east. “I get a lot of customers from the Boston area,” he said. “More than a few of them are salespeople out on the road. They’ve heard about me or found my Web site, and they stop by when they’re in the area.”

And while clients’ mailing addresses vary, so too do their wants and, on some occasions, needs. Many women need what Little calls “church hats,” which are worn regularly on Sundays but also on other special occasions. Meanwhile, more men are deciding that a baseball cap is not the way they want to go, or at least not the only way.

“A lot more men are wearing hats now, especially young professionals,” said Little. “I have a lot of doctors, lawyers, and business people as customers.”

Hats will likely never again be as popular as they were decades ago, when men wouldn’t leave the house without one, said Little, noting that, contrary to popular opinion, hats were on the way out long before President John F. Kennedy conducted business without one. “But they are making something of a comeback.”

And there are several reasons why, he said, listing everything from changing fashion trends to a run of gangster movies that bring hats back into focus. Even health issues come into play; indeed, as Baby Boomers age, many of them are hearing their doctors tell them to put something on their head if they’re going out in the sun, said Little.

All this adds up to more of that aforementioned matching of people to hats, he continued, adding that quite a bit goes into this process, from the client’s build to the colors they prefer to wear, to the image they’re trying to project.

“A hat has to fit someone’s personality because, while everyone can wear a hat, no one can really wear every hat,” said Little, who uses the word “hatitude” to describe those who make a proper match.

Those visiting the Brim and Crown will find ample opportunities to create a match, with a wide variety of selections on both the men’s and women’s sides of the store, and a host of well-known brands to choose from, including Stetson, Biltmore, Dobbs, Bailey, and Makins for men, and Toucan, Betmar, Ellie, and Christine Moore for women.

With any luck, this selection — coupled with all those trends, from Derby parties to men dressing up more — will create more absolute hatters.

—George O’Brien

Worlds of Opportunity

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Worlds of Opportunity
Features
Two Venues, Great Diversity Have Global Spectrum Well-positioned
Worlds of Opportunity

Matt Hollander says a variety of facilities enables the MassMutual Center to book events ranging from small meetings to college commencements to ice racing.

It’s called X-treme International Ice Racing, or XiiR for short.

This is, as the name suggests, racing on ice — or, to be more precise, indoor ice arenas. Motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles, both equipped with tires boasting 2,000 metal studs, go from zero to 60 mph in under three seconds.

They’re not going that fast for long, however, because turns come up quick on an ice rink 200 feet long and 98 feet wide.

Indeed, when asked if XiiR was like a NASCAR event on a tiny, quarter-mile track (like the one at the former Riverside Park), MassMutual Center General Manager Matt Hollander laughed and said, “more like an eighth-of-a-mile track.”

Hollander got to see for himself in February 2009 and again last Oct. 22, the start to the XiiR 2009-10 season. Subsequent stops were in Erie, Pa., Elmira, N.Y., Independence, Mo., and Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

“It was a fun night … the fans were really into it, and the action was fast and intense; the bikes have no brakes,” Hollander said of last fall’s races, adding that XiiR is just one of several dozen unique, often once-a-year shows with which the staff at the MassMutual Center fills in dates on the calendar, often with two events a day.

A look at the list of gatherings booked for the period between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010 reveals just how diverse the facility’s growing client list is. There’s the Miss Bella Hispanic Beauty Pageant, the Mass. Bar Assoc. House of Delegates Meeting, and the Central Mass. Pop Warner Cheerleading Competition. There’s also the Big Y Annual Services Award Dinner, the St. John’s Congregational Church Seasoned Saints Ministry Holiday Luncheon, the Northeast Canvas Products Assoc. and Conference, and the Commerce High School prom. Still to come, with just a month or so left in the fiscal year, is a meeting of the North American Grappling Assoc., the Kids of Character Awards, and a McDonald’s managers meeting.

All this comes on top of events most people already know about: Falcons and Armor games, the Affiliated Chambers’ annual trade show, the Bay Path College Women’s Leadership Conference, and a host of college commencements.

Hollander, who took over as GM in 2006, attributes both the volume and diversity of events to a broad mix of facilities — from small-meeting rooms to an arena that can seat more up to 8,000 people (6,700 for hockey); from a ballroom that can seat close to 1,000 to more than 40,000 square feet of exhibition space — but also to an aggressive sales team, an area that boasts several attractions, and the ability to build niches, such as a growing number of cheerleading and dance competitions that fill the downtown Springfield streets with young girls in sequined uniforms.

“These are events that people wouldn’t know about unless they were downtown those days, but they’re huge,” he said of the dance and cheerleading competitions, which draw hundreds of competitors, coaches, and family members to Springfield, usually for overnight stays. “They’re just one example of how we try to book events that will have a positive impact for us, but also for the community; a number of downtown businesses benefit when these events come to town.”

The same pattern is being followed at the Mullins Center on the campus of UMass Amherst, said Troy Flynn, general manager of that facility since last fall. He told BusinessWest that he has blended a number of university-related events — from sporting contests to the Taste of UMass — with a number of outside bookings, including a months-long series of meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses and concerts like the one featuring Carrie Underwood in March.

“The Jehovah’s Witnesses move in in June, and they stay till August,” he said, adding that the organization has weekly worship services that draw as many as 7,000 people and help area hotels. “We have other religious events, such as Acquire the Fire (Christian rock worship) in October, that blend nicely with student activity-related events that keep us busy all year round.”

The two venues give Global Spectrum, the Philadelphia-based public-assembly-facility management company a strong presence in the Western Mass. market and a unique opportunity to grow its book of business here. Rather than compete with one another, the facilities work in a complementary manner and combine to bring a wide array of groups to Western Mass. Some come for a few hours, and some for several days. Most importantly, however, most come back year after year.

For this issue, BusinessWest looks at Global Spectrum’s twin facilities in the Pioneer Valley, how they work to fill their calendars, and why their success creates opportunities for many area businesses.

Being Frank

Flynn says there was just one “casualty.”

By that, he meant only one competitor couldn’t keep down his body of work in the hot-dog-eating contest staged this spring at the Mullins Center. Otherwise, the event was a quite a success, although a little hard to watch, by his own admission.

There’s also been a chicken-wing-eating contest; that Taste of UMass, which featured a giant, 40-foot sushi roll; athletic events, including those for both UMass teams and other constituencies; concerts; and more, said Flynn, noting that, in this business, facility managers have to focus first on quality of events, which then creates quantity.

This is a corporate-wide philosophy, said Flynn, who cut his teeth at Philadelphia’s Spectrum (soon to be razed), where his father worked security for years, and where Troy started as change-over supervisor — transforming a basketball court into a hockey surface. He’s added lines to his résumé from work in locales ranging from Trenton, N.J. to Split, Croatia, where, while working for Global Spectrum Europe, he coordinated rounds of the world handball championships at the Spaladium Arena.

At UMass, he’s working to continue and expand efforts to add booking dates for university-related groups and programs, other area communities (several high-school commencements are slotted for June), and regional and national acts such as Carrie Underwood, Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco, and Daughtry in concert with Lifehouse and Cavo.

Hollander also brings a diverse CV to his position at the MassMutual Center. Prior to arriving there as assistant GM and eventually moving into the top spot, he was director of Operations for the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.; executive director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority in Valdosta, Ga.; and general manager of the University Center Auditorium at Florida Atlantic University, among other posts.

Through those experiences and his time in Springfield, he says he’s learned that there are several keys to success in this business. The first is to cast a wide net and not overlook any opportunities to fill in lines on calendar dates. This means taking prestigious events like college commencements and national ice shows, but also the giant liquidation sales (often booked last minute) that fill the exhibit hall and certainly help on the bottom line.

But while garnering new business is always a prerequisite for success in this sector, gaining repeat business is also a must, and this means providing quality customer service that brings a group back. Also key is developing a reputation for successfully staging certain kinds of events, he said, which has led to the MassMutual’s ability to book a number of dance and cheerleading competitions.

“If people are well taken care of, they’re far more likely to come back, and also talk about their experience with others,” he said. “That’s why, when teams and groups are here, we make sure that they are taken care of, and that every need and concern is addressed.”

This brings both Hollander and Flynn to the phrase ‘How You Doin?’ which doubles as Global Spectrum’s marketing slogan (it’s printed on posters in several places within both facilities) and its customer-service philosophy.

That question is asked early and often doing the course of a group’s event, said Flynn, adding that, by listening closely to the answers, the staffs at both venues can not only meet but exceed expectations, and thus drive repeat business.

Overall, the MassMutual Center has booked between 100 and 125 events in its arena in each of the past five years, which is a good number for this market and that size facility, he said, adding that he and his staff are helped by having two professional sports teams — the American Hockey League’s Falcons and the NBA Developmental League’s Armor — as well as several colleges and those aforementioned dance and cheerleader competitions.

Meanwhile, a similar number of events have been booked for the exhibition space, which can be subdivided in a number of ways, he explained, and thus can accommodate events of all sizes.

The goal with both the arena and the exhibition space is to take advantage of both the venue’s assets and the region’s strengths to not only stimulate bookings, but create long-term customers.

“The destination plays an important role with certain types of business, and the venue plays an important role with other kinds of business,” he explained. “With the cheer events, we find that the keys are accessibility — we’re easy to drive to, and the hotel rates are reasonable — and the services that we offer at the venue, as well as the fact that we have the exhibit hall to support the event in the case of the larger competitions.

“Those elements combine to make this attractive for those kinds of groups,” he continued. “When we get into convention marketing and that type of thing, the specific needs of the organizations and what they’re looking to achieve all play a part in where they go. And once they establish a relationship with a venue that’s been successful for them, they tend to be very loyal to the venue.”

Therefore, creating the experiences that trigger such loyalty is the unofficial job description for facility managers, said Flynn, who noted that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been coming back for several weeks of conventions for many years now, and are booked through 2016.

Gaining Traction

X-treme International Ice Racing isn’t the only motorsports event staged at the MassMutual Center. Indeed, the venue also plays host to an FMX, or freestyle motocross, competition, said Hollander, adding that the ice racing is the one that can get him and others to shake their heads.

There’s no word yet on whether the XiiR will be back for the next season, but the expectation is that it will. The races drew well, and, by most all accounts, the answers to the question ‘how you doing?’ were generally positive.

The formula for success in this highly competitive business is much more complicated than that, said Hollander and Flynn, but, in many ways, that’s what it boils down to.

George O’Brien can be reached

at[email protected]

Work of Arts

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Work of Arts
Features
Bing Restoration Project Takes a Major Step Forward
Work of Arts

Brian Hale says great strides have been made to breathe new life into the old Bing Theater.

Brian Hale remembers a time when a rainy Saturday would have packed all 900 seats in the Bing Theater on Sumner Avenue, near the city’s X.

“My friend and I came to see Day of the Triffids and Fun in Acapulco, with Elvis, and it was so crowded we couldn’t get seats even near each other,” he said. It might not have been those two movies that led them back to the defunct theater years later, but both men are now board members of The X Main Street Corp. (XMSC), which owns the rechristened Bing Arts Center.

With the sounds of hammers and saws punctuating the conversation, Hale told the story of how the 1930s gas station known as Cossaboom’s Service Station on Sumner Avenue was transformed into Forest Park’s portal to Tinseltown, and became the place to be for the postwar Baby Boomer generation. The future of the Bing Arts Center, he said, has just as an important a role for arts and culture in the city.

The big theater space out back is still far from a return to celluloid spectacles, but for now, the front section of the building is completely refurbished and has been slowly but steadily hosting arts-education classes, movie screenings, and, very soon, its inaugural arts show.

With a soft opening planned for June 5, Hale, board president of the XMSC, plans to introduce the community to what the XMSC calls “a place which will enable our citizens of all ages, ethnic groups, genders, orientation, and economic status to gather, experience, and build the unifying bonds of civilization and community that active participation in the arts can and will provide.

“I live a couple miles away from the Bing, and almost every time my wife and I drive to go to see a show somewhere, we drive right by the Bing,” he added. “We are not alone in thinking how important it is to have something to keep people here.”

Hale took BusinessWest on a tour of the Bing and, with opening day just a short while away, projected his plans and hopes for the future of art and culture not only for Forest Park, but for Springfield and the surrounding area.

X Marks the Spot

In the freshly-painted room destined to be an arts classroom, Hale described the early history of the Bing. “They turned the front of the building into two storefronts, built the theater on the back, and named it after Bing Crosby. It showed films from 1950 through 1999, opening with Samson and Delilah, and ending with the remake of Psycho. How’s that for a programming arc?” he said with a smile.

After 50 years, the city took over the property for non-payment of taxes, and the neighborhood theater’s house lights dimmed for the last time. Suffering from neglect and lax security, the building was fortunately spared the fate of many other defunct urban theaters.

“Honestly, though, I think the city would have torn it down if it had the money,” Hale said.

However, Springfield put forth an RFP for redevelopment of the site, and one interested party intended to transform the theater into an arts center, but the scope of the project was just too great.

In 2002, the XMSC took control of the project. A nonprofit entity that Hale described as one of many Main Street-type redevelopment organizations around the country, the group immediately saw the importance of the history, location, and potential of the Bing Theater.

“The X used to be a fantastic urban retail district,” native son Hale explained. “More than 26,000 people live in Forest Park alone, with another 4,000 to 5,000 in East Forest Park. If you draw a five-mile radius around the Bing, I don’t even know … it’s probably 60,000 people. And completely diverse, too — from Section 8 to millionaires, all ethnic groups.

“We knew that, to have a true community arts center in Springfield,” he continued, “this is the place.”

And so the XMSC “sunk its teeth” into the project, he said, and in true community fashion with help from residents of that neighborhood.

One of those people, who happened to be painting the interior that day with his crew, was Mark Checkwicz, owner of a high-end commercial painting and restoration company in the city. He is one of the many people generously donating his time, resources, and manpower to see the BAC open on time.

“He lives just down the street,” Hale said, “and has been involved with the project from the beginning.”

Which was a project of titanic proportions.

“The first winter we took the building,” Hale said, “literally the lobby floor was covered in ice, and there was a frozen waterfall cascading from the ceiling, which encased the electric panel. In order to make handicapped-accessible bathrooms in the front, we had to jackhammer out the slab floor.”

After installing entirely new HVAC and electrical systems, gut-framing and re-insulating the front section of the building, and assessing the non-structural damage to the large theater in back, Hale joked that his day job owning and operating Design Workshop in Indian Orchard might be supplanted by his role as de facto general contractor for the Bing.

Getting the front section of the BAC in shape is what he calls ‘phase one,’ allowing for gallery space, art-education classrooms, and a modest performance space that will ultimately serve as the lobby for phase two, the larger theater.

The first exhibit, with work from three well-known area artists, is titled “Upcycled: Transforming the Unused into the Inspirational.” Featuring found-object sculptures, Hale said it is definitely fitting for the first show.

Some concerts have been staged in the lobby/entryway area, and that space is destined to be the ad hoc theater showing first-run arthouse films some time after the June opening.

Walking around the finished gallery and front section of the Bing, Hale said, “I’d say that the scope of the project has exceeded my expectations by a factor of three.

“Previously, I had been thinking, maybe $100,000 could get the front open,” he continued. “But then again, we were going to try to reuse a lot of the systems — the heating and such.

“Then I had a conversation with Dave Panagore,” he continued, referring to then-chief financial officer of the Springfield control board, “and he said, ‘you’re just not going to get there if you don’t do it right. People will recognize the difference.’”

Altogether, the BAC renovation has come to just under $300,000, and Hale said, “I think we’ve done very well with that.”

Go Ahead, Make My Day

Hale doesn’t mince words when he assesses the importance of a cultural center for the neighborhood. “Arts education really is pathetic right now,” he said.

While the theater component to phase two is important, providing a venue for film and performance that will easily compete for first-rate offerings, Hale is most thrilled by the possibility for art and culture to come to the city’s newest generations.

“We’ve started a collaborative partnership with the White Street School, two blocks down, which had no art programs for the kids,” he explained. “So we started two classes, a movie-production class, and an art-through-many-cultures program on Saturdays.

“Some people go, ‘well, until you get the theater open, who cares?’” he continued. “Regularly, though, there will be art on the walls, there will be all-ages educational programming going on, performance programming, neighborhood groups can use the space for meetings. We want to support the neighborhood economically with this presence.”

Citing an untapped cultural presence in the city, Hale said that there’s “no ‘scene’ per se; there’s no hub for people to make contacts. I know some amazing visual artists here in the city, some musicians also. But they are low-profile because they go to Boston, or New York.”

The benefits from an arts center transcend the immediate function of movies and a gallery, he said.

“It’s the creative economy that is our best hope as a city,” he explained, “and it doesn’t require a great deal of money to make it happen. We’re not going to get big retail in this neighborhood; we’re not going to get large-scale manufacturing in the city.

“I’ve often referred to this as the ‘cool neighborhood program,’” he continued. “If you make this area culturally attractive, then you’ll get people who want to come here, spend money here, and live here.”

The Show Must Go On

While phase one opens the doors this month, the theater out back will have to wait a bit.

“People keep asking about the big room in the rear,” Hale said, “because everyone is just dying to know when we’ll get that open.”

Like a seasoned GC, Hale added, “I tell people, it’s not when, it’s how much. It’s all about the dollars. If we had the money, we could have it open in about a year, but we’re working on the actual plans, thanks to the pro bono work of a well-known local architect. Hopefully by summer we can have those finished so we can put a budget to it.”

The XMSC hired a fund-development firm, the Hedgepeth Group, to assist with that capital campaign. Word will soon be out on the target figure for that project.

Hale estimates that the total bill will be anywhere from $3 million to $5 million, but that is a turnkey look at the theater, programming, and all expenses necessary to get the show back on the screen and on the stage.

For the more immediate future, the BAC is up and beginning to fill that expressed void as a catalyst for an increased art presence in the city.

“It’s a missing piece here in the city,” Hale said proudly, “but it’s finally falling into place.”

What Bonding Companies Find Important

By
Uncategorized
You Don?t Need a Crystal Ball to Figure Out What They?re Thinking

Construction companies need the support of their bonding company to sustain the growth of their business. As a result of the current economic realities of the construction industry, bonding companies are spending more time scrutinizing the viability of their clients’ financial future and operations before issuing a bond.

Here are the 10 topics you need to be prepared to address the next time you sit down with your surety agent.

1. Banking covenants. Bonding companies want to know that you are satisfying the covenants as outlined in your loan or line of credit documents. If you’re not meeting the covenants, you need to talk to your banker about rewriting the covenants or developing a strategy for meeting them. Bonding companies get concerned when they see that construction companies are not meeting their banking covenants.

In fact, this could result in an immediate end to a line of credit or an immediate call for repayment of a loan. Needless to say, without access to financing, some construction companies couldn’t afford to complete their work in progress. In the end, bonding companies want to see a positive working relationship with your lending institution.

2. Accounts receivable. Your accounts-receivable aging report will be examined throughout the year. What are bonding companies looking for? They want to make sure that you’re being paid for your work, and you have business systems, policies, and procedures in place to track and encourage timely payments. Before starting work for a customer, perform enough due diligence that would lead you and your bonding company to believe you’ll get paid for your work.

3. Accounts payable. Pay your bills in a timely fashion. Bonding companies assume that, if you’re not paying your bills in a timely fashion, you either don’t have the resources to do so, or you have weak internal business systems. Either way, that’s bad news.

4. Backlog. In construction, it’s all about the backlog. Really, whether you are an accounting firm, law office, or a construction company, a backlog of work secures the future of your business. The longer the backlog, the more confidence bonding companies will have in your business, and the more likely they are to insure the completion of your work. Keep in mind that bonding companies will look at more than the total number of jobs backlogged; they’ll look for the number of profitable jobs.

5. Strategic business plan. We all get distracted by today’s challenges, but taking the time to write a strategic business plan is good for the future of your business. And that’s just what bonding companies are concerned about — the future of your business. What are your short-term, mid-range and long-term goals, and what is your strategy for achieving them? Write them down. A good strategic business plan includes timelines and benchmarks to measure progress. If your bonding company comes in for a visit and asks to see your strategic business plan, be ready to share a thoroughly prepared document.

6. Profitable and cost-controlled work. Your bonding company wants to know that your jobs are profitable and that costs can be controlled as shifts in the market demand. So be prepared to show how you plan to profit from your work and control costs. In addition, if market conditions change, you need to have a plan in place to adjust. Take a proactive approach to challenges by implementing smart solutions on a timely basis.

7. Equipment. Equipment represents a major investment for most construction companies. The patterns of acquisition and disposition of equipment tell the bonding company a story. Be ready to discuss the reasons why you are either acquiring or disposing of equipment. If you’re stuck supporting debt for idle equipment, there may be creative ideas you could explore to turn idle equipment into a revenue source. Discuss strategies like this with your surety agent.

8. Loans from owners. As an owner of any business, when times are tough, you may have to loan your company money to help it through a temporarily challenging time. Don’t be surprised if loans you make to your company get subordinated to other obligations of the company and require approval from your surety before you get paid back. As an aside, be sure to consult with your accountant and attorney before loaning money to your company; there may be tax benefits or implications that deserve additional discussion.

9. Indemnity. Personal and spousal indemnity is becoming commonplace, especially if your surety agent considers a particular job to be a stretch for your company. Your bonding company sees more risk associated when you do work outside of your areas of expertise. With additional risk comes additional indemnity. If this sounds like you, be prepared to discuss why your company can meet its obligations even outside its areas of expertise.

10. Unexpected taxes. If your construction company (structured as a C-corporation) has adopted the completed contract basis of accounting for tax purposes, you may not be in a position to defer taxes to next year without a sizeable backlog. As backlogs at some construction companies aren’t so large, this could mean that those deferred taxes are payable now. Unanticipated, this could place significant strain on cash flow. Even if your deferred tax is at the individual level, as is the case with a flow-through entity, be prepared to discuss this issue with your surety agent.

Surety agents can be supportive in helping you grow your construction business. That being said, in higher-risk environments, they’ll need additional and more detailed information about you and your business.

Take a proactive approach in developing a positive working relationship with your surety agent. Get together throughout the year. Share your success stories and your challenges. Tell your surety agent what your company is doing to improve business processes and procedures, and what strategies you’ve put into place to control costs and become more profitable. When you and your surety agent are on the same page, that’s good for business. n

Joseph Spagnoletti, CPA, CCIFP is partner in charge of the Construction Services Group at Kostin, Ruffkess & Co., LLC, a certified public-accounting and business-advisory firm with offices in Springfield as well as Farmington and New London, Conn. Beyond traditional accounting, auditing, and tax consulting, the firm also specializes in employee benefit-plan audits, litigation support, business valuation, succession-planning business consulting, forensic accounting, wealth management, estate planning, fraud prevention, and information technology assurance;www.kostin.com.

Star Quality

By
Star Quality
Features
Slice California Caf? Looks to Rock in a Resurgent Holyoke
Star Quality

Chuck Hebler believes in the revitalization of Holyoke, and hopes Slice can be a part of it.

Chuck Hebler toured with some of the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll. Today, he wants to be part of something big in Holyoke.

“We were one of the first backstage caterers that toured with bands back in the 1980s. We would go from city to city with a band,” said Hebler, who first prepared meals for musicians on the Rolling Stones’ Steel Wheels tour in 1989 and followed that with the U.S. tours of the Beastie Boys and Nirvana, among many others.

Hebler left the road in 1997 to settle down in his native Berkshires, opening the successful Napa restaurant in Lenox. But he was eventually drawn to downtown Holyoke — specifically, the growing Open Square development in a row of former mill buildings — where he opened Slice California Café last year, serving and delivering breakfast and lunch, with an eye to expanding to dinner service in the future.

“The goal is to take this from an obscure café in an obscure area and develop it into a Napa,” he said. “I want people to appreciate what I’m doing here and expand it as Holyoke expands.

“I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time,” he added. “Open Square will develop over the next 10 years, and we’re going to be part of that development.”

As part of its annual Restaurant Guide, BusinessWest takes a look at Hebler’s former life on the road and his plans for the future in a city he believes in.

That’s Entertainment

Hebler grew up around show business; his family did prop and wardrobe trailer rentals for ABC Studios in Los Angeles, and he spent a lot of time on TV sets.

“I saw the caterers on set, and I got interested in catering, the backstage side of it,” he told BusinessWest. But after graduating from culinary school, he turned to a different side of entertainment, cultivating opportunities to tour with rock bands as their backstage caterer, beginning with the Stones.

He wasn’t working directly for bands, but for production managers who represented a host of acts — and once that relationship was established, the sky was the limit. Hebler collected plenty of memories during those years, and also an appreciation for the professionalism of the artists who sat at his table.

“Mick Jagger liked steamed whitefish, steamed rice, steamed vegetables,” he said. “Red wine and white wine, but nothing in excess. He was super fit and had a personal trainer” — not surprising for someone who has since fronted a rock band well past middle age. Hebler also praised Jagger’s bandmate Keith Richards as “the nicest performer and most sincere person I worked with. He notices everyone, and he’s one of the truly genuine people.”

But he had similar words for a host of other artists — Billy Joel, Elton John, Kurt Cobain, Jerry Garcia, David Bowie, and Carlos Santana among them — and said most veteran stars are far more human, easygoing, and grateful than their public image might suggest. He recalled staying late after a Fleetwood Mac concert for an after-show dinner, and Christine McVie sent his staff a case of shirts and hats as thanks. “It’s 99% fun stories,” he said.

“Everyone in the industry realizes that, to keep your success and longevity, it humbles you. To hold on to what you have, I believe that humbles you. As soon as you start acting like, ‘hey, I’m a rock star,’ then you’re fading, you’re a one-hit wonder.”

On the contrary, the artists he worked with tended to be down-to-earth, Hebler said, remembering how Neil Diamond — sans toupee, cigar in hand, wearing a robe and Gucci slippers — would come around and ask, “Chuckie, what are we having for dinner tonight?”

When he wasn’t touring, he had plenty of opportunities to cater individual shows in the LA area, as well as for companies like Universal Studios and Western Digital.

But when Hebler’s daughter was ready to start kindergarten, he wanted to shift gears and settle down to a more consistent lifestyle. So in 1997 — following a catering gig at the 30th-anniversary Woodstock festival in New York — he bought a building in Lenox and turned it into Napa.

Taste of California

“We wanted to have some stability,” he said, and he found it — along with success, in the form of steady business at Napa for 12 years (with $1 million annually in sales) and an A rating from Zagat.

Napa was a medium-priced restaurant, with entrees selling between $14 and $26, and characterized by the California cuisine he was taught on the left coast. “It’s things like fresh salsas, avocados, seafood items, Cal-Tex food — which is Mexican-style food with a California twist — and regional foods.”

In fact, the emphasis on local foods that characterizes many restaurants in Western Mass. is a trend that began in California in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Hebler said, and it’s an ethos echoed in the Berkshires, as well as the Pioneer Valley.

“This region is amazing for its resources for local meats and local produce,” he said, adding that he’s in the process of choosing a local family farm with which to partner on vegetables for Slice. When his venture expands to a dinner menu, he hopes to get as much pork, beef, and chicken locally as possible, too. “I really want to be that kind of restaurant.”

But he also wanted to be part of something bigger. And when John Aubin, owner of Open Square, pitched him an open space, he was intrigued by the possibilities.

“He explained the area and what’s going on down here, and it was exciting. It seemed like something that was really starting to take off,” Hebler said, citing developments like the coming high-performance computing center and other ongoing efforts to breathe new life to the nation’s first planned industrial city.

“John has a vision, and we’re part of that vision,” Hebler said. “We’re trying to live the Open Square dream, so to speak.”

And he believes that small steps can make a big difference in a city, citing the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, whose redevelopment was a catalyst to bring the whole downtown to life. He sees similar potential in the ongoing restoration of Holyoke’s Victory Theatre.

“When that happens,” he said, “you’ll see a nice flow of customers from outside Holyoke, and I think that’s going to be beneficial to this whole area, and more restaurants will start popping up — maybe even restaurants that are tired of paying huge leases in Northampton, and want come be a part of what’s emerging here.”

He doesn’t think Holyoke will ever replace what Northampton brings to the region culturally and culinarily, but he believes its story might mirror what happened in the Paradise City, which was lined with empty storefronts only a generation ago.

“This would be such a complement to Northampton,” he said, “and everything in between is some of the best real estate in Massachusetts, and a great lifestyle.”

And Hebler is feeding those taking part in that rebirth, offering soups, sandwiches, burgers, salads, quesadillas, and daily specials ranging from pot roast to baby-back ribs — all marked by that emphasis on fresh ingredients he learned long ago in California.

Rocker at Heart

Hebler hasn’t sworn off the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle forever. Since settling in Massachusetts, he’s catered one-off shows for the likes of Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, and Bruce Springsteen — not to mention the Pope during his visit to Giants Stadium — and was offered a gig on the last Red Hot Chili Peppers tour.

He turned that down, choosing instead to continue focusing on cooking locally. But, having maintained connections with tour managers in New York and Boston, he doesn’t rule out future possibilities.

“You never know,” he said. “I could become a delinquent again. My midlife crisis.”

For the time being, “I want to develop this into something nice,” he said of Slice. “We have our great little breakfasts, lunches, and lattes, but that’s just the beginning. We need to keep on our game.”

Sales were adequate to sustain the endeavor over the first year, and as the customer base grows through word of mouth, Hebler is cautiously looking to the future — not just of Slice, but of Open Square and the vitality it could lend to this city.

“We have a seed in the ground, and we’re expecting it to grow,” he said. “No one knows what will happen next, but it’s been a pleasant surprise so far.”

For those invested in Holyoke’s future — both literally and figuratively — that’s a slice of good news indeed.

Joseph Bednar can be reached

at[email protected]

Landmark Decisions

By
Landmark Decisions
Features
AIC Becomes Preferred Developer for Mason Square Revitalization Effort
Landmark Decisions

An architect’s rendering of the potential re-use of the Mason Square fire house.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno calls the architect’s rendering of the proposed redevelopment of the Mason Square fire station and adjoining structures “stunning.”

And he’s right.

Drafted by Centerbrook Architects in Centerbrook, Conn., the rendering depicts the fire station, vacant since the mid-’80s, as a center of activity and commerce. “It lights up the whole area,” Sarno said of the facility in the image, which will feature a cyber café; the American International College radio station, WAIC; and other campus facilities. “That fire station could become the iconic building that epitomizes continued redevelopment of the State Street corridor.”

Sarno, like other elected officials, knows it’s not wise to get carried away with slick renderings of redevelopment projects that may never materialize, but in this case, he’s apparently done exactly that. And he chalks it up to his excitement with what could happen in Mason Square now that AIC has been granted what’s known as preferred-developer status for a complex that includes the fire station and the adjacent former Indian Motocycle building.

The college now has 135 days to do some additional due diligence on the parcels in question and decide whether — and perhaps how — to proceed, said John Short, AIC’s vice president for Institutional Advancement, who acknowledged that it may be a while before anything remotely resembling what’s depicted in the rendering becomes reality. But he told BusinessWest that this scene could become reality if that assessment period ends with positive reports and the college is confident it can acquire the funding for the initiative.

“There’s a lot that we have to look at, and it could all come together,” he said. “We’re trying to continue what Congressman Neal has done [the federal courthouse project and extensive streetscape work along the corridor] and what the city has done in terms of revitalizing the area. I think this would be a huge step; this could be very exciting.”

The properties in question are known as Indian Motocycle A, Indian Motocycle B, and the Mason Square Fire Station, as designated in the request for proposals (RFP) issued late last fall. AIC’s was the only proposal submitted.

It calls for development of all three properties, meaning the undertaking of needed improvements to parcel A and bringing more housing units onto the market in the occupied portion of the former manufacturing complex; finding new uses for parcel B, which has some environmental issues; and brining new life to the long-dormant fire station.

MassHousing owns parcel A, while the city of Springfield controls B and the former fire station, said John Judge, chief economic development director for the city, adding that the two entities partnered in the RFP to present a larger, more-attractive development opportunity.

For AIC, the project represents an opportunity to expand and enhance its facilities, while also taking a lead role in revitalization efforts in Mason Square and the broader State Street corridor, said Short. Meanwhile, for the city, the project represents a chance to find a remedy for property that has been a source of continual frustration for nearly 30 years.

And if AIC does proceed as planned, it will represent only the latest example of how area colleges have become engines of economic development, as Sarno called them, in neighborhoods across the Valley.

“We’re playing to our strength, our colleges and universities,” said the mayor, noting that several schools, from UMass Amherst to Westfield State College to Springfield Technical Community College and others, have played pivotal roles in efforts to revitalize neighborhoods and create jobs.

Sarno said that, early in his first term (he was elected in 2007), he saw first-hand the impact Trinity College had on revitalization efforts in Hartford through public-private partnerships, and committed himself to duplicating such efforts in Springfield.

UMass Amherst’s plans to locate one of its departments in Court Square is an example of such redevelopment, he said, while AIC’s RFP submission could change the face of another neighborhood. And the real hope, expressed by all those involved, is that, if AIC’s proposal becomes reality, it spurs additional activity along the State Street corridor.

Plans are still quite preliminary, said Short, adding that they are likely to become more firm over the next few months.

Key elements of the proposal involve continuing the current mix of housing in parcel A (involving area residents and some overflow student housing) and bringing more units onto the market, especially market-rate units. In B, several options will be considered, said Judge, including more housing and perhaps incubator space that may complement existing startup space at STCC.

As for the fire station, plans for the cyber café are preliminary, said Short, citing the apparent need for such a facility — on the campus and in the community. The school’s radio station and other Communications Department programs could go on the second floor, while a host of options will be considered for the third, which features some dramatic views of of downtown Springfield and Mason Square.

Like parcel B, the fire station has some environmental issues, said Short, adding that, by the end of the due-diligence period, the school should know if they can be overcome.

Preliminary price tags are only guesstimates, Short continued, adding that the fire-station portion of the project alone could reach $4 million to $5 million.

The school will obviously need to tap into a number of funding sources to meet that cost and others associated with the project said Short, and finding those sources is part of the due-diligence process.

“What people have to remember is that we’re a college; we’re a nonprofit. We don’t have a lot of money, and we’re not a private real-estate developer,” he told BusinessWest. “One of the issues with parcel A has been companies coming in, taking large fees out on the front side of the deal, getting tax credits over a period of time, and then they stop taking care of the building; that’s happened several times over the past 25 years.

“We’re not in that position,” he continued, “so we have to do this in partnership with the city and with the state, and find sources of money that make it economically feasible for the college to do.”

In other words, no one can say with any certainty whether the architect’s rendering that has so intrigued the mayor will become reality, but it’s clear that it represents by far the best hope for the Mason Square area in some time.

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook Departments

Big Y Announces New Store in Eastern Mass.
SPRINGFIELD — Big Y Foods Inc. has announced plans to open a World Class Market in Milford/Hopedale, Mass. The proposed 55,000-square-foot supermarket will be located at South Main Street (Route 140) just south of the Courtland Street intersection. The 25-acre site is partly in the town of Hopedale and partly in Milford, and is scheduled to be the subject of rezoning articles at the annual town meetings in both communities. Topsfield Development Associates will be developing the overall project, including approvals and construction. Other contemplated tenants at the site include a 40,000-square-foot medical building, a 150-seat restaurant, 7,500 square feet of additional retail, and a bank. Milford/
Hopedale will be Big Y’s 59th store and will represent an investment of between $15 and $17 million in the community. An early 2012 opening is expected.

Hampden Bancorp Reports Q3 Results
SPRINGFIELD — Hampden Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Hampden Bank, recently announced the results of operations for the three months and nine months ended March 31, 2010. The company had a net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2010 of $143,000, or $0.02 per basic and fully diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $57,000, or $0.01 per basic and fully diluted share, for the same period in 2009. The decrease in net income was primarily due to an increase in the provision for loan losses of $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009. The increase in the provision for loan losses is due to increases in loan delinquencies, non-accrual loans, and impaired loans; growth in the loan portfolio; and general economic conditions. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2010, net interest income increased by $521,000 compared to the three-month period ended March 31, 2009. Non-interest income, including net gains on sales of securities and loans, increased by $88,000 compared to the three-month period ended March 31, 2009. For the nine months ended March 31, 2010, the company had a net loss of $975,000, or $0.15 per basic and fully diluted share, as compared to net income of $180,000, or $0.03 per basic and fully diluted share, for the same period in 2009. The decrease in net income was primarily due to an increase in the provision for loan losses of $2.9 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009. The increase in the provision for loan losses is due to increases in loan delinquencies, non-accrual loans, and impaired loans; growth in the loan portfolio; and general economic conditions. There was also an increase in non-interest expense of $995,000 for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009. The company’s total assets increased $10.2 million, or 1.8%, from $567.7 million at June 30, 2009 to $577.8 million at March 31, 2010. Net loans, including loans held for sale, increased $22.5 million, or 5.8%, to $410 million at March 31, 2010, and securities decreased $3 million, or 2.6%, from $116.1 million to $113.1 million as of March 31, 2010. Cash and cash equivalents decreased $10.9 million, or 30%, to $25.4 million at March 31, 2010. Deposits increased $29.9 million, or 7.8%, to $411.4 million at March 31, 2010 from $381.5 million at June 30, 2009. The company also announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per common share, payable on May 28, 2010 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 14, 2010.

Wolf & Co. Supports
Big Brothers Big Sisters
SPRINGFIELD — Wolf & Co., P.C. supported Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County again this year by sponsoring the Bowl for Kids’ Sake. Wolf teams comprised of 63 Wolf bowlers, as well as additional employees who participated in other fund-raising activities, raised more than $10,000 to support Big Brothers Big Sisters programs in the Springfield area.

Charter Oak Partners with Whole Children of Hadley
HOLYOKE — Charter Oak Insurance and Financial Services Co. recently announced that it has formed a three-year charitable relationship with Whole Children, a Hadley-based nonprofit that provides recreational, social, and enrichment programs for children and teens of all abilities, and especially those with special needs. In the initial year of the relationship, Charter Oak will give $10,000 to Whole Children in support of a new program that focuses on helping teens with special needs transition to adulthood. The company will also participate in events to raise funds for a wheelchair-accessible van for Whole Children’s students. Financial support from Charter Oak comes from the agency’s charitable arm, the Charter Oak Fund, and is part of a larger community-outreach strategy benefiting children, particularly those with special needs, in the agency’s three major markets of Western Mass., Central/Eastern Conn., and Southern Conn.

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies Departments

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

Armstrong, Susan Vee
186 Munson St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Ayala, Lorenza Nivia
165 East Main St., Apt. 410
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Barnes, Sigmund C.
66 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Barr, Benjamin J.
54 Riverboat Village Road
SouthHadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Bassett, Raymond T.
56 Oak Dr.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Bernier, Christopher Taylor
Bernier, Christina Lee
346 Newhouse St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Bertelli, Christopher
2 Athens St.
EastLongmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Blanchard, Mark D.
30 Hall St. Apt. #1
NorthAdams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Bliven, William
Bliven, Melissa C.
Noyes-Bliven, Melissa C.
Noyesbliven, Melissa
51 Beech St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Boardman, Leah D.
a/k/a Peiffer, Leah D.
23 Soda Springs Creek Dr.
Sheffield, MA 01257
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Boehm, Kathleen E.
194 Draper St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Bristol, Matthew
Bristol, Tammy
a/k/a King, Tammy L.
163 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Broman, James E.
1368 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Buturla, Douglas J.
Buturla, Linda M.
a/k/a Archangeli, Linda M.
32 Locke Ave.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

C & D Towing
Bishop, David M.
Bishop, Corinne M.
21 Leroy Court
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Camara, Kathleen M.
112 L St., Apt. C
TurnersFalls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Canning, Donna M.
a/k/a Ryan, Donna M.
a/k/a Burns, Donna M.
377 Walnut Hill Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Carr, Christopher Ryan
Wallinovich, Amy
a/k/a Carr, Amy
5 Crane Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Carroll, Michele A.
15A Hampshire Heights
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Clegg, Robert M.
87 Pleasant St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Clinton, Deborah
103 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Cold Springs Electrical
Moren, Norman S.
332 Rockrimmon St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Colon, Eulogio
Colon, Maribel
106 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Costello, Carol A.
21 Hitchcock Ave.
P.O. Box 599
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Courchesne, William C.
34 Carpentier Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Cruz, Jason M
157 Savoy Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Daley, Valerie Ann
82 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Deane, Timothy P.
13 Center St.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

DeJesus, Cheryl A.
778 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01021
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Derby, Jennifer R.
28 Melbourne Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Design Solutions
Mueller, Anita Marie
8 South St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Desilets, Celia F.
68 Franklin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Desrosiers, Gene G.
28 Shepard Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Destromp, Brian H.
53 Grove St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Dieppa, Nicole
14 Fontaine St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Dintzner Electric, LLC
Salon Perfections, LLC
Pyramid Properties
Dintzner, Michael V.
Dintzner, Theresa A.
163 South Westfield St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Dove, Derek
17 Library St.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Edwards, Jeffrey F.
P.O. Box 45
West Warren, MA 01092
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Ellis, Alicia Eldica
284B High St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Facto, Glen R.
1 Gross Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Flores, Juan E.
Flores, Antonia I.
57 Lawler St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Gagnon, Eric A.
20 Williams St.
Chester, MA 01011
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Gary, Marion C.
672 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Gaudette, Eric R.
P.O. Box 521
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Gauthier, Edward
38 Colorado St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Gilboy, James W.
P.O.Box 172
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Godbout, Kathleen A.
69 Lathrop St.
Unit 19-8
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Godere, Stanley G.
13-15 Felix St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Gordzelewski, Loretta Joan
369 Beacon Circle
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Goudreau, Brian P.
Goudreau, Tracy L.
41 Bellevue Dr.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Green, Eric D.
21 Frederick St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Hastings, Martin W.
Hastings, Celia M.
2 Cheney St. Ext.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Hebert, Brian E.
152 Gilbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Hlava, Wallace
Goldstein, Lenore Sue
7 Lyman Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Hoel, Ketill
342 Park St.
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Hume, Stephen A.
549 Russell Road, #7D
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Isabelle, Robert W.
Isabelle, Mary J.
15 Editha Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Ivanov, Dmitriy
Ivanova, Natalya
93 Noble St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Jackowitz, Michael L.
Jackowitz, Jennifer E.
12C Boyden Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Jean, Raymond J.
153 West River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Kane, Matthew J.
20 Partridge Lane
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Kochan, Stephen L.
Kochan, Jennifer L.
21 Union St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Krause, Alison J.
51 Josephine St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Kubik, Jonathan Edward
48 Jones Ferry Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Kumiega, Kimberly L.
a/k/a LaPlante, Kimberly L.
105 Erin Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Laferriere, Raymond Jacques
Laferriere, Lorna Ann
116 Wachusett St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/18/10

Lapa, Jessica
140 Joy St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Laporte, Diane M.
5 Danaher Circle
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Larouche, Gregory Allen
Larouche, Kristin Elizabeth
577 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Lauer, Robert E.
36 Isaac Bradway Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

LeClair, Darryl J.
1403 Worcester St.
IndianOrchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Lepper, Thomas A.
Lepper, Margaret R.
756 Shaker Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Loncrini, Teresa
387 Allen St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Mack, Nicole E.
163 Sarty Road
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

MacLure, Robert H.
61 Bay State Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Maggard, John B.
397 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Maloney, Patrick M.
55 Coffey Hill Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Marquis, Andrew Roland
Marquis, Esther Shirley
233 Park St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Marshall, Clayton C.
Marshall, Colette A.
1790 South Main Road
Otis, MA 01253
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Matos, Janice Ivette
66 White Birch Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

McDonell, Kevin Michael
18 Pinebrook Circle
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Melendez, Carmen
a/k/a Almodovar, Carmen
6 Gerard Way, # J
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Miller-Facto, Sheryl J.
1 Gross Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Mitchell, Shane L.
Mitchell, Julie A.
29 East St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Morales, Jorge A.
Morales, Luzgarda
56 Everett St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Morin, Michael
23 Atkins St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Morrissette, Tracy M.
96 Highland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Moynahan, John Richard
Moynahan, Linda Carol
442 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Natale, Katherine Marie
11 Mulberry St.
Leeds, MA 01053
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Nentwig, Jeffrey E.
28 Wells Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/27/10

O’Connell, Martin W.
24 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Oles, Everett C.
Oles, Jane A.
73 Smith St.
Williamstown, MA 01267
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Parker, George D.
Parker, Karen M.
25 Thayer Road
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Paulin, Becky M.
43 Depot St.
P.O. Box 36
Bernardston, MA 01337
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Pena, Yazmin
38 Edmund Wynne Circle
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Petersen, Jason Frederick
Petersen, Maranda
a/k/a Hanks, Maranda
14 Bromley Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Pettengill, Audrey
68 Court St., 3rd Fl.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Prattis, Susan M.
27 Hisgen Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Pronovost, Susan M.
89 Pennslyvania Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Quist, John W.
19 Oldwood Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Rainaud, Mary K.
10 Elm St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Rankins, Kevin E.
Rankins, Gwen C.
102 South Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Rivera, Nilsa
1059 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Rivera, Ramon
103 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Rodriguez, Bellamar
67 Northbridge St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Roncarati, Lynndia
309 Parker St.
EastLongmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Roy, Real Gilles
Roy, Diane Patricia
17 Stuyvesant St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Santiago, Yarelys
69 Edbert St., Apt. K
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Savoie, Scott A.
111 Myrtle St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Schabot, Raymond T.
Schabot, Barbara S.
52 Stratford Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Self, Shannon Lynn
12 Norman St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Selin, Gina M.
a/k/a Willoughby, Gina
135 Spring St., Apt 2B
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Sicard, Jody
44 Hillside Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Siedel, John C.
Siedel, Crystal D.
30 Carlton Ave
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Sokul, Joseph William
Sokul, Sandra Gale
37 Pike Road West
Sheffield, MA 01257
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Sorel, Peter Roland
284 Hermitage Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Stone, Lisa J
84 Riverview Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Stoops, Krista J.
232 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Szczepanski, Elizabeth
315 Wilbraham Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Szczepanski, Mark
315 Wilbraham Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Thibault, Rachel Lea
45 North East St. #2
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/29/10

Thomas, Donna M.
71 Quincy St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Torres, Freddy
a/k/a Quinones, Freddie
Torres, Madelyn
a/k/a Figueroa-Torres, Madelyn
35 Hazelhurst Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Tremblay, Jody Lynn
a/k/a Normoyle, Jody L.
75 Cabot St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Tremblay, Michael John
75 Cabot St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Tyler, Corinne P.
a/k/a Trevallion-Tyler, Corinne P.
30 Coventry Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/23/10

Vadeboncoeur, Kevin
38 Rapalus St.
IndianOrchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/20/10

Vazquez, Daniel V
13 Norfolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Webber, Charles A.
Webber, Edna A.
954 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Wensley, Robert J.
Wensley, Holly C.
a/k/a Schnepp, Holly C.
617 Parker St.
EastLongmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Wheeler, Kevin M.
26 Olmsted Dr.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/19/10

Wiggins, James D.
Wiggins, Julia A.
16 Haumont Ter.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/22/10

Williams, Cesira L.
I Union Ave., Apt. 1
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/27/10

Williams, Cynthia M.
170 Meadowbrook Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Williams, Warren W.
170 Meadowbrook Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 04/21/10

Yolish, David B.
Sargent-Yolish, Anne M.
7 Crocker Ave.
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Zabielski, Diana Marie
147 Sunset Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/16/10

Zanga, Jason A.
Zanga, Kathleen C.
a/k/a Stone, Kathleen
272 Sanders St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/26/10

Ziviak, Stella
81 Maryland St
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/28/10

Building Permits

By
Building Permits Departments
The following building permits were issued during the month of May 2010.

AGAWAM

Genesis Health Ventures
67 Cooper St.
$20,000 — Revise exterior ramp layout to accommodate deliveries at dialysis center

Southgate Plaza
858 Suffield St.
$25,000 — Minor renovations for building-code upgrade

AMHERST

Pioneer Valley Living Care
1 Spencer Dr.
$15,000 — Renovations

Town of Amherst Recreation
95 Montague Road
$36,000 — Roof replacement at Mill River recreation area

CHICOPEE

Charles Heath
650 Memorial Dr.
$530,000 — Renovation of the retail sales area and the tire-installation area

P.N.C.U.
46 Main St.
$23,000 — Construction of a file room on the second floor

W.A.C.E
326 Chicopee St.
$13,000 — Strip and re-roof

GREENFIELD

James W. Renaud
269 Federal St.
$3,450 — Remove and replace roof

Mark S. Donoghue
500 Main St.
$7,000 — Exterior renovations

HOLYOKE

Friendly’s Realty II, LLC
1745 Northampton St.
$22,000 — New roof and windows

NORTHAMPTON

Atwood Drive LLC
Atwood Dr.
$15,000 — Remove and replace six Verizon antenna panels

Christ United Methodist Church
271 Rocky Hill Road
$5,000 — New bell display tower

Colvest Northampton, LLC
327 King St.
$15,000 – Remove and replace six Verizon antenna panels

Winston Bennett LLC
142 Main St.
$1,500 — Add small room off existing office

Wright Builders
8 Moser St.
$70,000 — Construct four unit townhouses, foundation only

SOUTH HADLEY

Depetrillo Realty
775 New Ludlow Road
$18,000 — New windows

Mt. Holyoke College
1-3 Bridgeman Lane
$12,000 — Renovations

SOUTHWICK

The Shepard Corporation
320 College Highway
$137,500 — Self-storage units

SPRINGFIELD

BTA Group
1090 St. James Ave.
$84,000 — Tenant fit up

John Salema
1287 Page St.
$43,500 — Cosmetic remodel

Mass Development
1550 Main St.
$2,577,000 — Replace first-floor storefront, and interior and exterior improvements

MassMutual
1295 State St.
$200,000 — New roofing system

Picknelly Family, LLC
1414 Main St.
$42,000 — Renovations of fifth floor

United Bank
800 West Columbus St.
$13,000 — New ATM machine in front lobby

WEST SPRINGFIELD

380 Union St. Properties, LLC
380 Union St.
$15,000 — Add three antennas to telephone tower

First Hartford Realty Corp.
1106 Union St.
$750,000 — Alterations for supermarket

Scaper, LLC
120 Interstate Dr.
$2,500 — Add three antennas to telephone tower

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

Home Sales Rise in April
SPRINGFIELD — Home sales in the Pioneer Valley increased 23.4% in April, from 299 to 369, over the same month in 2009. The median price brought by those homes, however, fell slightly by 1.1%, from $182,000 in April 2009 to $180,000 last month. In Hampden County, sales were up 20.1%, from 214 in April 2009 to 257 in April 2010, while in Hampshire County, sales were up 17.5%, from 63 homes in April 2009 to 74 last month. And in Franklin County, sales were up 72.7%, from 22 to 38.

Business Confidence Index Rises Slightly
BOSTON — The Associated Industries of Mass. Business Confidence Index rose seven-tenths of a point in April to 47.5, 12.1 above its level in April 2009. “Progress continues to be slow, with setbacks along the way, but there’s no doubt that 12 gains in 14 months represents a trend toward recovery,” said Raymond G. Torto, global chief economist at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. and chair of AIM’s board of economic advisors (BEA). “Respondents to our survey remain notably more positive about business conditions for their own operations than about the general business climate in Massachusetts and the nation.” Torto noted that AIM members rate business conditions within the Commonwealth slightly better than those prevailing nationally. “This has been true consistently throughout the recession and now as we head into recovery,” he said. “The Massachusetts economy has by no means escaped the full impact of the downturn, but some other states have fared much worse, and we have significant assets, such as our education system and research base, that provide a strong foundation for recovery.” The AIM Index was 2.6 points below its level in April 2008, when it was last above 50 (neutral), and off 6.4 over three years. The highest reading in its 18-year-plus history was 68.5, attained on two occasions in 1997-98; its all-time low was 33.3 in February 2009. The Massachusetts Index of conditions within the Commonwealth added 3.6 points in April to 44.2, as the U.S. Index of national conditions gained 1.7 points to 40.6. “A plurality of survey respondents [52%] put in-state conditions in the ‘average’ range, but only 9% called them ‘good,’” said Fred Breimyer, regional economist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a BEA member. “Even for six months out [October], only 24% foresaw positive general business conditions in Massachusetts, and the national number [21%] was lower — so this shapes up as a slow recovery from a long recession.”

Lighthouse Celebrates Silver Anniversary
SPRINGFIELD — Members of the Lighthouse community, supporters, mental-health advocates, and community leaders gathered to celebrate the organization’s silver anniversary on May 12 at the Springfield Sheraton Monarch Place Hotel. The anniversary celebration featured remarks from Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, city of Springfield Equal Opportunity Officer Daniel Hall, and Lighthouse members who highlighted the significant impact that the organization has made on the city and region. In fiscal year 2010 alone, Lighthouse members earned $13.2 million in wages and contributed significantly to the local and statewide economies. Established in 1985 by Human Resources Unlimited, Lighthouse is an internationally accredited and certified rehabilitation organization. Lighthouse supports men and women who are recovering from mental illness by helping them return to work, school, and their community.

SHA and Partners Open New Health Care Center for Forest Park Seniors
SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Housing Authority (SHA) has joined forces with area health care, civic, and nonprofit organizations to start a new health care center for seniors living in the Forest Park neighborhood. The Forest Park Manor Activity Center, which held a grand opening on April 23, provides medical and health services such as blood-pressure screenings, nutritional programs, and physical-fitness instruction, including low-impact exercise classes. “This center provides an array of much-needed health care services and benefits to seniors, both in the Springfield Housing Authority and the surrounding community,” said SHA Executive Director William Abrashkin. “This is tangible evidence of the success of collaborative efforts. Several organizations pooled ideas and resources to make the Forest Park Manor Activity Center a reality. We all feel that this is just the beginning, and we look forward to joining together again in the future for the benefit of our community.”

Picture This

By
Departments Picture This

Me Time

Reeds Landing, one of the Loomis Communities, staged an event called Me Time last month to provide “an evening of relaxation and rejuvenation for adult children of aging parents.” The event featured massages, live music, door prizes, and opportunities to connect with other caregivers. Clockwise, from left, Deborah Donaldson, co-owner of Heartfelt Elder Massage, provides a massage to one of the guests; representatives of the Alternative Health booth greet visitors; representatives of Tanya Gets You Fit are pumped up for the event.

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs

An Evening with John Ratzenberger, hosted by the Western Mass. National Tooling and Machining Assoc. (WMNTMA), was staged May 12 at the Museum of Springfield History. Attendees heard Ratzenberger (‘Cliff’ on the TV show Cheers) talk about Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, a group he founded to address the urgent need to prepare young people for careers in manufacturing, and also about a summer-camp program designed to introduce middle-school students to such careers. A camp session will be conducted this summer at Springfield Technical Community College. At left, Ratzenber, center, is flanked by Eric Hagopian, left, president of the WMNTMA, and Chris Kielb, vice president of the organization. Above, the wing of a GeeBee aircraft, one of the prominent displays at the history museum, hovers above the gathering.

By
Departments

Big Y Announces New Store in Eastern Mass.

SPRINGFIELD — Big Y Foods Inc. has announced plans to open a World Class Market in Milford/Hopedale, Mass. The proposed 55,000-square-foot supermarket will be located at South Main Street (Route 140) just south of the Courtland Street intersection. The 25-acre site is partly in the town of Hopedale and partly in Milford, and is scheduled to be the subject of rezoning articles at the annual town meetings in both communities. Topsfield Development Associates will be developing the overall project, including approvals and construction. Other contemplated tenants at the site include a 40,000-square-foot medical building, a 150-seat restaurant, 7,500 square feet of additional retail, and a bank. Milford/

Hopedale will be Big Y’s 59th store and will represent an investment of between $15 and $17 million in the community. An early 2012 opening is expected.

Hampden Bancorp Reports Q3 Results

SPRINGFIELD — Hampden Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Hampden Bank, recently announced the results of operations for the three months and nine months ended March 31, 2010. The company had a net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2010 of $143,000, or $0.02 per basic and fully diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $57,000, or $0.01 per basic and fully diluted share, for the same period in 2009. The decrease in net income was primarily due to an increase in the provision for loan losses of $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009. The increase in the provision for loan losses is due to increases in loan delinquencies, non-accrual loans, and impaired loans; growth in the loan portfolio; and general economic conditions. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2010, net interest income increased by $521,000 compared to the three-month period ended March 31, 2009. Non-interest income, including net gains on sales of securities and loans, increased by $88,000 compared to the three-month period ended March 31, 2009. For the nine months ended March 31, 2010, the company had a net loss of $975,000, or $0.15 per basic and fully diluted share, as compared to net income of $180,000, or $0.03 per basic and fully diluted share, for the same period in 2009. The decrease in net income was primarily due to an increase in the provision for loan losses of $2.9 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009. The increase in the provision for loan losses is due to increases in loan delinquencies, non-accrual loans, and impaired loans; growth in the loan portfolio; and general economic conditions. There was also an increase in non-interest expense of $995,000 for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009. The company’s total assets increased $10.2 million, or 1.8%, from $567.7 million at June 30, 2009 to $577.8 million at March 31, 2010. Net loans, including loans held for sale, increased $22.5 million, or 5.8%, to $410 million at March 31, 2010, and securities decreased $3 million, or 2.6%, from $116.1 million to $113.1 million as of March 31, 2010. Cash and cash equivalents decreased $10.9 million, or 30%, to $25.4 million at March 31, 2010. Deposits increased $29.9 million, or 7.8%, to $411.4 million at March 31, 2010 from $381.5 million at June 30, 2009. The company also announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per common share, payable on May 28, 2010 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 14, 2010.

Wolf & Co. Supports Big Brothers Big Sisters

SPRINGFIELD — Wolf & Co., P.C. supported Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County again this year by sponsoring the Bowl for Kids’ Sake. Wolf teams comprised of 63 Wolf bowlers, as well as additional employees who participated in other fund-raising activities, raised more than $10,000 to support Big Brothers Big Sisters programs in the Springfield area.

Charter Oak Partners with Whole Children of Hadley

HOLYOKE — Charter Oak Insurance and Financial Services Co. recently announced that it has formed a three-year charitable relationship with Whole Children, a Hadley-based nonprofit that provides recreational, social, and enrichment programs for children and teens of all abilities, and especially those with special needs. In the initial year of the relationship, Charter Oak will give $10,000 to Whole Children in support of a new program that focuses on helping teens with special needs transition to adulthood. The company will also participate in events to raise funds for a wheelchair-accessible van for Whole Children’s students. Financial support from Charter Oak comes from the agency’s charitable arm, the Charter Oak Fund, and is part of a larger community-outreach strategy benefiting children, particularly those with special needs, in the agency’s three major markets of Western Mass., Central/Eastern Conn., and Southern Conn.

What Bonding Companies Find Important

By
Joseph Spagnoletti
Sections Supplements
You Don’t Need a Crystal Ball to Figure Out What They’re Thinking

Joseph Spagnoletti

Joseph Spagnoletti

Construction companies need the support of their bonding company to sustain the growth of their business. As a result of the current economic realities of the construction industry, bonding companies are spending more time scrutinizing the viability of their clients’ financial future and operations before issuing a bond.
Here are the 10 topics you need to be prepared to address the next time you sit down with your surety agent.

1. Banking covenants. Bonding companies want to know that you are satisfying the covenants as outlined in your loan or line of credit documents. If you’re not meeting the covenants, you need to talk to your banker about rewriting the covenants or developing a strategy for meeting them. Bonding companies get concerned when they see that construction companies are not meeting their banking covenants.
In fact, this could result in an immediate end to a line of credit or an immediate call for repayment of a loan. Needless to say, without access to financing, some construction companies couldn’t afford to complete their work in progress. In the end, bonding companies want to see a positive working relationship with your lending institution.

2. Accounts receivable. Your accounts-receivable aging report will be examined throughout the year. What are bonding companies looking for? They want to make sure that you’re being paid for your work, and you have business systems, policies, and procedures in place to track and encourage timely payments. Before starting work for a customer, perform enough due diligence that would lead you and your bonding company to believe you’ll get paid for your work.

3. Accounts payable. Pay your bills in a timely fashion. Bonding companies assume that, if you’re not paying your bills in a timely fashion, you either don’t have the resources to do so, or you have weak internal business systems. Either way, that’s bad news.

4. Backlog. In construction, it’s all about the backlog. Really, whether you are an accounting firm, law office, or a construction company, a backlog of work secures the future of your business. The longer the backlog, the more confidence bonding companies will have in your business, and the more likely they are to insure the completion of your work. Keep in mind that bonding companies will look at more than the total number of jobs backlogged; they’ll look for the number of profitable jobs.

5. Strategic business plan. We all get distracted by today’s challenges, but taking the time to write a strategic business plan is good for the future of your business. And that’s just what bonding companies are concerned about — the future of your business. What are your short-term, mid-range and long-term goals, and what is your strategy for achieving them? Write them down. A good strategic business plan includes timelines and benchmarks to measure progress. If your bonding company comes in for a visit and asks to see your strategic business plan, be ready to share a thoroughly prepared document.

6. Profitable and cost-controlled work. Your bonding company wants to know that your jobs are profitable and that costs can be controlled as shifts in the market demand. So be prepared to show how you plan to profit from your work and control costs. In addition, if market conditions change, you need to have a plan in place to adjust. Take a proactive approach to challenges by implementing smart solutions on a timely basis.

7. Equipment. Equipment represents a major investment for most construction companies. The patterns of acquisition and disposition of equipment tell the bonding company a story. Be ready to discuss the reasons why you are either acquiring or disposing of equipment. If you’re stuck supporting debt for idle equipment, there may be creative ideas you could explore to turn idle equipment into a revenue source. Discuss strategies like this with your surety agent.

8. Loans from owners. As an owner of any business, when times are tough, you may have to loan your company money to help it through a temporarily challenging time. Don’t be surprised if loans you make to your company get subordinated to other obligations of the company and require approval from your surety before you get paid back. As an aside, be sure to consult with your accountant and attorney before loaning money to your company; there may be tax benefits or implications that deserve additional discussion.

9. Indemnity. Personal and spousal indemnity is becoming commonplace, especially if your surety agent considers a particular job to be a stretch for your company. Your bonding company sees more risk associated when you do work outside of your areas of expertise. With additional risk comes additional indemnity. If this sounds like you, be prepared to discuss why your company can meet its obligations even outside its areas of expertise.

10. Unexpected taxes. If your construction company (structured as a C-corporation) has adopted the completed contract basis of accounting for tax purposes, you may not be in a position to defer taxes to next year without a sizeable backlog. As backlogs at some construction companies aren’t so large, this could mean that those deferred taxes are payable now. Unanticipated, this could place significant strain on cash flow. Even if your deferred tax is at the individual level, as is the case with a flow-through entity, be prepared to discuss this issue with your surety agent.

Surety agents can be supportive in helping you grow your construction business. That being said, in higher-risk environments, they’ll need additional and more detailed information about you and your business.
Take a proactive approach in developing a positive working relationship with your surety agent. Get together throughout the year. Share your success stories and your challenges. Tell your surety agent what your company is doing to improve business processes and procedures, and what strategies you’ve put into place to control costs and become more profitable. When you and your surety agent are on the same page, that’s good for business.

Joseph Spagnoletti, CPA, CCIFP is partner in charge of the Construction Services Group at Kostin, Ruffkess & Co., LLC, a certified public-accounting and business-advisory firm with offices in Springfield as well as Farmington and New London, Conn. Beyond traditional accounting, auditing, and tax consulting, the firm also specializes in employee benefit-plan audits, litigation support, business valuation, succession-planning business consulting, forensic accounting, wealth management, estate planning, fraud prevention, and information technology assurance; www.kostin.com.

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of May 2010.

AGAWAM

Blanchard Landscaping
31 Simpson Circle
David Blanchard

Bloch Designs
119 Regency Park
John Bloch

Groundskeeper Landscaping
338 Silver St.
James Dupre

Hot Spot Phones
21 Joseph St.
Charissa Carr

AMHERST

DMO Construction
213 North East St.
Richard Misterka

Doolittle Construction
1352 West St.
Steven Doolittle

CHICOPEE

T.L.C. Cleaning Services
60 Whitman St.
Jill Allison Rehor

Topor Motor Mall
650 Memorial Dr.
Topor Motor Sales Inc.

Verizon Wireless
650 Memorial Dr.
Bell Atlantic Mobile of Massachusetts

GREENFIELD

Greenfield Tailors
239 Main St.
Muhammad Yasin

Magpie / Hole Pie Inc.
21-23 Bank Row
James Zaccara

McGuane Flooring
11 Abbott St.
Garrett McGuane

Pretty Nails
209 Main St.
Yen Nguyen

Ross Painting
25 Spring Terr.
Salvatore Ross Jr.

HOLYOKE

Bath & Body Works LLC
50 Holyoke St.
Patrick Hennessey

Café Whitney
361 Whitney Ave.
Alan Berrouard

LUDLOW

A Gig of Geek
407 Moore St.
Joel Padilla

BB Auto Transport
12 Lakeview Ave.
Bogdan Bragiel

Joel’s Towing
407 Moore St.
Joel Padilla

PLC Computers
51 Simond St.
Richard Calento

NORTHAMPTON

Dust Dancer
42 Fruit St.
Patricia Trant

Ibiza Tapas
5-7 Strong Ave.
Juan Suarez

MVP Fitness
320 Riverside Dr.
James Fitzgerald

Outside The Box Technology Solutions
17 Forest Glen Dr.
Charles Baranowski, Jr.

Race Day Custom Clothing
80 Damon Road
Seth Ryan

Tula
15 Lasell Ave.
Matreya Hughes

PALMER

AMC Building Construction, LLC
9 Harvey St.
Jocelyn Bolouc

BJC Realty Trust
2190 Palmer St.
Bernard Croteau Jr.

Palmer Co-Op & Dry Cleaner
1331 Main St.
Vi H. Nguyen

Palmer Heating Inc.
2099 Calkins Road
Alfred Bisnette

Sunny Nails & Spa
1331 Main St.
Khoa H. Nguyen

SOUTHWICK

Nails Studio & Spa
208 College Highway
Nga K. Thi

Webcast2u
7 Sterrett Dr.
Linda Hawley

SPRINGFIELD

Karoun Photography
122 Chestnut St.
Karoun Charkoudian

M & J Mobil Mechanic
48 Newhall St.
Mark Sheldon

Miquel’s Towing & Inspection
700 Berkshire Ave.
Miquel A. Santiago

Nice & Neat Interior Paint
337 South Branch Parkway
Curt M. Marcellin

Over the Rainbow Daycare
24 Harmon Ave.
Patricia Eileen

Rave Cinemas, LLC
1655 Boston Road
Arthur Starrs III

Rhino Lining of Springfield
50 Verge St.
Michael T. Dancy

Sally Beauty Supply
1079 Boston Road
Sally Beauty Supply

Sue’s Hair and Beauty
1111 Main St.
Sue Gavitt

T-Mobile
774 Boston Road
T-Mobile Northeast

The Perfect Touch
77 Skyridge Dr.
Tami Baumgardner

Top Shelf Promotions
253 Gillette Ave.
Cara-Anita

Western Mass Cleaning
107 Pine Acre Road
Kevin M. Latourelle

Williams & Williams
46 Clearbrook Dr.
Scott Williams

Williams Business Consult
147 Rosemary Dr.
Jerome Williams

WESTFIELD

Alarm Pro Security, LLC
26 Washington St.
John Bowen

Alice’s Piano Studio
159 Hillside Road
Alice M. Chaffee

Amalfi Pizzeria
280 Southampton Road
Benito Silvestri

Raw Dawg Customz
121 Summit Lock Road
Ryan Fuqua

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Affiance-Events
93 Charles Ave.
Angela Cooper

Aprotocall Inc.
1252 Elm St.
Angus Fox

Bear Spirit Design
42 Murray Place
Cindy S. White

City View Barber Shop
274 Westfield St.
Gregory Erbentraut

Maximum Pawn Co.
1164 Memorial Ave.
Maximino M. Salvador

Moreau Distributing
1583 Riverdale St.
Robert W. Moreau

Needle and Scissors
29 Worthen St.
Marina P. Dragun

Overcome
1538 Riverdale St.
Joellen Anderson

Showcase Cinemas & Rave Motion Pictures
864 Riverdale St.
Peter A. Nelson

By
Departments

ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

June 2: ACCGS Breakfast, 7:15 to 9 a.m., hosted by Springfield College. Cost: members $20, non-members $30.

June 9: ACCGS After 5, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by the Delaney House, Holyoke. Cost: members $10, non-members $15.

June 10: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., hosted by Springfield Marriott. Keynote speaker: Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal. Cost: members $40, non-members $60.

June 28: WRC 7th Annual Golf Tournament, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., hosted by Crestview Country Club, Agawam. Call the chamber for more information.

Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield
www.springfieldyps.com  

June 17: YPS Third Thursday, hosted by Pazzo Restaurant, Springfield. See chamber Web site for more information.

Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce
www.amherstarea.com

June 18: Breakfast, 7:15 yo 9 a.m., Town Common under the Taste Tent; sponsored by Dr. Hauschka Skin Care and Museums10. Cost: members $12, non-members $15.

June 23: After Five New Member Reception, 5 to 7 p.m. Recognizing J.F. Conlon & Associates; Prudential Sawicki Real Estate; Ziomek & Ziomek; Blair, Cutting & Smith Insurance. Sponsored by Whirlwind Fine Garden Design, Center for Extended Care, and Greenfield Savings Bank. Cost: members $5, non-members $10.

Chicopee Chamber of Commerce
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

June 9: Golf Tournament, 10 a.m. shotgun start, hosted by Chicopee Country Club. Cost: $125 per golfer, includes 18 holes with a cart, lunch with a beer or soda, dinner, and golfer’s gift; $20 for golfer’s package,  includes 25 raffle tickets and one mulligan; $115 for sign up to golf; $135 for sign up to golf and golfer’s package.

Franklin County Chamber of Commerce
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

June 9: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted and sponsored by Promark Graphics, Easthampton, co-sponsored by Riff’s Joint. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, host beer and wine. Cost: members $5, non-members $15.

uJune 18: Wine and Microbrew Tasting, 6 to 8 p.m., One Cottage Street (corner of Cottage and Union streets), Easthampton. More than 50 wines and microbrews, fine food, raffle. Wine and microbrew sponsor: Westfield Spirit Shop. Food sponsor: the Log Cabin and Delaney House. Benefactor: Finck & Perras Insurance Agency. Cost: $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Purchase online at www.easthamptonchamber.org  or call the chamber office. Proceeds to benefit chamber community programs.

Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

June 16: Chamber After Hours, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by Wistariahurst Museum Carriage House, Holyoke. Sponsored by Vin’s Cloth Car Wash and Holyoke Gas & Electric. Presented by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors. Cost: members $5, non-members $10.

Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
www.explorenorthampton.com   
(413) 584-1900

June 2: Arrive @ 5, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by Northampton Education Foundation, held at the Hotel Northampton. Sponsored by Dr. Hauschka Skin Care Inc., Greenfield Community College, and United Bank. To register, contact Jenna at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected]

u June 15: Meet & Eat, 7:30 to 9 a.m., hosted by Union Station, Northampton. To register, contact Jenna at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected]

Northampton Area Young Professional Society
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900

June 6: 11th Annual A Walk/Run to Remember, 8 a.m. to noon, hosted by Hampshire Regional YMCA, Northampton. The Garden: a Center for Grieving Children and Teens invites participants to walk (1 mile) or run (5k) in remembrance, for health, or just for fun. Register online at www.signmeup.com/69175

Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce
www.qvcc.biz
(413) 283-2418

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

South Hadley/Granby Chamber of Commerce
www.shchamber.com
(413) 532-6451

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce
www.threeriverschamber.org
413-283-6425

See chamber Web site for information about upcoming events.

Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

June 9: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce WestNet (After 5) Networking Event, 5 to 7 p.m., hosted by Stevens 451, Westfield. Participants are invited to bring a friend and a door prize to highlight their business. Cost: members $10, non-members $15. For reservations, call (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected]

June 11: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce Spring Breakfast, 7:15 to 9 a.m., hosted by Stanley Park Pavilion, Westfield. Guest Speaker:Charlie Baker. Head Greeter: state Sen. Michael Knapik. Participants are invited to bring a friend and a door prize to highlight their business. Cost: members $20, non-members $25. For reservations, call (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected]

By
Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of May 2010.

AGAWAM

Genesis Health Ventures
67 Cooper St.
$20,000 — Revise exterior ramp layout to accommodate deliveries at dialysis center

Southgate Plaza
858 Suffield St.
$25,000 — Minor renovations for building-code upgrade

AMHERST

Pioneer Valley Living Care
1 Spencer Dr.
$15,000 — Renovations

Town of Amherst Recreation
95 Montague Road
$36,000 — Roof replacement at Mill River recreation area

CHICOPEE

Charles Heath
650 Memorial Dr.
$530,000 — Renovation of the retail sales area and the tire-installation area

P.N.C.U.
46 Main St.
$23,000 — Construction of a file room on the second floor

W.A.C.E
326 Chicopee St.
$13,000 — Strip and re-roof

GREENFIELD

James W. Renaud
269 Federal St.
$3,450 — Remove and replace roof

Mark S. Donoghue
500 Main St.
$7,000 — Exterior renovations

HOLYOKE

Friendly’s Realty II, LLC
1745 Northampton St.
$22,000 — New roof and windows

NORTHAMPTON

Atwood Drive LLC
Atwood Dr.
$15,000 — Remove and replace six Verizon antenna panels

Christ United Methodist Church
271 Rocky Hill Road
$5,000 — New bell display tower

Colvest Northampton, LLC
327 King St.
$15,000 – Remove and replace six Verizon antenna panels

Winston Bennett LLC
142 Main St.
$1,500 — Add small room off existing office

  

Wright Builders
8 Moser St.
$70,000 — Construct four unit townhouses, foundation only

SOUTH HADLEY

Depetrillo Realty
775 New Ludlow Road
$18,000 — New windows

Mt. Holyoke College
1-3 Bridgeman Lane
$12,000 — Renovations

SOUTHWICK

The Shepard Corporation
320 College Highway
$137,500 — Self-storage units

SPRINGFIELD

BTA Group
1090 St. James Ave.
$84,000 — Tenant fit up

John Salema
1287 Page St.
$43,500 — Cosmetic remodel

Mass Development
1550 Main St.
$2,577,000 — Replace first-floor storefront, and interior and exterior improvements

MassMutual
1295 State St.
$200,000 — New roofing system

Picknelly Family, LLC
1414 Main St.
$42,000 — Renovations of fifth floor

United Bank
800 West Columbus St.
$13,000 — New ATM machine in front lobby

WEST SPRINGFIELD

380 Union St. Properties, LLC
380 Union St.
$15,000 — Add three antennas to telephone tower

First Hartford Realty Corp.
1106 Union St.
$750,000 — Alterations for supermarket

Scaper, LLC
120 Interstate Dr.
$2,500 — Add three antennas to telephone tower

People on the Move

By
Sarah Tanner
Departments People on the Move

Jeffrey Trapani

Jeffrey Trapani

Attorney Jeffrey Trapani, an associate with the Springfield-based firm Robinson Donovan, has been appointed to the Legislative Steering Committee of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. Trapani, who has been part of the Litigation Department at Robinson Donovan since 2007, specializes in business, employment, and insurance law, and professional-liability litigation. As a member of the ACCGS Legislative Steering Committee, he will help research new and pending legislation and other legal issues that might affect chamber members.
•••••
Sarah Tanner

Sarah Tanner

The United Way of Pioneer Valley (UWPV) announced that Sarah Tanner has rejoined the organization as Senior Vice President for Resource Development. Tanner leads and oversees strategies for UWPV’s workforce giving programs, including more than 400 private- and public-sector fund-raising campaigns. She is also responsible for United Way leadership programs and developing special giving initiatives in the 23 communities the UWPV serves. She previously worked in the United Way system for nearly 12 years before leaving for a stint as vice president of Community Development for Noble Hospital in Westfield.
•••••
Bart Bales, P.E. has joined Tighe & Bond Inc. as the firm’s new mechanical engineer and MEP manager. With a focus on high-performance, renewable-energy, and energy-efficient systems for buildings and facilities, Bales has more than 25 years of experience serving municipalities, public institutions, utility companies, and businesses. In addition to heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning projects, his portfolio includes energy studies and services, sustainable design and advising, energy efficiency and resource conservation, as well as commissioning. Bales is an active member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Assoc. and has served on the NESEA board of directors and conference planning committees. He is also a member of the Green Roundtable, the Assoc. of Energy Engineers, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers.
•••••
The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. (MMWEC) announced the following:
• MWEC Director Jonathan Fitch, manager of the Princeton Municipal Light Department, was elected by the board of directors to the chairman’s post;
• Gary Babin, director of the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department, was elected by the MMWEC membership to a three-year term as director; and
• Jeffrey Cady, manager of the Chicopee Municipal Lighting Plant, was elected by the MWEC membership to a three-year term as director.
•••••
Sean Hemingway has been named director of the Center for Human Development’s juvenile justice programs based at the Westfield Youth Service Center. Hemingway was promoted to program director of the CHD Assessment Program and CHD Juvenile Justice Supports after serving as interim director of those two programs since December, while also serving as program director of CHD’s Adolescent Re-entry Services for the state Department of Youth Services Western Region.
•••••
James Hanifan, AIA, Vice President of Caolo & Bieniek Associates Inc. in Chicopee, was a recent keynote speaker for the University of Massachusetts Seminar Series “Designing for Sustainability in the Built Environment.” Hanifan is the project architect for the new UMass Amherst police headquarters, which will be the first LEED-certified project on the campus.

Opinion

By
Opinion
Health Care Fails Small Businesses

Not long after President Nixon took the unprecedented step of imposing peacetime wage and price controls, the American people learned a basic economic lesson: artificial controls don’t work unless underlying costs are controlled.
Four decades later, the Patrick administration is imposing controls on small-business health-insurance rates. The move will prove to be little more than an election-year reprise of Nixon’s failed effort.
The Commonwealth’s 2006 health care reform was supposed to address rising health-insurance costs for small businesses. It hasn’t — and small businesses are paying the price.
The Commonwealth Connector, an independent authority acting as an insurance-plan clearinghouse, was established to provide real choices and information needed to evaluate options. In theory, an informed and robust marketplace would bend the cost curve and get more of the working poor and lower middle class insured. The theory is right, but the implementation has failed in two key ways.
First, the Connector focused all its energy on providing nearly free products to the indigent. Its board seemed uninterested in market-rate products for small-business employees.
The Connector revenues come from selling plans, and selling nearly free products was the path of least resistance. Unsurprisingly, 90% of the Connector’s operating revenue has come from the fee it earns for state-subsidized plans.
The lack of focus on small businesses is evident. The Connector took three years to make information about provider networks and participating primary-care providers for small businesses available on its Web site. It took over two years to launch a small-employer pilot program; in more than a year, it attracted just 65 businesses and has now been replaced by a new program that offers only seven plans.
Implementation also fell short when the Connector chose to build a top-down bureaucracy rather than leverage the broker and private-market community. The quasi-governmental Connector has a $40 million annual budget and 45 employees earning annual salaries that average $100,000. Its board is heavily weighted toward government officials and unions.
Paternalistic fears about confusing people have led the Connector to overregulate and minimize consumer choice. Instead of engaging the private market by providing unique products, it has rejected or failed to renew products, resulting in offerings that simply duplicate ones already privately available.
This bureaucratic setup cannot provide choices that contain costs to employees and owners of small businesses — nor help address double-digit increases in small-business rates.
There is another path forward. Utah’s Health Insurance Exchange was started with a $600,000 appropriation and has no board and just two employees. It provides a technology backbone that enables brokers and businesses to take advantage of consumer-based options.
As its mission is to promote small-business growth, the Exchange is part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Private-sector partners provide unpaid policy advice on what businesses and employees need.
Fewer than 1,500 small business employees receive coverage through the Connector. In Utah, with a far smaller population, about 55,000 small-business employees have purchased health insurance through the Exchange. It offers 66 plans from a number of carriers, including the largest ones in the state.
The focus on business growth and input from the private market has helped promote other reforms. In its first year, the Exchange developed a database that compares the cost of care across all providers; four years after its creation, the Connector hasn’t developed a similar tool. Unlike Massachusetts, Utah has also passed tort and medical-malpractice reform.
We applaud the Connector’s success in insuring the indigent. But it has failed to give small businesses affordable, diverse choices.
Small-business owners cannot afford 25% annual hikes to already-astronomical health-insurance premiums, especially in this economic climate. Price controls will do nothing to control the underlying forces that drive health-insurance premium increases. And unless Massachusetts does the hard work of getting costs under control, Patrick could be remembered as the guy who tried to prop up the levy as the floodwaters surged in.

Jim Stergios is executive director, and Amy Lischko is senior fellow on health care, at Pioneer Institute.

By
Departments

Home Sales Rise in April

SPRINGFIELD — Home sales in the Pioneer Valley increased 23.4% in April, from 299 to 369, over the same month in 2009. The median price brought by those homes, however, fell slightly by 1.1%, from $182,000 in April 2009 to $180,000 last month. In Hampden County, sales were up 20.1%, from 214 in April 2009 to 257 in April 2010, while in Hampshire County, sales were up 17.5%, from 63 homes in April 2009 to 74 last month. And in Franklin County, sales were up 72.7%, from 22 to 38.

Business Confidence Index Rises Slightly

BOSTON — The Associated Industries of Mass. Business Confidence Index rose seven-tenths of a point in April to 47.5, 12.1 above its level in April 2009. “Progress continues to be slow, with setbacks along the way, but there’s no doubt that 12 gains in 14 months represents a trend toward recovery,” said Raymond G. Torto, global chief economist at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. and chair of AIM’s board of economic advisors (BEA). “Respondents to our survey remain notably more positive about business conditions for their own operations than about the general business climate in Massachusetts and the nation.” Torto noted that AIM members rate business conditions within the Commonwealth slightly better than those prevailing nationally. “This has been true consistently throughout the recession and now as we head into recovery,” he said. “The Massachusetts economy has by no means escaped the full impact of the downturn, but some other states have fared much worse, and we have significant assets, such as our education system and research base, that provide a strong foundation for recovery.” The AIM Index was 2.6 points below its level in April 2008, when it was last above 50 (neutral), and off 6.4 over three years. The highest reading in its 18-year-plus history was 68.5, attained on two occasions in 1997-98; its all-time low was 33.3 in February 2009. The Massachusetts Index of conditions within the Commonwealth added 3.6 points in April to 44.2, as the U.S. Index of national conditions gained 1.7 points to 40.6. “A plurality of survey respondents [52%] put in-state conditions in the ‘average’ range, but only 9% called them ‘good,’” said Fred Breimyer, regional economist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a BEA member. “Even for six months out [October], only 24% foresaw positive general business conditions in Massachusetts, and the national number [21%] was lower — so this shapes up as a slow recovery from a long recession.”

Lighthouse Celebrates Silver Anniversary

SPRINGFIELD — Members of the Lighthouse community, supporters, mental-health advocates, and community leaders gathered to celebrate the organization’s silver anniversary on May 12 at the Springfield Sheraton Monarch Place Hotel. The anniversary celebration featured remarks from Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, city of Springfield Equal Opportunity Officer Daniel Hall, and Lighthouse members who highlighted the significant impact that the organization has made on the city and region. In fiscal year 2010 alone, Lighthouse members earned $13.2 million in wages and contributed significantly to the local and statewide economies. Established in 1985 by Human Resources Unlimited, Lighthouse is an internationally accredited and certified rehabilitation organization. Lighthouse supports men and women who are recovering from mental illness by helping them return to work, school, and their community.

SHA and Partners Open New Health Care Center for Forest Park Seniors

SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Housing Authority (SHA) has joined forces with area health care, civic, and nonprofit organizations to start a new health care center for seniors living in the Forest Park neighborhood. The Forest Park Manor Activity Center, which held a grand opening on April 23, provides medical and health services such as blood-pressure screenings, nutritional programs, and physical-fitness instruction, including low-impact exercise classes. “This center provides an array of much-needed health care services and benefits to seniors, both in the Springfield Housing Authority and the surrounding community,” said SHA Executive Director William Abrashkin. “This is tangible evidence of the success of collaborative efforts. Several organizations pooled ideas and resources to make the Forest Park Manor Activity Center a reality. We all feel that this is just the beginning, and we look forward to joining together again in the future for the benefit of our community.”

By
Departments

Attorney Jeffrey Trapani, an associate with the Springfield-based firm Robinson Donovan, has been appointed to the Legislative Steering Committee of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. Trapani, who has been part of the Litigation Department at Robinson Donovan since 2007, specializes in business, employment, and insurance law, and professional-liability litigation. As a member of the ACCGS Legislative Steering Committee, he will help research new and pending legislation and other legal issues that might affect chamber members.

•••••

The United Way of Pioneer Valley (UWPV) announced that Sarah Tanner has rejoined the organization as Senior Vice President for Resource Development. Tanner leads and oversees strategies for UWPV’s workforce giving programs, including more than 400 private- and public-sector fund-raising campaigns. She is also responsible for United Way leadership programs and developing special giving initiatives in the 23 communities the UWPV serves. She previously worked in the United Way system for nearly 12 years before leaving for a stint as vice president of Community Development for Noble Hospital in Westfield.

•••••

Bart Bales, P.E. has joined Tighe & Bond Inc. as the firm’s new mechanical engineer and MEP manager. With a focus on high-performance, renewable-energy, and energy-efficient systems for buildings and facilities, Bales has more than 25 years of experience serving municipalities, public institutions, utility companies, and businesses. In addition to heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning projects, his portfolio includes energy studies and services, sustainable design and advising, energy efficiency and resource conservation, as well as commissioning. Bales is an active member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Assoc. and has served on the NESEA board of directors and conference planning committees. He is also a member of the Green Roundtable, the Assoc. of Energy Engineers, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers.

•••••

The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. (MMWEC) announced the following:
• MWEC Director Jonathan Fitch, manager of the Princeton Municipal Light Department, was elected by the board of directors to the chairman’s post;
• Gary Babin, director of the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department, was elected by the MMWEC membership to a three-year term as director; and
• Jeffrey Cady, manager of the Chicopee Municipal Lighting Plant, was elected by the MWEC membership to a three-year term as director.

•••••

Sean Hemingway has been named director of the Center for Human Development’s juvenile justice programs based at the Westfield Youth Service Center. Hemingway was promoted to program director of the CHD Assessment Program and CHD Juvenile Justice Supports after serving as interim director of those two programs since December, while also serving as program director of CHD’s Adolescent Re-entry Services for the state Department of Youth Services Western Region.

•••••

James Hanifan, AIA, Vice President of Caolo & Bieniek Associates Inc. in Chicopee, was a recent keynote speaker for the University of Massachusetts Seminar Series “Designing for Sustainability in the Built Environment.” Hanifan is the project architect for the new UMass Amherst police headquarters, which will be the first LEED-certified project on the campus.

By
Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of May 2010.

AGAWAM

Blanchard Landscaping
31 Simpson Circle
David Blanchard

Bloch Designs
119 Regency Park
John Bloch

Groundskeeper Landscaping
338 Silver St.
James Dupre

Hot Spot Phones
21 Joseph St.
Charissa Carr

AMHERST

DMO Construction
213 North East St.
Richard Misterka

Doolittle Construction
1352 West St.
Steven Doolittle

CHICOPEE

T.L.C. Cleaning Services
60 Whitman St.
Jill Allison Rehor

Topor Motor Mall
650 Memorial Dr.
Topor Motor Sales Inc.

Verizon Wireless
650 Memorial Dr.
Bell Atlantic Mobile of Massachusetts

GREENFIELD

Greenfield Tailors
239 Main St.
Muhammad Yasin

Magpie / Hole Pie Inc.
21-23 Bank Row
James Zaccara

McGuane Flooring
11 Abbott St.
Garrett McGuane

Pretty Nails
209 Main St.
Yen Nguyen

Ross Painting
25 Spring Terr.
Salvatore Ross Jr.

HOLYOKE

Bath & Body Works LLC
50 Holyoke St.
Patrick Hennessey

Café Whitney
361 Whitney Ave.
Alan Berrouard

LUDLOW

A Gig of Geek
407 Moore St.
Joel Padilla

BB Auto Transport
12 Lakeview Ave.
Bogdan Bragiel

Joel’s Towing
407 Moore St.
Joel Padilla

PLC Computers
51 Simond St.
Richard Calento

NORTHAMPTON

Dust Dancer
42 Fruit St.
Patricia Trant

Ibiza Tapas
5-7 Strong Ave.
Juan Suarez

MVP Fitness
320 Riverside Dr.
James Fitzgerald

Outside The Box Technology Solutions
17 Forest Glen Dr.
Charles Baranowski, Jr.

Race Day Custom Clothing
80 Damon Road
Seth Ryan

Tula
15 Lasell Ave.
Matreya Hughes

PALMER

AMC Building Construction, LLC
9 Harvey St.
Jocelyn Bolouc

BJC Realty Trust
2190 Palmer St.
Bernard Croteau Jr.

Palmer Co-Op & Dry Cleaner
1331 Main St.
Vi H. Nguyen

Palmer Heating Inc.
2099 Calkins Road
Alfred Bisnette

  

Sunny Nails & Spa
1331 Main St.
Khoa H. Nguyen

SOUTHWICK

Nails Studio & Spa
208 College Highway
Nga K. Thi

Webcast2u
7 Sterrett Dr.
Linda Hawley

SPRINGFIELD

Karoun Photography
122 Chestnut St.
Karoun Charkoudian

M & J Mobil Mechanic
48 Newhall St.
Mark Sheldon

Miquel’s Towing & Inspection
700 Berkshire Ave.
Miquel A. Santiago

Nice & Neat Interior Paint
337 South Branch Parkway
Curt M. Marcellin

Over the Rainbow Daycare
24 Harmon Ave.
Patricia Eileen

Rave Cinemas, LLC
1655 Boston Road
Arthur Starrs III

Rhino Lining of Springfield
50 Verge St.
Michael T. Dancy

Sally Beauty Supply
1079 Boston Road
Sally Beauty Supply

Sue’s Hair and Beauty
1111 Main St.
Sue Gavitt

T-Mobile
774 Boston Road
T-Mobile Northeast

The Perfect Touch
77 Skyridge Dr.
Tami Baumgardner

Top Shelf Promotions
253 Gillette Ave.
Cara-Anita

Western Mass Cleaning
107 Pine Acre Road
Kevin M. Latourelle

Williams & Williams
46 Clearbrook Dr.
Scott Williams

Williams Business Consult
147 Rosemary Dr.
Jerome Williams

WESTFIELD

Alarm Pro Security, LLC
26 Washington St.
John Bowen

Alice’s Piano Studio
159 Hillside Road
Alice M. Chaffee

Amalfi Pizzeria
280 Southampton Road
Benito Silvestri

Raw Dawg Customz
121 Summit Lock Road
Ryan Fuqua

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Affiance-Events
93 Charles Ave.
Angela Cooper

Aprotocall Inc.
1252 Elm St.
Angus Fox

Bear Spirit Design
42 Murray Place
Cindy S. White

City View Barber Shop
274 Westfield St.
Gregory Erbentraut

Maximum Pawn Co.
1164 Memorial Ave.
Maximino M. Salvador

Moreau Distributing
1583 Riverdale St.
Robert W. Moreau

Needle and Scissors
29 Worthen St.
Marina P. Dragun

Overcome
1538 Riverdale St.
Joellen Anderson

Showcase Cinemas & Rave Motion Pictures
864 Riverdale St.
Peter A. Nelson

Building Permits

By
Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of April 2010.

CHICOPEE

City of Chicopee
80 Medina St.
$221,000 — Install new entry stairs and other renovations

MLJD Realty Trust
351 Front St.
$3,000 — Renovation for beauty salon

EAST LONGMEADOW

Shaker Bowl
168 Shaker Road
$10,000 — Renovations

GREENFIELD

John Chikalos
130 Colrain Road
$43,000 — Install entrance vestibule and other renovations

Spike Segundo, LLC
21-23 Bank Row
$40,000 — Build out of proposed pizza place

HADLEY

Richard Hollrock
294 Russell St.
$14,800 — Interior basement build out

Shardool Parmar
37-41 Russell St.
$2,500 — Interior renovations

HOLYOKE

Loomis House Inc.
298 Jarvis Ave.
$12,550 — Addition to sprinkler system

LUDLOW

Ludlow Lodge of Elks
69 Chapin St.
$3,100 — Alterations

NORTHAMPTON

Brian Smith
35 New South St.
$99,500 — Interior renovations

Clarke School for the Deaf
83 Round Hill Road
$78,000 — Wall repair

Hampshire Management Group
5 Strong Ave.
$25,000 — Interior renovation for restaurant

Northampton Brewery
11 Brewster Ct.
$6,200 — Install ventilation for dishwasher

Peter Whalen
7 Old South St.
$17,000 — Install new roof

  

Yankee Wood Industries Inc.
195 Industrial Dr.
$17,500 — Erect interior walls

SOUTHWICK

SRZ, LLC
587 College Highway
$1,500 — Store renovations

Westfield Bank
214 College Highway
$24,000 — New ATM

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Medical Center
759 Chestnut St.
$32,000 — Kitchen renovation

Big Y Trust
1090 St. James Ave.
$20,000 — Add frying operation to seafood department

C&W Shopping Center, LLC
1915 Wilbraham Road
$3,600 — Create an office within an existing retail space

City of Springfield
3-7 Elm St.
$40,000 — Tenant fit-out for UMass Architecture Department

Glorious Gospel Church
315 Cottage St.
$350,000 — Interior renovations to convert space to sanctuary

Splitfinger, LLC
372 Pasco Road
$25,000 — Convert existing space to retail use

Springfield College
263 Alden St.
$6,117,000 — Renovate existing building

WESTFIELD

Granville Road, LLC
78 Granville Road
$16,000 — Renovations

Westfield Bank
300 Southampton Road
$14,500 — Re-roof

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Affordable Shoes
366 Memorial Ave.
$10,000 — Renovate 2,880 square feet of space to be used as a shoe store

C’Jack Realty Associates, LLP
1053 Riverdale St.
$2,000 — Renovate commercial space to include hair products

John Naqvi
662 Kings Highway
$9,000 — Strip and re-roof

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

Advanced Manufacturing Conference, Continuum Coming to the Region

SPRINGFIELD — The first highly concentrated, cluster-centric, regional manufacturing conference of its kind will be held Sept. 23 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The event, called the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competition & Conference (AMICCON), is being staged in response to growing recognition among area manufacturers and supply-chain members that there is an urgent need to find and meet one another. “AMICCON was formed to identify who’s here in manufacturing, expose them to OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and procurement, and to make these introductions,” said co-founder Ellen Bemben. “The ultimate goal is to be the advanced manufacturing region in the U.S., where exotic manufacturing, such as micro, nano, and precision meet higher specifications and tighter tolerances, and short runs are the norm.” Industry sectors to be represented at the event will include plastics and advanced materials, precision machining, paper and packaging, electronics, ‘green’/clean technology, and medical devices. Business opportunities in defense and aerospace will also be highlighted at the event. OEMs and their supply chains are being invited personally to participate. “AMICCON is also a new consortium on innovation that also delivers manufacturers to innovators and new markets in order to cause new business,” said Gary Gasperack, vice president and general manager (retired) of the Spalding Division of Russell Corp. “We are very excited about introducing it to our region.” The Mass. Export Center has already produced two programs for AMICCON: an Export Experts Panel, and a seminar, “International Traffic in Arms Regulations for Defense and Aerospace Export.” Planning of the event has been ongoing since last fall among founding members that include Stan Kowolski, president of FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp.; Eric Hagopian, president of Hoppe Tool; Anne Paradis, president of MicroTek; Joe Peters, president of Universal Plastics; Ann Pieroway, president of the Mass. Export Center; and Jeff Sattler, president of NUVO Bank. More details on AMICCON and registration information will be announced in the coming weeks, said Bemben.

SPHS Announces Departure of President, CEO McCorkle

SPRINGFIELD — The Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS) announced recently that Vincent McCorkle, president and CEO, will be leaving the organization to become president and CEO of Akron General Health System in Akron, Ohio, and will begin his new position on July 1. McCorkle has served as president and CEO for the SPHS since October 1997. Prior to being named to those positions, he served from 1996 to 1997 as executive vice resident of SPHS. He joined SPHS in September 1993 as president and CEO of the Acute and Ambulatory Care Network, the position he held until 1996. McCorkle has been an active community leader since moving to Springfield in 1993. He has served on the boards of numerous community agencies, such as the Economic Development Council, Business Friends of the Arts, the Springfield YMCA, United Way of the Pioneer Valley, the Springfield Urban League, and many others. In 2006, he was recognized with the Pynchon Award, the region’s most distinguished service award. “The decision to leave the Sisters of Providence Health System was incredibly difficult,” said McCorkle in a prepared statement. “It has been a privilege and an honor to have served the community through the healing ministry of the Sisters of Providence Health System. It has also been my privilege to serve with a team of the most talented and dedicated physicians, nurses, other professionals, and support staff that you will find anywhere in health care. Although my professional journey leads me to new challenges at Akron General, I am grateful for the time with SPHS and the Greater Springfield community. I will truly miss my SPHS colleagues and the many Western Mass. community and business leaders I have had the pleasure of working with.” Dr. David Chadbourne, chairman of the SPHS board of trustees, praised McCorkle for his work with the system and in the community. “Vince has provided the Sisters of Providence Health System with 17 years of dedicated and committed service and visionary leadership,” he said “He guided SPHS through some challenging financial times and led several innovative initiatives that have resulted in the expansion of SPHS’ programs and services. He has left an indelible mark on an organization that, thanks in large part to his hard work, is well-poised to continue the healing legacy of the Sisters of Providence well into the future.” The Board of Trustees has named Dr. William Bithoney, chief medical officer of the SPHS and chief operating officer of Mercy Medical Center, as the interim CEO. Bithoney will serve in this role until the conclusion of a national search for McCorkle’s permanent successor.

Poll Shows Casino Support, with Limitations

BOSTON — A recent survey conducted by Western New England College shows that most adults support casinos in the Bay State, but many don’t want one in their own community. The telephone poll of more than 500 adults conducted in mid-April, and partly during a floor debate on casinos on Beacon Hill, found that 58% support the approval of casinos for the state, while 35% are opposed. The poll also found that 53% in the state are opposed to a casino in their community, while 41% would support it.

UMass Entrepreneurship Initiative Stages Contest

AMHERST — The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (UMass EI) recently awarded seed capital to aspiring student entrepreneurs through its seventh Executive Summary Competition, which is sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. The competition consisted of businesses ranging from ladies’ shoes to investment consulting in Haiti. A notable feature of this year’s competition was the very strong performance by students from Mount Holyoke College. This year’s top place was a tie between two teams. Filmix was awarded $750. The company enables independent filmmakers to post their work online, where customers may sample and download the films. The team consisted of Vladislav Yazhbin, a triple major at UMass (Mathematics, Computer Science, and individualized major in Human Computer Interaction) and Vennie Encheva, a triple major at Mount Holyoke College (Mathematics, Economics, and Politics). Also awarded $750 was Rocky Mountain Field Hockey, the company of UMass student Sarah Williams, a major in Landscape Architecture, a company dedicated to promoting advanced field-hockey training for high-school players in Colorado aspiring to play in college. Participating in the competition were three other teams. Foodcycle coordinates the collection and removal of food waste from commercial kitchens. The team consisted of two UMass students, Rose Weiss and Mauricio Abascal. The team received $500 from the judges and an additional $250 as the audience’s favorite. DisaporConex offered an investment platform through which Haitian immigrants can connect effectively to businesses and schools in Haiti. The company is led by UMass students Jean Arnaud and Adrien Tofighi. Three Mount Holyoke students — Alex Ivanova, Gergana Kostadinova, and Divisha Chumun — with a company called Vedette pitched their concept of an innovative ladies’ shoe with detachable high heels. Noting the prominence of Mount Holyoke students in the competition, EI co-organizer Dan Gordon, a professor of History, said, “these young ladies are each fluent in many academic disciplines and brought tremendous entrepreneurial spirit to the class. There were 75 applicants for the competition, and all the Mount Holyoke students made it to the finals.” The competition’s judges included nine distinguished bankers, investors, grant issuers, and entrepreneurs. The mission of the UMass EI is to help students turn ideas into businesses. The organization inspires students to explore the entrepreneurial career path, trains them in how to evaluate their ideas, and then connects them to the resources needed to take the first steps in starting their own business. Students participating in EI’s program have opportunities to earn academic credit, win prize money, and connect with experienced mentors.

Diversity in the Workplace

By
Sections Supplements
How Best to Develop a Corporate Strategy That Generates Results

As you look around your office, is everyone just like you? Probably not.
The demographics of the American workforce have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. In the 1950s, more than 60% of the American workforce consisted of white males. They were typically the sole breadwinners in the household, expected to retire by age 65 and spend their retirement years in leisure activities. Today, the American workforce is a better reflection of the population, with a significant mix of genders, race, religion, age, and other background factors.
The long-term success of any business calls for a diverse body of talent that can bring fresh ideas, perspectives, and views to their work. The challenge that diversity poses, therefore, is enabling your managers to capitalize on the mixture of genders, cultural backgrounds, ages, and lifestyles to respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively.
Diversity is no longer just a black/white, male/female, old/young issue. It is much more complicated and interesting than that. In The Future of Diversity and the Work Ahead of Us, Harris Sussman says, “diversity is about our relatedness, our connectedness, our interactions, where the lines cross. Diversity is many things — a bridge between organizational life and the reality of people’s lives, building corporate capability, the framework for interrelationships between people, a learning exchange, a strategic lens on the world.”
A benefit of a diverse workforce is the ability to tap into the many talents which employees from different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and disabilities bring to the workplace. An impressive example of this is found on the business cards of employees at one Fortune 100 technology company. Employees at this company have business cards that appear normal at first glance. On closer inspection, the raised Braille characters of employee information are evident.
Many companies, however, still face challenges around building a diverse environment. Part of the reason is the tendency to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a certain silo based on their diversity profile. If an employee is male, over 50, English, and an atheist, under what diversity category does this employee fall? Gender, generational, global, or religious? In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized, and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.
So, how do you develop a diversity strategy that gets results? The companies with the most effective diversity programs take a holistic approach to diversity by following these guidelines:

Link diversity to the bottom line. When exploring ways to increase corporate profits, look to new markets or to partnering with your clients more strategically. Consider how a diverse workforce will enable your company to meet those goals. Think outside the box. At a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, Hispanics purchased many of the products. When the company hired a director of Hispanic markets, profits increased dramatically in less than one year because of the targeted marketing efforts. Your new customers may be people with disabilities or people over the age of 65. How can your employees help you reach new markets?

Walk the talk. If senior management advocates a diverse workforce, make diversity evident at all organizational levels. If you don’t, some employees will quickly conclude that there is no future for them in your company. Don’t be afraid to use words like black, white, gay, and lesbian. Show respect for diversity issues and promote clear and positive responses to them. How can you demonstrate your company’s commitment to diversity?

Broaden your efforts. Does diversity at your company refer only to race and gender? If so, expand your definition and your diversity efforts. As Baby Boomers age and more minorities enter the workplace, the shift in demographics means that managing a multigenerational and multicultural workforce will become a business norm. Also, there is a wealth of specialized equipment available to enable people with disabilities to contribute successfully to their work environments. If your organizational environment does not support diversity broadly, you risk losing talent to your competitors. How can your recruitment efforts reach out to all qualified candidates?

Remove artificial barriers to success. The style of interview — behavioral or functional — may be a disadvantage to some job candidates. Older employees, for example, are less familiar with behavioral interviews and may not perform as well unless your recruiters directly ask for the kind of experiences they are looking for. Employees from countries outside the U.S. and non-Caucasian populations may downplay their achievements or focus on describing, who they know rather than what they know. Train your recruiters to understand the cultural components of interviews. How can your human-resources processes give equal opportunity to all people?

Retain diversity at all levels. The definition of diversity goes beyond race and gender to encompass lifestyle issues. Programs that address work and family issues — alternative work schedules and child and elder care resources and referrals — make good business sense. How can you keep valuable employees?

Provide practical training. Using relevant examples to teach small groups of people how to resolve conflicts and value diverse opinions helps companies far more than large, abstract diversity lectures. Training needs to emphasize the importance of diverse ideas as well. Workers care more about whether or not their boss seems to value their ideas than whether they are part of a group of all white males or an ethnically diverse workforce. In addition, train leaders to move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population. How can you provide diversity training at your company?

Mentor with others at your company whom you do not know well. Involve your managers in a mentoring program to coach and provide feedback to employees who are different from them. Some of your most influential mentors can be people with whom you have little in common. Find someone who doesn’t look just like you. Find someone from a different background, a different race, or a different gender. Find someone who thinks differently than you do. How can you find a mentor who is different from you?

Measure your results. Conduct regular organizational assessments on issues like pay, benefits, work environment, management, and promotional opportunities to assess your progress over the long term. Keep doing what is working, and stop doing what is not working. How do you measure the impact of diversity initiatives at your organization?

In the book Beyond Race and Gender, R. Roosevelt Thomas defines managing diversity as “a comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment that works for all employees.” Successful strategic diversity programs also lead to increased profits and lowered expenses.
The long-term success of any business calls for a diverse body of talent that can bring fresh ideas, perspectives and views and a corporate mindset that values those views. It’s also no secret that the lack of diversity can affect your ability to communicate effectively with diverse clients.
Link your diversity strategies to specific goals like morale, retention, performance, and the bottom line. Build your business with everything you’ve got, with the complex, multi-dimensional talents and personalities of your workforce, and make diversity work for you.

Judith Lindenberger, principal of the Lindenberger Group, LLC, and Marian Stoltz-Loike, CEO of SeniorThinking, provide human-resources learning and consulting; www.lindenbergergroup.com; www.seniorthinking.com

Mark Your Calendar

By
Uncategorized
BusinessWest?s 40 Under Forty Gala Slated for June 24 at the Log Cabin

It’s far too early to know what the weather will be like on June 24, but this much we know already: the stars will be out.

Indeed, BusinessWest will stage its fourth annual 40 Under Forty Gala, a celebration of the Class of 2010, which was introduced to the region in the magazine’s April 26 edition. Profiles of the winners also appear on www.businesswest.com.

The Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke will be the site of this year’s gala, which, as always, will be a combination awards ceremony and networking event, one that has become a summer tradition and get-together not to be missed.

Details of the gala are coming together, but some things are known. As always, the event will include a more-than-hour-long networking session during which attendees can meet not only this year’s rising stars in the business and nonprofit communities, but also many from previous years, and representatives of the companies and agencies represented by the four classes of winners.

“It’s perhaps the premier networking event of the year,” said BusinessWest Associate Publisher Kate Campiti. “This is a room filled with movers and shakers, the young guns of the region. The gala is a great opportunity to connect with business and civic leaders.”

The menu for the evening will include circulating hors d’oeuvres and elaborate food stations with a wide assortment of offerings that will appeal to any palate. There will also be live entertainment before and after the presentation of the Class of 2010, which is the most anticipated part of the night and usually the most remembered.

That’s because family, friends, and co-workers of the winners have been engaged in friendly competition to see who can create the most noise when the name they’ve been waiting for is called. “That’s something that’s really caught on over the years,” said Campiti. “It’s a lot of fun for everyone.”

Tickets for the gala are on sale now, and can be ordered by calling (413) 781-8600 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (413) 781-8600      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, ext. 10, or via e-mail at[email protected]. Tickets are $60 each, and tables of 10 are available.

This year’s 40 Under Forty program and gala are being sponsored by Bay Path College, Comcast Business Class, Fathers & Sons, Hampden Bank, the Mass. Society of CPAs, and Moriarty & Primack.

Editorial

By
Opinion
Showcasing Local Manufacturing Might

Details are still falling into place, but a planned conference to showcase the region’s manufacturing sector and resources that support it appears to be exactly what this region — and this all-important sector of the Knowledge Corridor’s economy — needs.
It’s called AMICCON, or the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competition & Conference, and it is being designed as both a showcase of the region’s manufacturing might and diversity, and also a vehicle for possibly generating more business and economic development in the region.
Conference creators, or founders, including several area manufacturing executives, banking and finance leaders, and economic-development officials, say many manufacturers and supply-chain members in this region are simply not aware of all that is produced in the Springfield-Hartford corridor. As a result, companies are looking to makers in other time zones — and on other continents — to supply items that could supplied by companies in their own backyard.
But there is much more to this conference, planned for Sept. 23, than simply meeting and greeting, although that is certainly important. Indeed, the event is being crafted — as we said, it is still very much a work in progress — to not only spotlight manufacturers, but introduce them to innovators, venture capitalists, and support organizations that can make them more competitive globally.
In other words, this conference and continuum is about making important connections — with potential new customers, new markets, and new partners.
For example, the program is slated to include two programs to be staged by the Mass. Export Center, one an experts panel that will discuss a variety of issues, and the second a seminar called “International Traffic in Arms Regulations for Defense and Aerospace Export.” Together, they will help manufacturers understand the many nuances of exporting and grasp the many growth opportunities represented by selling products overseas.
There will be other educational programs that will make the day eventful and enlightening, but organizers don’t want this to be about one day.
Instead, they want to incorporate ongoing programs that would create a continual spotlight on the manufacturing sector and a year-round focus on ways to bolster that important economic engine. Thus, the word ‘continuum’ is part of the program and its acronym.
A key component of that continuum will be something called the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Competition (AMIC), which, as the name suggests, is designed to not simply showcase talented precision manufacturing, but promote innovation that may lead to the kind of new-product development that gave the Springfield area its heritage.
When many people think of the term ‘economic development,’ thoughts turn to efforts to bring new companies and new jobs to a region. And while that is a big part of that equation, it is just a part. Another huge part is work to help existing companies to not simply stay in business and remain in the 413 area code, but grow their books of business and their workforces.
The manufacturing sector, specifically the precision-manufacturing component, has long been this region’s identity. The best days for that industry have long since past, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a bright future.
The AMICCON conference and continuum should go a long way toward putting that sector not simply in the spotlight, but in a better position to achieve long-term health and vitality.

Doing Business in: Springfield

By
Springfield, Mass.
Features
Officials Say City Is Positioned for a Comeback

Springfield, Mass.

Springfield, Mass.

From his office looking out on the sidewalks of Main Street in Springfield, Russell Denver can see firsthand what is happening in the downtown business district.
As president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, Denver knows that a lot of work needs to happen in the city he’s called home for most of his life — and, for all but four years since 1980, where he’s worked as well. But some of the biggest points to address can’t be solved quickly by a shovel in the ground or a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Like many others who talked with BusinessWest, he said that there’s a perception of Springfield’s safety and vitality that isn’t supported by hard evidence.
“Springfield is a big fish in a little pond,” he explained. “What happens is that the city gets magnified. For instance, do we have crime? Yes. But if those same statistics were reported in Boston, no one would even notice it.”
Addressing the empty storefronts downtown, he said, “I’m going to put a different spin on things. If you go around, you see a fair amount of vacant office and retail space. Well, that’s an opportunity, rather than a challenge. As things start to turn around, we’re going to have the locations ready so that people can move right in.”
Such glass-half-full enthusiasm is expressed by others as well.
Springfield’s chief development officer, John Judge, said that during the current down market, City Hall has been strategically addressing both strengths and weaknesses in order to make strides when the economy rebounds. He said that working toward a “21st-century downtown” is at the top of his priorities, and while the to-do list is not short for that goal, a few achievements have already been checked off as underway or complete.
In this, the latest installment of its Doing Business In series, BusinessWest takes an indepth look at the region’s unofficial capital. While there are problems shared by most every municipality across the nation after a couple of tough years, Springfield has had some of its own dark spots that are now relegated to the history books. The Finance Control Board left just under a year ago, turning the city’s red ledgers back on track, and in the recently-released budget for fiscal year 2011, Mayor Domenic Sarno unveiled plans for increased hiring in the public-safety departments and a priority for “strong and effective fiscal management,” according to the report written by Lee Erdmann, chief financial officer for the city.
Talking with various officials, a picture emerges of a city that has been maligned for what it both is and isn’t. And in the coming months, some of that will be changing, helping to drive home a important message, said Judge. “We’ve got to make sure that everything we do says that Springfield is open for business.”

The Center of It All
Denver identified one historic roadblock for business development in the city: a lack of developable real estate.
“But I think that a lot of people have done some great work, and now there is land for new construction,” he countered. “You have property at Smith & Wesson, Chicopee River Business Park, in Indian Orchard, for light industrial. So now, there’s plenty of land out there for new tenants, or for expansion and new buildings.”
Those commercial properties have been in good shape in the last year, and these pages have reported with due fanfare the addition of several big-ticket incoming businesses like Performance Food Group and the F.W. Webb Co., among others.
While those outlying properties are marketable and in the spotlight, downtown can also share some of that limelight. Denver called the four-acre York Street Jail site along the Connecticut River a “home run,” increasing developable land along what is rapidly becoming a true destination, featuring several popular restaurants bracketing the Basketball Hall of Fame.
He shifted his focus to the central business district, the area loosely defined by State Street and Court Square to the south up Main Street to the property north of the train station. “If there is only one thing that happens in 2010,” he said, “filling the vacant federal building is an absolute winner.”
Nick Fyntrilakis agrees. As the assistant vice president for Community Responsibility for MassMutual, he has been working closely on a variety of projects for the city, his hometown. He called the return of occupants to the federal building at 1550 Main Street “a key to revitalization for that section of the city.”
Plans are underway for the Springfield School Department and Baystate Health to become anchor tenants in the structure, turning the lights back on in the prominently located building that has been vacant for more than a year.
“One of the impacts from 9/11,” he explained, “is that the building was cordoned off from the street with Jersey barriers. Before that, the building was accessible via airwalks to Tower Square, it was accessible to the parking garage behind it, Uno’s was right next to CityStage, and it was a very active night spot. But all of a sudden, you lost those people that weren’t there having dinner, and the building became this real island, an air bubble of inactivity, really.
“Not only will the building in use again mean bodies downtown,” he continued, “but it flips the switch to make it another welcoming section of the city. I think the barriers and the access really had an impact on the psyche of that section of Main Street.”

Accentuate the Positive
Fyntrilakis said MassMutual is heavily invested in seven major revitalization initiatives in the city, four of which are moving “at various speeds and progressions.”
“The Corridor Storefront Improvement project is off the ground,” he continued. “Some grants were awarded last week, and you’re going to see more of that in the future. Basically any storefront along Main or State streets can receive up to $10,000 in grants, with a $2,500 match from the owners, to go toward improving their storefront — awnings, lighting, what have you. You’ll start to see pockets of those pop up.”
In addition, he mentioned projects at the former Indian Motocycle complex, market-rate housing at the building on State Street soon to be vacated by the School Department, infrastructure improvements along the State Street corridor, and the revitalization of Union Station for high-speed commuter rail.
While these are projects that will provide a much-needed boost in the right direction for retail and market-rate housing — two fundamental concepts for urban vitality — Fyntrilakis said that there are still specific, important building blocks that need to be addressed. In his opinion, the historic building at 31 Elm Street, directly across Court Square from City Hall, is a project whose importance can’t be understated.
“That property could potentially impact so much,” he said. “Moving north across Court Square, then to the MassMutual Center side, the lower part of State Street, and the beginning of the South End … getting that project online in some shape or form is absolutely critical.”
From a commercial real-estate perspective, William Low said that progress and revitalization at Elm Street “needs to happen.”
Low, senior vice president at NAI Plotkin on Taylor Street, said that, if that property is redeveloped, it will fundamentally change the landscape in downtown Springfield.
For reference, Low mentioned projects in Pittsfield that could very easily be duplicated for the vacant space, saying that, if it could happen there, Springfield can’t be far behind.
“Pittsfield has done a good job of revitalizing its downtown,” he began. “On the ground floor, you essentially just give away the real estate, just getting those spaces filled. Every time a third-tier city tries that, it works. Go to Pittsfield now and see how well it’s worked.
“Five or ten years ago,” he continued, “people in my business weren’t even considering that city. But now they are.”
Echoing just about everyone with an informed opinion, Low said that market-rate housing is of the utmost importance to foster a vibrant downtown economy. “And give them a reason to live there,” he said, counting off galleries, shops, and entertainment venues, “most of which are already here,” he added.
Citing the Quadrangle museums, Symphony Hall, Center Stage, and the MassMutual Center, he shrugged and said, “if housing has made a difference and has worked in other cities with so much less to offer, then it certainly could happen here.”
Denver said that, by realigning the income demographic for downtown with market-rate housing, the retail that consumers have long expected for the city might be a reality, but not until there are those numbers to support them.
“People complain sometimes about the type of retail that comes into downtown,” he said, “but look at the income demographics. No one should be expecting that Nordstroms will be coming to downtown — the market doesn’t support that. But should we be looking at the Gap or Old Navy types of stores, and start reaching for things like that? Absolutely.”

Eliminate the Negative
An important facet to reining in that desired demographic will be to change some perceptions concerning the downtown area. Low said that, when all one hears on the news are stories of violent crime in Springfield, the downtown becomes the symbolic hub for all of those ills.
“Sure, there’s crime in Springfield,” he said. “But it’s not in the central business district. The reality is that once you’re here, it’s nothing that you are even aware of.
“Having said that,” he added, “I would like to see more of a police presence. Every once in a while, you’ll hear talk about some kind of criminal activity, and for the next few days you’ll see police on the streets, walking around. I wish they would just stay there. That negative perception is a genuine challenge for the retail and restaurant sectors.”
From his desk at the chamber, Denver said that one of the biggest hurdles the city needs to address is the commercial real-estate tax rate, the highest in the state.
“We did a study that we handed to all city councilors last year showing that, consistently, for similarly sized properties in similarly-sized industries, you pay a higher per-foot real-estate tax than in any of the surrounding communities,” he said. “That needs to be addressed first and foremost.
He cited tax increment financing that was made available to a number of large commercial ventures in the city, among them Performance Foods, Titeflex, and Liberty Mutual. “My point to the city is that, if you can give those tax breaks — and I’m very happy you did — what about everyone else?” he asked.
Put into context, however, these hurdles don’t overshadow his feeling that the city is positioned for a comeback.
“I’m of the belief that there is a lot of good already going on downtown,” he said, “There have been nights this past winter where you had Symphony Hall sold out, CityStage sold out, and the Falcons with 5,000 people. Those people do go to restaurants, and there is the possibility that they could support strong retail.
“The product is there,” he added, “and it’s good. We need to make sure it continues to be good, and people will come.”

Profiles in Business

By
Peter Picknelly
Features
Transit Company Exec Is Driven to Succeed

Peter Picknelly

Peter Picknelly, president, Peter Pan Bus Lines

Peter A. Picknelly and his wife, Melissa, have a long-standing, built-in Friday date-night routine — only there’s nothing routine about it.
Each week, it’s a different restaurant, all within roughly 45 minutes of their home in Springfield, and Peter’s in charge of picking the venue and, essentially, providing the surprises. They come in the form of usually smaller, lesser-known establishments that he finds via a combination of referrals and exhaustive research.
Through that mix, he has found such gems, as he calls them, as the Mill at 2T in Tariffville, Conn., the Trattoria Rustica in Pittsfield, and Cavey’s in Manchester, Conn., all of which have made his very-much-unofficial list of favorites. “We get a kick out of finding new ones, and try not to go to the same one twice in a year,” he said. “And we hardly ever miss a Friday — only if there’s kid issues.”
Picknelly, third-generation president of Peter Pan Bus Lines, the regional transit business started by his grandfather, Peter C. Picknelly, is quick to point out that, while he’s ventured far out of the Springfield area to find new places for date-night dinners, he’s still quite partial to established eateries in and around the City of Homes. “I’m at the Fort five days a week for lunch,” he said, acknowledging that he’s exaggerating slightly, but that on those days when he’s not at that downtown Springfield landmark, he’s at one of several other nearby restaurants.
And he’s almost always there with a manager from Peter Pan Bus Lines, either a direct report or one of another few dozen department administrators. These are working luncheons for the most part, and, for Picknelly, learning opportunities.
“I bring a list of things to discuss,” he told BusinessWest. “We talk about business and family. I never leave without some tidbit of information that helps me understand the business better.”
All this time in restaurants serves to help Picknelly better focus on the two most important aspects of his life — family and the family business (the community and service to it would place a close third) — and to do what he thinks he might do best: plan.
“I’m definitely a planner,” he said, adding that this goes for his family, Peter Pan, and a host of other business ventures with which he’s involved. “And with the family, it’s vacations that I love planning; I know where we’ll be vacationing a year from now.”
That would be Tuscany in Italy, the first European excursion for the family as a unit, meaning Peter, Melissa, and their four children — Lauren and Alyssa (13-year-old twins), Peter (that’s Peter D.), 10, and Olyvia, 7. Together, they’ve been to several spots on this side of the Atlantic, including the Bahamas, Mexico, and, most recently, Costa Rica.
‘Planning’ is a term that may also be applied to Picknelly’s affinity for high-end sports cars — very high-end. The burgundy Ferrari F4-30 (license plate: PETER) now in the Peter Pan parking lot will soon be replaced by the Italian automaker’s 2010 4-58 Italia model, this one blue, and, reportedly, the first one in New England.
Picknelly, who says he’ll get nearly what he paid for the F4-30 when he turns it in, has owned a variety of fast cars over the years, including a few Lotuses and Jaguars, choices far different from his father (the late Peter L. Picknelly), who was, as most in the region know, partial to Rolls-Royces.
“I can’t see me driving one of those,” said Picknelly, adding that he hasn’t emulated his father in several other ways — he believes he’s a much better delegater and family man, for example — but took a number of life and business lessons from him.
BusinessWest will elaborate on those and other points as it continues its Profiles in Business series with a look at someone who’s a driving force in local business and the community — literally and figuratively.

In the Clutch
As he talked about the many nuances of life in a family business, Picknelly noted that there are advantages and disadvantages, and they often go hand in hand.
He acknowledged that many people look at second-, third-, or fourth-generation managers of family businesses and conclude that things have been handed to them, and that they are perhaps not as worthy of praise for their exploits as someone who started from scratch and built his or her own company.
“And there’s something to that, certainly,” he noted. “I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for my father and grandfather; I know that I’ve been incredibly fortunate. If you were to go out right now and hire a president for Peter Pan, I’m not sure I’d make the cut.
“That said, I’m quite sure that you couldn’t find anyone who would work harder in this job than me,” he continued, adding that part of what drives him is that recognition of the fact that, to many, it’s simply his last name that is responsible for his title and success.
“It does push me a little harder,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s when people say I can’t do something that I try to prove them wrong.”
While Picknelly says he’s been helped by the Peter Picknellys who preceded him, he’s had to earn his stripes. And that meant starting at the bottom, which, in the bus business, means cleaning, or ‘dumping’ (that’s the technical term), the toilets in the back of the vehicles.
“Yeah, I did that — I’ve done just about every job in the company,” said Picknelly, noting that he started working in the garage on weekends and during the summer when he was just 13. He would later go on to take a number of different positions, from dispatcher to manager of the company’s then-much-smaller Boston operation when he was a student at Boston University. Years ago, he actually drove a bus on occasion when the company was short-handed and needed someone, but hasn’t done that for decades, and couldn’t now because his standard Class 2 license wouldn’t credential him to do so.
He kept moving up the ladder, and eventually assumed the title of president several years ago, when his father became chairman.
Over the past several years, he’s strived to continue growing Peter Pan, even in the face of mounting competition from new carriers, and even improved rail service to many cities the company serves.
“The business has changed considerably over the years … it is more competitive now than perhaps it ever was,” he said. “We just have to put ourselves in a position to succeed.”
As Picknelly mentioned, he took a number of life and business lessons from his father, and far more of the latter than the former. One of the keys from that realm was achieving diversity in one’s business portfolio, as a hedge against the vagaries of the economy and society in general, he said.
The younger Picknelly has accomplished this through both acquisition and new-business development. In the first category are purchases of companies including Camfour, a firearms distributor based in Westfield; Belt Technologies, an Agawam-based maker of metal belts and pulleys for several applications, including aerospace, medical equipment, and food processing; another firearms distributor in Austin, Texas; and a woodworking company based in Connecticut.
As for new business development, Picknelly, in conjunction with Greyhound, started a second transportation-based operation, called BoltBus. Designed as competition for so-called street-corner operators who offer low fares and few, if any, frills, BoltBus, which features more leg room and WiFi, among other amenities, has been an enormous success, said Picknelly. With runs to and from several large Northeast cities and New York, the carrier is boasting 80% capacity for all its runs, about one-third higher than the average for the industry.
Meanwhile, Picknelly has started a real-estate operation, called OPAL, an acronym that takes the first letters of his children’s names, in reverse order from when they were born.
Among other initiatives, OPAL is the main developer of the intermodal transportation facility taking shape in an old downtown fire station in Holyoke. It will feature a bus terminal, a two-story learning center to be operated in conjunction with Holyoke Community College, and a Head Start facility.
The value of such diversity was clearly on display during the recent economic downturn, said Picknelly. “Belt Technologies has been a victim of the economy,” he said, “but Camfour had its best year ever. Now, Belt is starting to pick up a little, and Camfour is slowing somewhat. My father always used to stress the importance of diversity, and I’ve learned that lesson well.”
But while Picknelly has emulated his father in many regards, from most business philosophies to work within the community, he’s written a much different script in what he considers the most important realm — family life.
“My father always used to say that if he had to do it all over again, he would have spent more time with his children,” said Picknelly, adding that his early years did not include trips to the Bahamas, and probably because of that, he devotes what he considers excessive amounts of time and energy to family.
“It’s very important to me; I love being a dad,” he said, adding that, unlike his father, he doesn’t micromanage every aspect of his businesses, and that leaves him time for other, more important things.

In High Gear
A quick look around Picknelly’s office and adjoining conference room provides ample evidence of the forces that shape his life.
There are photos of the generations that preceded him, models and pictures of buses from several different decades, a globe (presumably to help with planning the next family vacation), and several drawings crafted by his youngest child, Olyvia.
Together, they explain what drives him, professionally and personally, to succeed at whatever he’s doing.
Even picking the restaurant for date night.

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

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