October 8, 2013 - BusinessWest

View to the Future

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Panoramic Reeds Landing Is Making a New Name for Itself

Dave Scruggs says Loomis has invested heavily in not only improving life at Reeds Landing, but attracting more residents to the community.

Dave Scruggs says that, since Loomis Communities acquired Reeds Landing after the life-care retirement community filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, a number of changes and improvements have taken place.
For starters, the units are now more affordable, said Scruggs, who became CEO of Loomis Communities early this year. Also, there have been extensive renovations and catch-up on a large amount of deferred maintenance, he said, noting that more than $3.3 million has been spent to “bring the property up to Loomis community standards.”
And then, there’s Lake Massasoit, just a few yards from the property. It’s now much more visible — and accessible — thanks to some extensive tree and brush clearing and the creation of a few walking trails.
“It’s a much different facility than it was years ago,” said Scruggs, adding that one of his primary goals since arriving has been making sure that area senior citizens and their families are aware of all this.
He calls it a “reintroduction” process, and early on, administrators and board members at Loomis Communities thought a name change should probably be part of the equation.
That’s because many were still associating ‘Reeds Landing’ with the bankruptcy, high-priced units, or both, said Scruggs, who noted that coming up with a new name was an intriguing exercise that involved a number of constituencies, including residents, many of whom wanted to somehow keep ‘Reed’ — as in Rev. David Allen Reed, the founder and first president of nearby Springfield College — in the mix.
“Our original thought was just to name it Loomis Lakeside,” he recalled. “But after talking with the residents, we learned that there’s a lot of memories for people who live here — spouses who have died here, for example — and there’s a connection to Springfield College. There was very strong sentiment that we keep Reeds Landing in the name.”
Eventually, those tasked with this assignment arrived at Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing, a name that accomplishes many things, said Scruggs. It references the lake, a feature that he believes truly sets this facility apart from other senior-living facilities in the region. It also respects the history of the site by keeping Reed’s name, he said, and it brings the Loomis brand front and center, which is perhaps the most important consideration.

Dave Scruggs says Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing is making real progress in overcoming perception issues at the facility.

“In addition to changes in the pricing and the contract, we’ve bought what I’ll call the ‘Loomis Communities way’ here,” he explained, referencing the operating philosophy that prevails at the company’s other properties — Loomis Village in South Hadley, Loomis House in Holyoke, and Applewood in Amherst. “We have more than 100 years of experience in operating retirement communities, and our predecessors didn’t have that breadth of knowledge.
“We changed a lot of policies and procedures,” he went on. “And we retrained the staff to do things the way we wanted them to be done or thought they should be done.”
The new name — not to mention the host of improvements — was rolled out at a lunch and open house on Sept. 15. That event was just one component of a broad effort to reintroduce the facility to the region, said Scruggs, who said this property has always enjoyed a high success rate when it came to converting visits into sales. The goal moving forward is simply to generate more visits and let the facility and its community do the rest.
“The percentage of people who come, look, and buy here is much higher than the norm for the industry,” he explained. “And this was just further confirmation that there was an image problem out there had to be addressed.”
For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Scruggs about how he believes Loomis Communities is making that image problem a thing of the past, while also setting some very ambitious goals for the future.

A Shore Thing
Soon after prevailing in a nation-wide search for a successor to long-time Loomis Communities CEO Carol Katz, Scruggs started looking for a home in Greater Springfield.
He eventually settled on a new subdivision taking shape in South Hadley, but the home would not be ready for a few months after he started, so he commenced a search for temporary quarters.
He found them at Cottage 1022 at Reeds Landing, a unit chosen because of the size of his dog, Magnolia, an Australian shepherd mix, more than anything else.
“I spent a lot of time here talking with the residents; the conversations over the dinner were great, and the life stories that people at Reeds Landing have to tell are incredible,” said Scruggs, adding that he learned a good deal during his time at Reeds Landing about the “rhythm of the place.”
“I learned about the things that were important to residents; these were things I knew intellectually, but living it with them made a big difference to me,” he went on, adding that he also gained some additional perspective on the facility’s history and the challenges ahead for it. “The board wanted me to be here and really know the life of the place.”
Recapping the past several years, Scruggs said a number of factors came together to precipitate the facility’s decline into bankruptcy.
The onset of the Great Recession and its immediate impact on the local housing market certainly played a role, he said, noting that many potential tenants could not sell their homes, something most needed to do to pay the entrance fee at the facility. And as the occupancy rate soared, the facility fell further into debt, which exceeded $28 million at one point.
“Sales went downhill quickly, and the organization wasn’t able to keep up with the basic costs of running the facility,” he said, adding that Loomis, unburdened by the enormous debt carried by the previous owners, has been able to substantially reduce prices, from around $500,000, on average, years ago to the $200,000-$250,000 range.
But perception has also been a problem for Reeds Landing, said Scruggs, adding that, for some time, there was what he called a “hangover effect” from the bankruptcy, or the perception that the property was still in fiscal disarray. And while entrance fees are now much lower and contracts more favorable to tenants, many people continue to believe the facility is beyond their reach.
An old marketing campaign, one that featured television spots showing tenants and prospective tenants driving around in a vintage Cadillac, fueled the perception that Reeds was a very high-end facility, said Scruggs.
Also, the property was suffering from that aforementioned deferred maintenance and general neglect.
“It wasn’t falling down, by any stretch of the imagination, but there was a lot of catch-up work to do,” he explained. “We’ve spent the past three years bringing the property up to the standards that we would expect for a Loomis community.”
The company invested heavily in infrastructure, such as roofing and other areas that are not visible, he went on, and this year took on more cosmetic items, including everything from new carpeting and wallpaper to landscaping and those aforementioned walking trails. There were also extensive renovations to the 44-bed nursing home.
With these improvements and a targeted marketing campaign, Scruggs believes he and his staff can raise the current occupancy rate of roughly 75% closer to the industry average of 85% and then to the ultimate goal of 95%.

Loomis leaders say Reeds Landing’s proximity to Lake Massasoit is a selling point.

Actually, the facility would be much closer to those latter numbers were it not for a much higher-than-average number of what are called ‘move-outs,’ or residents who have died or moved on to another type of housing or healthcare facility.
“Occupancy today is about what it was a year ago, but interestingly, we’ve doubled sales since last year,” he explained. “One of the vagaries of this business is that, if you have a lot of people move to healthcare or pass away in a given year, it doesn’t matter what your sales are; you’re going to have a decline. If we’d had a normal transition rate, we’d be at about 80% now.”
Moving forward, Loomis and a marketing firm specializing in this industry, Retirement Dynamics, will work to use the facility’s strongest assets — the location and the Loomis brand — to drive sales.
“Retirement Dynamics brought to us a cohesive marketing plan for the organization,” Scruggs explained. “Rather than looking at each of the four retirement communities as its own island to sell to a particular group of people within five or 10 miles around it, they helped us recognize the value of the Loomis brand.
“When they started selling here [Reeds Landing], they realized that, when someone came across the threshold to talk with a salesperson, the two things that sold this place were the Loomis experience and this location,” he continued. “Within that brand, we looked at what was unique about each of the four communities, and what clearly was unique about this property is that you’re sitting in an oasis; the lake gives it a very different feel.”

Optimistic Viewpoint
With the renovation work and efforts to create stunning vistas of the lake now finished, the primary task at hand for this property is simply getting the message out, said Scruggs, adding that he believes it will certainly resonate.
“The brand is Loomis, the property is stunning and gorgeous, and it’s a beautiful place to be within the city of Springfield — that’s the message,” he told BusinessWest.
And if it can be effectively conveyed, the property formerly known simply as Reeds Landing can make a new name for itself — in more ways than one.

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

A Season to Be Jolly

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Holiday Party Planner Sections

Holiday Business Looking Up for Restaurants, Banquet Halls

The wine-cellar room is just one of several intriguing and festive settings at Chandler’s.

December is a cheerful time at Storrowton Tavern.
“The entire tavern is pretty much decorated from the day after Thanksgiving,” said Vinny Calvanese, executive chef of the restaurant on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. “And we have carolers — the same people we’ve had every year since we’ve been here. They go through the entire tavern and sing, room to room, which seems to be a big hit.
But, more importantly, the holiday season is an important time — not just at Storrowton, but across the dining and banquet industry, as companies of all sizes take a breather from the stresses of the year and set aside a night to celebrate with their employees.
“When the recession was in full swing back in December 2008, companies across the board were scaling back on holiday events in light of economic constraints, or cancelling them altogether, deeming the celebrations either needlessly extravagant or highly inappropriate in the wake of layoffs,” notes Lauren Matthews, a writer for event-planning website BizBash. “But last year, it seemed that the corporate holiday party scene was returning to normal.”
She cites a study conducted by executive search firm Battalia Winston, which reported that 91% of companies polled had a Christmas party last year, the highest percentage in the past six years, while a poll by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 72% of respondents attended a company celebration last year, up from 68% in 2011 and 61% in 2010 and 2009.
“For us, it’s always a busy time,” Calvanese said. “We have five function rooms, including one, the Carriage House, which can hold two functions at one time. The holiday season is basically always busy. We still have room, but it seems like a lot of people are booking more ahead than usual this year.”
Ralph Santaniello, general manager and proprietor of the Federal in Agawam, reports the same robust outlook. “We’re working on our 12th year here, so we have a lot of repeat business,” he said. “A lot of parties were booked the minute after last year’s party ended. We’re right on par with where we were last year.”
For this issue and it’s focus on holiday party planning, BusinessWest checked in with several area restaurants and banquet halls to get a feel for how holiday bookings are coming along. For the most part — at least compared to the peak recession years — companies are looking to celebrate the season, and in a wide variety of ways.

Ups and Downs
Not every facility is reporting the same level of sales. For example, “two years ago, we were fine, and everyone else was struggling,” said Sandra LaFleche, sales manager at the Castle of Knights in Chicopee. “Well, I’ve been here 21 years, and this year is the quietest year we’ve seen.”
Bookings remains solid for December weekends, however. “Right now, we have most of our Saturdays and Sundays booked around the holidays,” she noted, adding that weekday bookings have been somewhat more discouraging.
Amy Bombard, sales manager for Max’s Catering, which handles events at the Basketball Hall of Fame, paints a similar picture. “I think [business] is going to be a little less than it has been,” she said. “Last year was a good year, previous years were not so great, and this year it’s looking like a little less as well.”
Other facilities thrive off the holidays every year. “It’s a high-volume time for us,” said Kristin Henry, assistant general manager at Chandler’s Restaurant at Yankee Candle — a retail destination well-known for celebrating the Christmas season. “People are looking to book parties from November into January.”
January has, in fact, become an increasingly popular time for holiday parties, particularly for companies that are very busy around the holidays — the restaurant industry, for instance. “We have our own holiday party in February; it makes sense,” Santaniello said. “So we do see some of that, but the most important dates are always the weekends in December. The Fridays and Saturdays for the first three weeks of December are always the first to fill up.”
He noted that years when Christmas falls midweek (it’s a Wednesday this year) add an additional weekend to those much-desired dates, since companies tend to avoid throwing parties too close to the holiday itself.
As for the type of party customers are asking for, the sky’s the limit.
“We offer banquet-style dinners with plated entrees, and then we do dinner stations or a buffet, for lack of a better word,” Santaniello said. “We’re also doing a lot more cocktail-type parties; people want circulating hors d’oeuvres or stationary hors d’oeuvres. They want to have people moving around and mingling — that’s always fun. People want a less formal atmosphere, and a cocktail party gives you that.”
Calvanese said Storrowton offers a similar variety. “We have sit-downs, we have buffets … a lot of people, for the holidays, actually prefer to go the sit-down route, rather than the buffets. But we also do a cocktail menu, and hors d’oeuvres parties as well. Plus we do a lot of lunches for older groups, like church groups, people who like to come in during the day.”
Whether it’s large banquets or smaller dinners, “we’re pretty busy during December,” he noted, adding that repeat customers are a big part of the facility’s success. “One business, they actually booked with us the first year, and they rebooked 10 years ahead. They’re a rather large group, and they like a specific date, so they get the same Saturday every year.”

Festive Fun
Bombard is among those seeing a gravitation toward more casual events. “I think people are moving more toward cocktail receptions. We’re trying to make it a more social event as opposed to formal dinners.”
LaFleche said customers’ preferences at the Castle of Knights have been running about 50-50 between plated meals and buffets. “It’s a good mix across the board.”
Henry noted that Chandler’s boasts a number of different rooms to accommodate different sizes and styles of parties. “We have private rooms Thursday through Sunday, and we do section off parties in the main dining room, or sell out the entire dining room, for larger parties. And we have three smaller rooms in back of the restaurant: the wine-cellar room and two smaller rooms, the vineyard rooms, for people looking for private spaces.”
She said the restaurant has revamped all of its banquet menus and is offering new menus for the holidays as well. “We do cocktail parties, and we have stationary setups for food. Some [companies] do formal sit-down dinners, but have an open or cash bar for an hour or two prior so people can mingle.”
One of Chandler’s most prominent draws is the Christmas theming that Yankee Candle sets up year-round, but especially highlights during the actual holiday season. That includes Christmas trees in the main dining room and some of the smaller party spaces, as well as ribbons on the wall sconces and a host of other decorations.
“When you’re coming through the door, everything is candlelit, which really does set the stage,” Henry said. “At Yankee Candle, once October ends, everything is lit up at night. Santa is a huge presence here, and they expand the store hours so it’s open later.”
As for Chandler’s, “we also do a dinner with Santa here, where kids can come and eat with Santa. That has always been fun.” Meanwhile, “we’d like to showcase our patio this year in the evening, too, which we really haven’t been doing in the past,” she said, noting that the area is also decorated with holiday lights, while a chiminea provides some heat.
Calvanese said the holiday décor at Storrowton is something customers enjoy, and this year, it seems they’re getting in the mood early. “Normally people will wait, but this year, people want to make sure they get their space, so we’ve been getting calls for Christmas parties, even in the summer. It’s first come, first served with us — you book the date, you’ve got it — and some people who are waiting might not have an ideal night left.”

Scaling Back
A holiday party survey conducted last December by BizBash and food delivery website Seamless indicated that, as the economy slowly recovers, companies increasingly see year-end festivities as an important part of employee productivity and morale.
Of the 1,500 event-planning professionals who took the survey, 67% reported improved team dynamics as a direct result of office holiday parties, and 75% said such events help improve office friendships. “Still,” writes Matthews, “while many companies are hosting holiday gatherings again, the recession has effected a lasting change in what those events now look like, with hosts valuing smart spending over freewheeling excess and designing more thoughtful affairs.”
Santaniello can vouch for that. “I wouldn’t say people are going crazy with their budgets,” he said. “We took a huge hit in 2008 and 2009, but we’re seeing it come back a little bit now. Companies are coming back.”
Sounds like yet another reason to celebrate.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Agenda

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Agenda Departments

Wicked in Pink Motorcycle Ride
Oct. 13: The Wicked In Pink Run, a motorcycle event created by Bob Kaine Alves, a local motorcycle magazine and shop owner who recently fought his own battle with cancer, will raise much-needed funds for the Sr. Caritas Cancer Center Patient Services Fund at Mercy Medical Center. The event will also show support for all those battling cancer, cancer survivors, their caregivers, family, and friends. Registration for the run will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Harley-Davidson of Southampton. Participants will leave at noon from the dealership and end at the outdoor pavilion at Summit View Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke, where there will be food and entertainment. Tickets cost $20 per person. Kaine Alves, owner of Throttle Rocker magazine, recently battled cancer of the head and neck and made it his mission to pay forward the compassionate treatment he received from the staff of the Sr. Caritas Cancer Center. All riders are encouraged to wear pink, whether it be hats, wigs, shirts, or shoes — creativity is appreciated. Sponsors include Throttle Rocker magazine, Haymond Law, American Medical Response, Harley-Davidson of Southampton, Allen Media Inc., 94.7 WMAS, FSC Insurance Agency, and Bertera Fiat West Springfield. For more information, visit www.wickedinpinkrun.com or www.facebook.com/wickedinpinkrun.

Rays of Hope Walk
Oct. 20: When this year’s 20th annual Rays of Hope – A Walk Toward the Cure of Breast Cancer steps off, it will be a celebration of two decades of women, men, and children walking together to fight breast cancer. Since its inception in Springfield in 1994 by Lucy Giuggio Carvalho, Rays of Hope, the most successful fund-raising walk and run in Western Mass. for breast cancer, has grown from 500 participants raising $50,000 to some 22,000 walkers and runners in an expanded event that includes a second walk in Greenfield, as well as this year’s 4th annual Run Toward the Cure 8K in Springfield. As in past years, the Springfield walk with some 600 teams — who may choose either a two- or five-mile route — and run begin at Temple Beth El on Dickinson Street, where registration is set for 9 a.m. The Springfield walk steps off at 10:30 a.m., preceded at 10:15 a.m. by the 8K run. The walk in Greenfield — either a two- or three-mile route — begins at Energy Park on Miles Street at noon, with registration at 10 a.m. All monies raised through Rays of Hope — more than $11 million since 1994 — remain local and are administered by the Baystate Health Foundation. Those who want to support the Rays of Hope but are unable to walk due to other commitments can participate in the 10,000 Steps Toward a Cure program. Participants receive a pedometer to keep track of their steps throughout the month of October, while raising donations similar to other walkers. This year’s Rays of Hope major sponsors are Health New England, Gale Toyota, Balise, Baystate Breast & Wellness Center, Baystate Breast Specialists, Chicopee Savings Charitable Foundation, Doctors Express, Kinsley Power Systems, Lia Auto Group, Radiology & Imaging, and Zasco Productions. A listing of all sponsors can be found on the Rays of Hope website. For more information on the event, call (413) 794-8001 or visit www.baystatehealth.org/raysofhope, where walk or run participants may also register online.

Art in the Orchard
Through October: Park Hill Orchard, at 82 Park Hill Road, Easthampton, will play host to 22 sculptures by 22 artists through Oct. 31. Art in the Orchard 2013 is a multifaceted sculpture exhibition and festival taking place on the grounds of a working apple orchard. The core project is a sculpture trail showcasing three-dimensional outdoor works and installations created by local and regional artists. Additional events (such as music, moonlight walks, dances, and school field trips) will be programmed on most weekends. See parkhillorchard.com/art for more information on the artists, their works, and an event schedule. Art in the Orchard is building on the success of the first exhibition in 2011, which came to existence thanks to the desire of Park Hill Orchard owners Alane Hartley and Russell Braen to have their farm play an active part in the local cultural economy, and a dream of Easthampton gallery owner Jean-Pierre Pasche to recreate an outdoor sculpture exhibit like the one set in meadows near his hometown in Switzerland. The success of the 2011 event exceeded expectations, with thousands of visitors discovering the sculpture trail and Park Hill over the 10-week period, many returning more than once. This achievement was recognized by the Mass. Cultural Council, which awarded Art in the Orchard one of its three annual Gold Star Awards, out of more than 5,000 projects funded annually by local cultural councils statewide.

Western Mass. Business Expo 2013
Nov. 6: Planning is underway for the Western Mass. Business Expo 2013, a day-long business-to-business event to take place at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. This fall’s show, the third edition of the Expo, which is again being produced by BusinessWest, will feature more than 100 exhibitors, seminars on timely issues of the day, special Show Floor Theater presentations, breakfast and lunch programs, and the wrap-up Expo social, which has become a not-to-be-missed networking event. The breakfast speakers will be Jim Koch, founder of Samuel Adams, the lunch speaker will be author, activist, and marathon runner Kathrine Switzer. Other details about specific programming will be printed in upcoming editions of BusinessWest and can also be seen online at www.wmbexpo.com or www.businesswest.com. For more information on the event or to reserve booth space, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.

Sprouting Event

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Holiday Party Planner Sections

Explosive Growth Fuels a Building Boom at Lattitude

Jeff Daigneau says creativity and hard work have helped Lattitude grow, to the point where the restaurant thrives even during the challenging Big E weeks.

Jeff Daigneau doesn’t know how many times he’s told the story. But he does know that it never gets old.
He was referring to what has become local culinary legend of sorts, the saga of how the most unlikely, but now the most popular, item on the menu at his restaurant, Lattitude, came to be.
“I messed up during the Big E in 2008 and dropped a bunch of brussels sprouts in the frialator,” said Daigneau, owner and chef at the establishment on Memorial Avenue in West Springfield, directly across from the fairgrounds. He put what came out of the frialator on the bar for consumption — and they didn’t last long.
“Now, they’re the hottest thing going — everybody’s serving them,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the vegetable that so many people love to hate has become his eatery’s signature appetizer — and an unofficial logo of sorts.
Indeed, the vegetable now adorns the back of his business card and the company’s letterhead, and it will soon be on T-shirts to be worn by the staff.
No one calls Lattitude the ‘house that Brussels sprouts built,’ but they might as well — it’s not much of an exaggeration. But the house was actually built by creativity, patience, and perseverance, and because all three have been exhibited in abundance, the house is getting bigger.
Much bigger.
The restaurant, which sits in the middle of what was a large, multi-tenant building that Daigneau now owns, is expanding in several directions within that complex. An outdoor patio bar featuring live music was added this summer on the west side of the property. Meanwhile, an 80-seat banquet facility will open in formerly vacant space on the east side of building in mid-November, and a new, much larger bar area, to be created in space formerly occupied by Memo’s restaurant on the west side of the building, is in the design phase. In the original restaurant, space is being reconfigured, and private meeting rooms are being expanded.
The ambitious series of undertakings, highlighted by the recent installation of a new ‘Lattitude’ sign made of brushed copper, could be called a testimony to the power of fried brussels sprouts. But it’s more of an indication of how the restaurant has become a fixture only a few years after barely surviving its first fall in the shadow of the Big E (more on that later).
“It’s really flattering that people think that much of us,” he said, noting that his experiences to date have been a giant learning curve. “I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old; I’m 36 now, and every single day I learn something new.”
For this issue and its focus on holiday party planning, BusinessWest looks at what Daigneau’s learned, and how he’s applied those lessons effectively enough to make Lattitude one of the region’s more intriguing business success stories.

Keep the Party Going

Lattitude added an outdoor patio bar this year, where patrons can enjoy live music.

Retelling another story he’s related often, Daigneau said that, during his first fall on Memorial Avenue, he decided to stay open during the 17-day Big E when most all other restaurants in that area shut things down.
They close because the exposition has a tendency to drain traffic from such establishments rather than create it. Many long-time patrons of those eateries also decide they’re not going to fight Big E traffic and dine elsewhere instead.
Daigneau’s decision nearly put him out of business, by his calculation, but the experience provided an important lesson. Today, instead of trying to compete with, or simply survive, the Big E, he is effectively partnering with it. At least that’s the term he uses.
Elaborating, he said he’s learned how to cater his menu and his entertainment to the two primary constituencies at the Big E — visitors to the show and the vendors who often arrive days before it opens and are still packing up long after it ends.
The key to mastering the Big E, said Daigneau, has been a combination of offering a more relaxed atmosphere during fair weeks, especially for vendors, and offering a variety of live bands, food and drink specials, and promo nights, as an extension of what’s already going on over at the Big E.
“I’m not going to get everybody, so I put posters in the windows for events we’re going to have,” he explained. “I try to do things that would bring people in the door.
“I’m not stepping on anybody’s toes,” he went on. “The vendors just want a place to get out and get something to eat, because otherwise, they’re cooking in their campers.”
This imaginative approach to navigating through late September is just one element in Daigneau’s success quotient. And it’s part of a larger operating philosophy of listening to customers and potential customers and giving them want they want — even if, in the case of those Brussels sprouts, they didn’t know they wanted it.
And in recent years, what he consistently heard from patrons is that they want more — as in more space, more options, and more venues for different types of events.
The elaborate renovations and new building initiatives are designed to meet all those needs.
As a lessee, Daigneau had to look at the unattractive yellow stucco plaster on the outside of the building, but now the contemporary-style improvements have made the choppy architecture look like a cohesive city block, he said, which matches the elegance and creative quality of what’s happening inside.
The entire east side of the building is being renovated for banquets; the bathrooms are moving to the west side, the dining room will be expanded to accommodate 120 people, and two new rooms, for up to 12 and 30 patrons, respectively, are ready, or will be, for the holidays. The small, cramped kitchen was expanded recently, and a new catering kitchen is under construction.
“Our off-site catering is going to explode with that new kitchen,” said Daigneau, noting that what started as a few scattered requests for Lattitude menu items has morphed into a solid business opportunity with enormous potential.
The same could be said for banquet, or large-party, business, said Jamie Cardoza, Daigneau’s event specialist. “People were asking for larger venues, and we had to essentially turn business away,” she said.
Daigneau said there were enough of these requests to inspire the new banquet facility. “We had guest requests for parties of 50, 80, or 100,” he noted. “And it just grew into, ‘well, I own the building now; what do we want to do?’”
Plans for the rest of the building, specifically the old Memo’s area, are in the process of being designed. Daigneau said the second floor of the building will remain his office area and won’t be leased out.
While Daigneau’s original plan was to do all the work at once, he ultimately opted to phase it in, a decision that, in retrospect, has worked out well because disruption has been controlled and the impact on the overall business has been minimized.
And in a way, the new look and feel of Lattitude is consistent with Daigneau’s philosophy of continuously changing and reinventing to keep things fresh.
Indeed, while other restaurant owners and managers are loath to remove an item from the menu, Daigneau is fearful of letting his menu get stale.
He said the typical response from his staff when he changes up the menu is, ‘are you out of your mind?’
“But if you’re not moving and shaking and you’re not changing things up, people are going to get bored, and things are going to get stale,” he explained. “The menu has to change, and the staff has to stay fresh, or there are a million opportunities for our customers to go somewhere else.”
One dish that has to make a seasonal appearance every year is his pumpkin ravioli with seared scallops and walnut sage cream sauce.
“It’s the most popular dish we’ve ever done, and it’s one of those things I just can’t take off, and if I do, I get threatened,” he said with a sardonic smile.
It’s the same look he gives his staff when he tells them what he has in mind for his popular dinner series on the third Monday of every month, an event that offers a five-course dinner, with a different cocktail paired with each course.

Room For Dessert
Late last month, Daigneau served as the ‘celebrity professional judge’ for a Big E bread and dessert contest featuring creations fashioned from Fleischmann’s yeast.
That assignment speaks not only to his new outlook on the Big E as partner, not competitor, but also to just how far he has come in five years — from a chef with a dream to an entrepreneur with a dining destination in the midst of exploding growth.
The brussels sprouts on his business card have become a symbol of that success, and so has the new sign over his door.
“It’s finally gotten to the point where I can look up to that sign and say, ‘you know what? I did OK.’”
Actually, much better than OK.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected].

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Chamber Corners Departments

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

Oct. 9: Lunch ‘n’ Learn, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at One Financial Plaza Community Room, 1350 Main St., Springfield. The program, “Birds Tweet, but Should You? Is Social Media Right for Your Business?” will discuss strategies behind using social media, determining your return on investment and tips on how to best deploy social media to your advantage. Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission, and includes networking time and a boxed lunch. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by calling Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

Oct. 24: A Chocolate Affair, 6-9 p.m., at Chez Josef in Agawam. Indulge yourself in chocolate, shopping, and networking. Presented by the Professional Women’s Chamber, an affiliate of the ACCGS. Exhibitor space is $70. Reservations to attend are $40. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by calling Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

Oct. 25: Super 60, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at Chez Josef in Agawam. Celebrate the region’s top-performing companies. Now, in its 24th year, this awards program celebrates the success of the fastest-growing privately owned businesses in the region that continue to make significant contributions to the strength of the regional economy. Presented by Health New England with support from Hampden Bank, Sullivan Hayes & Quinn, the Republican, and WWLP-TV 22. Reservations are $50 for members, $70 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

Oct. 18: Legislative Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Lord Jeffery Inn. Sponsored by Western Massachusetts Electric Co. Admission: $15 for members, $20 for non-members.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

Oct. 8: Mayoral Forum, 6 p.m., Eastworks Meeting Space, Suite 160, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Learn about the Easthampton mayoral candidates’ views on business and their plans for the future of Easthampton. Free and open to the public.

Oct. 10: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m. Hosted and sponsored by Cernak Buick, 102 Northampton St., Easthampton. Hors d’ouevres, beer, and wine available. Door prizes. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members.

Oct. 15: GRIST — Get Real Individual Support Today, 9-10 a.m. at the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, 33 Union St., Easthampton. The GRIST group is a free member benefit, an ongoing small group of folks who meet regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. RSVP to group leaders Derek Allard at [email protected] or (413) 282-9957, or Fran Fahey at [email protected] or (413) 529-1189. Free to chamber members and future members.

Oct. 21: Celebrity Bartenders Night, 6-9 p.m., at Opa-Opa Steakhouse & Brewery, 169 College Highway, Southampton. Join us for a night of fun with local celebrities mixing drinks. Tips benefit the chamber’s holiday lighting fund. Raffles and more fun. Admission: free.

HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

Oct. 9: Autumn Business Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at the Log Cabin. Sponsored by the Republican and Holyoke Medical Center. Recognizing new members, business milestones, and networking breakfast meeting. Cost: members, $22 in advance, $28 at the door. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up.
Oct. 16: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at the Center for Health Education, 404 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke (former Grynn & Barrett Studios). Business networking event to take place at HCC’s newest education facility. Networking, 50/50 raffle, and door prizes. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for the public. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up.

Oct. 22: Social Media with Constant Contact Workshop, 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, Executive Conference Room, 177 High St., Holyoke. Sponsored by PeoplesBank and the Republican. This information-packed seminar offers a basic review of the essential strategies and best practices a business or organization should understand to successfully get started with social-media marketing. Admission is free. Brought to you by Constant Contact. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

Oct. 30: Manufacturing Breakfast, 7:30-9:30 a.m., at the Wherehouse, 109 Lyman St., Holyoke. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

MASSACHUSETTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.massachusettschambersofcommerce.com
(413) 525-2506

Nov. 12: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon, 9 a.m. registration, at the DoubleTree, Westborough. For more information on ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities, call the chamber office at (413) 525-2506 or e-mail [email protected].

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

Oct. 8: Business to Customer Marketing Workshop: “On-the-spot Marketing Tips for Increasing Foot Traffic,” 1-3 p.m. Hosted and sponsored by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. Presented by the Creative Marketing Group. The Creative Marketing Group will meet with you and your fellow retail business owners and managers at our conference-room table, listen to your marketing and communications concerns, and help you brainstorm practical, professional solutions on the spot. Learn more about how to strategize, advertise, brand, and promote your business, reach the media, and maximize your message in person, in print, and online. Cost: free, but pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register, contact Esther at [email protected]

Oct. 22: Business to Business Marketing Workshop, 3:30-5 p.m., at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. Cost: free, but pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register, contact Esther at [email protected].

Nov. 6: Arrive@5 Chamber Networking Event, 5-7 p.m. Hosted by the World War II Club. Sponsors: Homeward Vets. Catered by Big Kats Catering. The chamber will be collecting donations for Homeward Vets. A list of needed donations will be posted on its website. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. RSVP to Esther at [email protected].

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

Oct. 10: West Springfield Mayoral Debate, 6-8 p.m., at West Springfield City Hall. Event is open to the public and free for both members and non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

Oct. 17: Business with Bacon, 7-9 a.m., at Crestview Country Club. Speaker: Gaming Commissioner Bruce Stebbins. Cost: $25 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].

Oct. 23: Business to Business Expo, hosted by the West of the River Chamber, the North Central CT Chamber, the Bradley Regional Chamber, and the East Windsor Chamber, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Hosted by Holiday Inn, Enfield. Cost: $100 for a six-foot table if you are a member of any chamber and pay in full by Sept. 27, or $150 for a six-foot table if you are not a member of any chamber or do not pay in full by Sept. 27. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or email [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

Oct. 9: October WestNet Connection, 5-7 p.m., at East Mountain Country Club, 1458 East Mountain Road, Westfield. An evening of networking; don’t forget your business cards. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Walk-ins are welcome. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected].

Healthy Decision

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Holiday Party Planner Sections

Sláinte Draws Restaurant Patrons — and Parties — to Holyoke

Debra Flynn, right, and Jake Perkins say Sláinte’s party business has taken off beyond their initial expectations.

Debra Flynn owns two successful restaurants and knows her way around a wide variety of food. So what does she like to order when she eats out?
“My favorite food on the entire planet, when I go out, is Caesar salad and nachos. That defines a fun restaurant, and if they don’t have it, we’re not going back,” said Flynn, the owner of Eastside Grill in Northampton and part-owner, with Jake Perkins, of Sláinte in Holyoke.
“When we started,” she said of opening Sláinte earlier this year, “I told Jake we have to have the best nachos in the world — and they are.”
If those nachos — loaded with toppings and also available ‘cowboy style’ with barbecued brisket — don’t sound like something Eastside would serve, that’s intentional.
“We’re not trying to be something we’re not,” Flynn said. “We’re not a high-end restaurant, and even though we’re attached to Eastside, we didn’t want Eastside food here. To have two restaurants within 10 minutes of each other serving the same food serves no purpose. I wanted this place to have its own identity, but people realize we believe in concepts like quality and service at both places.”
Sláinte (pronounced ‘slahn-cha,’ an Irish greeting meaning ‘your good health’) opened on the site of the former Eighty Jarvis restaurant, which used to be O’Meara’s, which used to be Broadview — which is where our story begins.
Flynn was in her early 20s when she first discovered Broadview on her first date with her future husband, Kevin. Perhaps because of that emotional connection, she had long had her eyes on the property, and when Eighty Jarvis closed, she felt the time was right to make a move.
“I was approached because someone knew how much I really wanted this property,” she said, but she wasn’t prepared to go it alone, so she turned to Perkins, her executive chef at Eastside Grill. “I knew how much Jake wanted to go on to the next level. And I felt comfortable with him; he has the same values I do when it comes to work.”
“We do work well together,” Perkins added. “We have slightly different styles, but they mesh well.
“We wanted a fun, comfortable place,” he continued, “and I really liked the idea of having a banquet room upstairs for parties. We don’t have the space for it at Eastside, but here we have a huge room up there.”
Downstairs, he added, “we keep it comfortable for everybody. It’s a lot of fun, and we want the food to be approachable and the atmosphere to be comfortable. It’s a good spot.”
Despite the name, Sláinte is not an Irish restaurant, he noted. Rather, “it’s an homage to the Irish heritage of Holyoke.”
Flynn laughed when the pronunciation issue arises. “Some of my friends call it Slanty — ‘hey, we’re going to Slanty tonight,’” she said. “But I don’t care, as long as people come.”

American Style
So, what is the menu like? Favorites range from appetizers like fried pickles and cod fritters to entrees like fried chicken, lamb shank, filet mignon, with a selection of burgers, sandwiches, and salads thrown in for good measure.
“Everything is made from scratch here,” Perkins said, from appetizers to desserts, salad dressings to pastrami.
“We use pork belly for bacon — everything is cured from scratch. There are no processed foods here,” Flynn added. “You’re not going to get processed pastrami or turkey here.”
Besides the fresh food, Flynn and Perkins are aiming for a certain casual vibe, not unlike that of the old Broadview. “It was fun — great wings, great sandwiches … it was a great place to go, a place where everyone went in Holyoke, where everyone knew everyone,” Flynn said.
With that in mind, “we were going for a warm, inviting feeling. We added more TVs so people can watch sports, any type of sports. And we have a 60-inch TV outside so they can be outside and watch TV, too.”
Flynn said the outdoor patio and bar is “to die for,” and bands play there on Wednesday and Sunday evenings during the warmer months.
But she and Perkins are equally proud of the upstairs banquet facility, which holds up to 100 people for cocktail parties and sit-down dinners. Sláinte has hosted baby showers, rehearsal dinners, and a host of other parties, including one wedding reception. The space is also ideal for breakfast meetings, and is equipped with audio-visual equipment for business functions.
“We’ve had surprisingly brisk business upstairs,” Perkins said. Flynn added that her connections in Northampton and Springfield — where she was general manager of Café Manhattan and the Colony Club earlier in her career — certainly haven’t hurt.
“It has been overwhelmingly successful. I was not expecting it to be as successful as it is this soon — it’s only been six months,” she said. “People remember me from the Colony Club and Café Manhattan.”
A location that effectively straddles Hampden and Hampshire Counties, just two minutes from I-91, doesn’t hurt, she added. “And the Northampton business community has been extremely positive in this new venture. A lot of people were like, ‘are you sure you want to do this? Why take on so much more work?’ But they come out and support me by coming here — I’ve had a few events from Northampton here.”

City on the Rise
Perkins said the goal has been to create an inclusive environment that draws customers back again and again. Flynn said she’s happy with business so far.
“I want to say it’s because of our quality and the service we provide and the friendly atmosphere,” she told BusinessWest. “That’s my philosophy. That’s the way you keep them coming back.
“This business is not about us; it’s about the customer,” she added. “You can never think it’s about yourself; you have to listen. It might pain you, but you have to listen and do whatever you can to make people happy, because if they’re not, they won’t be back.”
She and Perkins both live within a half-mile of Sláinte, and they believe they’ve opened a restaurant and banquet hall in a city that’s clearly on the rise.
“I’m proud to be in Holyoke. I believe Holyoke can come back,” she said. “It has a lot of the same qualities as Northampton, and the architecture is gorgeous.”
Added Perkins, “as businesses move into town, that’ll bring even more businesses in, and it kind of builds on itself.”
“We want to help set the tone,” Flynn continued, “so people say, ‘if they can do it, we can,’ and people will start to say, ‘wow, Holyoke has a lot to offer.’ Look at Northampton in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and look at it today. It can happen. You’ve got to believe it — and work hard.”
She said Eastside benefits from the walkability of its downtown Northampton location, where the streets teem with pedestrians. But Sláinte has its own advantages. “We’re right off the highway, and the people of Holyoke have been very supportive of us,” Perkins said. “It’s been fantastic.”
Flynn agreed. “We’re part of two really great towns. How lucky are we?”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

On the Menu

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Holiday Party Planner Sections

A chart of area restaurants

Click here to download the PDF

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 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.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT
Diane Bynum v. Metro Auto Sales, d/b/a Metro Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
Allegation: Deceptive and unfair practices: $24,000
Filed: 8/20/13

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
Eliza Greene Smith v. Farm Table Inc. and Brent Menke
Allegation: Plaintiff seeks restitution for full share of proceeds from tips earned: $25,000+
Filed: 8/2/13

Vermont Mutual Insurance Co., as subrogee of Derek Berkquist v. Frigidaire, Inc.
Allegation: Subrogation action where a defective water valve in a new washing machine caused substantial property damage: $40,635.26
Filed: 7/11/13

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Freedom Credit Union v. Woods and Lawns Inc. and William A. Woods
Allegation: Default on promissory note: $9,712.74
Filed: 8/16/13

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Absolute Construction, LLC v. G.M. Crisalli & Associates, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and W/S Westfield Properties Inc.
Allegation: Construction claim and mechanics lien: $221,548.80
Filed: 9/12/13

Batesville Casket Co. Inc. v. Robert E. Cusack Funeral Home Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract and failure to pay on promissory note: $24,530.95
Filed: 8/22/13

Connecticut Pie Inc. v. Connecticut Packaging Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract by providing plaintiff with defective product: $750,000
Filed: 8/27/13

Cypress Financial Recoveries, LLC, as subrogee of Wells Fargo Bank v. Watson Building/Remodeling and Prescott Watson
Allegation: Breach of credit agreement: $32,544.78
Filed: 7/22/13

People’s United Bank v. Connecticut Valley Block Co. Inc., James L. Delgrego, and Hubert White
Allegation: Failure to pay promissory note: $451,638.76
Filed: 8/6/13

Rebecca Budd v. Mary Kay Cosmetics
Allegation: Plaintiff seeks relief for injuries sustained while using a defective product: $105,000
Filed: 9/13/13

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Beacon Sales Co. v. TLC Exterior, LLC and Thomas J. Leonard
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $5,492.92
Filed: 8/1/13

Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. New England Plumbing & Heating Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of workers’ compensation policy: $8,540.34
Filed: 8/27/13

Universal Recycling Technologies, LLC v. Marc A. Brown, d/b/a Total Tech Recycling Co.
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered, unjust enrichment, and account annexed: $17,085.25
Filed: 8/27/13

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
HIBU Inc. f/k/a Yellow Book Sales and Distribution Inc. v. Gold Star Restorations Inc.
Allegation: Money due for previous judgment: $66,789.46
Filed: 8/12/13

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Company Notebook Departments

Northeast IT Systems Expands to New Site
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Northeast IT Systems Inc. is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a planned move to a larger space. The business is relocating to 777 Riverdale St. in West Springfield to better serve clients. “We are currently in a 750-square-foot space with limited highway access,” said partner Joel Mollison. “Our new location offers more than 2500 square feet and easy parking, and we believe it is situated ideally at the crossroads for our customers from Worcester to the Berkshires, and Greenfield to Windsor, Conn.” Founded in 2003 by Joel Mollison, Northeast IT has grown significantly over the years, evolving by 2010 into a partnership with Brian Sullivan. Northeast IT aims to tailor technology solutions to specific client needs. Certified technicians manage technology and create unique solutions, alleviating stress while increasing productivity and return on investment. Learn more about Northeast IT Systems at www.northeastit.net.

Health New England Medicare Advantage Plan Ranks Highest in State
SPRINGFIELD — The National Commission for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2013-14 was released last month, highlighting NCQA’s rankings of the nation’s private, Medicaid, and Medicare health plans based on their combined HEDIS(r), CAHPS(r), and NCQA accreditation standards scores. Health New England (HNE) is the top-ranked Medicare Advantage HMO plan in Massachusetts and the 13th-ranked Medicare Advantage Plan in the U.S., based on the 2013-14 NCQA rankings. “HNE will continue to work hard on the measures that make up these rankings. HNE has a lot to be proud of, and these quality rankings are a testament to the high-quality care and service we provide our members,” said Peter Straley, HNE president and CEO. The Medicare annual enrollment period begins Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7. HNE expanded into certain areas of Berkshire County in 2013 and intends for the 2014 expansion to include all of Berkshire County.

Monson Savings Bank Wins Philanthropy Award for Post-tornado Work
MONSON — Monson Savings Bank recently won the Gold Community Champions Award in general philanthropy given by the New England Financial Marketing Assoc. (NEFMA). The award was specifically given for the bank’s community support following the tornadoes of June 1, 2011 and continuing through the recovery. Judging for the award was done by members of the PennJerDel Bank Marketing Assoc. in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Community efforts by banks and credit unions across New England were considered. “This award belongs to the employees of Monson Savings,” said Steve Lowell, bank president. “When I accepted the award, I told the audience that, in times of need, it is easy to write a check, and we certainly did that, but what made the difference was our employees’ compassion and commitment to our customers and community. Our employees in every branch and division were involved in the recovery in so many ways, and they also served as sounding boards and sympathetic ears for customers for months after the tornadoes.” The award ceremony was held in Framingham on Sept. 26. Patti Mitchell, chair of the NEFMA awards committee, said that “the competition for these awards was strong, and the submissions were detailed and inspiring. The winners demonstrated exceptional work. We couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved.”

Wing Reaches Goal for Hospital Cleanliness
PALMER — Wing Memorial Hospital’s Environmental Services staff recently achieved its goal of being ranked in the 90th percentile in its patient satisfaction score related to cleanliness of the hospital environment. “We have been implementing and developing new techniques from the hospitality industry that continue to change the everyday patient experience in the hospital environment,” said Matthew Ashford, director of Environmental Services at Wing. “This is a huge accomplishment for the department; a team has been working very hard to hit this mark.” Wing Memorial uses the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (HCAHPS), a nationally standardized survey, to measure how patients perceive the care they receive at the hospital. HCAHPS includes a core set of questions that can be combined with a broader, customized set of hospital-specific items. “We have put specific emphasis on patient-centered care into their daily routine, focusing on making the patient room an extension of their home by spending quality time with every patient when we are in their room,” Ashford said. “We want our patients to know that the hospital environment is not only about décor and cleanliness, but also caring staff who are an active part of their healthcare team, and we are here to help.” Janice Kucewicz, Wing’s senior vice president, added that “being in the 90th percentile means we are amongst the best. We are incredibly proud of the Environmental Services Department and all of their efforts. They are a great example of the hard work taking place throughout all of Wing.”

Picture This

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Departments Picture This

Send photos with a caption and contact information to: ‘Picture This’ c/o BusinessWest Magazine, 1441 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103 or to [email protected]

Action Shots

The 15th annual Humanics in Action Day, a Springfield College (SC) tradition, took place on Sept. 26. The event unites SC and its surrounding neighborhoods to work on community-service projects. Each year, about 2,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni fan out across Springfield to read to children, clean up vacant lots, repair sidewalks, and generally make connections with the community. Top left: SC students work in the community garden. Top right: taking a break from yard work, left to right, are SC students Alissa Burian, Kim DiManna, Lynsey Majka, Lauren Peladeau, and Jessica Lajoie. Bottom right: from left, Adrienne Osborne, Upper Hill Neighborhood Council president; Ariel Zaleski, SC student trustee; Mary-Beth Cooper, SC president; Emmanuel Adero, Old Hill Neighborhood Council president; and Denise Cogman, director of Springfield School Volunteers.

Table Talking

The 16th annual Table Top Showcase & Business Networking Event was recently held at the Castle of Knights in Chicopee. More than 100 exhibitors met with attendees from the business community. Left: Melinda Thomas, far right, development director for the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center, speaks with Anita Bird (left), office manager, and Amanda Gagnon, community organizer, both from MGM Springfield. Right: Joel Mollison (left), president, and Brian Sullivan, vice president, of Northeast IT Systems Inc.

Get Together

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Holiday Party Planner Sections

A chart of the region’s banquet facilities

click here to download the PDF

Access to Opportunity

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Employment Sections

Website Offers Information on Healthcare Careers in Western Mass.

Peta Gaye Portee says www.westernmasshealthcareers.org is updated frequently, making it an invaluable resource for people accessing the healthcare job market.

When most students think about jobs in the healthcare industry, they imagine working in a hospital.
But the reality is that only 30% of healthcare employees in Western Mass work in a hospital setting. The rest are working in the community — in nursing homes, doctor’s offices, diagnostic labs, home-care businesses, or ambulatory healthcare services.
“Most students can only name about five healthcare careers — there are a lot of positions they aren’t even aware of,” said Kimberly Slepchuk, academic and career advisor for the Foundations of Health program at Holyoke Community College, as she listed jobs that range from medical assistants in doctors’ offices to pharmacy technicians and sales representatives who specialize in medical equipment and supplies.
“And although many people cite nursing as a career, there are 110 different types of nurses, which range from camp and school nurses to neonatal nurses, which is why it’s really important to delve into the possibilities,” Slepchuk added. “Most of these jobs came about after World War II and are team-oriented. For example, surgical technologists assist in the operating room, and one of the newest jobs is a sterile processing technician.”
And opportunities continue to grow. In 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that by 2018 there would be 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs in the healthcare field — more than any other industry.
It’s possible for people interested in a career change to discover these positions by perusing national websites, but there has always been a missing link, as these sites don’t provide information about the local job market in Western Mass. — what types of jobs exist and how much the average person here is paid. They also fail to provide a listing of local schools with programs that lead to specific healthcare careers.
But, thanks to a newly launched website, www.westernmasshealthcareers.org, all that has changed.
“The new website is very, very helpful and important, because while students could get data about jobs in Massachusetts before, there is a huge difference between what is available in the eastern part of the state and here in Western Mass. in terms of jobs and salaries,” Slepchuk said.

Supply and Demand
The website was developed as a result of a collaborative effort. It is an initiative of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County (REB), which teamed up with members of the Healthcare Workforce Partnership of Western Mass., with the goal of strengthening the region’s healthcare workforce and enhancing the quality of patient care.
“The idea for the website was generated by employers, educators, and community-based organizations with the express desire of letting people know what types of healthcare jobs and careers are available in the Pioneer Valley and where they exist on the continuum of care,” said Kelly Aiken, director of Health Care Initiatives for the REB. “Employers want people to know what kinds of skills they are looking for as well as the places where people receive healthcare. The website tells them about the positions that exist in different types of job settings, as well as the education and training needed for a wide variety of occupations.”
She added that it’s important for people to be aware of the rapid changes occurring in the healthcare field and the requirements needed to enter or stay current in different jobs. “For example, the language in medical coding is changing, and people who are interested in moving from a job as a medical biller to a medical coder need to know this.”
In addition, having a regional resource helps parents, career advisors, and people interested in making a career change determine whether investing in education for a specific position is worthwhile.
“The idea is to provide people with a regional resource about our community; there are jobs that exist across the continuum, and we want people to know what is going on here,” Aiken said. “It’s especially important because there are jobs going unfilled because employers can’t find qualified job seekers. Our employers have told us this time and time again.”

Kelly Aiken says jobs are going unfilled because employers can’t find qualified workers, and the new website will provide the kind of information needed to close that gap.

The website reflects an extraordinary amount of research.
“We hired Six-Point Creative Works in Springfield, and they interviewed myriad people in one-on-one sessions to find out what they were looking for,” Aiken said, adding that the interviewees ranged from high-school students to immigrants who had worked in healthcare in their countries and wanted to get back into the field, to adults looking to make career changes.
“Employers were also engaged in the website’s development,” she continued. “It was a very collaborative effort, and our partners have been very involved.”
The final result is a site that contains detailed information in sections that include ‘local careers,’ ‘career planning,’ ‘education and training,’ ‘news,’ and ‘partnerships.’
For example, a click on the button labeled ‘local careers’ gives people a choice of then clicking on more specific fields, including medical and dental, office and research, lab work and imaging, therapy and pharmacy, vision, speech, hearing, and diet.
Slepchuk said these groupings make it easy for people to learn about occupations available locally that match their interests, along with what the work involves and the time and/or money and education required for the positions.
A click on ‘medical, dental, and nursing careers’ shows that the highest rate of job growth is in home healthcare, that many of these positions involve working with the elderly, and as this population grows, medical, dental, and nursing professionals will need to understand the basics of geriatric care. It also highlights a growing focus on preventive and primary care and a move toward more patient-centered care.
Visitors also learn that strong science, math, and technology skills are needed to work in this career cluster and that it is becoming increasingly important for people in these positions to be able to relate to people of different cultures.
Aiken says this information is critical for students and job seekers.
“In addition, employers are telling us that they expect applicants to show a degree of professionalism,” she added. “Healthcare is all about customer service, compassion, and professionalism.”
The website also contains links to employer listings. “The idea is not to replicate resources, but to help people access career-planning tools,” Aiken said.
There are also ideas and information about how to finance education and where programs are offered.
“We just updated the medical-coding page to reflect current standards, and we also updated the medical-billing section to let people know about a new program being offered at Holyoke Community College,” said Peta Gaye Portee, program coordinator for the Healthcare Initiative Workforce program. “There is also information about foundation grants, state grants, Pell grants, and scholarships.”
Meanwhile, the news section keeps viewers up to date with breaking developments, such as a new partnership between Greenfield Community College and Endicott College, which will allow nurses with an associate’s degree to earn their bachelor’s degree without leaving Greenfield, as well as a new public health degree program being offered at American International College in Springfield.
There is also a ‘fast facts’ section, which Slepchuk says students find useful. For example, it states that there is a need for sterile-processing technicians and surgical technologists in this area.
Another facet of the website contains links to nationally recognized assessment tools and tests that people can take if they are exploring the idea of a career in healthcare.

Future Outlook
Aiken reiterated that the purpose of the new website is to introduce people to the types of jobs that exist, which ones are going unfilled in the area, and the training and education that local employers expect job applicants to have.
“People need to realize that healthcare is a 24/7 industry and understand the realities of jobs in the field,” she told BusinessWest, adding that logging on to www.westernmasshealthcare.org will give people a “flavor of what is going on in the region.”
Which is good news for anyone who wants to keep up with occupations, salaries, training, scholarships, and other opportunities in healthcare throughout the region.

Employ Ability

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Employment Sections

NEBA Marks 30 Years of Breaking Barriers to Getting Hired

Jeannine Pavlak says NEBA’s success rate of placing individuals with disabilities in jobs is higher than the national standard for such efforts.

Fresh out of college in the 1980s, Jeannine Pavlak found her ideal job — helping others do the same.
“I had just graduated and wanted to do something in the social-service field. I was interested in many different avenues,” she told BusinessWest. “But at the time, in the early 1980s, employment was becoming a hot topic.”
She wound up interviewing with New England Business Associates, a then-new organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities — physical, emotional, behavioral, etc. — find employment.
“I interviewed with many different organizations, but NEBA was the only one — that’s not true now, but it was at the time — that provided individualized, integrated employment” for such individuals, she explained. “I’ve always had a belief that people can work — and should work — and this matched my own personal philosophy.”
She never left, and today serves as executive director as NEBA gets ready to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a party on Oct. 18 at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House.
Over those years, she has overseen the implementation of several innovative programs, including one that helps disabled people become entrepreneurs. But NEBA remains, at its heart, dedicated to matching employers with workers who have encountered a host of challenges to entering the job market. “It’s amazing when it happens,” Pavlak said. “It really changes people’s lives so much.”
Established in 1983, NEBA now serves more than 400 people annually — ranging in age from 15 to 68 — through employment, self-employment, skill building, and community-inclusion programs. But they’re not the only ones who benefit, she said, citing the organization’s positive effects on businesses and the region’s overall economic development.
“As a service provider, we recognize each individual’s unique gifts and talents and maximize these unique strengths in the workplace,” the company’s mission statement explains. “As a business partner, we understand the needs of employers and ensure a successful job match that enhances their bottom line. And as a contributor, we improve economic and community conditions by preparing and placing a talented source of workers eager to become self-sufficient and contributing members of their communities.”
The initial intent, Pavlak said, was to work with people with developmental disabilities who weren’t being offered employment because of their challenges. “We really originated to work with a small group of people to demonstrate that anyone, regardless of their level of disability, can be successfully employed.”
Since then, NEBA has evolved somewhat. “Now anyone who has challenges to entering the workforce, we help support,” she said, noting that the organization contracts with the Department of Developmental Disabilities, the Mass. Rehabilitation Commission, the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, the Department of Transitional Assistance, and local school systems for students transitioning from high school. NEBA is also a registered employment network through the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program.
“Many folks are just having trouble finding employment for a variety of reasons; they might not have a very high education, or might be the only one there for their child and not have any group of support.”
But NEBA is most well-known for its work with the disabled, and Pavlak is especially proud of how efficiently it achieves its goals, consistently charting an employment rate for people with disabilities between 85% and 92%. “The national standard is lower than that” for similar agencies, she noted. “We’ve always achieved higher that the national average, and we’re one of the top providers in Massachusetts.”

Individual Attention
The reasons for that success are myriad, Pavlak told BusinessWest. “Really, the biggest thing is, our services are individualized. We really get to know the person, and we also really understand what the employer needs. If we’re placing someone who doesn’t meet the employer’s needs or where the individual doesn’t want to be, it won’t be a successful match.
“So we make sure we’re matching people properly,” she continued. “We spend time with employers, finding out what are the greatest challenges to employing people and what positions have the highest turnover. The population we serve, they want to work, and historically, once somebody’s employed, particularly with a disability, they’re not looking to move on to a different job; they want that work. When we find them good job matches, they tend to be long-term employees.”
Many businesses are repeat customers, she added. Because NEBA has been doing this work for 30 years, “we have a lot of relationships we can call upon with different employers. And if they’re not hiring, they may give us a sense of who might be hiring. Employers know us, and they know we’re going to do what we say we’re going to do.”
That includes plenty of initial job preparation to make sure clients are ready for interviewing and have a résumé, among other soft skills.
However, once a client finds work, “employers are expected to train that employee like they’d train anyone else,” Pavlak said, but NEBA still sends a staff member in to reinforce that training, and if the employer wants to add more duties to the client’s job description, they can consult with NEBA on that as well. “Our goal is for their co-workers to be their natural support, as it is for all of us. But we check in monthly with the employer to make sure things are fine.”
Pavlak said their involvement with NEBA clients has been eye-opening for many companies, and some businesses are clearly more progressive than others when it comes to hiring people with disabilities.
“Certainly some employers have very clear policies promoting this; they want to hire people with disabilities,” she said. “But the majority of businesses haven’t had the opportunity to hire people with disabilities.
“There are a lot of stereotypes out there, like liability; people are fearful if they have disabled workers, workers’ compensation claims will increase,” she continued. “We help educate them that liability and workers’ compensation is based on past history and the jobs you’re hiring for, not whom you’re hiring. There was a study done by DuPont over 20 years showing that people with disabilities actually have fewer injuries on the job because they’re much more aware.”
Another plus is that NEBA clients seem to give a more predictable effort on the job than the workforce as a whole, she said. “I’ve had employers say to me, ‘the work is always consistent. Out of all my employees, the person placed by NEBA does the same amount of work every day.’ They say other employees might give 100% one day, just top-notch, and another day give 60%; they’re much less consistent with their work.”

Starting Strong
Clients of New England Business Associates are doing more than finding employment; they’re also starting businesses and creating jobs.
Much of that success is being achieved through the NEBA Business Development Center (BDC), which provides clients with the entrepreneurial training necessary to develop a business concept, write a business plan, and implement a business.
“The Business Development Center is my most exciting project,” Pavlak said. “That was set up to help people with disabilities start their own businesses. When we first started it locally, there weren’t a lot of resources available for people with disabilities to start their own businesses. We collaborated with the Scibelli Enterprise Center, and we were set up initially as a consulting center, but quickly turned into a business incubator.”
The BDC mentors participants in the day-to-day operation of a new business venture, introduces them to a network of fellow entrepreneurs, and helps them access resources like the Senior Corps of Retired Executives and the Small Business Administration.
Adam Anderson is one NEBA client who has launched and maintained a successful business, Wilbraham Web Design. He had an interest in working with computers but eventually found an affinity for web design and started learning about small-business ownership and attending business courses at Springfield Technical Community College. By the end of 2006, his first year in business, Anderson already had numerous clients.
Pavlak explained that such companies are able to keep accessing the incubator for training in various aspects of their business, such as marketing strategy, as they grow. “We really look at ourselves as part of the economic-development arm,” she said. “So far, we have started 35 active businesses, and out of these 35 businesses, they’ve had to hire 23 additional employees.”
She can point to hundreds of success stories over the years — both entrepreneurs and people who simply wanted to land a steady job — as reflective of how important NEBA is for job seekers frustrated by the barriers they encounter.
“It can be difficult to access the job market on a few different levels,” she told BusinessWest. “It certainly helps them to identify where their strengths lie and learn how to sell that to the employer. Everyone has something to give, and if we match them appropriately, it can be a real benefit to an employer. People struggle most with how they sell ourselves. For our clients, it’s even more difficult to do that.”
Meanwhile, some clients have to overcome their uncertainty about how employment will affect the disability benefits they already receive. “We have a certified work incentive counselor meet with them and show them exactly how work will affect their benefits, and it takes the fear away,” Pavlak said. “What happens, in most cases, is that they’re better off getting their employers’ benefits.”
One benefit that can’t be measured, of course, is the simple pride clients take in having their skills recognized and put to use in a well-paying job.
“It’s so uplifting to do this work,” she said. “It makes you feel good on so many different levels.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Data Driven

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Sections Technology

Innovative Business Systems and TechCavalry Simplify Clients’ Access to Information

TechCavalry, acquired in 2012 by Innovative Business Systems, allows Dave DelVecchio and his staff to assist small businesses and individuals with their IT issues.

Late one night at the University of Central Florida, young college student Dave DelVecchio was discussing the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with his roommate, but the two couldn’t recall the first name of Ferris’ best friend.
Racking their brains at 2 a.m., the students did the only thing they knew how to do back in 1989: they called local radio DJs, and after a few attempts, they found one who knew the character’s name (it was Cameron).
Fast-forward 25 years. Just last month DelVecchio was at Fenway Park, and a friend asked where a particular player hailed from. Within 20 seconds, DelVecchio picked up his smartphone and found the answer on Google.
Google — a word that would have drawn blank stares in 1998 — is not only the name of the world’s most ubiquitous search engine, but also a verb; people spend major portions of every week ‘Googling’ answers to questions of various levels of importance.
DelVecchio’s college example of how much more information people have at their fingertips today is reflected in his favorite saying: “that’s why you have a data plan.”
As president of Easthampton-based Innovative Business Systems (IBS), a 23-year-old IT-solutions company — and the parent company of newly acquired TechCavalry — DelVecchio and his four partners are tasked with finding solutions for businesses and individuals to access data, at home or at work.
Through IBS specifically, DelVecchio and his team can provide expertise and resources to meet a client’s information-technology needs, or operate as the IT department’s best resource.

Offering examples, DelVecchio cited a local bank that IBS helped cut server recovery time from eight hours to 45 minutes, and a local nonprofit for which the firm helped move an underperforming peer-to-peer network to a server-based environment complete with mobility solutions.
Additionally, since acquiring Northampton-based TechCavalry in 2012, IBS has grown from 13 to 27 employees and, through that new entity, can provide individuals and smaller businesses (50 employees or fewer) with project-based IT solutions to retrieve their data and protect it cost-effectively.
“It was an opportunity for us to position TechCavalry to serve an underserved segment of the market,” said DelVecchio. “All these technology advances have provided new and sometimes far-more efficient ways to get access to information. It’s not about turning the screwdriver and fixing the problem; it’s about providing consultative analysis and weeding through all the options to make the smart choices for a business.”
For this issue’s focus on technology, BusinessWest talked with DelVecchio to learn more about how he and his team have grown IBS, and now TechCavalry, and how both firms help business owners and individuals cut through the advertising clutter to find the best data solutions.

Next Generation
DelVecchio was a marketing graduate fresh out of college when he landed his first marketing job in 1994 with Bill Tremblay, the former owner of IBS, and on the first day of work had to be shown how to use a mouse.
DelVecchio, who jokingly said he’s now mastered the mouse, often uses a quote from Tremblay, from whom DelVecchio and his four partners later purchased the company in 2003: “computer hardware is the necessary evil to run the software that runs your business.”
As he talked with BusinessWest, DelVecchio explained that Tremblay, an IT project manager at Kollmorgen, started a small software-development company in 1987 and incorporated in 1990. His philosophy was that the company was supporting not just technology, but the user experience.
After working under Tremblay for almost a decade, that user-experience vision is the same for DelVecchio and his partners, who include Vice President and Treasurer Brian Scanlon, as well as Scott Seifel, Ben Scoble, and Sean Benoit.
DelVecchio, who advanced from marketing assistant to president and owner, is not alone in his non-technical background. Most of the staff at both IBS and TechCavalry came from myriad backgrounds, which allows them to effectively relate to a wide variety of client businesses.
Having three of the five partners literally rubbing shoulders with customers and clients is one of the benefits of working with IBS and TechCavalry, said DelVecchio, which also quells one of the biggest complaints in the IT service industry — consultant turnover — due in large part to the fact that Seifel, Scoble, and Benoit are active members of the technical service team, and add a sense of stability to both companies.
“It also helps us to recruit and retain non-partners, because those that come in realize that we’re all in this together. If you want to say the inmates now run the asylum, we were once the inmates,” DelVecchio said with a smile.
As they grew IBS, they found that Western Mass. is home to many smaller companies that didn’t necessarily need smarter technology, but they needed things quickly. DelVecchio said businesses have fewer options for those emergency calls because most growing IT firms won’t handle the ‘little guys.’
Enter Jef Sharp and Jeff Hausthor — serial entrepreneurs who had created nine businesses in a little over a decade — who had launched TechCavalry in 2002 out of a small garage in Florence. With their other businesses growing simultaneously, both owners felt that they needed experienced assistance to manage their small firm, and DelVecchio was approached to consider management duties.
Like the cavalry whose presence is announced with brass fanfare, TechCalvary boasts a trumpet logo and the tagline, “PC troubles? Help is on the way!” That focus appealed to the five partners at IBS, who felt that TechCavalry had a solid niche in the personal-consumer market with excellent growth potential, but that both parties would be better served if IBS owned the business.
“One of the biggest values in TechCavalry was their name in marketing,” said DelVecchio. “Who are you going to call when you need an emergency fixed? You’re going to call in the cavalry.”
In August 2012, IBS acquired TechCavalry and combined the two firms in its Easthampton location. Now, in one expanded headquarters, the company hosts IT user group meetings, lunch-and-learn events, and technology-showcase events, with potential for future expansion on site.

Customer Centric
It was just three years ago that the IBS team decided to segue away from Tremblay’s software-development focus and center on providing IT services and consulting through PC sales, data analysis, networking, hardware and software support, repair, and maintenance.
With the new Windows 8, iPhone OS5, and a thousand other bells and whistles that keep business owners wondering if and how they should invest in technology, IBS and TechCavalry help customers figure out the best fit for their business needs.
“A lot of companies put out a lot of technology because they’re trying to make a buck,” DelVecchio said. “What we do is determine which technologies might be relevant for our clients.”
Cost isn’t always the main factor, he added, noting that his firm has talked clients out of overly complex and expensive solutions as often as it has guided them away from inadequate ones.
The clients that understand the role of technology in business, he said, are the ones that yield the most positive outcome. As a real-world example, he cited a potential new client whose major grievance was the collective 90 minutes of productivity he was losing each day being interrupted by employee complaints regarding their own loss of time due to slow or inefficient technology.
“For him, it wasn’t about technology, and it wasn’t about shaving pennies; it was specifically about how we as a company could add value to their business by helping the owner regain that five to eight hours a week worrying about technology and focus on running the business,” DelVecchio said. “Having a business owner who is an actively engaged participant — and wants the right technology and dollars to be spent in the right places — makes the engagement much easier, and they get real value out of their investment.”

Emerging Field
Where technology is going to lead the business world in the next 10 years isn’t fully defined, said DelVecchio. The challenge for business owners is to not get distracted.
“There is never a panacea that is your solution to every problem,” he added. “Ultimately, it’s about using the right technology for the right reasons.”
DelVecchio’s goal for both firms is to grow in organic fashion — slow and steady — to be able to maintain the deep time commitment clients require.
“All the advances of technology have provided new and sometimes far more efficient ways to get access to information,” he said, “and all we’ve been asked to do as a company, from day one, is to help provide that conduit.”

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

People On The Move

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Kenneth Albano, a shareholder and a member of the Corporate, Finance, and Healthcare departments for the Springfield-based Bacon Wilson, P.C. was recently elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Western Mass. Division of the March of Dimes. Albano is a member of the Mass. Municipal Law Assoc., and currently serves as Town Counsel to the communities of Monson, Southwick, and Holland. Albano earned his BA from Providence College and his JD from Western New England University School of Law.
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Jean Deliso

Jean Deliso, Principal of Deliso Financial Services, has been elected a member of the 2013 Chairman’s Council of New York Life Insurance Co. Members of the elite Chairman’s Council rank in the top 3% of New York Life’s sales force among more than 12,250 licensed agents. A New York Life agent since 1995, Deliso is an associate with the Connecticut Valley General Office in Windsor, Conn. She is chairman of New York Life’s Agents Advisory Council and is a consistent qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table and currently a 2013 Court of the Table Member. Deliso currently serves on many boards in her community, including the Pioneer Valley AAA Auto Club, Pioneer Valley Refrigerated Warehouse, and the Community Music School of Springfield.
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Keith Minoff

Keith Minoff has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 20th edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice areas of commercial litigation and corporate law. Minoff is a trial attorney specializing in business and employment litigation and has been in practice for more than 25 years.
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David McBride

Erica Flores

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. recently announced the addition of two new associates, David McBride and Erica Flores. Flores joined Skoler Abbott after relocating to Mass. from Pennsylvania, where she was an associate at the office of Morgan Lewis. She is a 2005 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and received her BS from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2001. In addition to her litigation practice, Flores regularly advises clients with respect to day-to-day employment issues, including decisions regarding adverse employment actions and litigation avoidance. From 2005 to 2006, she served as a clerk to the Russell Nigro, associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Flores is a member of the American Bar Assoc. and the Pennsylvania Bar Assoc. McBride is a 2013 graduate from the Cornell Law School and received his BA in Economics from the University of Notre Dame in 2008. His practice is concentrated in labor law and employment litigation. His experience includes work on labor and employment-law issues, including employer compliance with federal laws at a major labor union in New York.

Getting Down to Business

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Education Sections

A chart of colleges with MBA programs

Click here to download the PDF

Community Profile: Enfield, Conn.

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Community Profile Features

Enfield Enjoys Vibrant Business Development

Last year, Jeannette Norman and her husband, Lou Masachi, purchased the former Friendly’s restaurant at 86 Enfield St. in Enfield, Conn. “The building had sat empty for several years and was an eyesore,” Norman said.
But they were intrigued by the location — right off of I-91 and almost in front of MassMutual — and after gutting and renovating the building and cleaning up the property, they opened the doors to the Backyard Bar and Grill on July 2, 2012.
Although the couple hoped the eatery would do well with a broad clientele — it boasts a full bar as well as a children’s menu and a good environment for families — its popularity has been greater than they imagined. “Business has been excellent, even better than we expected,” Norman said.
She cites Enfield as an ideal spot to own and operate a business. “It has a lot of diversity in terms of demographics, a lot of commercial opportunity, and a good mix of residents and businesses,” Norman told BusinessWest, adding they opened an outdoor patio in May, which has also proved to be a draw.
Town officials say the success the couple has experienced mirrors the experience of many business owners as Enfield has undergone an unprecedented amount of growth in the last few years. “In the past year alone, we have issued more than $100 million in building permits, which is more than the town has ever done in its history,” said Town Manager Matthew Coppler.
The upswing is remarkable, considering a number of serious setbacks that occurred in 2007 and 2008. “Westvaco closed, and Lego downsized from 800 to 300 employees,” Coppler said, adding that the cutback resulted in 1 million square feet of empty distribution and manufacturing space.
Circuit City and Bernie’s also went out of business, along with a number of other retail stores. “Things were very bleak at one point, and we had one of the highest vacancy rates of retail space in the state. It was very bad for about two and a half years,” Coppler said.
But in 2009, Enfield’s economy began to rebound, and in the ensuing years the town saw rapid growth. “What has come out of the setbacks we suffered is far greater than what we had here before,” he said.
Lego’s Enfield warehouse and offices have undergone a $10 million renovation, which transformed it from a manufacturing facility into offices for white-collar workers. Phase 1 is finished, another expansion is planned, and when it is complete, the number of jobs regained will be close to those that were eliminated. The toymaker’s distribution and manufacturing space has also been filled, including square footage leased by Coca-Cola and Advanced Auto.
In addition, Westvaco’s property was purchased by Data Warehouse Co., while the former Bernie’s store became home to Underwriter’s Laboratories when the company relocated to Enfield.
The German biomedical equipment maker Eppendorf Manufacturing Co. has also expanded twice in less than 10 years, and last spring, the firm began a $25 million expansion to its production plant, in addition to buying land from the town.
Growth also occurred at MassMutual. The company tackled a $15 million renovation of its Enfield campus after purchasing the Hartford’s Retirement Services division. “They are finishing the exterior of the building right now,” Coppler said, adding that the acquisition brought about 300 new jobs to Enfield.
Yankee Castings is also expanding, with a 5,000-square-foot addition. “And the second phase of their addition will add another 40,000 square feet,” he noted.
The retail arena has also improved considerably, and the former home of Circuit City is now occupied by P.T. Richards. Meanwhile, storefronts in Enfield Mall that sat empty are now occupied. “We have gained back more than we lost,” Coppler said. “Things have happened very quickly, especially on the commercial side.”

Winning Combination

Matthew Coppler, left, and Peter Bryanton say Enfield businesses are thriving, and more space is available.

Coppler said four factors have played a major role in Enfield’s economic boom, the first being its location. “It’s very conveniently situated off of I-91 with proximity to Bradley International Airport and two large metropolitan areas with different and diverse characteristics, and businesses can also tap into two different pools of employees in Hartford and Springfield.”
The large anchor industries in town, which include Lego, Hallmark, MassMutual, and Eppendorf, have also helped to keep the economy strong. “And Brooks Brothers is consolidating all of its operations to Enfield,” Coppler said, adding that, during the past two years, partnerships have formed between these cornerstone businesses and the town’s schools, leading to internships and externships for students. “One of our goals is to keep our youth here.”
The third draw is the affordability of housing and rental space. “It provides a lot of opportunity for people who want to live and work in our town,” he said.
Peter Bryanton agreed. “Enfield has every available service people need. It’s all right here,” said the town’s director of Community Development. “We have seven plazas and an enclosed mall, and in the last 18 months, Aspen Dental and Moe’s restaurant have opened up in Enfield Commons, and on Hazard Avenue, the site of the former Bickford’s has become home to Chipotle, Supercuts, and a wireless store.
“Plus,” he continued, “Hartford Hospital has several satellite medical facilities in Enfield, and St. Francis Hospital recently established health facilities here. These are all building blocks to the future we are trying to create.”
A fourth attraction is the active role citizens play in the town’s government. “The people who live here want the best for their community and believe in living up to their responsibility. They want to be part of town committees,” Coppler said. Recently, 50 residents applied for 13 spots on the high-school building committee. It’s a quality that stretches back to World War II, when Enfield had the highest per-capita enlistment rate in the U.S., he noted.
But although the town has experienced tremendous growth in the past few years, officials say they continue to work to keep Enfield vital. “We are trying to live up to our reputation of creating an environment that makes people want to live here,” Coppler said, citing infrastructure improvements that include $60 million spent on sidewalks and roads over the last 15 years.
Town leaders have also adopted measures to streamline the permitting process. “In the past, Enfield was seen as creating barriers to growth. But that has changed,” he said, explaining that officials made a concerted effort to meet with business owners to get feedback about how they could improve the system, then implemented their suggestions.
He cited the exterior renovation of MassMutual, which is nearing completion, as an example of that success. “They came to us with their plan on June 26, and within a month, they had all of the approvals they needed, including those for wetlands,” he said, adding that the wetlands presented a challenge for the town, “but our land-use board holds special meetings when things need to get done.”
The town also took a proactive stance in 2008 and 2009 by building a Hampton Inn on the edge of the industrial park. It contained a pad for a restaurant, and a Longhorn’s Steakhouse is set to open there soon.

Dedicated Initiative
Enfield is made up of a number of neighborhoods or small villages, which include Hazardville, Scitico, Shaker Pines, Southwood Acres, and Thompsonville.
Once home to manufacturing mills, Thompsonville is today the focus of a revitalization plan aimed at bringing new life to the area that was once considered downtown when the Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Co. was thriving and an untold number of homes were built to accommodate workers.
But the town’s center of activity moved when Enfield Mall was constructed. The neighborhood took another hit when Bigelow closed its doors, and “Thompsonville was left in the dust,” Coppler said.
Bryanton agreed, saying the village is now “an urban center with a lot of absentee landlords.” But plans have been put in place to rejuvenate the area. A $3.5 million intermodal transportation center is being built to accommodate travelers on the planned Thompsonville stop of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail line.
“It will be multimodal and will include rail and bus service and a pedestrian/bike path that will link Enfield Street to the Connecticut River as part of the Connecticut River Access Project,” he told BusinessWest.
The downtown is dense, and although there are numerous vacancies, “we know that transit helps bring about economic development,” Bryanton said. “We have also put in new streets and sidewalks and done a large pond-restoration project.”
In addition, the nonprofit Enfield Community Development Corp. has been tasked with granting $180,000 in microloans for startup businesses and expansions in Thompsonville. A tax-abatement process for improvements and new construction in the area is also in place, and town officials are in the process of completing a zoning study to ensure that space is available for new businesses that fit in with the natural surroundings, he added.
As for Coppler, he believes the town is filled with vitality and has experienced tremendous growth, but has not yet realized its full potential.
“Today, our vacancy rate is the second-lowest in the state,” he said. “There is money to be made here, and we can show that we have worked to help businesses come to Enfield or expand here.”

Editorial

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Opinion

Time for Decisive Action at WSU

A few weeks ago, we wrote that Westfield State University President Evan Dobelle didn’t have to leave that position for the school to put the controversy surrounding Dobelle’s lavish spending habits and misuse of credit cards behind it.
Well, a lot can happen in a few weeks. And in this case, enough has happened to compel us to say that Dobelle does have to go if this fine institution is going to move on from this mess.
Since we last commented on Dobelle’s expensive and seemingly ineffective junkets to Asia, Europe, and elsewhere, state education officials and the inspector general’s office have come down hard on both Dobelle and the school’s board, indicating that the former clearly acted inappropriately in many cases and that the later essentially waited way too long to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, we’ve also learned that Dobelle has made no less than 15 trips to San Fransisco (supposedly on business) since 2008, and that, during one of them, when he was allegedly making proposals to prominent foundations, he was actually sitting in the car while another university employee was dropping off packets of information on WSU at those foundations.
We’ve also learned that Dobelle might make use of the so-called whistleblower defense as he works to keep his job — he’s told the press that he self-reported the mistakes made with university credit cards and therefore cannot be retaliated against — and that the high-priced public relations firm he’s hired to make his case is telling the press that the controversy stems from an ongoing effort on behalf of board of trustees President John Flynn (the top civilian administrator for the Massachusetts State Police) to turn the school into a diploma mill for state troopers.
This has become the theater of the absurd, and it’s time for the trustees to bring down the curtain on the Dobelle administration.
They’ll have to do it, because Dobelle has no intention of stepping down. He told the local press as much when they asked that question, responding, ‘gosh, no. Why would I?’ or words to that effect.
We’ll answer that question for him.
He should step down because it’s becoming increasingly clear that he can no longer effectively lead this institution. People look at him, and instead of seeing the ‘change agent’ he claims to be, they see an administrator who has irresponsibly spent taxpayer and Westfield State Foundation money, and without any real benefit to the school. In fact, Higher Education Commissioner Richard Freeland has stated that, despite Dobelle’s excessive wining and dining of potential contributors, WSU has finished dead last or next to last among the state colleges in fund-raising each year during Dobelle’s tenure. And those schools’ presidents spent a fraction of the money he did.
Meanwhile, the controversy is giving the school a serious black eye in the press, with headlines that are making responsible business people and college administrators shake their heads and have left legislators on Beacon Hill wondering what’s happened to the money they’ve appropriated for the institution.
This controversy is dragging down the university, and it’s time for the trustees to act quickly and decisively to remove Dobelle. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be cheap, but it needs to be done.
It’s time for Dobelle to be a change agent somewhere else.

Opinion

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Opinion

Physician Labor Markets Remain Tight

By LEIF BRIERLEY
The Mass. Medical Society’s 12th annual Physician Workforce Study found that physician labor markets continued to be tight, with four physician specialties — family medicine, internal medicine, gastroenterology, and neurology — experiencing significant shortages.
The study, released last month, showed, as in previous years, that physician shortages continue to influence labor-market conditions statewide. Several regions of the state, including the Springfield and Pittsfield areas, had a majority of respondents reporting inadequate pools of physicians were available to fill needed positions.
The percent of physicians reporting that “the current pool of applicants is inadequate” and the percent of respondents “having difficulty filling vacancies” both increased several percentage points from 2012 to 2013. While the adequacy of the physician labor pool and the ease of physician recruitment have shown a dramatic improvement over the past five years, this year’s data broke from the previous five-year trend of improving conditions in terms of filling vacancies and adequacy of the applicant pool.
Other findings indicate some dissatisfaction with physician practice issues, but also indicate familiarity with several key healthcare reform initiatives.
Among practicing physicians, dissatisfaction with the time spent on administrative tasks versus time spent on patient care increased, with more than half of physicians in 2013 either “very dissatisfied” or “dissatisfied” with the tradeoff between patient-care hours versus administrative tasks.
Massachusetts physicians also remained concerned about professional liability and liability costs, which continue to cause physicians to alter or limit the scope of their practice, impacting patient access to care.
However, physicians are becoming more familiar with the healthcare reform initiatives occurring both nationwide and locally. Overall, almost half of respondents were familiar with Chapter 224, the state’s cost-containment law passed in August 2012.
More physicians indicated in 2013 that they would be likely to participate in a voluntary global payment system than did in 2012, and 32.4% of physicians indicated that their medical practice is currently reimbursed through global payments.
Finally, nearly three-quarters of physicians were “very familiar” or “somewhat familiar” with accountable-care organizations, with 42% of respondents indicating their practice participated in this type of care-delivery model.
The Mass. Medical Society (MMS), with the assistance of prominent labor economists, completed this year’s study, which builds upon the results of the previous 11 years of physician-workforce studies. The most recent survey was mailed to 7,212 practicing Massachusetts physicians in January 2013. The recipients included both MMS members and non-members who were randomly selected from 18 specialties. A total of 748 physicians responded to the survey. The full report can be downloaded at Physician Labor Markets Remain Tight.

Leif Brierley is a health-policy analyst for the Mass. Medical Society.

Building Permits

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of September 2013.

CHICOPEE

Collins Electric
53 Second Ave.
$20,000 — Strip and re-roof

Development Filtrona Porous Technologies
2255 Westover Road
$4,000 — Extend fire protection into existing modular

Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield
600 Grattan St.
$208,000 — Repair tower

Travis P. Ward
318 Griffith Road
$148,000 — Construct 725-square-foot office space

GREENFIELD

Baystate Franklin Medical Center
164 High St.
$20,500 — Renovate existing tub room

Clinical and Support Options I
6 Arch St.
$66,000 — Renovate office space

Dolby and Anderson, LLC
306 High St.
$26,000 — Install concrete floor in old pool room

George Balis
34 Bank Road
$16,500 — Interior renovations

Greenfield Corporate Center, LLC
101 Munson St.
$3,100,000 — Construct new courthouse

Greenfield Development
102 Main St.
$33,000 — Construct new bathrooms

Spike Segundo, LLC
1-3 Bank Road
$44,500 — Install bar and booth seating

Town of Greenfield
62 Meridian St.
$8,000 — Install new ceiling in classroom

SOUTH HADLEY

Mosier Elementary School
101 Mosier St.
$2,000 — Repairs

SPRINGFIELD

Colebrook Partners
505 East Columbus Ave.
$65,000 — Office space alterations

John Healy
82 Division St.
$190,000 — New roof

Mercy Hospital
233 Carew St.
$475,000 — Converting existing space into new infusion suite and oncology

SIS Center Inc.
1441 Main St.
$224,000 — Interior renovations for new tenant

WESTFIELD

360 Elm Street Realty
360 Elm St.
$432,000 — Refacing of exterior

Noble Hospital
115 W. Silver St.
$360,000 — Renovation for Urology practice

Noble Hospital
115 West Silver St
$944,000 — Renovation for MRI department

Vivieros Real Estate
127 Elm St.
$3,000 — Building repair caused by motor vehicle

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Costco
119 Dagget Dr.
$8,000 — Install commercial kitchen hood system

Robin C. Taylor, LLC
75-80 Capital Dr.
$43,000 — Interior renovations

Titan USA
140 Baldwin St.
$545,000 — Addition to existing building

Welcome Inn
2025 Riverdale St.
$7,000 — Minor renovations

Real Estate Transactions

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Departments Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

BUCKLAND

24 Conway St
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Juliana M West
Seller: Vitaly Dzhenzherukha
Date: 09/05/13

Crittenden Hill Rd
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Robert S Grignaffini
Seller: Amy S Reiser
Date: 08/26/13

Orcutt Hill Rd #1
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Huong C Chow
Seller: Mark A Amstein
Date: 08/26/13

10 Sears St
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Walter B Earle
Seller: Robert R Jackson
Date: 08/30/13

25 Stone Rd
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Davin G Ojala
Seller: Susan J Shauger
Date: 08/27/13

COLRAIN

214 Call Rd
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Brenda L Mozdzierz
Seller: Leslie Ann Brooks RET
Date: 08/30/13

DEERFIELD

115 Lee Rd
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Michelle L Kofler
Seller: Nicole Bernier
Date: 08/29/13

85 Mill Village Rd
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $347,000
Buyer: Anthony J Furnari
Seller: Jason J Paadam
Date: 09/04/13

ERVING

6 North St
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Debra A Lapinski
Seller: Rita Dubay
Date: 08/30/13

GILL

32 Mountain Rd
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: New Perspective Dev
Date: 08/30/13

GREENFIELD

345 Chapman St
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Joyce A Barber
Seller: Tiffany Q Xie
Date: 08/30/13

4 Coolidge Ave
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $228,000
Buyer: Se H Ahn
Seller: Haigis, Eleanor V Est
Date: 08/30/13

145 Federal St
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Zip Zoo LLC
Seller: Christene M Libbares RET
Date: 08/27/13

11 Grand Ave
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Justin D Streeter
Seller: Quintana, Minnie J Est
Date: 09/06/13

36 James St
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $190,900
Buyer: A P Shallers
Seller: Felicity M Pool
Date: 08/26/13

22 King Rd
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Shawn P Stone
Seller: Kim M Stone
Date: 09/06/13

95 Laurel St
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $2,938,953
Buyer: NHI Reit Of Northeast LLC
Seller: CFM Buckley N LLC
Date: 09/06/13

155 Leyden Rd
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Susanne E Gunnard
Seller: Nathan W Jackman
Date: 08/30/13

375 Leyden Rd
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $200,500
Buyer: Brian A Coppola
Seller: Baker, Carolyn A Est
Date: 08/30/13

448 Mohawk Trl
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $165,500
Buyer: Graham Russin
Seller: Audley Robinson
Date: 08/30/13

94 Oakland St
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Meredith C Leach
Seller: Michael W Leach
Date: 08/30/13

49 Silver St
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Victor S Placinta
Seller: Peter J Sullivan
Date: 08/30/13

LEYDEN

752 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01301
Amount: $327,000
Buyer: Ginger S Robinson
Seller: Jeanne M Breeden
Date: 08/30/13

MONTAGUE

19 Bulkley St
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: William J Oneill
Seller: John V Tessier
Date: 08/30/13

74 Dry Hill Rd
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Bryna R Zioliver
Seller: Gregory R Haas
Date: 09/05/13

NORTHFIELD

15 Mountain Rd
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Frank A Penny
Seller: Gail E Clair
Date: 08/30/13

ORANGE

170 Wheeler Ave
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Gary E Haueisen
Seller: 170 Wheeler Avenue T
Date: 08/26/13

SHELBURNE

Frankton Rd
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Brenda L Mozdzierz
Seller: Leslie Ann Brooks RET
Date: 08/30/13

271 Patten Rd
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Paul Stmartin
Seller: Rita Dubay
Date: 08/30/13

3 Pleasant St
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Lauri S Marder
Seller: Abigail Wolfson
Date: 08/26/13

SHUTESBURY

218 Baker Rd
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Ethan T Whitehill
Seller: George R Milne
Date: 09/05/13

SUNDERLAND

242 Russell St
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Steele RET
Seller: Laura J McPheters
Date: 08/27/13

WHATELY

62 Christian Ln
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Full Bloom Market Garden LLC
Seller: Christian Lane LLC
Date: 09/04/13

14 Westbrook Rd
Whately, MA 01373
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Henry M Frechette
Seller: David B Champoux
Date: 08/28/13

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

6 Frank St
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Jason Bryant
Seller: Brian M Johnson
Date: 08/30/13

115 Lancaster Dr
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: Avinash S Bharvirkar
Seller: Thomas G Gonet
Date: 08/29/13

45 North Westfield St
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $291,000
Buyer: Michael P Murphy
Seller: Timothy M Guay
Date: 09/04/13

22 Parkview Dr
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $225,500
Buyer: Edward R Heim
Seller: Poplar Development LLC
Date: 08/30/13

180 Silver Lake Dr
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $321,950
Buyer: Michael A Sarnelli
Seller: Dennis A Letendre
Date: 08/26/13

1162 Springfield St
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $1,450,000
Buyer: 1162-1172 Springfield St. RT
Seller: 1162-1172 Springfield St. RT
Date: 08/30/13

45 Zacks Way
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Scott A Main
Seller: T Russo Construction Corp.
Date: 08/28/13

BRIMFIELD

112 East Brimfield Holland
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Richard W Swett
Seller: Aris Group LLC
Date: 08/28/13

CHESTER

216 Blandford Rd
Chester, MA 01223
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Christopher M Merenda
Seller: Timothy Dawson-Townsend
Date: 08/27/13

430 East River Rd
Chester, MA 01050
Amount: $497,530
Buyer: Eric D Braaten
Seller: Steven M Thompson
Date: 09/03/13

CHICOPEE

16 Boylston St
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Robert E Desmarais
Seller: Desmarais, Helen S Est
Date: 09/04/13

263 Britton St
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $127,500
Buyer: Debra J Malinowski
Seller: Dollie H Aiello
Date: 08/30/13

30 Butler Ave
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Michael J Vieu
Seller: Lawrence A White
Date: 08/30/13

14 Hajec Cir
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $229,500
Buyer: Richard Dombek
Seller: Scott A Main
Date: 08/27/13

55 Hyde Ave
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Kenneth R Labrie
Seller: Thomas J Robak
Date: 08/30/13

69 Kaveney St
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Kim Pham
Seller: Ruslan Kuzmenko
Date: 08/30/13

57 Leo Dr
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Albert T Luzietti
Seller: Sharon A Dussault
Date: 08/30/13

90 Marlborough St
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Ricky T Javier
Date: 08/26/13

137 Mayflower Ave
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Ronald H Boulanger
Seller: Premier Home Builders Inc
Date: 08/30/13

35 Munger Rd
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Derrick M Patruno
Seller: Rudolph P Ciecko
Date: 08/27/13

53 Old Lyman Rd
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $214,000
Buyer: Geoffrey C Gagnon
Seller: Benjamin Smith
Date: 08/29/13

64 Rzasa Dr
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Joanna Kuta
Seller: Thomas J Noga
Date: 09/04/13

45 Simonich St
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $149,500
Buyer: Lisa M Lomas
Seller: Helen A Swierad
Date: 08/26/13

96 Sunflower Ave
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: William R Hernandez
Seller: Ronald H Boulanger
Date: 08/30/13

236 Tolpa Cir
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Theresa L Laframboise
Seller: Jennifer L Donais
Date: 08/30/13

73 Waite Ave
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $164,591
Buyer: Green Tree Serving LLC
Seller: Michael J Wilk
Date: 09/05/13

EAST LONGMEADOW

152 Brookhaven Dr
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Julie A Makris
Seller: Lawrence F Marquis
Date: 08/29/13

183 Chestnut St
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $220,900
Buyer: Gregory D Forbes
Seller: John Tsongalis
Date: 08/30/13

449 Dwight Rd
East Longmeadow, MA 01108
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Catherine L Landry
Seller: Chris Hall
Date: 08/28/13

74 Hanward Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Michael Sacristan
Seller: Richard C Lyons
Date: 08/30/13

30 Heritage Cir
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $495,500
Buyer: Michael A Zwirko
Seller: William M Farkos
Date: 08/30/13

21 Lynwood Rd
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $274,287
Buyer: Freedom Mortgage Corp
Seller: Michael P Godin
Date: 09/05/13

170 Mapleshade Ave
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Paul L Oldenburg T
Seller: Edward R Matulewicz
Date: 08/29/13

604 North Main St
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: MPSA LLC
Seller: Island Realty Inc
Date: 08/27/13

678 Parker St
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Derrick J Mclaughlin
Seller: Neils Amelia C Est
Date: 09/04/13

20 Rollins Dr
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Vincenzo E Amore
Seller: Derek J Caparoso
Date: 08/28/13

110 Westwood Ave
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: US Bank NA
Seller: Jeffrey C Mccorkindale
Date: 09/04/13

GRANVILLE

62 Cross Rd
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: John P Yeakley
Seller: Clary, Serena E Est
Date: 08/30/13

399 Main Rd
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $150,400
Buyer: Reilly E Humason
Seller: J D Thomas
Date: 09/04/13

HAMPDEN

52 Kelly Ln
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: James E Cormier
Seller: Allison J Flahery
Date: 08/30/13

36 Ridge Rd
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Mark S Howland
Seller: Donna J Collins
Date: 08/30/13

69 Woodland Dr
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Averi S Purchas
Seller: Marilyn J Jordan
Date: 08/30/13

HOLLAND

38 Island Rd
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Matthew S Vuelta
Seller: Eliezer Bonilla
Date: 08/27/13

HOLYOKE

95 Brook St
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $127,500
Buyer: Lucien A Rivera
Seller: Roger T Dore
Date: 08/26/13

33 Brookline Ave
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $150,775
Buyer: Alberto C Rivera
Seller: Carlos L Flores
Date: 08/29/13

179 Chestnut St
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $286,000
Buyer: 179-185 Chestnut LLC
Seller: Chestnut Street LLC
Date: 09/04/13

74 Eastern Promenade St
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Julia Ortiz
Seller: Lisa Giroux
Date: 09/05/13

68 Lynch Dr
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Amanda Wellman
Seller: Anne M Hart
Date: 08/29/13

33 Moss Ave
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Gary W Romanovicz
Seller: Robert G Klopfer
Date: 08/30/13

1050 Northampton St
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Todd M Osullivan
Seller: Radner Sidney H Est
Date: 08/30/13

39 Ridgewood Ave
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $188,250
Buyer: Tracie L Lacasse
Seller: Sean P Fitzgerald
Date: 08/30/13

LONGMEADOW

104 Ardsley Rd
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Kasia Novak
Seller: Oded Rencus
Date: 08/30/13

22 Cambridge Cir
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $302,000
Buyer: Robert A Stamand
Seller: Thomas J Kucab
Date: 08/30/13

83 Ely Way
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $705,000
Buyer: Mae M Mirabelli
Seller: Nancy M Westermann
Date: 08/30/13

163 Englewood Rd
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $561,000
Buyer: Brian W Breed
Seller: Kirk E Merriam
Date: 08/28/13

8 Grassy Gutter Rd
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $359,900
Buyer: Celine A Gaudreau
Seller: Vincent B Santaniello
Date: 08/29/13

25 Massachusetts Ave
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $203,500
Buyer: Anthony S Guardione
Seller: Catherine K Dunn
Date: 08/30/13

221 Meadowlark Dr
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Lawrence F Marquis
Seller: Lu J Pan
Date: 08/29/13

52 Oakwood Dr
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $245,500
Buyer: Vincent A Guardione
Seller: Ellen D Heye
Date: 09/03/13

195 Prynnwood Rd
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $425,500
Buyer: Xuan Li
Seller: Peter A Byler
Date: 08/26/13

289 Tanglewood Dr
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $442,500
Buyer: Theodore K Mlapah
Seller: Olga I Andreyeva
Date: 08/30/13

119 Warren Ter
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Gail A Thomas
Seller: Carolyn J Brown
Date: 09/04/13

97 Western Dr
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Brian E Leverock
Seller: Nancy R Quartz
Date: 08/28/13

963 Williams St
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $277,500
Buyer: Vincent B Santaniello
Seller: Setnor Jules R Est
Date: 08/29/13

LUDLOW

12 Chestnut St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Stevens Senior Hsng Ludl
Seller: Ludlow Town Of
Date: 08/26/13

184 East St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $141,500
Buyer: James H Taylor
Seller: Nicole R Parker
Date: 08/28/13

194 Highland Ave
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $133,500
Buyer: Ashleigh M Ouimette
Seller: Donald J Couture
Date: 08/28/13

37 Hill Ter
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Matthew M Hoar
Seller: Jason A Barroso
Date: 08/27/13

219 Moody St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: Gilmar Realty LLC
Seller: Tassinari James R Est
Date: 08/29/13

101 Motyka St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Armando F Tereso
Seller: Paulo A Tereso
Date: 09/04/13

56 Oakwood Dr
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Daniel P Demars
Seller: Dinis Baltazar
Date: 08/30/13

Parker Ln
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $126,500
Buyer: FJFB RT
Seller: Whitetail Wreks LLC
Date: 09/05/13

54 Reynolds St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Barbara Brehaut
Seller: Daniel Jarvis
Date: 08/30/13

156 Simonds St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Norman Ladue
Seller: Patricia A Bousquet
Date: 08/26/13

153 West Ave
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Cristina D Ribeiro
Seller: Antonio V Aleixo
Date: 08/27/13

MONSON

107 Bogan Rd
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $187,600
Buyer: Adam Hageman
Seller: Benjamin P Goodwin
Date: 08/29/13

226 Bumstead Rd
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Patrick G Renna
Seller: Jason E Stratton
Date: 08/28/13

PALMER

3 Homestead St
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Deidre L Cadieux
Seller: Norman B Flebotte
Date: 08/29/13

68 Jim Ash Rd
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Stacey Vogel
Seller: Matthew D Cadieux
Date: 08/29/13

1426 Park St
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Randall G Ketterman
Seller: Laurel C Dickson
Date: 08/30/13

54 Reynolds St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Barbara Brehaut
Seller: Daniel Jarvis
Date: 08/30/13

156 Simonds St
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Norman Ladue
Seller: Patricia A Bousquet
Date: 08/26/13

153 West Ave
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Cristina D Ribeiro
Seller: Antonio V Aleixo
Date: 08/27/13

MONSON

107 Bogan Rd
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $187,600
Buyer: Adam Hageman
Seller: Benjamin P Goodwin
Date: 08/29/13

226 Bumstead Rd
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Patrick G Renna
Seller: Jason E Stratton
Date: 08/28/13

PALMER

3 Homestead St
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Deidre L Cadieux
Seller: Norman B Flebotte
Date: 08/29/13

68 Jim Ash Rd
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Stacey Vogel
Seller: Matthew D Cadieux
Date: 08/29/13

1426 Park St
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Randall G Ketterman
Seller: Laurel C Dickson
Date: 08/30/13

SOUTHWICK

247 Granville Rd
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Marissa B Magni
Seller: Donald M Prifti
Date: 08/26/13

SPRINGFIELD

100 Appleton St
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $126,500
Buyer: Julio A Dejesus
Seller: Global Home Properties
Date: 08/30/13

39 Bartels St
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $198,500
Buyer: Andrew J Wurszt
Seller: Frank J Stearns
Date: 08/27/13

22 Belvidere St
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $138,900
Buyer: Gabriel J Martinez
Seller: Alice M Auclair
Date: 08/26/13

14 Buick St
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Brendan Broderick
Seller: Morgan Marjorie V Est
Date: 08/30/13

36 Burns Ave
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Dhara Desai
Seller: Pavel Kulyak
Date: 08/29/13

85 Castle St
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $170,900
Buyer: Carlton J Banks
Seller: Jeffrey J Hebert
Date: 08/30/13

64 Cherry St
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $131,000
Buyer: Leslie A Nater
Seller: Monty LLC
Date: 08/30/13

92 Corona St
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Mirta T Deperez
Seller: Richard L Voltz
Date: 09/03/13

154 Darling St
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Johaim Santiago-Ayala
Seller: Mirella Mcdonough
Date: 08/26/13

201 Durant St
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Joshua Oneil
Seller: Juan A Rosario
Date: 08/30/13

101 Fair Oak Rd
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $134,900
Buyer: Tricia A Calkins
Seller: James E Cormier
Date: 08/30/13

288 Fountain St
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Angie H Tao
Seller: Brian K Witman
Date: 08/29/13

109 Gilman St
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Richard Mccarthy
Seller: Mitchell H Singer
Date: 08/30/13

93 Goodwin St
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $128,750
Buyer: Ana Pereira
Seller: David Heffernan
Date: 08/29/13

55 Gralia Dr
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $171,322
Buyer: Jessica Bigelow
Seller: Joshua S Darling
Date: 08/30/13

33 Hillside Dr
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Margaret A Sheehan
Seller: Sheila M Sheehan
Date: 08/28/13

157 Jardine St
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $127,376
Buyer: US Bank NA Tr
Seller: Sonia N Gonzalez
Date: 08/30/13

96 Kirk Dr
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $126,900
Buyer: Lloyd Chadbourne
Seller: Joseph Plomaritis
Date: 08/29/13

26 Marmon Ct
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Rachel L Tilli
Seller: Philip A Sterner
Date: 09/03/13

237 Marmon St
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $137,500
Buyer: Michael Perez
Seller: Harriet F Cupero
Date: 08/30/13

N/A
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Lisandra Nieves
Seller: Richard S Harty
Date: 09/03/13

76 Norman St
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Brenda L Flores
Seller: James Morgan
Date: 08/30/13

147 Nottingham St
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $129,800
Buyer: PHH Mortgage Corp
Seller: Charles J Chisholm
Date: 09/05/13

145 Performance Blvd
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Domanico&Schoellkopf
Seller: RAM Construction LLC
Date: 08/28/13

153 Plainfield St
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: RAM Construction LLC
Seller: Domanico&Schoellkopf
Date: 08/28/13

1321 Plumtree Rd
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Kara M James
Seller: Peter M Haley
Date: 08/30/13

227 Senator St
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Amanda M Wickett
Seller: Ronald Sherman
Date: 08/30/13

117 Shady Brook Ln
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $127,213
Buyer: Ada Torres
Seller: Kaitlyn M Matarazzo
Date: 08/27/13

17 Sherbrooke St
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $119,900
Buyer: Scott Morin
Seller: A Plus Enterprises Inc
Date: 08/28/13

170 Switzer Ave #4
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Greylock Group LLC
Seller: LA LLC
Date: 09/05/13

128 Tallyho Dr
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Helena N Davis
Seller: Daniel J Dillon
Date: 08/30/13

956 Wilbraham Rd
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $133,500
Buyer: Melvin E Cosme
Seller: Lillian B Akers
Date: 09/03/13

873 Worthington St
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $126,000
Buyer: Josue Velney
Seller: JD Powers Property Mgmt
Date: 08/30/13

167 Wrentham Rd
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $205,930
Buyer: Freedom Mortgage Corp
Seller: Ross A Henke
Date: 08/29/13

WALES

50 Monson Rd
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $169,701
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Nancy E Blackburn
Date: 08/26/13

WEST SPRINGFIELD

53 Beech Hill Rd
West Springfield, MA 01030
Amount: $324,900
Buyer: John H Chwalek
Seller: Beech Hill Construction
Date: 08/30/13

80 Butternut Hollow Rd
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Scott E Steglinski
Seller: Joseph L Fitzpatrick
Date: 09/04/13

N/A
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $229,500
Buyer: Danielle L Lamagna
Seller: Emilien L Larochelle
Date: 08/30/13

55 Elm Cir
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $149,204
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: John R Landry
Date: 08/26/13

49 Lyman St
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Pavel Mashnitski
Seller: Donna M Vuilleumier
Date: 08/30/13

1164 Morgan Rd
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $213,000
Buyer: Mary A Bilodeau
Seller: Eldred J Baker
Date: 08/30/13

429 Morgan Rd
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: West Springfield Town Of
Seller: Westfield W Springfd Ldge
Date: 08/27/13

94 Overlook Dr
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $233,500
Buyer: Lynn A Laplante
Seller: William S Mullett
Date: 08/30/13

30 Piper Rd
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Fidel A Prudencio
Seller: Stahelski, Francis A Est
Date: 08/28/13

1311 Westfield St
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Salmar Realty LLC
Date: 09/03/13

2019 Westfield St
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Robert Schmidt
Seller: FNMA
Date: 08/30/13

WESTFIELD

27 East Bartlett St
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Theodore J Kopyscinski
Seller: Dennis Paroline
Date: 08/28/13

11 Hayre St
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: JRP Realty LLC
Seller: Liberty, Richard H Est
Date: 08/27/13

187 Joseph Ave
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $294,500
Buyer: Cathleen R Hutkoski
Seller: Robin L Deaton
Date: 08/30/13

293 Loomis St
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Lisa Gagnon
Seller: Marie Mercure
Date: 08/30/13

143 Rachael Ter
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Thomas J Robak
Seller: Kevin D Matheny
Date: 08/30/13

33 Russell Rd
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Ziblim Abukari
Seller: Gregory M Ramos
Date: 08/26/13

302 Russell Rd
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Jeremiah Z Hoffman
Seller: Amanda L Craven
Date: 09/04/13

171 Wildflower Cir
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $515,000
Seller: George Phillips
Date: 08/30/13

104 Woodside Ter
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $137,000
Buyer: Zachery Demers
Seller: Danielle E Bowen
Date: 08/29/13

WILBRAHAM

3 Brainard Rd
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Eric M True
Seller: Natalie M True
Date: 08/30/13

883 Glendale Rd
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Christopher Ladue
Seller: Marion E Oliver
Date: 08/30/13

15 Glenn Dr
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Rebecca R Before
Seller: Bruce E Gaudette
Date: 08/30/13

8 Horseshoe Ln
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $244,900
Buyer: Jessica M Pace
Seller: Wilk James E Est
Date: 08/26/13

5 Patriot Ridge Ln
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $429,900
Buyer: Rakeshkumar V Patel
Seller: Denise R Tessier
Date: 08/30/13

12 Peak Rd
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Carl R Jahn
Seller: Ronald E Teece
Date: 08/28/13

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

11 Foxglove Ln
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $509,500
Buyer: Nina R Tetenbaum
Seller: Hedy S Wermer
Date: 09/04/13

747 Main St
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: DNB Properties LLC
Seller: Onesta Properties Inc
Date: 09/06/13

81 McClellan St
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Alan E Giessen
Seller: Thomas M Scriver
Date: 08/26/13

10 North East St
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $324,500
Buyer: Andrew B Desiervo
Seller: Virginia Weimer
Date: 08/26/13

226 Pine St
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Burlin Barr
Seller: Carolyn J Thomas
Date: 08/28/13

659 South East St
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Kathryn E Marciano
Seller: Michael D Olkin
Date: 08/30/13

445 Shays St
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $488,000
Buyer: Brian D Bowden
Seller: Fawkner, Margaret B Est
Date: 08/30/13

201 Stanley St
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $331,000
Buyer: LOC LLC
Seller: Michael F Strong
Date: 08/27/13

12 Sunset Ct
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $429,000
Buyer: DNB Properties LLC
Seller: Onesta Properties Inc
Date: 09/06/13

BELCHERTOWN

85 Bay Rd
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Elizabeth A Meaux
Seller: Patrick J Mignault
Date: 09/04/13

63 Gold St 74 Clark St
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M Matthews
Seller: Dennis Gendron
Date: 08/28/13

241 Daniel Shays Hwy
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jacob Sobasko
Seller: Paul M Roberge
Date: 08/30/13

Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Nathaniel W Roberts
Seller: Randall E Roberts
Date: 09/06/13

56 North Main St
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Umass Five College FCU
Seller: Steven A Syriac
Date: 09/04/13

149 Turkey Hill Rd
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Jonathan A Lawall
Seller: James P O’Connor
Date: 09/03/13

CHESTERFIELD

115 Old Chesterfield Rd
Chesterfield, MA 01096
Amount: $187,500
Buyer: Geoffery Gougeon
Seller: Jack Gougeon
Date: 09/04/13

EASTHAMPTON

21 Ballard St
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Tsering Choedon
Seller: Autumn Priperties LLC
Date: 08/29/13

22 Bayberry Dr
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Mary Redmond
Seller: Mary Redmond
Date: 08/26/13

35 Briggs St
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Benjamin F Chandler
Seller: Kevin C Netto
Date: 08/28/13

114 Line St
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Jason P Graham
Seller: Cathleen R Hutkowski
Date: 08/30/13

223 Loudville Rd
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Gabriel J Grygorcewicz
Seller: Joseph P Loftus
Date: 08/28/13

3 Mutter St
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $194,500
Buyer: Margaret J Shar
Seller: Darla D Ledger
Date: 08/30/13

55 Northampton St
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Jennifer M Dragon
Seller: Marc A Gauvin RET
Date: 08/28/13

28 Pepin Ave
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Barbara Kelly-Kinney
Seller: David J Strong
Date: 09/05/13

10 Pine Hill Rd
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: James R Pellegrino
Seller: Walter J Bourque
Date: 08/30/13

17 River Valley Way
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Jenna B Higgins
Seller: EH Honeownership LLC
Date: 08/28/13

7 Union Ct
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Joseph C Ryan
Seller: Union Court LLC
Date: 08/28/13

11 West Green St
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $124,015
Buyer: US Bank NA
Seller: Michael J Pelissier
Date: 08/27/13

GOSHEN

29 Lake Dr
Goshen, MA 01096
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Dorothy A Clayton
Seller: Fred M Sliwa
Date: 08/30/13

GRANBY

34 Amherst St
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: Celso A Correia
Seller: Mikhail Ashlaban
Date: 09/05/13

30 Circle Dr
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $224,900
Buyer: Scott J Lougham
Seller: Kevin R Gendreau
Date: 08/27/13

230 East St
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Westover Metropolitan Dev
Seller: Thomas C Labrie
Date: 09/05/13

9 Greenmeadow Ln
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: David A Strycharz
Seller: Linda T Messenger
Date: 08/30/13

37 New Ludlow Rd
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: Candice Rosado-Cuoco
Seller: Mark T Halon
Date: 08/30/13

64 West St
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Careena R Henry
Seller: Diana J Blanchard
Date: 08/28/13

HADLEY

7 Edgewood Ter
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Linda M Ziegenbein
Seller: Patricia A Szumowski
Date: 09/06/13

1 Laurana Ln
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $334,000
Buyer: Aaron T Soules
Seller: Paul R Miller
Date: 08/30/13

211 Russell St
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Huong C Chow
Seller: Patricia J Zumbruski
Date: 08/27/13

HATFIELD

11 Cronin Hill Rd
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Mary P Flannery
Seller: Kenneth R Griswold
Date: 08/30/13

112 Linseed Rd
Hatfield, MA 01088
Amount: $419,000
Buyer: Sally Morgan
Seller: Shawn R Adams
Date: 08/26/13

35 Plain Rd
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Sean M Brady
Seller: Robert P Anderson
Date: 08/30/13

58 School St
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Morgan Sheehan-Bubla
Seller: Janet Grenzke
Date: 09/06/13

240 Straits Rd
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Andrea K Moroney
Seller: Audrey Weston
Date: 08/30/13

HUNTINGTON

11 Pleasant St
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $115,479
Buyer: UB Properties LLC
Seller: United Bank
Date: 09/05/13

NORTHAMPTON

8 Arch St
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Elizabeth K Harrington
Seller: Susan A Eilenberg
Date: 08/27/13

41 Avis Cir
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $384,000
Buyer: Daniel C Rochon
Seller: Gregory J Zakrzewski
Date: 08/26/13

326 Chesterfield Rd
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Susan A Elienberg
Seller: Ernest J Heon
Date: 08/27/13

264 Chestnut St
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Denise L Callaway
Seller: George C Eastman
Date: 08/30/13

35 Ellington Rd
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $214,000
Buyer: Michael R Wolk
Seller: John A Favaro
Date: 09/06/13

335 Florence Rd
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Lauren Schwartz
Seller: Jessica L Diemand
Date: 08/30/13

717 Florence Rd
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: David S Smokler
Seller: Joseph T Tortoriello
Date: 08/30/13

48 Fort St
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Steven T Hoffman
Seller: William J Conz
Date: 09/03/13

67 Fort St
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Amanda Barnhart
Seller: Louise F Vera
Date: 08/29/13

99 Lake St
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Eugene B Ferrari
Seller: Linda M Ziegenbein
Date: 09/06/13

111 Old Ferry Rd
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Jillian M Niedzwiecki
Seller: James B Frutkin
Date: 09/06/13

20 Rick Dr
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Ethan C Meyers
Seller: Janeth C Smith
Date: 08/27/13

245 South St
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: DNB Properties LLC
Seller: Pipeline Properties Inc
Date: 09/06/13

250 South St
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Michael C Jacques
Seller: Timothy J Flynn
Date: 09/05/13

38 Spruce Hill Ave
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Carol A Heon
Seller: Steele RET
Date: 08/27/13

38 Stilson Ave
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: David B Champoux
Seller: Scott E Purcell
Date: 08/28/13

17 Union St
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $499,000
Buyer: Brian P Mcdermott
Seller: Lisa C Gustavsen
Date: 09/06/13

93 Vernon St
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $287,500
Buyer: Mahammed A Mack
Seller: Arthur P Fugere
Date: 08/28/13

6 Wright Ave
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: John W Kowalski
Seller: Weeks, Russell C Est
Date: 08/26/13

PELHAM

11 Bray Ct
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Shawn R Adams
Seller: Daniel C Rose
Date: 08/26/13

PLAINFIELD

8 Old South St
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $249,900
Seller: Edgar J Drake
Date: 08/30/13

SOUTH HADLEY

518 Amherst Rd
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Jose G Guaregua
Seller: Daniel C Rochon
Date: 08/26/13

50 Brigham Rd
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $187,000
Buyer: Kristin L Will
Seller: Will Kathryn B Est
Date: 08/28/13

15 Cedar Rdg
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Susannah E Gregory
Seller: Wayne J Konrad
Date: 08/30/13

35 Chapel Hill Dr
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Raeann L Pelletier
Seller: Paul R Gallagher
Date: 09/03/13

6 Dale St
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: John E Cole
Seller: StSauveur Lillian V Est
Date: 09/06/13

280 Granby Rd
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: 33 Granby Road LLC
Seller: Robert Bolduc
Date: 08/30/13

21 Hillside Ave
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Kevin M Sawula
Seller: Carolyn L Bessette
Date: 09/05/13

20 Meadowood Dr
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $266,388
Buyer: Vincent Muto
Seller: Carolanne Bright
Date: 08/30/13

149 North Main St
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $180,500
Buyer: Michael L Thomas
Seller: Mark Morsbach
Date: 08/30/13

25 North Sycamore Knls
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Thomas R Reidy
Seller: Rorke Glenna F Est
Date: 08/28/13

154 South Main St
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Frank R Sousa
Seller: Matthew L Gomberg
Date: 09/03/13

1 West Summit St
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Michael F Willard
Seller: Jose C Larouco
Date: 08/29/13

SOUTHAMPTON

31 Bissonnette Cir
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: James J Fitzgibbon
Seller: F&G Development Corp
Date: 09/06/13

170 County Rd
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $236,300
Buyer: Jessica L Diemand
Seller: Kevin M Kuehner
Date: 08/30/13

15 Edward Ave
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $332,000
Buyer: Paul J Murray
Seller: James L Podolak
Date: 08/28/13

124 Fomer Rd
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Bernard J Martin
Seller: Joshua R Donovan
Date: 08/30/13

77 Glendale Rd
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $336,900
Buyer: Jennifer L Donais
Seller: Karen A Ciejek
Date: 08/30/13

53 Middle Rd
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Ashley J Alexander
Seller: Christopher J Graham
Date: 08/30/13

25 Montgomery Rd
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Richard R Paul
Seller: Jeffrey C Barry
Date: 08/27/13

N/A
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $389,000
Buyer: Sean P Fitzgerald
Seller: F&G Development Corp
Date: 08/30/13

WARE

24 Berkshire Dr
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Andre M Fernades
Seller: Elena L Simmoneau
Date: 08/30/13

71 Greenwich Rd
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Carolyn Bessette
Seller: Provencal NT
Date: 09/05/13

WESTHAMPTON

296 Main Rd
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Tammies Warriner
Seller: Francis J Cote
Date: 09/05/13

61 Stage Rd
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Robin Smilie
Date: 08/27/13

WILLIAMSBURG

16 Nash Hill Rd
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Mark R Chrabascz
Seller: Peter R Trechartin
Date: 08/29/13

WORTHINGTON

1104 Old North Rd
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Michael E Stevenson
Seller: Matthew J White
Date: 09/03/13

335 Old Post Rd
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $570,000
Buyer: Taylor FT
Seller: Robert W Fondakowski
Date: 09/03/13

Pitch Perfect

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Features

Western Mass. Business Expo Highlights Innovative Ideas

Jon Lester and Koji Uehara aren’t the only ones getting their best pitches ready this fall.
Plenty of burgeoning entrepreneurs will wind up at the Western Mass. Business Expo on Nov. 6, which will feature the First Annual Pitch Contest and Demo Day, hosted by Valley Venture Mentors (VVM) and BusinessWest.
VVM alumni and members of the current class have applied for a spot in the competition. Participating startups will make two-minute pitches to a panel of judges, who will give them immediate feedback. At the end of the contest, the judges will award cash prizes of $1,500, $750, and $500 to the top three teams. An additional special prize of $500 will be awarded to an audience favorite.
Each participant is also invited to showcase their venture at a Demo Day reception immediately following the pitch contest.
“It is the startup’s secret sauce that gets all the attention. People focus on what they make and how they make it,” said John Garvey, a board member with VVM and a MassChallenge judge and mentor. “It is the pitch, however, that makes it all real. The sauce won’t sell to anybody without a great pitch. That’s why this pitch contest is so important. For participating startups, it may make the difference between success, and connecting with investors and consumers, or failure, meaning it’s just another idea that no one could understand.”
The pitch contest is just one of a growing roster of impressive programs scheduled for the Expo, which is once again being produced by BusinessWest, managed by Rider Productions, and presented by Comcast Business at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.
For example, Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Co., brewer of Samuel Adams, will be the keynote speaker at the Expo breakfast, hosted by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. And Kathrine Switzer, who stood up to Boston Marathon race officials in 1967 to become the first woman to run in that event, will highlight a luncheon hosted by the Professional Women’s Chamber.
The day will also feature dozens of educational seminars and Show Floor Theater presentations. For example, the Expo recently added Hector Bauzá to its schedule of speakers. President and CEO of Bauzá & Associates Hispanic Marketing in Hartford, he will talk about the challenges and opportunities involved in marketing a business to the Hispanic population.
Later in the day, entrepreneurs that participated in the pitch contest will have their ideas on display at the event-capping Expo Social, which is one the region’s premier networking events.
The Expo will also reveal the winner of the Greater Springfield Extreme Website Makeover, a program sponsored by BusinessWest and DIF Design, which invited small businesses and nonprofits to apply for $25,000 worth of services from DIF and four co-sponsors: the Creative Strategy Agency, Christine Parizo Communications, Hadley Printing, and viz-bang!
The goal is to help a deserving enterprise raise its online presence and help usher it to the next level, and the companies involved in the project will provide services ranging from copywriting and printing to videography and social-media strategy — not just web design. This month, a panel of judges will consider about 25 nominations; several finalists will be announced at the Expo, and the winner will be unveiled late in the day.
“A lot of people are just stuck in place,” said Peter Ellis, president of DIF Design, when asked about the benefit of winning the contest. “They know they should have better marketing, better websites, but for whatever reason they’re spending their money hiring an extra person or on operations, and they don’t have the ability to make that jump. Hopefully, the winner selected by the judges will be able to jump-start or continue to promote their business.”
For more information about the Expo, including a full schedule of events, log onto www.wmbexpo.com or call (413) 781-8600.

Setting a Course

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Cover Story

Mary-Beth Cooper Takes the Helm at Springfield College

Mary-Beth Cooper says her dog, Dakota, feels right at home on the picturesque Springfield College campus.
The 8-year-old yellow lab — now sporting a tag, a gift from some friends, that identifies him as ‘First Dog’ — has become somewhat of a fixture at the school only a month or so after moving into the President’s House, she said, adding that he’s making friends quickly, especially with students and faculty who appear willing to share their lunch or afternoon snack with him. “He loves it here; he’s very comfortable with the new surroundings.”
And the same can be said for his owner, the 13th president of the 128-year-old school and the first woman to hold that title.
She told BusinessWest she was comfortable with the institution long before she actually toured it, and even well before her first two interviews for the position, the first via Skype and the second at a hotel at Bradley International Airport — although those sessions and her subsequent visit certainly reinforced her opinion.
She liked the feel and the fit so much that she quickly terminated a quest for another college president’s position to focus all her energies on this one.
The primary reason why is the culture that pervades the school, one summed up by its motto (“Spirit Mind Body”), she said, noting that she was aware of it from work she had done, first as a volunteer and later as chair of the board, with the YMCA in the city of Rochester, N.Y., where she served as an administrator at both the University of Rochester and, later, the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Springfield College and the Y organization share a unique history, she said, noting that the college was once known as the International YMCA Training School, and there is still a strong relationship today. From that connection, she became familiar with the college’s humanics philosophy to educate the whole person.
But there were other factors that made her comfortable with the school located on the shore of Lake Massasoit, she said, listing, for starters, many similarities between Springfield and Rochester, and also between the work done within the community at both Springfield College and the Rochester schools she served.
Both cities are former manufacturing centers still trying to reinvent themselves, she said, noting that, while Rochester once boasted such industry giants as Kodak, IBM, and Xerox, its major employers today are those aforementioned colleges and a supermarket chain.

Mary-Beth Cooper says she understands the relationship between a college and the community.

As for work within the community, she said the schools in Rochester and Springfield College have strong track records of caring that are part of the institutions’ fabric.
At SC, this tradition is perhaps best exemplified by the recent Humanics in Action Day, during which students, faculty, and staff (including Cooper) performed a day of concentrated community service throughout Springfield involving roughly 100 specific projects.
“Some people do service because they believe it’s an obligation,” she noted. “Students here are drawn to service because it’s part of who they are. And they go on from their experience here and become involved members of the community where they live.”
As she talked with BusinessWest just a few weeks after taking the reins at the school, Cooper noted that her predecessor, Richard Flynn, had registered some notable accomplishments in recent years — everything from increasing enrollment to significant building and renovation projects on campus, to several new academic initiatives, including an MBA program unwrapped in 2011. Meanwhile, he established and strengthened relationships with a number of constituencies, including the YMCA and Springfield City Hall.
“He did a lot of the hard work and left me in a good position,” she said with a laugh, noting quickly that there is still plenty to do in the months and years to come.
At the top of that list is raising the school’s profile, she said, adding that, while it is well-known regionally, the college is far more of an unknown commodity in other parts of the country. Also, while enrollment has risen, there is still room for improvement, and also a need to broaden the applicant pool for this school known for everything from its affiliation with the Y to its diverse degree offerings in health and fitness, to its strong graduate programs.
For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest talked at length with Cooper about her latest career challenge and how she intends to build on the progress recorded at this venerable Springfield institution.

Degree of Difficulty
Roughly five years ago, Cooper told BusinessWest, she decided that, from a personal- and professional-development standpoint, her next job in higher education should be as a college president.
However, her son, Calvin, was a sophomore in high school at that time, and she had basically already made another very personal decision — not to disrupt that important time of his life with a move to another part of the country, and to wait until he was at least a freshman in college to make such a career move.
Last fall, with Calvin firmly entrenched at the University of Delaware, she started looking at opportunities to lead a college campus, and was actually fairly deep into the process of applying for a job when friends and colleagues, including the director of the Greater Rochester Y, urged her to train her sights on the position at Springfield College she had seen posted in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
At the time, she was senior vice president of Student Affairs at RIT, a role she described as “responsibility for anything outside the classroom that doesn’t involve a transaction.”
That definition fits everything from sports — and she’s been involved with them for most of her career, and continues that pattern today — to what would be considered ‘town-gown’ activities and relationships.
Prior to that, she served as dean of students at the University of Rochester and vice president for Student Affairs at St. John Fisher College, also in Rochester.
This is not a traditional path to the president’s office, she noted, adding that many campus leaders today still come from the academic or development (fund-raising) realms. But she said her background has provided tremendous insight into how a campus functions and how a school can, and should, become involved in the community.
And she does have some background in academics, having taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education for many years.
Meanwhile, she has a strong track record of work within the Rochester community, working with both the YMCA and the United Way in that city, among other endeavors. In 2005, she was named one of the city’s “most influential women” by the Rochester Business Journal.
She said her work with the YMCA was particularly eye-opening, providing her with insight into the needs of a community and how an educational institution can help address them.
“As a member of the administration at the University of Rochester, I began to learn what that community needed,” she explained. “And for me, it was an opportunity to think about youth, families, affordable daycare, and the plight of a population much different than the students at the college. It was an interesting time for me, and it helped me understand the relationship between a school and a community.
“The core values at Springfield College could not have been a better match for me — it was a perfect fit,” she continued. “When I applied, I was hopeful that they would see it the same way.”
Obviously, they did, as she prevailed in what she called a “robust” search at Springfield College that involved more than 100 candidates, including some sitting college presidents.
She said she’s proud of being the first woman president at the school, and believes the choice represents another bit of progress when it comes to putting more women in the corner office on college campuses. But she contends that gender remains an issue in too many hiring scenarios.
“There are women in positions who are ready to take leadership roles,” she said. “Our workforce in higher education is like every other workforce; there are many people who are retirement-eligible, and when positions become available, you’ll see more and more female presidents. I don’t know how long it will take for real change to happen, but it will come.”
Since arriving on campus, she’s been very busy meeting with students, faculty, administrators, and other on-campus constituencies, and has met with Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno to discuss the community and the school’s role within it.
She’s also taken in a number of Springfield College sporting events, including the recent gridiron triumph over Western New England University, attended the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies last month (the game was invented at Springfield College, and the first hall of fame was located on the campus), and has commenced a search for a running club to join.
“I’m not very fast, but I can run long distances,” she said, adding that she’s looking forward to getting out into the community in the months ahead and gaining a full appreciation of the challenges facing the region and the ways the college can help address them.
“People want my ear,” she went on. “So I’m trying to listen to our faculty, students, and staff and get their thoughts on what the college should focus on. And I’m trying to get out there.”

School of Thought
Since she first interviewed for the job — and especially since arriving on campus — Cooper said she’s been somewhat overwhelmed by the positive sentiments and equally positive energy that exists on campus, within the alumni ranks, and what could be called the Springfield College community.
“I’ve never been to a campus — and I’ve worked at several, big schools, small schools — where people speak so favorably about the institution,” she told BusinessWest. “Whether it’s alumni, parents, current students, staff, faculty … it’s almost unbelievable. And so something right must happen here in terms of what the experience is like.
“My hope is that I don’t become blasé about all this,” she went on. “My hope is that I continue to be amazed by the good will that goes on here.”
While it’s not her official job description, maintaining this steady flow of positivity is Cooper’s broad mission at the college. She said the philosophy she will take to this assignment is to resist resting on the accomplishments of the past several years and instead build on what’s been accomplished.
Efforts to continue growing enrollment are certainly part of this equation, she said, adding that, while she has no specific goals in mind, she believes there are opportunities to increase the numbers of both undergraduate and graduate students.
This can be accomplished through a combination of more aggressive marketing and awareness-building efforts, she said, adding that one of her priorities is to tell the school’s story through every vehicle available to do so, and especially ongoing efforts to anticipate the needs of both students and employers and then meet them through effective academic programming.
Elaborating, she said the school must maintain and sharpen its focus on properly preparing graduates for the rigors of the workforce and the specific challenges of their chosen fields.
And with that, she summoned the phrase “cross discipline,” which she used to describe the path higher education must take in the future.
Elaborating, she said that what students want — and need — today is the ability to couple study paths, such as a major and a minor, two majors, or a four-year degree with an additional one-year MBA, to enhance their odds of succeeding in a profession.
“The question is, what offerings do we provide for students that give them the most robust portfolio, a skill set to go out and be an entrepreneur, and understand the business side of a program as well as the content?” she said. “Cross discipline will be the key, and in fact, I’ve been blunt enough to stand in front of the faculty on my second day here and say, ‘the future of Springfield College really lies in your hands,’ because what we deliver for students is significant, and the experience we offer is stellar, and we must to continue to do that.”
And while focusing on what happens in the classroom, Cooper will also work to find new avenues to express that commitment to service that was one of the many factors that drew her to the school months ago.
“I’m going to examine our relationship with the community, and look at both what we’ve done in the past and what we might do in the future,” she said. “The community has incredible challenges, but so do so many other cities, in the Northeast in particular. We have to ask ourselves, ‘what is the role of this college, or any college, in dealing with these challenges?’”
Overall, she said, the challenge moving forward is to continually enhance what the the school can offer to students in terms of the “total experience,” but without eroding the traditions and programs the school is noted for.
“We have some terrific traditions,” she said, “and students embrace those, and they come here because of them.”

Tail End
Summing up her first month or so on campus, Cooper said it’s been a whirlwind of meetings, large and small, with a wide range of constituencies that, as she said, want her ear.
Through all that talking and especially listening, she’s become even more convinced that she, the school, and its culture constitute a perfect match.
“I’m really glad to be here,” she told BusinessWest. “I think this is going to be a great time for me and the school.”
Like the First Dog, she’s very comfortable in her new surroundings.

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

Grade Expectations

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Education Sections

Bay Path Looks to Carve a Niche in Emerging Field of Cybersecurity

Larry Snyder says positioning Bay Path College as a hub of cybersecurity expertise is an ambitious, but attainable, goal.

Larry Snyder says his broad goal is to help position Bay Path College as a “hub of cybersecurity in Western Mass.”
That’s a somewhat ambitious but certainly attainable goal, he said, noting that there are many aspects to the process of getting there, starting with the school’s decision to create what is believed to be the first master’s degree program in cybersecurity management in New England, which will be led by Snyder and launched later this month. There is also the Cybersecurity Management Summit, which the college will host on Oct. 11, featuring Robert Milton, retired commander of the Metropolitan Police Service, or New Scotland Yard (more on that later).
And in the fall of 2014, the school will launch an undergraduate program in cybersecurity, said Snyder, who has held titles ranging from director of the CyberSecurity Research Center at Herkimer Community College in New York to manager of fraud operations at First USA Bank in Wilmington, Del.
If all goes as planned, he told BusinessWest, Bay Path could soon join schools such as UMass, Utica, the University of Maryland, Stonybrook, and Champlain College as recognized leaders in academic programs and research in the emerging field of cybersecurity.
More importantly, though, it will be training individuals for a growing number of jobs in this emerging field, and thus helping to meet one of the recognized challenges moving forward — making sure there is an adequate supply of talent to enable the business community and society in general to cope with a security problem that grows larger and more ominous each year.
And the new master’s program will address one of the more pressing and immediate needs, said Snyder, citing a documented lack of management-level individuals to lead programs and individuals in the fight against cyberthreats.
“This program grew out of the sense that there was an opportunity — something was missing,” he explained. “Cybersecurity had been around for a while — there are lots of technical cybersecurity programs in academia — but what was missing, at the master’s level, was this cybersecurity management focus.”
Bay Path’s new 36-credit, online program will address this void, he said, by training people for some of those positions he’s held — in both academia and business — and a host of others.
And there will be great demand for such individuals, he said, enough to give graduates choices and some clout.
“The really great part about this — and what I tell students when I meet with them — is that they can really write their own career path,” he noted. “Typically, you’d expect them to fall into that chief information security officer level, but you’ll also see them as compliance officer, senior auditor in an accounting firm, and many others. It’s so wide open right now, and it really depends on the industry you’re interested in.
“This is a great time to get into the field,” he went on. “It’s been a great time for about 10 to 15 years, and it’s going to be a great time for another 20 years, I expect. These graduates are going to be able to take this field in a whole new direction.”
For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Bay Path’s new master’s program and its broader efforts to take a leadership position in a field where the prospects are bright and the job opportunities are expected to be plentiful.

Technically Speaking
“Digital Forensics.” “Financing, Cost Control, and Project Management of Cybersecurity Organizations.” “Information Assurance Manage-ment and Analytics.”
These are just a few of the 12 courses currently planned for the Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management program, said Snyder, noting that about 10 students have signed up for the program, and he expects probably double that number by the time it is launched at the end of this month.
And these individuals come from a number of industry sectors, he said, listing everything from accounting to gaming; from banking to law enforcement. This diversity provides more evidence of both the scope of the issue of cybersecurity moving forward and its promise when it comes to jobs in this field.
“President Obama calls it one of the most serious economic and national-security issues we face as a nation,” said Snyder, noting also that some of the nation’s leading industries are vulnerable to the ever-expanding threat of online attacks, cybercrime, and digital espionage. “Our financial systems, power grids, telecommunications, water supplies, flight operations, and military communications are all online, making them vulnerable to this growing, global form of cyberwar.”
Snyder has been on the front lines of this war, as someone both fighting the threats directly and teaching those who will join the swelling ranks of those hired to keep their employers’ interests safe.
A former military police officer in the U.S. Army, he would later serve as loss prevention/operations manager for Jamesway/Ames in New Jersey, manager of Fraud Operations for First USA Bank, and senior information systems auditor for NBT Bank in Canajoharie, N.Y., before shifting into academia.
He’s served as an adjunct professor focusing on crime investigation and cybersecurity at Utica, but his more recent, and far-reaching, work came at Herkimer County Community College, where he received accreditation for a cybersecurity program from the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS), developed a curriculum, and handled ongoing assessment of the program and individual courses to meet standards set by the industry, the State University of New York, and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
At Bay Path, his first assignment is the get the new master’s degree program off the ground and win accreditation for it. He described it as a much-needed vehicle for training individuals for mid-level management positions in a host of sectors that will “bridge the gap between upper management and technologists that will be working for them.”
But his broader mission is to make the school that “cybersecurity hub” he described.
And the upcoming Cybersecurity Management Summit is one of many initiatives being undertaken with that goal in mind.
Subtitled “The Human Side of Cybersecurity Management,” the event will feature thoughts from Milton about the global challenges associated with this emerging specialty, and provide first-hand examples of what he has learned about human nature and its relationship to cybercrimes and cyberterrorism in particular.
The summit will also include a panel featuring, among others, Snyder and Marisa Viveros, vice president of IBM Corp. and leader of something called the Cyber Security Innovation Initiative. She will discuss efforts to create a pipeline of talent in cybersecurity and encourage collaboration between industry, government, and academic institutions.
Meanwhile, the undergraduate program in cybersecurity, currently on the drawing board and slated to begin a year from now, will represent another step forward in the process of gaining regional and national prominence in this field of study.
That program will have two focal points, or majors, he explained. One will be in ‘cybersecurity and information assurance,’ which will involve computer programming, and the other will be in ‘digital forensics,’ an emerging field that holds significant promise for Bay Path because there are currently very few degree programs in this realm.
“Digital forensics involves treating the computer, cell phone, or other electronic device as a crime scene,” he explained, noting that there will be demand for people trained to do this work. “Students will learn how to conduct a search for evidence on that particular device, and process it in the same way they would if they were at a more traditional crime scene collecting fingerprints or blood.”

Keys to Success
Summing up his outlook — and his assignment moving forward — Synder said that, in time, and perhaps not much of it, Bay Path could become a center of academic excellence in cybersecurity.
“We want to make an impact in this area,” he told BusinessWest. “This is a new endeavor for Bay Path, and something not typically connected to the school — this is not a technical school. But the management focus really hits home; we have a good business program here, and a good criminal-justice program. This is going to be a real growth program for Bay Path.”
That’s because ever-improving technology has fostered new types of crime and breeds of criminals — and a steadily growing need for people to fight it.

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

Bankruptcies

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Bankruptcies Departments

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

Agapov, Andrei
115 Federal St.
Millers Falls, MA 01349
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Anderson, William
25 Burford Ave., #17
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Archambault, Ryan
5 Madison Ave.
Southhampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Arel, Darlene E.
97 Narragansett Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/13

Barrows, Ayanna M.
110 A Carr St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/03/13

Beltran, Zulma J.
76 Village Park Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/05/13

Borrero, Christine K.
174 Tremont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/13

Brantley, Steven J.
Brantley, Margo A.
42 Arbutus St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/13

Burns, Veronice H.
27 Saab Court, Apt. 1006
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/13

Cain, Ethan A.
Cain, Nicole W.
a/k/a Migliozzi, Nicole Wesley
86 Judson St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/05/13

Carr, Marilyn G.
64 Regency Park Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/13

Duffy, Diana L.
260 Wheeler Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Eastman, Justin P.
225 Osborne Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Evans, Jacqueline Leigh
238 Pleasant St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/03/13

Goddard, Catherine M.
383 East River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Gove, Cheri M.
a/k/a Guarneri-Gove, Cheri M.
248 Amherst Road #128
Sunderland, MA 01375
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/13

Harrop, Ronald L.
79 West St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/13/13

Handy, Darlene Ann
PO Box 712
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Hauver, Justin
Hauver, Kimberly
162 Mayflower Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/05/13

Irwin, Roger L.
16 Wolcott Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/13

Jambora, Jill A.
PO Box 101
Apt. #1
Westfield, MA 01086-0101
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Judah, Marilyn Spillane
3 French St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Kelliher, Keith A.
292 Birnie Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Kirichenko, Mikhail
Kirichenko, Irina
39 America St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/05/13

Krasinkiewicz, Nora S.
213 Dayton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Kuilan, Judith A.
185 Arcade St.
Chicopee, MA 01021
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Lachance, Adam
56 Burlingame Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Leonard, Lennie L.
76 Alden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/14/13

Lopardo, Paul
140 Field Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Lysik, Zofia
a/k/a Kendra, Zofia
63 Dorrance St., Apt. 1
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/03/13

Nooney, Deborah
12 Dartmouth St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Pasini, Robert M.
111 Lumae St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/11/13

Pasterczyk, Matthew M.
65 McDonald Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/13

Perez, Mark
10 Presidential Circle
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/03/13

Reiser, Philippe F.
Reiser, Janet M.
216 Notre Dame St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/31/13

Slingerland, Charles
10 Nokomis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Smith, Gerald C.
92 South Bay State Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Smith, Lisa M.
92 South Bay State Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Snow, Steven A.
Snow, Katharine L
a/k/a Snow, Katherine L.
PO Box 742
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Stacy, Stephen A.
Stacy, Ana B.
a/k/a Juarez, Ana B.
32A Warren Wright Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/13

Sunrise of the Spirit
Farley, Mary Kate
195 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01354
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/13

Sypek, Joanne M.
282 Morton St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/13

Taber, Marc N.
Taber, Denise M.
372 State Road
Phillipston, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Talbot, Henry R.
22 Smyrna St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/13

Velazquez, Wanda I.
51 Mooreland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/13

Watson, Ernest L.
93 Foote St.
Fall River, MA 02724
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/30/13

West, Linda M.
99 Second St.
Apartment 105
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/13

Yakub, Roman
Yakub, Irina
70 Columbia Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/13

Patience Rewarded

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Education Sections

Diocese of Springfield Wins Cathedral High School Insurance Fight

Ann Southworth (right, with Mark Dupont) says the “thousand details” of tornado recovery interrupted her broad vision for Cathedral, but her strategy is back on track.

When Ann Southworth became president of Cathedral High School, she was excited to implement a new plan to invigorate the school and increase enrollment.
A longtime educator and assistant superintendent in Springfield Public Schools, she was also a member of Cathedral’s board, and had helped shape some new ideas for the school.
But that was in May 2011, one month before devastating tornadoes tore a 39-mile path of destruction through Western Mass., and the 52-year-old Cathedral High School, which had also housed middle-school students since a 2009 merger with St. Michael’s Academy, was directly hit.
Southworth’s excitement over her new professional endeavor was quickly overshadowed by multiple challenges, starting with finding a temporary home for Cathedral’s grade 6-12 population — in less than two months.
“My first thought was, ‘we’ll overcome this; we’re going to keep going,’” she recalled, “and I found the principal, picked him up in the parking lot of Holy Cross, and we starting planning that next day.”
That summer, “a thousand details” had to be addressed, Southworth said, and administrators put on new hats — as realtors, searching for temporary quarters; as facilities managers, to move all offices to various buildings in and around Springfield; and as transportation coordinators, for getting students to wherever the new temporary home, or homes, would be.
Other church properties, including the St. Michael’s Priests Residence building and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, were damaged as well, while the St. Jude Mission property in Springfield was hit hard by a microburst a month and a half later, and remains closed.
To diocesan leaders, pictures of Cathedral’s splintered roof and shattered windows spelled out an obvious need for major repairs, if not complete reconstruction. So, like many other commercial and residential property owners in the twister’s path, the diocese filed insurance claims in the millions for all four properties. Language in the policy with Catholic Mutual, the insurance company of which the Diocese of Springfield is a member, guided the determination of what the school believed to be ‘replacement value,’ Southworth said.
But that summer of a thousand details turned into a two-year difference of opinion between the insurance company and the property owner, because the initial settlement offer was unexpectedly — and jarringly — low.
“You try to work things out internally, especially when you have close relationships, but with our cost estimates as high as $70 million, for the worst-case scenario, and their $13 million response, it was just too great a gap to make up,” said Mark Dupont, director of public affairs and co-secretary for communications for the Diocese of Springfield, detailing how, when it came to questioning literally every element of the claim, Catholic Mutual didn’t give up.
But neither did the diocese.
The long journey to work through a process called a ‘reference procedure’ (more on this later) finally culminated this past Sept. 10, when the Diocese of Springfield and Catholic Mutual announced an amicable resolution of all claims, totaling $60 million for tornado damage to all four properties. A final step with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) still looms for potentially more storm-related compensation, but the major battle is now over.
“When you’re facing challenges and hardships, you rise to the occasion,” Southworth said. “You come out of it better … and we did.”
For this issue’s focus on education, BusinessWest met with members of the Diocese of Springfield to learn more about their two-year insurance battle to secure what they felt Cathedral was entitled to, proving that patience is only one of their virtues.

Survival Mode
Bishop Timothy McDonnell explained to BusinessWest that the tornado that destroyed Cathedral High School and the other properties caused him many a sleepless night.
“But I couldn’t forget the words I had so often quoted to others, Mother Teresa’s words: ‘there’s nothing so bad that God can’t bring a greater good out of it — if we let him,’” he recalled.
Looking over the past two years, McDonnell said Mother Teresa’s words have been prophetic in the case of Cathedral, but the situation has been trying nonetheless for students, teachers, and parents. School choice and charter schools have affected the academic marketplace across the country, and specifically enrollment at Cathedral, which now stands at 236, said Dupont. The current goals are 300 high-schoolers and 200 in the middle school, but those figures could change as the school’s final footprint emerges.
“The school is struggling,” he said. “It’s fine to have a life raft, but you don’t want to live in the life raft.
“The tornado would have been devastating anyway,” Dupont went on, “but it came at such a pivotal point when we were ready to take that next step with Ann. And next thing you know, it was ‘where are they going to have classes in September? Where are we going to put the students we have?’”
Many of the options the diocese investigated involved undeveloped vacant space or non-academic space. Creative solutions were pitched by the city of Springfield, commercial realtors, and Springfield Technical Community College, but state regulations for using the college space would take far too long into the year to wait.
They received a call from the superintendent of schools in Wilbraham, a Cathedral alum, who suggested the diocese look at Memorial Elementary School. While it made a difficult situation even more trying for students and their parents, due to school busing, after-school programs, and other issues, said Dupont, the diocese still had to spend $750,000 to upgrade the school. With little time to widen the search, Memorial became the life raft for Cathedral, while the middle-school students went to the diocese-owned Holy Cross campus on Eddywood Street in Springfield. Dupont said the location has worked, and the lease in Wilbraham will be extended for as long as necessary.
But ‘as long as necessary’ is difficult for parents to hear when they want answers as to why the diocese can’t make a decision on whether to repair or rebuild. Yet, until engineers are allowed to venture into the damaged building, the extent of the damage is unknown.
“When you’re engaged in negotiations with an insurance company, you have to be prudent in how you proceed,” Dupont explained. “Because we were holding them [Catholic Mutual] to the full commitment of the policy, we weren’t going to give them any sort of ‘out’ to get around it — replacement cost is replacement cost.”
A total of $20 million was initially advanced to the diocese for preliminary cleanup and other expenses that were incurred, considering the magnitude of destruction, Dupont explained. But the initial low-settlement response persuaded the diocese to utilize the aforementioned ‘reference procedure,’ a Massachusetts law afforded in settlement claims, allowing both parties to appoint representatives for each side and a mutually agreed upon ‘referee.’
“That referee listened to months and months of testimony and reviewed data to determine what the real damage was that they could see,” said Dupont, likening the parading of engineers on both sides to a “battle of the experts.”
Due to the claims being challenged on almost every point, the process dragged for months, but the decision upholding $60 million worth of claims was finalized in September, with no more debate.

Diocesan officials knew the damage to Cathedral justified far more than the $13 million initially offered by its insurance company.

The settlement, Dupont said, brings all disputes with Catholic Mutual to an ultimate conclusion, without the possibility of further legal challenges, and allows the diocese to build whatever is in the best interest of all to update a 1950s school to the standards of the 21st century.
However, the next hurdle involves FEMA, which coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for and responding to all domestic disasters, natural or man-made. The diocese is hoping to recoup some of its tornado-related costs, but that remains to be seen, said Dupont.
“Their regulations are daunting and very strict, and rightfully so, but we couldn’t go to FEMA until the claim was resolved,” he explained. “And any potential outcome is predicated on whether you’ve aggressively pursued your claim with your insurance carrier first.”

Valuable Assets
During the insurance battle, work on the new strategic plan never slowed, said Southworth.
The plan calls for more of a day-school curriculum and an extended day, where students stay from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with regular academic classes followed by experiential learning such as fine and performing arts, community service, internships, and sports.
A focal point in the school’s strategic plan will be the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, which will set Cathedral apart from other schools, she said. Even as a pilot program, 71% of seniors and 61% of juniors are enrolled in one or more classes.
Tuition for Cathedral is now $9,300, but McDonnell has charged the administration to find ways to make Cathedral more affordable for lower-income families. Currently 57% of students receive some form of tuition assistance through the diocese, alumni, and donors, but to grow the school’s population, something more is needed. Another part of the plan, the Cathedral Tuition Foundation, as it is called, will answer that important issue.
“Since the tornado, the alumni have rallied in support of Cathedral, and it’s leading to a campaign to endow tuition funding so that future generations of Panthers may benefit from the same first-class education that has always been Cathedral’s hallmark,” said McDonnell. Simultaneously, St. Michael’s Academy has been able to undertake its own plan to ensure its growth and stability.
“The connections that Cathedral has are really powerful,” Southworth added, mentioning just a few of the noteworthy alums, including Michael Ashe (’57), the current Hampden County sheriff; Richard Monaghan (’66), research biologist with the patent for the first cholesterol-reducing drug; and Derek Kellogg (’91), head basketball coach for UMass.
The word is out regarding the foundation, but Dupont likened it to a chicken-and-egg scenario, since donors don’t currently know what Cathedral High School is going to look like. But that isn’t deterring the diocese from testing the waters.
“We’re a people of faith,” he said, “and this is going to require people digging into their reserves of faith and saying, ‘I’m going to make this commitment, even though I’m not sure how the site is going to play out.’”

Challenge Accepted
To this day, books and other educational materials remain in the damaged Surry Road school that teachers have not been able to retrieve, Southworth said. But not one lesson has been missed, even from the first day of classes in September 2011.
She said she’s committed to continuing that ‘show must go on’ mentality, adding that, as the FEMA process unfolds, she will continue implementing the invigorating plan that was her mission before disaster struck from the sky.
All agree that, whether the school is rebuilt or repaired, this new plan and new energy will help create a bright future for even more students of Cathedral High School — who are, after all, among the most valuable of the diocese’s assets.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Doing Business As Certificates

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

DBA Certificates Departments

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

AGAWAM

AAA Can & Bottle Return
204 Springfield St.
Russell Scalise

Agawam’s Java Stop
704 Springfield St.
Craig Jurasz

F-Transport, LLC
1085 North St.
Fedor Songorov

CHICOPEE

A+ Educational Services
145 Anson St.
Darren Wuensch

Ace Industrial Cleaning Company
55 Boutin St.
Gary Minutillo

Bellz Eco-Tech Cleaning Services
419 Montcalm St.
Vickie D. Washington

iFuze Marketing
343 Chicopee St.
Christopher Benson

KC’S Handyman
56 St. James Ave.
Kirk A. Williams

Lynch Maintenance Services
12 Wawel St.
Edward Lynch

EAST LONGMEADOW

Carlson Roofing Company
176 Porter Road
Robert L. Carlson Jr.

Countryside Store
334 Somers Road
Ramesh Patel

Impressions Hair Salon
43 Maple St.
Richard Remillard

JL Communications
67 Nottingham Dr.
Janet Lupacchino

Martin Roofing, LLC
85 Lee St.
Robert A. Martin

Pioneer Valley Painting
149 Braeburn Road
Vincent Settembre

Subway
24 Shaker Road
John L. Moylan

GREENFIELD

Bad Influence Motorsports
91 Main St.
William Thompson

Darmanchev Masonry
36 Cleveland St.
Ivan Darmanchev

The Solar Express
176 Federal St.
Alexander Fiorey

Thurston Chef Services
80 Lunt Dr.
Tony Thurston

Walgreens
5 Pierce St.
Mark Wagner

Whitney Hill Antiques
102 Main St.
Dale Whitney

HOLYOKE

Authentic Beauty & Barber
330 High St.
Vimaris Davila

Dam Café
27 Myrtle Ave.
Michael E. McMahon

Fashion Nails
293 High St.
Khoi D. Dao

Megan’s Treasures
50 Holyoke St.
Nancy A. Oles

Rock Valley Detail Service
53 Mountain Road
Dolchan Sirkissoon

SPRINGFIELD

Cardaropoli Realty
203 Dickinson St.
Anthony Cardaropoli

Cedar Tree Sound Productions
154 Gillette Ave.
Mark R. Suse

Changmu Corporation
1655 Boston Road
Chang H. Kim

City Vacuum
994 Main St.
Michael J. Little

Confidential Computer Care
1242 Main St.
Arthur F. Geary

Corona St. Barbershop
23 St. James Blvd.
Adrian Andrews

CT’S Towing & Auto Repair
466 Main St.
Christine Noel

Dave’s Soda and Pet Food
1330 Carew St.
David A. Ratner

Dazzle Studio of Dance
605 Page Blvd.
Lisa M. Attanasio

Direct Auto Promotions
880 Boston Road
Michelle J. Dicienzo

Don Rico’s Café & Bakery
684 Belmont Ave.
Martha Terrero

Enticing Affairs
4 Crosby St.
Dana M. Brathwaite

EWB Lawncare & Snow Removal
30 Gatewood Road
Ernest Buffaloe

Fractal Dynamics
45 Willow St.
Spiro Marangoudakis

Grace’s Beauty Supply
298 Belmont Ave.
Ellena Y. Kolliegbo

Harris Property Inspection
7 Clayton St.
Ernest Harris

Hokkaido, LLC
1374 Allen St.
Zhang S. Fang

Husky Pizza Inc.
565 Main St.
Inci Kavraz

JTR Heating and Cooling
83 Parkside St.
Julio Torres

James S. Randall
94 Island Pond Road
James S. Randall

K’s Kakes
143 Dwight St.
Luz Cruz

La Casa Del Reggaeton
72 Locust St.
Felix Y. Tejada

Ladies with Choices
14 Battery St.
Veleka L. Atoya

Latina & Company Salon
1498 Allen St.
Yanitza Nogue

Lilo’s Tire
784 Bay St.
Angel L. Rivera

Local Yo Inc.
455 Breckwood Blvd.
Nicole E. Apostle

Luis Used Appliances
167 White St.
Luis A. Rivera

M. Glushien Electrical
113 Wheeler Ave.
Jay Glushien

Mach One Transport
34 Ontario St.
Eduardo Burgos

Major League Barber Shop
602 Page Blvd.
Juan Santiago

Mass Lanka, Inc.
2879 Main St.
Riswan M. Raufdeen

Mavis A. Sarpong-Krampah
394 Canon Circle
Mavis A. Krampah

Merrill Lynch
1414 Main St.
Erik Miller

N2U Entertainment
62 Forest Park Ave.
Bertrand C. Daniel

Nee Nee’s Devine Edibles
162 Mallowhill Road
Helen Johnson

New Era Accounting
603 Sumner Ave.
Olufemi Aina

New Fashion Inc.
260 Eastern Ave.
Mary Rosado

Oriental Gifts and More
1714 Boston Road
Wei J. Zheng

PCMC Transportation
1 Federal St.
Rose A. Rice

WESTFIELD

All Custom Welding & Fabrication
264 Union St.
David Woelper

CFB’s Farrier Service
189 Honey Pot Road
Cary F. Bedor

Crimson Lion
12 Joyce Dr.
William Corcoran

Greg’s Auto Repair
301 North Elm St.
Gregory A. Hunter

Mas Cleaning Service
11 Surrey Lane
Patricia Genovese

MIDAC Corporation
6 Coleman Ave.
Gerald Auth

Quality Machining & Manufacturing
179 Joseph Ave.
Steven Sobczyk

Rob, The Painter
304 Valley View Dr.
Robert Draper

Western Mass Kites Association
14 Arnold St.
Syed S. Rahman

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Bear Cat Fence
44 Oak St.
Barry Bishop

Electronic Reseller
13 North Blvd.
Gheorghe Grigora

Expo Liquors
1122 Memorial Ave.
Dadson Inc.

Grosso Chiropractic
615 Westfield St.
Cynthia R. Grosso

McClelland Health Systems
85 Interstate Dr.
MHHP Acquisition

Springfield Country Club
1375 Elm St.
Azelio Vivarelli

Incorporations

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 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.

AGAWAM

Agawam Transportation Inc., 178 Regency Park Dr., Agawam, MA 01001. Elvan Ozcelik, same. Transportation services.

AMHERST

Green Cross Inc., 85 Whitney St., Amherst, MA 01002. Martin Moore, same. Provide service and support to nonprofit organizations.

BELCHERTOWN

H&D Trade Inc., 55 North Main St., #41, Belchertown, MA 01007. Zhuangping Yi, 96 Tianyao Xincun, Shanghai, SH, 200000. Videoconferencing and international trade.

CHICOPEE

Avia Whole Body Inc., 23 Hillside Ave., Chicopee, MA 01020. Donna Silva, same. Beauty salon.

Bloo Solutions, 621 Grattan St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Jeremiah Beaudry, 63 Ludger Ave., Chicopee, MA 01020. Information-technology support and service.

Elmadina Inc., 411 East St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Charlene Coelho, 203 Hannoush Dr., West Springfield, MA 01089. Restaurant, café, cabaret.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Eastern Seaboard Accoutrements Inc., 5 Ruffino Road, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. John Pantera, same. Clothing and apparel.

HOLYOKE

Holistics Specialty Care Inc., 54 North Canal St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Chirag Amin, 8447 Dunham Station Dr., Tampa, FL 33647. Civic, educational, benevolent activities per Mass. General Law, Chapter 180.

Iglesia Cristiana No Descuides Tu Salvacion Inc., 131 Sargent St., Suite 2R, Holyoke, MA 01040. Francisco Santiago, same. To help people and give services to all humanity and preach the word of God.

NORTHAMPTON

C Care Inc., 7 Armory St., Northampton, MA 01061. Donald Chase, 39 Timber Ridge Road, West Springfield, MA 01089. To promote and support activities for the treatment of debilitating medical conditions.

Farm House Compassionate Care Inc., 13 Trumbull Road, Northampton, MA 01060. Susan Stubbs, same. Healing and wellness.

Hampshire Health Inc., 58 Belmont Ave., Northampton, MA 01060. Brian Paul Foote, same. Furtherance of medical, educational, civic, and charitable purposes.

SPRINGFIELD

365 Freight Solutions Inc., 1 Florentine Gardens, Springfield, MA 01108. Cecilio Cunningham, 3543 Woodlake Road, Hephzibah, GA 30815. Transportation of goods.

AhmetAndersin Inc., 27-29 St. James Blvd., Springfield, MA 01104. Ahmet Citlak, 81 Bluebird Circle, Ludlow, MA 01056. Pizza and sandwich shop.

Changmu Corp., 1655 Boston Road, Springfield, MA 01129. Chang Ho Kim, same. Clothing retail.

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Briefcase Departments

Baystate, UMass Memorial Sign Agreement to Explore Partnerships
SPRINGFIELD and WORCESTER — Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health Care have signed a non-binding letter of intent to explore new collaborative opportunities between the two not-for-profit health systems. As national healthcare reform has brought an urgent imperative to transform the delivery and financing of healthcare, health systems and hospitals across the country are collaborating in innovative ways, finding new efficiencies and better care solutions by sharing clinical experience and intellectual resources. Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health Care have much in common. Each has a mission of improving the quality, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare for patients and families in its community. The two organizations share many other characteristics: both serve communities with significant health needs and significant socioeconomic challenges underlying those needs. Both organizations have integrated systems of care including medical practices, community hospitals, and a major academic medical center. Both organizations receive national recognition not only for the quality of the care they provide, but also for their commitment to their communities. The new agreement builds on a long-existing relationship, as Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health Care have a long history of mutual support on a number of efforts, including collaborations in pharmacy; healthcare quality, clinical practice, and policy; and infusion medicine. Each recognizes that they can learn even more from one another, work together more closely, and in doing so be more effective and efficient in keeping area communities healthy, rather than focusing mainly on treating disease or illness. Neither organization’s ownership, structure, governance, academic relationships and affiliations, or medical staffs will be affected by the letter of intent or any potential strategic collaboration, nor will they limit the ability of either party to pursue other strategic opportunities.

Leadership Pioneer Valley Announces Class of 2014
HOLYOKE — Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) officially kicked off the class of 39 emerging and established regional leaders at its recent Reach Beyond Opening Reception at Wistariahurst. The culturally and geographically diverse class of men and women from nonprofit, private, educational, and public organizations from Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties filled the reception with energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to the future of the Pioneer Valley. Leadership Pioneer Valley is addressing the critical need to build a diverse network of leaders who aspire to work together across traditional barriers to strengthen the region. The members of the new class will take part in a 10-month program of experiential learning that will take place at locations across the Valley. The experiential curriculum is specifically designed to help the participants refine their leadership skills, broaden connections, and develop a greater commitment to community trusteeship and cultural competency. The class of 2014 includes: Sherill Acevedo, Baystate Medical Practices; Jasmine Amegan, Westfield State University; Kerri Bohonowicz, Community Health Center of Franklin County; Amy Britt, Tapestry Health; Ronda Carter, Health New England; Christina Casiello, MassMutual; Jenny Catuogno, Gadreau Insurance; Tammy-Lynn Chace, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce; Eliza Crescintini, Children’s Study Home;  Geoffrey Croteau, MassMutual Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services; Cheryl Dukes, Town of Buckland; Nasheika Durham, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Andrew Fletcher, Holyoke Community College;  Kelsey Flynn, MassMutual; Valerie Francis, Health New England; Meghan Godorov, Mount Holyoke College;  Cynthia Gonzalez, Greenfield Cooperative Bank;  Richard Griffin, City of Springfield; Rachel Jones, Springfield Technical Community College; Kevin Jourdain, Sisters of Providence Health System; Diane LeBeau, Westfield State University; Yamilette Madho, Big Y Foods Inc.; Matthew Kullberg, WGBY; Rosemarie Marks-Paige, Health New England; L.A. McCrae, Three Sisters Consulting; Monique Meadows, self-employed; Josiah Neiderbach, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lizzy Ortiz, City of Springfield Office of Housing; Beena Pandit, MassMutual; Laura Porter, Holyoke Health Center; Lee Pouliot, City of Chicopee; Jennifer Sanchez, Springfield Technical Community College; Isabel Serrazina, Springfield Housing Authority;  Nicole Skelly, United Bank;  Kyle Sullivan, John Glover Insurance; Colin Tansey, Specialty Bolt & Screw; Todd Weir, First Churches of Northampton; Christopher Whelan, Florence Savings Bank; and Jonencia Wood, Baystate Health.

Grant Helps Jobs Program Expand Opportunities
SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey recently announced that the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development has landed $11.67 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to boost employment opportunities and reduce recidivism for young men leaving the state’s juvenile justice system. The grant, awarded to the Massachusetts-based Roca program, aims to provide education and pre-vocational training to young people in the justice system to make them more employable and keep them from returning, as 67.5% do within six years of being released from custody. Warren and Markey said in a statement that the grant will aid the 535 young men between the ages of 16 and 22 in Springfield and Chelsea working on exiting the juvenile justice system by way of Roca. The program began in Eastern Mass. in 1988 and was brought to Springfield in 2010 thanks to a push by longtime Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe. As of July, the Springfield division of Roca had 85 participants, all high-school dropouts, whose past troubles with the law make it difficult if not impossible to get work. Program administrators say it costs $24,500 a year to put a young person through the Roca program, which includes their pay, although most payroll is paid directly by a participant’s employer. In contrast, it can cost more than $50,000 annually to imprison a person. “This grant is exciting news for Massachusetts. It will help strengthen the Commonwealth’s juvenile justice system by helping young men at risk for reincarceration build the skills they need to succeed,” Warren said in a statement. “This program is a great example of how the federal government can use innovative public-private partnerships to support critical social services in our communities.” Added Markey, “these funds will help keep young men and women in the workforce, out of detention facilities, and on a path towards success. If we can cut costs to society as we help form better members of society, that is an effort worth all of our support.”

Patrick Administration Announces 56 Grants for Massachusetts Farms
EAST TAUNTON — Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rick Sullivan recently awarded 56 grants to Massachusetts farmers to implement renewable-energy systems, improve energy efficiency on farms, and help farmers reduce or prevent negative impacts to natural resources from agricultural practices. “We are proud to support our local farmers in their efforts to ensure a sustainable future for their farms,” Sullivan said. “With each grant, we are creating opportunity for agriculture to stay rooted and grow in our communities. The Patrick administration is committed to reducing energy costs and improve efficiency, and we’re thankful to the Commonwealth’s farmers who are partnering with us in our progress toward a clean energy future.” Twenty-three grants from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ (DAR) Agricultural Energy Grant Program will fund projects to reduce energy consumption and increase renewable energy use at Massachusetts farms. The projects include photovoltaic systems for vegetable and orchard operations, variable-speed vacuum pumps for dairies, reverse-osmosis machines for maple-syrup operations, and shade screens for greenhouses. Thirty-three grants from DAR’s Agricultural Environmental Enhancement Program will fund projects like automated irrigations systems for cranberry operations, milkhouse wastewater treatment, manure storage areas, fencing, and pesticide storage. “These grant programs help farmers protect the state’s natural resources as well as our strong tradition of local agriculture,” said DAR Commissioner Greg Watson. “Implementing environmentally responsible and energy-efficient practices are imperative for farms across to the Commonwealth to remain family-owned resources for fresh, healthy, and delicious food.” Added Mark Silvia, Department of Energy Resources commissioner, “to achieve the Patrick administration’s ambitious goals for Massachusetts’ energy future, we must support clean-energy practices and reduced energy consumption in every sector of the Commonwealth. These grants will help Massachusetts farmers conserve energy and help their bottom line.” State Sen. Marc Pacheco, Senate chairman of the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture, said he is “pleased to see the Commonwealth invest in projects that are positive for the local agricultural community and for our energy-efficiency efforts overall. These grants are a testament to the leadership that has earned Massachusetts its distinction as number-one in the country for energy efficiency.” Added state Rep. Anne Gobi, the committee’s House chair, “These grants are important to the viability of farming and agriculture in our Commonwealth and are just one more example of the continued commitment to Massachusetts farmers.”

Community Colleges Win Grant Funding
BOSTON — Springfield Technical Community College has received a $122,099 state grant to develop strategies for improving the academic performance of Hispanic students, while community colleges in Greenfield, Holyoke, and Pittsfield will share in a $239,334 grant to improve learning in science, technology and math. The money for the two-year Springfield college was among $7.5 million in competitive grants awarded by the state Department of Higher Education to encourage innovation and improve graduation rates and other aspects of student performance at the state’s 29 community colleges and universities. The $122,099 grant, which will be spread over three years, will allow for the hiring of a project coordinator and a part-time English- and Spanish-speaking academic adviser. The grant program calls for creation of focus groups as part of an in-depth study of Latino students to identify how current initiatives can be revised or new ones put into effect to ensure Latino academic success, especially among Latino males. The $239,334 grant to be shared among Berkshire Community College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, and the four-year Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, calls for the colleges to work with regional schools to improve interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Making Decisions

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Sections Technology

A chart of area computer network/IT services

Click here to download the PDF

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