January 15, 2013 - BusinessWest

Healthy Growth Pattern

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Cover Story

Doctors Express Franchisees Are Our Top Entrepreneurs for 2012

Neither Rick Crews nor Jim Brennan remembers many of the specific details from that lunch they had together at Max’s Tavern in the late fall of 2009.

What they do recall is that, by the time the check came, they had a plan — or at least the resolve to begin the process of putting one together.

And it was certainly an ambitious plan.

Indeed, instead of going into business together and operating a single franchise of a growing national chain of urgent-care centers called Doctors Express — which was one of the options they discussed at that lunch — they decided instead to become what’s known as master franchisees, overseeing not a location of this chain, which offers an alternative to crowded emergency rooms and the primary-care physician’s office when it’s closed, but a region, in this case most of New England.

Taking that step would be a radical career departure for both Crews, who was essentially downsized from his job running the Springfield office for the financial-services giant UBS and looking for his next opportunity, and Brennan, who owned an investment-management company bearing his name that specialized in small-business investment, mezzanine financing, and commercial real estate.

But they believed they had the necessary ingredients — from entrepreneurial drive to trust in one another’s instincts and abilities — to take the plunge.

“The enthusiasm that we both showed for the idea was a big factor in allowing us to move forward,” said Crews. “We both saw a great opportunity, and we were on the same page on a lot of different things; we had, and still have, a shared vision of where we can go.”

Fast-forward roughly two and a half years from when they opened the doors to their first location on Cooley Street in Springfield. The two partners now have two locations locally (the other is in West Springfield), with plans for others in the formative stage. They also have two locations in the Greater Boston area (with three more on the way) opened as part of a large initiative funded by a capital raise in 2011, as well as five other Eastern Mass. sites now operated by franchisees. And there are plans being considered to take the brand into a number of other markets, from Central Mass. to New Hampshire and Maine.

Brennan said the goal is to have perhaps 30 locations throughout their New England territory within two or three years.

Beyond the physical expansion, though, what has been equally impressive is the trailblazing nature of this enterprise, which operates in a field, urgent care, that is still a relative unknown in some parts of the state and the New England region. The two partners have become a model operation for others exploring the Doctors Express franchise with regard to everything from marketing and generating press to finding new and different ways to improve the patient experience.

These include everything from high-definition TVs in examination rooms at some locations, to help ease the wait for the physician, to water bottles and cookies for all patients.

In recognition of the speed and efficiency with which Crews and Brennan have taken the Doctors Express brand across the state, and for the aggressive yet calculated way in which they carried out the plan they outlined over lunch, Crews and Brennan have been named BusinessWest’s Top Entrepreneurs for 2012.

Thus, they are the latest recipients of an award the magazine initiated in 1995 to pay homage to this region’s long history of entrepreneurship and to recognize those who are adding to that legacy and writing new chapters for an ongoing story. They join an eclectic roster of winners that includes Balise Motor Sales President Jeb Balise, former Springfield Technical Community College President Andrew Scibelli, Maybury Material Handling President John Maybury, Cooley Dickinson Hospital President Craig Melin, the Holyoke Gas & Electric Department, and last year’s honoree, Herbie Flores, director of the New England Farm Workers’ Council and aggressive investor in downtown Springfield.

“Rick Crews and Jim Brennan embody the true spirit of entrepreneurship,” said BusinessWest Publisher John Gormally. “They’ve dared to dream big and, in the process of doing so, have assumed a great deal of risk. They’re ambitious, confident, and imaginative, but above all else, they’re determined to succeed.

“And their impressive track record to date and promise for continued expansion makes them worthy recipients of our Top Entrepreneur award,” he went on. “Together, they’re a great addition to a long list of inspiring entrepreneurs and those who run their organizations with a decidedly entrepreneurial mindset.”

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an indepth look at how far Crews and Brennan have already taken their joint venture, and where they want to take it next.

Taking the Pulse of a Business

The front lobby of the West Springfield Doctors Express location was crowded on this Friday afternoon, with most of the two dozen chairs occupied by people of different ages and with varying degrees of discomfort.

Most were exhibiting flu-like symptoms, said Brennan as he sat down with BusinessWest for this interview. Both he and Crews would then go on to quote both newspaper articles and medical-industry reports about what was already a heavy flu season and would likely get worse as the winter wore on.

“With this epidemic of the flu, we’ve had to adjust our staffing model and put on more providers and healthcare staff,” said Brennan. “These are things that weren’t planned on and forecasted, but they’re part of doing business in healthcare today; you adjust to the need that’s out there.”

This subject matter is a world or two away from what Crews and Brennan knew professionally only four years ago. It’s certainly a far cry from what they might have been talking about had things gone differently when Crews took his search for a new career path to a higher level in the summer of 2009 after opting to leave UBS and take a severance package rather than go from full-time to part-time.

By then, he had logged several meetings with Steven Rosenkrantz, owner of the local office of a franchise called Entrepreneur’s Source, which, as the name suggests (sort of), matches aspiring entrepreneurs with franchises.

“I was looking for something where I could be the boss, and also run a business where people would leave happier than when they came in — those were the two priorities,” said Crews, adding that Rosenkrantz put a number of possibilities in front of him, from Cartridge World, a toner-cartridge sales enterprise, to Sports Clips, a haircutting chain. He even looked at opening a sports bar in South Hartford.

“I’m really glad I didn’t go that route,” he told BusinessWest, adding that Rosenkrantz eventually put Doctors Express, a chain started in Baltimore by an emergency-room physician, on the table for consideration.

Actually, there were two proposals — a single location of that franchise, or the master-franchisee designation, which would involve Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and a portion of Connecticut.

“I liked the master-franchisee concept, but I’d knew I’d need a partner to do that, and Jim was the first person I thought of,” Crews explained, while setting the scene for that aforementioned lunch on Springfield’s riverfront.

The two had known each other for years by then and done some business together, and there was also the requisite comfort level and shared vision needed to create a business partnership.

“He coached my son in basketball, and I coached his son in baseball,” said Crews. “We had a good friendship prior to this, and we would often talk about going into business together someday.

“We got along, and we had a lot in common,” he continued. “We’re great dads, good husbands, we’re family-oriented and community-oriented … we coached sports. We made for a good team.”

Equally important, though, were the things they didn’t have in common, said Brennan, noting that their vastly different business skill sets have meshed nicely.

“Rick has been with a Fortune 500 company and managed 30 type-A personalities plus administrative staff, and that’s not my forte,” he explained. “I’m more independent, and while I don’t want to say I’m more creative, my skill set would be creative financing, expansion of a growing business, mezzanine financing, real estate, and small-business speculation. Having these skills and putting them together with Rick’s has made for an outstanding relationship, and that’s the key to our success.”

In the Right Vein

As they talked about all that’s happened since they became business partners, Brennan and Crews said that, while success has seemingly come quickly and easily, there have been some intriguing learning curves and growing pains to contend with, and that process is ongoing.

It has involved everything from honing the art and science of choosing locations — the basic theory is to choose a site with 50,000 people within three miles of the front door, but it’s far more complex than that — to the process of educating patients and healthcare professionals about the emergence of urgent-care facilities, especially in the Boston area, where it is still very much a foreign concept.

And then, there was simply the matter of learning the business of providing healthcare itself, which was outwardly daunting, because neither had anything approaching experience in medicine.

Crews took on that assignment aggressively and creatively, making himself chief administrator of the Cooley Street location for the first nine months of its existence. When asked what he learned on that job, he glanced toward the ceiling, offered a heavy sigh, and said, “what didn’t I learn?”

As he explained, “I wanted to learn the ins and outs of the business, and what better way to do that to actually run the center? I learned about healthcare — about insurance companies, coding, billing, staffing, scheduling challenges, working with doctors … how to run an urgent-care center.

“It was challenging, but it was also fun,” he continued. “Every day I was learning something new.”

Tracing the progression of their venture, or franchise territory, Crews and Brennan said that, even as they were cutting the ribbon on the Cooley Street location, there were discussions taking place about where to go next.

And ultimately, those decisions involved both ends of the state. Locally, after consideration of several locations, the decision was made to expand into West Springfield, with a facility that could draw residents from several neighboring communities, including Agawam, Westfield, and Holyoke; that location opened in 2012.

Meanwhile, only a few months after the Springfield facility opened its doors, the partners embarked on a capital raise aimed at netting $4 million to fuel a push into the Greater Boston area. That offering attracted the attention of investors locally, but also from across the country, said Brennan, adding that the first location funded by that group opened in Saugus early last month. Another, in Dedham, will open soon, and a letter of intent for a third, in Arlington, was recently inked. Eventually, there will be five sites sprung from that Boston offering, for which Crews and Brennan are general partners, with a 50% stake.

In addition, the partners operate a management company with five Boston-area franchisees under it. Those locations are in Braintree, Natick, Waltham, and North Andover, with another facility to open soon in Watertown.

This growth has necessitated expansion of the company’s corporate offices in Longmeadow, said Crews, adding that the team now includes Project Manager Melissa Nelson, charged with helping franchisees get their operations off the ground and running efficiently, as well as Controller Tim Sterett, who helps the partners plan and forecast for the future.

There are also people on the ground in various markets, including Western Mass., but especially the Greater Boston area, educating various constituencies about urgent care, how it is cost-effective for those who seek it, and how it can reduce congestion in the emergency room while also becoming a feeder service for hospitals.

“We have a business-development manager who is out in the community every day talking about urgent care,” said Crews. “We’ve also formed a co-op amongst all our franchisees, with the money to be spent monthly on advertising. Starting in a week, we’ll be doing our first TV commercials in Boston; we’ve been doing radio for the past month.”

Charting Results

Together, the team that Crews and Brennan has put together is scouting new locations in several areas of Massachusetts and a few bordering states, while also continuing that process of educating the public and the healthcare community about the concept of urgent care, and also striving to constantly improve the patient experience.

Which brings Crews back to those TVs in the examination rooms — now standard equipment in the Boston-area facilities and likely to be added at local locations.

“When someone goes into an exam room, they don’t like to wait for a doctor,” he explained. “So we have a policy that no one is supposed to wait more than 10 minutes for a doctor. However, depending on what you’re there for, you could be in the exam room for a long period of time. Having a TV in there helps to distract them from thinking about how long they’ve been there, and that’s especially true if you have children; it’s nice if they can put on Spongebob or the Disney Channel.”

Such attention to detail and the patient experience has helped Doctors Express gain acceptance and solid word-of-mouth referrals, said Brennan, adding that, from a big-picture perspective, success has come by creating relationships and making connections on a number of levels.

“When we go into a market, it’s important for us to create relationships not only with the primary-care physicians and hospitals, but also the medical groups in those areas,” Brennan explained. “There’s a new world of ACOs [accountable-care organizations] out there, and it’s important that we stay in contact with them and provide our services to those groups.

“Whether it’s Boston or Worcester, or wherever we go, one of the first things we do is reach out,” he continued. “We need to explain our story and what our plans are, and to date, we’ve been received very well. Originally, it was ‘who are you guys?’ because no one had ever heard of us, not just in our marketplace or in Boston, but in general. Now, most people have at least heard of Doctors Express.”

Looking ahead, the two partners said they are exploring a number of growth options. Locally, they’re looking for a location north of Springfield, perhaps in Chicopee. Meanwhile, they’re eyeing the Worcester market as the next possible expansion point, but also looking at potential opportunities in New Hampshire and Maine.

And from a bigger-picture perspective, they’re considering the possibility of taking their territory public, a move that would provide the infusion of capital needed to place dozens of proverbial push pins on a map of New England.

“That’s an aspiration, and there’s a way to get there,” said Brennan. “It all starts with the success we’re having, and we need to keep growing — it’s a snowball effect. I don’t think we’re there yet, though; we need to expand our business and get a good handle on what our revenues will be. If we continue to grow the way we are, maybe in a year we’ll know a lot more about whether that’s something we want to do.”

But the success of this venture can’t be measured simply by how many, and how quickly, locations can opened, said Crews, adding that there must be a balance between physical growth and maintaining high standards of quality in the locations already up and running. And the partners work hard to achieve that balance.

“You can’t just open center after center after center,” he told BusinessWest. “You have to make sure each location is successful and doing things properly, and that the service you’re providing is consistent and excellent. So there’s a lot of detail involved with every center that we open, and we also have to make sure our franchisees are opening with the same level of detail, service, and everything else. You have to spend the time and make sure you’re doing it right with each one — and it does take time.”

“And that’s the great thing about the master-franchisee concept,” he went on. “We can bring in great people under us to replicate exactly what we’re doing.”

Evidence that they are doing things right comes from the steady stream of phone calls from current and potential Doctors Express franchisees looking for advice and guidance about everything from marketing to staffing levels.

“I think I field at least two calls a week from people around the country, either current franchisees or potential franchisees,” said Crews. “They’re interested in what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and why we’re so successful.”

Added Brennan, “with continued success, opportunities arise. Our goal is just to keep moving forward, continue growing, and keep our focus on what has made us successful and not deviate from that.”

Polishing the Script

Looking back, both Crews and Brennan are quite happy that they didn’t take the Cartridge World route or open that sports bar in Greater Hartford — not that they wouldn’t have been successful with either entrepreneurial gambit.

They just believe that, in Doctors Express, they’ve found a perfect match between a potential-laden business opportunity and their own talents and entrepreneurial drive.

“There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t gotten out of bed and looked forward to going to work — I love it,” said Crews. “I love the challenges — getting pulled in a million directions is where I thrive, and as we get bigger and busier, I get pulled in more directions. Yes, there are a lot of challenges that we face, but it’s exciting to work through them.”

Listening to that, it’s clear that the prognosis is continued progress for BusinessWest’s Top Entrepreneurs for 2012.

Previous Top Entrepreneurs

• 2011: Heriberto Flores, director of the New England Farm Workers’ Council and Partners for Community
• 2010: Bob Bolduc, founder and CEO of Pride
• 2009: The Holyoke Gas & Electric Department
• 2008: Arlene Kelly and Kim Sanborn, founders of Human Resource Solutions and Convergent Solutions Inc.
• 2007: John Maybury, president of Maybury Material Handling
• 2006: Rocco, Jim, and Jayson Falcone, principals of Rocky’s Hardware Stores and Falcone Retail Properties
• 2005: James (Jeb) Balise, president of Balise Motor Sales
• 2004: Craig Melin, president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital
• 2003: Tony Dolphin, president of Springboard Technologies
• 2002: Timm Tobin, then-president of Tobin Systems Inc.
• 2001: Dan Kelley, then-president of Equal Access Partners
• 2000: Jim Ross, Doug Brown, and Richard DiGeronimo, then-principals of Concourse Communications
• 1999: Andrew Scibelli, then-president of Springfield Technical Community College
• 1998: Eric Suher, president of E.S. Sports in Holyoke
• 1997: Peter Rosskothen and Larry Perreault, co-owners of the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House
• 1996: David Epstein, president and co-founder of JavaNet and the JavaNet Café

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

Editorial

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Opinion

A Chance for UMass to Make Connections

UMass Amherst will celebrate a major milestone this year, its 150th anniversary as a land-grant institution and the start of its role as the state university (see story, page 32).

It’s a chance to mark the school’s long history and effectively tell the story of how it has grown, matured, and become a national leader in many academic realms and a rising power in the research world. And that’s a story that definitely needs to be told, because far too many state residents, alums, state and regional economic-development leaders, and, yes, UMass trustees don’t know it as well as they should.

The 150th anniversary will provide an excellent opportunity to educate people on all that has happened in Amherst, and about the promise of much more to come.

But there is perhaps a much bigger, more important goal for the university as celebrates its beginnings at the height of the Civil War.

This would be the opportunity to re-connect with the alumni base and create more passion for the state university and its critical role in this state.

Indeed, for reasons that are somewhat difficult to articulate, there is a definite lack of passion when it comes to the university and its huge alumni base, at least when compared to the strong bond that graduates of institutions like Holy Cross, Boston College, Harvard, Amherst, Williams, and others have for their schools. And this level of passion also pales beside the fervor that graduates of other state universities across the country have for their schools.

Perhaps one of the reasons is sports — UMass does not have the high-profile programs of a Michigan, Ohio State, Florida, or Alabama. But, then again, Holy Cross and Amherst don’t have big-time sports, either. Perhaps it’s the fact that UMass must operate in the same small state as literally dozens of prestigious private institutions, including four within just a few miles of the campus. Perhaps it’s because UMass is the school that some people attend because they can’t attend those others.

Whatever the reason, the lack of a passionate alumni base has no doubt impacted the university, and not just in terms of the ridiculously low turnout for football games last fall at Gillette Stadium after the school made the risky and expensive leap to the Mid-America Conference and the so-called Football Bowl Subdivision — although that’s part of it.

This dispassion also affects donations to the school, thus limiting its overall growth opportunities, while it may also play a the role in the fact that UMass, like other public schools in the Commonwealth, has long been underfunded in comparison to institutions in other states.

A 150th-birthday celebration, even one on the huge scale that organizers are planning, is not going to change this equation overnight. But it can start to move the needle more in the desired direction.

If the university can succeed in drawing area alumni to the wide range of events on the Amherst campus, where they’ll see the cranes in the air and talk to current students, and if it’s able to attract alums from the eastern part of the state to events to be staged in Boston in October, then perhaps some important connections and reconnections can be made.

One of the sesquicentennial organizers used the phrase ‘light a fire’ to describe what he hopes might happen with the alumni base attending the various events to be staged. That’s being quite optimistic.

But it seems very realistic that the school can use this event to educate, inspire, and perhaps prompt alumni to scour their closets in search of maroon clothing. If it can do that, then maybe the passion level can start to rise.

Opinion

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Opinion

Banks Dodge Accountability for Collapse

Ruining the economy means never having to say you’re sorry. And it means never having to take ownership of, or even acknowledge, the desolation that has washed over the country over the last five years.

Most of the instigators of the 2008 financial collapse (the ones that survived the crash intact) have long since moved on. They were greatly aided by a government policy that extracted cash, but not admissions of guilt, as the price of walking away from the collapse. As a recent filing in a Manhattan courtroom shows, that policy continues to leave victims of the financial meltdown in the lurch years after the crisis itself.

The prominent hedge-fund manager John Paulson approached Goldman Sachs in late 2006, when the subprime-mortgage market was sputtering toward its inevitable end. Banks were acquiring, and reselling, flawed mortgages at a furious pace. Paulson told Goldman he wanted to bet against some of the worst mortgages the banks were pushing onto the market. The result was a mortgage instrument named Abacus 2007-AC1.

Goldman’s Abacus deal was like a rancid, $2 billion subprime sausage. The bank took risky slices of 90 subprime-mortgage bonds, stuffed them together, and sold the new mortgage instrument to investors. Normally, investors in deals like Goldman’s Abacus made money when their mortgages performed. Paulson laid a relatively modest bit of money on the other end of the deal, betting that the mortgages would fail; when they did, he’d make a killing.

Deals like Goldman’s Abacus were the worst stuff the financial crisis produced, since they concentrated the riskiest, lowest-rated bits of dozens of disparate mortgage bonds into a single instrument. That’s what Paulson’s fund was looking for: a loser of a deal to bet against. Paulson’s fund selected shaky mortgages to stuff into Abacus, then had Goldman sell the instrument to other clients.

The Abacus deal blew up months after it closed, netting Paulson’s firm a quick $1 billion. A Senate subcommittee investigating the financial crisis would later label Paulson’s role in crafting Abacus a massive conflict of interest; an executive at a rival investment bank compared it to a gambler betting against a football team after asking the team’s coach to bench his quarterback. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Goldman in 2010 for allowing Paulson’s fund to craft the deal for itself, and extracted a $550 million settlement.

Goldman never admitted any wrongdoing connected to Abacus. That’s normal. Federal regulators’ most vigorous response to the 2008 financial collapse was to buttonhole financial firms into paying a civil fine, without ever making the firms admit that the fines represented punishment for grave misdeeds. Companies paid to make cases go away and never had to admit guilt. This arrangement enabled the SEC to issue press releases trumpeting multi-million-dollar fines against unpopular banks and mortgage companies, while shielding the companies from far greater liabilities that would follow the firms’ admission of securities fraud. So while Goldman conceded it made mistakes in not describing Paulson’s true Abacus role, the bank didn’t have to cop to any wrongdoing. For the ridiculously profitable bank, it’s as if the whole affair never happened.

Although Goldman didn’t get hit with a foul over Abacus, it certainly caused harm. Investors lost billions. A financial insurer called ACA Financial, which backed the safest half of Abacus and lost millions in the deal, sued Goldman over Abacus two years ago. ACA claims Goldman lied, telling the insurer Paulson was betting with the mortgage instrument, not against it. The insurer has been chasing Goldman for $120 million, and for two years, Goldman has been hiding behind the fine print in its SEC settlement.

The government’s Abacus settlement said that, while the SEC was happy to take the bank’s money, it wasn’t making it admit to doing anything wrong. That’s been enough to let Goldman dodge wider accountability from the customers, like ACA, that it put on the wrong side of a deal built to fail. Out of frustration, ACA’s lawyers moved last week to draw Paulson’s hedge fund into their suit against Goldman. But that effort is really just a leverage play to try to break Goldman — a firm that has danced away from Abacus thus far, because its federal regulator let it dodge accountability and contrition.

Paul M. McMorrow is an associate editor at CommonWealth Magazine.

Future Leaders

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Education Sections

A chart of area colleges with MBA programs

Click here to download the PDF

Mind over Matter

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Health Care Sections

The Art and Science of Hypnosis Can Benefit a Variety of People

Ann Buscemi says it’s important to understand what’s important to each patient before crafting an individualized strategy for hypnosis.

Ann Buscemi says it’s important to understand what’s important to each patient before crafting an individualized strategy for hypnosis.
[/caption]Hypnosis, Marlene Quinlan says, is not a loss of consciousness, or a ceding of free will. And it’s not a party trick.

“I always make sure people I’m working with understand that I am their guide,” said Quinlan, an oncology social worker at the D’Amour Center for Cancer Care in Springfield, who uses hypnosis with some patients who are struggling with anxiety and other aspects of a cancer diagnosis. “I’m not doing anything to them; they’re allowing themselves to enter this hypnotic trance state. It’s a skill they actually have inside them. My goal is to help them do that on their own.”

Some patients begin the process with skepticism, she added, spurred partly by distorted perceptions about hypnosis from the entertainment world. “I always explain what hypnosis is and what it isn’t. It won’t make you undress or cluck like a chicken … unless, of course, you want to cluck like a chicken.”

In short, it’s not a loss of control, she explained. Quite the opposite, hypnosis done for the right reasons is empowering. “Basically, people feel like they possess a tool inside of them that allows them to feel like they can deal with the stress in their life. People are most stressed when they feel like there’s nothing they can do about their situation; they want a tool like this to manage their stress.”

Ann Buscemi, a certified hypnotherapist and educator who spends part of her time working with patients at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, conducts a program there for pregnant women called Deep Relaxation for Pregnancy, Birth, and Beyond.

“It’s not centered on the outcome being a guaranteed, non-medicated birth, but focuses on confidence and feeling comfortable and calm, regardless of what comes your way in birth, because birth is always unique and different,” she told BusinessWest.

“What I’ve found, from many, many years working with pregnant women, is that, if I can help them find a quiet space within, and allow their body to do the work it knows how to do, everyone will be in a better place; it’s better for the woman, better for the partner, and better for the baby.”

Women in the program learn to enter a hypnotic state in order to relax and regulate their breathing, but the process is also beneficial for women preparing for a scheduled cesarean birth, she said, to deal with the anxiety of what is, in fact, major surgery.

“We really focus on the relaxation piece,” said Buscemi, who also teaches a class for nurse midwives on the basics of childbirth education. “The feedback I get from the midwifery center is that it really makes a difference.”

For this month’s focus on healthcare, BusinessWest explores what hypnosis in a medical setting involves, and why many patients grappling with fear, anxiety, pain, and other issues find the process liberating — and healing.

Free Your Mind

Buscemi, like Quinlan, emphasizes the free-will element of hypnosis, reiterating that it’s most effective on individuals who are open to it and understand what it is.

“A lot of people fear it because, so often, we hear about a guy at the Hu Ke Lau bringing people up on stage, and they start quacking like a duck. If someone wants that to happen, it will happen; it’s not mind control. You can’t make somebody do anything against who they are, religiously or ethically.”

So, how does hypnosis work?

“It’s getting to that subconscious space where I can plant a seed for positive results,” Buscemi explained. “It’s sort of moving beyond your fears and anxiety and introducing positive words, positive images, deep relaxation, lower blood pressure, and, again, better outcomes.

Much of the success of hypnosis is improved confidence and attitude, she explained, adding that each individual experiences the specifics differently. For example, in learning to breathe during labor, “you can think of your breath in any way you wish. Some women see their breath as fueling their body, so their body can do the work. Other women see it as a parachute above their body; they see it as a means of staying outside their body and therefore not getting in the way. … I never say, ‘you must do it this way.’”

Buscemi said she tries to bring a sense of humor to the process as well, again, to decrease the tension of impending childbirth. “Having a baby can be incredibly scary for people, and I try to help them find that quiet space.”

As an oncology social worker, Quinlan’s job entails a number of functions. “Hypnosis is a small part of what I do on a regular basis,” she said, “and not every patient I work with would necessarily want to think about hypnosis as something helpful to them. For those who are interested, I would discuss it with them as an option in the bigger picture of helping them cope with cancer.

“There are, for sure, situations that come up where I have been able to use hypnosis,” she added. “Essentially, the first step is working with the patient to establish what their goals are. I’m very goal-oriented.”

Marlene Quinlan says pain relief isn’t one of her goals in treating cancer patients, although some find they’re able to manage their pain more effectively afterward.

In addition to helping them reduce anxiety, Quinlan has worked with cancer patients on smoking cessation — obviously, an important factor in helping the body fight off the disease. But, she said, there first needs to be a deeply felt desire to make that life change — or any change for which hypnosis might help.

“Hypnosis won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do,” Quinlan said. “That’s why it’s important, when doing an assessment, to find out what their goals really are, if it’s what they really want. If I receive a referral to help someone quit smoking, and during my assessment, I hear them saying, in so many words, that they’re not really interested in quitting, that can be an obstacle.”

Therefore, some patients need more conventional counseling first to get to the bottom of what they really want, or to assure themselves that they really want what hypnosis could help them achieve.

“It’s not a magic pill,” she told BusinessWest. “And one session of hypnosis isn’t going to cure all your ills, although many people think of it that way.” In fact, sometimes the first session doesn’t involve hypnosis at all, but is a thorough assessment of the patient’s mindset and goals.

The Rest Will Follow

Buscemi also conducts hypnotherapy for cancer patients, through the Cancer Connection in Northampton.

“It’s really taking time with people who are looking at surgery or chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and focusing on healing,” she explained. “It’s really challenging to be faced with a diagnosis — a life-threatening diagnosis — and then everything you have to do to get through it.

“I’ve found, in working with people at the Cancer Connection, that they haven’t thought about being OK,” she continued. “I help them come up with visualization and focus, seeing themselves as healed, helping them through their fear, anxiety, and stress, using the things going on around them and within them to help them promote more relaxation.”

While different patients call for different techniques, Buscemi said she often uses a “color healing” form of visualization, where chemotherapy patients picture the liquids going into their bodies as a healing color. Similarly, “I’ve written a script about powerful beams of light for working with a man with prostate cancer.”

Every case is different, she said. “I take the time to find out what they love. Do they love the beach? Then let’s use [images of] waves, waves of healing. You have to make it something they can relate to, never something I think they should be thinking about. I think that’s important; I don’t know what’s going to work for people, so it’s a discovery time for me.”

Buscemi also creates a CD that patients can use at home — before, during, or after their treatments — to practice self-hypnosis as an ongoing tool. “That’s important, that they have this tool to listen to anytime,” she said. “I’m not just planting a seed, but really pressing it in and making sure it’s well-sown in their mind.”

Anytime a patient can relax — whether it’s a woman giving birth, a patient prepping for surgery, or someone sitting in a dentist’s chair — it makes life easier for everyone, including the care provider, Buscemi said. And often, when hypnosis is conducted in conjunction with serious procedures, “you need less anesthesia, you leave the hospital earlier, you need less pain medication. That mind-body piece is significant, and it makes a difference.”

The concept of seeking hypnosis before a surgical procedure has been promoted by Massachusetts psychotherapist Peggy Huddleston, who offers a course to healthcare providers called “Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster.”

Huddleston’s process involves using visualization to turn surgery worries into positive, healing imagery; listening to her relaxation CD or mp3; asking family and friends to wrap the patient in a “blanket of love” before surgery; and using “healing statements” during and after surgery that, she claims, reduce the need for pain medication in most patients.

“You’re planting a suggestion that the surgery will go well, and recovery will go well,” Quinlan said. “Entering that procedure feeling really positive about the outcome can help you.”

Hypnosis can also help them with ancillary stressors for cancer patients, she added. “Some people have difficulty sleeping, and cancer does create anxiety, which causes difficulty sleeping. If I can teach them how to relax and go into a trance state at bedtime, they’ll sleep better” — and, in circular fashion, reduce the stress that caused the sleeplessness to begin with.

Peace of the Action

Some hypnotherapists use the process for pain relief, but Quinlan is careful with how she frames that idea.

“I never say to somebody, ‘if you see me and we do hypnosis, it will help you with your pain,’” she told BusinessWest. “But a couple of my patients have had pain issues, and they’ve actually been able, as a side effect of hypnosis, to feel like their pain has improved. I think they’re able to relax, and there’s less tension in their bodies, and therefore they’ve felt some relief from their pain, but I don’t promote that as a substitute for whatever pain management is being promoted by their doctors.”

She also stressed that hypnosis is not a cure-all, and is generally undertaken in tandem with other treatment modalities.

“Often, in conjunction with hypnosis, we’re also doing counseling around what they’re thinking and feeling, and somehow, the combination of these things helps them reframe their thoughts on the situation.

“If you’re focusing on your fears,” she added, “you’re going to have anxiety. But if you’re finding a way to distract yourself and not always be focused on your fears, and having some mastery over your stress, I think I can help you get into a better place emotionally.”

Buscemi says her work is gratifying on a number of levels.

“I know this works; I know it makes a difference,” she said, but she’s still thrilled when patients tell her the process has helped them in some way, and honored that she can be a part of helping them through events both happy — the birth of a child — and traumatic, like cancer.

“That’s a gift to me,” she said. “It reminds me how precious life is.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

An Ancient Form of Medicine

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Health Care Sections

Studies Show Acupuncture Helps Treat a Broad Range of Conditions

As a child, Dr. Shewee-Tian Chou recalls, he watched his father treat people using acupuncture and thought he had magical powers.

Emily Angotti had never heard of the Chinese method of healing known as acupuncture until her daughter came home from medical school and told her about it.

But it has made a remarkable difference in her life and is a modality she has turned to repeatedly for pain and other problems.

“I would probably be in a wheelchair without acupuncture; I was looking for anything that would help me when I found it,” she said, adding that she has rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, lung cancer, and severe allergies. “I don’t know how it works, but for me it has been a miracle.”

Angotti said her family doctor sent her for treatments when physical therapy failed to relieve the pain she was suffering as a result of from fibromyalgia. “It was so bad that I couldn’t walk,” she told BusinessWest. Acupuncture has also helped with stabbing pain that occurred after she had a portion of a lung removed and medication made her so nauseous she couldn’t continue taking it. “It helped me breathe better and has also helped my allergies.”

Marianne Mahoney and her family have also benefited from acupuncture.

“I began getting it for my daughter when she was 7 years old,” she said, explaining that she was uncomfortable with the idea of putting the girl on steroids for a long period of time for an autoimmune disease. “I did a lot of research and was concerned about the side effects of the drug. And I have no doubt that Chinese medicine was one of the factors in her slow, but profound, recovery.”

She also utilized acupuncture herself after a variety of surgeries that resulted in pain and complications. “It works on all aspects of your health and well-being. Every time I have acupuncture, I get a deep sense of immediate relaxation, and it has provided me with enormous relief over a period of time,” she said.

Angotti and Mahoney are among millions of people who have turned to acupuncture for help in relieving pain and curing conditions that range from insomnia to infertility, headaches, asthma, depression, anxiety, and more.

The treatment, as defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, is a procedure that stimulates points on the body through a variety of techniques. The one most often scientifically studied involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the acupuncturist or by electrical stimulation.

“It’s a great treatment for a variety of conditions and has been used for more than 5,000 years,” said licensed acupuncturist and nationally certified herbalist Susana Byers, who has offices in Easthampton and Amherst. “The great strength of Chinese medicine is that it is truly holistic, since it treats the connection of body, mind, and spirit as one. In fact the World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as effective for treating allergies, depression, dysmenorrhea, headache, knee pain, low back pain, adverse reactions to radiation and chemotherapy, as well as a host of other conditions.”

Dr. Shewee-Tian Chou, of the Acupuncture and General Medicine Center in Springfield, is a licensed physician in China as well as the U.S. He practices Eastern and Western medicine, incorporating Chinese herbs and other modalities into the treatment plan as needed.

He began studying acupuncture in China 57 years ago under his father’s tutelage. “When I was 7 years old, I saw my father help people in wheelchairs and thought he had magical powers,” he told BusinessWest, adding that he spent years studying Chinese medicine, became a physician in the Republic of China, then went on to study Western medicine to gain modern scientific knowledge, and finally became a board-registered physician in Massachusetts.

“In Oriental medicine, a disease is viewed as the result of an imbalance in the body,” Chou said; practitioners of acupuncture aim to correct that imbalance.

The needles used in the treatment are usually about the size of a cat’s whisker, so there is little if any pain and no bruising. They typically remain in place for 15 to 30 minutes. In ancient times, they were manipulated by hand, but today, battery-operated electrical stimulation is used, which is consistent and comfortable.

“But the needles must pierce the skin to a certain depth and in a certain direction,” Chou explained. “It is not a simple procedure that someone educated in Western medicine can learn in a short period of time.”

And success depends on the severity of the problem. “The longer someone waits, the longer it will take to fix,” he said.

Inner Workings

Although many people turn to acupuncture to resolve a specific issue, others use it to maintain their health and well-being.

“There are many diseases and physiological dysfunctions that do not yet amount to a disease that can be cured by acupuncture,” said Chou, explaining that sometimes people go to their doctor with vague symptoms and leave without a diagnosis, but still don’t feel right.

Byers concurs. “Acupuncturists are interested in your diet, your lifestyle, and all aspects of your life as it impacts your health,” she said. “A lot of people feel there is something wrong with them, yet nothing shows up in tests, so their doctors send them home. But they still don’t feel right. And acupuncture is really good at putting the body back in balance by improving the immune system.”

The cost of private sessions typically range from $60 to $125, although there are low-cost clinics at which treatments cost $20 to $40. And some acupuncturists use a sliding scale.

“People generally feel somewhat better after one treatment, but to fully resolve a problem may take a number of treatments,” Byers said.

Chou said his working definition of acupuncture is that it “works to normalize physiological functions by balancing the chemicals in the body.”

Chinese medicine says energy comes from chemicals, and energy runs through meridians in the body. “Even water has a chemical formula,” he said, adding that chemicals are used in every bodily function, including digestion.

Chou was the director of a hospital in China that employed both types of medicine, and he treated people from all over the world, including a doctor from Florida who wanted to learn acupuncture. He also trained many practitioners in the discipline.

He said the modality was first discovered about 5,000 years ago when a cave dweller’s illness was cured due to pressure from pointed objects on certain parts of the body. “And experience taught man to apply pointed bamboo, wooden sticks, or rocks to certain locations on the body to treat illnesses. Gradually, Chinese physicians discovered the nerve centers strategically located at certain vital points of the body, Chou noted.

But although acupuncture is an ancient form of medicine, it did not become popular in the U.S. until 1972, when President Nixon’s secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, traveled to China accompanied by a journalist for the New York Times. The journalist had an emergency appendectomy in a Chinese hospital, and doctors there used acupuncture to relieve his pain.

However, Byers says many misconceptions exist about the treatment. “Some people think it’s nothing more than a placebo. It’s very hard to prove how it works in a way that Western medicine accepts. But there are many scientific studies that show that it is effective,” she said.

Byers offered more insight in how acupuncture works. She explained that, when life energy, known in Chinese medicine as ‘qi’ (pronounced ‘chee’), doesn’t move smoothly through the body, it is due to a blockage in the meridian. For example, when a person has neck or shoulder pain and feels a knot or hard spot, it is the result of the blockage of energy.

Chou said treatments enhance the immune system by causing the brain to release positive chemicals. “Acupuncture stimulates the skin, and the nerve endings transmit the sensation through the spine to the brain. Then the brain discharges chemicals, including endorphins, hormones, and others which the body needs to fight the disease and increase the immune system. The brain produces chemicals instead of the person having to take medication.”

The goal is holistic treatment of the entire person, since a blockage can result in a variety of symptoms or conditions that can affect people in different ways.

“We treat the person, not the disease. For example, if someone is suffering from insomnia, it may be due to a variety of reasons,” said Byers, adding that causes could range from constipation to worry or anxiety.

“There is not one treatment strategy for any Western disease,” she told BusinessWest. “But acupuncture is very good at helping people minimize sickness, such as the effects of colds and allergies. We can help to build their immune system or treat their fever and sore throat. And if they have a cold, they may also have neck or shoulder pain or a runny nose, and we can treat that, too.”

Chou said acupuncture is effective in treating many problems at once, as some are secondary. It works because “we are trying to normalize physiological functions. And different combinations lead the brain to produce different chemicals.”

Scientific studies show acupuncture relieves pain in the body by releasing natural painkillers or opiates, Byers said. But depression often occurs in conjunction with chronic pain.

Mahoney agrees. “When you are ill or injured and have a bad outcome, you get depressed,” she said. “And our bodies can’t be well if we are emotionally stressed. But acupuncture doesn’t separate the two. Acupuncturists look at your whole system, and the way it works is amazing.”

Both Chou and Byers cited cases of people with a wide range of conditions they have helped. Byers recalled, from her early training, conducting an externship at a Veterans’ Administration hospital where acupuncture was used to treat patients who could no longer take pain medication due to damage to their kidneys. “It provided them with the only pain relief they could get,” she said. “And there is a cumulative effect with treatments. The more you have, the longer the relief lasts.”

Health Maintenance

Byers often combines acupuncture with Chinese herbal medicine, which she says is quite safe as long as the herbs are obtained from a licensed, certified practitioner.

“Many people use acupuncture as a last resort,” she said. “But it is more effective if people seek treatment earlier. It is very valuable and is a complementary form of treatment that can be used in combination with Western medicine.”

Mahoney agrees. “Acupuncture is phenomenal,” she said. “I have a smile on my face after a treatment. And we are lucky to have many skilled acupuncturists in Western Mass.”

Strong Coverage

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Health Care Sections

A chart of regional health and dental plans

Click here to download the PDF

Cliff Notes

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Columns Sections

A Primer on What the Compromise Means for All Taxpayers

Kristina Drzal-Houghton

After much back-and-forth negotiation — fraught with the possibility of a deadlock and failure — the terms of a fiscal-cliff resolution have finally been successfully negotiated.

Early on Jan. 1, the Senate, by an overwhelming vote of 89 to 8, approved H.R. 8, the “American Taxpayer Relief Act.” Late the same day, the House of Representatives followed suit and passed the bill by a vote of 257 to 167. The President quickly signed and enacted the bill into law on Jan. 3.

Understand that the American Tax Relief Act is nowhere close to the sweeping legislation envisioned by the president after the November election. It is effectively a stopgap measure to prevent the onus of the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts from falling on middle-income taxpayers. The Budget Control Act of 2011 imposed sequestration (across-the-board spending cuts), effective after 2012. The American Taxpayer Relief Act temporarily postpones sequestration for two months. Congress is likely to revisit tax policy and spending cuts when it tackles the expected increase on the nation’s debt limit in February.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 makes permanent for 2013 and beyond the lower Bush-era income-tax rates for all, except for taxpayers with taxable income above $400,000 or $450,000, depending on tax-filing status. Income above these thresholds will be taxed at 39.6%.

While this means that the federal tax-payroll withholdings for most taxpayers will not be changing, nevertheless, all taxpayers will find less in their paycheck in 2013. The tax relief act effectively raises taxes for all wage earners (and those self-employed) by not extending the 2012 payroll-tax holiday that reduced the OASDI part of Social Security taxes from 6.2% to 4.2% on earned income up to the Social Security wage base of $113,700 for 2013.

While the individual marginal tax rates of 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35% will remain, for those individuals with income above the $400,000/$450,000 threshold, the bracket ranges for the 35% rate now cover only a relatively small sliver of what constituted the upper-income range. On the positive side, taxpayers who find themselves in this higher 39.6% tax bracket will continue to benefit from the extension of the Bush-era rates below the 39.6% amount.

Other Changes

The American Taxpayer Relief Act also extends the beneficial Bush-era tax rate of 15% for capital gains and dividends. However, these same taxpayers will find themselves subject to a higher capital-gains and dividends rate of 20%, up from the previous 15%. All others will continue to enjoy the old, preferential rates, including the zero-percent rate, if their total income does not exceed the 15% bracket. Installment payments received after 2012 are subject to the tax rates for the year of the payment, not the year of the sale.

Also effective for 2013 and later is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA, better known as Obamacare) 3.8% additional tax on net investment income for taxpayers with taxable income exceeding the thresholds of $200,000 or $250,000, depending on filing status. Therefore, starting in 2013, capital gains for these high-income taxpayers will effectively become 23.8%. In anticipation, many taxpayers completed transactions in 2012 to benefit from these lower rates. If any of these transactions are eligible for installment reporting, careful consideration should be given to the effect of such an election.

Short-term capital gains remained taxed at the ordinary income marginal rates. The 28% and 25% rates for certain long-term gains also remain unchanged.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act ‘patches’ the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for 2012 and subsequent years by increasing the exemption amounts and allowing non-refundable personal credits to the full amount of the individual’s regular tax against AMT. Without the patch, the AMT exemption amounts for 2012 would have been significantly reduced as compared to 2011. This patch saves more than 60 million taxpayers from being subject to AMT on returns filed in 2012.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act officially revives the phaseout of itemized deductions and personal exemptions for higher-income taxpayers. This phase-out, known as the ‘Pease’ limitation, was eliminated by the 2010 Tax Relief Act. However, its return will impact fewer taxpayers since the thresholds have increased to $300,000 for married taxpayers and $250,000 for single taxpayers. These thresholds are approximately 165% of the inflated thresholds under the previous sunset rules.

In summarizing the phaseout thresholds for the various changes, you should note that, in almost all cases, if a married couple elects to file separately, most of the thresholds are cut to one-half of the higher married threshold, which is lower than the stated single thresholds.

The recently passed legislation retained the $5 million exclusion for decedents dying after Dec. 31, 2012 and permanently provides for a maximum tax rate of 40%. Of course, ‘permanent’ is a very relative term.

Also retained and made permanent is the ‘portability’ between spouses. This allows a surviving spouse to use any unused exclusion of their previously deceased spouse. These rates and exclusions apply to gifts made after Dec. 31, 2012 as well.

Other noteworthy extensions for individual income tax payers include:

• Permanently extending the $1,000 per-child tax credit, subject to comparable phase-out provisions;

• Earned-income credit provisions in the Bush-era and subsequent legislation are extended through 2017, while some provisions are made permanent;

• Adoption credit/assistance provisions were extended permanently, subject to comparable phase-out provisions;

• The child and dependent-care credit amounts and expenditure caps from Bush-era enhancements are permanently extended;

• The American Opportunity Tax Credit for qualifying tuition was extended through 2017, subject to comparable phaseout provisions;

• Provisions related to above-the-line tuition deductions and certain student-loan interest deductions have been extended;

• The teacher classroom-expense deduction for up to $250 was extended through 2013;

• The exclusion from income of up to $5,250 of qualifying, employer-provided education assistance was extended permanently; and

• Tax-free distributions of up to $100,000 (per taxpayer, per year) to charities from IRAs by individuals over age 70 1/2 was extended through Dec. 31, 2013.

Many popular but temporary tax extenders relating to businesses are also included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act. Among them is Code Section 179 small-business expensing, research credit, and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act extends through 2013 the enhanced $500,000 Code Section 179 dollar limitation for 2012 and 2013. The rule allowing off-the-shelf computer software is also extended. Also extended is the 50% bonus depreciation through 2013; the limitation was previously set at $139,000 for 2012 and $25,000 for 2013.

The act extends through 2013 the Research Tax Credit. This credit had expired at the end of 2011, but continues to enjoy bipartisan support in Congress, and President Obama has called for making the credit permanent.

The measure also extends through 2013 the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which rewards employers that hire individuals from targeted groups with a tax credit.

Many other business provisions and credits with extremely narrow application were also extended through 2013. Perhaps the most notable is the reduced recognition period of five years for S corporations with built-in gains.

Bottom Line

To properly evaluate how this tax act affects you or your business individually, you should consult with your tax adviser. However, you should keep in mind that, since the passage of the 2010 Tax Relief Act, several proposals for comprehensive tax reform have been unveiled in Washington that may hold promise for a more permanent solution.

For example, a presidential panel developed the so-called Simpson-Bowles plan. Also, the GOP has put forward several proposals for comprehensive tax reform, also calling for reduced individual income-tax rates, while both parties struggle to strike a grand bargain.

Later in 2013, a broader, more permanent solution may be found.

Kristina Drzal-Houghton, CPA MST is the partner in charge of Taxation at Holyoke-based Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; (413) 536-8510.

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Court Dockets Departments

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

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

D1 Mold & Tool, LLC v. Diecast Connections Co. Inc.

Allegation: Complaint on unpaid judgment: $79,964.82

Filed: 12/3/12

David A. Ratner and Ellendave, LLC v. Lampert, Hausler, & Rodman, P.C.

Allegation: Failure to discover restrictions while performing title search of land purchased by plaintiff: $500,000

Filed: 11/28/12

Kim Kauri v. Eastern Connection Operating Inc.

Allegation: Wrongful classification as independent contractor: $55,000

Filed: 11/26/12

Marr Scaffolding Co. v. Capco Steel Corp., NEI & FRC Construction, City View II, LLC, Northeast Interiors Inc., and City View Commons II, L.P.

Allegation: Breach of contract: $49,428.36

Filed: 11/9/12

Ralph Ridgeway v. Sang Ho Lee, DDS and Aspen Dental Management

Allegation: Negligent performance of a root canal causing injury and disfigurement: $161,500

Filed: 11/29/12

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

TTLR Inc. d/b/a Treasures and Thomas C. Kirkpatrick v. Charter Communications, Inc. and White Mountain Cable, LLC

Allegation: Damage to a sprinkler in a warehouse where plaintiff had stored property causing extensive damage: $100,000+

Filed: 12/10/12

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT

Catherine Durie, M.D. v. Clinical and Support Options Inc.

Allegation: Misrepresentation made by the plaintiff’s employer that it would provide Dr. Durie with professional liability insurance: $23,190.00

Filed: 11/19/12

Joseph Barron v. Walmart Inc.

Allegation: Negligence in property maintenance causing injury: $20,500

Filed: 12/13/12

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Biomaxx Inc. d/b/a/ PA Pellets v. George E. Dupuis d/b/a Turnpike Acres

Allegation: Breach of contract: $15,910

Filed: 11/23/12

EJ Associates Inc. d/b/a/ Auth Fuels v. Giggle Gardens Inc.

Allegation: Non-payment of heating oil and other services rendered: $8,890.44

Filed: 11/30/12

Jenny Rios v. United Plastics Group Inc.

Allegation: Negligent maintenance of property causing slip and fall: $4,366

Filed: 11/5/12

John Kostek and Jennifer B. Margolis v. D. Johndrow Landscaping Inc.

Allegation: Failure to complete work, performance in an unworkmanlike manner, and deceptive trade practices: $15,000

Filed: 11/15/12

Kenneth Polastry v. HP Hood, LLC

Allegation: Failure to repair steel doors on a truck causing injury to the plaintiff while he was performing security services: $7,700

Filed: 11/5/12

Nelson Noyes v. Solutia Inc.

Allegation: Breach of employment agreement: $25,000+

Filed: 11/21/12

U.S. Foods Inc. v. Chef Lou’s Gourmet Foods, LLC d/b/a Abudanza, and Luis Maravilha

Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $23,641.96

Filed: 11/12/12

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Christopher Pighetti v. Tommy D’s Court Yard Pub

Allegation: Negligence in property maintenance causing slip and fall: $24,500

Filed: 11/9/12

Agenda

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Agenda Departments

‘Perfect Pitch’ Program

Jan. 22: The Scibelli Enterprise Center in Springfield will host a day-long program called “Perfect Pitch,” delivered by Linda Plano, a seasoned entrepreneur’s coach and professional who is familiar with academic programs. As its name implies, the program helps entrepreneurs perfect their company’s pitch to a variety of audiences. Plano, via her firm, Plano and Simple, is subsidizing the cost of this workshop through her sponsorship of ACTION, the Assoc. of Cleantech Incubators of New England, of which the SEC is a member, so the fee is only $50 per participant, and food is included. Non-cleantech companies are also encouraged to attend. Registration is available online at www.planoandsimple.com/ppworkshop-2013-01-22-springfield-mass. Attendance will be limited. There are some valuable pre-workshop webinars and advising sessions described on the website as well.

Essence Editor to Speak

Feb. 5: Susan Taylor of Essence magazine will speak at Springfield Technical Community College at 11 a.m. in the Scibelli Hall gym as part of the STCC Diversity Council Event Series. The presentation, which coincides with Black History Month, is free and open to the public. Taylor’s name is synonymous with Essence magazine, the brand she built as the magazine’s fashion and beauty editor, editor in chief, and editorial director. For nearly three decades, Taylor has been the driving force behind one of the most celebrated black-owned businesses of our time and a legend in the magazine-publishing world. She is the only African-American woman to be recognized by the Magazine Publishers of America with the Henry Johnson Fisher Award, the industry’s highest honor, and the first to be inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame. Taylor also is the recipient of the NAACP President’s Award for visionary leadership and has honorary degrees from more than a dozen colleges and universities. A fourth-generation entrepreneur and the author of four books, she supports a host of organizations dedicated to moving the black community forward, but her passion and focus today is with the National Cares Mentoring Movement, a call to action which she founded in 2006 as Essence Cares. The National Cares Mentoring Movement (www.caresmentoring.org) is a massive campaign to recruit 1 million able adults to help secure children who are in peril and losing ground. Taylor’s presentation is sponsored by PeoplesBank, Hampden Bank, the STCC Diversity Council, the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, Baystate Health, Health New England, MassMutual, and the United Way of Pioneer Valley.

HP Vendor Showcase

Feb. 5: Entre Computer and vendor partner Hewlett Packard (HP) will exhibit the latest technologies and products for 2013 from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. The event, hosted by Hewlett Packard and strategic partners, will introduce new information from Entre, Intel, and Microsoft, who will all be present to discuss the latest innovations from their companies, including the new HP Business Tablet featuring Windows 8 and Intel technology, HP point-of-sale products, and digital signage. The event will highlight HP’s innovation in personal computers and printing. Some of the educational topics covered will include mobile computing, Microsoft Windows 8, and a host of leading-edge solutions, followed by dinner and a partner technology exposition. Entre Computer invites all qualifying customers, businesses, healthcare providers, manufacturers, banks, and retailers to the exhibit, and all are welcome to a complimentary, self-guided tour of the Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the program. Attendance and seating are limited, and pre-registration is required by visiting hpbroadband.com. For additional information, contact Entre Computer at (413) 736-2112 or e-mail [email protected].

40 Under Forty Reunion

Feb. 7: BusinessWest will stage a reunion featuring the first six classes of its 40 Under Forty program at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The event, open only to 40 Under Forty winners, event judges, and sponsors, will begin at 5:30 p.m. and feature a talk from Peter Straley, president of Health New England, about leadership and community involvement. For more information on the event, call (413) 781-8600 or e-mail [email protected].

Difference Makers 2013

March 21: The annual Difference Makers award program, staged by BusinessWest, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House starting at 5 p.m. Details on the event will be published in upcoming issues of the magazine. Difference Makers is a program, launched in 2009, that recognizes groups and individuals that are, as the name suggests, making a difference in this region. Several dozen nominations for the award have been received, and are now being reviewed. The winners will be announced in the magazine’s Feb. 11 issue. For more information, call (413) 781-8600.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS

www.myonlinechamber.com

(413) 787-1555

• Feb. 6: Business@Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at the Springfield Marriott. The monthly Business@Breakfast series pays tribute to individuals, businesses, and organizations for major contributions to civic and economic growth and for actions that reflect honor on the region. The Business@Breakfast gives your company exposure to business owners, upper management, and salespeople. For reservations, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

• Feb. 13: Murder Mystery! After Hours, 5-7 p.m. at City Place Inn and Suites, 711 Dwight St., Springfield. For reservations, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

AMHERST AREA

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.amherstarea.com

(413) 253-0700

• Jan. 23: Chamber After Five, 5-7 p.m. Location to be announced. Admission is $5 for members, $10 for non-members. Visit

www.amherstarea.com for more information.

• Feb. 13: Amherst Area Chamber Breakfast, 7:15-9:05 a.m., at the Hampshire College Red Barn. Features a Hampshire County Regional Tourist Council update. Cost is $17 for members, $20 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected] or register online at www.amherstarea.com.

• Feb. 27: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. at the Hampshire Athletic Club, 90 Gatehouse Road, Amherst. Admission is $10 for members, $15 for non-members. For more information, visit www.amherstarea.com.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.chicopeechamber.org

(413) 594-2101

• Feb. 20: February Annual Meeting/Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Castle of Knights. Tickets are $20 for members, $26 for non-members.

• Feb. 27: February Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at NUVO Bank & Trust Co. Admission is $5 for members, $15 for non-members.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.franklincc.org

(413) 773-5463

For more information on our upcoming events, visit the chamber online at www.franklincc.org.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.easthamptonchamber.org

(413) 527-9414

• Jan. 24: Chamber Annual Meeting and Annual Awards Dinner, 5 p.m., Southampton Country Club. We’ll review a successful 2012 and celebrate member milestones. The event will feature presentation of awards for Business, Business Person, and Community Service Members of the Year. Event Sponsor is Easthampton Savings Bank. Cost is $30 per person, inclusive. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

GREATER HOLYOKE

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.holycham.com

(413) 534-3376

• Jan. 16: Chamber Business Networking, 5-7 p.m., at Homewood Suites, 375 Whitney Ave., Holyoke. Sponsored by CareerPoint. Admission is $10 for members and $15 cash for non-members. If you are a member of the hospitality industry or a small retailer, please attend as the chamber’s guest at no charge. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to register, or visit holyokechamber.com to sign up.

• Jan. 17: The Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce and the Holyoke Police Department are teaming up to co-host the chamber’s Open House and a ribbon cutting at the grand opening of the department’s ‘Hub’ office. The events will take place at 176 and 177 High St., 4-7 p.m. Both events are open and free to the public.

• Jan. 28: Basics of Marketing Seminar, 8:30-10 a.m., chamber office. Learn some free and low-cost ideas on marketing your business. Cost is $10 for members and $20 for non-members. A continental breakfast is included in the price. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to register or visit holyokechamber.com to sign up.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.explorenorthampton.com

(413) 584-1900

• Feb. 6: Arrive @5, 5-7 p.m., at Easthampton Savings Bank, 241 Northampton St., Easthampton. Arrive when you can, stay as long as you can; a casual mix and mingle with colleagues and friends. Admission is $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY

www.thenayp.com

(413) 584-1900

For more information on our upcoming events, visit the society online at www.thenayp.com.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER

www.professionalwomenschamber.com

(413) 755-1310

• Jan. 16: Business Expo, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at Max’s Tavern at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Sign up to showcase your company’s products and services or to attend the event. Display price includes a draped table and lunch for one. General-admission tickets include specialty sandwiches, fruit, chips, and dessert. Tabletop cost (includes one lunch ticket): $70 for PWC members, $100 for non-members. Admission cost (lunch included): $25 for PWC members, $35 for non-members.

QUABOAG HILLS

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.qvcc.biz

(413) 283-2418

For more information on our upcoming events, visit the chamber online at www.qvcc.biz.

SOUTH HADLEY/GRANBY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.shchamber.com

(413) 532-6451

For more information on our upcoming events, visit the chamber online at www.shchamber.com.

THREE RIVERS

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.threeriverschamber.org

413-283-6425

For more information on our upcoming events, visit the chamber online at www.threeriverschamber.org.

WEST OF THE RIVER

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.ourwrc.com

(413) 426-3880

• Feb. 6: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., at Chez Josef, 176 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam. Free for chamber members, $10 for non-members. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events, hosted by various businesses and restaurants, that bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].

• Feb. 28: Legislative Breakfast, 7-9 a.m., at Springfield Country Club, 1375 Elm St., West Springfield. Panel of elected officials will include state Reps. Nicholas Boldyga and Michael Finn, Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen, West Springfield Mayor Greg Neffinger, and state Sen. Michael Knapik. Tickets are $25 for members, $30 for non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.westfieldbiz.org

(413) 568-1618

• Feb. 4: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at Miss Sweets, 4 Russell Road, Westfield. The mayor will share information about what’s happening in the city. For more information or to register, contact Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

• Feb. 13: February WestNet, 5-7 p.m., at Shaker Farms Country Club, 866 Shaker Road, Westfield. Meet chamber members and bring your business cards. Sponsored by Ashton Services. Admission is $10 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Payment can be made in advance or at the door with cash or check. Walk-ins are welcomed. Call the chamber at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail Pam Bussell at [email protected]. Your first WestNet is always free.

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD

www.springfieldyps.com

• Jan. 17: January Third Thursday Networking Event, 5-7 p.m. at he Colony Club, 1500 Main St., Springfield. The event is free for members, $10 for non-members. For more information, visit www.springfieldyps.com/events.

• Feb. 21: February Third Thursday Networking Event, 5-7 p.m., at Samuel’s Tavern, 1000 West Columbus Ave, Springfield. The event is free for members, $10 for non-members. For more information, visit www.springfieldyps.com/events.

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Briefcase Departments

Construction Industry Adds Jobs in December

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s construction industry gained 30,000 jobs in December despite an overall increase in the industry unemployment rate, according to the Jan. 4 employment report by the U.S. Labor Department. That is the fastest pace of construction employment growth since February 2011. Year over year, construction employment has risen by 18,000 jobs, or 0.3%. The construction unemployment rate for December was 13.5% (not seasonally adjusted) — up from 12.2% from November, but down from 16% the same time last year. The non-residential building construction sector added 7,000 jobs in December for a total of 12,200 jobs (1.9%) added during 2012. Non-residential specialty trade contractors gained 5,600 jobs for the month, but have lost 25,000 jobs (1.2%) compared to one year ago. The residential building sector added 5,800 jobs in December, but lost 6,600 jobs (1.2%) during the past 12 months. Residential specialty trade contractors added 12,300 jobs in December and have added 36,400 jobs (2.5%) since December 2011. The heavy and civil engineering construction sector lost 700 jobs for the month, but has added 400 jobs during the course of the past year. Across all industries, the nation added 155,000 jobs as the private sector expanded by 168,000 jobs and the public sector shrunk by 13,000 jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ household survey, the national unemployment rate stood at 7.8% in December, the same rate as November’s revised data. “It is tempting to believe the December 2012 employment report bodes well for nation’s construction industry,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Employment growth was widespread, impacting general and specialty trade contractors alike — the largest monthly increase in construction employment in nearly two years. However, industry stakeholders will need to wait at least another month for some clarity regarding construction employment patterns.”

Casino Developers Spar over Picknelly

PALMER and SPRINGFIELD — Casino developers in Palmer and Springfield are sparring over which project may claim businessman Peter Picknelly, head of Peter Pan Bus Lines, who initially invested in the Mohegan Sun-backed venture in Palmer before joining Penn National Gaming in a casino proposal in the North End of Springfield. While Picknelly says he is no longer involved with the Palmer deal, his former partners say he remains legally bound to that project, and they have threatened legal action to stop Picknelly from moving forward with Penn-National in Springfield. However, the Penn National project will occupy land currently used for the Peter Pan bus terminal, and Picknelly has said he will be a 50% partner in the development. Picknelly and Penn National say he has no obligation to any other casino effort, and they have threatened a lawsuit of their own if the Palmer group interferes with Picknelly’s pursuit of a casino license in Springfield. The Penn National and Mohegan Sun projects are competing for the sole Western Mass. resort-casino license, as well as MGM Resorts, which has proposed a project in the South End of Springfield.

Foreclosures Down in Massachusetts

BOSTON — Fewer Massachusetts homeowners went into foreclosure and lost their properties to lenders in November. There were 295 completed foreclosures in November, a decline of almost 60% from November 2011, according to the Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks real estate. Between January and November, the number of completed foreclosures fell to 7,158, a drop of nearly 8% compared to the first 11 months of 2011. Last year is also likely to have the smallest number of completed foreclosures in the state since 2006, when the housing crisis began. “It’s been quite a positive year for the local housing market,” said Timothy Warren Jr., chief executive of the Warren Group. “An improving employment picture combined with government-backed programs are leading to fewer mortgage delinquencies.” The news added to growing sentiment that the state’s housing market is rebounding. Sales of single-family homes increased to 43,652 during the first 11 months of the year, surpassing the number of sales for all of 2011, according to the Warren Group. Lenders also initiated fewer foreclosures in November. Foreclosure starts dropped to 983, for a 3% decline from the same month in 2011.

Incorporations

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Departments Incorporations

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

AMHERST

Lincoln Management Company Inc., 25 North Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01002. Kathleen Grandonico, 4011 Bayside Road, Fort Meyers Beach, FL 33931. Real estate management and leasing.

CHICOPEE

Renkie Enterprises Inc., 21 Reed Ave., Chicopee, MA 01020. Scott Rooney, same. Drywall installation.

MONTGOMERY

Newstate Inc., 50 Newstate Road, Montgomery, MA 01085. James Wall, same. General contractor in vertical construction.

NORTH ADAMS

Optimization by Design Methods Inc., 31 Bracewell Ave., North Adams, MA 01247. Stephen Thomas Potvin, same. Software consultation.

NORTHAMPTON

Qiang Feng Inc., 261 King St., Northampton, MA 01060. Yi Qiang Chen, same. Food service.

Queen Bee Cupkakery Inc., 150 Main St., Suite 29, Northampton, MA 01060. Lawrence Macari, same. Bakery.

PITTSFIELD

Lake Onota Village Tenant Association, 2 Cypress Lane, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Rosario Cantoni, same. Provides a variety of administrative and organizational support to the landlords and tenants of the Lake Onota Village.

Lotus Salon and Spa Inc., 770 Williams St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Constance Luttrell, 146 Karen Dr., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Salon and day spa.

SPRINGFIELD

La Campesa Seafood Restaurant Inc., 2550 Main St., Springfield, MA 01107. Rafael Dominguez, 72 Lebano St., Springfield, MA 01109. Restaurant.

Law Office of Robert Rzeszutek, P.C., 824 Liberty St., Springfield, MA 0104. Robert Rzeszutek, same. Law practice.

Legend Care Inc., 74 Grover St., Springfield, MA 01104. Mariam Saleh, same. Facilitates relationships between patients from overseas and hospitals here in the USA.

Marian Apostolate Ministries Inc., 55 Maple St., Suite 8, Springfield, MA 01105. Jayson Brunelle, same. Charitable organization designed to fund food banks and soup kitchens; to fund shelters for the homeless; to purchase and ship religious literature (specifically, bibles) to Christian missions in third-world nations; and to funding crisis-pregnancy centers.

MSF Financial Inc., 47 Hollywood St., Apt. 21, Springfield, MA 01108. Marcus Foster, same. Small business credit counseling and consulting organization to help small business owners with alternative methods to save money and establish a business credit line to help grow their business.

Rise and Shine Coach Services Inc., 229 Frenbank Road, Apt. 11 Springfield, MA 01129. Janell Caldwell, same. Transportation of school children.

WESTFIELD

Road Jet Transport Corp., 87 Southwick Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Maksim Zhuk, same. Provides dedicated services of transporting foods, commercial goods, vehicles, and other commodities via flatbed, container, and heavy hauling trailers on a for-hire basis.

Doing Business As Certificates

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of January 2013.

AGAWAM

Bob’s Barber Shop

13 Maple St.

Bob Germano

Customeyes Fabrication & Design

81 Stony Hill Road

Erik Deliefde

AMHERST

Auto Plus

205 University Dr.

Michael Englert

Rosalie Eisen Life Coach

180 Aubinwood Road

Rosalie Eisen

Zoen Resources

26 Woodlot Road

Irma Gonzalez

CHICOPEE

Car Master

176 Granby Road

Leonid Ignatyuk

Metro Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

650 Memorial Dr.

Aldo M. Bertera

Top Dog Auto Service

238 Meadow St.

George Bruso

HADLEY

Adventure Outfitters

451 Russell St.

Michael Zabre

Elaine Center at Hadley

20 North Maple St.

Sun Bridge Healthcare, LLC

Escapes for Everyone

1 Rocky Hill Road

Diane Kieras-Ciolkos

Go Calendars

367 Russell St.

SRV, LLC

Restore Physical Therapy

220 Russell St.

Patricia Young

River Walrus Music

141 West St.

Mark Applegate

HOLYOKE

Dollar N’ Things

50 Holyoke St.

Mamta Arora

Mambo Café

497 High St.

Cruz Rosario

NORTHAMPTON

Clarity

20 Hampton Ave.

Christopher Landry

E-Modern

30 North Maple St.

Christopher Kennedy

Finn Street Partners

35 New South St.

Jeffrey A. Lefferts

His & Hers Energy Efficiency

12 Perkins Ave.

Adin Maynard

Letica Inc.

35 South Park Terrace

Amy Briggs

Pedalmed.com

16 Taylor St.

Jill Griffin

Translationspot

158 Turkey Hill Road

Claire M. Huttlinger

Tryon Common

20 Elm St.

James Laing

Tully O’Reilly’s Pub

1 Pearl St.

Tully McColgan

SOUTHWICK

Audio-Visions

30 Granville Road

Michael Vecchio

General Contracting Solutions Inc.

229 College Highway

Stephen Wesolowski

Nor’Easter Organic Life, LLC

515 College Highway

Bret Mitchell

Samantha & Crystal’s Dance Dreams

4 North Longyard Road

Samantha Nadeau

Southwick Enterprise Computer

92 Davis Road

Michael Massarelli

SPRINGFIELD

Millennium Matrix Group

57 Walden St.

Darnel J. Ali

New England Import and Export

646 Page Boulevard

Riswan M. Raufdeen

Nonnie’s Cucina

306 Pasco Road

Rosa Marchese

Paramount Annex

1716 Main St.

John D. Motto

Perez Landscaping

1157 Sumner Ave.

Edwin Perez

R.R.S. Cell Phones & Accessories

895 Carew St.

Raynard R. Stone

Rijo Enterprises, LLC

1072 State St.

Jose M. Rijo

Springfield Painting

15 Lynebrook Road

Nicholas Francis

Stop & Go market

91 Chestnut St.

Farman Elahi

Strong Enterprises

75 Strong St.

Roger Raymond

Suburban Heating Oil

60 Hannon St.

Scott Blais

United Auto Sales Inc.

874 Berkshire Ave.

Joseph M. Nigro

Video Game Giants

85 Oakland St.

Jose E. Aguilar Jr.

Wheeler’s Convenience

954 State St.

Tabassum Firdous

Wheels on Wheels

6 Roosevelt Ave.

Eric M. Finch

Yanna Di’Dio Renovations

12 Filmer St.

Ignazio Di’Dio

Zas Enterprise Inc.

910 State St.

Mohammed Z. Islam

WESTFIELD

Baystate Tool Supply

107 Dana St.

Brad Colby

Home Made Food Bakery

83 Main St.

Vadim Sirotcenko

Homeowners Constructions

77 Mill St.

Michael Ventrice

KJ Developers

28 Chestnut St.

David Diem

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Bertelli’s Skate Shop

726 Main St.

Jay Passerini

Costco Liquors

119 Daggett Dr.

Costco Atlantic Inc.

Delta Bulk Transport

66 Western Ave.

Bruce A. Voight

Greenough Paper Company Inc.

54 Heywood Ave.

Greenough Paper Company Inc.

Bankruptcies

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Bankruptcies Departments

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

Alvarado, Celia J.

232 Breckwood Blvd.

Springfield, MA 01109

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/11/12

Alvarado, William J.

Guzman, Idalia

142 Lamplighter Lane

Springfield, MA 01119

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/04/12

Auclair, Anthony J.

Auclair, Kathryn L.

2 Ridge Road

Monson, MA 01069

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/14/12

Bailey, Mitzie L.

109 Malden St.

Springfield, MA 01108

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/01/12

Barros Auto Service

Barros, Fernando A.

25 Joy St.

Ludlow, MA 01056

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/10/12

Bohigian, Tamara K.

384 North Main Road

Otis, MA 01253

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/04/12

Boulware, Stella M.

a/k/a Holmes, Stella

61 Kimberly Ave., 2nd Fl.

Springfield, MA 01108

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/04/12

Buescher, William

86 Pine Grove

Amherst, MA 01002

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Cestaro, Arthur T.

Cestaro, Ann M.

20 Taylor St.

Pittsfield, MA 01201

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Charvis-Richardson, Sherry

619 Union St.

Springfield, MA 01109

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/01/12

Chevalier, Mark W.

Chevalier, Janine M.

165 Yale St.

Ludlow, MA 01056

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/07/12

Chirgwin, Alicja M.

13 School St., Apt. 18

Holyoke, MA 01040-3482

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/06/12

Chisholm, Scott D.

Chisholm, Michelle Harper

272 Steiger Dr.

Westfield, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/10/12

Connors, Ryan

207 Corona St.

Springfield, MA 01104

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/14/12

Cooley, Michael J.

27 Cottage Ave.

Southampton, MA 01073

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Diaz, Betzaida

a/k/a Guptar-Diaz, Betzaida

54 Stanley Court

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/03/12

Dubour, Richard R.

19 Fullerton St.

Indian Orchard, MA 01151

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/14/12

Dwyer, Jeremiah M.

Dwyer, Darlene A.

30 Linwood St.

Greenfield, MA 01301

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Feliberty, Yarmyn

31 Florida St.

Springfield, MA 01109

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Ferrington, Denise E.

1746 Memorial Dr.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Fominyam, Grace E.

9 West St.

Ware, MA 01082

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/10/12

French, Earl D.

French, Susan L.

PO Box 707

Sturbridge, MA 01566

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/05/12

Frew, Monica L.

116 Westwood Dr. #9

Sturbridge, MA 01566

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/05/12

Galway, William J.

93 Grochmal Ave., Lot 9

Indian Orchard, MA 01151

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/04/12

Gervais, Mark A.

Gervais, Shannon F.

49 North St., Apt. 5

Agawam, MA 01001

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/06/12

Green, Erica Marie

a/k/a Belben, Erica

PO BOX 51309

Indian Orchard, MA 01151

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/10/12

Guest, Lee

Guest, Molly B.

34 Maple St.

Williamstown, MA 01267

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/11/12

Hanscom, Debbie A.

188 River Dr.

Hadley, MA 01035

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/14/12

Johnson, Ryan

Johnson, Devon

307 Elm St., Apt. #2

Pittsfield, MA 01201

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/14/12

Lamothe, David G.

Lamothe, Angela C.

a/k/a Bovino, Angela C.

101 Dana St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/11/12

Langille-Shiner, Elizabeth A.

105 East Housatonic St.

Pittsfield, MA 01201

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/07/12

Martinell, Violet M.

362 Granville Road, Unit 218

Westfield, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/05/12

Mathiesen, Craig L.

61 Mountainview St.

Springfield, MA 01108

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/05/12

Milette, Shane L.

28 Wendell Place

Springfield, MA 01105

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/03/12

Nolan, James

15 Kimberly Dr.

South Hadley, MA 01075

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/05/12

Norman, Amy Green

a/k/a Green, Amy Beth

23 High St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/12/12

Norton, Eric L.

65 Regwood Dr.

Phillipston, MA 01331

Chapter: 11

Filing Date: 12/12/12

Opare-Addo, Duoduwa Vera

43 Dorne St., 2nd Fl.

Springfield, MA 01105

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/04/12

Orhan, Frankie Lee Josette

a/k/a Pecor, Frankie Lee Josette

24 Hampden St.

Westfield, MA 01085

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/06/12

Parsley, David W.

45 Lucille St.

Pittsfield, MA 01201

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/12/12

Peterson, Deborah J.

1028 Baptist Hill Road

Palmer, MA 01069

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/10/12

Pettes, Jake

240 Pommogussett Road

Rutland, MA 01543

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/04/12

Pitts, Edward A.

139 Monastery Ave.

West Springfield, MA 01089

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Rhodes, Richard F.

72 High St., Apt. 3

Greenfield, MA 01301

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/11/12

Rivera, Angel

Rivera, Fatima B.

600 Pequoig Ave.

Athol, MA 01331

Chapter: 13

Filing Date: 12/10/12

Roman-Suarez, Jose M.

104 Rosewell St.

Springfield, MA 01109

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/07/12

Santiago, Jaime

Dones, Sindya

25 William St., 2nd Fl.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/04/12

Sinclair, Carissa Lynn

14A Mill Village Road

South Deerfield, MA 01373

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/14/12

Smith, Lynne N.

377 Amherst Road

Pelham, MA 01002

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/01/12

Smith, Patricia A.

464 Westfield Road

Holyoke, MA 01040

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/14/12

Stockwood, Christopher David

473 Brookside Road

Athol, MA 01331

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/05/12

Stockwood, Danalynn

a/k/a Velazquez, Danalynn Ruiz

473 Brookside Road

Athol, MA 01331

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/05/12

Turgeon, Wendy A.

61 Moreau Dr.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/13/12

Vazquez, Angel L.

22 Reed St.

Chicopee, MA 01020

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/03/12

Walczak, Michael T.

202 Furnace St.

North Adams, MA 01247

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/12/12

Weeden, Janice C.

75 South St. #27

Bernardston, MA 01337

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/12/12

Wrisley, Patrick J.

Wrisley, Linda M.

187 Leyden Road

Greenfield, MA 01301

Chapter: 7

Filing Date: 12/11/12

First-ever 40 Under Forty Reunion on Tap

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

40 Under 40

It’s an event, says Kate Campiti, that’s long overdue.

“I’ve had conversations with many 40 Under Forty honorees who’ve said they wish there were a way they could get together with other winners for a networking opportunity,” said Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, adding that many of these individuals value their standing in what has become a highly desirable club throughout Western Mass.

“They include their status as a 40 Under Forty winner on résumés, in e-mail signatures, and when talking with clients and potential clients,” she noted. “Not only does this honor open doors for them, but they also give other honorees a preference on business relationships over other individuals and companies without a 40 Under Forty title.”

Given that reality, a reunion event was only a matter of time.

“After having these conversations and realizing the fraternity that has been made of 40 Under Forty honorees, we decided to give them what they asked for with a reunion exclusively for the 40 Under Forty winners,” Campiti said.

That event will take place the evening of Feb. 7 at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke, which has hosted several 40 Under Forty events. This high-energy networking event is exclusively for the 40 Under Forty winners from the classes of 2006 through 2012, as well as judges and sponsors. The evening will include hors d’oeuvres and entertainment, as well as a high-profile speaker, Health New England CEO Peter Straley. Overall, said Campiti, this will be an ideal venue for the 240 past honorees to meet each other and build relationships.

Jaimye Hebert, a 2011 honoree who served as a judge for the class of 2012 (see story, page 13), plans on attending, adding that she’s grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the 40 Under Forty legacy.

“It’s such a great event,” said Hebert, vice president at Monson Savings Bank, of the annual June gathering celebrating the year’s winners. “I call it the best networking event of the year for the region.”

Campiti said the Feb. 7 reunion, which is being sponsored by Bacon Wilson, Fathers & Sons, Moriarty & Primack, Northwestern Mutual, and Paragus Strategic IT, will take that annual opportunity to make connections to the next level by assembling an elite who’s who of Western Mass. professionals.

“We’ve said this before,” she noted, “but the 40 Under Forty program has become a status symbol and level of achievement that many of the young professionals in our region aspire to. Each year, we’ve seen an increase in the number of nominations we receive, and those nominations span every sector and industry.”

With the support of groups like the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield and Northampton Area Young Professionals, which have both encouraged nominations from their ranks and seen many members achieve the award, the 40 Under Forty program has even created a competition of sorts for young up-and-comers.

“We’ve heard directly from previous winners and those vying for the honor who said they had increased — or are increasing — their volunteerism on various nonprofit boards, as well as their business skills, by taking courses and working with mentors, in an effort to be worthy of a 40 Under Forty award,” Campiti said. “This healthy competition only helps our region by strengthening our young professionals and future leaders.”

The reunion also coincides with nomination season for the class of 2013. Nomination forms may be found on page 17 of this issue or at businesswest.com, and entries will be accepted through Feb. 15.

“Each year, not only does the number of nominations increase,” Campiti said, “but so do the breadth and depth of the nominees, their skill sets, the industries they work in, their volunteerism, and their commitment to the health and vitality of our region. I think we’re all a little surprised, and pleasantly so, that the nominations we’ve seen come in show no sign of dwindling in quantity or, more importantly, quality.” n

Class of 2007

William Bither III Atalasoft

Kimberlynn Cartelli Fathers & Sons

Amy Caruso MassMutual Financial Group

Denise Cogman Springfield School Volunteers

Richard Corder Cooley Dickinson Hospital

Katherine Pacella Costello Egan, Flanagan & Cohen, P.C.

A. Rima Dael Berkshire Bank Foundation of Pioneer Valley

Nino Del Padre Del Padre Visual Productions

Antonio Dos Santos Robinson Donovan, P.C.

Jake Giessman Academy Hill School

Jillian Gould Eastfield Mall

Michael Gove Lyon & Fitzpatrick, LLP

Dena Hall United Bank

James Harrington Our Town Variety & Liquors

Christy Hedgpeth Spalding Sports

Francis Hoey III Tighe & Bond

Amy Jamrog The Jamrog Group, Northwestern Mutual

Cinda Jones Cowls Land & Lumber Co.

Paul Kozub V-1 Vodka

Bob Lowry Bueno y Sano

G.E. Patrick Leary Moriarty & Primack, P.C.

Todd Lever Noble Hospital

Audrey Manring The Women’s Times

Daniel Morrill Wolf & Company

Joseph Pacella Egan, Flanagan & Cohen, P.C.

Arlene Rodriquez Springfield Technical Community College

Craig Swimm WMAS 94.7

Sarah Tanner United Way of Pioneer Valley

Mark Tanner Bacon Wilson, P.C.

Michelle Theroux Child & Family Services of Pioneer Valley Inc.

Tad Tokarz Western MA Sports Journal

Dan Touhey Spalding Sports

Sarah Leete Tsitso Fred Astaire Dance

Michael Vann The Vann Group

Ryan Voiland Red Fire Farm

Erica Walch Speak Easy Accent Modification

Catherine West Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

Michael Zaskey Zasco Productions, LLC

Edward Zemba Robert Charles Photography

Carin Zinter The Princeton Review

Class of 2008

Michelle Abdow Market Mentors

Matthew Andrews Best Buddies of Western Mass.

Rob Anthony WMAS

Shane Bajnoci Cowls Land & Lumber Co.

Steve Bandarra Atlas TC

Dr. Jonathan Bayuk Hampden County Physician Associates

Delcie Bean IV Valley Computer Works (Paragus Strategic IT)

Brendan Ciecko Ten Minute Media

Todd Cieplinski Universal Mind Inc.

William Collins Spoleto Restaurant Group

Michael Corduff Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House

Amy Davis New City Scenic & Display

Dave DelVecchio Innovative Business Systems Inc.

Tyler Fairbank EOS Ventures

Timothy Farrell F.W. Farrell Insurance

Jeffrey Fialky Bacon Wilson, P.C.

Dennis Francis America’s Box Choice

Kelly Galanis Westfield State College

Jennifer Glockner Winstanley Associates

Andrea Hill-Cataldo Johnson & Hill Staffing Services

Steven Huntley Valley Opportunity Council

Alexander Jarrett Pedal People Cooperative

Kevin Jourdain City of Holyoke

Craig Kaylor Hampden Bank / Hampden Bancorp Inc.

Stanley Kowalski III FloDesign Inc.

Marco Liquori NetLogix Inc.

Azell Murphy Cavaan City of Springfield

Michael Presnal The Federal Restaurant

Melissa Shea Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn

Sheryl Shinn Hampden Bank

Ja’Net Smith Center for Human Development

Diana Sorrentini-Velez Cooley, Shrair, P.C.

Meghan Sullivan Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn

Michael Sweet Doherty Wallace Pillsbury & Murphy

Heidi Thomson Girls Inc.

Hector Toledo Hampden Bank

William Trudeau Jr. Insurance Center of New England

David Vermette MassMutual Financial Services

Lauren Way Bay Path College

Paul Yacovone Brain Powered Concepts

Class of 2009

Marco Alvan Team Link Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Gina Barry Bacon Wilson, P.C.

Maggie Bergin The Art of Politics

Daniel Bessette Get Set Marketing

Brandon Braxton NewAlliance Bank

Dena Calvanese Gray House

Edward Cassell Park Square Realty

Karen Chadwell Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C.

Kate Ciriello MassMutual Financial Group

Kamari Collins Springfield Technical Community College

Mychal Connolly Sr. Stinky Cakes

Todd Demers Family Wireless

Kate Glynn A Child’s Garden and Impish

Andrew Jensen Jx2 Productions, LLC

Kathy LeMay Raising Change

Ned Leutz Webber & Grinnell Insurance Agency

Scott MacKenzie MacKenzie Vault Inc.

Tony Maroulis Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce

Seth Mias Seth Mias Catering

Marjory Moore Chicopee Public Schools

Corey Murphy First American Insurance Agency Inc.

Mark Hugo Nasjleti Go Voice for Choice

Joshua Pendrick Royal Touch Painting

Christopher Prouty Studio99Creative

Adam Quenneville Adam Quenneville Roofing

Michael Ravosa Morgan Stanley

Kristi Reale Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

Amy Royal Royal & Klimczuk, LLC

Michelle Sade United Personnel

Scott Sadowsky Williams Distributing Corp.

Gregory Schmidt Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, P.C.

Gretchen Siegchrist Media Shower Productions

Erik Skar MassMutual Financial Services

Paul Stallman Alias Solutions

Renee Stolar J. Stolar Insurance Co.

Tara Tetreault Jackson and Connor

Chris Thompson Springfield Falcons Hockey Team

Karl Tur Ink & Toner Solutions, LLC

Michael Weber Minuteman Press

Brenda Wishart Aspen Square Management

Class of 2010

Nancy Bazanchuk Disability Resource Program,

Center for Human Development

Raymond Berry United Way of Pioneer Valley

David Beturne Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County

Maegan Brooks The Law Office of Maegan Brooks

Karen Buell PeoplesBank

Shanna Burke Nonotuck Resource Associates

Damon Cartelli Fathers & Sons

Brady Chianciola PeoplesBank

Natasha Clark Springfield School Volunteers

Julie Cowan TD Bank

Karen Curran Thomson Financial Management Inc.

Adam Epstein Dielectrics Inc.

Mary Fallon Garvey Communication Associates

Daniel Finn Pioneer Valley Local First

Owen Freeman-Daniels Foley-Connelly Financial Partners and

Foley Insurance Group

Lorenzo Gaines ACCESS Springfield Promise Program

Thomas Galanis Westfield State College

Anthony Gleason II Roger Sitterly & Son Inc. and

Gleason Landscaping

Allen Harris Berkshire Money Management Inc.

Meghan Hibner Westfield Bank

Amanda Huston Junior Achievement of Western Mass. Inc.

Kimberly Klimczuk Royal, LLP

James Krupienski Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

David Kutcher Confluent Forms, LLC

James Leahy City of Holyoke and Alcon Laboratories

Kristin Leutz Community Foundation of Western Mass.

Meghan Lynch Six-Point Creative Works

Susan Mielnikowski Cooley, Shrair, P.C.

Jill Monson Adam Quenneville Roofing & Siding Inc.

and Inspired Marketing & Promotions

Kevin Perrier Five Star Building Corp.

Lindsay Porter Big Y Foods

Brandon Reed Fitness Together

Boris Revsin CampusLIVE Inc.

Aaron Vega Vega Yoga & Movement Arts

Ian Vukovich Florence Savings Bank

Thomas Walsh City of Springfield

Sean Wandrei Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

Byron White Pazzo Ristorante

Chester Wojcik Design Construction Group

Peter Zurlino Atlantico Designs and Springfield Public Schools

Class of 2011

Kelly Albrecht left-click Corp.

Gianna Allentuck Springfield Public Schools

Briony Angus Tighe & Bond

Delania Barbee ACCESS Springfield Promise Program

Monica Borgatti Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity

Nancy Buffone University of Massachusetts

Michelle Cayo Country Bank

Nicole Contois Springfield Housing Authority

Christin Deremian Human Resources Unlimited/Pyramid Project

Peter Ellis DIF Design

Scott Foster Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP

Stephen Freyman Longmeadow High School

Benjamin Garvey Insurance Center of New England

Mathew Geffin Webber and Grinnell

Nick Gelfand NRG Real Estate Inc.

Mark Germain Gomes, DaCruz and Tracy, P.C.

Elizabeth Gosselin Commonwealth Packaging

Kathryn Grandonico Lincoln Real Estate

Jaimye Hebert Monson Savings Bank

Sean Hemingway Center for Human Development

Kelly Koch Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP

Jason Mark Gravity Switch

Joan Maylor Stop and Shop Supermarkets

Todd McGee MassMutual Financial Group

Donald Mitchell Western Mass. Development Collaborative

David Pakman Vivid Edge Media Group/The David Pakman Show

Timothy Plante City of Springfield/Springfield Public Schools

Maurice Powe The Law Offices of Brooks and Powe

Jeremy Procon Interstate Towing Inc.

Kristen Pueschel PeoplesBank

Meghan Rothschild SurvivingSkin.org

Jennifer Schimmel Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity

Amy Scott Wild Apple Design Group

Alexander Simon LogicTrail, LLC

Lauren Tabin PeoplesBank

Lisa Totz ITT Power Solutions

Jeffrey Trant Human Resources Unlimited

Timothy Van Epps Sandri Companies

Michael Vedovelli Mass. Office of Business Development

Beth Vettori Rockridge Retirement Community

Class of 2012

Allison Biggs Graphic Designer

Christopher Connelly Foley/Connelly Financial Partners

Scott Conrad Center for Human Development

Erin Corriveau Reliable Temps Inc.

Carla Cosenzi Tommy Car Corp.

Ben Craft Baystate Medical Center

Michele Crochetiere YWCA of Western Mass.

Christopher DiStefano DiStefano Financial Group

Keshawn Dodds 4King Edward Enterprises Inc.

Ben Einstein Brainstream Design

Michael Fenton Shatz, Schwartz, and Fentin, P.C.

Tim Fisk The Alliance to Develop Power

Elizabeth Ginter Ellis Title Co.

Eric Hall Westfield Police Department

Brendon Hutchins St. Germain Investment Management

Kevin Jennings Jennings Real Estate

Kristen Kellner Kellner Consulting, LLC

Dr. Ronald Laprise Laprise Chiropractic & Wellness

Danielle Lord O’Connell Care at Home & Staffing Services

Waleska Lugo-DeJesus Westfield State University

Trecia Marchand Pioneer Valley Federal Credit Union

Ryan McCollum RMC Strategies

Sheila Moreau MindWing Concepts Inc.

Kelli Ann Nielsen Springfield Academy Middle School

Neil Nordstrom Pediatric Services of Springfield

Edward Nuñez Freedom Credit Union

Adam Ondrick Ondrick Natural Earth

Gladys Oyola City of Springfield

Shardool Parmar Pioneer Valley Hotel Group

Vincent Petrangelo Raymond James

Terry Powe Elias Brookings Museum Magnet School

Jennifer Reynolds Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

Jessica Roncarati-Howe AIDS Foundation of Western Mass.

Dan Rukakoski Tighe & Bond

Dr. Nate Somers Center for Human Development

Joshua Spooner Western New England University

College of Pharmacy

Jaclyn Stevenson Winstanley Partners

Jason Tsitso R & R Windows Contractors

Sen. James Welch State Senator, First Hampden District

Karen Woods Yankee Candle Co.

Talent to Spare

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

40 Under 40

Nominations Are Now Open for the 40 Under Forty Class of 2013

Since BusinessWest launched its 40 Under Forty program in 2007, we have recognized 240 young professionals who have made their mark across Western Mass. — not only for their career success, but their commitment to their communities. Several winners who later made the transition to judge — last year, that meant poring over a thick stack of almost 120 nominations — say that dual perspective gives them an even greater appreciation for the depth and breadth of talent that continues to make 40 Under Forty a coveted badge of distinction in this region.

Five years ago, Hector Toledo was chosen for an exclusive fraternity in Western Mass. — the BusinessWest 40 Under Forty.

Three years later, he relived the experience from the other side, when he was asked to be one of the judges selecting the class of 2011.

“It was pretty difficult,” said Toledo, vice president and retail sales director at Hampden Bank. “So many of them had multiple nominations, and it was tough, not having been through the process before, to get a sense of what was exceptional and what was ordinary.”

Fortunately, he said, the ‘exceptional’ side was well-represented. He was especially struck by the quality of very young talent in the region — those honorees who are nowhere close to pushing 40. Indeed, while many winners over the past six years had been in the professional world for a decade or more, some were just starting out when BusinessWest came calling.

For instance, in 2008, Toledo’s fellow honorees included both 20-year-old Brendan Ciecko, president of Ten Minute Media; and 21-year-old Delcie Bean, president of Valley Computer Works, now known as Paragus Strategic IT. Perhaps more strikingly, in 2011, the year Toledo served as a judge, the class included 16-year-old Stephen Freyman, whose volume of community service sets a high bar for other high-school students to match.

“That was fascinating to see,” Toledo said of the region’s youth movement. “This area is just so full of high-quality young individuals, it gives you a lot of hope for Western Mass.”

Each year’s nominations — typically well over 100 — are carefully examined by an independent panel of judges. Over the years, several of those have come from the ranks of former winners, like Toledo.

Jaimye Hebert, an honoree in 2011 and a judge last year, said she looked for nominees with a strong work-life balance.

“That was the biggest thing — someone with success in their career, maybe raising a family, but also contributing to their community on top of that,” said Hebert, vice president at Monson Savings Bank.

She noted that she was impressed by people equally committed to where they live and work — “for example, somebody who lives in Belchertown and works in Springfield, and they’re not just involved in Springfield because they work there, but also involved in the town where they live.

“I’m also big on helping children, community sports, things like that,” said Hebert, who counts coaching soccer among the many ways she stays invested in others. “I think it was really apparent, looking at the nominations, which people are really putting themselves out there, which is fantastic.”

We Are Young

The 40 Under Forty program was launched in 2007 as a way to spotlight the accomplishments of younger professionals throughout Western Mass. — not only their on-the-job achievements, but their often-extensive volunteer work with organizations that benefit their communities.

There were many motivations for creating the program, said BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien, listing everything from a desire to identify rising stars to encouraging individuals to get involved in the community and, in short, do the things needed to become a 40 Under Forty winner. And while the bar was set high, expectations have been exceeded, he said, noting that there was a record number of nominations last year, and the annual June gala to salute winners has been sold out well in advance for the past several years.

“In six short years, 40 Under Forty has become a brand, as well as a goal for many young people in the business community, nonprofit sector, and public-service realm,” said O’Brien. “It’s become a benchmark, if you will, a symbol of excellence that, above all, identifies someone as a leader.”

Over the years, the program has highlighted individuals from a wide range of businesses and industries, including nonprofits. In addition, a healthy number of honorees each year are true entrepreneurs, individuals who have taken risks, developed their own business plans, and built companies that in turn create jobs.

Fairly ranking each nominee was a challenge, Hebert said, but one she welcomed.

“I did a three-part process,” she explained. “The first night, I read everything — every single page. The second night, I scored them all. Then, on the third night, I rescored them to make sure the scores were consistent. I know how important it is to a lot of people. It’s an overwhelming honor and a distinguishing mark people want on their résumé. So I took it very seriously.”

Toledo took his time as well. “I had to go through a few times to make sure everyone got a fair shake,” he recalled, noting that he’d be impressed by an entry, then would have to go back and adjust his scale when he saw the “extraordinary” work of nominees further down the pile.

Toledo said community service was a very important factor in judging nominees. “I was really impressed with some of the individuals who were doing things before work, after work, on the weekends … spending time doing things they were passionate about, that often have little or nothing to do with their jobs.”

Toledo’s own involvement in the community — he serves on multiple boards and committees — was noted when he was honored in 2008, and he’s gratified to see that so many young professionals share the same enthusiasm.

“I do a good amount of nonprofit activities, some work-related and some that’s important to me on a personal level,” he told BusinessWest. “That means a lot to me, so it’s good to see so many people giving up their private time, their family time, to help out in the community.”

Michael Vann, a 2007 honoree who judged nominations for the class of 2011, said he built a spreadsheet to rank nominees according to the criteria that mattered most to him, including leadership and entrepreneurship.

By taking a completely objective approach, Vann, president and CEO of the Vann Group, was surprised when some nominees he was familiar with — and that he assumed would rank high — were surpassed in his ratings by others he was just learning about. “I didn’t play favorites,” he noted.

Set the World on Fire

Although he enjoyed his experience as an honoree six years ago, “I actually enjoyed being a judge even more,” Vann said, comparing it to being asked to be a baseball Hall of Fame voter.

Indeed, others who have transitioned from winner to judge say they took on the challenge partly because they’re proud of their association with the region’s most prestigious award for young professionals.

Hebert is especially gratified that not many financial-services professionals were chosen for her 40 Under Forty class in 2011, a year when, instead, many individuals from the nonprofit sector were chosen. Indeed, the makeup of each class is very different, but there’s usually at least some representation from fields including education, law, finance, media, medicine, creative arts, nonprofits, government, retail, restaurants, and green business, among others.

“We definitely have an abundance of talent, and we have a great network of people coming up in this area, who have chosen to stay here and really contribute to this region as a whole,” she added. “That’s huge; not every region in the country has that, so we’re fortunate here.”

As with the past six installments of 40 Under Forty, this year’s winners — chosen, again, by a judging panel of area business leaders and previous honorees — will be profiled in the April 22 issue of BusinessWest (always a must-read edition) and toasted at the annual gala reception on June 20.

The nomination form can be found HERE. It will appear in upcoming issues as well. The deadline for entries is Feb. 15.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

A Promise for the Future

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Daniel Warwick shows off the National Blue Ribbon School Award

Education Sections

Springfield’s School Superintendent Sets the Bar High

Superintendent Daniel Warwick pays frequent visits to the district’s 54 schools and enjoys interacting with students.

When Daniel Warwick was interviewed by members of the Springfield School Committee for the job of superintendent, he outlined a detailed, five-year plan about what needed to be accomplished and how he would implement changes he felt were critical for every student to realize his or her potential.

Warwick has been on the job since last July, and his goals are lofty, given the fact that 85% to 90% of the city’s students come from low-income families, which creates a host of academic, social, and emotional challenges. But his deep commitment and history of success prove that he knows what it will take to fulfill what he calls “The Springfield Promise: A Culture of Equity and Proficiency to Raise the Bar and Close the Gap.”

arwick wants to lower the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate, which stood at 11.7% and 52.1%, respectively, last year. His vision is to create a district where “parents and community members move into Springfield for the privilege of sending their students to schools that are striving in a culture of equity and proficiency.”

It’s no easy task, as the system serves approximately 26,000 students in 46 schools at 54 sites, including eight alternative programs. They speak numerous foreign languages and are from diverse family, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. “In schools with high levels of poverty, there are good excuses to rationalize poor performance. But I approached the job with a no-excuses mantra and the attitude that we are going to change the outcome for our students,” Warwick said,

His reasoning is based on past endeavors in Springfield, honed during his tenure as principal at Glenwood School in the Liberty Heights section of the city. “When I took it over, it was one of the lowest-performing schools in the Commonwealth,” Warwick said.

But he instituted measures that turned it around, and within a few years, “Glenwood was the highest-performing high-poverty school in the state,” the superintendent noted, adding that he was feted with a bevy of state and national awards, including the coveted National Blue Ribbon School Award from the U.S. Department of Education and the Commonwealth Compass Award from the state.

His multi-pronged plan for the city’s school system includes instituting programs in every school similar to those he developed at Glenwood, changing the way subjects are taught, as well as developing an individual plan for every student at risk. “You have to believe that this work can be done and then have a deep commitment to do the hard work necessary to execute it,” he said.

However, he knows this will take time, and says the entire community is needed to ensure success. “We need the business community and faith-based communities to support the schools,” Warwick said. “Education is the key to the success of the future of our community. And the only way Springfield will be successful is if we have a highly effective school system. The future of the city depends on it.”

Rounded Perspective

Warwick grew up in Springfield, and his entire career has been spent in the city’s schools, making him uniquely aware of the challenges and opportunities.

“I absolutely believe that every student can learn, and I want to meet every student’s needs so they can reach their potential,” he said. “I have a ‘no child left behind’ mentality, so every student who is struggling will have an individual plan that will be monitored to ensure they are getting the services they need.”

He began work as a substitute teacher at age 21 after graduating from Westfield State College. After that, he was hired as a special-education teacher for severely emotionally disturbed students in an alternative middle- and high-school program situated in the Springfield Boys and Girls Club. “A lot of them were in the juvenile justice system,” he recalled.

He spent 10 years as a teacher and two years as a special-education coordinator, then was named supervisor of the department.

“There were tremendous challenges in trying to meet all of the needs of different populations with finite resources. So I did a lot of program development,” Warwick explained, adding that he was able to reduce the number of students in private schools or residential facilities. “The whole idea was to keep the kids in the least restrictive environment and still provide them services, which also freed up money that could be spent on all students.”

Daniel Warwick shows off the National Blue Ribbon School Award, one of many honors he earned during his tenure as principal of Glenwood School.

The strategy worked and allowed him to create intervention programs, which met the needs of students who were struggling and prevented them from having to enter special-education classes.

Over the past few decades, Warwick has held many roles in the school system. One of the most pivotal was his 13-year stint as principal at Glenwood School, where he achieved extraordinary success. “I did a lot of research and had a reading coordinator and an instructional leadership team,” he said, adding that measures he instituted were later adopted across the district.

Warwick went on to serve as an assistant superintendent from 2004 to 2008. “One of my key roles was special education, but I also supervised one-third of the city’s schools and dealt with operational issues, such as budgeting and staffing allocations,” he said. “During that time, the schools in my zone made twice as much progress as the other zones.”

He said he worked closely with Special Education Director Mary Anne Morris to improve services and set up quality programs.

When he was named assistant superintendent for all of the city’s schools in 2008, he implemented evaluations of school principals and led the district’s efforts in obtaining state approval for construction of a new vocational high school.

Before being appointed superintendent, he served as deputy superintendent for more than a year. He managed the district’s budgeting team and successfully led contract negotiations with bargaining unions. Warwick also spearheaded the redesign of the district’s lowest-performing schools, which resulted in such exemplary improvements that state officials hailed Springfield public schools as a model for rapid transformation.

Multi-pronged Approach

Warwick said he put a lot of time into developing his five-year plan for the future. It contains four key points and is a result of his work with several superintendents, a great deal of research into best practices, and his own experiences and observations.

The first key is to coach, develop, and evaluate educators with the goal of improving instruction.

“All of the research that has been done talks about the importance of quality teaching,” he said. “And teacher effectiveness and strong instructional leadership are the key variables in raising student achievement.”

The state recently issued new regulations that change the way schools are evaluated, and Warwick said he was aware of what they would be when he created his plan. However, each school district has to implement changes based on negotiations with its teachers’ unions.

This has been done in Springfield, and one important change is that principals will be able to conduct unannounced observations in the classroom. “The focus will be on improving instruction, which will require a tremendous amount of training because principals will have to become instructional experts, along with the teachers. But it will make a huge difference,” Warwick said.

The state will also begin providing data about individual student achievement. “This will help us judge the quality of teaching and will play a major role in the goal of improving instruction,” Warwick said.

The second area of focus will be to develop and implement what Warwick refers to as a “world-class, 21st-century curriculum that will deliver on our promise that all students graduate college and are career-ready.”

It will require a strong focus on literacy as well as a multi-tiered system of support for instruction at all levels, backed by ongoing assessments. “There will be an entirely new curriculum taught in a new way that will be a challenge for every community in Massachusetts,” he said.

Warwick explained that the new core standards are far more rigorous than what was demanded in the past. “It will require teachers to teach differently by putting more emphasis on higher-order thinking skills, reasoning, and literacy skills. The state can issue mandates, but only quality implementation at the district level will make them a success.”

Teams of teachers have been meeting in Springfield and will continue collaborations for the next 18 months. But Warwick expects it will take three years and a great deal of professional development to get the new system up and running.

What makes it especially challenging is that Springfield’s high poverty rate generally leads to poor attendance. In addition, the school population includes a high incidence of English language learners, and families move frequently, which results in great gaps in learning.

“We also have a number of homeless children and students who are in the custody of Child and Family Services,” Warwick said. “Poverty results in social and emotional issues, and families typically don’t get help for them.”

The School Department has been working with the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation to offer more preschool classes, which are critical to student success, especially since many students entering school don’t have the language skills they need.

The city also has 10 schools with a Level 4 state rating, which means they need significant improvement.

But the third component to Warwick’s plan will help to address that, as it involves continuous improvement based on a new system of data dashboards.

“The dashboards will allow educators to see how every youngster in their class is doing compared to students across the state and the country, and allow them to make instructional decisions based on the data,” he said.

There will also be something called the Dropout Early Warning Indicator System, which factors in attendance and discipline problems, beginning in kindergarten.

The final key is to remove obstacles to learning and student achievement. This will include positive behavioral interventions and individual plans for at-risk students. Warwick said clinical counseling; an expanded array of afterschool, summer, and night-school programs; homework help centers; home/school parent liaisons; parent and community focus groups; strengthening alternative school models; and adding recreational supports, such as sports, will make a difference in “battling the negative effects of poverty.”

Continuum of Progress

Warwick said he expects to receive new data from the state this month about how his district is faring.

“I’m sure it will show we are moving in a positive direction; we plan to intervene one school at a time, and knowing what has to be done is very helpful,” he said.

“When I took the job, I understood what the district needed,” he continued. “It will take an enormous amount of work to implement it, but we will continue to remove obstacles to learning and student achievement. It’s a privilege and an honor to serve as superintendent, and I take the responsibility very seriously.”

Community Profile

By BusinessWest Staff January 15, 2013

Features

In Chicopee, a Can-do Attitude Generates Progress

Editor’s Note: In an effort to keep its readership abreast of what’s happening in cities and towns across Western Mass., BusinessWest is commencing a year-long series of community profiles. We begin with the second-largest city in the region — Chicopee.

There is a small, carved wooden turtle that sits on Michael Bissonnette’s desk in Chicopee City Hall. It’s been there since early 2007, near the end of his first full year as mayor of this city of just over 55,000 residents.

As of yet, the turtle has no name, said Bissonnette, adding that it won’t until the so-called River Mills Project, a 65-acre brownfield site along the Chicopee River involving the former Uniroyal and Facemate manufacturing complexes, is fully ready for redevelopment. The initiative, marked by lengthy court fights and the complicated process of acquiring property and securing the funds to remediate it, has been nearly 30 years in the making. But there has been some dramatic progress in recent years, which brings the mayor back to his turtle.

“It’s my reminder to be patient — all good things come in time,” said Bissonnette, noting that the story of the tortoise and the hare resonates in Chicopee, where city leaders believe they are winning an important race for greater vibrancy, job opportunities, and tax revenue by being diligent and doing things right, and not necessarily quickly — although the pace of progress has picked up considerably (more on that later).

But patience is not the city’s only virtue, said the mayor, also citing perseverance, imagination, and even an ability to embrace modern telecommunications technology in an effort to better serve residents.

Indeed, just before speaking with BusinessWest, Bissonnette, a prolific user of Facebook and other forms of social media to communicate with various constituencies, texted a directive to the Department of Public Works to meet a resident’s request to have a street sanded.

“We’re in a digital age, and its all part of our ability to reach out and be customer-friendly,” said the mayor. “And I can be responsive to that.”

Beyond the visible progress at what is usually called simply the ‘Uniroyal site,’ greatly facilitated by the city’s ability to win funding for participation with the state’s Brownfields Support Team (BST), there are many other signs of growth and vibrancy in the city.

They include the Marriott Residence hotel now taking shape as part of the Chicopee Crossing project on Memorial Drive, progress with ongoing work to replace the Davitt Bridge in the heart of downtown, and two new, state-of-the art high schools built over the past decade.

Meanwhile, the city has been able to maintain and even grow its strong manufacturing base — which accounts for 22% to 25% of the jobs in the community — and is looking to add more in both existing manufacturing facilities and a 110-acre parcel near the Massachusetts Turnpike recently acquired by the Westover Metropolitan Development Corp.

From a fiscal standpoint, the city has rarely been in a stronger situation, with an A+ credit rating and $15 million in the so-called ‘rainy-day fund,’ the high-water mark for that account.

Summing up what has happened and what could happen in the years to come, Tom Haberlin, the city’s economic development director and long-time planning and development official, said the community has honed its can-do attitude with an even more business-friendly approach in City Hall.

“Chicopee remains a very easy place to get things done,” he said. “It doesn’t have the levels of bureaucracy you see in other cities, and this has helped us in many ways over the years.”

As BusinessWest begins its year-long series of community profiles, it starts with Chicopee, an old industrial city that that has stayed true to those roots while also managing to diversify its economy.

Progress Report

Bissonnette acknowledged that the phrase ‘running the city like a business’ has been used and overused in recent years and has lost some of its meaning. But this is exactly the approach he has taken since he was first elected in 2005, and he believes it has paid dividends.

Elaborating, he said the broad goal of his administration is to eliminate or minimize bureaucracy and politics (to the extent that it can), and create operating systems that remove barriers to progress, not add more.

“I can’t tell you how many developers have complimented the process, saying that we cut red tape and bend over backwards to accommodate the needs of the private sector, and that has paid off,” Bissonnette said. “The idea that a government is going to function more like a business is very appealing to the private sector, and it’s an extension of our business-friendly approach.

Mayor Michael Bissonnette says Chicopee takes a business-friendly attitude.

“When the state talks about taking six months to get something permitted, we laugh and say, ‘let’s try to do it in six weeks,’” he continued, adding that this operating philosophy has certainly helped the city withstand the prolonged economic downturn, and will be a real asset when conditions improve and companies gain the confidence to proceed with new building and expansion projects.

Meanwhile, he went on, the city has been aggressive in its pursuit of state and federal funding for various initiatives, such as the Uniroyal site, a character trait that has enabled it to advance a number of infrastructure and development projects.

That aggressiveness has paid off, said Haberlin, with grant awards on a scale not often often seen in a city this size.

“It’s very rare for a city to get these types of awards, and it’s a tribute to those that put the proposal together,” Haberlin said, referring specifically to funding secured for the Uniroyal project. “The BST knew that this project was moving at a very rapid rate and they would get the biggest bang for their dollar and it would be spent effectively.”

Kate Brown, the city’s long-time planning director, agreed.

“That turtle should have blisters on its feet,” she said with a laugh, “because, after the brownfields team was put together, this thing just took off. But nobody believed it could happen this fast.”

While work on the Uniroyal site proceeds ahead of schedule, city officials are enthusiastic about additional development opportunities in several parts of the city, including the Memorial Drive area, downtown, and the 110-acre site acquired by the Westover Metropolitan Development Corp.

“Potentially, that could be the springboard for some huge economic development,” said Haberlin, adding that the property is coming on line as city officials and regional economic-development leaders are hearing their phones ring again with regard to companies looking for places to locate or expand.

Haberlin referenced one manufacturer he chose not to name that was interested in existing real estate in the city, an attractive alternative to new building.

“It’s the first real inquiry we’ve seen in six or seven years,” he noted, adding that this company’s interest goes well beyond the routine tire-kicking witnessed in recent years.

Haberlin said Chicopee has a decent inventory of manufacturing and distribution facilities that were built at or near the $125-per-square-foot price point but are now selling for perhaps 20% to 25% of the cost, creating opportunities for both businesses and the city.

“The quality that this particular manufacturer is looking at couldn’t even be built today at that [$125-per-square-foot] cost, so they’re really trying to take advantage of the values out here,” he explained.

Momentum Is Building

Looking ahead, Bissonnette said city officials are working aggressively to properly position the city for everything from new manufacturing-sector jobs to a casino in Western Mass.

With regard to the latter, the mayor said he certainly hasn’t given up on the prospect of a gaming facility in his city — “we fully expect a casino to be built adjacent to Chicopee, if not in Chicopee” — but will be prepared to benefit no matter where it goes.

As for the former, the city has created a number of partnerships aimed at making sure it has a large and qualified workforce in place for current employers and potential new ones.

If a company is interested in workers with a particular skill set, said the mayor, relationships with Springfield Technical Community College, Holyoke Community College, Chicopee Comprehensive High School, Branford Hall Career Institute, and Porter and Chester Institute can facilitate the process of creating customized training programs.

“We say to interested precision-manufacturing companies, ‘tell us what you want us to train these students in, and we’ll train to suit,’” he noted, adding that, at Chicopee Comp, an advisory group with experts across different areas of manufacturing is helping the city to figure out what manufacturing jobs may look like in the future, and what skill sets will be necessary to secure one.

And while consistently looking for better ways to assist employers and potential employers, the city is always searching for new and more effective ways to serve constituents as well, said the mayor.

This includes use of social media as a way to communicate with residents, hear and read their concerns, and, in essence, create a dialogue on the issues facing the community, he told BusinessWest.

In addition to the mayor’s use of Facebook and Twitter, the internal information technology department, which maintains the city’s website, has been decentralized, a process that Bissonnette calls rare in municipalities.

This makes each department head accountable for uploading and maintaining his or her department’s up-to-date information. Going a step further, Bissonnette told BusinessWest that Chicopee was recently selected to be the only city in Hampden County, in conjunction with Boston, to get a smart app for smartphones through a three-year ‘efficiency in government’ grant from the state.

The app will be implemented in the spring to allow for complaints to make it to the proper department in real time; the Chicopee Police Department and DPW, the two entities that receive the most requests, will be the first to go live, bringing more of the transparency in government that Bissonnette said the city wants and needs.

After all, he said, it shouldn’t be a mystery about how to get a pothole filled or a sign replaced. “And you shouldn’t have to know somebody to get your street plowed or your trash picked up.”

The Finish Line

Bissonnette told BusinessWest that another of his goals moving forward is to revamp the city’s charter. Among those things on his wish list are a four-year term for the mayor (it’s currently two, which he believes adds up to too much time campaigning and not enough time managing the city) and revisions to create a strong-mayor form of government.

Whether he succeeds with those goals remains to be seen. As for most others, including the prospects for his turtle getting a name, he is eternally optimistic.

“We’re a can-do community,” he said. “We get things done.”

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

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