Month: April 2011

Attorney, the Law Offices of Brooks and Powe

Maurice Powe

When Maurice Powe was a young boy, his grandmother made it her mission to feed seniors in their neighborhood. She sent him to deliver the meals she cooked and told him to sit down and talk with the recipients in their homes.
“I learned to meet people where they were and try to build a common ground of understanding,” he said. “My mother and father also made sure I understood the importance of giving back. It was always important in our home to help the less fortunate. We called it ‘doing the right thing.’”
Powe feels blessed because many people helped him to go to law school and become an attorney. Today, he gives back through his profession and his volunteerism. He is on the Board of Directors for the NAACP of Springfield, the Urban League of Springfield, and theaBrethren.
This father of three keeps photos on his office wall of several football teams he coached for the Springfield Academics Athletics Arts Achievement Assoc. He has also coached youth football and basketball teams in Longmeadow, and was a recipient of the 2010 Massachusetts Bar Assoc. Community Service Award.
When he works with young athletes, he strives to teach them teamwork, commitment, and an important life lesson: “although they may get beat up and knocked down in life, they have to get back up. I tell them they show a lot about who they are if they do that.”
Powe says everyone has a story and a past, which they bring to every situation. “It goes a long way in trying to understand them,” he said. “I just try to treat people with respect and dignity and work hard for them whether they are having good times or bad. I listen to them and hear them, which is the start of a good relationship between any attorney and client.” He is also a zealous advocate for civil rights in lawsuits that involve discrimination.
His accomplishments all stem from his core beliefs. He is definitely doing the right thing — for all the right reasons.
— Kathleen Mitchell

Help Wanted

A list of area staffing agencies

Click here:EmploymentAgenciesBW0411b

Nick Gelfand: 33

Owner and President, NRG Real Estate Inc.

Nick Gelfand

Nikita Robert Gelfand’s parents didn’t plan on giving him initials that sound out a word, but he’s definitely had the ‘NRG’ to succeed.
Having immigrated to the U.S. from Russia at age 11 with his family, Gelfand said that he always liked real estate, and he knew, even as a child, that he wanted to own and operate properties. But he has always marched to the beat of a different drummer, he said, and after working for a larger realty company, he knew the time had come to hang out his own shingle.
“Maybe it was the hot market I got into in 2003,” he joked. “Those boom years were awesome. I realized it was something I could make a living at — which is nice, when you can do what you love.”
He’s equally committed to bringing the sum total of his professional experience to others in need.
“I think it’s important for everyone in a community to give back to the community,” he explained. “You always look for somewhere you can contribute that’s close to your heart. There are many great charities and nonprofits to be a part of, but Habitat for Humanity seemed right for me. Because I help people buy houses in my everyday life, it just seemed like a natural fit to help these folks who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a mortgage in a traditional way.”
As a board member for the Greater Springfield chapter of Habitat, Gelfand also helps to coordinate the Fall Festival campaign, which last year raised more than $35,000.
Meanwhile, at work, Gelfand said that helping people get into their first homes is one of his proudest accomplishments — one he gets to enjoy on a weekly basis. “Some of my favorite clients to work with are first-time homebuyers, because I was in their shoes very recently.”
It’s the American Dream, he said, for a kid from Russia to own his own business. And with his energetic approach to real estate, he’s making that dream come true for others.
— Dan Chase

Exercise in Sound Management

For Lower Insurance Premiums, it Pays to Keep Employees Fit

Healthier employees lead to lower premiums, according to numerous studies. If companies can help their workers improve their health without cutting benefits or shifting more premium costs to employees, where is the downside? After all, Fortune 1000 companies have been using wellness programs for years to combat the rising costs of health care.
So, the question is, why aren’t smaller companies using this proven method to lower their health care costs?
Randy Boss, a risk architect for Ottawa Kent Insurance in Jenison, Mich., helps companies implement successful wellness programs. And he says he can understand how employers feel.
“They’re frustrated because most likely they have tried things that didn’t work,” said Boss. “There seems to be a wellness vendor on every street corner these days and many use ROIs from Fortune 1000 wellness programs as their own, yet they had nothing to do with that program.”
All wellness programs are not equal! This is a very important problem and something companies need to understand when selecting the appropriate wellness program for their company.” Secondly, Boss says, “businesses tend to think short-term and not long-term, and expect to see solid and immediate savings on their health care costs.”
Yet, the benefits of having healthy workers transcend reduced health care costs, including workers’ compensation and lower absenteeism. Healthy workers are less prone to injury and when injured, they recover quicker than less healthy workers. Conversely, out-of-shape workers are at a higher risk for injury and healing is often delayed and complicated by other health factors. If workers change and modify their lifestyle and reduce their health risks, medical costs decline.
While this may seem intuitive, the connection between wellness and workers’ compensation has been slow to take root. The reasons appear to be separate risk-management departments overseeing workers’ comp and group health, concerns about expanding the employers’ liability for work-related injuries, a focus on workplace safety rather than workers’ health, and a number of small companies with high workers’ comp costs that do not offer health insurance have all been contributing factors. Still, one of the major areas of concern for employers is an out-of-shape employee.
According to a recent Duke University study, the cost of obesity among full-time employees is estimated to be $73.1 billion a year. This is the first study to quantify the total value of lost job productivity as a result of health problems, which is more costly than medical expenditures.
The report recommends that employers promote healthy foods in the workplace, encourage a culture of wellness from the CEO on down, and provide economic and other incentives to employees who show signs of improvement. And there is evidence that this plan can work for employers.
A University of Michigan study of a Midwest utility company’s workplace wellness program found that over nine years, the utility company spent $7.3 million for the program and reaped $12.1 million in savings. Medical and pharmacy costs, time off, and worker’s compensation factored into the savings. The study, which took into account a number of costs, including indirect costs of implementing wellness programs, such as recruitment and the cost of changing menus, showed that wellness programs work long-term even though employees aged during the course of the study.
Overall, the program cost the employer $100 per employee. The cost of lost work time, workers’ compensation, and pharmacy and medical expenses among employees who participated each year increased by $96, compared with a $355 increase among employees who did not participate.
This is good news for employers. Amid heightened cost pressures and leaner staffs brought about by the prolonged economic downturn, employers need to reduce all types of absences to help maintain productivity. While employers tend to focus their energies on controlling the highly visible health care costs, which are more easily shifted, there are significant opportunities to control other costs with wellness programs.
On average, employers can see a 30% reduction in workers’ compensation and disability claim costs, according to a review of 42 published studies involving the economic returns of wellness programs. Moreover, such programs will reduce the costs of absences that, according to the 2010 Kronos/Mercer Survey on the Total Financial Impact of Employee Absences, add up to 8.7% of payroll costs, more than half the cost of health care.
It stands to reason that healthier employees will use less sick time. But ultimately, companies need to make a commitment to helping their employees stay in better shape.
“Employers should focus on health and wellness at work,” says Boss. “Businesses should allocate 2% to 3% of their budget to an effective program that includes at least 90% participation by employees and a wellness coach on site to effect behavior change.”
Although budget and company size will dictate the type of program a company can undertake, there are five steps that companies should take before launching a wellness program:
Evaluate. Know your cost drivers. Analyze workers’ compensation, health care, and absenteeism data to identify common issues and trends. Understand the legal regulations governing wellness programs.
Do a workplace assessment. Examine the physical and cultural framework in which the wellness program will operate. Consider opportunities for on-site physical activity, partnerships with community wellness providers, local gyms or health and nutrition classes, on-site vending machines and cafeteria, etc. Identify the interests and motivation of employees as well as barriers to employee participation through surveys, wellness committees, along with an analysis of past efforts.
Educate. For several years, businesses have been shifting more of the costs of health insurance to workers through increased premiums and higher deductibles. Since 2005 workers’ contributions to premiums have gone up 47%, while wages have increased 18%. Employees are feeling the pinch. Show them how participating in a wellness program can affect premiums as a result of making less use of medical care.
Obtain management support. A wellness program will not succeed without the ongoing support of management. Communicate the goals of the program and assess the commitment of supervisors and management.
Identify goals and metrics for measuring success. When implementing a wellness initiative, senior management will want to see a return on investment. Establishing a consensus on the goals or metrics for measuring the success of the program will help shape the program and ensure its success.
When it comes to implementing a wellness plan at your place of business, it’s really all about risk versus reward. And the rewards can be huge, but only if the plan is properly implemented and the management team is committed to its success.

Preston Diamond is managing director and co-founder of the Institute of WorkComp Professionals (IWCP), based in Asheville, N.C. In 2010, IWCP created a sister organization, the Institute of Benefits & Wellness Advisors, that trains, tests and certifies select insurance professionals to apply the concepts of risk management to benefit; (828) 274-0959.

Profiles in Business

Features

He’s in the Business of Making “Entertaining Art”

Kevin Rhodes Music Director, Springfield Symphony Orchestra

Kevin Rhodes was on a tight schedule, but then … he usually is.
On the day he managed to squeeze in some time for BusinessWest, Rhodes, the long-time music director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, had a lot on his plate, including everything from rehearsals to auditions for ‘first oboe.’
He was actually on break from the latter when he sat down for an interview in a tiny room off the box office at Symphony Hall, a site chosen to ensure that those vying for a job with the SSO would have complete quiet for their tryouts.
Candidate review — and the ultimate selections — in such searches are made by committee, Rhodes explained, adding that he is among several, including others in the orchestra who will play alongside the first oboe, who will listen to the hopefuls as they perform behind a curtain, so that the music — and only the music — is under consideration.
“These are completely anonymous … we’re careful not to use any gender-specific pronouns — people will just say ‘candidate No. 5,’ or ‘the next candidate,” Rhodes explained, adding that the work of assessing hopefuls’ abilities to play music and perform as part of the SSO is a very subjective exercise, a blend of art, science, and entertainment.
Which makes it much like the profession of orchestral conducting itself.
“People ask me if what I do is art or entertainment,” Rhodes, now wrapping up his 10th season with the SSO, explained. “I like to tell them that I try to make it entertaining art.”
There is much more to the job description, of course, he went on, adding that, to one degree or another, conductors must be musicians, marketers, and, in many ways, promoters of the arts, and especially music, in the communities in which they work. Rhodes has woven all three into his tenure with the SSO, and is credited by many with bringing heightened energy and a greater sense of awareness to the 67-year-old orchestra.
Meanwhile, he has become the face of the SSO — his image is used in most all of the orchestra’s marketing materials — and a fixture in the community, performing, guest lecturing, and teaching classes such as the one at the Community Music School on how to listen to music.
“There are several different ways to listen,” he said, adding that he explains them over the course of four sessions that are part of the school’s adult education extension program. “You can let the sound wash over you, like you’re taking a wonderful bath in it. But there is a more ultimately rewarding way, if one has just has a few tools to do that.
“It’s called ‘active listening,’ where while you’re listening to it, you’re sort of sorting through what’s coming at you,” he continued, gesturing with his hands in motions not unlike conducting, while noting that it would take several hours to explain exactly how one does such sorting.
For this, the latest in its ongoing series of profiles, BusinessWest did some active listening, and learning, as Rhodes discussed everything from his batons and how he needs to find another supplier — “I’m actually running low on them” — to how he’s reducing that tight schedule, or “calming the rhythm down,” as he put it,” in some respects, but still racking up the frequent-flyer miles.

Achievements of Note
On the day he spoke with BusinessWest, Rhodes was without his watch.
“I hardly ever forget it, but today I did, and I feel quite naked without it” he said, adding that, unlike those who rely on their cell phone for the time, he still looks at his wrist several dozen times a day.
And he needs to, given the schedule he keeps with just his two main professional assignments — as music director with the SSO and also with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. Consider this rundown of one recent stretch, which was, in most ways, quite typical.
“Three weeks ago, we had a big concert here with a huge reception after for my new contract signing,” he started. “The next two days were full of auditions, and the two after that were huge youth concerts, with thousands of kids. I then flew to Michigan, and the next day had a full day of meetings, a radio interview and a preview party for the upcoming season. The following days were filled with rehearsals with chorus and orchestra for Braham’s Requiem, then the performances and receptions. I did a radio commercial on Monday, flew home Monday night, and taught my class in listening to music on Tuesday.”
And while he’s forever looking at his watch, Rhodes also spends considerable time adjusting it for the time zone he happens to be in — or is flying toward.
Indeed, since leaving a host of concurrent assignments in Europe for his position with the SSO in 2001, Rhodes has crossed the Atlantic countless times for guest-conducting work at such venues as the Paris Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Verona Opera, and the Dutch National Ballet, among others. And in recent years, his plane rides have been longer; he toured Australia with the Paris Ballet in 2009, and last fall, he joined the Dutch National Ballet on tour in China.
Such locations, and assignments, are literally worlds away from Evansville, Ind., where Rhodes was born, spent many days (and also nights and early mornings) at his parents’ 24-hour “trucker diner,” and developed his passion for music.
“When I was in kindergarten, I was totally taken with the teacher playing the piano, so I started bugging my parents for lessons,” he said, adding that his family secured a piano from the same man who serviced the juke boxes at the family’s diner. “I found a young teacher — I think she was 16 when I started with her — and started playing in the school choir when I was 11.
“This led to playing for community theater when I was 13, and conducting for community theater when I was in high school,” he continued. “And by that time, it was pretty clear what I wanted to do.”
He received a bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Michigan State University, and later a master’s in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Illinois. He then served as music director of the Albuquerque Civic Light Opera, while also teaching piano at the University of New Mexico, before relocating to Switzerland in 1991.
His professional career unfolded in Europe, where he led many different orchestras, including the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (the Vienna Philharmonic), the Berlin Staatskapple, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Dusseldorf Symphony, the Duisburg Philharmonic, the Swiss Chamber Philharmonic, the Symphony Orchestra of Madrid, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, and many others.
By 2001, he said, he and his wife made a conscious decision to return to the United States, and thus began what he called a quiet search for job opportunities. This can be a lengthy, laborious process, he continued, adding that positions like the one that opened in Springfield are filled at a “glacial pace.”
Citing the factors that brought him to Symphony Hall, he said geography played a small part — “Springfield is a perfect springboard to Europe” — but the institution and what people told him about it weighed much more heavily.
“I made some calls to people I knew in the Northeast,” he said. “They all raved about it, I applied, and it all worked out.”

Sound Strategy
As he talked about his work and job description, Rhodes returned to those words ‘art’ and ‘entertainment.’ They are both integral to what he does as music director.
But there is much more to it than that, he said, adding that he considers work to promote the orchestra, music, and the arts in general, to be a big part of his assignment.
And it’s a part he enjoys and feels quite comfortable doing.
“I seem to have an outgoing personality and I like people,” he explained. “I like meeting people and talking with people, and a love talking about music, so for me it’s an easy fit; I started going out in front of people at age 10 at kiddie talent shows, so I’m comfortable with the entertainment part of this and being the face of the orchestra.”
Rhodes said that not all conductors are as adept at, or comfortable with, the marketing aspects of this profession, and with larger orchestras those skills are certainly less necessary. But in markets like Springfield it’s what he called “a huge responsibility.”
And it takes many forms, from media interviews, to being highly visible in the community and doing what would be considered outreach work, to helping the public access and appreciate music.
“One of the messages I try to leave with people is that there’s so much that they can know about any piece of music that we play, but they can actually enjoy it without knowing any of that,” he explained. “It’s like listening to music — there are many ways to do it; you can listen to Beethoven knowing all about him, or you can listen to it, and enjoy it, thinking ‘that’s Beethoven, whoever that is.’
“I always try to make that point, because so often people think there’s no way they can enjoy it unless they know a whole ton about Beethoven,” he continued. “Once you get people over that fear, that concern factor, it’s amazing how it almost becomes a drug; they come more and more and they get more into it. It is infectious, and it’s great to see this curiosity inside of people that they didn’t know they had.”
Looking ahead, Rhodes, with that new contract signed, said his immediate career goals involve continuing the work he’s done in Springfield, Michigan, and elsewhere, specifically those efforts to introduce people across all social strata to music and essentially make them thirsty for more.
“I want to continue to expand our audience,” he explained, “but with the audience we have, which is very dedicated to us, I want to expand the concept of what is possible for them; I want them to expand their world and enable them to gain more from the experience of listening to what the orchestra plays.”
He’ll have plenty of opportunities to do that, because despite this talk of scaling back, schedule wise, he’s actually taking on more — at least on this side of the Atlantic.
In recent years, a typical schedule would look like the 2009-2010 slate, which included nine concerts in Springfield, six in Michigan, three productions with the Paris Ballet, or roughly 60 performances, two series of productions with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam (another 30 performances), and a production at La Scala, with nine or 10 performances. And for this season, he took on the additional assignment of music director of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra in Cambridge, Mass., and four performances there.
To create some breathing room, he’ll pare the schedule in Europe slightly.
“There have been several occasions when I’ll be finishing the last performance in Europe on a Tuesday or Wednesday and get back either the night before, or even the day we begin rehearsals for a concert here,” he explained. “I’m calming it down from that.”

The Finale
As for those batons he uses … Rhodes said his supply came mostly via a “very colorful character” who hung around the Vienna State Opera in the 1990s.
“He had this music publishing and baton-making business, and it was all quite suspicious,” he said, choosing that last word carefully while noting that this was the middle man in the operation and the batons were actually made by someone else. “I am concerned, because I’m getting low on these, and I believe both of those characters are no longer with us.”
Finding a new supplier will be something else he’ll have to find room for in that schedule that soon will be lighter but still quite crowded — in between teaching people how to listen to music, assessing first oboe candidates, and, most importantly, making art entertaining.

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

Editorial

Assessing the Job at Hand

The trends and statistics that form the basis of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County’s latest strategic initiative are not exactly recent phenomena, and together, they would hardly be considered a news flash.
But they are still eye-opening, and comprise a significant challenge for this region moving forward.
Summing up what the report’s authors have noted, or recorded, there remains a significant gap in this region between what many employers are seeking in terms of requisite abilities and skill sets from their workers, and what is apparently available in the region’s workforce as currently comprised. This sobering realization can be drawn from the fact that we still have a rather high unemployment rate in Western Mass. — around 9% according to most estimates, with that number much higher in some metropolitan areas like Springfield and Holyoke — and yet there are many employers in several sectors of the economy, from health care to precision manufacturing, who have vacancies they can’t fill because they can’t find skilled workers.
This is a rather unique problem for this region, historically, and one that constitutes a major economic development agenda item, even if some still don’t understand that the phrases ‘workforce issues’ and ‘economic development’ can and must be put together in the same sentence.
Indeed, while most consider economic development to be luring new businesses to the region, building clusters of companies of specific sectors, such as green energy and biotechnology, and enabling existing companies to expand, none of that can really happen — even if the economic conditions were favorable — unless this area had the workforce to support such growth.
Which is why we’re glad that the REB has not only put a plan down on paper — it’s known officially as the ‘Strategic Workforce Development Plan for Hampden County 2011-2013’ — but has developed a game plan for addressing some of the major issues, and has the ability to keep these matters front and center, where they belong.
In short, the report concludes that closing that gap — the overriding mission beyond the strategic plan — will not be easy and it won’t happen overnight. But it must be done, and it will involve the continuation of several current collaborative efforts, and some new ones, to get the job done.
And the work encompasses many different elements, from promoting pre-school programs and helping young people gain the reading skills they need, to introducing junior high school students to the benefits of a career in precision manufacturing; from working with health care providers and area colleges to ensure that graduates have the skills necessary to succeed in specific careers, to the fostering of mentoring programs that will help curb the high drop-out rates in several areas cities.
For decades now, the REB’s unofficial mission has been to help create employment opportunities, anticipate where the jobs will be for the short and long term, and partner with area institutions to ensure that there is a match between the skills needed for those jobs and the skills possessed by those in the workforce. The mission hasn’t changed, but there is now a greater sense of urgency, because, in very simple terms, that aforementioned gap is getting wider, not narrower.
And unless that trend is reversed, cities and towns across the region will suffer in their efforts to attract new companies and diversify their bases of businesses.
Workforce development certainly would not be considered the glamorous side of economic development, which is reserved for those announcements of new companies or expansions of existing ones involving hundreds of jobs. But those announcements won’t come unless this region has workers of sufficient quantity and quality.
As we’ve said many times, and we’ll keep saying it— workforce development is economic development.

Out of Focus

Presenteeism Is a Growing Workplace Challenge

Bob Oldenberg says that in an era of two-income households, parents are bringing more stress and anxiety with them to the workplace.

Everyone knows what absenteeism is — staying home from work due to sickness or some other reason. Not everyone has heard of its counterpart, presenteeism — but anyone can understand the concept, which is basically coming to work but being too sick, distracted by personal issues, or just plain disinterested to get much done. It’s a major cost to employers — and a growing problem, as technology provides new ways to waste time on the job. While it’s impossible to eliminate presenteeism entirely, some human-resources experts say effective communication between management and workers can reduce its impact.

Virtually everyone has shown up at work under the weather, with nagging allergies, a nasty cold, or a more serious chronic condition.
Or they’ve spent the workday anxiously fretting over their failing marriage, their kids’ failing grades, or their parents’ failing health.
Or they’re just, well, failing to get anything done, arriving at the office more in the mood to post on Facebook and text their friends than earn the money they’re being paid.
All of these situations fall under the umbrella of presenteeism, which is a term not everyone has heard, yet is a concept anyone can understand.
Originally, presenteeism signified the opposite of absenteeism, explained Sandy Reynolds, executive vice president of the Employer’s Resource Group at Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM). “It meant somebody who came to work when they were sick because they wouldn’t get paid at home. And there is a cost to having people come to work when they’re sick, in terms of reduced productivity.
“Over time,” she continued, “in the business community, the definition has been expanded to people who are at work who are either not well or distracted by child-care issues, elder-care issues, marital problems, discipline issues with their kids — in general, people who are coming to work but are not fully productive because of some health-related or family-related issue.”
And for employers, it’s a monumentally costly issue. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, absenteeism costs U.S. companies $118 billion annually in medical expenses and lost productivity. But presenteeism — stemming from illness, stress, family and personal issues, and what the society calls an “entitlement mentality” — costs companies an estimated $180 million.
Other estimates are even higher, and most studies admit that it’s not an easy number to pin down. And it’s not a problem that can ever be totally eradicated — as long as human beings, and not machines, are doing the work.
“Many times in the traditional work world, things are happening in our lives that are out of our control,” said Patricia Guenette, vice president of Human Resources for Square One, the Springfield-based early-education provider. “They could be marital issues, financial issues, educational issues — a variety of things can happen in everyday life, regardless of your status.”
If this broader definition of presenteeism is a relatively new concept, that’s partly due to the fact that today’s professionals bring more personal baggage with them to work because no one’s at home to focus on these issues.
“In very many families, both parents are working,” said Bob Oldenburg, director of the Baystate Employee Assistance Program in Springfield, a department of Baystate Health.
“If you look back a generation ago, you typically had a working father and a mom at home, which freed up the dad to focus on work,” he continued. “Those days are long gone; even in intact families, quite often both people are breadwinners in order maintain a certain standard of living, and that creates pressure because neither may be available to deal with what’s going on at home.”
Reynolds, Guenette, and Oldenburg were among the panelists at a recent seminar on presenteeism sponsored by AIM and the Economic Development Council of Western Mass. They spoke to BusinessWest about reasons employers need to hear such a discussion, and what they can do to help workers who are struggling to balance work and life — and often falling short in both realms.

Present and Unaccounted For
Presenteeism is a fairly new concept, Oldenburg said.
“It was developed over the past 15 to 20 years or so, and while the term can sound pejorative, I think it’s important to point out that there’s a variety of demographic trends driving this issue. All of us can identify a time when we fell into the category of being at work but not being as efficient or productive as we could be.”
Indeed, the reasons for a notable uptick in presenteeism — and corresponding loss of productivity — are many, but most reflect changes in the modern workplace. They include:
• Two-income households and more working mothers. As Oldenburg noted, the past 40 years have seen a dramatic demographic shift in how families divide work and home duties. Where the 1950s model saw a working father and a mother holding down the home front and its attendant child-care duties, the modern family is more-often characterized by two incomes, or, in many cases, working single mothers.
This means that, when a child is too sick to go to school, or other household issues arise, one parent’s workday is often disrupted.
“One thing I urge employees to do is be better-prepared to deal with unexpected circumstances and have back-up plans for when a child suddenly becomes ill or a child needs to be picked up from school,” Guenette said.
If someone doesn’t have child-care plans they feel comfortable with, she added, “often their mental status isn’t there at all; while at work they’re thinking about the care of their child — is the child getting nurtured? Is the child eating? All those things reduce their level of productivity at work. If they had an appropriate backup plan, it’s an easier transition, and then they can really focus on going to work and giving it their all.”
On the flip side, many parents use their limited sick days to stay home when their children are home from school with an illness, and consequently don’t have any when they’re sick themselves — which risks the spread of illness throughout the office, thereby compounding the effects of presenteeism in its classic form.
• The ‘sandwich generation.’ This is a term that descibes people who are both raising children and providing some level of care to their elderly parents — while, in many cases, holding down full-time jobs. Needless to say, the distractions from the home front can mount quickly, Oldenburg noted.
“That’s a really new concept, the reality that we have a generation of people at work dealing with issues at both ends of the spectrum,” he said. “These pressures are pushing on people who are trying to work while meeting the challenges from two generations, above and below.”
• The ‘knowledge economy.’ “Before,” Oldenburg said, “many workplaces just needed your arms and legs; if you put the widget in the right place and didn’t stick your arm in the machine, that was fine. People were needed for what they could do, not their hearts and minds.”
But today, he continued, “the economy has moved in a direction where workplaces, in order to be most effective, need not only your arms and legs, but hearts and minds. That kind of engagement requires a higher level of attention and ‘presentness,’ if you will.” And that can magnify everyday distractions to the point of seriously hindering productivity.
At the same time, he said, the global economy has forced many companies to scale back and require greater productivity from each employee — making each distracted worker more of a liability to the business than he or she used to be.
• The rise of the Internet. A 1999 study sponsored by the Employers Health Coalition calculated that lost productivity from presenteeism is 7.5 times greater than that from absenteeism. That statistic has only risen since then, as the Internet — not to mention texting and other high-tech communications — has become a much more ubiquitous use of office time, and not just for work-related duties.
“It’s so much easier today to look busy because so much work is done on the computer, and unless you have all the computers facing your doorway, it’s a huge problem for employers,” Reynolds said. “Employees spend an unbelievable amount of time surfing the Web. It’s a lot easier to look busy when you’re not doing the work you’re supposed to be doing.”
• Everything else. It was easier to gauge the extent of presenteeism when it simply meant coming to work sick, but including every other distraction in the definition makes it tougher for employers to get their arms around.
“Whether it’s asthma, allergies, or chronic conditions, people might be at their desks but not productive because of how they’re feeling physically,” Oldenburg said. “But it’s more than that: anything that’s going on that keeps people from being active and engaged at work — including interpersonal or relational issues — may drive presenteeism.”

Human Resources
In the face of what must seem like overwhelming amounts of wasted time, many employers are asking what they can do to reverse the trend toward presenteeism. Equally important, Reynolds said, is what they should not do.
“Any time an employee is at work and is not able or willing to give 100% effort, it’s a problem for the employer,” she conceded. “But they can’t solve people’s personal issues. While they should give people information about resources available to them, and encourage them to take advantage of those resources, if they try to solve their problems, it’s a disaster.”
That said, any personal distraction is an issue for employers who are paying for time focused on the job.
“Ultimately the jobs have to be done,” Reynolds said. “Don’t be oblivious to what’s going on in the company, but be realistic about what you can provide and the ultimate reason the company is there and the employee is there. The best employers are not heartless; they care very much, but they realize they don’t have a magic pill, and they can’t solve everyone’s problems.”
So what can they do? She and others pointed to employee-assistance programs (like Oldenburg’s in the Baystate system) and other human-resources outreach efforts that can link employees with outside resources to help them deal with personal, financial, or family matters.
“There’s no way to eliminate presenteeism 100%, but you can diminish it greatly using a variety of different resources,” Guenette said. “Having resources to help in those difficult circumstances, and somebody to turn to on a consistent basis, is usually a big help for employees.”
Part and parcel of the employee-assistance process, Oldenburg said, is understanding the needs of the company’s workers.
“Because Baystate is a health care organization and we are a woman-dominated workplace demographically,” he explained, “in addressing presenteeism, Baystate wants to look at the kinds of issues showing up primarily for women. The goal is knowing what kinds of challenges are facing your workforce and the variety of ways you can get at that.”
Square One’s Guenette agreed. “You really need to know the demographics of your workplace, and understand the needs of your employees, to be able to respond to those needs,” she said. “If the workplace is mainly from the Baby Boom generation, their needs will be different than an organization where most employees are females and in their childbearing years.”
Another key factor, Oldenburg said, is knowing the difference between employee satisfaction and employment engagement. His organization and others are starting to move toward surveying workers on both.
“It’s management’s responsibility to know what’s going on when productivity or performance is suffering. It’s an issue,” Reynolds said. “It’s all about whether an employee is engaged and willing to give effort toward their job.
“You may have an employee who’s very satisfied; he likes the company and is paid adequately,” she added. “Yet, he may not be very engaged at all in the work he should be doing. I think that was an eye-opener to some people in the room” at last month’s seminar.
Guenette said good employers understand, for example, why parents (especially first-timers) will fret over leaving their child in the care of someone new, which is why it’s important that a working mother or father plan ahead for such contingencies. But, in the same way, employers can plan ahead too, by understanding the unique personal needs of their workforce.
“The sooner you begin to identify and address these issues, the better it’s going to go for the organization and the employee,” Oldenburg explained, adding that employers can also model good wellness habits — healthy snacks in vending machines, posted signs about handwashing and infection control — that cut down on the number of employees who come to work sick.
Meanwhile, he added, “there are many ways in which supervisors and managers can check in with employees and identify when there might be an issue, and point people in the right direction.”
Guenette agreed that communication is key.
“Our workforce knows they’re valued, and as an employer, you want to work with them to handle their issues,” she said. “When you give them opportunities and resources to choose from, it makes the whole situation much better for them, and for us as an employer.”
Meaning that life goes on — but the work gets done.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Workforce in Progress

Employment Board’s Strategic Plan Identifies Challenges, Game Plans

Bill Ward says that one of the goals of REB’s new plan is to have the organization become known as the leading source of regional labor market information and innovative ideas.

The days when a college degree or training certificate combined with years of experience were enough to ensure job security and a steady path toward advancement have all but disappeared.
Today, rapid advances in technology and outsourcing have made job competition fierce. In fact, one of the key findings in the recently released Regional Employment Board of Hampden County Strategic Workforce Development Plan for Hampden County 2011-2013 is that life-long learning is essential to job creation, retention, and the economic health of the region.
The report, which took nine months to produce and involved partnerships, collaborations, a retreat, and data compiled over a six-year period, paints a clear picture of the state of the region’s economy, workforce trends, challenges, and opportunities for growth.
REB Executive Director William Ward says the plan also creates a framework for solutions to the identified challenges and covers a broad continuum, which begins at the pre-school level and runs into the future, addressing gaps that local businesses anticipate over the next decade.
“The REB is embarking upon a new and more expansive strategic direction, and we’re looking at workforce development in a more comprehensive way, because we want to build a more prosperous community,” Ward explained. “One of the essential components of a high quality of life is safe, secure employment with adequate pay.”
Meanwhile, he continued, there is a direct relationship between the number of people with the requisite skills to fill open positions and the strength of the economy in Western Mass.
“When a company inquires about moving to a new location, one of its top three questions is, ‘what is your workforce like?’ he told BusinessWest, adding, “people call it ‘talent management.’ So, the REB looks at jobs and their connection to human capital and views it in terms of supply and demand. We ask what employers are looking for and then look to see whether we are producing sufficient numbers of people to meet their needs, or overproducing them.”
Ward said many jobs have moved to Boston, which has an economy based largely on higher education, health care, and financial services, due to the abundance of qualified talent there.

REP staffers Kelly Aiken and David Cruise are focusing on training in health care and precision manufacturing, respectively, to meet the needs of businesses today and in the future.

Still, health care is the largest employer in Western Mass., and the area boasts a large number of precision manufacturing companies not found in the Boston region, he said. These two sectors play prominently in the report, along with the need for more education for people along the continuum.
Ward said that last year, more than 20,000 area residents sought employment assistance at the REB’s one-stop career centers in Springfield and Holyoke (FutureWorks and Career Point, respectively), but fewer than half were able to secure jobs. At the same time, many good-paying positions went unfilled, especially in health care, precision manufacturing, human services, and financial services. The reason? A lack of qualified candidates.
Kelly Aiken, the REB’s project director of Health Care Initiatives, said it’s critical that the curriculum at local schools and training centers is in line with both the needs of industry and job seekers. “Education doesn’t move as fast as industry, so we had to figure out a way to ensure a continuum for learners and career pathways. These are main threads that run through the report,” she said.
The REB doesn’t train people, but it is the “go-to place” for companies to find out how they can find qualified workers or obtain grants or other assistance to help them train their workforce or hire new people,” said Ward, adding that the organization uses federal dollars to set up training programs and facilitates the infrastructure between education and local companies.
“This is a business-led organization, and our role is to ensure that state and federal investments in workforce development are wisely spent and have a good return on investment,” he continued. “The REB’s new strategic plan is data driven and we aim to be the leading source of regional labor market information and innovative ideas for advancing workforce development.”
The REB develops, plans, and contracts with providers to hold workshops for people in the job market through its one-stop career centers, and also community colleges and training schools. It also works hand-in-hand with businesses to create internships and increase work-based learning opportunities that align closely with the needs of industry.
“The jobs that have left this region are not coming back,” Ward explained. “And if new jobs emerge, people will need new skills, so workforce training is integral to our mission.”

Learning Curves
Springfeld and Holyoke have been earmarked as Gateway Cities with high levels of poverty and comparatively high dropout rates within their school districts, and those figures play a significant role in the REB’s report.
Ward said recent research shows that 74% of students who don’t read well in third grade will continue to have difficulty, which can lead to dropping out of school and lost opportunities. And local MCAS scores show gaps in the areas of reading, science, and technology — areas directly related to the types of jobs that will be available to graduates in the future. The picture doesn’t get better at the community college level, where one of every three students drops out because their schooling is too costly or they need too much remediation.
“Although Massachusetts ranks number-one in public education and the use of technology, the problem is that we have pockets and gaps within the community with very low achievement,” Ward explained. “Springfield and Holyoke are two of those pockets, so we need to make an above-average investment to close the educational skill gap. That’s why a strategic plan for our area is very different than one for Boston or Cambridge would be.”
The REB has several initiatives in place to expand family literacy. One is a pilot program called “Talk, Read, Succeed,” which is a collaboration between Springfield Public Schools, the United Way, Springfield Housing Authority, and the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation. The goal of this early-literacy project is to help ensure that children from 200 families in two Springfield public housing developments are proficient readers by the end of third grade.
Ward said studies show that the vocabulary of first-grade students is directly related to their environment. Children from poor neighborhoods and homes are deficient in this area, and once they start school, they usually experience learning setbacks every summer.
The staff members in “Talk, Read, Succeed” will work with families to help them increase their children’s vocabularies, and will also provide programs to help improve the odds that students will retain what they learned in school. In addition to helping children, “we’re also going to set up literacy programs for parents who want to learn English or get a GED,” Ward said.
The Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative is another program with a similar goal. In its third year, it serves about 2,000 children up to age 12 during the summer. Ward said the data is very clear that students in the program are making gains every summer instead of losing what they learned.

Making Connections
The new workforce plan also reinforces the REB’s commitment to partnerships. Ward said government cannot pay the entire bill for ongoing education, and that local businesses need to make investments in workforce development to remain competitive.
“They need to see it as an investment, not as a cost. Although we focus on adults, youth is the pipeline of the future and that begins at the pre-kindergarten level and goes up to age 21,” he explained. “We have to find ways to prepare our youth, stem the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate. It’s not simple, but we need to manage our human capital because it is the only way to ensure that the supply will meet the demand.”
Precision manufacturing is one of the areas targeted in the new plan, and David Cruise, director of Business and Employer Services, has been working with the Western Mass. Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Assoc. (WMNTMA) to make gains in this arena using data collected from 33 local employers over a period of six years.
Last year these employers added 103 new jobs, which represents a 8.6% increase over the previous year. In addition, their sales increased 9.5% over the previous year to about $21 million.
“The sector is growing, and the REB has targeted it as having significant long-term potential for the area,” Cruise said. “The work they are doing is not going offshore, so we are trying to have the Pioneer Valley become ‘Precision Valley.’ We have companies here with the technology, leadership, and the skilled workforce to become what can be known as a precision manufacturing hot spot.”
WMNTMA and REB have joined forces, and are offering 34 evening courses for incumbent workers. They are also working diligently to encourage junior high school students and even elementary school students to to consider manufacturing — a sector that that has taken some public relations hits over the years as plants have shut down and jobs have moved overseas — as a viable career option.
In addition, local employers are donating equipment to schools, staging workshops and conducting tours of their facilities to showcase the types of jobs and environments they offer, and attract young people.
“The continuum is important, so we have put together a training network that utilizes the resources at several local companies along with local vocational technical high schools and Springfield Technical Community College, which is a major venue because it has a mechanical engineering technology program,” Cruise said. “Incumbent employees are volunteering for this training, and classes are held at these sites four nights a week.”
The new workplace plan also recognizes the industry’s concerns over its graying workforce. “The owners of precision machining companies are very concerned about how they will replace those individuals. They expect to lose 25% to 27% of their employees over the next decade,” Cruise said.
Health care is also a major focal point of the new strategic report. “The plan highlights the fact that we are actively engaged in convening and building partnerships to ensure the region has a quality health care workforce,” Aiken said, adding that there is a major focus on jobs in elder care that will open up due to the fact that Baby Boomers are aging.
In fact, the face of the medical field is changing, and Aiken said health care workers of the future will need to plan to work in long-term care, home health, and community based venues instead of setting their sights only on acute care facilities or hospitals.
“It is our job to consistently stay in front of industry needs, which we do through partnerships, data collection, changing curriculums, and matching people with jobs,” she told BusinessWest. “One of the key themes of the strategic plan is how to do a better job defining and promoting seamless career pathways. Health care is changing dramatically, and it is a challenge to marry sector initiatives with federal funds to build a system that will support people on their continuous lifelong journey.”
In short, cooperation and investment in education is critical, and strategic workforce collaborations are more important than ever before.

The Bottom Line
Officials at the REB recognize that their goals are ambitious, but they plan to measure their progress, and are guardedly optimistic about the future.
“What is new about our sector initiatives is the realization that people need to learn outside of their silos,” Aiken explained. “Ongoing, sustained partnerships are required to ensure that we are always ahead of the game.”
Ward agreed. “The report is a call to action,” he said. “Everyone in the community needs to work more closely so the size and preparedness of our current and future workforce will make us more competitive as a region.”

Opinion

To Keep Jobs, Don’t Kill Tax Incentives

The debate about state economic policy has escalated in recent weeks, fueled by Fidelity’s decision to move jobs to neighboring states. While it’s good to have an honest and open conversation about state economic policy, we shouldn’t focus the discussion so narrowly that we miss the bigger picture.
Every month thousands of Massachusetts companies make decisions about adding, locating, or reducing jobs. The question is how to make more of those decisions go in our favor. The best way to do so is by sustaining the state’s leading industries, including financial services.
Financial services is a huge, under-realized contributor to Massachusetts’ economic strength, directly employing nearly 170,000 people and supporting one to two times that number of jobs in related industries.
The tax benefits from those jobs are immense — income tax payments representing 20% of total income-tax collections, hundreds of millions of dollars in state sales taxes, and hundreds of millions in property taxes.
How can this economic cluster be protected and nurtured in the face of competition and technological innovation that enables many of its functions to be performed anywhere in the world? A key answer can be found in a forward-thinking tax policy enacted in the mid-1990s — single-sales-factor apportionment.
The single sales factor bases firms’ state income tax on their sales in Massachusetts, instead of on a combination of sales, property, and payroll. It has been unfairly labeled a “Fidelity tax break’’ — unfair because it affects an entire industry, not just one company, and because it is not a tax break.
When Massachusetts passed a single sales factor law in the mid-1990s, it lowered the cost of employing people here. It spurred the creation of thousands of new jobs, preserved thousands more, and was fully complied with by the companies it affected.
More than half of all states have adopted some form of single-sales-factor apportionment. The adoption of single sales by neighboring and competitor states should lead us not to question its effectiveness or validity, but to strengthen our resolve to preserve it.
The financial services story — of large economic impacts, and tax policies that promote growth — applies equally to manufacturing, high technology, and other critical industries.
If we preserve the single-sales-factor, and take additional steps to lower the cost of job creation, we will win more than our fair share of battles for jobs and investment.
The future of the Massachusetts economy depends on it.

Michael Widmer is president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Jim Klocke is executive vice president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

The 401(k) on Auto Pilot

Banking and Financial Services Sections

These Tools Can Help Secure Individuals a Paycheck for Life

Charlie Epstein

We live in a world of automatic. From your coffee maker to your car, automatic makes our lives easier every day.
And since the Pension Protection Act of 2006, automatic has made its way into the world of the 401(k). This has greatly helped plan sponsors encourage their plan participants to save more and build their retirement accounts. There are four ‘automatic’ tools that can help ensure successful retirement outcomes for 401(k) plan participants: automatic enrollment, automatic increase, automatic default, and automatic open re-enrollment.
Here’s how they work:

Automatic Enrollment
This first automatic tool allows employers to automatically enroll their employees as participants in their companies’ 401(k) plans. This feature uses the inactivity of employees to their advantage. About 18% of large employers (companies with 1,000 or more employees) automatically enroll all employees (both new and existing workers). Considering that the opt-out rate in these employers’ plans is less than 10% of employees who are automatically enrolled, this feature does a great deal to boost enrollment.
If they do not opt out of participating in the plan, participants will begin saving for their future without even lifting a finger.

Automatic Increase
Automatic increase is another great feature to use in increasing the amount that each participant contributes to his or her plan. A 10% contribution rate provides for a successful retirement that also helps to offset inflation. However, many participants are currently saving on average well below this level. By automatically increasing contributions 1% each year up to 10%, plan sponsors can help to steer their plan participants in the right direction toward appropriate savings for retirement.

Automatic Default into a Qualified Default Investment Account (QDIA)
Today the majority of 401(k) plans allow individual participants to exercise control over the investment decisions of the assets in their 401(k) plan. But what happens if a participant enrolls in the plan but never elects where his or his employers matching contributions should be invested? In the past, this money was directed to a money market account, where it may remain for years. What happens if that employee is only earning a paltry 1% for 30 years? Who will be deemed responsible for that investment choice?
To provide protection to the plan sponsor fiduciary (think you, the business owner) from bearing the personal liability for an employee’s lack of interest in their 401(k) choice, ERISA allows the plan “fiduciary” protection to automatically direct 401(k) participants’ money to a qualified deferred investment account — typically a lifestyle fund, balanced fund, or target-date fund. This greatly relieves the plan sponsor of the burden of chasing down participants to make investment elections.
While the plan sponsor is still responsible for justifying the QDIA it selects and continuing the due-diligence of these funds, this feature provides fiduciary protection. When a participant is automatically defaulted into a QDIA, the plan fiduciary is protected against an employee lawsuit regarding that choice. This automatic feature not only protects plan sponsors and fiduciaries from a lawsuit, but it also protects employees from making poor investment selections.
The majority of 401(k) participants fall into the “don’t know and don’t want to know how to invest” group. For this reason, more than 70% of new 401(k) contributions go into a QDIA . By educating plan sponsors and fiduciaries, plan advisors can provide direction and confidence in their QDIA choice.

Automatic Open Re-enrollment
The automatic open re-enrollment keeps participants in a plan. Once a year, participants receive a letter stating that they will have 30 days to review their investment choices and, unless the plan sponsor receives notice otherwise, they will be automatically enrolled into a QDIA. The result of this feature has increased employee involvement in a QDIA, which, in turn, enhances the employer’s fiduciary protection.
It’s no secret that if employees and plan participants are left to their own devices, they will, most likely, not save enough for retirement. This retirement-savings auto-pilot program is attractive to plan sponsors and fiduciaries because of the liability protection it provides. It also pays dividends for the plan participants, because they are automatically positioned as intelligent savers, enrolling in their company’s 401(k) plan, automatically escalating their contributions, defaulting into a QDIA, and re-enrolling into that account. Automatic is a great innovation, and it has benefited and will continue to benefit the 401(k) industry well into the future.
Automatic enrollment has already been adopted by 40% to 50% of employers. However, many smaller and mid-size plans have been reluctant to add these features, for fear of negative feedback from their employees.
The benefits of these automatic features should not be overlooked by both small- and medium-sized businesses, and their employees. For the owner or an over-staffed administrative person, there is greater ease in gaining employee participation in a valuable benefit that you are sponsoring and paying for. In addition, the fiduciary protection afforded by ERISA makes these features even more enticing.
For the employees, ease of participation and in the end, greater employee success in replacing their future income and creating a paycheck for life make this a win-win feature for everyone.

Charlie Epstein, CLU, ChFC, AIF® is the founder of The 401k Coach® Program (www.the401kcoach.com), which offers expert training for financial professionals to develop the skills, systems, and processes necessary to excel in the 401(k) industry and facilitate successful retirement outcomes for plan sponsors and participants. Epstein has frequently been named to 401kWire’s Top 100 Most Influential People in the 401(k) Industry List and Top 300 Most Influential DC Advisor List and was recently named to the Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council.

Room to Grow

Banking and Financial Services Sections

New Monson Savings Bank President Has Ambitious Plans

Steven Lowell says his primary goal is to continue Monson Savings’ strong growth pattern.

Under the leadership of just-retired President Roland Desrochers, Monson Savings Bank tripled its assets over the past 15 years while adding two branches, a loan center, and a host of retail and business programs. After he announced his retirement last year, the bank’s trustees launched a search for someone with the vision to take MSB to the next level. They think they’ve found that person in Steven Lowell, who says he wants to continue to grow market share while maintaining the community ties that customers have come to appreciate.

Steven Lowell knows something about growing community banks.
As chief operating officer and executive vice president of Cape Cod Cooperative Bank, he saw that institution expand from $150 million in assets to more than $580 million today.
He also knows something about long commutes, for years spending about three hours each day in the car between his workplace and his Central Mass. home.
In his new position as president of Monson Savings Bank, he plans on continuing one of those trends and drastically reducing the other.
“Commuting to Monson isn’t nearly as bad as going to the Cape,” he said. “This has cut my commute in half, so that’s been quite pleasurable.”
That should give Lowell plenty of extra time to contemplate ways to continue a similar growth pattern at MSB, which, under recently retired President Roland Desrochers, has seen its assets increase from around $80 million to $236 million in 15 years. The new man in charge says that’s only a start.
“I like building things, and clearly this bank is at a point where it needs to grow,” Lowell said. “Roland has done a great job growing it to the size it is, but it’s getting harder and harder for a small bank to be able to compete. The bank has built a great infrastructure; now we’ve got to build the size of the bank to fit that infrastructure.
“The opportunity to manage that growth is a huge appeal to me,” he continued. “I had the experience of doing that on the Cape, and I look forward to doing similar things here.”
Desrochers, who will stay on as CEO until June to oversee the transition in an advisory role, is pleased with who the bank’s trustees chose as his successor.
“I felt it was appropriate to provide as much time as possible for the board to make a decision about the individual who would replace me,” he told BusinessWest. “So I announced my retirement to the board last June, and we started the search process last September.”
The bank appointed a search committee and hired a search firm to manage the process and identify a number of candidates to interview. Eventually, they whittled the list to two, and in the end chose Lowell.
“He has a community-banking background, so he definitely fit into our culture,” Desrochers said. “He’s used to working in the community as well, which is an important facet. He’s knowledgable in business, and we felt he would work very will with the management team.”
Lowell said the transition has been smooth.
“Roland has been really helpful, introducing me to people in the community, helping me get ingrained in the culture of the bank,” he said. “We are a community-based organization, and that’s been my background, too. That part of the transition has been really easy. I think I’m the beneficiary of what Roland has set up here.”
Desrochers said the bank’s threefold growth in assets in the past decade and a half are a product of a deliberate, controlled growth plan. As opposed to the rapid branch proliferation of other regional institutions, MSB has added a loan center and expanded from one branch to three (adding sites in Wilbraham and Hampden) during his tenure.
“We’ve had pretty good growth, and it’s been profitable growth,” he said. “I think that’s an integral part of it. You just can’t grow for the sake of growth; you’ve got to make sure you have profitable growth and can maintain and increase your capital position.”
“It was challenging initially as an $80 million institution — talk about economies of scale,” Desrochers added. “We weren’t doing very many retail products at the time, there hadn’t been many loan products, so we needed to expand those areas. We were just a small, sleepy, small-town bank, and there’s nothing wrong with that by any means, but we needed to do something to make sure it existed longer-term.”
Now that Monson Savings has secured a stronger foothold, Lowell intends to shepherd the 139-year-old institution to the next level. For this issue, he spoke with BusinessWest about how he plans to do that, and why he’s feeling positive about much more than a shorter commute.

High Tech, High Touch
Lowell said one of the things that impressed him about MSB was the caliber of its management team — “a really positive sign for our ability to grow in the future” — but also its Internet offerings, from its online banking services to remote-deposit capture for businesses and a mobile-banking platform that’s in development.
“The use of technology is very impressive for a bank of this size,” he said. “They have done most of the things larger banks, including the one I came from, have done; for an organization of this size, we’re really ahead of the technology curve. It’ll be a challenge to continue to do that, but it’s very important. Customers are all about convenience, and technology allows you to be as convenient as the major banks.”
Community banks these days, he explained, must balance strong in-person customer service — traditionally one of their main selling points — with the ease of the online experience, Lowell added.
“That’s the challenge. We do a great job with customers in our lobby — that’s how we build relationships — but we also want to deliver that high level of service electronically. If we can do that, then everyone wins.”
The bank also uses an active Facebook page to reach out to customers. Desrochers recently spearheaded a project to ask customers on the social-networking site to identify nonprofits and charitable organizations they would like the bank to support; MSB made contributions to the top 10 vote-getters, on top of its other giving for the year.
“It was a great program and very well-received,” Lowell said, “and it helps bring us closer to our customers and the community.”
But philanthropy only goes so far in attracting and retaining customers, and Desrochers touts a number of retail initiatives introduced in recent years, such as First Rate Checking, a high-rate savings product tied to a checking account; Cash Back Checking, an account that pays the depositor back when they use their debit card; and NextGen Banking, which targets specific age groups with different features, such as enhanced online and ATM access for college-age customers.
“NextGen Banking has turned out to be quite popular,” he said. “Part of that is financial literacy and teaching younger people how to manage their money in a way that’s responsible and hopefully builds them into good customers for the future.”
Lowell also noted that the bank allows use of foreign ATMs and refunds the fees customers incur by using them — an appreciated service at a bank with only five of its own ATM locations. “A customer on the Cape may have trouble finding us, and it’s important that they have access to our products,” he said.
Desrochers agreed. “Everyone’s looking for convenience, what makes it easy for them,” he said. “That’s also true on the business side. We have cash management we’re able to offer through our technology. It really allows businesses to keep watch over their money and move money around electronically.”

Better Days

Roland Desrochers described his 15 years at Monson Savings as a very exciting time for the bank.

These products are being offered at a time when banks are starting to see business tick up after some sluggish years, particularly in business lending.
“We’re starting to see a little more demand for commercial loans,” Lowell said. “We see signs that companies are willing to start reinvesting in their businesses and expanding — certainly not at a really fast level, but there are positive signs, and we haven’t seen those for awhile.”
Lending for home purchases, however, remains stagnant. “The big concern is that everyone has refinanced their mortgage, so the residential-mortgage business is really slow,” he said. “Unless we see property values go up and people looking to build new homes, that’s going to continue to be low for a little while.”
That trend is balanced by an ever-growing line of investment and insurance products that make Monson Savings, as Lowell put it, “pretty much a one-stop shop” for customers who want that.
“We have financial services available to both retail and commercial customers,” Desrochers added. “It’s nice to be able to say we have these mutual funds or annuity products. We can also help businesses with 401(k)s, life insurance, things of that nature. Those are important products to be able to offer.”
Overall, it adds up to a strong foundation on which to build, Lowell said.
“The primary goal is definitely to grow the size of the organization,” he told BusinessWest. “We know it needs to be larger in order to remain relevant in the marketplace, so we’re looking to do that.
“We’re also looking to expand commercial lending, and it doesn’t have to be limited to the three towns where we’re located,” he added. “We also need to keep a close watch on expenses; we need to remain profitable.”
Meanwhile, being a community bank, he stressed the importance of continuing the bank’s civic responsibilities.
“Right now, 10% of our bottom line goes back to the community in donations,” Lowell said. “That’s something the bank has done in the past that we’re looking to keep doing as we go forward. It’s a win-win for everyone; we get our business from the community, and for us to give back to the community, I think, completes that deal.”
As for Desrochers, he has no regrets upon leaving in June.
“This is why I’m retiring,” he said at one point, holding up the mug from which he had been sipping.
No, he’s not going into the coffee business. On the plastic container are several photographs of his grandchildren, a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old twins. Despite the regulatory and other challenges in banking today, he’s enjoyed his time at Monson Savings, but at this point in his life, he says he will enjoy the extra time with his family even more.
“I can’t believe it’s been 15 years already,” he said, “but it’s been an exciting time.”
Steven Lowell thinks the future can be just as exciting.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Beth Vettori: 34

Executive Director, Rockridge Retirement Community

Beth Vettori

Beth Vettori didn’t always plan to work in senior living. But her perspective changed while on vacation.
“My graduation gift from my parents was a trip to Switzerland with my grandmother, on a tour bus with other retirees,” she said. “Everyone was in their upper 60s, 70s, and 80s, and we toured Switzerland, Italy, and France. I bonded with the seniors without realizing it.”
After college, she went to work for Orchard Valley at Wilbraham and started up its Harbor program, an assisted-living neighborhood for elders with various types of memory impairment. “It was very challenging and a great experience to put that together,” she said. “It’s a great, caring atmosphere.”
She was later hired by Rockridge Retirement Community in Northampton and was promoted to executive director at age 27. At the time, the community had an operating deficit of nearly $1 million, but she led a restructuring effort to bring it to profitability within two years.
“My task is running the campus, so I oversee all the operations,” she said, noting that she especially enjoys the contact with both employees and residents. “It’s challenging, but it’s exciting. There are some great, great people who live here and work here with me.”
For her work at Rockridge — including opening its 42-unit assisted-living community and its memory-support neighborhood before being named executive director — Vettori earned the Emerging Leader Award from MassAging in 2010.
“While the [restructuring] task was difficult, especially for a young, new executive director,” said Paul Hollings, chairman of the MassAging board, “Beth pulled it off with grace and dignity and made everyone feel positive about the changes.”
In her spare time, she stays active with several nonprofits, including Steph’s Wild Ride, an organization launched five years ago to assist children with cancer; it was named after Vettori’s cousin, who died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 21. “I want to help other local families by providing children with funds and gift cards, things that can really help them out,” she said.
It’s just one more way Vettori is helping to improve lives — both young and old.
— Joseph Bednar

Agenda

Agenda Departments

CPA Workshop
April 26: Timothy F. Murphy, partner at Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., of Springfield, will present a workshop titled “Continuing Legal Education” to certified public accountants from 3 to 5:40 p.m. at the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College, Homestead Avenue, Holyoke. For more details, visit www.skoler-abbott.com.

Not Just Business As Usual
April 26: Al Verrecchia, retired CEO and chairman of the board of Hasbro Inc., will be the keynote speaker for a program titled Not Just Business As Usual, presented by the Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Foundation. The foundation will capture the energy and excitement of the college’s past, present, and future at the unique affair that will be staged at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke. In addition, two past Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inductees, Balise Motor Sales and Smith & Wesson, will be honored for their continued success and contributions to the local community. A cocktail and networking reception is planned from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by a dinner program from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $175 each or $1500 for a table of 10. Proceeds raised from the event will benefit STCC. For more information, visit www.notjustbusinessasusual.net.

Understanding Financial Reports
April 27: Robb Morton of Boisselle, Morton & Associates will lead a workshop from 9 a.m. to noon on how to read financial statements. Following the presentation at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, a lunch is planned as well as a question-and-answer session. The program is sponsored by the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC). The cost is $40. For more information, call the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712, or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Elevator Pitch Competition
April 27: Six community banks will sponsor an elevator pitch competition at the awards banquet for the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Initiative. Representatives from each bank will also serve as judges at the annual event, which features an overview of an idea for a new business. An elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride. The event will feature a student representative from American International College, Bay Path College, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Smith College, Springfield College, Springfield Technical Community College, UMass Amherst, Western New England College, and Westfield State University. The judges will pick the top three students, who will receive cash awards. All students will receive a stipend for participating. Program highlights also include keynote speaker Johnny Earle, founder of Johnny Cupcakes, an Entrepreneurs & Awardees Exhibit featuring 35 student entrepreneurs from area colleges, and the Grinspoon, Garvey & Young Alumni Spirit Award. For more information, visit www.hgf.org.

Destination Dine
April 28: The Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau will host a moveable feast that begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Museum of Springfield History. Attendees will be treated to appetizers from Adolfo’s Ristorante, and will listen to music by the Eric Bascom Trio while they tour the museum. Participants will then board Peter Pan motor coaches at 6 p.m. for their next stop, Holyoke’s Wistariahurst Museum. In Holyoke, attendees will be entertained by members of The Enchanted Circle Theatre and the Ted Wirt Jazz Quintet while indulging in dinner stations provided by the Delaney House. Northampton’s historic Calvin Theatre is next on the agenda, with desserts from local restaurants capping the night, along with live music and a disc jockey. Buses will depart the Calvin, returning to Springfield at approximately 10:30 p.m. The cost is $65 per person, and non-refundable reservations can only be made online at www.valleyvisitor.com. The fee includes all food and transportation costs (including driver’s tip), two complimentary beer or wine tickets, entertainment, and a hospitality bag. There is limited seating and no tickets will be sold at the door. Participants must be 21 or older.

Cash Flow Workshop
May 4: Robb Morton of Boisselle, Morton & Associates will present a workshop on the basics of cash flow, how to improve cash flow, the timing of cash inflows and outflows, how cash flow is different from profit, and how to determine your company’s cash flow. The cost is $40. The 9-to-11 a.m. program will take place at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, and is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC). For more information, call the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712, or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Online Tools Seminar
May 11: From FourSquare to YouTube, Yelp, Groupon, Facebook, Google Places, Twitter, MagCloud, and Issuu, there is an array of low-cost, easy-to-use online tools that allow small business owners to attract new customers and enhance relationships with existing ones. Larri Cochran of Fresh Table, LLC will present a talk from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, on who is using which tools so you can identify where your customers are online and which tools fit your business. The seminar goal is to create an integrated marketing strategy that maximizes returns for manageable efforts. The cost is $40. The program is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC). For more information, call the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712, or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Using New Media
May 18: Gretchen Siegchrist of Media Shower Productions and Robert Malin of Malin Productions will lead a presentation from 9 to 11 a.m. that will teach participants how they can use the new media to grow their social media reach and influence. After an overview of different types of online videos for businesses, they will look at various platforms for sharing videos online including YouTube. The cost is $40 for the presentation at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The Mass. Small Business Development Center Network is sponsoring the event. For more information, call the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712, or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.

40 Under Forty Gala
June 23: BusinessWest will present its Forty Under 40, Class of 2011, at a not-to-be-missed gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, beginning at 5 p.m. The 40 Under Forty program, initiated in 2007, has become an early summer tradition in the region. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($60 per person, with tables of 10 available) call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10; or visit www.businesswest.com.

Summer Business Summit
June 27-28: The Resort and Conference Center of Hyannis will be the setting for the Summer Business Summit, hosted by the Mass. Chamber of Business and Industry of Boston. Nominations are being accepted for the Mass. Chamber, Business of the Year, and Employer of Choice awards. The two-day conference will feature educational speakers, presentations by lawmakers, VIP receptions, and more. For more information, visit www.masscbi.com.

Jazz & Art Festival
July 8-10: A Mardi Gras theme will kick off the 5th annual Hampden Bank Hoop City Jazz & Art Festival on July 8, featuring Glenn David Andrews with The Soul Rebels, and hosted by Wendell Pierce, star of the HBO series, TREME. The celebration, planned at Springfield’s Court Square on the Esplanade, continues throughout the weekend with a line up of world-class entertainment. On July 9, performances are slated by Marcus Anderson, the UK Kings of Jazz Groove, Down to the Bone, 17-year-old jazz newcomer Vincent Ingala, and Gerald Albright. On July 10, performances begin with The Eric Bascom Quintet, followed by Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils. Kendrick Oliver and The New Life Orchestra will also perform, and Latin jazz performer Poncho Sanchez will close out the festival. Organizers will also be increasing the number of merchandise vendors, artisans and crafters as well as food vendors. For more information, visit www.hoopcityjazz.org.

Western Mass. Business Expo
Oct. 18: Businesses from throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties will come together for the premier trade show in the region, the Western Mass. Business Expo. Formerly known as the Market Show, the event, produced by BusinessWest, and staged at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, has been revamped and improved to provide exposure and business opportunities for area companies. The cost for a 10-by-10 booth is $700 for members of all area chambers, and $750 for non-members; corner booths are $800 for all chamber members and $850 for non-members, and a 10-by-20 booth is $1,200 for all chamber members and $1,250 for non-members. For more information, log onto www.businesswest.com, or call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.

Kristen Pueschel: 31

Assistant Vice President and Secondary Market Officer, PeoplesBank

Kristen Pueschel

Kristen Pueschel was talking about her first appearance in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Road Race, but the words she chose to describe her successful completion of the 6.2-mile run would apply to just about everything she does at her job and in her life.
“It’s been a personal goal of mine to do it for years,” she said. “I don’t like being a spectator; I like to get out and do things, so I said to myself, ‘go do it, and do the best you can.’”
She certainly takes this attitude in her position as assistant vice president and secondary market officer at PeoplesBank, where she wears many hats, including that of founding member and current chairman of the Environmental Committee, and also in her extensive work within the community. This includes everything from service on the board of Girls Inc. in Holyoke to membership in Kiwanis International, to participation in the bank’s financial-literacy program in local schools.
And you could say it applies to her personal life as well: she’s engaged to PeoplesBank colleague Xiaolei Hua, with the wedding planned for November.
All this adds up to a complicated balancing act and an extreme exercise in time management, but Pueschel is more than coping — she’s excelling. At PeoplesBank, she started as an intern in the Commercial Loan Department and, later, while overseeing the department, was responsible for new-product development, rolling out a loan-origination software to the bank’s branch network and assisting in the launch of an online home-equity application for consumers. She has been a key contributor to the bank’s strategic plan and a valuable player in its Mortgage Think Tank initiative, which resulted in the revamping of the consumer-lending department.
With the Environmental Committee, she has taken charge of developing earth-friendly policies and procedures at the bank, and played a lead role in the creation of the LEED-certified branch in Springfield.
All this, plus her community work, is packed into each work week. “The weekends — they’re for family,” she said, meaning both hers and Xiaolei’s.
That doesn’t leave much time for spectating, which suits her just fine.
— George O’Brien

Meghan Rothschild: 27

Development and Marketing Manager, Food Bank of Western Mass.

Meghan Rothschild

Melanoma, a common skin cancer, can kill quickly. Beating it gave Meghan Rothschild a new outlook on life — and a mission.
“I’m a stage 2 melanoma survivor,” she said. “I was diagnosed at age 20, in college, and basically, it was because of some poor decisions I made in my teenage years to be outside without sunblock and to use tanning booths.”
As a journalism student at Roger Williams University, Rothschild wrote about her experience in a Rhode Island newspaper, and that opened more doors.
“A year after the initial diagnosis,” she said, “I decided this had happened for a reason, and that it was an opportunity instead of a negative thing, and I started speaking out about my diagnosis.”
She eventually founded SurvivingSkin.org and has shared her message of sun safety in a variety of media, inclouding Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan magazines, various fitness publications, WebMD.com, Inside Edition, and World News with Charles Gibson, among other outlets. In her former marketing position with Six Flags New England, she founded an annual melanoma day that raised thousands of dollars for the Melanoma Foundation of New England.
“I’ve also done a lot of work with the American Academy of Dermatology as their national spokesperson. It’s been wonderful to speak at schools, mostly in New England, and at colleges across the country,” she said. “The whole point is to talk about making right choices and really paying attention to your skin. It’s the largest organ in the body, and we really don’t pay enough attention to it.”
As development and marketing manager at the Food Bank, Rothschild is bringing attention to yet another often-neglected need.
“I oversee all the special events and campaign fund-raising and try to bring in financial sponsorships to help us continue our mission. I do some corporate relations as well,” she said.
“Every dollar we collect brings in $13 worth of food. It’s been very rewarding work. All the money and food we raise stays local. To know that I’m investing my time every day in something that’s making a difference for Western Mass., it’s a really great feeling.”
— Joseph Bednar

Jennifer Schimmel: 33

Executive Director, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity

Jennifer Schimmel

The plot of Jennifer Schimmel’s life has taken some unexpected twists.
“I actually had a degree in fine and performing arts, and I always envisioned I’d spend most of my life on stage,” she said. But when she took a job with Lenox-based Shakespeare and Co. in a fund-raising capacity, she found she had a knack for raising money.
That took her to similar positions at Hartford Seminary, an interfaith graduate school, and then the Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity, two faith-based organizations whose missions spoke to her own values.
She eventually accepted the position of executive director at the Greater Springfield Habitat, where she has used her fund-raising and event-planning background to oversee a 113% increase in unrestricted donations to support the mission of providing home-ownership opportunities to low-income families, as well as a 127% jump in special-event support and a 30% increase in volunteer participation.
Those are impressive results, but Schimmel insists she’s the one who is inspired.
“I love getting to know the families, knowing that our families work hard for what they achieve,” she said. “The motto at Habitat is ‘a hand up, not a handout,’ and I love being here; we’re cheerleaders, a support system, educators — but the families do it all for themselves. We guide them, but they really take control of the process.”
Schimmel is committed to supporting Habitat’s efforts internationally as well. She’s certified with the organization’s Global Village Program and will lead a group of 11 people to Guatemala this fall to work with a family in need of affordable shelter — her second such trip. “It’s a life-changing experience,” she said.
Overall, Schimmel simply wants to make a difference, and she was frank with board members of Greater Springfield Habitat when she interviewed for the job.
“I said, ‘if I’m not right for the position, that’s OK — I’d rather go and be a waitress and pay my bills that way and spend my free time devoted to community service if that’s the right thing to do,’” she said. “This job is not about making a paycheck; it’s about making a difference.”
— Joseph Bednar

Amy Scott: 39

Owner and Founder, Wild Apple Design Group

Amy Scott

Amy Scott laughed when she heard someone describe her as a woman “without the word ‘no’ in her vocabulary.”
“When people see my résumé, or I recite the litany of projects that I’m working on, they often wonder how on earth I do all this,” she offered as an explanation. “But it has a lot to do with efficiency, why I’m able to do as many things as I do. That’s at the core. It’s not that I’m crazy, or that I can’t say no, because I actually can. I selectively choose the nonprofits and charities that I plug into.”
Over the years, that list has included the East of the River Chamber of Commerce, the Zoo at Forest Park, the MSPCA of Springfield, Habitat for Humanity, Friends of the Homeless, and countless others.
“The reason why I choose to do so many nonprofit projects is that I find that other people who are involved in quality projects are also high performers,” she explained. “So it puts me in the right company.”
And that’s a message she likes to pass on to her clients.
As owner of a marketing and graphic-design firm, when Scott draws up something for a new client, “I ask them to consider a nonprofit facet as part of a well-rounded marketing strategy — to consider a grassroots approach, which means networking, networking, networking.
“And being visible when you’re doing that,” she added. “Everyone makes out in the end.”
With the coming of summer, Scott said she’s looking forward to fielding a new account: the Holyoke Blue Sox.
“I’ll be doing their sales and marketing,” she said, “and I’m finding that this is extremely exciting, because not only am I absorbing minor-league sports, which is a whole new dimension for me, but the Blue Sox are a nonprofit, and through them I was able to launch a tremendous number of fund-raisers through youth baseball leagues and school systems.”
Clearly, before the first shout of “play ball,” Scott has already hit a home run.
— Dan Chase

Alexander Simon: 32

President and Chief Marketing Officer, LogicTrail, LLC

Alexander Simon

Alexander Simon’s passion for people and open-minded collaboration are the driving forces that have led this entrepreneur to success. The father of two has worked on many award-winning marketing campaigns, but accolades are not what propel him to work long hours and give his time to a host of civic organizations.
“I’m a people person and have a passion for collaboration that is reflected in my career and my civic responsibilities, and it’s also something I try to instill in my children,” Simon said. “It’s a constant learning; I’m motivated by inviting others to share in cultivating better ideas. I really try to build that with our clients, and it’s wildly satisfying to see a big idea reach the light of day with everyone on board. It’s my nature to try and push the envelope, but only when it’s for the right reasons.”
Simon said he believes strongly in teamwork. He takes pride in getting to know his clients well and says the “intimate” relationships he forms come after listening closely to the way they talk about their world, which helps him create campaigns that break through the clutter.
Simon is a founding member of the Sounding Board for Professional Development, a board member of the Ad Club of Western Mass., a youth coach for the Northampton Recreation Department, and a Look Park Board Development Committee member, and has been engaged in political action committees in Northampton.
“I’m still young and looking for the right opportunity, but I definitely have a passion for working at the civic level,” he said. “We have a responsibility to give back to our cities and towns.”
He founded his company in 2009 and has a small but highly experienced and dedicated staff. “We want to stay youthful, agile, and able to work with different-sized clients and industries, and that means staying small,” he said. “This is my calling, what I’m supposed to be doing. I started my agency to do things in a different way and to enjoy the process. And so far, we’ve been very fortunate to work with some stellar clients.”
— Kathleen Mitchell

Lisa Totz: 36

Value Based Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, ITT Power Solutions

Lisa Totz

Lisa Totz had her 40 Under Forty portrait taken on her bicycle while wearing a business suit. Such imagery, conveying both dedication and physical prowess, would seem appropriate for someone who competes in triathlons and has the words ‘black belt’ included in her job title.
But she laughed when explaining what’s behind the words printed on her business card. “Basically a black belt is someone who is a change agent,” she said, “someone working to improve things around the company.”
And what a change she has made.
For 35 years, ITT had been a paper-based company, with all of its data analysis recorded in print. “That process is so wasteful, though,” she said, “because, first, someone has to analyze all that data, and second, it’s on reams and reams of paper.”
So, as a test engineer, Totz took her data-collections role and transformed it into ‘architect’ for an interfaced, electronic test-data collection system. It’s a technical approach to solving the inefficiency created by all that paper, and, using simple terms, she said it “changes how ITT Power Solutions functions.”
And with one look at what Totz does in her free time, it’s easy to see that efficiency is key to making time for all of her pursuits. Over the years, she’s volunteered time, energy, and imagination to such groups and causes as the Jimmy Fund, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Griffin’s Friends, ITT Watermark, the company’s corporate philanthropy program (which she’s served as site ambassador), and the Wave Triathlon, which she founded in 2009 to benefit the Westfield YMCA Wave Swim Team.
It was for her efforts with the triathlon, which has growing steadily in terms of participation and funds raised, that she received the Westfield YMCA’s Spirit Award, which she counts among the accomplishments of which she is most proud.
A five-time Ironman triathlete, Totz noted that “youths don’t have a lot of good role models these days.” But, through the work she’s done on the job and within the community, she has certainly become one.
— Dan Chase

Lauren Tabin: 35

Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager, PeoplesBank

Lauren Tabin

Lauren Tabin never intended to work in banking. But she’s glad she tried it.
“I came to Peoples in 1996 as a teller, and I honestly came just because I needed benefits; I was managing a candy store prior to that,” she said.
But she took advantage of the organization’s extensive management training program and quickly moved up the ranks; she was promoted several times on the way to her current role as branch manager and assistant vice president, not only running the operations of her office, but overseeing business development and community relations in the Holyoke market.
“I didn’t think this was going to be this much fun,” Tabin said of her accidental career. “I think the reason I’m enjoying myself is because of the great variety of tasks that I’m responsible for.”
She has always enjoyed the mentoring aspect of her job, and that ethos extends into the community, where she teaches young people about financial literacy. “I wish I had that as a kid,” she said. “A lot of families in Holyoke have very limited resources, and I feel the same way about the younger generation just coming into the work world. I want to mentor them and give them the tools to be successful like I was.”
Tabin’s civic involvement extends to her work with Providence Ministries for the Needy, the Holyoke Community Charter School, Girls Inc., and the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club, among others.
“I like to be a motivation to people, to share my story with them and give them hope in hard times,” she said. “I had a child when I was very young and overcame lots of obstacles, and I share my story — that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I always see potential in everyone.”
It’s especially meaningful for Tabin to be doing this work in Holyoke.
“This is where I was born and raised, and this is where I’m raising my family,” she said. “I want to make a difference in the community where I live, and help make Holyoke a better place. I don’t want to be on the sidelines.”
— Joseph Bednar

Jeffrey Trant: 27

Program Manager, Human Resources Unlimited, Lighthouse

Jeffrey Trant

It’s called the HRU Café. That’s the name given to a new venture, a unique start-up business located at the Springfield Jewish Community Center (JCC) that brings together most of Jeff Trant’s passions under one roof, or operation.
These include social work, which he’s been doing virtually all his life — currently as director of a facility called Lighthouse, a community rehabilitation and employment organization managed by Human Resources Unlimited (the HRU part of that name) — and also business, or, in this case, the all-important business side of nonprofit management.
And then, there’s the coffee. “That’s been a serious vice since grad school,” he said.
The café, open since Valentine’s Day, employs disabled and disadvantaged adults and thus brings awareness to the large and diverse JCC community about the abilities of all people, disabled or otherwise, said Trant. Doing this, and hopefully breaking even financially, he said, helps explain what he means when he says he’s “an untraditional social worker.”
“When you have the credentials I have, you’re automatically sort of put in this box — when people hear the words ‘social worker,’ they assume you do one of two things, that you do child-protective services, meaning you take kids who are abused or neglected away from families, or you do psychotherapy with people. I do neither. What I do is very important work — it’s working with folks who don’t have a voice and helping them get one. That cuts across all facets of society, and it’s all about building stronger communities.”
Through Trant’s leadership, Springfield-based Lighthouse, which he took over in 2008, has undergone a successful restructuring, and now serves more than 500 men and women recovering from the effects of mental illness.
Trant’s only passion not represented by the café is golf, which he calls the “great equalizer,” and a way to “decompress” from his hard and often trying work at HRU, trying to give his clients a voice.
Trant credits his wife, Rachel, with helping him find a balance between work, life, golf, and coffee.
— George O’Brien

Timothy Van Epps: 37

President, the Sandri Companies

Tim Van Epps

Tim Van Epps remembers the conversation vividly.
It was Christmas night, 2004. He was enjoying a single-malt scotch with his father-in-law, W.A. (Bill) Sandri, when the conversation turned in a direction he wasn’t expecting. “He asked me if I would be interested in coming to his office, taking a look at the family business [the Sandri Companies], and giving my opinion on things. That was the first time he had ever raised the subject.”
And thus began more conversations — and some hard vetting on the part of company executives — that would eventually prompt Van Epps to leave a lucrative job as a portfolio manager for Sovereign Bank and take the helm at one of Franklin County’s largest employers, a deeply diversified, $200 million company involved in everything from gas stations (116 of them under the Sunoco flag) to photovoltaic installations; from a host of clean-energy ventures to three semi-private, high-end golf courses.
It is Van Epps’ goal to continue this diversification, thus further expanding a company currently boasting 500 employees — and counting. “Right now, we can’t build office space fast enough for new people.”
Many of these employees wouldn’t know Van Epps by face, which is good because he likes to pop into his gas station/convenience stores and other businesses while on the road in a form of Undercover Boss work that, he said, keeps him in touch with things happening on the ground.
While working to continually expand the family business, Van Epps is also busy within the community. He’s on the board at Franklin Medical Center and the Greenfield Community College Foundation, and is a member of the Western Mass. Chapter of the Young President’s Organization. He’s also a big supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, for which he helps organize a golf tournament that has become a key fund-raiser.
Meanwhile he travels extensively with his wife, Wendy, and children, Aiden, Aaron, and Ashley — Singapore was one recent destination — leaving Van Epps with little time for golf on his company’s courses, including Crumpin-Fox in Bernardston.
Which, at this moment, is his only regret.
— George O’Brien

Michael Vedovelli: 37

Regional Director, Mass. Office of Business Development

Michael Vedovelli

Mike Vedovelli draws a number of parallels between coaching basketball, which he’s done at both Cathedral and Agawam high schools, and his day job as regional director of the Mass. Office of Business Development.
“It’s all about relationships,” he said. “Both provide different situations, different scenarios, each day, and you have to respond. In coaching, you’re put in some difficult situations where you have a kid who’s trying really hard and giving to the best of his ability, but not able to really compete; you have to explain why he’s not playing, but that he’s still part of a team. It’s similar with businesses: they’re coming to you asking for the sky, and you can only realistically give them so much.”
Vedovelli’s had considerable success on the court — Cathedral teams he served as assistant coach won four Western Mass. championships in six years, and two of his Agawam teams won sportsmanship awards — and within the broad realm of state-supported economic development. Indeed, he’s had his picture in several press outlets, including BusinessWest, for his work helping companies such as Titeflex and Smith & Wesson, both in Springfield, gain the state and local support needed to expand. But ultimate success isn’t measured in photo ops, but rather with jobs created or retained, he said, adding that the number was 225 with Smith & Wesson and more than 100 with Titeflex.
What he likes best about his work is the diversity. “Every day is different; one day I’m dealing with a tiny manufacturing company in Conway, a nine-person operation that’s going to create two jobs, and the town is going crazy because they think it’s great, and the company is very excited because it thinks this will open doors to new business. The next day I’m dealing with a Fortune 25 company that could potentially add 100 new jobs.”
The hardest parts of this job, he continued, are managing the expectations of those seeking help, and saying no, which he has to do on many occasions.
Vedovelli is married to Sarah, and has two sons, Cameron, 6, and Ryan, 4.
— George O’Brien

Jeremy Procon

By BusinessWest Staff April 25, 2011

Age 34: Owner, Interstate Towing Inc.

Jeremy Procon was working for a towing company in Chicopee, but wanted to try something new. So he and his wife moved to Maine, but came back to Massachusetts, and his old job, after only a year. He still wasn’t happy.

“So we compiled some savings and bought a flatbed towtruck for $13,000,” he said. “We were living in a duplex in Chicopee and started a business out of our basement.” That was in 1999. “We immediately took on a AAA contract with just one truck; that gave us enough traction to buy another flatbed,” Procon recalled. “From that point, we took on more territory, and hired our first employee in 2000.” Today, Interstate Towing boasts a fleet of more than 20 vehicles — from wreckers and flatbeds to a 60-ton rotator crane — and 29 employees. “I have a really good group of people who have been here a long time, and I can only attribute the success of the company to my employees,” he said.

“It’s a tough job.” It’s also a diverse one, said Procon, who was determined to avoid a monotonous career like that of his father, who worked in a factory doing the same tasks every day for 30 years. “We could be changing the tire of a AAA member one day and rolling over a tractor-trailer for the state police the next day — or, I should say, the next hour. We move different pieces of equipment, do a ton of accidents, a ton of service calls … every day is different, and every day is a new challenge.” Each day also brings opportunities for civic involvement, too.

Among his many efforts, Procon is vice president of the Chicopee St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, which raises thousands of dollars for scholarships and nonprofits, and organized the first annual Statewide Towing Assoc. Golf Outing, which collected more than $6,000 for Baystate Children’s Hospital last year; his goal for 2011 is $10,000.

“I like doing these things,” Procon said. “I do it for others, absolutely, but it’s more selfish than anything. I just enjoy it.”

— Joseph Bednar

People on the Move

Departments People on the Move

Beverly L. Herbert, Director of Development and External Communications for the Assoc. for Community Living in Springfield, was recently featured in Kaleidoscope magazine, discussing the fund-raising profession. Herbert, who has been active in fund-raising efforts for more than 35 years, has been with the association for more than 10 years.
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JoMaria Velez

JoMaria Velez has been appointed a Mortgage Consultant at PeoplesBank, based in Holyoke. She will be responsible for residential mortgage business in Springfield, Wilbraham, Monson, Palmer, and surrounding areas.
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Robert F. Borawski has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Florence Savings Bank. Borawski is President of Borawski Insurance Co. He was elected a Corporator of Florence Savings in 1981 and a Director in 1992.
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Roberta Hillenberg-Gang has been appointed Link Senior Project Coordinator for the Link to Libraries collaboration to offer read-aloud programs to area public elementary schools with Loomis Communities residents.
•••••
Monson Savings Bank announced the following:

John (Jack) W. Hibbard

• John (Jack) W. Hibbard has been promoted to Controller. He joined the Financial Department in 2004; and

Michele Ouhl

• Michele Ouhl has been promoted to Branch Manager of the Monson branch. She joined the bank in 2010 as the Assistant Branch Manager of the Monson branch.

•••••
Attorney Robert Aronson has joined Royal LLP in Northampton. He has more than 35 years of litigation experience, and is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in Massachusetts and New York.
•••••
Pierce R. Keefe has joined Aaron Smith of East Longmeadow as a Tax Manager. Keefe has more than 15 years of professional tax and accounting experience with manufacturing, construction, and closely held businesses.
•••••

Ellen W. Freyman

Attorney Ellen W. Freyman has been named the 2011 winner of the Springfield Leadership Institute’s Community Service Award. The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield Inc. and Western New England College School of Business made the announcement. The award is given annually to a member of Greater Springfield who exemplifies outstanding leadership and service to the community. Freyman joined Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. in 1988. She is active in several professional and civic organizations and most recently worked with the Springfield Planning Department to revise the Springfield Zoning Ordinance.
•••••
Denise C. Remillard has been named Manager of Human Resources at the Insurance Center of New England in Agawam. She brings more than 14 years of human-resources experience to her new position.
•••••
Brenda D. Cuoco has joined Real Living Realty Professionals in Wilbraham as a Sales Associate.
•••••

Dr. Pranay Parikh

Dr. Pranay Parikh has joined the Medical Staff at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware. He earned his medical degree from Alpert Medical School – Brown University in Rhode Island. He completed his residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and his fellowship at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. He is a faculty member of the Tufts University School of Medicine, specializing in plastic surgery. He is also a member of Baystate Plastic Surgery.
•••••
Pam Hixon, a Hall of Fame field-hockey coach and player, has been named AstroTurf’s ambassador to the sport. Hixon earned eight varsity letters in field hockey, softball, and basketball at Springfield College, and played for the U.S. National Team for 10 years. She coached field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball at Springfield College, as well as field hockey and lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts.

Company Notebook

Company Notebook Departments

Tighe & Bond Plans ‘Centennial Project’
WESTFIELD — As part of its 100th-anniversary celebration in 2011, Tighe & Bond is lining up a series of events to give back to its communities, recognize its clients, appreciate its employees, and publish a book on the firm’s history. As part of the firm’s “Centennial Project,” two worthy projects for nonprofit agencies that are in need of Tighe & Bond’s services will each receive $50,000 worth of pro bono engineering services, according to Fran Hoey, senior vice president, who is overseeing the project. To identify potential projects for these services, Tighe & Bond has developed a request for proposals that nonprofit organizations can complete if they are interested. Tighe & Bond will be considering projects in the primary regions that it serves — Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Preferably these will be projects that are in the planning stages and have a targeted construction date. “Tighe & Bond is looking forward to giving back to the community at large in a significant and meaningful way,” said Hoey in a statement. “We have a passionate and generous staff that believes strongly in helping others in need, so this is only natural.” For more information on the nonprofit project, visit centennialproject.tighebond.com. Submittals are due by April 29.

Hampden Savings Bank Foundation Donates to Link to Libraries
The Hampden Savings Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hampden Bank, announced recently that it has awarded $1,500 to Link to Libraries Inc. Celebrating its third anniversary this May, Link to Libraries has thus far donated more than 26,000 books to area schools and nonprofits in Western Mass. and Northern Conn. Link to Libraries’ newest initiatives include the Link Senior Project with Loomis Communities and the Welcome to Kindergarten Project, which will supply Link to Libraries literacy packets (a book and bookbags) to 1,200 kindergarten children entering Springfield Public Schools this August on screening and testing day. “We are deeply grateful to Hampden Savings Foundation for their support to our mission.” said Susan Jaye-Kaplan, president and co-founder of Link to Libraries. “We are delighted this much needed assistance to our Read Aloud Programs is being made possible through the generosity of Hampden Bank.” Link to Libraries is a not-for-profit organization based in Western Mass. Its mission is to collect and distribute to public elementary schools and nonprofit organizations throughout Western Mass. and Northern Conn. new books to enhance reading, literacy, and language skills for children of all cultures.

Mahoney Place Construction Underway
HOLYOKE — A construction kick-off was held April 7 by Cunningham Equities, LLC for the development of Class A medical offices for the Sisters of Providence Prenatal Clinic and Tapestry Health at the former home of Charles Koegels & Sons Co. The manufacturing facility at 306 Race St. will be renovated to a first-class office building, with the first tenant, Sisters of Providence Prenatal Clinic, expected to take possession in June.

United Bank Foundation Pledges $83,500
WEST SPRINGFIELD — The United Bank Foundation recently awarded $83,500 to organizations and initiatives designed to benefit children, families, students, and schools in the Greater Springfield and Worcester regions, according to Dena Hall, foundation president. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County Inc. received a grant for $10,000 to support Chicopee youth in the community-based Mentoring Expansion Project. Also, a $25,000 grant was made to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield for its Raise the Roof Capital Campaign building expansion plans. Families will benefit from the foundation’s $4,500 award to the Community Music School of Springfield for a family concert Series. A grant of $10,000 to the Holyoke Community College Foundation will support the Community Technology Center located at the new Holyoke Transportation Center. In Ludlow, the Boys & Girls Club was awarded $5,000 to be used for scholarships and to provide access to subsidized child care for before- and after-school programs and summer camp for qualified families. Rebuilding Together Springfield was awarded a grant of $10,000 to support home repairs, modifications, and rehabilitations for low-income Springfield homeowners. The Western Mass. Council Inc., Boy Scouts of America received $5,000 for its Scoutreach Initiative for involving low-income urban youth in scouting. The YWCA of Western Massachusetts was awarded $5,000 to support renovations and the construction of additional rooms at its Clough Street facility. Also, Westfield Public Schools received a $2,000 grant. A $1,000 grant from the foundation to the Springfield Vietnamese American Citizens Assoc. will help the Family Empowerment Program provide educational support to Vietnamese students and families in Greater Springfield. With its $1,000 grant from the Foundation, Links to Libraries will provide new books to area preschools and elementary schools to promote language and reading skills. In Worcester, the foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to University of Massachusetts Medical School to support the UMass Labs Program for Worcester high school students. The foundation has awarded nearly $1.4 million in grants since it was established in 2005 as a permanent source of funding to benefit communities in United Bank’s market area.

Stitches & Ink Makes a Home at Fran Johnson’s Golf & Tennis
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Starting with embroidered hats and shirts, Tim and Rae Crary have built an apparel business into a growing offshoot of TC Sales. Calling on customers as a print broker, Tim Crary responded to customer requests to provide decorated apparel, and as the business grew, a decision was made to find a retail location. An open house was recently celebrated for Stitches & Ink at Fran Johnson’s Golf & Tennis on Riverdale Street. The new showroom includes two Brother 9100 embroidery machines, a Brother 782 digital garment printer, and a Logo Jet printer. Cindy Johnson, owner of Fran Johnson’s, noted that the opportunity for customers to get decorated apparel adds to the services already available at her store. “Customers can now get just about anything printed with their name, picture, or business,” said Johnson. “This now makes shopping for golf tournaments or special events even easier, and the no-minimum [policy] is significant.”

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies Departments

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

1880 House
LaBelle, Michelle R.
a/k/a Carr, Michelle R.
3704 South Athol Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/11

A & O Transport Services
Sluder, Ricky K.
Sluder, Kimberly A.
163 Main St., 2nd Fl.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 02/28/11

Aitighli, Rachid
126 Quabog St.
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

AJ Norman Painting Contractors
Normoyle, James P.
11 Maiden Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Anderson, Laurel M.
56 Glenvale St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/08/11

Baillargeon, Luke R.
72 Walnut St., Fl. 1
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Bartlett, Amy Ann
58 New Hampshire Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Beach, Michelle Lee
a/k/a Heaton-Beach, Michelle
a/k/a Heaton-Beach, Michelle
29 Pilgrim Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Belba, Patricia A.
196 Center St.
Lee, MA 01238
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/08/11

Berkshire Stone Works
Doyle, Albert
Doyle, Jannine
81 Daytona St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/01/11

Duong, Dennis Thanh
a/k/a Duong, Lam Thanh
668 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Boone, Jennifer L.
a/k/a Duda, Jennifer L.
6 McBride Road
Unit B
Wales, MA 01081
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Breault, Angela P.
142 Skeele St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Bullens, Thomas J.
Bullens, Linda S.
31 Pauline Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Calkins, Nicholas C.
40 Duryea St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Champagne, Luce M.
63 Watson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Cote, Douglas A.
Cote, Marya C.
370 Ridge Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 02/28/11

Coughlin, Hilary W.
107 Wenonah Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Crespo, Jose L.
Otero, Sonia N.
193 Santa Barbara St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/01/11

Crochetiere, Diane Marie
55 Beaumont Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/11

Davies, Frank
310 Stafford St., Apt. 1303
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/01/11

Dibrindisi, Dolores T.
60 Avis Circle
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Dicenzo, Michael J.
Dicenzo, Christine A.
P.O. Box 138
Pittsfield, MA 01202
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

DNA Printworks
McCarthy, Daniel S.
478 Kings Highway
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Duquette, Ronald G.
Duquette, Debra M.
368 Holyoke St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/08/11

Dwyer, Carroll Henry
54 Bridge St., Apt. 54
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Dziadek, Bernard J.
437 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Edery, Armand
10 Keefe Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Ela, Richard B.
Ela, Cheryl A.
a/k/a Heinonen, Cheryl A.
40 Yankee Drummer Dr.
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/11

Ezyk, Shane M.
12 Oakdale Place
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Farooqui, Amir A.
11 Eastwood Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/11

Fiorentino, Angelo M.
340 Cooley St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Fontaine, Doreen F.
945 Jenks Road
Cheshire, MA 01225
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/08/11

Fortes, Gregory E.
102 Memory Lane
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Foss, Judith A.
98 Spadina Parkway
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Getto, Robert A.
34 Whitman St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Girard, Andrew P.
76 Lakeview St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Godin-Conz, Jaclyn Marie
a/k/a Kraus, Jaclyn Marie
35 Ward Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Guyer, Jeffrey A.
Guyer, Amy J.
a/k/a Evangelisto, Amy J.
53 Yorkshire Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Hasperg, Nicole M.
119 Daniels Terrace
Cheshire, MA 01225
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Hirsch, Jeffrey A.
106 Inverness Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/05/11

Holby, Brenda
365 Main St., #7
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Holloway, Myron C.
858 Silver Lake St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 02/28/11

Hussain, Irum
11 Eastwood Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/11

Ilg, Priscilla M.
120 South Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Jaime, Janet
39 Hillside Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/11

James, Jade R.
18 Wandering Meadows
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Jenney, Debra L.
26 Duryea St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Kibodya, Mohamed A.
54 Homestead Ave.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/01/11

King, Sharon K.
P.O.Box 1145
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/01/11

Knowlton, Richard J.
Knowlton, Ann M.
889 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Laramee-Santaniello, Patricia L.
76 Main St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Lareau, David R.
138 St. James St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Latina, Dorothy Rose
3 Heritage Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Leary, Frances J.
36 Crestwood St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/11

Lehmann, Crystal M.
70 South John St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/14/11

Lemieux, Richard Alan
Lemieux, Carolyn Margaret
17 Fuller St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Lescarbeau, Joy P.
193 North St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/12/11

Link, Herbert
22 Lessey St. Apt 104
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Lord, Julie A.
30 Conway St.
South Deerfield, MA 01373
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Maldonado, Sylvia
395 Tokeneke Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Maloney, James E.
Maloney, Angel M.
57 Richmond Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Manzi Fiorentino, Marie A.
72 Kathleen St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Marhoub, Chaibia
126 Quabog St.
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Mastriani, Vincent
Mastriani, Donna
1050 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Matosky, Jessica M.
115 Sunridge Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Monday, Debra C.
a/k/a DeRose, Debra C.
P.O. Box 418
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Nicolazzo, Anthony Pasquale
751 Scott Road
Oakham, MA 01068
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Nieves, Rhonda
70 Martel Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/11

Normandin, Jason M.
Normandin, Sandra E.
430 Walnut Hill Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/11

Ortiz, Marcelino
82 Bridge St., Apt 6A
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Pearson, Maria C.
60 Ionia St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Precious Memories Childcare
LaFountain, Melissa L.
a/k/a Cucchi, Melissa L.
440 Fredette St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/11

Profit Valley Printing
Ostapovicz, Michael Aaron
391 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Richardson, Beulah Brooks
699 North Westfield St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/11

Rivera, Roberto
500 Hancock St., Apt.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Robert, Michael A.
49 Michael Sears Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/08/11

Roberts, Francis M.
1460 Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Rodriguez, Alicia
280 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Rodriguez, Julio A.
47 Grosvenor St
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Routhier, Kevin J.
Routhier, Susan C.
a/k/a Morris, Susan C.
a/k/a Paradysz, Susan C.
16 Exeter St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Sadler, Christopher G.
P.O. Box 48
Russell, MA 01071
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/01/11

Santiago, Carmen C.
15 Van Horn Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Schwarz, James T.
178 Woodlawn Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Smith, Dorothy J.
100 Edgemont St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Somes, Wendy K.
3 A Wildwood Lane
Goshen, MA 01032
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/01/11

Sparrow, Michael
22 4th Ave.
Cheshire, MA 01225
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Sperry, Norman A.
430 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Stephenson, Sandra E.
P.O. Box 1426
Holyoke, MA 01041
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Stevens, Robert C.
81 Dartmouth St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/11

Swan, Kevin S.
Swan, Laurie E.
1747 West Royalston Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Thompson, Barbara J.
437 East St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/15/11

Tuttle, Mary A.
13A Highland Village
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Unique Designs
Malone, Christopher T.
Malone, Carol E.
a/k/a March-Malone, Carol E.
101 Upton St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Wasuk, David M.
1 Jennifer St.
Lenox, MA 01240
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Wasuk, Sue A.
1 Jennifer St.
Lenox, MA 01240
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/09/11

Watkins, Robert D.
376 King Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/13/11

Weber, Scott F.
80 Damon Road #7204
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/11

Wells, Michael Robert
Wells, Lisa Ann
80 Wheeler Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/02/11

Williams, Kimberly A.
22 Pinney St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Williams, William R.
11 Flynt Ave.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/11

Wright, Keith M.
3 A Wildwood Lane
Goshen, MA 01032
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/01/11

Wyman, William E.
218 Spring St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/11

Zina, John F.
21 Wilson Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/03/11

Agenda

Agenda Departments

Mobile Marketing
April 12: Stevens 470 at 470 Southampton Road, Westfield, will host a coffee hour from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on mobile communication. During the coffee hour, the pros and cons of creating a mobile Web site will be featured, as well as discussion on the technology behind mobile Web sites and different ways to generate a mobile Web site. Stevens 470 Coffee Hours are informal discussions on current marketing-communications and Web-development topics. For more information on the event or to register, contact Tina Stevens at (413) 568-2660 or [email protected]. Seating is limited.

Performance Appraisals Workshop
April 12: Attorney Susan Fentin of Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. of Springfield will present a workshop titled “Performance Appraisals: Rewards and (Yes) the Risks” at the Human Service Forum Nonprofit Risk Management Conference at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton. The daylong event includes breakfast and a keynote address, followed by workshops in which Fentin and participants will analyze the top risks facing human-services and nonprofit organizations. Other workshop topics include “For EDs/CEOs Only: Let’s Talk About Risk,” “Financial Risk Management,” and “Facilities/Property Management.” For more information on the program, visit www.skoler-abbott.com.

Mobile Technology Workshop
April 13: Chris Amato of Knectar Design and Jeff Hobbs of Advanced Internet will lead a workshop on the various critical aspects of the shift to a mobile technology landscape from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The workshop is sponsored by the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC). Amato and Hobbs will discuss how mobile and smart-phone technology has surpassed expectations to become the leading communications and application-technology platform for users in many market sectors. The cost is $40. For more information, contact the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712 or www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Public Health Lecture Series
April 13: Dr. Leonard Morse will be the keynote speaker as the Desmond Tutu Public Health Lecture Series continues at American International College, 1000
State St., Springfield. The 10 a.m. talk in Griswold Theatre will focus on education to address patterns of behavior that promote and preserve one’s health. The event is free and open to the public. A reception for Morse will follow in the west wing of the Sprague Cultural Arts Center. For more information, call (413) 205-3231.

Royal LLP Open House
April 14: Royal LLP will conduct an open house for the public from 5 to 8 p.m. to celebrate its new offices at 270 Pleasant St., Northampton. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be provided by Side Street Café. For persons planning to attend, RSVP by April 4 at [email protected] or call (413) 586-2288.

Marketing Basics Workshop
April 20: A workshop led by Dianne Doherty of the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC) will focus on the basic disciplines of marketing, beginning with research — primary, secondary, qualitative, and quantitative. Topics will include advertising, public relations, and the importance of developing a marketing plan. Doherty’s presentation is planned from 3 to 5 p.m. at the TD Bank community room, 175 Main St., Northampton. For more information, contact the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712 or www.msbdc.org/wmass.

CPA Workshop
April 26: Timothy Murphy, partner at Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., of Springfield, will present a workshop titled “Continuing Legal Education” to certified public accountants from 3 to 5:40 p.m. at the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College. For more details, visit www.skoler-abbott.com.

Not Just Business as Usual
April 26: Al Verrecchia, retired CEO and chairman of the board of Hasbro Inc., will be the keynote speaker for a program titled Not Just Business as Usual, presented by the Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Foundation. The STCC Foundation will capture the energy and excitement of the college’s past, present, and future at the unique affair that will be staged at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke. In addition, two past Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inductees, Balise Motor Sales and Smith & Wesson, will be honored for their continued success and contributions to the local community. A cocktail and networking reception is planned from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by a dinner program from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $175 each or $1,500 for a table of 10. Proceeds raised from the event will benefit STCC. For more information on the event, visit www.notjustbusinessasusual.net.

Understanding Financial Reports
April 27: Robb Morton of Boisselle, Morton & Associates will lead a workshop from 9 a.m. to noon on how to read financial statements. Following the presentation at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, a lunch is planned as well as a question-and-answer session. The program is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC). The cost is $40. For more information, contact the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712 or www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Cash-flow Workshop
May 4: Robb Morton of Boisselle, Morton & Associates will present a workshop on the basics of cash flow, how to improve cash flow, the timing of cash inflows and outflows, how cash flow is different from profit, and how to determine your company’s cash flow. The cost is $40. The 9 to 11 a.m. program is planned at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, and is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC). For more information, contact the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712 or www.msbdc.org/wmass.

ACS Gala
May 7: “The Legends of Hope” is the theme for the American Cancer Society’s 2011 Evening of Hope Gala at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel. This year’s gala will pay special tribute to members of the Sarat family of Agawam, who will receive the annual Omar T. Pace, M.D. Award, a prestigious honor awarded to community leaders who have made a significant difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families throughout Western Mass. The evening will include dinner, a silent auction, celebrity impersonators, and music by the Prime Time Players. For more information about tickets or sponsorship opportunities, contact Regina Pattison at [email protected], or call (802) 257-8908. Details about the Evening of Hope are also available at gala.acsevents.org/eveningofhopegala.
Online Tools Seminar
May 11: From FourSquare to YouTube, Yelp, Groupon, Facebook, Google Places, Twitter, MagCloud, and Issuu, there is an array of low-cost, easy-to-use online tools that allow small-business owners to attract new customers and enhance relationships with existing ones. Larri Cochran of Fresh Table, LLC will present a talk from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield, on who is using which tools so you can identify where your customers are online and which tools fit your business. The seminar goal is to create an integrated marketing strategy that maximizes returns for manageable efforts. The cost is $40. The program is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC). For more information, contact the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712 or www.msbdc.org/wmass.

AIM Annual Meeting
May 13: Gov. Deval Patrick will be the keynote speaker for the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Associated Industries of Mass. (AIM) at the Westin Hotel in Waltham. Highlights of the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. event also include a panel discussion titled “Health Care Cost Control Solutions.” AIM’s 96th annual meeting will seek solutions to the health-cost crisis that is threatening employers, citizens, and municipalities across the state. For registration information, visit www.aimnet.org.

Springfield 375th Parade
May 14: The Spirit of Springfield is seeking community involvement for the city’s 375th birthday celebration, which will include a parade that represents all that Springfield has to offer, its roots, and its future. If you have a business or group that would like to get involved in the festivities, call (413) 733-3800 or e-mail [email protected].

EASTEC 2011
May 17-19: EASTEC, the East Coast’s largest annual manufacturing event, will once again be staged at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. For exhibition and registration information, call (866) 635-4692 or visit www.easteconline.com.

Using New Media
May 18: Gretchen Siegchrist of Media Shower Productions and Robert Malin of Malin Productions will lead a presentation from 9 to 11 a.m. that will teach participants how they can use new media to grow their social-media reach and influence. After an overview of different types of online videos for businesses, they will look at various platforms for sharing videos online, including YouTube. The cost is $40 for the presentation at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (MSBDC) is sponsoring the event. For more information, contact the MSBDC at (413) 737-6712 or www.msbdc.org/wmass.

Taste of the Valley
June 9-12: Restaurants and sponsors are needed for West Side’s Taste of the Valley, which is planned on the West Springfield Town Common. The Rotary Club and the Town of West Springfield are once again presenting the event, along with Chicopee Savings Bank, the title sponsor. The Taste event features local restaurants, as well as two stages for entertainment, rides, games, a petting zoo, a BMX exhibition, a 5K road race, and a “Saturday Cruise” showcase of antique, classic, and special-interest cars. For more information, visit www.westsidetaste.com.

40 Under Forty Gala
June 23: BusinessWest will present its 40 Under Forty Class of 2011 at a not-to-be-missed gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, beginning at 5 p.m. The 40 Under Forty program, initiated in 2007, has become an early-summer tradition in the region. This year’s winners will be announced in the next issue of BusinessWest. For more information on the event or to order tickets ($60 per person, with tables of 10 available), call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, or visit www.businesswest.com.
Summer Business Summit
June 27-28: The Resort and Conference Center of Hyannis will be the setting for the Summer Business Summit, hosted by the Massachusetts Chamber of Business and Industry of Boston. Nominations are being accepted for the Massachusetts Chamber, Business of the Year, and Employer of Choice awards. The two-day conference will feature educational speakers, presentations by lawmakers, VIP receptions, and more. For more information, visit www.masscbi.com.

Western Mass.
Business Expo
Oct. 18: Businesses from throughout Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties will come together for the premier trade show in the region, the Western Mass. Business Expo. Formerly known as the Market Show. The event, produced by BusinessWest and staged at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, has been revamped and improved to provide exposure and business opportunities for area companies. The cost for a 10-by-10 booth is $700 for members of all area chambers and $750 for non-members; corner booths are $750 for all chamber members and $800 for non-members; and a 10-by-20 booth is $1,200 for all chamber members and $1,250 for non-members. For more information, log onto www.businesswest.com or call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10.

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c/o BusinessWest Magazine, 1441 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103
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ICNE Open House

Insurance Center of New England staged an open house and ribbon-cutting on March 31 at its new headquarters building on Suffield Street in Agawam, the former home of the Oaks banquet facility. At left below, doing the honors are, from left: Bill Trudeau, COO of ICNE; state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga; David Florian, CFO of ICNE; Dean Florian, president of ICNE; and Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen. At left top, Dean Florian chats with Ted Hebert, owner of Teddy Bear Pools & Spas.

Link to Libraries

The Hampden Savings Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hampden Bank, announced recently that it has awarded $1,500 to Link to Libraries Inc. Here, Gayle Rediker, CFO of Rediker Software and a Hampden Bank and Link to Libraries Advisory Board member, accepts a check from Hampden Bank Vice President/Retail Sales Director Hector Toledo. Celebrating its third anniversary this May, Link to Libraries has donated more than 26,000 to area schools and nonprofits in Western Mass. and Northern Conn.

NASA Downlink

Area sixth-grade students had a chance to talk directly with an astronaut on March 29, as Dr. Cady Coleman ‘visited’ Springfield Technical Community College via a NASA downlink from the International Space Station. The event was made possible through a partnership with UMass Amherst. Students from three schools — Springfield’s STEM Middle Academy and the Lt. Elmer J. McMahon and Dr. Marcella R. Kelly schools in Holyoke — participated in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) activities led by UMass graduate students prior to the downlink.

The Whole Tooth

Drs. Laurie Brown and Vincent Trimboli Jr.

Pediatric Dentists Stress Education, Prevention, and Fun

Drs. Laurie Brown and Vincent Trimboli Jr. say that, if decay is caught early enough in baby teeth, it can sometimes be healed with a combination of fluoride, proper hygiene, and new toothpaste and dental products.

Drs. Howard Kantor and Marie Tremblay have a brochure in their Northampton office titled, “If Only I’d Known,” and the pediatric dentists say educating parents about what they can do to prevent tooth decay is a critical component of their profession.
“It’s not necessary for tooth decay to be part of a child’s experience. Kids can go through their entire lives without having a cavity if their parents are proactive in terms of diet, brushing, and flossing,” said Kantor, adding that they have seen tooth decay in toddlers as young as 18 months.
Dr. Robert Matthews at the Kid’s Dentist in West Springfield agrees. “Baby teeth are building blocks for the future of a healthy mouth,” he said. “In the long run, it’s cheaper to treat children’s teeth early before they get extensive tooth decay.”
The American Dental Assoc. and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommend that children see a dentist on or before their first birthday. And, although many people might dispute the necessity of consulting with a professional when teeth are just starting to emerge, experts say a pediatric dentist is as important to a child’s health as a pediatrician.
“The idea is to establish a dental home. It’s not to fix teeth,” Tremblay said, adding that parents should start gently brushing their children’s teeth with a child-sized toothbrush as soon as they erupt, using water or children’s toothpaste to get rid of plaque.
During an initial visit to Pediatric Dental Associates of Greater Springfield in East Longmeadow, pediatric dentists Drs. Vincent Trimboli Jr. and Laurie Brown discuss nutrition, its effect on teeth, what to do if a child falls and injures a tooth, and even the importance of having children wear a helmet with a cage when they play sports such as soccer or teeball. They also explain the benefits and risks of fluoride and how baby teeth differ from adult teeth.
“The anatomy of a baby tooth is different. It has more nerve tissue and thinner enamel than an adult tooth,” Brown said. “So we are trained to treat these teeth differently.”
She added that dental decay is the number-one chronic disease in children. “But it is something that we can control with proper diet and hygiene habits.”
Clearly, dentists who work regularly with children educate their patients as much as they clean and repair teeth. But steering kids to a lifetime of good oral habits — and making the process fun for their often-anxious patients — is a rewarding challenge.

Knowledge Is Power
If teeth aren’t cared for, they can affect a child’s overall health. Baby teeth are present in the mouth during the years of growth and development. So if a child has a toothache, he or she may not get the proper nutrition to grow properly. Baby teeth also affect a child’s speech and hold a space for the adult teeth.
Pediatric dentists advise parents who fear dentists to let them do the talking and use their knowledge to make children comfortable. They are well-equipped to do this, they say, because they are required to complete two to three additional years of training in seven areas of specialty.
In addition to classes in child growth, development, and behavior management, Trimboli noted, they are trained in sedation techniques and must care for medically compromised children and adults before graduation.
The population ranges from individuals with seizure disorder to those with autism-spectrum disorders and cerebral palsy, so dentists must learn how to handle children with special needs. They’re also trained to deal with childhood fears, explain things in a way a child understands, and accomplish necessary dental procedures quickly.
“We are trained to know how our patients will behave and how to approach them as soon as see we them walking down the hall and talk to them and their parents,” Trimboli said, explaining that they pay attention to a child’s body language and how well they interact with people in the waiting room or their staff. “We engage them before we ever use any dental instruments because we want them to have a positive experience.”
Brown gives each child a toy to play with as soon as they are seated in pint-sized examination chairs.
In fact, pediatric dental offices are carefully designed to be inviting to the small set. Matthews’ office has child-sized chairs, and the equipment he uses is smaller than the adult version, which makes it easier for children to tolerate procedures. Computer screens are installed on the ceilings of his treatment rooms and continuously play Disney movies, while Disney posters add a cheerful ambience, and stuffed animals sit on counters for children to hold during treatment. Plus, they can choose a small toy to take home when they leave.
Tremblay and Kantor’s office is also filled with fun. “It’s almost like trick-or-treating when children come here,” Tremblay said. “We give them sunglasses to wear so the light doesn’t shine in their eyes, along with stickers, gifts from our treasure drawer, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. And they get a coupon for a free slice of pizza.”
Brown and Trimboli’s office is like a small village, with rooms for every age, from tots to teens. Each room has a theme, such as Disney or a jungle, and lightscapes on the ceilings feature glowing pictures of fish swimming in turquoise water. Trimboli loves the Beatles, so one of the teen spaces is filled with Beatles posters and a glass case holding a collection of guitars. The dental equipment is hidden beneath counters and pulled out right before use, so children don’t get frightened when they enter the exam rooms.
“What we do affects how the children act, so we try to make the office and our treatment as non-intimidating as possible,” Brown said, adding that she gives small children a stuffed animal to hold to take the focus off the dental procedure.
These extras — along with child-friendly terms pediatric dentists use, such as calling the suction device “Mr. Thirsty” — go a long way toward making a visit to the dentist enjoyable.

More Than Smiles
However, there is a lot more to pediatric dentistry than atmosphere and small treats. Dentists provide parents with valuable education and tell them what is normal, what to expect, and also to check to make sure a child’s bite is developing properly.
Kantor said babies who want a bottle at bedtime should be given water, as once they are asleep, saliva production is reduced, and the sugar in milk or juice remains on their teeth. This also happens when mothers breastfeed throughout the night. “The milk has natural sugars which bathe the teeth,” he said, adding that it can lead to decay.
Sippy cups can also lead to tooth decay if children carry them around all day. “Some children use sippy cups as a pacifier. The child’s teeth should be wiped off after they drink from one,” Matthews advised.
Parents should also brush and rebrush their children’s teeth, as the young ones’ limited dexterity makes it unlikely that they will do a good job. Kantor tells parents to stand or sit behind a child and have the child look up so they can see their entire mouth.
Dentists agree that it’s much easier for everyone if tooth decay is discovered early. “A cavity is a progressive disease and will continue to get worse if it is not taken care of. Cavities should be fixed while they are small,” Tremblay said.
Brown said that, if cavities are caught early enough, they can sometimes be healed or remineralized with a combination of fluoride, proper hygiene, and newer toothpaste and dental products.
He and Trimboli say it’s not uncommon to see 2-year-olds with 10 cavities. But the way a baby tooth is restored is different than procedures used on adults.
In cases where a cavity is deep or a child is very young, it may be necessary to use sedation or put him or her in the hospital to fill it so they can be put to sleep. And if the decay has progressed to the point where the tooth has to be pulled, space maintainers are necessary. If they are not installed, the baby teeth will shift, and the adult teeth may not come in properly.
If decay has reached the nerve and the child will have the tooth for a number of years, pediatric dentists may opt to do a pulpotomy, which is the equivalent of a partial root canal on a baby tooth. “We take out part of the nerve tissue and put in a little stainless-steel crown to protect the rest of the tooth,” Tremblay said. “We don’t want it to abscess, as there is a permanent tooth building beneath it.”
Early orthodontic intervention can also prevent problems. Matthews recently hired an orthodontist to address issues that can be seen as early as age 6. “We want to catch problems early, while the jaw is still developing,” he said.
Trimboli said X-rays and oral exams reveal problems such as extra teeth, missing teeth, double teeth, and cysts. The earlier they are identified, the easier it is to plan a course of action.
In short, there’s a lot more to pediatric dentistry than a small smile. “It’s the whole experience,” Trimboli said. “Most children don’t go to an internist, they go to a pediatrician, which is why they can benefit from a pediatric dentist.”

Editorial

Mentors Program Is a Big Step Forward

It’s way too early to even make an attempt at quantifying or qualifying the potential impact from a new program known as Valley Venture Mentors (VVM), but only a few months into the proceedings, this seems to be one of the best ideas — and most encouraging signs for progress in the broad realm of economic development — that we’ve seen in some time.
As the name suggests, VVM is about mentoring, specifically of young entrepreneurs who have ventures that — as the program’s CEO, Paul Silva, so eloquently put it — are “not quite ready for prime time.” It is the goal of the VVM to make them ready, or at least more ready. And if it succeeds, organizers say, it will help more companies over that initial hump and also keep more startups from leaving this region for Worcester, Boston, or other communities where more support systems exist.
But let’s back up a minute. The VVM was created to fill a critical need in this region, what Silva and others describe as a bridge between the classroom and the so-called real world. It’s an important bridge, a support structure that is paramount to building a stronger base of young companies that can potentially mature into major employers.
Over the past several years, UMass Amherst and several area colleges, including Springfield Technical Community College, Bay Path, Western New England, Elms, and others, have made great strides in not only teaching entrepreneurship, but fostering it as well. Indeed, these programs have not simply encouraged students to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option — a thought that needs to be reinforced — and presented the basics (Entrepreneurship 101, if you will), they have also helped trigger some startup operations.
But then … well, there’s nothing between these programs and that aforementioned real world, which can be cruel and is always ultra-challenging. Without a support system in place to help them confront this world, young entrepreneurs often fail to advance their concepts, or, if they have the means to do so, they take their ideas to Boston or some other region where there is a support system.
Neither scenario is appealing for Western Mass., but they have become the norm, not the exception.
To reverse these trends — something that certainly won’t happen overnight — Silva and others have put the VVM in place. Meetings between mentors and selected ‘teams’ began in February and will continue on the fourth Wednesday of each month. After first getting a broad overview from each team, smaller groups of mentors have begun to drill down and address specific issues ranging from financing to protection of intellectual property; from building a business model to making an effective elevator pitch.
It would be wonderful to think that the formation of VVM is going to bring quick and profound change to the business landscape in Western Mass. Those who created this initiative know better. They understand that nothing will happen quickly and change will be incremental. Companies employing hundreds of people will not suddenly sprout up in Hadley, Hampden, and Holyoke because of monthly mentoring sessions in a law firm’s conference room in downtown Springfield.
But if things go as organizers project, that bridge now in place between the classroom and the real world will enable more young entrepreneurs to successfully make that journey from the former to the latter. And with those crossings will come jobs, more vibrancy, and, perhaps most important, a mindset that ideas can be developed in this region.
That’s why this concept is so promising.

Opinion

Public Radio, TV Strengthen Communities

National Public Radio is only a small part of federal funding for public broadcasting. This year it will receive about $3 million in direct programming support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s true that stations may use some or all of their federal money to pay for NPR programs, but what’s really at stake here is our ability to serve our local communities.
The real issue is that your local public broadcasting stations will be defunded.
At a time when WFCR/WNNZ is planning a major expansion into downtown Springfield — something the business community has embraced as another step toward downtown redevelopment (part of the UMass-Springfield Partnership reported in this publication) — and when WGBY has just successfully added Connecting Point, a new local program, to its lineup of many successful programs and community efforts over the years, this would be the worst possible time to eliminate funding that is vital to your local stations.
For many years, WFCR/WNNZ and WGBY have broadcast the national programs Marketplace and The Nightly Business Report, respectively, hardly a “haven for left-wing radical ideologues spewing out anti-business rhetoric,” as BusinessWest stated in its recent editorial. In fact, WGBY’s Connecting Point has regular segments dedicated to local economic development in the Knowledge Corridor, and a good deal of WFCR/WNNZ’s local reporting is about the area’s business community.
Public radio and television stations are important sources of information in our communities. This is all the more significant given the contraction in journalism. According to the 2010 Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, 72% of Americans feel that “most news sources are biased in their coverage.” But they don’t feel that way about public broadcasting — among the most trusted news sources anywhere. In fact, according to an annual Roper poll, PBS has been named as the most trusted institution in America for six consecutive years.
Other surveys by GfK MRI (a leading producer of media and consumer research in the U.S.) found that most NPR listeners consistently identify themselves as “middle of the road” or “conservative.” Millions of conservatives choose NPR, even with powerful conservative alternatives on the radio.
And right here in Western Mass., it is clear that businesses and individuals care about public broadcasting. Underwriting dollars and listener support are by far the largest parts of our annual operating budgets. But if federal funding were eliminated, we would have to make up the remaining 10% to 15% locally or reduce our local services by that amount.
Commercial broadcasting in America receives billions of dollars each year in public subsidies in the form of free use of the public airwaves, which belong to the American people. The federal government gives them licenses to make profits that dwarf what it spends on public broadcasting. It also appropriates millions of tax dollars to branches of the government and to states, which are spent on commercial advertising.
From Springfield and Longmeadow to Amherst and Greenfield, we rely on government to fund public schools and public libraries, and the need remains to preserve a spot on our airwaves for media that matters. WFCR/WNNZ and WGBY add value to the quality of life in our communities. And we do this as a free service for everyone every day.
We live in one of the greatest places in our country, and it benefits from having citizens who are informed, inspired, and educated with high-quality, intelligent, and meaningful public media. It plays a vital role in supporting the foundation of our democracy and civil discourse in communities as diverse and different as Holyoke and Huntington. Indeed, our content is a springboard for critical thinking, inspires entrepreneurial endeavors, and even attracts new residents and businesses to invest their lives and livelihood in our region.
WGBY and WFCR/WNNZ strengthen communities and provide positive economic and cultural impact that we need — especially now.

Martin Miller is CEO and general manager of WFCR 88.5FM and WNNZ 91.7FM; Russell Peotter is general manager of WGBY 57.

The Suspense is Building

40 Under 40

The 40 Under Forty Class of 2011 Will Soon Be Unveiled

The newest members of what has become a fairly exclusive club in Western Mass. — the ranks of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty honorees — have long known of their presence on that honor roll.
And soon, the region will know as well.
Indeed, the winners will be profiled in the magazine’s April 25 edition, a large, very special volume that has become must reading and a springtime tradition in the Pioneer Valley.
Another growing tradition is the annual 40 Under Forty Gala, this year slated for June 23 at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke. It begins at 5:30 p.m. and will feature lavish food stations, circulating hors d’ouevres, and, of course, the presentation of the winners, each introduced to his or her own chosen theme song.
The Class of 2011 is, like the groups before it, diverse and quite inspirational, said BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien.
“As you read the nomination forms for these individuals and then talk with them in person, you’re struck by just how much young talent there is in the region,” said O’Brien, noting that there were more than 100 individuals nominated, with five judges awarding them scores ranging from 1 to 10 based on a combination of business accomplishments, contributions to the community, entrepreneurial spirit, and what he called “intangibles.”
“The Class of 2011, like the ones before it, represents an intriguing mix of individuals,” said O’Brien, trying hard not to reveal too much about the newest group. “Together, they show the many ways in which one can stand out and be considered a rising star in the local business community.
“There are a number of entrepreneurs across several business sectors,” he continued. “And there are several business administrators and professionals, including lawyers, bankers, and sales representatives, working for some of the leading firms in the area. There are also several nonprofit managers and administrators who are playing key roles in helping their organizations improve quality of life for everyone in Western Mass.
“And … there are a few surprises,” he went on, adding that the April 25 issue will be interesting reading for everyone who subscribes to BusinessWest.
Tickets are now on sale for the 40 Under Forty Gala. The cost is $60 per person , with tables of 10 available. To order tickets or for more information, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or visit www.businesswest.com.

Doing Business In: West Springfield

Features

West Side’s Story Is One of Access and Diversity

When it came time to launch his own business, Kevin Kousch says, it made good sense for him to stay in West Springfield.

These days you have to be ready to go boldly forward when it comes to strengthening your market position, Kevin Kousch told BusinessWest. And he should know.
He’s the owner of A Formal Affair, what he calls the “largest in-stock tuxedo rental this side of Boston,” and you might remember him from his days with the now-defunct clothier Yale Genton, also in West Springfield. Kousch was referring to the challenging circumstances facing everyone in business, and how his venture has wholeheartedly embraced new media, as well as good old-fashioned word of mouth, to secure a place as a go-to, top-of-the-line formalwear outfitter for the area.
In many ways, his comments were echoed by other business owners in this town, long a commercial destination for many in the region, due to the popular and thriving Riverdale Street thoroughfare. Cindy Johnson, owner of Fran Johnson’s Golf and Tennis along that strip, said that, since her much-publicized economic difficulties and comeback in 2010, she’s taken some creative steps to broaden the seasonal nature of her store’s offerings.
“It’s what you have to do in order to stay afloat,” she said, while describing an exciting new way for her customers to enjoy the game of golf — simulators that enable someone to play Pebble Beach without leaving the 413 area code.
But while there are businesses in town that are readily embracing new techniques to stay vital in a challenging economic time, there is one signature venue in West Springfield that believes it’s also important to keep in mind the past, and how history, specifically with regard to agriculture, is a key link to the future.
And where else could an agrarian industry be better represented than at the 17-day Eastern States Exposition, the Big E, held every September for almost 100 years along the town’s Memorial Avenue? Wayne McCary has been president of the Big E since 1991, and he told BusinessWest that “I think it’s important to know that we will continue to make sure that agriculture remains a part of this facility’s soul.”
With annual visitors to both the Big E and other events at the site totaling more than 2 million individuals, he also stressed the importance of the facility’s power to be an important agent for West Springfield, for both the town itself and the business community.

Go with the Flow
When asked what was happening in his office these days, Joseph Laplante, West Springfield’s Community Development director, said, “quite a bit, actually.”
The big news these days is forward momentum at the West Springfield Trade Center, a 5.750-acre parcel along Western Avenue that the town has been working on for several years. The property is adjacent to the CSX rail yards, said Laplante, adding that the town has just finished demolition and cleanup at the property, and now the redevelopment authority can proceed with a marketing plan.
An attractive aspect of the site is that proximity to CSX, which is also putting steam to a $10 million expansion and upgrade of its West Side yards, LaPlante continued, adding that the plan is to attract a new business, preferably in manufacturing, that will create new employment and a new tax base for the community.
“We’re trying to avoid, more or less, a warehousing operation, which doesn’t bring many new jobs in,” he said.
Additionally, he mentioned a project currently in the design phase to improve clearance at a railway underpass along Union Street, which will significantly impact larger tractor-trailer traffic flow to the south side of town, “which doesn’t exist right now.”
That $15 million project, with an estimated completion date in 10 years, will improve load-heavy traffic flow outside of the historic city center and some of the residential neighborhoods in town. But, he added, not all the good news is years away.
Some signs of economic recovery are coming from large stores along Route 5 that are in remodeling stages — Kohl’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and the Stop & Shop, all in the Riverdale Shops. And near that plaza, construction of a town canoe ramp this spring will offer visitors access to the river — and increased visibility for the stores there.
“I think that people find it easy to come to West Springfield,” Laplante said, “because there is more of a small-town atmosphere, and it’s a safe and easy place to stop off and do business.”

Tailor Made
After working at Yale Genton for many years, Kousch said, it made good sense to stay in West Springfield when the time came for him to start his own business venture.
“I’ve been here for the majority of my professional career,” he explained. “When you come from a company that was in business for over 75 years, and you’ve devoted a lot of your time to the community, I don’t think it’s fair to uproot and go somewhere to start fresh where you don’t have any roots. You build relationships with people, and then, in turn, those people know that they can count on you when they need your services.”
The economy has put a dent in business, he said, adding quickly that he is confident in his strategies for keeping both his business and his clientele in the black — quite literally.
“Every customer here is custom-fit,” he said. “And because all of our stock is right here, we don’t deal with any of the issues that the competition does, where they have to get their merchandise from a warehouse and then try to navigate any complications.”
Solid word-of-mouth referrals are a key part of Kousch’s marketing strategy, but embracing Facebook and e-mail-blast advertising help keep a company on point. “You have to be with the times for a business to succeed,” he continued.
And as prom season approaches, Kousch said that he was employing another strategy for success — lowering his prices for 2011. “It doesn’t do me any good to have the stock sitting here on hangers; we’d rather rent it.” His old sign from Yale Genton — and those historic prices — are right out in front of his shop.
For those folks who might ‘like’ AFA on Facebook as they consider who will be their prom date this spring, he added, “there’s going to be lots of specials starting in mid-April; we’re expecting to be very, very busy.”
That’s something that Cindy Johnson is also happy to report.
She said the new Tee2Green2 high-definition golf simulators that Fran Johnson’s purchased last November represent a “welcome opportunity to be busy during the winter months, which is a first for me in about 30 years.”
Using these high tech video displays, customers can choose to ‘play’ 18 classic courses, from Pebble Beach to Casa de Campo. “They use their own clubs, play with real golf balls,” she said. “It’s completely different from something like PlayStation.”
While in the past, Fran Johnson’s suffered through the winter months when dedicated duffers couldn’t be on the links, the simulators have finally turned her operation into a year-round destination.
But as the area courses get ready for the approaching season, Johnson said that she’s excited to begin fitting customers for clubs — both new and used sticks. “You want to make sure your old clubs still have the right loft and lie for your swing. As with everything else, things change over the course of a few years.
“Then you can take your newly fitted clubs and try them out on the first hole at Doral,” she added.

Farmer’s Almanac

The Big E established a trust fund for the city in 1994 that has amassed more than $2.3 million to date.

For 17 days a year, said McCary, the Big E becomes one of the largest cities in the state.
“We’re fortunate to be located in West Springfield where we have built these significant bridges with people who have to play a critical role in the outcome,” he said, “especially when it comes to public services and safety.”
The Big E is one of the few fairs of its kind in the nation not heavily subsidized by state government, and as a nonprofit, he emphasized the importance of those bridges within the town.
“One of the unique things here, and I think this is a model way for a nonprofit to behave in a community, is the Big E West Springfield Trust Fund, which we created in 1994,” he explained. “It cements the relationship with people in the community, and it provides a very important revenue stream, especially in these times when municipalities and states are economically hard-pressed for resources. Through 2010, we have contributed more than $2.3 million, through 1% of our gross annual revenues.” That’s in addition to contracting the town’s services — its largest vendor, adding an additional $1.2 million to the city’s coffers.
But, he added, the Big E — as an exposition and a multi-use facility for those other 11 months of the year — is very aware of the business community nearby.
With many thousands of vendors descending on Memorial Avenue throughout the year, McCary stressed the importance of marketing West Springfield’s private sector to visitors from outside the environs.
“We encourage people to patronize business in the area,” he said, adding that “our marketing department creates a directory of local enterprises. We’re trying to channel those individuals to look into the service stream on Memorial Avenue.”
The Big E is a nonprofit, though, and McCary highlighted the importance of economic strength for the facility itself. “The other 11 months are absolutely critical to maintaining the economic stability of the exposition,” he said. “No matter how successful the fair is in 17 days, in today’s world, in order to maintain a first-class physical plant of 175 acres with more than 30 buildings, it’s a challenge.
“These year-round events contribute very significantly not only to the overall economy of the Big E, but to all the area services we’ve been talking about,” he continued. “That’s important to our own economy, and our own health, but I think it’s critical to the Big E as an economic engine; there’s no question about it.”
But the message he likes to drive home, he said, is that, since 1916, agriculture has always been the heart and soul of the Big E.
“We are an important forum to bring together young people from 4H and Future Farmers of America, who have commitments to being in the food industry for their livelihood,” McCary said. “As many as 17 states send kids here to compete in the different fields of agriculture.
“While we’re talking about economics, and how important they are,” he added, “without agriculture, none of us could continue to exist.”

Difference Makers Celebration 2011

Difference Makers

BusinessWest’s Program Spotlights the Many Ways People Can Make an Impact

More than 350 people turned out at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House on March 24 for a lavish ceremony to honor the Difference Makers for 2011. Attendees, including area business and civic leaders, as well as friends, family, and colleagues of the five honorees, were treated to fine food, entertainment, thoughts from event sponsors, introductions of the winners, remarks from each recipient, and an update on the ongoing initiative known as Project Literacy.
Following an hour of networking, members of the Maurice A. Donahue School in Hoyoke kicked off the formal program with several patriotic songs. The evening’s events were punctuated with words of praise for the Difference Makers and inspirational thoughts from them about ways others can and must give back to the community. “It was an incredible night,” said Kate Campiti, associate publisher and advertising manager of BusinessWest. “Our honorees showed the many ways in which one can make a difference here in Western Mass., and provided inspiration for everyone to find their own ways to make an impact on the community.”

•••••••• Click here to view images of the March 24 celebration ••••••••

Horses for Courses

A listing of area public and semi-private layouts

Click here:
Public&SemiPrivateGofCoursesBW0411a

A Time for Caution on Wage Laws

Department of Labor Puts the Pressure on Employees

Michael Leahy

Late last year, the American Bar Assoc. (ABA) announced what it called a “first-of-its-kind partnership between a federal agency … and the private bar.”
The federal agency, in this case, the Department of Labor (DOL), and the ABA have teamed in a bold initiative to pair potential plaintiffs with private-sector plaintiffs’ attorneys to bring lawsuits against employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Currently, employees who bring an FLSA or FMLA complaint that is not resolved by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division are referred to a toll-free telephone number that connects them with the ABA’s attorney-referral system. The Department of Labor will also share relevant documents from an employee’s case file with the private attorney to assist in any private lawsuit.
We expect this initiative to result in an increase in wage-and-hour litigation over FLSA and FMLA violations, including costly collective and class-action cases.
These cases are particularly attractive for plaintiffs’ attorneys, since attorneys’ fees are available if the verdict is in favor of the employee. In addition, since the DOL will share much of the employee’s case file, plaintiffs’ attorneys may be more likely to believe a case is strong, or may see more upside in taking cases where the DOL has already completed much of the investigatory heavy lifting. Given the current regulatory environment, it is expected that this practice will spread to both federal and Massachusetts agencies that oversee labor and employment law.
This DOL-ABA Referral Initiative is in line with a more aggressive DOL stance under the Obama administration. Last year, the DOL launched its ‘We Can Help’ initiative aimed at encouraging underpaid or misclassified workers to file complaints against their employers. The Web site for the We Can Help program includes a large banner which reads, “How To File a Complaint.” Employees who follow that link are walked through the process of getting a complaint against their employer rolling.
That’s not the worst of the problem: last December, the DOL’s Office of the Solicitor of Labor developed an aggressive operating plan for 2011 for the future, under which the solicitor will be taking a more active roll in the administrative and pre-litigation phases of DOL investigations. The solicitor is also undertaking a ‘liquidated damages pilot project’ to assist the DOL in seeking double damages. The solicitor even plans to identify egregious cases for criminal prosecution.
Massachusetts employers must be particularly cautious, given the active plaintiff’s bar here and the Commonwealth’s own aggressive regulators.
Earlier this year, the Mass. attorney general’s office was successful in a case it brought against an employer who deducted money from an employee’s pay to compensate for damages he caused to the company’s vehicle.
Meanwhile, the plaintiffs’ bar in Massachusetts is among the most successful in the country at suing employers. Just last month, Massachusetts attorneys were successful in their efforts to certify a class-action suit against Starbucks for its practices related to employee tips.
Wage-and-hour issues can be tricky, and the basis for legal determinations is not always intuitive. Many well-meaning employers mistakenly classify non-exempt workers as exempt, or mistakenly treat workers as independent contractors rather than employees. FMLA determinations can also be confusing. In light of the DOL’s unusually aggressive posture, it is recommended that all employers play it safe and call their labor and employment counsel to review their wage-and-hour policies.
This approach may well spread to other employment issues. A thorough employment practice audit now can save headaches and money down the road.
Given the DOL’s stance here, it’s not worth taking a chance.

Michael B. Leahy is an associate with the law firm of Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., which exclusively represents management interests with regard to legal issues concerning labor and employment. He concentrates his practice in employment counseling and litigation. He is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Massachusetts and state courts in New York. This column is not intended as legal advice related to individual situations; (413) 737-4753; [email protected]

Different School of Thought

Montessori Method Gives Students Choices in Learning

Molly Reynolds says many people still harbor misconceptions about a Montessori education.

A preschool-aged boy is spraying water on a full-length mirror and carefully pulling a squeegee up and down it. A few feet away, a group of girls wash and dry pint-sized plates while other children paint on easels, act out scenes from the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are with handheld puppets, or do miniature science experiments in a bowl of water.
It’s mid-morning in a preschool/kindergarten classroom at Pioneer Valley Montessori School, where children learn concentration and independence by choosing their own activities within a stimulating environment.
The educational facility is the only fully accredited Montessori school in Western Mass. And although it has been in Springfield for 30 years, many misconceptions still exist about what goes on inside its walls.
“People are very confused about what Montessori is,” said Head of School Molly Reynolds, adding that many institutions use the name Montessori but do not adhere to the practices and philosophy set forth by its founder. “Some people think we are a religious school, some think we are a school for special needs, and others think this a place where children can do anything they want. But none of that is true,” Reynolds said. “Our students are normal children who are busy learning through an approach that works well for most.”
The Montessori method of education was designed by Dr. Marie Montessori of Italy. She bucked tradition by attending a boy’s technical school at age 13, and was the first woman in her country to receive a medical degree. Her interests were psychiatry, education, and anthropology, and her beliefs were not in line with the times. Montessori professed that each child is born with a unique potential that needs to be individually nurtured and developed through child-centered education.
In 1907, she proved her theory in a little school she called a Children’s House, with a group of 50 children who lived in a poverty-stricken area of Rome. Their achievements were so remarkable that news spread quickly throughout the world, and her teaching principles were soon adopted internationally.
“The Montessori philosophy is based on the belief that children learn best when they are allowed to make choices about their activities,” Reynolds said. “By the time they have been here for several years, they can really concentrate. The teaching method encourages the development of an organized mind, and the classrooms are very organized to help that occur. We want the children to become independent, be sensitive to one other, have social awareness, and become active listeners.”
In order to keep children enthusiastic about learning, they are allowed to choose their own activities during a three-hour period each day. They are also taught to resolve their own problems by raising awareness of the effects of undesirable behavior. If there is a dispute, the children involved in it take turns stating what took place and how they felt as a result. “By age 4 or 5, they can often solve their problems themselves,” Reynolds said.
Peace education is also a key theme, and families are invited to share their cultural customs in the classroom. In addition, Montessori students are exposed to multicultural music, books, and other offerings.

Early Beginnings
The Springfield school was started as a nonprofit organization in 1963 by a group of physicians’ wives, and was incorporated in June 1964.
“One of them had heard about Montessori, and they hired a teacher from France,” Reynolds said.
During the school’s first few years, classes were held in rented space at American International College. However, Richard and Emma Wilder Anderson, former owners and operators of Camp Wilder, soon donated a plot of land to the group adjacent to their private day camp, and in 1966, a one-classroom building was constructed at the Parker Street site.
In 1971, a second classroom was added, and in 1981, a two-story addition was built so the children could advance from preschool and kindergarten classes to Montessori elementary school. “They added one grade at a time,” Reynolds said, explaining that the parents felt strongly about having their children continue with the Montessori educational model.
Today, the Parker Street facility houses three preschool classrooms. One is for children between 18 months and 3 years of age, and the other two cater to 3- to 6-year-olds. Kindergarten students mix with preschoolers in the morning, but are taught separately in the afternoon. An adjoining wing contains one classroom for children in first through third grade, and another is home to fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders.
Although some people might question the idea of having children in different grades learn together, teaching is geared to the individual rather than the group, so each child moves through the curriculum at his or her own pace, said Reynolds.
The children do math and English-language arts in the morning and, after completing their lessons, are free to choose more math or science, geography, art, or computer coursework. In the afternoon, they can take part in Spanish, art, and yoga sessions.
Students at Montessori have very little homework, and what there is usually takes the form of a long-term project.
“They work hard and progress quickly here, so they don’t need it,” Reynolds explained. “Homework is generally pretty tedious, and we want them to stay excited about learning. Plus, studies do not support that homework has any value.”
The third- and fifth-grade students take the Stanford Achievement Test each year to make sure they are doing well. “They usually average two years ahead of grade level,” Reynolds said. “We have kids here doing high-school grammar.”
It is rare to have a teacher stand in front of the entire class and teach. Instead, teachers give mini-lessons to individuals throughout the day. “The teachers are trained to be excellent observers and take the time to notice how each child is doing and interacting with others,” Reynolds said, adding that, in addition to being licensed by the state, Montessori teachers must undergo specialized training.
Upper-elementary teacher Pamela Kinn says the method of teaching is very different than what occurs in a traditional setting. “In a Montessori classroom, learning is an active experience. It doesn’t happen by teachers telling children something. Everything goes from the concrete to the abstract,” she said.
Special materials are used to accomplish this goal. For example, every part of speech is symbolized by a shape or color and has a little story associated with it to help children remember and understand its purpose.
Since the school is small — the current enrollment is 112 students — the teachers know their students well, and as they progress through the system, the educators share ideas and observation as to how to get them to excel. “We can meet the needs of gifted children as well as children who struggle. We are not a special-education program, but can also meet these students’ needs,” Reynolds said.

Grade Expectations
Susan Hershey has been teaching at the school since 1972, and thus has a great deal of experience — and perspective — when it comes to the Montessori methodology.
“I really like the freedom that children have within this structure,” she told BusinessWest. “The preschool foundation is based on practical life skills to help children develop coordination, concentration, a sense of independence, and order. The Montessori curriculum is very clearly delineated and taught.”
It’s an atmosphere where students are happy as they help to direct their own education.

The Power of Choice

Bay Path Women’s Leadership Conference Set for April 29

Women make many decisions throughout their lives that impact their present and future situations. Some are well-thought-out, while others are made quickly or without much deliberation.
But the attitude and the way women think about their choices can have a strong influence on how they feel, which is one of the reasons the theme for the 16th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference at Bay Path College is “The Power of Choice.”
The event will be held April 29 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the MassMutual Center in Springfield, and more than 1,000 women are expected to attend.
“Everyone takes something away at the end of the day they can use immediately because they are inspired by the speakers and the themes,” said Bay Path President Carol Leary, adding that past participants continue to tell her that the conference changed their lives.
“The day is a gift women give to themselves,” she told BusinessWest. “This conference will give people the opportunity to reflect on what the power of choice means to them and about the choices they are making in their personal and professional lives. By not making a choice, they may not have control over their own destiny.”
Critical life choices women make include whether they will seek higher education and, if so, in what field, as well as whether to have a family and stop their career to raise their children. “Women are at the center of families all their lives and make very critical choices about the paths people take, including their parents and in-laws,” said Leary. “So, at this conference, we have carefully selected speakers who made very important deicisions about how they were going to lead their lives.”
Victoria Kennedy is the keynote speaker for the afternoon. The accomplished attorney and wife of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy is a strong believer in women’s rights and has worked on issues ranging from domestic violence to education. Leary said Kennedy’s marriage was an active partnership, and she chose not to sit on the sidelines.
“When Ted Kennedy passed away, many people thought she would step into the race for the Senate,” Leary said, adding that she was disappointed Kennedy did not make that decision. “But I respected what she did. She made a very clear choice for herself.”
Leary noted that she served on the advisory board for the Western Mass. Women’s Fund with Kennedy, and was impressed that she traveled to the Pioneer Valley to attend the meetings. The goal of the fund is to empower women to reach their full potential through grants and strategic initiatives.
The morning keynote speaker is Wes Moore. He was a paratrooper and captain in the U.S. Army, serving a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan with the elite 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division in 2005-06. His career has been illustrious; he is recognized as an authority on the rise and ramifications of radical Islamism in the Western Hemisphere, served as a special assistant to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is passionate about supporting U.S. veterans, and formed the organization STAND!, which works with Baltimore youth in the criminal-justice system.
He is also the author of The Other Wes Moore, which he wrote after discovering another man from his city by the same name who was two years older than him and was arrested for the murder of an off-duty Baltimore police officer during an armed robbery.
Moore wrote to him, visited him in prison, and discovered that, although they shared difficult childhoods in the same neighborhood, they had made very different decisions in their lives.
“I am intrigued by his extraordinary story,” Leary said, adding that Bay Path’s entire freshman class read Moore’s tome, and the conference will span generations as college students and professionals mingle together.
“This conference transforms lives,” she told BusinessWest. “This one day can really make a difference in a woman’s life.”
The third keynote speaker is Alison Levine. Despite the fact that she was born with a life-threatening heart condition so severe she was not even allowed to climb stairs until she had surgery at age 13, she was team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition and skied across the Arctic Circle to the geographic North Pole.
In January 2008, Levine made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse from West Antarctica to the South Pole on skis while hauling 150 pounds of her gear and supplies in a sled harnessed to her waist.
“She is a courageous woman who pushed herself. She could have let her childhood heart problem define her,” Leary said.
Conference participants can also choose a morning and afternoon breakout session. The topics are: “Women, Stress, and Fatigue: Best Solutions” by medical journalist Dr. Dolly Atkinson; “True Grit: Can Conscience Be Taught?” by Angela Duckworth; “The Seven Wealthy Habits of Successful Women” by author Deborah Owens; and “Meaning: How Remarkable Women Lead” by Catherine Tweedle.
The conference has a new offering this year. There will be a Career Center in the Exhibit Hall, and in addition to purchasing books and other materials, women will have the chance to meet with speed coaches, have mock job interviews, and receive tips from the coaches, Leary said. They will also be able to have their résumés reviewed.
“The purpose of the conference is not only to inspire and motivate people and provide opportunities for women to use what they learn, but also to help them advance in their careers,” Leary explained. “The coaches will be very honest. The economy is improving, but women may still need or want to find jobs or change careers, and this is an opportunity for them to leave with valuable information.”
There will also be time for networking. In addition, human-resources professionals and recruiters from a number of local firms will be available to talk to women about their careers. Bay Path is undergoing accreditation for a new Physician’s Assistant program expected to open in June 2012, and the director will be there to speak about it.
Students will volunteer during the conference, and Leary said their participation in the past has yielded laudable results. “After Mia Farrow spoke about atrocities in Africa, students started a campus organization to raise money to help women in Sudan,” she noted. “There will be time during this conference for women to think, network, and sit back and absorb everything. The conference hits a chord and meets a need in a lot of women who return to it every year.”
The cost of the conference is $300. For more information, visit baypath.com.

Safe at Home