December 3, 2013 - BusinessWest

Building Permits

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Building Permits Departments

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

CHICOPEE

Chicopee Mason Supply
451 McKinstry Ave.
$13,000 — New roof

Town of South Hadley
2 James St.
$173,000 — Re-roof

Urgent Care Center
1505 Memorial Dr.
$48,000 — Interior renovations

PALMER

Maple Leaf Distribution Services
14 Third St.
$7,000 — Install concrete pad for generator

SOUTH HADLEY

Suds Your Duds
14 Main St.
$27,000 — Repair car damage

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Health
300 Carew St.
$73,000 — Renovate existing space

Castle House
3 Ames Hill Dr.
$3,000 — Exterior repairs

JCC
1160 Dickinson St.
$3,500 — Divide room for additional offices

Riverbend Medical
305 Bicentennial Ave.
$69,000 — Medical office renovations

Wallace House
105 Central St.
$15,000 — Exterior repairs

WEST SPRINGFIELD

A-C Motor Express
339 Bliss St.
$15,000 — New roof

David Boomi
76 Memorial Ave.
$12,000 — Renovate space for insurance office

Cantebury Woods Condominium
45 Cantebury Way
$3,000 — Repair damage to garage

Myron Court Apartments
24 Myron St.
$3,000 — Repair decking on commercial apartment building

Riverdale Shops
935 Riverdale St.
$245,000 — Renovations for new restaurant

Season of Hope

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Restaurants Sections

Despite Challenges, Local Restaurateurs Have a Positive Outlook for the Holidays

Victor Bruno has successfully paired meet-and-greet and food-sampling efforts to bolster his restaurant’s promotional card program.

Victor Bruno has never run from hard work.
As a young boy, he sold cans of soda at the Italian Festival in Springfield’s South End, making a nice profit for pocket change. Fast-forward 30 or so years to 2011, when he used the most basic form of grass-roots marketing — the meet and greet, and food sampling — to brand his barely year-old Worthington Street restaurant, Adolfo’s Ristorante, an homage to his late father.
Bruno and two of his employees spent four weekends in the West Springfield and Enfield Costco locations offering samples of his stuffed mushrooms to promote his new venture through the Costco discount gift-card program.
“I was there from when the store opened until I ran out of mushroom caps each time, and I met thousands, and I mean thousands, of people, and we would talk about the restaurant and downtown Springfield,” Bruno recalled.
He heard it all, and the most pervasive issue was the perception that Springfield isn’t safe anymore. “But I told them, it’s the entertainment district, and we have valet parking and good lighting; you’ll have a great meal — and I’ve seen thousands of those cards come back.”
Bruno knows the restaurant business is one barometer of how willing the public is to indulge in discretionary spending. With the all-important holiday shopping season just beginning, there is some cautious optimism among the restaurateurs that BusinessWest spoke with, although it was tempered with concern about what will be a short holiday shopping season.
“Sadly, this was the latest Thanksgiving possible; we’ve lost a week of shopping time, and that hurts all restaurants,” said Robert Luz, president and CEO of the Mass. Restaurant Association (MRA). “But we continue to extricate ourselves from the Great Recession, and generally speaking, we’re starting to come out of this, and consumers are a little bit more confident about spending dollars.”

In spite of a shortened selling season due to a late Thanksgiving, Bob Luz says, consumers are more confident to spend.

Luz expects holiday sales to be flat or in the negative, mostly due to that lost week. His organization offers business assistance to restaurant-industry members — most importantly legislative advocacy. According to Luz, as restaurateurs get through this shorter holiday season, they have a potentially disparaging issue looming with a recent bill that just passed the Senate and is headed toward the House that could raise not only the minimum wage for all industries, but also the base of tipped wages for waiters and waitresses in the restaurant industry, increasing their minimum wages by 71% (more on this later).
For the restaurateur, food-price increases are only the beginning; city taxes, property insurance, workers’ comp, and liquor-liability costs are also increasing. “There’s only so much you can get from a stone,” said Bruno. “And all businesses have some of these costs, too. But in the restaurant business, we’re working with a profit margin of nickels and dimes.”
For this issue’s focus on restaurants, BusinessWest talked with some industry veterans about the holiday season ahead, as well as the much bigger picture — the challenging environment in which they’re operating and the prospects for improvement.

Main Menu
As if the Great Recession and recent food-price increases weren’t enough for local restaurateurs, a week before Thanksgiving, Senate President Therese Murray advanced a plan to raise the minimum wage from $8 to $11 per hour over the next three years. The Senate voted for that wage increase, and Luz of the MRA was prepared for that hike, which would certainly affect any business owner.
But in the same session, the Senate also voted to increase the minimum wage for tipped employees to half the minimum wage. With the tipped wage currently at $2.63 per hour, it would now force restaurateurs to pay them $4.50 per hour this year, a 71% increase, which will continue to increase over the next two years.
“It’s been frozen since 1999, because it works,” Luz said. “Over that time period, waiters’ and waitresses’ wages naturally increased because of menu inflation and because we educated our members’ employees to declare all of their tips.”
Technically, Luz said, employers have to meet the current minimum wage for those waiters and waitresses whose declared tips don’t equal current minimum wage, but that is rare because they usually do make solid tips. Waiters and waitresses in Massachusetts, he went on, are already paid the most in the country, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that they earned an average hourly wage of $13.13 in 2012, when tips are factored in. Should this new increase for tipped employees pass, employers will be footing yet another increase for something that Luz said doesn’t need a separate increase.
The MRA offers its members information sharing, education and training, forums for networking, cost-cutting group-discount opportunities, and, most importantly, legislative advocacy.
“The restaurant business is highly labor-intensive, and when you affect wages like that, it’s dramatic,” Luz said. “We’re the entry-level point for a lot of jobs, but the business has a razor-thin bottom line.”
Luz added that the MRA is working to finalize a formal strategy to fight this matter in the Legislature. But heading into the holiday season, there are significant issues that already exist for the network of Western Mass. restaurateurs.
For the past 14 years, Chris Brunelle has been the owner of Pinocchio’s Ristorante (formerly in Amherst, now in Three Rivers), and is also general manager of the new Bistro 21 at the Cold Spring Country Club in Belchertown. Through those two businesses, he’s come to the formal conclusion that there may be no bounce back to where things used to be pre-Great Recession.
“This is the new norm; the cost of doing business in the last year to two years for food alone has gone up 6% to 22%, and everybody is paying for the October snowstorm from two years ago because our insurance prices have gone up another 20%,” added Brunelle. “That’s just the cost of doing business, and you can’t pass that cost down to your customer.”
Judie Teraspulsky, owner for the past 36 years of Judie’s restaurant in the center of the vibrant college town of Amherst, said her professional life revolves around when students are in town; she’s survived the Great Recession by streamlining every area that she can, and running the restaurant, from purchases to staffing shifts, with extreme efficiency.
“We are tight, tight, tight,” said Teraspulsky. “We don’t lay off employees, because they are the most important factor in our business.”
As hard as things get for Brunelle, his philosophy, year-round, is the same as Teraspulsky’s: he’s staying strong due to his allegiance to his employees, many of whom have families, and four specifically who have been with him for the full 14 years.

Gifting Limit
Rudi Scherff, manager of the Student Prince, a landmark eatery in downtown Springfield that just celebrated 78 years in business, is used to the ups and downs of the hospitality business. Scherff, who undoubtedly has one of the strongest and most affluent regular clienteles in the Pioneer Valley, said he’s getting the sense that, while there is apprehension and concern, people are a bit happier with at least the regional economic situation than they were a year ago.
Scherff told BusinessWest that the holidays are “huge” for his restaurant, which does a solid 20% of the year’s business from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, and half of the gift certificates sold are during that same time span.

Rudi Scherff says the holidays are a very busy time, when half of the year’s gift certificates are sold for the Student Prince.

“We’re going to be busy this season, and the eight days before Christmas are as much as we can handle,” Scherff noted, adding that banquets and events, entertaining up to 90, are a big part of that equation.
While Teraspulsky may not be as straight out as Scherff this time of year, she still sees the holiday season as very important to her business.
“Where I shine during the holidays is that you can come in and do just a dessert or a popover, or one of our great cocktails,” she said, adding that her menu, from the beginning, has afforded her customers the ability to have whatever they want, when they want it.
Teraspulsky and her staff of 90 push the gift certificates hard to get that return that will pick up the cash flow once the 50/50 percentage of college students and traditional customers returns.
Bruno is also looking forward to this season, not only to see those Costco cards come back, but to sell more gift certificates in the restaurant, and he’s already booked early corporate parties in his private room upstairs, seating up to 45 people.
“There’s still that caution with spending,” said Bruno, recalling the days in his former restaurant, Caffeine’s, in the same location, where customers used to spend $100 on a bottle of wine.
“Now they’re only spending $25 to $30 on a bottle of wine, but at least they’re spending it here.”

The Garnish
The potential of a downtown Springfield casino complex in the years ahead provides holiday conversation and a giant question mark for many restaurateurs; while they are not sure if it will help or hurt them personally, ultimately, they hope that the pledge of far more people will materialize.
“We’re always optimistic come January, and for the [prospective] casino, during the construction phase — it’s going to be great for downtown,” said Scherff. “And once it opens, it’s going to help some, hurt others, but hopefully it puts more feet on the street and gets more people down here.”
Bruno agreed, adding, “the perception of downtown is far, far worse than it actually is, but with a casino, there will be people, and people bring safety; my position has always been that we’ll be the safest downtown around.”
Until a decision is made, Bruno is doing everything in his power to overcome the challenges that all restaurateurs are facing this holiday season. His greatest compliments thus far have been from those who tell him that Boston’s North End, renowned for authentic Italian restaurants, has nothing on Adolfo’s.
“They tell me I should consider opening up another restaurant,” Bruno said, laughing as he explained, “because if you can make it in Springfield, you can make it anywhere.”

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Big Picture

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Employment Sections

Training & Workforce Options Takes Region-wide View

Bob LePage, executive director of Training & Workforce Options.

Bob LePage spends a lot of time talking to employers from many different sectors, from healthcare to hospitality; financial services to manufacturing. And they all have one thing in common — a need for quality workers.
He related a conversation he had with the head of an area manufacturing firm. “He said, ‘we have more work than we have capacity. And what’s the biggest capacity constriction? Lack of workers. If I could find them, I’d add a shift, I’d add another line. Our challenge is, we need more qualified workers, whether that’s taking assemblers and upscaling them to machinists or convincing young people that working in today’s manufacturing environment is not what your grandfather did.’”
One regional manufacturer, LePage added, is anticipating 300 to 400 retirements in the next five years. Simply put, “we can’t close the gap based on what’s coming out of high school.”
As the executive director of Training & Workforce Options (TWO), a partnership between Springfield Technical Community College and Holyoke Community College, LePage thinks about these issues all the time. The initiative was launched in 2011 to provide specialized contract training for a range of client businesses. But along the way, it has created sector-wide collaborations to help tackle workforce needs across entire industries.
“TWO grew out of a workforce assessment done by the two community colleges, which came together and decided there are a lot of opportunities to build collaboration between the two colleges, and opportunities for us to work collaboratively with the Regional Employment Board [REB]on supporting and building sector-based strategies.
“It’s come a long way,” he added. “We first had to develop staffing, planning, infrastructure, processes, procedures, how we’re going to do things.”
In the meantime, TWO has worked with the REB and others on developing workforce strategies on a sector-by-sector basis, he explained.
“If we use the example of healthcare, a year and a half ago, we started assessing what the medical coding needs were for the region,” LePage noted, because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is replacing the current standard code sets in 2014, creating reimbursement challenges for providers.
Along with Kelly Aiken, the REB’s director of Health Care Initiatives, and about a dozen regional healthcare employers, LePage explained, TWO developed a partnership by which medical coding and billing students can transfer credits between colleges, and will also launch a training academy to help employers train their workers in the upcoming conversion.
“TWO came in and really provided the skill-assessment expertise we didn’t have before,” Aiken said, and not just in the coding realm, but in direct care as well. “Employers have said there’s either a mismatch between supply and demand, or the industry is changing so rapidly that we need to revisit and revamp career pathways. TWO has been instrumental in helping us collect data from employers and walk employers through the skill-assessment process so we can really understand where the gaps exist.
“I really look at them as a side-by-side partner,” she added, “to fill us in and help employers and training institutions figure out how to fill those gaps through regional and organizational strategies.”

Across the Board
Healthcare is just one of the many sectors TWO has a hand in, however. The partnership recently brought together a group of regional financial-services providers — banks, insurance companies, and others — to discuss workforce needs, and the end result is a new certification program to train people to fill financial call-center jobs.
“The first class of 17 students is going through an intensive training program and will hopefully be placed into jobs in January,” LePage said. “This was an industry-driven need.”
Returning to healthcare, yet another TWO initiative aims to help providers develop new systems to remove inefficiency and waste from healthcare — a major issue in these days of cost-cutting and accountable care. TWO has also worked with Wingate of Wilbraham, a skilled-nursing facility, by training workers in STCC’s simulation lab.

Kelley Tucky says MGM Springfield is depending on regional job-training efforts to build a 3,000-strong workforce in the city.

“It’s a way to assess their hands-on skills, a new way of looking at competence and how students can practically apply their skills,” he said. “Wingate had some very specific things they wanted to partner with us to test.”
And in the manufacturing realm, “we recently partnered with the Westfield Chamber to host a manufacturing workforce forum. We had manufacturers at Savage Industries host 10 or 12 companies around the idea of developing new regional programs for machine operators. In most cases, they might need one programmer but six or 12 operators. Our goal is to develop a new training program to allow us to provide on-site operator training.”
When thinking about the number of precision machinists approaching retirement, LePage said, the challenge is to create large-scale programs to develop the next generation.
“We’ve worked with a number of individual organizations — we might work with them on a multi-year training program, help them do organizational assessment, skills assessment, build a training program with them, and help them capture state resources to enhance the performance of employees.”
Such investments pay off, he noted. “Every dollar invested in support of manufacturing yields $1.64 return on investment in the first year alone. Every time you support labor-pool investment, your community makes money.”
TWO has engaged in similar strategy-building initiatives with area hospitality employers. “We partnered with the [Greater Springfield] Convention & Visitors Bureau on a formal needs assessment. What are the workforce challenges for the hospitality industry? We’re now starting to put together strategies to support their emerging needs, both culinary and front of house.”

Upping the Ante
The hospitality industry is only one of many sectors acutely aware of the probability of MGM Resorts International building a casino in Springfield’s South End, now that the proposal is the only viable casino plan for Western Mass. being considered by the state Gaming Commission.
“It’s highly likely this region is going to have to navigate 3,000 to 4,000 new jobs in the next 24 to 36 months,” LePage said. “TWO has taken the lead in partnering with the Gaming Commission to develop a workforce strategy to support the casino industry.
“We know, for example, that, if you want to be a dealer or in gaming, you have to pass a very specific set of requirements, and if you can’t pass them, you can’t work in a casino,” he added. And those requirements, he noted, could pose difficulties.
Kelley Tucky, vice president of Community and Public Affairs for MGM Springfield, agrees, saying her team has been working closely with the Mass. Casino Career Training Institute — which oversees employee regulations, licensure, and training — to ease some of the obstacles to employment.
“We’ve made our position known that we see the current CORI and SORI background-check requirements to be somewhat restrictive,” she told BusinessWest. “For instance, if we have someone working in the warehouse with a history of bankruptcy, it matters very little to us. Certainly, in a position where data is being handled or where there’s tremendous responsibility with money handling, you want those individuals to be vetted thoroughly, but we’ve heard from the one-stop career centers, the Gaming Commission, and others that they see some roadblocks already.”
Meanwhile, MGM has developed ties with the career centers and TWO to develop strategies for recruitment and soft-skills training, from interview and résumé-writing skills to language barriers. “Those are very important for us,” Tucky said. “We’ve built our reputation on providing an exceptional level of customer service. We gauge that from the minute an individual walks in the door for an interview. The more the one-stops train their clientele in those skills, the more confident we are that we’ll find the talent we need.”
However, the casino challenge extends far beyond MGM’s needs, LePage noted, as businesses in a host of sectors anticipate losing many of their own workers to the casino — for example, a bank teller who might want to be trained as a dealer or money handler — and having to refill those positions.
“We’re very aware of what’s going to be happening with the gaming industry,” he said. “If we want to have 3,000 new jobs in the region, we don’t want to subtract 1,000 jobs from other employers just by moving from one place to another. We have to grow 3,000 new workers throughout the region, but we have to develop strategies to fill multiple sectors, so there’s very little ripple effect.”
Take healthcare CEOs, he added. “The concern for them is culinary. They service a large number of people each day with food. And they currently have challenges hiring people. Add another 150 to 200 culinary jobs in the region, and they might have a bigger challenge.”
Tucky sees that sort of movement as an overall plus for the job market and the economic vibrancy of the region.
“Churn is good in terms of changing jobs, changing opportunities. It’s a good thing because people are exposed to additional career options — for instance, veterans returning from active duty, even the semi-retired. We offer jobs across the spectrum, and if we can attract a bright personality and they have the basic skills for the job, we will train for everything else.
“People see this as economic development for the region,” she continued. “It’s all about economic revitalization, and we’ve done a really good job being transparent. We see the benefits for Springfield and the Western Mass. economy, and we feel it’s a win-win.”
LePage agrees — if there’s an effective strategy in place that benefits MGM without disadvantaging other employers. “With the entry of a large employer into the region, we’ve tried to build partnerships across the region. No one organization can solve these regional workforce challenges.”

Mind the Gap
Casino or not, those workforce challenges are persistent, and the term ‘skills gap’ is nothing new to Western Mass. employers.
LePage noted that only about 78 in 100 teens in Greater Springfield make it through high school, but even if the rate was 100%, “we wouldn’t come close to meeting our workforce needs.”
That’s why TWO is so important — not only because it brings together the two colleges’ strengths, such as HCC’s English as a Second Language program and STCC’s Adult Basic Education initiatives, but because the colleges are bringing so many other voices into the conversation.
“What you see with all this collaboration is that there’s very little ego,” LePage said. “It isn’t what the colleges want done, it’s what industries want done. We’re listening to industries and hearing what they need and how they need it, and then saying, ‘OK, what can we do to solve this problem?’ That is the key to all of it; it has to be industry-driven. If you try to force change on industry, that’s not going to work. You’ve got to let those guys tell you what they need, then do the best you can to fulfill those needs.”
Aiken believes the effort has begun to bear real fruit.
“We love the fact that the community colleges are collaborating together,” she said. “We at the REB are all about collaboration, and they are a model for how community colleges and other institutions can collaborate together.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Raising Expectations

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Features

Valley Gives Looks to Build on a Successful First Year

By MICHAEL REARDON

Valley Gives, which raised $1 million for area nonprofits and schools its first year, has set the ambitious goal of $2 million for the 2013 edition.

When organizers of Valley Gives, a one-day online fund-raising event for area nonprofits and schools, launched their venture nearly a year ago, they did so with ambitious expectations — for participation among those nonprofits, the number of donors, and the money raised.
And they surpassed all of them.
More than 6,000 donors from across the Pioneer Valley pledged more than $1 million to 250 participating nonprofits, said Kristin Leutz, vice president of Philanthropic Services for the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which helped orchestrate the program. This performance enabled the initiative to live up both halves of its name — it is, indeed, a region-wide effort, and people certainly did give — and prompt organizers to set the bar much higher for year two, slated for Dec. 12.
Indeed, the goal for 2013 is $2 million, said Leutz, adding that there are now more than 350 nonprofits and schools registered for the program, and newcomers and returning participants alike are looking forward to what promises to be an exciting day.
“When we raised $1 million in the first year of Valley Gives, it stunned everyone,” Leutz said, noting that the local effort surpassed the performance of a similar initiative in Boston. “The online-giving growth rate is growing twice as fast as traditional giving. This is an efficient and effective way to raise a large amount of money in a small amount of time.”
But Valley Gives is about much more than raising money, said Al Griggs, former chairman of the Community Foundation and, along with Springfield attorney Paul Doherty, an architect of the initiative.
“The idea is to allow people who are philanthropic to do what they naturally do, and that is to support organizations up and down the Valley,” said Griggs, adding that there is another component to the event. “Thousands of people across the Valley work for nonprofits, and we wanted to celebrate that.”
And the first Valley Gives was very much a celebration — in many respects, said Leutz.
A number of organizations created a party-like atmosphere around Valley Gives last year, she noted. One organization, Country Dance and Song Society, busted out a flash mob at Thornes Marketplace in Northampton. The Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts brought a dunk tank.
Leutz said a Valley Gives wrap party will be held on Dec. 12 at the Galaxy restaurant in Easthampton.
“We’ll watch the total come in,” she said. “Valley Gives is a festival of generosity, and that’s what I love about it. This is truly a community event.”
For this issue, which also features the annual BusinessWest Giving Guide, we take an in-depth look at this community event and how it has enormous potential to become a powerful Western Mass. tradition.

The Power of Giving
Griggs said it was reports of the generosity of billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates that prompted he and Doherty to start thinking of ways to increase philanthropic giving in the Pioneer Valley.
So two years ago, they sought the advice of the Community Foundation of Western Mass. to find ways to create opportunities for fund-raising in the area. The foundation took what Griggs calls their “germ of an idea” and did some research and came across an effort created in Minnesota called Give to the Max Day, a one-day online fund-raising event for nonprofits and schools that has spread to other parts of the country, including Boston and Miami.
The concept sounded like it could be successfully adapted to the Pioneer Valley, so the foundation decided to create a local event based on the Minnesota model and call it Valley Gives. The idea was to unite residents of Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties in one massive online fund-raising effort for nonprofits up and down the Pioneer Valley.
To bolster the effort, the foundation recruited the Beveridge Family Foundation, the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, the Jewish Endowment Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Western Mass., United Way of Franklin County, United Way of Hampshire County, United Way of Pioneer Valley, and the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts as partners.
Donations during Valley Gives are pledged entirely online. The event goes on for 24 hours, beginning at midnight and ending at 11:59 p.m. Donors can log onto valleygivesday.org to find the nonprofit they want to give to and make a donation.
Valley Gives donors don’t have to be a Gates or a Buffett to make a pledge. On the contrary, the minimum donation is $10, and there is no maximum.
Nonprofits registered to participate in Valley Gives in August and September, and went through training in October and November. Much of the training was focused on effective methods of marketing, with a major emphasis on social media and other online strategies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging, and e-mail newsletters.
“A large percentage of nonprofits were not on social media, and there were others that were on social media, but didn’t do much with it,” Leutz said. “We convinced them to take social media to a new level. We’re creating the environment for nonprofits to market themselves successfully. For many of the nonprofits, they saw capacity in places that they did not see before. New opportunities were created for them. A lot of donors were new.”
Besides the pledges rolling in during Valley Gives, nonprofits will be eligible to win leaderboard prizes of up to $10,000 for being a top fund-raiser, as well as a Golden Ticket or Power Hour, which are prizes of up to $1,200 throughout the day.
Lisa Oram, marketing and communications director at Snow Farm: the New England Craft Program in Williamsburg, remembers the organization’s staff huddled around computers watching the money come in during the 2012 Valley Gives event, and posting on Facebook and Twitter throughout the day to keep momentum going.
“People were very engaged and enthusiastic,” Oram said. “I felt humbled by the amount of generosity of people across the Valley toward all of the organizations that participated. The day became all about Valley Gives.”
The team members at Snow Farm were floored when they won a prize worth $10,000 last year, especially since they first thought it was for $1,000. Last year, the organization raised $22,000 which paid for new computers for the organization’s digital photo lab and scholarships for its high-school program.
Other nonprofits that participated in last year’s event are looking forward to being involved again this year.
Safe Passage, the Northampton-based organization that addresses issues of domestic violence, was among the nonprofits that participated in Valley Gives in 2012. Marianne Winters, executive director of the organization, said money raised was used for programs to support children who are exposed to domestic violence, and to help fund its legal program in probate court.
This year, money will go toward a prevention initiative called Say Something, which offers training, education, and other skills for dealing with a potentially abusive situation.
“We have startup costs and need to generate publicity and other ways to get people involved,” Winters said.
Nonprofits that are first-time participants in Valley Gives are also eagerly awaiting the stroke of midnight on Dec. 12.
Team Jessica Inc. was formed in 2009 in honor of Jessica Martins of Belchertown, who died at 19 as a result of complications from Rett Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Although Martins was confined to a wheelchair, she was as active as possible, going to school dances, playgrounds, and riding horses. Team Jessica is striving to raise money to build a playground to be named after Jessica on 13,367 square feet of land at the Belchertown school complex.
“We want to build a new playground that’s 100% handicapped-accessible, with a poured rubber surface,” said Deanna Roux, the organization’s spokesperson. “The playground will cost $400,000, and we’ve raised $207,500 so far over the last three years through different events.”
Team Jessica wanted to be involved with Valley Gives last year, but had not achieved 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit status in time to do so.
Team Jessica is hoping to raise $10,000 through the Valley Gives event. Besides raising money to build the playground, Vicky Martins Auffrey, Jessica’s mother, hopes to continue developing handicapped-accessible projects.
On the day of Valley Gives, Team Jessica street teams will visit two Belchertown restaurants and will have postcards printed with a QR code that can be scanned by a smartphone to make a donation, as well as a computer to make a pledge.
“We’re hoping to expand our reach,” Roux said. “We heard all of the success stories from last year’s Valley Gives and felt we really needed to be involved. We signed up the minute it opened up.”

The Bottom Line
After signing on to participate in Valley Gives, Roux and Patti Thornton, Team Jessica Inc.’s grant writer, attended the training sessions and participated in a webinar to prepare them for the event. Roux said they learned a lot of valuable information about how to market themselves to get the word out to potential donors of their involvement with Valley Gives.
Team Jessica learned the importance of developing an e-mail newsletter, as well as posting on Twitter and other social media, and being more active online in general.
“I’m looking forward to 12/12/13,” Roux said. “All of the stuff you do beforehand matters. I’m excited, but nervous. We’ll see right away how dollars are moving.”
And with that, she spoke for everyone looking ahead to the second edition of Valley Gives.

Community Profile: Lenox

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Community Profile Features

Lenox Boasts More Than Just Seasonal Charms

Tanglewood, which hosts the Boston Symphony Orchestra and other musical events, is one of the top tourism draws to Lenox.

John Bortolotto understands that, from an economic perspective, Lenox is a seasonal destination.
“Predominantly, Lenox revolves around Tanglewood and Shakespeare & Co. and the multiple art venues in town, and as a result, we have a very productive summer. There can be a shortage of rooms in hospitality,” said Bortolotto, who serves on the Lenox Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
“If you talk to many of the local folks, you’ll find out that many have this preconceived idea that Lenox is busy from June through October, and then the town gets really quiet,” he added. “To an extent, that’s true.”
But he’s trying to get people to think about this small community — population just over 5,000 — in different ways, talking up its energy and recent commercial growth, and not just its many downtown inns and its high-profile performance spaces.
“From a chamber perspective, it used to be that, if you weren’t downtown, you kind of didn’t partake in all things Lenox,” he said. “What’s happening right now — what’s been happening for the last five years or so — is that Route 7, which is just outside downtown, connecting Pittsfield to Lee, has experienced growth of a different type. We now have three banks on that little stretch, where before there were only two downtown. We have multiple attorney’s offices, a fitness facility, a printing company, some retail.”
One notable success story has emerged in the Lenox Shops, a cluster of once-underutilized retail space along Route 7.
“It had a few stores, until a gentleman named David Ward bought the place and started revamping,” Bortolotto told BusinessWest. “He added condos out back and brought some non-retail businesses and restaurants to it. It’s going to be huge.”
In addition, Berkshire Health Systems, the largest employer in Berkshire County, will occupy a large portion of the complex, and healthcare services, from primary care to ob/gyn to yoga, will have a strong presence — and a flow of employees to support other businesses in the shops.
“So Route 7 has really come along, with more professional businesses and not just retail,” he added. “And, of course, we have Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club nearby — a beautiful place to be.”

Growth Pattern
The character of fast-growing Route 7, with its chain hotels and motels, is different than downtown’s Main Street, Church Street, and surrounding roads, which play host to a number of inns, bed and breakfasts, and locally owned shops.
“Downtown is largely retail,” said Bortolotto, who is also branch manager of NBT Bank in town. “You have two banks, some attorney’s offices, a lot of realtors — that’s part of the makeup, some of the more profitable businesses — but the retail, they tend to close for a good part of the year. Church Street gets very quiet. Some restaurants choose to close for the whole winter season because they figure they lose less money by not adding staff and other expenses.”
Laura Shack has bucked that trend for two decades. She opened Roseborough Grill in downtown Lenox in 1993, then transformed it into Firefly, which she calls a “new American bistro,” 10 years later.
“Roseborough Grill had a great run, but that was because there were only 25 restaurants in Berkshire County, and now there are probably 125,” she said. “It got to the point where it was more of a struggle to maintain the antique, country feel, and I didn’t have a big bar. But I love what I do, so I reinvested and gutted the place, changed the name, and started over.”
Firefly features the huge bar she craved, and a décor that’s contemporary and rustic at the same time. “We changed the menu a little bit, did some tapas and light plates — just changing with the times — and it’s been a great run. There were times when the economy was struggling, but this is one of the few restaurants in Lenox that stays open year-round. We’ve created an extremely loyal clientele due to the fact that I cater to the locals tremendously. We went from having 10 people in the winter to 100. People come in, spend money, have drinks — and they come back.”
Shack partly credits a well-received series of daily specials, from a $5 burger to 50-cent chicken wings, a $16 prime rib, and $10 lobster rolls, which locals look forward to. She’s used a similar strategy at her new breakfast-and-lunch eatery, Kitchen on the Commons, located at the transformed Lenox Shops, and is a testimony, Bortolotto says, to the fact that local businesses can succeed year-round in town.
Our challenge as a chamber is to say, ‘look, if you build it, they will come,’” he said. “If you stay open, it won’t happen overnight, but people will come and spend. As they go ski in Great Barrington or Hancock, they may feel inclined to come to Lenox.
“The challenge is to get more people to downtown, yes, but Lenox is sort of changing that,” he added, noting that the chamber is actively trying to lure non-tourism-related business into its fold.
“Some of the professional service people say, ‘look, I’m not going to join the chamber because I really don’t see the benefit; the chamber revolves around the arts. But I work in a professional business, working with attorneys, electricians, and car businesses, and when I joined the chamber, one of my goals was to add value to those businesses. We’re trying to do some of that.”

Taste of Home
A New York City native, Shack said she came to Lenox for the summer 23 years ago and never left. “What I’ve learned is, you have to cater to the locals, and you have to be super warm and friendly and welcoming. I have staff who have been with me for 20 years; I’m known as Mama Shack, and I’ve raised a lot of kids out of there. They started at the age of 13 or 14, and some are still here. They started out busing tables, and I taught them how to cook or bartend.”
One of those, Zee Vassos, left Roseborough for college but decided the food industry was what he loved, Shack said, “so he came back and helped me open Firefly. Then, after being out in Boston for a few years, he came back again, and we just opened Kitchen on the Commons in May. We had a great summer. David Ward, who owns the complex, really turned it around.”
Bortolotto said the chamber has become more open to cooperating with local towns on events and marketing. “It’s one county, not ‘we’re Lenox, and you’re everyone else.’ We’re mixing more, and we’re more open-minded these days than we were 10 or 15 years ago, definitely.”
There’s more to Lenox than its downtown and Route 7, of course, including Lenox Dale, a blue-collar village straddling Lenox and Lee that used to be home to a cluster of paper mills and today still features some manufacturing.
But, overall, Lenox is mainly known as the home to arts destinations like Tanglewood — where the Boston Symphony Orchestra plays — and a knot of rustic inns, while Bortolotto and the chamber continue to raise the profile of the town’s other charms.
Shack certainly finds the town charming, and hated the early days when she closed for part of the time during the off-season. “I find continuity is really important, being open seven days a week, so people don’t ever question, ‘are they open?’
“I love the people. The town is great,” she continued. “Obviously, having Tanglewood around the corner is wonderful. But I’ve really gotten to know the local people, and the clientele makes it really nice. People are grateful I’m here for them, and I’m grateful to have them.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Editorial

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Opinion

Casino Saga Ends Badly in Palmer

There have certainly been a great many surprises in the two years since lawmakers passed legislation authorizing casino gambling in Massachusetts — developers getting in and dropping out; Holyoke’s mayor reversing himself, and then reversing himself again; residents saying ‘no’ in community after community; operators not passing muster with the Gaming Commission; competition for coveted licenses evaporating.
But perhaps the biggest surprise is just how badly things ended in Palmer (and they’re not over yet, apparently) between that community and Mohegan Sun.
Consider these remarks from Town Council member Paul Burns in a press release he sent to local media outlets late last month: “regretfully, I have to acknowledge that, as those on the anti-casino side indicated, Mohegan Sun cannot be trusted.” And, “Mohegan’s loss at the polls was not the result of a divided community, but the result of a conflicted casino company more focused on ensuring their financial viability and protecting their Connecticut property than they were on securing a license.” And, “good neighbors don’t work to impoverish their neighborhood. Good neighbors aren’t vindictive. Good neighbors care about more than their bottom line.”
It’s hard to imagine Burns, an ardent supporter of this project for as long as it’s been on the drawing board, offering such opinions two years ago or even two months ago. After all, Mohegan and Palmer have been linked in a project longer than any other community/developer tandem. Actually, we now need to use the past tense — Mohegan is now officially partners with Suffolk Downs in a bid to place a casino on track property in Revere — and this development is now clouded with intense controversy.
Indeed, since Palmer’s residents turned thumb’s down to Mohegan’s plans to build just off exit 8 of the turnpike early last month, the conspiracy theorists have been working overtime, and the really ugly side of the casino business has come into full view.
First, there were claims about a voting machine malfunctioning at a critical time, creating questions about the 93-vote defeat of the measure. Then, there were claims from pro-casino forces that the town clerk was making it difficult for gaming advocates to register to vote for the referendum, generating more questions about the tally.
But then, the focus shifted, from the vote and a planned recount (which upheld the original outcome) to the strong rumors that Mohegan Sun was talking with officials at Suffolk Downs well before the vote in Palmer.
And the conspiracy theories started multiplying. Indeed, the growing sentiment in Palmer is that Mohegan claimed to want a site in that community purely to minimize the impact on its facility in Connecticut (Palmer is readily accessible to people in the Nutmeg State via I-84), and that it stayed in the game in that town — it was the last developer to pay the licensing fee and draft a host-community agreement — just long enough to keep another casino operator from building at that location.
Those now quite angry with Mohegan Sun claim the company was either overconfident or ambivalent (or both, if that’s possible) going into the referendum vote and certainly didn’t work hard enough, or effectively enough, to change the eventual outcome. Further, the conspiracy theorists contend, Mohegan, by virtue of that referendum vote, has the best scenario possible — no casino in Palmer at all, and possibly one with the Mohegan Sun name on it just outside Boston.
Some are even saying that Mohegan tanked the Palmer vote to get pretty much everything it wanted.
We don’t know how much stock to put in all this, but things certainly don’t look good for Mohegan Sun right now — at least from a PR perspective and with regard to its five-year relationship with the struggling community of Palmer, which certainly seemed to buy into Mohegan’s rhetoric about a grand resort casino on the hill above the turnpike.
Maybe the best thing we can say at this point is that none of what is happening should actually be considered surprising. This is, after all, a business where greed and profits come before all else.

Editorial 2

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Opinion

Opportunity for UMass and Tower Square

On Nov. 26, UMass President Robert Caret and Gov. Deval Patrick made it official: the university will seek to create what’s being called a ‘satellite center’ in Tower Square in the heart of downtown.
Plans call for leasing 27,321 square feet of space on the second floor of the retail/office complex built in 1969 and known then as Baystate West, with the university also gaining rights to use 1,600 square feet on the first floor of the building. While the exact use of this space, from a programming perspective, is still to be finalized, the goal is to have this satellite facility in place for the start of the academic year next fall.
There were four proposals sent to the university for the center — the other three being space in 1350 Main St. (One Financial Plaza), square footage in Harrison Place (1391 Main St.), and space within the Peter Pan bus terminal. And while all of those locations might have worked, we believe the Tower Square site makes the most sense and offers the most potential for having real impact in the city’s central business district.
It offers the most visibility for the university, probably the most flexibility, and the best chance to spur economic-development activity. And it provides the best opportunity in many years to spark a rebirth at what was once a hub of activity and commerce in Springfield.
That was a long time ago, of course, a different era in many respects, but mostly those involving how people shop — and where. Those who have lived in this region for 40 years or more can certainly tell stories about how downtown Springfield was the place to be — especially on a Saturday morning — and Baystate West was the center of it all.
People could buy everything from clothes to books to sporting goods, and dine at one of several eateries in the complex.
Construction of first the Eastfield Mall and then the Holyoke Mall started to change the equation rapidly and profoundly, and by the late ’90s, most all of the retail space in what was by then Tower Square was vacant.
Some new signs of life have emerged in recent years. Several banks now have retail facilities in the complex, Cambridge College relocated into space on the first floor earlier this year, and there’s a successful restaurant operating in space along Main Street. Still, many of the shops are empty, their windows filled with artwork or promotional material for area arts organizations and nonprofits.
Bringing a UMass satellite office into this environment is not going to change things overnight. After all, there are already hundreds of people in the office tower and thousands working within a few blocks, and if this critical mass hasn’t changed the fortunes of Tower Square, how much can be expected from some students and perhaps a few dozen workers?
Well, more vibrancy can be expected, and perhaps more momentum for a landmark whose best days are clearly behind it, but that could — and hopefully will — play a prominent role in re-energizing Springfield’s downtown.
There’s no turning back the clock for Tower Square — it is very unlikely that it can ever again be what it was in the ’70s and early ’80s — but this planned UMass presence can help change the equation.
We don’t know what will develop at this satellite center, but for now, this looks like a smart choice for the university, the city, and its evolving downtown.

Golden Years

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Sections The Business of Aging

Businesses Eye Potential in a Growing Over-65 Population

Don Anderson says older people enjoy cruises, but not necessarily the same ones younger travelers do.

More than a half-century later, the Baby Boom has become the retirement boom — and the numbers are striking.
At the turn of the century, just over a decade ago, the U.S. was home to 35 million people age 65 or older. Since then, the number has risen to almost 42 million — a nearly 20% increase — and the 65+ crowd in America is expected to soar to 79.7 million by 2040, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“All our health and science advances mean people are living longer,” Jason Harris said. “Many are healthy and don’t foresee any kind of health traumas, or maybe they’ve already had that hip-replacement surgery, and they look at that as a wake-up call — ‘we’re getting there, but we’re healthy … what if we live another 15 or 20 years? What will our quality of life be?’”
As founder and lead carpenter at Baystate Accessibility Remodelers, Harris takes that question seriously. His firm specializes in creating safe and accessible residential spaces for seniors and people recovering form injury or living with a disability.
The modifications run the gamut from bathroom fixes such as grab bars, modified toilet heights, and walk-in showers to widening doorways and building ramps and chair lifts for people using wheelchairs, all the way up to completely remodeling kitchens for wheelchair accessibility or building additions for in-law apartments so an older person can move back in with their children.
“Our job really runs the gamut from minor modifications to full-blown remodeling,” Harris said. “The Baby Boomer generation is a working generation, and a lot of them have assets, and a lot of them have over time invested in retirement and other things, including their homes. When they start getting into that age category, people might consider aging in place, rather than moving into institutional care. They own their home, and they want to put one more investment into their home and stay there because all the things important to them are around them.”
Harris’ company is just one example of a business that stands to benefit from the rapidly aging population. According to the monthly marketing report Selling to Seniors, people 50 and over control 77% of all financial assets in the U.S., own almost 50% of all credit cards, and account for more than 50% of discretionary spending power.
With that in mind, here are just a few of the kinds of businesses that stand to benefit from the proliferation of America’s golden-age population.

Living Well
Harris and his wife, Cindy (Baystate’s president), don’t cater only to the elderly with their home modifications; many times, their services help patients readjust to home life after an injury or disability.
“Many times we’re following the path of the occupational therapist or physical therapist who comes into the home when someone’s been in a rehab situation. They check the person’s medical history and come up with a roadmap and say, ‘these are the things they need,’ and when we get in there and do the home evaluation, we can talk to them and make sure we get the medical side of it, make sure we understand their issues,” Harris said.
But in many cases, customers are relatively healthy, yet recognize a coming need to upgrade their home to keep them safe living in it.
“They’re really looking at the value of what they could potentially invest into their home,” he told BusinessWest. “They’ve already made a commitment, and now they’re just saying, ‘this is just the next level of investing in the house.’”
Millions of seniors and their families struggle with the decision of whether to stay in their home or move to a residential-care setting, he noted.
“There’s a lot of expense that goes into moving into any kind of institution — whether they like that environment or not, there’s a lot of costs,” Harris said. “They need to decide whether the financial investment is something that’s possible, and also, do they want to move away from everything they’re comfortable with, or make some modification to their home? That’s what we have to consider to when we talk to potential clients; we understand that a lot of emotion goes into making that decision to stay home or move into an institution.”
For seniors who are healthy and ambulatory, the Boomers are known as a generation that wants to remain active, and they’re increasingly seeking out fitness and wellness options to help them stay in shape.
Take yoga, for instance. Karoun Charkoudian opened a yoga studio in Springfield in 2009 and will soon celebrate the one-year anniversary of her business, Karoun Yoga, in its new West Springfield location. From day one, she said, seniors have made up a solid percentage of her business.
“We’ve had a lot of retired folks in here, and definitely more and more seniors, especially for our gentle classes,” she told BusinessWest. “That’s definitely been the case.”
She said older people tend to enjoy yoga because it brings fitness benefits without a high impact on their joints. “It really helps alleviate a lot of arthritic pain and joint pain, that kind of thing. In my opinion, it’s a safer way to get stronger — and they definitely get stronger, and they work on their balance. It’s a better way for the senior population to do that.”
As general awareness of yoga continues to increase, Charkoudian said, studios like hers will continue to benefit from a growing older population.
“With our beginner class or gentler class, at that level it absolutely works,” she added. “It’s effective for all the benefits they’re looking for.”

All Aboard
The retirement years are often synonymous with travel, and today’s seniors have some specific ideas of where they want to visit. To hear Don Anderson, owner of the Cruise Store in East Longmeadow, tell it, they’re not flocking to Caribbean beaches.
“Certain types of trips lend themselves more to seniors,” he said. “For instance, on Alaskan cruises, typically much of the clientele — but certainly not all — are seniors. There’s more awareness of Alaska; it’s on people’s lists — ‘one day I want to see the glaciers, see Alaska, travel inland.’”
Another hot choice among senior clients are river cruises. “Older people don’t necessarily want the flashy, 2,000-ton cruise ships, but maybe something that handles 100 or 200 people, tops. They might want to spend overnights visiting the beaches of Normandy, overnights in Paris, Budapest, Prague,” Anderson said.
“Other big items on the bucket lists are national parks — and we were impacted by the government shutdown,” he continued. “Older people also want to travel overseas to Europe or Ireland, but don’t want to drive on the opposite side of the road and contend with that sort of stuff, so they like escorted trips.”
When seniors travel, they often do so alone or in pairs, but a growing trend involves larger groups and cross-generational travel — where older customers arrange to cruise with their children and, sometimes, their grandkids.
“They have disposable income, but their kids go where the jobs are, so the kids live in different parts of the country. So, as a coming-home type of event, they pick a cruise ship, which caters to different generations. They can spend quality time with their kids and kids’ spouses or significant others, and the ships have kids’ programs. Some seniors with disposable income put their money toward getting everyone together on board, doing things together, eating as a family together. We’re seeing an increase in that, with multi-generational trips initiated by the parent or grandparent.”
In any case, with family or not, “seniors are saying, ‘now is our time; now is the time to do it,’ and they like the idea of a company like ours, where we set it up but don’t charge service fees; they love that.”
But, like other types of businesses that cater to different generations, Anderson said, “you can’t sell the wrong product to the wrong people; certain trips lend themselves to certain clientele.”
As tens of millions of Baby Boomers sail into retirement, that bit of wisdom will continue to ring true.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

A House Specialty

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Restaurants Sections

Max’s Restaurants Have Always Put the Accent on Giving Back

By MICHAEL REARDON

Rich Rosenthal, center, owner of Max’s Tavern, with John Thomas, managing partner of the restaurant, and AnnMarie Harding, public relations director.

A casually dressed Richard Rosenthal, owner of the Max Restaurant Group, sat in a dining room of Max’s Tavern, his restaurant at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, talking about his company’s philanthropic efforts.
As the lunchtime crowd filled the restaurant on this recent crisp, sunny afternoon, Rosenthal was hesitant to take credit for the millions of dollars the Max Restaurant Group has raised in the Hartford and Springfield areas over the years for charitable organizations and other worthy causes.
“I don’t think about it too much,” said Rosenthal when asked about the legacy he was leaving through his organization’s philanthropic efforts. “We do it because it’s the right thing to do. We don’t pat ourselves on the back. We just feel like we always want to raise more money for these worthy causes.”
Rosenthal believes that successful businesses like his should feel obligated to be involved in charitable giving. His restaurants have been successful, he said, so giving back is the natural thing to do. To Rosenthal, philanthropy is just part of being a responsible member of a community.
“We became involved in charitable giving because people asked,” he explained. “You want to help because the customer really believes in what they’re doing, and you respect that.”
If Rosenthal is reluctant to take credit for his charitable work, other people are happy to shower him with accolades. As he was talking, Jane Albert, vice president of Development fo Baystate Health and executive director of the Baystate Health Foundation, joined Rosenthal and immediately thanked him for his fund-raising efforts.
“We have a wonderful partner in Max’s, and they make a significant contribution to our fund-raising effort,” Albert said. “It says so much about your organization.”
Since Max’s Tavern opened 10 years ago, Rosenthal has been enthusiastically involved in raising money in the Greater Springfield area, especially with Baystate Children’s Hospital, and most recently with the new Baystate Children’s Specialty Center. The annual Max Classic International Golf Tournament, held every fourth Monday in July, the first few years at Crestview Country Club in Agawam and now at Twin Hills Country Club in Longmeadow, has raised $1.2 million for Baystate since it was launched in 2004.
“The Max Classic is our biggest event,” Rosenthal said. “We usually have approximately 175 or so golfers; we sell sponsorships and hold an auction. We try to guide our funds to Baystate’s Children’s Hospital and its neonatal intensive-care unit.”
The Max Restaurant Group sponsors a similar golf tournament in Connecticut to benefit charities in the Hartford area.
Since 2004, money raised from the tournament in Western Mass. has bought beds and equipment for the neonatal intensive-care unit, as well as funding the Baystate Children’s Hospital asthma program, equipment for the pediatric intensive-care unit, and the pediatric care unit’s family waiting room and sleep room.
Albert said the money raised through the golf tournament has made the work of doctors and nurses at the children’s hospital more effective.
“The money raised by Max’s has saved the lives of babies who would not otherwise survive,” she said. “The money has gone toward resources we would otherwise not be able to afford. We have 720 babies in our neonatal ICU every year. With this funding, doctors and nurses can do a lot more to help these babies. These things would not be possible without Max’s corporate support.”
Max’s raised $150,000 during this year’s tournament, which will be donated to the newly opened Baystate Children’s Specialty Center at 50 Wason Ave. The money will go toward paying for the 34,000-square-foot building’s reception area.
The center will house the hospital’s 15 pediatric outpatient specialty areas, including cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, endocrinology, weight management, and more.
For this issue and its focus on restaurants, BusinessWest takes an indepth look at how Rosenthal and his restaurants have put the accent on giving back to the community.

Philanthropy on the Menu
Rosenthal’s philanthropic efforts began in the Hartford area. He was an original member of Hartford’s chapter of Share Our Strength, the nationwide culinary organization dedicated to fighting poverty and childhood hunger, an effort he is still involved in.
“The restaurant industry overall should be applauded,” Rosenthal said. “I’d say chefs and restaurant owners give more time and money to charitable causes than any other industry.”
Among the other organizations in the Hartford area that Rosenthal has raised funds for is the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC). Working with that facility inspired him to become involved with Baystate Children’s Hospital when he opened Max’s Tavern.
“We found in working with CCMC that they were a terrific organization,” Rosenthal said. “You always felt good about working with them, and it was somewhat personal for me. I had small children at the time. When we opened in Springfield, our goal was to do something local, and Baystate Children’s Hospital was a natural fit. They’ve been equally great to work with as CCMC.”
Besides its major philanthropic endeavors, the Max Restaurant Group has a component called Max Cares, which hosts charitable events, like wine dinners, and gives away gift cards. The Max Cares link from the Max Restaurant Group website features a form to request a donation and the reason for the donation.
“Max Cares was started early in our operations,” Rosenthal said. “It was really a name we gave our donation arm because of the Internet. We get about 100 requests for donations a month company-wide.”
Rosenthal started working in restaurants when he was 16. He grew up in West Hartford and graduated from Hall High School, before attending Bentley University, graduating in 1981. He continued his education at New York Restaurant School in Manhattan, where he trained as a chef before graduating in 1983.
“I knew I wanted to be a restaurant owner, but I also realized I wanted to learn to cook,” he explained. “I worked as a chef for four years after I graduated, three in New York City and one as a chef and manager in Newport.”
Although not the owner, Rosenthal was involved with the opening of a restaurant called the Main Brace in Newport, R.I. He called the endeavor “extremely unsuccessful” because of a number of factors, including the location, lack of funding, and the timing of the opening. “Although the restaurant failed, I learned a lot,” he said.
While out of work in Newport, he decided to move back to Hartford to open a restaurant on familiar turf. “The Hartford area was booming at the time,” he said. “It was a town on the upswing. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the city. I had a base and contacts there.”
On Nov. 14, 1986, Rosenthal opened the first restaurant in what would become the Max Restaurant Group, called Max on Main, later to be renamed Max Downtown after it moved to Hartford’s business district in 1996. He now owns nine restaurants and will open his 10th in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. in March.
When Rosenthal heard that the Basketball Hall of Fame was being built in Springfield, he decided to become involved in the project and opened Max’s Tavern in 2002.
Since expanding into the Springfield area, Rosenthal has become immersed in charitable giving beyond his organization’s efforts on behalf of Baystate Children’s Hospital. Besides sponsoring the Max Classic Golf Tournament, the Max Restaurant Group has raised $63,000 for Ronald McDonald House of Springfield, 14,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield, $11,000 for the Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation, and $3,100 for Massachusetts Special Olympics.
Springfield’s Ronald McDonald House has been supported by the Max Restaurant Group for nine years. Enix Zavala, house manager and associate director of planned giving for Ronald McDonald House, said Max’s contributed $15,000 for a room in the 22-room house.
Meanwhile, Max’s Tavern has been involved with fund-raising for Ronald McDonald House of Springfield in a couple of other ways for several years. The restaurant has sponsored fund-raising events like Martini Magic, a martini-tasting event that, up until two years ago, had gone on for seven consecutive years. AnnMarie Harding, Max’s Tavern’s public relations director, is a member of the Ronald McDonald House board of directors.
The current major event sponsored by Max’s Tavern to raise money for Ronald McDonald House is the Teddy Bear Brunch, an event that’s been held for the past four years. The popular event will take place this year on Dec. 8 and has long been sold out.
“All the children who attend the Teddy Bear Brunch bring an unwrapped toy, which is donated to Ronald McDonald House,” Zavala said. “We had 250 toys donated last year, and we expect to exceed that this year.”
The Teddy Bear Brunch is a family event that features a brunch buffet, candy buffet, face painting, crafts, and other activities, and children who attend go home with an 11-inch stuffed Max Teddy Bear. During the brunch, Max’s Tavern also sells 100 loaves of multi-colored Rainbow Bread for $5 each.
“We’re doing what we can to create revenue for this event in new and exciting ways that people can respond to,” Harding said. “All the money from selling the Rainbow Bread goes to Ronald McDonald House.”

Recipe for Success
According to Zavala, children sometimes stay at Ronald McDonald House for up to two years, and often miss celebrating big events like holidays and birthdays at home. She added that many families come from different parts of the U.S. or other countries and are unfamiliar with the area and sometimes have a language barrier. Having a partner like Max’s Tavern to help create a comfortable and welcoming place to stay while children get much-needed medical treatment is invaluable.
“Without the support of Max’s Tavern and other types of community support, we couldn’t be able to continue our efforts to support these families,” Zavala said.
Similar words have been spoken by the directors of several other area nonprofits. Their specific goals and needs vary, but the common denominator is that they’ve benefited in significant ways from a restaurant owner who has made philanthropy a house specialty.

On the Menu

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Restaurants Sections

A region-by-region chart of area restaurants

Click here to download the PDF

Stuck in Neutral?

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Employment Sections

Neutrality Agreements Under the Gun at Supreme Court

By TIMOTHY MURPHY, Esq. and DAVID McBRIDE, Esq.
Unions have increasingly turned to ‘corporate campaigns’ to pressure larger employers not to resist efforts to unionize their workers. Corporate campaigns are concerted and sophisticated efforts to publicly embarrass for-profit and nonprofit employers among their stakeholders and within their communities so that they acquiesce to union demands.
What is happening now at Wal-Mart is a corporate campaign. These efforts have become more prevalent as unions’ traditional grassroots organizing efforts, especially at larger employers, have become less successful. For unions, the holy grail of the corporate campaign quest is the ‘neutrality agreement,’ in which the employer promises not to oppose unionization. The future of neutrality agreements lies in the balance as the Supreme Court is set to decide their legality.

Background
Neutrality agreements are promises between employers and unions about what employers will — or will not — do in response to a union-organizing campaign. While the terms of neutrality agreements vary, they generally consist of employer promises not to oppose unionization. Sometimes, such agreements also contain waivers of employee rights, like secret-ballot elections.
The effect of neutrality agreements is that employers stand on the sidelines while the union campaigns, usually without organized opposition, for employee support for unionization. Neutrality agreements are powerful tools that increase the likelihood of a successful union campaign.
However, federal labor law contains an anti-bribery statute (Section 302) which makes it criminal for an employer “to pay, lend, or deliver … any money or other thing of value” to a labor union that seeks to represent its employees, and prohibits unions from accepting the same. The purpose of Section 302 is to keep employers from tampering with the loyalty of union officials and to deter union officials from extorting employers.
A lawsuit was filed in Florida challenging the legality of neutrality agreements under Section 302. Martin Mulhall, who was opposed to unionization, sued his employer and a local labor union, claiming that the neutrality agreement they signed violated Section 302 because the employer’s neutrality and other cooperation constituted a ‘thing of value.’
The case wound its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where oral arguments were recently heard. The Supreme Court is very selective about the cases it decides, but it probably decided to review this case because several federal courts of appeals had disagreed on whether a neutrality agreement was a ‘thing of value’ under Section 302. The Supreme Court will now settle those disagreements.

The Mulhall Case
Mulhall worked for a casino company, which entered into an agreement with a union, UNITE HERE Local 355, to:
• Provide Local 355 with employee contact information;
• Allow the union on company property so it could organize employees; and
• Remain neutral during the union’s organizing effort and conduct a card check instead of a secret-ballot election to determine whether there was majority employee support for the union.
In exchange, Local 355 promised that it would not strike, picket, or pressure the company, and would give more than $100,000 to help pass a slot-machine ballot initiative benefiting the company.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which handles federal appeals from Florida and surrounding states, ruled that Mulhall’s claim could go forward. It held that “organizing assistance can be a thing of value that, if demanded or given as payment, could constitute a violation of Section 302.” Local 355 appealed to the Supreme Court.

What Will Be Decided
The case is now teed up for the Supreme Court to decide whether neutrality agreements are legal. The question to be decided is “whether an employer and union may violate Section 302 by entering into an agreement under which the employer exercises its freedom of speech by promising to remain neutral to union organizing, its property rights by granting union representatives limited access to the employer’s property and employees, and its freedom of contract by obtaining the union’s promise to forego its rights to picket, boycott, or otherwise put pressure on the employer’s business.”
The Supreme Court oral arguments focused on whether the types of promises employers make in neutrality agreements are ‘things of value’ and whether Section 302 should apply to these types of agreements at all.
Based on the justices’ questions to the lawyers, the court was troubled by the union’s promise of $100,000 to pass the slot-machine ballot initiative to help the company in exchange for its neutrality. Mulhall’s lawyer argued that Section 302 bans any employer cooperation during union organizing campaigns not required by law. Local 355’s lawyer countered by arguing that neutrality agreements have been around for many years and promote labor peace, a goal of national labor policy. It is always hard to predict the outcome just from the justices’ questions, but a unanimous decision either way seems unlikely.

Biggest Labor Case at the Supreme Court in a Generation?
Neutrality agreements have become commonplace in union-organizing campaigns as the number of secret-ballot union elections have steadily declined, so the Supreme Court’s decision on their legality will have a dramatic impact on the future of union organizing.
If the Supreme Court decides that neutrality agreements are not a form of illegal bribery, it will boost union organizing by stamping the court’s approval on them. On the other hand, if the Supreme Court decides that neutrality agreements are illegal, unions will have to rely on the grassroots organizing campaigns of years past to recruit new members. Unions’ ability to engage in ‘top-down’ organizing through corporate campaigns then will suffer a serious — and maybe fatal — blow, and employers will be far less likely to cooperate during unionization efforts.
A decision is expected before July 2014. No matter which way the case comes out, it will impact employers and unions for years to come.

Timothy Murphy, Esq. and David McBride, Esq. are attorneys with Skoler, Abbott & Presser P.C., Springfield; (413) 737-4753.

Hour Problem

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Employment Sections

Why An Addiction to Work Is Hurting Our Careers

By Dr. TASHA EURICH
Kmart’s recent decision to open its doors at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day sent shockwaves throughout the nation. Though bargain seekers were thrilled, many are questioning the retail chain’s decision. In recent years, such ‘Thanksgiving creep’ has inspired multiple protests from employees, with one petition calling it “inhumane and inconsiderate.”
Unfortunately, this problem doesn’t exist only in retail establishments around the holidays. Across all job types and industries, Americans are working more than ever.
According to a recent Workforce Management study, since the Great Recession, 55% of employees have seen their workload increase, and 27% say it’s doubled. The constant pressure to do more with less, coupled with the belief that being busy means we’re important, is creating an unsustainable pattern.
For many workers, taking time away from their jobs feels like an untenable luxury. Most European countries provide workers at least four weeks of vacation each year — Germany and Sweden are particularly generous with seven weeks. But a Center for Economic Policy and Research study reveals that 25% of U.S. employees don’t take any vacation at all — either because they don’t use their accrued time or their employer doesn’t provide it.
Why would anyone choose not to take the time away that they’ve rightfully earned? For many, fear is a factor — fear of missing out on promotions, topping the layoff list, being judged by bosses or co-workers, or the work that will inevitably pile up.
Certainly, anyone can work 50, 60, or 80 hours per week — and take little time off — if they choose. But as it turns out, there are some profound consequences. Here are just some of them:

1. Working too much makes us stupider.
Research has shown that long hours affect our brains. An American Journal of Epidemiology study followed British civil servants over five years to understand the relationship between long hours and brain functioning. Compared to those who worked 40 hours per week, participants who worked more than 55 hours showed poorer vocabulary and reasoning skills. In plain English, working too much actually makes us stupider.

2. Working too much makes us depressed.
Research has shown that long hours are also a significant risk factor for depression. A study published in PLoS ONE examined more than 2,000 workers in the United Kingdom over six years. They found that employees who worked more than 11 hours per day had more than twice the risk of depression than those who worked seven to eight hours per day. The relationship remained even when researchers statistically removed the influence of socio-economic factors, chronic physical disease, smoking, and alcohol use.

3. Working too much hurts our career advancement.
When people think about how to get ahead in their career, most have a ‘more is better’ approach. Just look at the hours worked at many law firms, tech companies, and Wall Street. However, more hours does not always equal better performance, and human beings have an upper limit for productivity on any given day. Somewhat counterintuitively, a 2006 Ernst & Young study found a positive relationship between vacations (i.e., fewer work hours overall) and performance; for each additional 10 hours away from the office employees took, their performance reviews were 8% higher the following year.

4. Working too much can actually kill us.
In August of this year, a 21-year-old Bank of America intern was found dead in his London dorm room. During the course of Moritz Erhardt’s demanding seven-week internship, he had pulled eight all-nighters in two weeks. Although Erhardt’s case is as rare as it is tragic, it drives home the general point that working too much is simply not healthy. Luckily, when we take time away, these effects are mitigated. For example, the Framingham Heart study (a massive longitudinal research program started in 1948) reported that when workers take annual vacations, their risk for a heart attack is reduced by 30% in men and 50% in women.

How to Take Time Off Without Paying for It When You Return
Hopefully, cashing in some of that vacation time feels more important than it did a just few minutes ago. But if the idea of taking time off still feels difficult or stressful, here are a couple of tips.
First, it’s okay to start small. Short vacations have positive effects similar to long ones. One study from Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands found that even vacations of just a few days increased health and well-being. And because benefits from most vacations fade after five days, frequent, shorter vacations may actually be better. So instead of blocking off two weeks and paying for it when you return, try a long weekend every month or two instead.
Second, it’s OK to check e-mail a few times while you’re away. The above study also revealed that people who worked during vacations still showed increases in health and well-being, albeit smaller ones. For many workers, being able to check in at work eases anxiety. So, within the bounds of reason, go for it! Just don’t let things get out of hand, lest your spouse or partner lock your iPhone in the hotel safe.
Whether you’re being forced to work this Thanksgiving or not, the holidays are a great time to re-prioritize. It’s important to remember that family and friends are life’s true gifts. After all, on their deathbeds, few people are likely to say “I wish I had spent more time at work.”
So, for goodness sake — take some time off!

Dr. Tasha Eurich is the author of the new book Bankable Leadership: Happy People, Bottom Line Results, and the Power to Deliver Both. She also helps organizations succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders and teams; www.bankableleadership.com.

He’s Still Climbing

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Features

This Veteran Goes to the Front Lines — of Home Healthcare

Nicholas Colgin is still climbing — both literally and figuratively — as a guide for blind individuals on summits, an advocate for unemployed veterans, and now as the owner of his own home-care business.

There have been a number of datelines attached to news stories involving Nicholas Colgin.
Many of them originated in the Tagab Valley in eastern Afghanistan, where, as a combat medic serving in Bravo Company for the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, he saved the life of a French soldier shot in the head while facing enemy fire himself, an act of bravery that earned him the Bronze Star. It was also while serving in that remote region that others in his squad saved 42 Afghanis from a flooding river, an experience that he believes gave additional validation to his time serving in that conflict.
Later, though, there were stories out of Washington, first when he went to speak before Congress on the difficulties many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were experiencing as they sought gainful employment, and later when he was mentioned in speeches given by President Obama that outlined steps to combat the high jobless rates among what are known as the ‘9/11 generation’ of veterans.
Referencing Colgin, who, despite those actions that earned him a medal, couldn’t get a job as an EMT in Wyoming because he lacked the proper certification, the president said, “that isn’t right, and it doesn’t make sense — not for our veterans, not for the strength of our country. If you can save a life in Afghanistan, you can save a life in an ambulance in Wyoming.”
Fast-forward roughly two years from that speech in a former gun factory at the Washington Navy Yard, and the latest dateline for news on Colgin is, improbably, Springfield, Mass. Indeed, he’s not in an ambulance, nor in Wyoming, but instead in one of the many corner offices on the 12th floor of 1350 Main St., also known as One Financial Plaza. There, a map covering more than half of one wall identifies his territory — all of Western Mass. and some of Northern Conn. — as a franchisee for a national chain called Right at Home, which, as the name suggests, is a home-care agency.
There are a number of pushpins now on that map. They identify major healthcare providers in the Greater Springfield area as potential partners of sorts as Colgin looks to obtain market share in what is becoming a crowded playing field for home-care services.
Cultivating such relationships is now a major part of Colgin’s job description, although he noted quickly that there are many pressing issues as his gets this business off the ground, from interviewing candidates for caregiver positions to hiring an operations staff to staging an open house.
“We’ve had more than 300 applications in the past two or three weeks,” he noted, adding that the process of screening these candidates is ongoing. “They go through orientation, and we put a lot of time and investment into training to make sure we’re not sending someone into a person’s home that we wouldn’t let in our own grandmother’s home or parent’s home.”
How and where this entrepreneurial gambit came to be is an intriguing saga, one that says a lot about this determined individual, who overcame a number of injuries himself to put his name — which at one time he had trouble spelling because of a traumatic brain injury, or what those who’ve suffered one call a TBI — and the title ‘owner’ on his current business card.
Summing it all up, he said it has to do with mountains, or, more specifically, with climbing, and the need to keep doing it.
Elaborating, he divided returning veterans (and people in general) into three categories: ‘quitters’ — those who give in to their frustrations and often become substance abusers; ‘campers’ — individuals who come home and “relax for a while” (something he admits he did to some extent); and ‘climbers’ — those who “just keep climbing.”
“I decided I was going to be a climber,” he said, “and do it literally by taking blind people up mountains, and more figuratively by finding the next goal in life.”

Nicholas Colgin earned a Bronze Star for saving a man’s life in Afghanistan, but later was wounded himself, an experience that transformed a helper into someone who needed help.

For this issue and its focus on the business of aging, BusinessWest talked at length with Colgin, who has gone from being the face of unemployment among returning veterans to an individual now employing others in a venture with which he feels, well, right at home.

In the Line of Fire
Colgin was in the Peruvian Andes late last month, leading a team of 12 disabled veterans up 18,000-foot Mount Mariposa, when he received word that his franchise had secured the license necessary to operate in Massachusetts.
The juxtaposition of those happenings adds some poignancy to Colgin’s remarks about climbing, and also to the many facets of his life and the ways he measures success.
“I was going to do one last guiding trip before opening the business,” he explained. I submit the application and hop on a plane to Peru. I get one day in, and our application has been approved. It was a tricky place to be in — I’m in Peru, and now my business is open, and I’ve got to get back and hire employees.
“It’s been quite a journey, and this part of it is really just getting started,” he went on, before venturing back to another dateline in his life, the first.
That would be Chesterfield, Va., a small community not far from Richmond, where he spent several generally unhappy and challenging years.
His mother wound up in prison, and his father, with only a sixth-grade education, struggled to earn a living. Colgin said he was essentially raised by his grandmother, and by his senior year in high school, he was in many ways rudderless. It was a friend bent on joining the Army who provided inspiration and a compass point, but Colgin still had no idea what to do with himself — in the military or after his tour of duty was over.
“I signed on as a medic,” he said, following those words with a pause and shrug as if to indicate there was no profound reason for that choice. “I had never done anything in healthcare … when I went to sign up, I didn’t really know much about the military other than what you see in movies. I had just seen Black Hawk Down, and I said to them, ‘I want to be one of those guys.’
“They chuckled at me and said, ‘that’s not really a job,’” he went on. “They said, ‘you’re pretty smart … you can be this, or this, or maybe a medic.’ I said, ‘I’ll be a medic — that sounds like a job people really look up to.’”
He would eventually find out just how off he was in that reasoning — at least when it came to finding a job a few years later.
Fast-forwarding a little, Colgin passed the six-month training course to become a medic; two-thirds of those in his class did not. He worked in several facilities stateside, teaching medical classes, and was set to get out of the military without being deployed, but wound up volunteering for an assignment. “I figured, we’re at war; I might as well do my part,” he said, adding that a deployment he thought would last six months to a year instead stretched to 15 months.
He called it the “quintessential war experience,” one that took place mostly at Firebase Morales-Frazier. The highlight of his tour, if one could call it that, came in 2007 when he went to the aid of a French soldier hit by Taliban fire. The two were pinned down for about three hours, under constant fire, while Colgin administered care credited with saving the man’s life.
Colgin has several scattered memories of that experience, everything from being able to put whatever French he managed to retain from high-school classes to good use, to his own emotions as he offered care and counseling to the wounded soldier.
“You’re in Afghanistan, you’re getting shot at, people are getting blown up … you’re treating these people day in and day out, but you don’t really get scared; you just say, ‘this is just a job, this is what I’m here to do, treat it as a professional situation,’” he recalled. “But then I remember taking care of him. We’re in a small vehicle finally getting out of there, and his legs are on mine. I’m trying to tell him everything’s going to be all right. I was saying it confidently, but my legs just wouldn’t stop shaking, because I didn’t know if he was going to be all right. But I knew if he wasn’t going to be all right, it was not going to be because I slacked on my job and didn’t do all I could.”
Just a few months later, Colgin was driving a Humvee — something medics don’t often do, but he felt compelled to take his turn behind the wheel — when it took a glancing blow from a rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG. He said his head hit something, probably the steering wheel or windshield, breaking his nose and giving him what he called a “concussion of sorts.”
“One side of my body was numb, and I remember thinking that something wasn’t right,” he recalled. “We didn’t really know a lot about traumatic brain injuries at the time. I came home, had a lot of surgeries on my face — they rebuilt my nose — and needed a lot of treatment.
“I had been this helper overseas,” he went on, “and then I came home and needed help for the first time in my life. I’d never been in that situation before and didn’t really know anyone who had been in that situation before.”
And while he would eventually find some assistance, he essentially helped himself to a new career opportunity and that suite on the 12th floor.

Peaking His Interest
While serving in the Tagab Valley, Colgin, like many veterans, filled the idle time by reading whatever he could get his hands on. And increasingly, this meant books and especially magazines — because they weigh less and are thus easier to carry — about the outdoors.
“I was going to be an outdoor guide,” he said of plans he was making for life after military service, adding quickly that most of these were mapped out before he was injured. “I had never seen these huge mountains in person — I’d never really left the East Coast — and was just fascinated by that country.”
Upon returning home and “healing up” in North Carolina, Colgin would settle in Wyoming to pursue that dream, but he failed in his quest to graduate from the National Outdoor Leadership School due to lingering health problems, physical and mental — he would go back four years later and complete the program, though — and eventually shifted his career aspirations to healthcare, only to find more frustration.
“I had provided medical care in extreme situations — I’d saved someone who was shot in the head while I was getting shot at myself, in the middle of Afghanistan with limited resources — so I figured I shouldn’t have any problem doing emergency medicine, such as work as an EMT,” he told BusinessWest. “Unfortunately, I was wrong.
“And this is an issue that many people in the military are facing and that they’ve just started addressing in the past few years,” he went on. “Basically, you’re trained to do a job in the military, and you can do it in the military, but the certifications do not transfer to the civilian sector. I was trained as an EMT basic, sent to Afghanistan. I’m treating people who were shot in the head, I’m giving IVs and administering medications — and you can’t do that stateside.”
Those who drive trucks and service vehicles in the military face similar roadblocks, he said, adding that thousands of individuals have struggled with the task of turning experience with the armed forces into a job back home.
And this was the message Colgin wanted to bring to elected leaders and the civilian population as the dateline for his story shifted to Washington in mid-2011.
As a representative with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), he spoke before Congress on his frustrations with finding employment in what he considered his chosen field, and made it clear that he was not alone in this predicament.
His comments caught the attention of many groups and individuals, including the commander in chief.
“I remember I showed up to work one day — I was interning for the IAVA — and someone said to me, ‘the White House called for you,’” he told BusinessWest. “That’s not something you hear all the time, and I thought they were joking with me, but they were serious.
“I called them back, and they told me the president was considering telling my story in a speech the next day,” he went on. “They weren’t sure he was going to tell it, but I had to get to D.C. I got a haircut, grabbed my suit, and hopped on a train to Washington.”
After the president’s speech, Colgin found himself in demand — with the media, at least. He did appearances on CNN, the Rachael Maddow Show, the CBS Early Show, and others, becoming adept at live interviews. This face time with the public brought him some job offers — “although not as many as you might expect with the president telling your story” — and eventually he took one, working as membership coordinator with the IAVA, and resettled in Manhattan.
That island is worlds away from Chesterfield, Va. in every respect imaginable, and Colgin liked being an advocate for veterans, working with Congress, and getting plenty of coverage in the media. But something was missing from the equation.
Actually, two things.
The first was an entrepreneurial venture that he could call his own, and the second was what he called “a community in the true sense of the word, a place where I could rest my head, then get up and really get involved in making a difference.”
He would eventually find both in Springfield.

Summit Meetings
Recalling the chain of events that led to his grand opening nearly a month ago, Colgin started with his decision to “step back,” as he put it, and take a sabbatical from his job with the IAVA. He took this opportunity to do some of the outdoor work he’d started dreaming about in Afghanistan, and eventually made acquaintances with Eric Weihenmayer, the first blind man to scale Mount Everest.
“He and I became good friends, and I ended up picking up a lot of skills to guide individuals up mountains and in the back country,” he recalled. “It was a great experience … I started guiding blind people up mountains. I came back to New York after my sabbatical and realized I had to make a change in my life.”
Coincidentally, he attended what he called a “business boot camp for veterans” in Boston, an intense, three-week program conducted in conjunction with Harvard that helped him discover latent entrepreneurial instincts and drive.
“I realized that what was inside me was stronger than anything in my way,” he told BusinessWest. “I realized that I could open a business; I left and started looking for investors.”
As that search for financial backing commenced, so, too, did the process of choosing what kind of business to get into, he went on, adding that he soon concluded that he would like to do something healthcare-related, and something that would make a difference in peoples’ lives. Discussions with a consultant specializing in linking individuals with franchise opportunities narrowed the search to a few national chains, and eventually to Right at Home, an Omaha, Neb.-based enterprise launched in 1995 that by that time had facilities in more than 40 states as well as in the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, and Canada.
It was not, however, doing business in Western Mass., and Colgin, with $250,000 from some investors, decided to seize that opportunity.
“It was just me and the dog, and I could go anywhere and do anything,” he said, referring to his English pointer, Dixie, whom he described as his rock. “I wanted to stay on the East Coast, and started looking at places and scheduling visits. I ended up coming to Springfield, and it looked like a place where I could put down roots. I moved around a lot with the military and never really had a family growing up, but when I came here, I got a sense that this was a place where I could grow.”
Colgin acknowledged that there is considerable competition within the growing home-care industry and that he has a lot to learn as he joins that crowded field of players. But he believes he has the basic ingredients to reach his goals, which he admits are still being set.
“The language of healthcare is pretty universal, and caring is pretty universal as well; if you can care for Afghanistan locals in the middle of a war, you can take care of anyone in the world,” he said, adding that Right at Home has a proven model and track record for success that he believes he can build on. “I care about helping people realize their dreams, and I care about doing the right thing, and at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about.
“They’re extremely innovative,” he said of the chain. “They have great brand management and amazing quality.”

On a Grand Scale
Based on all that has happened in his life since those initial, awkward discussions with Army recruiters nearly a decade ago, it would be logical to assume that Springfield probably won’t be the last dateline for news stories about Colgin.
As he said, he’s a climber, and he doesn’t intend to stop doing that.
For now, though, the climb has reached Western Mass. and a critical juncture in his career, and there are immediate goals right ahead of him.
The plan is to keep reaching higher — in every aspect of that phrase — but that’s something Colgin has been doing his entire life.

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

Plane Speaking

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Cover Story

Gulfstream’s Westfield Facility Is in Takeoff Mode

Fran Ahern, general manager of Gulfstream’s Westfield facility.

Fran Ahern acknowledged that the analogy isn’t perfect, but, for the most part, it works, and it helps him effectively tell the story of one of the region’s least-known — and least-understood — business success stories.
“We’re a service center for airplanes,” said Ahern, general manager of Gulfstream’s sprawling operation at Barnes Municipal Airport in Westfield. He would go on to draw a number of loose comparisons between his operation and the corner garage or auto dealership where one might bring their Buick for new tires, a tuneup, or an inspection sticker.
But as he did so, he noted that he and his staff of 230 are obviously working with much bigger vehicles — and numbers — of every kind.
Indeed, the Gulfstream G650, the latest model developed by this subsidiary of General Dynamics, costs roughly $65 million out of the box. It has a 100-foot wingspan, weighs roughly 40 tons when empty, and stands 25 feet high. Meanwhile, the various hangars at the Westfield operation cover more than 200,000 square feet of real estate. The latest addition, opened earlier this year as part of a $24 million expansion, spans 125,000 square feet and has a 50-foot-high ceiling and overhead crane.
Still, the comparisons to the corner garage are effective, said Ahern, noting that, in both situations, service — which in this case is provided to Gulfstream models as well as competitors’ aircraft — is king, word-of-mouth referrals are critical for attaining vital new customers, and retention is ultimately the most important ingredient in the formula for success.
“This is a relatively small business in that everyone knows everyone,” he said of the aerospace industry and especially the service component. “This facility has a good reputation in the marketplace, and that’s through the hard work of all the employees, but it’s also a business where it’s ‘what have you done for me lately?’ So you have to continue providing quality service.”
The Westfield operation is doing well in this close-knit environment, said Ahern, noting that it is near full capacity on a regular basis — there are ebbs and flows in this business, as with most others — and the new hangar and its amenities and equipment present opportunities to keep the service slate full.
Also, the company’s diversity of products and services has enabled it to expand its client list and do more for those already on it. Examples include an expansive shop where interior work — from re-upholstering seats to installing new cabinetry — takes place, as well as a mobile service, called FAST (Field & Airborne Support Team), which brings Gulfstream technicians to the planes needing work, instead of the other way around.

Gulfstream’s expanded presence in Westfield has equated to roughly 100 new jobs and new opportunities for economic development in that area.

There have been challenges to overcome, certainly, especially in recent years, he noted. The sharp economic downturn impacted corporate travel significantly, with many corporations cutting back on this often-controversial expense item. Meanwhile, negative press about corporate fleets — especially those headlines about auto-industry executives taking company jets to Washington in the fall of 2008 to plead for bailout money — also impacted the industry.
“There were layoffs here and elsewhere as a result of those stories and their impact,” said Ahern, adding that some segments of the industry, especially the so-called ‘large-cabin’ planes, such as the G650 and other Gulfstream models, have rebounded from those setbacks.
And the skies certainly look brighter, he went on, as corporate travel rebounds in this country and expands in rapidly developing regions of the world such as Asia and South America, where Gulfstream is expanding its presence.
“We help make the world smaller,” said Ahern, referring to corporate air travel in general and Gulfstream in particular. “And that helps people get business done.”
For this issue, BusinessWest goes behind the scenes at a company where an intriguing kind of business is indeed getting done, and an operation is taking off — in every aspect of that phrase.

The Sky Is No Limit
Tracing the history of Gulfstream’s presence in this region, Ahern said the Georgia-based company’s name went on the sign outside the former KC Aviation facility at Barnes in 1998, a time of profound growth for the plane maker — and, thus, a need for facilities to build and service the aircraft. Gulfstream actually acquired three service centers from KC, with the others in Appleton, Wis. and Dallas, Texas.
That sign on the Westfield complex would be replaced by one that said ‘General Dynamics Aviation Services’ (the defense giant acquired Gulfstream in 1999) a few years later, Ahern went on, adding that this change was yet another illustration of how this business is very much like an auto-service center.
“The KC facilities were not only working on Gulfstream airplanes, but some of our competitors’ planes,” he explained. “And when Gulfstream acquired those facilities and put up Gulfstream signs, those other airplane owners didn’t think the facility would service those airplanes any more, so they stopped coming. “
The General Dynamics signs helped bring them back, he told BusinessWest, adding that the eventual strategy was to go back to Gulfstream signage, but with an intense marketing effort, one aimed at hammering home the point that the company was the only original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to service other OEM’s planes. Today, the facility at Barnes also services planes made by Bombardier, Dassault/Falcon, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, and others.
There have been few such instances of turbulence (another industry term) since Gulfstream came to Westfield as part of a broader effort on the part of the company to build service capacity across the country and, more recently, around the world, said Ahern.
The corporation, which first went into business with twin propeller jets in 1958, now has similar facilities domestically in Appleton; Brunswick, Ga.; Dallas; Las Vegas; Lincoln, Calif.; Long Beach, Calif.; Savannah, Ga.; Westfield; and West Palm Beach, Fla. It has also sites in Mexicali, Mexico; Luton, England; Beijing, China; and Sorocaba, Brazil.
These locations were chosen for strategic purposes, said Ahern, adding that they service geographic sectors and, especially in the case of the international locations, regions with strong growth in corporate air travel.
While the Westfield location, like all the others, handles what Ahern called “unscheduled maintenance” — planes based outside this area but which are in the Northeast and need service — the bulk of the aircraft in the hangars at any given time are based in New England and surrounding states such as New York and New Jersey. The Bay State’s sales-tax exemption on aircraft parts and maintenance, which has withstood several recent attempts to eliminate it, gives the Westfield location a competitive advantage that Ahern and others at Gulfstream certainly don’t want to lose.
The facility at Barnes specializes in everything from airframe maintenance to inspections; from avionics (instrumentation) services to that aforementioned interior work, which accounts for roughly 15% of the total volume. Much of the engine and airframe work is required, or scheduled, maintenance, he went on, adding that there are regular, hourly driven inspections for such aircraft.
The customer list is equally diverse, he continued, noting that it includes corporations, wealthy individuals, and commercial fleet operations such as Net Jets.
Ahern said the expansion completed earlier this year was driven by market demands for more capacity, and the simple fact that many of the latest large-cabin planes, such as the G650, were simply too big for the hangars at Barnes at the time.
To drive that point home, he pointed to the tail section of a G450 being serviced in one of the older hangars. There was probably less than five feet of clearance between the top of the tail and the ceiling, he said, adding that the G650 simply wouldn’t fit in that building.

Soar Subject
As he talked with BusinessWest in the new hangar at the Westfield location, Ahern pointed toward the back corner of the facility and something called a ‘tail dock.’
This is a moveable set of scaffolding, which, as the name implies, allows technicians easy and effective access to a plane’s tail assembly.

The new hangar at Gulfstream’s Westfield facility provides the room — and opportunities — for continued growth.

And it represents a considerable improvement over the scissors lift that was used by crews before the expansion project, said Ahern, adding that there are many similar examples of how the facilities have not only been enlarged — in a big way — but upgraded and modernized to improve efficiency, enhance service, and, hopefully, drive new business.
Another example is the overhead crane that was being used on this day for engine replacement on a G450, he noted, adding that, prior to the expansion, the facility would have to rent such equipment, an arrangement that was less efficient and less cost-effective.
Overall, the $24 million expansion project enables the company to add capacity — more and different kinds of jets can fit in the hangars — and also improve service to customers and broaden its impact on the community and local economy.
Elaborating on the service component, Ahern again referenced this tight industry sector where everyone knows everyone else, and noted that good experiences for customers lead not only to repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals, but also to some of those new models rolling out of Gulfstream assembly plants.
“You provide good service and a quality product to those customers with competitor aircraft, and maybe at some point, when they’re upgrading their airplane, they’re going to think about maybe upgrading to a Gulfstream,” he explained. “We have a saying around here: ‘product support sells new airplanes.’”
As for impact within the community, Ahern said it starts with the roughly 100 new jobs that have been added, many of which required technical skills and are good-paying positions. Meanwhile, with more planes in the hangars, the company can broaden its economic impact, he said, noting that the jets’ crews will stay in the area, often for several days, while they’re being serviced, staying in local hotels and dining at area eateries.
And from the economic-development standpoint, the state-funded expansion of Airport Industrial Road — one of the local and state incentives offered to induce Gulfstream to expand in Westfield — makes industrially zoned property at the airport more accessible for development, he noted.
Looking ahead, Ahern said, while the hangars are full many days, as they were when BusinessWest visited, there is always room for growth.
Elaborating, he said the company has to minimize those aforementioned peaks and valleys — to the extent possible — and move ever closer to what he called utopia: “100% loaded, 100% of the time.”
“Our goal is to get there, and right now, we’re pretty close,” he said, adding that, while the additional room and amenities in the expanded facilities, as well as programs like FAST and positive reviews in such industry publications as Professional Pilot magazine and Aviation International News will help close that narrow gap, ultimately, it’s quality of service that will eventually get it done.

Smooth Landing
While acknowledging that comparisons between service to the family mini-van and a $60 million jet aren’t perfect, Ahern said the principles of both business operations are essentially the same.
The tires may be a lot bigger on the jet, and the cost of the services provided to it will likely have a few more zeros, but in the end, it comes down to the customer’s experience, he noted, adding that Gulfstream has become an industry leader by understanding this and, more importantly, making those experiences positive.
And that’s plain speaking — or plane speaking, as the case may be.

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

Unwrapping Anticipation

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Holiday Gift Guide Sections

2013 May Be the First Healthy Holiday Sales Season Since Before the Recession

Joy Leavitt is supporting locally owned independent businesses with a new nonprofit organization and educating consumers about buying local.

Walking into Kiddly Winks, a popular children’s toy store in Longmeadow, runs a close second to visiting the ‘real’ Santa’s Toyland at the North Pole.
Once in the store, customers are greeted by the cheery owner, Joy Leavitt, who easily takes on the role of a much younger Mrs. Claus with her warm smile and genuinely welcoming character. These qualities, combined with a spot-on toy selection, have made for a very successful business for the past 28 years, and allowed her to open a second store in Canton, Conn. in 2004.
Meeting the Kiddly Winks owner close to the holiday season is only heightened by her frequent use of the word ‘magical,’ which she uses to describe everything from the thousands of customers who have supported her two businesses to the growing popularity of the annual American Express Small Business Saturday — the day after Black Friday — to the nonprofit organization she started this year called Living Local (more on this later).
However, magic is exactly what retailers may need in this year’s sales season — defined by retail sales organizations, like the Retailers Assoc. of Massachusetts, as running from Black Friday to Christmas Eve — because there are six fewer shopping days than last year, including one less vital weekend for shopping, due to Thanksgiving being so late this year. Despite the loss of days, the Retailers Assoc. still predicts a 3.5% gain in sales ($15 billion) over last year, which is a shade less than the National Retail Federation’s projections for this year of 3.9%, which equates to $602.1 billion in total sales. It’s a progression that economists are calling ‘cautionary, slow growth’.
In the Western Mass. region, the independent retailers that BusinessWest spoke with seem to be relatively unconcerned about the shopping-week loss because the past year has shown steady growth, and for the first time since the Great Recession, they are viewing this sales season with anticipation, not trepidation.
“This year has been very, very good, and I do think it’s going to be an active holiday season,” said Dave DiRico of Dave DiRico’s Golf and Racquet in West Springfield. “The economy seems to be getting better, and people seem to be out shopping more.”
DiRico, a former club pro who purchased the well-known Fran Johnson’s Golf & Tennis from owner Cindy Johnson in March 2012 and reopened under his own name the following month, is looking forward to his second successful holiday season as a retailer, based on the success of last holiday season and his growth this year.

Kate Vishnyakov’s clientele has already followed her boutique’s move from East Longmeadow to Longmeadow, proving that consumers are willing to support local business.

And while one might think that Kate Vishnyakov of Kate Gray Boutique should be nervous about this upcoming season since relocating her shop from East Longmeadow to Longmeadow this past October, she’s actually not. As she explained to BusinessWest, she launched her business six years ago at the beginning of the recession but is still going strong.
“The key is to adjust with the times,” Vishnyakov stated. “It got to the point where I didn’t have to depend on what was happening in Washington, or politics, or the economy; I built something that could support and sustain us.”
Her clientele has already welcomed her into town because, with a large percentage of customers coming from Longmeadow, Vishnyakov’s move has made it all that much easier to shop locally, which is vital to her existence. In fact, her sales in October, even being closed for 10 days for the move, were stronger than the same month last year.
Weather, economics, and tragedies can all affect the holiday shopping season, said Diane Merrick, owner, with her sister, Ann Marie Moloney, of It’s All About Me, a women’s boutique in Hampden. But preparing in spite of challenges is a risk that is necessary because the sales of the past holiday seasons reflect what the inventory should be for the present.
“We can’t control people’s fears,” said Merrick. “All we can do is focus on being positive, listening to what customers say they want to see in the store, and provide those products with excellent personal service.”
While Leavitt uses the word ‘magical,’ Victor Ounduian, president of Lorilil Jewelers in downtown Springfield’s Tower Square, is cautiously optimistic. “There’s definitely more positivity this year, if that’s a word,” he said with a chuckle. (Indeed, the Merriam-Webster dictionary describes positivity as ‘the state of being positive.’)
For this issue’s focus on the upcoming holiday sales season, BusinessWest spoke with local business owners who are taking that positivity to heart, at the same time they acknowledge the unscientific nature of making holiday shopping predictions.

Local Shift
During the year, Leavitt sees a lot of young women enter her store to show off their babies.
“And they were my customers when they were little girls,” Leavitt said, smiling. “That’s the beauty of what a legacy business is all about.”
Leavitt is passionate about local businesses, many of which are run by the second, third, or fourth generation, and the reason that she created Living Local (www.living-local.net), a nonprofit organization of local independent business owners in Western Mass. and Northern Conn.
“Shop local has become a real trend in the U.S., and I looked around at our lovely communities, and we didn’t have one,” said Leavitt, referring to an organization that would promote such a philosophy. She worked with local media, and the first meeting brought more than 35 independent business owners just to hear what Leavitt had to say.
“The first story that I told was that, for every $100 that a customer spends in an independently owned store, whatever type it is, $69 of that stays in the community, through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures,” she told BusinessWest, adding that, for national chains, only $43 stays in the community, and worse yet, Internet shopping offers nothing for the local community. “But the real story is to educate the public that if they just shift they way they shop, even 10% of their shopping to shopping locally, they will positively impact local communities and our local tax base.”
After that April 2013 meeting, 20 local businesses signed up and paid the $100 fee to join that night. Now, 55 members of all sizes and counting — from Big Y to Merrick’s It’s All About You — can benefit from the group’s PR and in turn help educate the public about the importance of buying locally, Leavitt said.
The response has been magical (there’s that word again), she said; a recent week-long promotional event offering a $5 tote bag filled with members’ discount coupons sold out of the 500 bags in only six days, and a portion of those proceeds went to the Food Bank of Western Mass.

Business for the year to date has been very good for Dave DiRico, who is anticipating a busy holiday season for sporting-goods sales.

DiRico has high praise for Leavitt and her success with Kiddly Winks, having lived with his wife in Longmeadow for years. He is now benefiting from local shoppers, as she has done for years, due to the communities in Western Mass. and the Berkshires supporting his West Springfield sporting-goods store.
Another source of help for DiRico, Leavitt, and their fellow small-business owners is Small Business Saturday, which was launched in 2010 by American Express to promote its small-business customers and brand a special shopping day that could seize the momentum of Black Friday. The day allows card holders a percentage discount for all charges at participating local stores, and last year, Leavitt saw a 30% increase in American Express sales for that day.
“American Express really did that to grow their own company, but what they also did was to create something amazing and magical for small local business owners,” said Leavitt. “But a lot of people don’t even know that American Express started it or offers a discount; they just like to help out and shop locally on that special day.”
Regardless of why the day was created, American Express advertising alone is making it catch on nationally, and Leavitt said she and all the other local business owners are just happy that some light can shine on them, just as the holiday season is getting in to full swing.

Giftology
With no grandiose expectations, Merrick, a young widow with two small boys, took a risk and purchased her small boutique in 2004, offering eclectic yet affordable gifts, jewelry, women’s clothing, and accessories of all kinds. The venture took off, and she soon expanded to a 2,300-square-foot location and, in late 2010, opened a second location in Greenwich, Conn.
For Merrick, the 25% or more of annual sales in the month of December alone are worth all the shopping and researching unique vendors throughout the year.
One risk, she said, is purchasing large volumes of items that will theoretically appeal to a wide variety of customers. Miscalculations can leave the business owner with thousands of dollars of stock that sits, she noted, adding that such gambles should be taken only after considerable due diligence.
Lewis White, owner of A.O. White in East Longmeadow, a 4,200-square-foot men’s and women’s fine clothing and specialty shop since the 1940s, has been through three major recessions and has spent decades trying to figure out such challenging holiday inventory questions.
He credits his success to his buying standards, opting for fine-quality fabrics, styles, and brands that aren’t found at national chain retailers. And like Vishnyakov and Merrick, he relies on his customers to tell him what they like so his inventory can always remain fresh and unique. During the holiday season, White and his staff are monitoring stock daily and ordering by phone or online to keep up.
“We’re always projecting for increases; you can’t have too much or too little,” he explained. “And that’s the part of the business where you have to use your judgment.”

Perfect Fit
Having endured the economic downturns of the early ’90s, post-9/11, and more recently the Great Recession, Ounduian’s business has bounced back many times.
“Any non-essential item is what goes first — it happens to everyone,” said Ounduian, referring to how consumers change their habits during downturns. “But with this last recession, it didn’t bounce back as fast.”
But with the holidays approaching, Ounduian is using his judgment and banking on that positivity to sell his increased holiday inventory of branded names like David Yurman, Rolex, Mikimoto pearls, and Roberto Coin jewelry, which tend to be top sellers each holiday season.
Soon, he said, the male shoppers will start their shopping around the 12 days before Christmas, and especially the last two days before Christmas, which he expects will keep his store hopping.
“I think we’re going to have a busy season,” Ounduian added. “It’s just a gut feeling — but a good gut feeling.”

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Real Estate Transactions

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 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

ASHFIELD

642 Bear Swamp Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Sarah Curry
Seller: Andrew S. Clarke
Date: 11/01/13

Bug Hill Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Diana B. Taylor
Seller: Kathleen B. Kerovan
Date: 10/29/13

1771 Cape St.
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: George Stephan
Seller: Savino J. Basile
Date: 10/29/13

1330 Spruce Corner Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Mathew R. Russell
Seller: Joan H. Lanoue
Date: 10/22/13

BERNARDSTON

169 Shaw Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Jillsen M. Deignan
Seller: Camilla V. Thacher
Date: 10/22/13

BUCKLAND

2 Harmony Lane
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $140,661
Buyer: Greenfield Savings Bank
Seller: Tenee L. Wetterwald
Date: 10/28/13

COLRAIN

78 Greenfield Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Fallon
Seller: Debra J. Wysocki
Date: 11/01/13

48 Reils Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $223,700
Buyer: William K. Spencer
Seller: Roberts, Sheila S., (Estate)
Date: 10/30/13

CONWAY

146 North Hill Dr.
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Michael Levine
Seller: John R. Schwartz
Date: 10/31/13

2101 Roaring Brook Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $382,500
Buyer: Alan Singer
Seller: Douglas A. Hay
Date: 10/31/13

143 Williamsburg Road
Conway, MA 01096
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Gregory J. Gagnon
Seller: Nicholas W. Mizula
Date: 10/21/13

DEERFIELD

136 North Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $185,800
Buyer: Stacy M. Martin
Seller: Stephen C. Huntley
Date: 11/01/13

96 Sugarloaf St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $194,900
Buyer: Ryan C. Vielmetti
Seller: Rogerleski IRT
Date: 10/28/13

GILL

93 Barney Hale Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Ann M. McCune
Seller: CJD Designs LLC
Date: 10/30/13

70 Munns Ferry Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $234,900
Buyer: Raymond F. Steele
Seller: Paul T. Seamans
Date: 10/24/13

GREENFIELD

21 Abbott St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Lewis S. Breitner
Date: 10/25/13

41 Abbott St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $182,000
Buyer: Allyson L. Mount
Seller: Richard A. Baker
Date: 10/21/13

46 Birch St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Alden Booth
Seller: Carl Silver
Date: 10/31/13

88 Ferrante Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Anthony J. Worden
Seller: Marsha Browning
Date: 10/28/13

25 Hastings St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Emily J. Bak
Seller: Donald L. Drowski
Date: 10/31/13

74 Lunt Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $177,700
Buyer: Kevin P. Welch
Seller: Ralph L. Ellis
Date: 10/25/13

LEVERETT

196 Pratt Corner Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $364,000
Buyer: J. P. Spurlock
Seller: Ashcraft, John B., (Estate)
Date: 10/23/13

21 Teawaddle Hill Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $269,500
Buyer: Daniel S. Smith
Seller: James C. Lyons
Date: 11/01/13

MONTAGUE

4 9th Ave.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Catherine M. Cronk
Date: 10/30/13

70 Davis St.
Montague, MA 01301
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Gary S. Thornton
Seller: Robert G. Cooper
Date: 10/31/13

Industrial Blvd.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: River Bluff Realty LLC
Seller: Town Of Montague
Date: 10/23/13

23 Randall Wood Dr.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Ann E. Dyke
Seller: Linda D. McPartlan
Date: 10/22/13

24 Randall Wood Dr.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Brian L. Adams
Seller: Julie A. Fallon
Date: 10/31/13

101 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Jenifer L. Cash
Seller: Mark T. Bailey
Date: 10/21/13

NORTHFIELD

737 Millers Falls Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $172,500
Buyer: Manuel J. Mitchell
Seller: Frank J. Rockwell
Date: 10/22/13

ORANGE

44 Meadow Lane
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $167,516
Buyer: MHFA
Seller: Alan Notre
Date: 11/01/13

SUNDERLAND

25 Plumtree Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Frontier Properties LLC
Seller: Jenny H. Tran
Date: 10/31/13

250 Plumtree Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Cody D. Jones
Seller: HAP Inc.
Date: 10/28/13

WARWICK

165 Hockanum Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Paul Robbins
Seller: Helene N. Scott
Date: 10/30/13

655 Winchester Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Kevin L. Alden
Seller: Marian J. Ekstrand
Date: 10/24/13

WHATELY

183 Chestnut Plain Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Baystate Blasting Inc.
Seller: Katherine E. Fleuriel
Date: 10/30/13

114 Christian Lane
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Timothy P. Lamontagne
Seller: William B. Mizula
Date: 10/25/13

87 Westbrook Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: John T. Reilly
Seller: Gregory J. Gagnon
Date: 10/21/13

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

130 Adams St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Buyer: Jean L. Degray
Seller: Donna Ryiz
Date: 10/31/13

58 Channell Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $156,500
Buyer: Luis G. Saenz
Seller: Arthur Vonmaluski
Date: 10/30/13

115 Corey Colonial
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Judith M. Basilone
Seller: Carl V. Franqueza
Date: 11/01/13

72 Elizabeth St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Cynthia A. Sutter
Seller: Michael A. Casimiro
Date: 10/30/13

4 Farmington Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Julie I. Siciliano
Seller: Hillside Development Corp.
Date: 10/25/13

107 Forest Hill Road
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Melissa Elias
Seller: James P. Murphy
Date: 10/31/13

27 Highland St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Valentina Karcha
Seller: FNMA
Date: 10/25/13

769 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $244,000
Buyer: Darren G. Longo
Seller: Anthony R. Brodowski
Date: 10/22/13

34 Mallard Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Julie E. Pontz
Seller: Carl A. Knodler
Date: 10/30/13

772 Mill St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Jessica H. Tudryn
Seller: Lissa A. Menard
Date: 10/31/13

N/A
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Wayne J. Allen
Seller: Oleg Trocin
Date: 10/25/13

20 Oak Lane
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Eric W. Gaylord
Seller: Susan E. Fober
Date: 10/31/13

77 Parkedge Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Brian J. Sojkowski
Seller: Robert J. Carey
Date: 10/31/13

117 Sheri Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $277,500
Buyer: Michael F. Peters
Seller: Jay Passerini
Date: 10/28/13

393 Silver St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $184,000
Buyer: Maria Carrion
Seller: James M. Martel
Date: 10/25/13

1040 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Rejean J. Remillard Insurance
Seller: Roger S. Gosselin
Date: 10/22/13

BLANDFORD

62 Main St.
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Sarah L. Labonte
Seller: Franklin D. Cardinal
Date: 10/28/13

BRIMFIELD

395 Brookfield Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $282,500
Buyer: Alyssa Bochicchio
Seller: Deborah M. Faryna
Date: 10/25/13

1018 Dunhamtown Brimfield Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: James D. Dunn
Date: 10/23/13

101 Little Alum Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Paul E. Paradis
Seller: Roger I. Pellaton
Date: 10/22/13

CHESTER

80 Old State Hwy.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Jamie R. Cincotta
Seller: Leigh A. King
Date: 10/30/13

CHICOPEE

146 Blanchard St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $159,900
Buyer: Daniel S. O’Connor
Seller: Larry A. Helmer
Date: 10/31/13

159 Casey Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $119,324
Buyer: Michael E. Fregeau
Seller: HSBC Bank USA
Date: 10/23/13

35 Clarendon Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Amber L. Fink
Seller: Leclerc Brothers Inc.
Date: 10/29/13

120 Cobb Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $147,900
Buyer: Aimee I. Desrochers
Seller: Maryann E. Kulas
Date: 10/31/13

303 College St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Ryan Murphy
Seller: Todd J. Fitch
Date: 10/28/13

150 Fairview Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $205,900
Buyer: Abdullah S. Nassir
Seller: Cabot Realty LLC
Date: 10/22/13

25 Fisher St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Rudolfo R. Fossa
Seller: Revampit LLC
Date: 10/25/13

5 Highland Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Joseph H. Ely
Seller: John A. Moriarty
Date: 11/01/13

37 Jackson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $208,900
Buyer: Miguel F. Ribeiro
Seller: Ben E. Williamson
Date: 10/23/13

291 Langevin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: JKAG Realty LLC
Seller: O&G Properties LLC
Date: 11/01/13

74 Lawrence Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Chicopee Saving Bank
Seller: Sandra E. Parente
Date: 10/31/13

40 Old James St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Garland Construction Corp.
Seller: Edward L. Orwat
Date: 11/01/13

78 Sherman Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $147,500
Buyer: Terence P. Lyons
Seller: John A. McDonough
Date: 10/24/13

21 Social St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $173,692
Buyer: PHH Mortgage Corp.
Seller: Sarah A. Reynolds
Date: 10/31/13

40 Thornwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Mary Jane C. Santamaria
Seller: James Liritzis
Date: 10/31/13

1628 Westover Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Douglas R. Narkiewicz
Seller: Mary J. Furr
Date: 10/28/13

188 Wheatland Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $142,300
Buyer: Brenda A. Purdy
Seller: Mary C. Manning
Date: 10/30/13

189 Wilson Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Aneudi J. Ortiz
Seller: Quality Renovations Group
Date: 10/31/13

EAST LONGMEADOW

Bond Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: T&K Realty LLC
Seller: William E. Donovan
Date: 10/28/13

5 Chatham Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: Michael A. Casimiro
Seller: Michael S. Przybylowicz
Date: 10/30/13

38 Colony Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Holly C. Wensley
Seller: Janice A. Blanchard
Date: 10/29/13

141 Country Club Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $577,200
Buyer: Keun S. Han
Seller: William P. Brunelle
Date: 10/30/13

38 Donald Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Anthony J. Disa
Seller: David G. Radway
Date: 11/01/13

35 Donamor Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Kevin A. Crouse
Seller: Peter J. Andrusko
Date: 10/29/13

24 Deerfoot Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $302,000
Buyer: Rod J. Lavallee
Seller: Kevin J. Sullivan
Date: 10/24/13

111 Gates Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $2,000,000
Buyer: Phuong Nguyen
Seller: John Potorski
Date: 10/25/13

61 Hanward Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Steven M. McCombe
Seller: Earl L. Robinson
Date: 10/31/13

72 Helen Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Richard Berthiaume
Seller: Lynda M. Daniele
Date: 10/29/13

10 Hillside Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: John F. Sullivan
Seller: Matthew J. Harris
Date: 10/29/13

4 Jennifer Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $214,900
Buyer: Lee Jay Henry-Thompson
Seller: Rod Lavallee
Date: 10/24/13

264 Kibbe Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Buyer: Chad E. Mooneyham
Seller: Joan M. O’Shaughnessy
Date: 10/25/13

44 Linden Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Andrew J. Cimino
Seller: Brian R. Duffey
Date: 10/25/13

95 Nottingham Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Phung M. Le
Seller: Edward D. Polanek
Date: 10/21/13

130 Orchard Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $484,000
Buyer: Gaurav Narula
Seller: Frank A. Iennaco
Date: 10/28/13

276 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: Koren D. Baughn
Seller: Ryan M. Conway
Date: 10/30/13

8 Pioneer Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $206,000
Buyer: Andrew C. Bordoni
Seller: Bordoni, Larry F., (Estate)
Date: 11/01/13

115 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Ryan M. St.Germain
Seller: Joseph Katz
Date: 10/25/13

887 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Robert R. Driscoll
Seller: Adam R. Noonan
Date: 10/30/13

172 Vineland Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Frank Vecchiarelli
Seller: Margaret A. Guzzo
Date: 11/01/13

4 West Allen Ridge Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Manuel Garcia
Seller: Dorene A. Archambault
Date: 10/31/13

GRANVILLE

1406 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: William A. Fluhr
Seller: Ronald W. Haskell
Date: 10/31/13

14 West Hartland Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Jay G. Williams
Seller: Michelle J. Meyer
Date: 10/31/13

HAMPDEN

551 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $172,500
Buyer: Anthony P. Restivo
Seller: Ronald J. Lech
Date: 10/31/13

11 Maple Grove Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $364,000
Buyer: Jerry Ago
Seller: Joseph A. Boyd
Date: 11/01/13

South Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Sheryl Kosakowski
Seller: Morton, Garfield W., (Estate)
Date: 11/01/13

HOLLAND

40 Forest Park Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $165,500
Buyer: John Gasparrini
Seller: Glenn R. Snay
Date: 11/01/13

197 Mashapaug Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Brian J. Martin
Seller: Todd O. Coon
Date: 11/01/13

46 Wales Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Nicholas B. Lafauci
Seller: Jason R. Gervickas
Date: 10/30/13

HOLYOKE

33 Clark St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Ruth Silva
Seller: Kenneth R. Stiles
Date: 10/29/13

948 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: 948 Dwight Street RT
Seller: Michael A. Noble
Date: 10/31/13

502 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Christopher A. Bresnahan
Seller: Karen M. Blanchard
Date: 10/25/13

50 Knollwood Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $1,745,000
Buyer: Sarah E. Stiles
Seller: Susanna Rosa
Date: 10/25/13

111 Lincoln St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Scott A. Whitney
Seller: Enola Nelson
Date: 11/01/13

139 Madison Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Richard W. Kowalkski
Seller: Linda K. Rahm
Date: 11/01/13

161 Suffolk St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $200,000
Seller: Hemant K. Patel
Date: 11/01/13

8 Williams St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Jesse O. Kerman
Seller: Joan M. Poutre
Date: 10/25/13

LONGMEADOW

40 Brooks Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $534,500
Buyer: Yevgeniy Norkin
Seller: Marguerite B. Lundy
Date: 10/31/13

28 Canterbury Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Terry Ditmar
Seller: Kathleen A. Mahoney
Date: 10/25/13

214 Captain Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $332,000
Buyer: Chi Ping Wang
Seller: Thomas A. Browne
Date: 10/30/13

117 Duxbury Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Jerome E. Noonan
Seller: Judith S. Brennan
Date: 10/28/13

28 Ellington St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Brian M. Keller
Seller: William J. McMahon
Date: 10/25/13

93 Jonquil Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Sundar Shanmuganathan
Seller: Charlotte Zeller
Date: 11/01/13

579 Laurel St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Michael C. Paul
Seller: Laurel St. NT
Date: 04/17/13

193 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: David A. Runge
Seller: Jonathan P. Longo
Date: 10/30/13

129 Meadowlark Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Nathan R. Larkin
Seller: Walter E. Sattler
Date: 10/25/13

52 Shady Knoll Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Gina M. Gilday
Seller: Andrew J. Russo
Date: 10/25/13

60 Westmoreland Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $327,000
Buyer: Maria L. Davis
Seller: Lori Byrne
Date: 10/30/13

LUDLOW

9 Applewood Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Michael Vallee
Seller: Nuno M. Pereira
Date: 10/29/13

56 Beachside Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $129,900
Buyer: Susan J. Gamelli
Seller: Ernest M. Mittelholzer
Date: 10/31/13

45 Cady St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Daryl Robinovitz
Seller: Marcia G. Chwalek
Date: 10/29/13

36 Carmelinas Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Pauldin LLC
Seller: Irenue Freitas
Date: 10/29/13

105 Cislak Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $467,000
Buyer: James Liritzis
Seller: MCA C&M C LLC
Date: 10/31/13

51 Glenwood St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Michelle E. Mateus
Seller: Jose F. Mateus
Date: 10/31/13

48 Grandview Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Tara L. Dasso
Seller: Lawrence A. Tomaskovic
Date: 10/23/13

Howard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Kristine M. Midura
Seller: Richard Z. Budzyna
Date: 10/29/13

116 John St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Edward C. Denette
Seller: Kevin Czaplicki
Date: 10/25/13

102 Miller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Stephen O. Lamoureux
Seller: Edward F. Lamoureux
Date: 10/25/13

442 Miller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $176,000
Buyer: Melissa A. Graves
Seller: Fillion FT
Date: 10/29/13

N/A
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $196,500
Buyer: Matthew R. Bettencourt
Seller: Joseph R. Jorge
Date: 11/01/13

148 Pinewood Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $342,500
Buyer: Joseph R. Jorge
Seller: Janice M. Sullivan
Date: 11/01/13

Rosewood Dr. #3
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Heather M. Peek
Seller: Rosewood Meadows Inc.
Date: 10/28/13

80 West Akard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $149,500
Buyer: Pedro N. Mena
Seller: Wehner, Elizabeth A., (Estate)
Date: 10/25/13

177 Whitney St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Gregg J. Villeneuve
Seller: Jeffrey T. Braese
Date: 10/29/13

68 Yale St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Newell
Seller: John R. Forkey
Date: 10/24/13

MONSON

66 Bradway Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $319,000
Buyer: Paul R. Brandt
Seller: James W. Pennington
Date: 11/01/13

8 Crest Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Gary E. Spear
Seller: Richard C. Rodrigues
Date: 10/31/13

3 Ely Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: Parker D. Brown
Seller: Duane R. Pray
Date: 10/25/13

MONTGOMERY

71 New State Road
Montgomery, MA 01085
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jonathan J. Lorenzatti
Seller: Stelle, John D., (Estate)
Date: 10/23/13

PALMER

104 Beech St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: James R. Lessard
Seller: Judy M. Quintin
Date: 10/30/13

202 Burlingame Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $161,000
Buyer: Jason K. Stutz
Seller: Anna Feigelman
Date: 10/31/13

25 Charles St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Denise F. Davey
Seller: Charles McCabe
Date: 10/24/13

7 Crawford St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Vision Investment Properties LLC
Seller: ELB Rentals LLC
Date: 11/01/13

9 Crawford St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Vision Investment Properties LLC
Seller: DWG LLC
Date: 11/01/13

49 Elizabeth St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Matthew G. Guberow
Seller: Ana G. Serrazina
Date: 10/23/13

8 Holbrook St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: William H. Bulman
Date: 10/31/13

49 Longview St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Sarah M. Okseniak
Seller: Marion C. Stephenson
Date: 10/25/13

SPRINGFIELD

64 Amos Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $187,000
Buyer: Bandhu Adhikari
Seller: Global Homes Props. LLC
Date: 11/01/13

226 Arnold Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Israel Maldonado
Seller: Dorothy I. Almeida
Date: 10/28/13

49 Ashland Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $141,500
Buyer: Michael J. Fijal
Seller: Carol A. Fijal
Date: 10/24/13

46 Aspen Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Thomas E. Dunn
Seller: Jessica M. Brown
Date: 10/28/13

111 Belvidere St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Heyda Martinez
Seller: Christi A. Seiple-Cole
Date: 10/31/13

1245 Bradley Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $178,900
Buyer: Timber L. Pierce
Seller: Daniel J. Molta
Date: 10/31/13

72 Cara Lane
Springfield, MA 01028
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Heather R. Magnus
Seller: David A. Runge
Date: 10/29/13

1663 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $183,706
Buyer: Freedom Mortgage Corp.
Seller: Marta N. Aponte
Date: 10/29/13

292 Centre St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Julie E. Belniak
Seller: Scott, Andrew R., (Estate)
Date: 10/31/13

66 Chesterfield Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Shawn R. Iennaco
Seller: William N. Baxter
Date: 10/29/13

5 Copeland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Erick H. Santiago
Seller: John Walsh
Date: 10/28/13

109 Dewitt St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $159,500
Buyer: Anthony J. Zalowski
Seller: Jason D. Charpentier
Date: 10/25/13

652 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Huang Family Property LLC
Seller: JJS Capital Inv. LLC
Date: 10/29/13

112 Fountain St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Luis R. Ulloa
Seller: Wendy F. Rojas
Date: 10/24/13

44 Gail St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Yisroel Gesin
Seller: Saw Construction LLC
Date: 11/01/13

390 Gillette Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Kristin Duke
Seller: Michael D. Maynard
Date: 10/24/13

84 Governor St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $138,000
Buyer: Jacqueline Perez
Seller: Zhenhua Li
Date: 11/01/13

22 Gowey St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Robert Velez
Seller: John A. Robertson
Date: 10/28/13

100 Green Lane
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Christopher E. Johnsen
Seller: Fortsch, John J. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 11/01/13

35 247 Hanson Dr.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $117,500
Buyer: Brittney C. Patrie
Seller: Eleanor M. Sullivan

Island Pond Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $303,675
Buyer: Jill M. Giard
Seller: John F. Daniele
Date: 10/31/13

102 Kirk Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Ashley A. Pietras
Seller: Richard S. Silvester LLC
Date: 10/30/13

15 Litchfield St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Grace James Realty LLC
Seller: Anndor Properties LLC
Date: 10/28/13

206 Mazarin St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $180,200
Buyer: Grahams Construction Inc.
Seller: Merigian, Anne Z., (Estate)
Date: 10/23/13

66 Midway St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $117,000
Buyer: Leshawn A. Polk
Seller: Holly A. Gray
Date: 10/24/13

80 Milford St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Kenardo H. Douglas
Seller: Victoria J. Pierce
Date: 10/22/13

139 Moss Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Fitzgerald
Seller: Michael A. Vallee
Date: 10/22/13

48 Oregon St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $134,000
Buyer: Warren R. Tanguay
Seller: Beth Adams
Date: 10/29/13

40 Pecousic St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $134,900
Buyer: Nicholas A. Laferriere
Seller: Steven D. Dzubak
Date: 10/22/13

18 Porter St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $138,775
Buyer: Donville Riley
Seller: Tilley, Doris, (Estate)
Date: 10/25/13

15 Rosella St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $122,150
Buyer: Nydia E. Crespo
Seller: Steven J. Raucci
Date: 10/31/13

58 Sherbrooke St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $116,500
Buyer: William J. Lapponese
Seller: Anthony Mbagara
Date: 10/25/13

16 Varney St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Russell C. Pecenak
Seller: Scott D. Rumplik
Date: 10/25/13

156 West Canton Circle
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $127,500
Buyer: Roberto L. Maymi
Seller: Lloyd R. Bredenbeck
Date: 10/29/13

191 Westford Circle
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Richard Rodriguez
Seller: Leila M. Holness
Date: 10/30/13

55 Wing St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $141,500
Buyer: Shawn M. Jiles
Seller: Daniel R. Alpiarca
Date: 10/31/13

137 Winton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $125,063
Buyer: Jeffrey E. Fritz
Seller: Aimee J. Mooneyham
Date: 10/25/13

SOUTHWICK

96 Point Grove Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Christopher Allen
Seller: Lakeside Motors Inc.
Date: 10/28/13

87 Powder Mill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Xavier Cody
Seller: Robert R. Ferreira
Date: 11/01/13

35 Ranch Club Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Aaron B. Gorvine
Seller: Steven P. Beals
Date: 11/01/13

WALES

79 Mount Hitchcock Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $157,250
Buyer: Ruth Curboy
Seller: FNMA
Date: 11/01/13

31 Shore Dr.
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Henry F. Decoteau
Seller: Wilfred J. Anair
Date: 10/25/13

WEST SPRINGFIELD

304 Edgewood Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Jonathan H. Frost
Seller: Katherine S. Laposta
Date: 10/24/13

116 Garden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: Miguel A. Albert
Seller: Kathleen Riley
Date: 10/23/13

22 Hill St.
Amount: $130,100
Buyer: Alim Radzhabov
Seller: James C. Durand
Date: 10/31/13

123 Jensen Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $188,500
Buyer: Stephen J. Hutton
Seller: William F. Balicki
Date: 11/01/13

57 Maple Terrace
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $181,613
Buyer: RSP Realty LLC
Seller: Robert W. Castor
Date: 10/29/13

10 Sherwood Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Lindsay A. Giaquinto
Seller: Joseph E. Lynch
Date: 10/31/13

40 Worthy Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Danny Silva
Seller: Debra Himmen
Date: 10/29/13

WESTFIELD

16 Berkshire Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Robert A. Kulas
Seller: FNMA
Date: 10/24/13

36 Camelot Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Ralph P. Megliola
Seller: Cynthia A. Sutter
Date: 10/30/13

10 Carroll Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $182,400
Buyer: Robert Martin
Seller: Susan M. Sawyer
Date: 10/22/13

10 Columbia St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $143,833
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Carrie S. Dearing
Date: 10/21/13

41 Day Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Anna Michael
Seller: Stuart B. Gordon
Date: 10/30/13

10 Dubois St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $117,750
Buyer: Karl L. Scholpp
Seller: Gary D. Hagar
Date: 10/29/13

41 Flynn Meadow Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $379,900
Buyer: Robert W. Castor
Seller: RSP Realty LLC
Date: 10/29/13

6 Hickory Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Kimberly P. Michaud
Seller: Frederick R. Benda
Date: 11/01/13

6 King Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $143,900
Buyer: Matthew P. Rolfe
Seller: Adrian B. Dion
Date: 10/31/13

15 Lawton Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Richard F. Tirrell
Seller: Mary Gayle Ahearn
Date: 10/31/13

28 Linden Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $187,200
Buyer: Jon Randel Quarles
Seller: Kimberly A. Douglas
Date: 10/25/13

68 Old Quarry Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $180,500
Buyer: Christopher M. Bush
Seller: Marciano Rodriguez
Date: 10/31/13

61 Overlook Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $349,000
Buyer: Robert J. Carey
Seller: William V. Ashton
Date: 10/31/13

47 Pequot Point Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Linda M. Keeler
Seller: Saris Resources LLC
Date: 10/25/13

239 Springdale Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: B. R. Jarvis-Sipitkowski
Seller: Peter A. Lemieux
Date: 10/21/13

67 Susan Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Ruslan V. Mukha
Seller: Henry J. Stebbins
Date: 10/30/13

234 Union St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Jennifer Sears
Seller: David M. Jez
Date: 10/28/13

WILBRAHAM

123 Beebe Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Donald E. Libiszewski
Seller: Robert G. Skinner
Date: 10/31/13

15 Highridge Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: James E. Rooks
Seller: Andrew F. Sears
Date: 11/01/13

7 Pidgeon Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Scott Barrus
Seller: Henry W. Lis
Date: 10/28/13

870 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Matthew N. Chaplin
Seller: Silver Key Properties LLC
Date: 10/25/13

22 Tinkham Glen
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $288,000
Buyer: William J. Lapalm
Seller: Gregory W. Eaton
Date: 11/01/13

13 Wellfleet Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Elliott T. Eady
Seller: Paul R. Falvey
Date: 10/30/13

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

74 Blue Hills Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $332,000
Buyer: Henry E. Whitlock
Seller: Elaine P. Bowditch
Date: 11/01/13

2 Carriage Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $137,500
Buyer: Jon L. Alix
Seller: Mark A. Matasavage
Date: 10/21/13

125 Cottage St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Hall
Seller: Goddard, Helen B., (Estate)
Date: 11/01/13

337 East Hadley Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Zhenhua Liu
Seller: Fretsaul LP
Date: 10/25/13

37 Harris St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Nicola M. Usher
Seller: John H. Fanton
Date: 10/31/13

6 Lawrence Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $559,000
Buyer: Christopher Blount
Seller: Saddle River Partners
Date: 10/31/13

35 Newell Court
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Molly R. Strehorn
Seller: Marian H. Ware
Date: 10/24/13

49 Owen Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $770,000
Buyer: John H. Fanton
Seller: David R. Coulombe
Date: 10/31/13

517 Pine St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Daniel Berry
Seller: John H. Martin
Date: 10/29/13

50 Station Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $313,000
Buyer: Alison E. Wilson
Seller: Mares In Charge Ltd
Date: 10/30/13

395 West St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Donald A. Laverdiere
Seller: HAP Inc.
Date: 11/01/13

BELCHERTOWN

33 2 Ponds Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Jane A. Taubman
Seller: William J. Morrissey
Date: 10/30/13

344 Amherst Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Carl J. Morin
Seller: Robert V. Letourneau
Date: 10/30/13

13 Dogwood Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Mark E. Burdzy
Seller: J. N. Duquette & Son Construction
Date: 10/29/13

Hickory Hill
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $343,700
Buyer: James P. O’Connor
Seller: J. N. Duquette & Son Construction
Date: 10/25/13

59 Maple St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Ivy A. Lenihan
Seller: Brian L. Adams
Date: 10/31/13

30 North St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jeri Baker
Seller: Thomas H. Carmean
Date: 10/25/13

233 Old Enfield Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Matthew E. Lavallee
Seller: Leroy W. Flohr
Date: 10/29/13

22 Rimrock Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $272,500
Buyer: Michael W. Forcum
Seller: Ivy A. Lenihan
Date: 10/31/13

142 Rockrimmon St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Haiying Gao
Seller: Suzanne M. Smith
Date: 10/21/13

CHESTERFIELD

79 Indian Hollow Road
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $117,500
Buyer: Alice J. Williams
Seller: Grace A. Kingsbury
Date: 10/23/13

215 Willicutt Road
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jaime M. Berrian
Seller: Clark, Merwin S., (Estate)
Date: 10/25/13

CUMMINGTON

38 Trouble St.
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Raymond R. Rex
Seller: Helen Chillman
Date: 10/31/13

80 West Main St.
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $605,000
Buyer: Wood Eye LLC
Seller: Scott E. Magoon
Date: 10/21/13

EASTHAMPTON

1 Autumn Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Mary C. Coyle
Seller: Summit Ridge Builders Inc.
Date: 10/24/13

1 Beechwood Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Raj Kumar
Seller: Priscilla M. Hatch
Date: 10/29/13

59 Briggs St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $131,250
Buyer: Mark Delisle
Seller: Lyla L. Durant
Date: 10/31/13

78 Highland Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Walfredo Rolon
Seller: Christopher J. Lyons
Date: 10/22/13

12 Keddy St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Amanda Barrow
Seller: Daniel L. Routhier
Date: 10/30/13

43 Knipfer Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Marianne F. Foote
Seller: Stanislawa Ciborowski
Date: 10/25/13

GOSHEN

4 Highland Road
Goshen, MA 01032
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: James F. Heroux
Seller: Alyssa N. Dawson
Date: 11/01/13

174 Loomis Road
Goshen, MA 01032
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Peter F. Lafogg
Seller: Polansky FT
Date: 10/25/13

GRANBY

126 Batchelor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Ealine M. Bergeron
Seller: Wilson, Barbara R., (Estate)
Date: 10/30/13

HADLEY

27 Middle St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Christian Stanley
Seller: John A. Edwards

35 Newton Lane
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Marian Chapman
Seller: Clara L. Chapman
Date: 10/21/13

298 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Buyer: Hollrock Realy LLC
Seller: Chun S. Yoon
Date: 10/29/13

111 West St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Mark J. Krause
Seller: PDV Inc.
Date: 10/30/13

HATFIELD

145 Main St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Raymond C. Laflamme
Seller: Angela Borer
Date: 11/01/13

73 Main St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Judith A. Strong
Seller: Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield
Date: 10/30/13

HUNTINGTON

58 Harlow Clark Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Michael D. St.Martin
Seller: Thomas A. Luppi
Date: 11/01/13

NORTHAMPTON

30 Avis Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: James A. North
Seller: Daniel A. Gingras
Date: 11/01/13

73 Bridge St.
Northampton, MA 01039
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Tamar Shadur RET
Seller: JEM RT
Date: 10/29/13

145 Chestnut St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $369,000
Buyer: Marie Helene Charlap
Seller: Katheleen F. Jerome
Date: 10/25/13

149 Elm St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $823,526
Buyer: ADB 1 Properties LLC
Seller: Noho Partners LLP
Date: 10/31/13

36 Highland Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $297,000
Buyer: Andrea L. Garon
Seller: Elizabeth B. Fitzpatrick
Date: 10/25/13

Moser St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Wright Builders Inc.
Seller: Hospital Hill Development LLC
Date: 10/24/13

86 Moser St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $504,172
Buyer: K. M. Pastrich-Klemer
Seller: Kent Pecoy & Sons Construction
Date: 10/29/13

139 Nonotuck St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Lisa H. Henderson
Seller: Kregg C. Strehorn
Date: 10/24/13

184 North Elm St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $391,800
Buyer: Brian A. Hagan
Seller: James J. Young
Date: 10/31/13

15 Nutting Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Jonathan D. Weil
Seller: Shirley M. Rodgers
Date: 11/01/13

247 Riverside Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Daniel K. Dacri
Seller: Philip Perrault LT
Date: 10/25/13

334 Spring St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Jonathan Langmuir
Seller: Weigele, Louis C., (Estate)
Date: 10/25/13

74 Straw Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Jane Myers
Seller: Brian A. Hagan
Date: 10/31/13

SOUTH HADLEY

47 Boynton Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $162,500
Buyer: David R. Michaud
Seller: Tammy Koske
Date: 10/31/13

96 College St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $322,500
Buyer: Susan R. Carson
Seller: Pitt, Sallie H., (Estate)
Date: 10/28/13

24 High St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Allen G. Croteau
Seller: Jeffrey Labrecque
Date: 10/31/13

9 Hunter Terrace
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $182,000
Buyer: Sara J. Whitcomb
Seller: Matthew P. Ryczek
Date: 10/30/13

31 Lathrop St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Alan J. Anischik
Seller: Michael Forcum
Date: 10/31/13

4 Los Angeles St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Joshua H. Cloutier
Seller: Bocon, Frances, (Estate)
Date: 10/31/13

29 Queen Circle
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Lorraine R. Bail
Seller: Carlotta D. Michel
Date: 11/01/13

303 River Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Richard F. Marjanski
Seller: Wallace, Karen A., (Estate)
Date: 10/25/13

26 River Lodge Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $343,000
Buyer: Kari B. Kastango
Seller: Patrick J. Spring
Date: 10/29/13

29 San Souci Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Buyer: Sean M. Dean
Seller: Carolyn J. Anischik
Date: 10/25/13

72 School St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Brian Duffey
Seller: Viviane A. Wailgum
Date: 10/24/13

57 Searle Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Cheryl C. Danek
Seller: Vincent M. Muto
Date: 10/25/13

18 Waite Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: John Courtney
Seller: Daniel R. Cantin
Date: 11/01/13

SOUTHAMPTON

42 Bissonnette Circle
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $439,900
Buyer: Robert P. Korpela
Seller: G&F Custom Built Homes
Date: 10/22/13

30 Gilbert Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Paul M. Furgal
Seller: Jacinthe Giroux-Slavas
Date: 10/25/13

27 Helen Dr.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Anthony Fedirko
Seller: Barcomb & Buteau FT
Date: 10/30/13

74 Pleasant St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Nicholas M. Simonich
Seller: Robert Barcomb
Date: 11/01/13

85 Pleasant St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $529,900
Buyer: Vanderberghe FT
Seller: James F. Boyle
Date: 10/31/13

153 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: James Boyle
Seller: Daniel H. Kowal
Date: 10/24/13

WARE

136 Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Natasha Bourdeau
Seller: Beatrice L. Pajak
Date: 11/01/13

2 Desantis Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $223,000
Buyer: Christopher Proulx
Seller: Daniel D. Slattery
Date: 10/31/13

83 Fisherdick Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Michael Jackson
Seller: Frederick J. Shea
Date: 10/30/13

33 Greenwich Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $167,900
Buyer: Tyler J. Siegel
Seller: Mary E. Stelmokas
Date: 10/30/13

86 Greenwich Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Aileen R. Kelly
Seller: Stasia Wroblicki
Date: 10/25/13

258 Malboeuf Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Hampshire East Properties LLC
Seller: D. C. Fontaine-Pincince
Date: 11/01/13

WESTHAMPTON

77 Laurel Hill Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $372,000
Buyer: Patricia L. Reidhead
Seller: Barbara Suddaby
Date: 10/28/13

56 Reservoir Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Rebecca Cummings
Seller: UMass Five College Credit Union
Date: 10/31/13

56 Reservoir Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $277,273
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Jeremy J. Majewski
Date: 10/25/13

WILLIAMSBURG

94 Mountain St.
Williamsburg, MA 01062
Amount: $534,000
Buyer: Glen W. Moon
Seller: Brian B. Alstadt
Date: 10/23/13

WORTHINGTON

44 Old Main Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Brian G. Longley
Seller: Zenon J. Dastous
Date: 10/30/13

Bankruptcies

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Bankruptcies Departments

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

Ahlberg, Jessica E.
240 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/04/13

Alvarez, Iris
50 Hitchcock St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/15/13

Arsenault, Cassie Lynn
a/k/a Cornwell, Cassie Lynn
125 Cleveland St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Aycox, Cherie
94 Spikenard Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Balboni, Jeffrey A.
27 Pine Grove Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/09/13

Bolduc, David M.
145 Overlook Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/09/13

Bouchard, Alice M.
93 Pheasant Hill Dr., A
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/15/13

Boyle-Glidden, Susan
120 Allyn St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/11/13

Brazill, John W.
120 Highland Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/11/13

Burke, Norman E.
Burke, Robin M.
195 Keyes Road
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/09/13

Cruz, Michael Jao
102 Kenyon St. Apt 3
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/08/13

Delorge, Sandra L.
33 Westford Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Ey, Darryl H.
Sepiol-Ey, Kimberly A.
5 Pinneywoods Ave.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/14/13

Faucher, Jamie R.
298 Oakham Road #19
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/03/13

Ferris, Cynthia L.
81 Tanner St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Fili, Maria L.
522 Cold Spring Ave., Apt 1B
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/11/13

Fortin, Charles
Fortin, Debra
215 Silver St.
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Fox, Monika Nicole
a/k/a Lisek, Monika
117 Springfield St.
Three Rivers, MA 01080
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/09/13

Gathro, Elizabeth N.
123 Edgewood Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Gillis, Brian A.
Gillis, Linda F.
a/k/a Bousquet, Linda F.
a/k/a Whipple, Linda F.
378 Holtshire Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Gordon, Holly M.
123 Mattawa Circle
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Harper, Phillip V.
Harper, Jane V.
15 Webbs Court
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/08/13

Hunter, Merton Wilbur
Hunter, Patricia W.
153 Vadnais St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/15/13

Hurley, Jocelyn
a/k/a Caisse, Jocelyn
49 Circle Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/04/13

Josefek, Terri-Anne
163 Whitney St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Kaminski, Daniel J.
3 Mary Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/04/13

La Forest, Jason M.
45 Versailles Ave.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/03/13

Labonte, Diane T.
735 Memorial Dr., TR-73
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/11/13

Livingston, Christine M.
30 Yorktown Dr.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/07/13

Lussier, Carol E.
39 Redstone Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/04/13

Malloy, David A.J.
Malloy, Kimberly A
202 Columbia St.
Adams, MA 01220
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/01/13

Mayhan, Joni K.
135 Old Coldbrook Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/15/13

McComb, Joyce A.
6 Stirling Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/08/13

McGuirk, Kimberly A.
59 Cailan Way
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/01/13

McSwain, Susan J.
419 Montcalm St.
Apt. 114 M
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Merriam, Khristin A.
a/k/a O’Sullivan, Khristin A.
31 Letendre Ave.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/11/13

Michon, Cynthia A.
18 Patrick St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/01/13

Morse, Andrew
411 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01351
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Newsome, Jeffrey
Newsome, Catherine F.
16 Ballard St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Olsen, Keith H.
12 Smith Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Ormsby, Basil N.
285 Williams St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/08/13

Owusu, Benjamin K.
a/k/a Owusu, Benjamin Kwabena
Owusu, Janet
27 Whittier St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/08/13

Perrin, Clifford E.
10 School St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/10/13

Pion, Tammy M.
a/k/a Wainwright, Tammy M.
a/k/a Peon, Chire
44 Line St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/09/13

Pitcher, Gary
Pitcher, Amber
a/k/a Daniels, Amber
5 Capri Terrace
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/03/13

Quinn, Brendan Michael
Quinn, Erica Vanderleeden
470 Bliss Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Radionov, Dmitriy
35 Colony Road 2-B
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/03/13

Rivera, Maria V.
Rivera, Pablo
29 Waterford Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/11/13

Rodriguez, Marilyn
a/k/a Laracuente, Marilyn Rodriguez
31 Elcon Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/01/13

Rodriguez, Monika
36 Jimmy Court
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/11/13

Sosa, Tammy L.
42 West St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Wackerbarth, John Fredrick
Wackerbarth, Anne Theresa
45 Pineywood Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/30/13

Whitney, Mark S.
Whitney, Kathleen R.
34 Sumner Ave., #314
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/07/13

Wolf, Jaime L.
64 Timber Lane
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/02/13

Zaldivar, Nicholas
17 Grandview Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/09/13

Doing Business as Certificates

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

DBA Certificates Departments

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

AGAWAM

Almighty Sports
322 Meadow St.
Larry Garlington

Annie Lou’s Bungalow Chic
347 North Westfield St.
Judy Cusano

Crossfit Blue Diamond
270 Main St.
Jennifer Matos

Division 7 Management
39 Tanglewood Lane
Michelle Heim-Balch

JM Contractors
83 Fairview St.
Justin Mercieri

Mary Kay
172 School St.
Karen Melloni

Rick’s Pools Inc.
507 Springfield St.
Robert A. Fleming

Western Mass Vinyl Siding
430 Main St.
Paul Lafromboise

CHICOPEE

Happy Green Clean
80 Billings St.
Amber N. Deshaies

Lacasse Document Service
40 Mount Vernon St.
Margaret Lacasse

Lynch Service
12 Wawel St.
Edward Lynch

T.J.N. Entertainment
51 Lincoln St.
Timothy Noonan

EAST LONGMEADOW

Danny’s PC Repair
624 North Main St.
Minh Vien

Nail Party
628 North Main St.
Kwan Jong

The Spa of Eden Skin & Body
51 Prospect St.
Yelena Ivanov

GREENFIELD

Andy’s & The Oak Shoppe
352 Deerfield St.
Easton Finn Moore, Inc.

Facey Plumbing & Heating Inc.
305 Wells St.
David Facey

Funeral Consumers Alliance
174 Wells St.
Carol Coan

Plum
192 Main St.
Carrie Timberlake

Stebbins Construction
14 Chapman St.
Joshua Stebbins

Taproot Psychotherapy
25 Bank Row
Alexandra Osterman

HOLYOKE

Calendar Store
50 Holyoke St.
Saira Chaudhry

Colorful Loom
50 Holyoke St.
Galib Musallimov

M’s Essentials
50 Holyoke St.
Emilie Brodeur

One Stop Liquor Store
161 Suffolk St.
Mita Patel

Perennial Solution
145 Brown Ave.
Eric Toensmeier

Sam’s Food Store
515 High St.
Niles E. Waller

PALMER

American Woodworks
4022 Main St.
Roger Barnes

Joyce Skowyra Photography
5 Robinson Road
Joyce Skowyra

SPRINGFIELD

Linguistic Line
32 Ashmun St.
Lydia Lopez

Lozada’s Auto Sales
86 Boston Road
Daniel Lozada

Majestic Wireless
444 Chestnut St.
Felipe DeJesus

Maria’s Cleaning
36 Kensington Ave.
Maria O. Gonzalez

Mars Real Properties
249 Cooley St.
Mario Tascon

Miramar Quick Service
1762 Boston Road
Khalid Drihmi

Mundo Mobile 2 Wireless
712 Boston Road
Rafael Dominguez

O.F. Welker Inc.
1800 Allen St.
Otto F. Welker

Oral Shades Center
1795 Main St.
Imad Awkal

Perez Cleaning Services
855 Liberty St.
Petronila Perez

Precision Numerics
101 Cliftwood St.
Robert W. Drago

Professional Meats of New England
100 Brandon Ave.
David J. Smith

Riya Bansri Inc.
969 Berkshire Ave.
Chandresh S. Patel

RevStar Bowling Universal
41 Amherst St.
Edrian D. Singleton

T & S Professional Service
668 Dickinson St.
Son T. Vo

The Spot
445 Main St.
Michael Ortiz

Value Discount Inc.
794 Sate St.
Abdul Sattar

White Glove Cleaning
28 Beaumont Terrace
Chandler Daniels

WESTFIELD

2 Owls LAX
85 Hillcrest Circle
Richard Gendreau

Ambient Conditions
11 Day Ave.
Glenn Farrelly

United American Muslim Association of Western Mass.
246 Elm St.
Farzaan Mufeed

Walter’s Fin Frames
55 North Elm St.
Walter C. Samwell

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Advanced Towing
174 Kings Highway
Andrew Conner

Backyard Bar & Grille
1506 Riverdale St.
Jeanette Norman

Cassandra Murray
10 Central St.
Cassandra Murray

Dunamis Express
20 Hampden St.
Elmira Usmonova

Maids on Call, LLC
1680 Riverdale St.
Maryann Scussel

Rossen & Sons Landscaping
37 Squassick Road
Ronald O. Rossen

Westside Cuts
84 Westfield St.
Erik J. Berrios

Incorporations

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 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.

AMH2ERST

From A Birdie Inc., 87 East Pleasant St., Apt. B, Amherst, MA 01002. Agustin Schapira, same. Development, marketing and sale of consumer goods.

CHICOPEE

Confraternidad De Iglesias Del Salvador: Nueva Jerusalen, 237 Hampden St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Saul Ramos, 4711 West 125th St., Cleveland, OH 44135. A fraternity of churches.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Jelescheff Law, P.C., 337 Somers Road, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Scott Jelescheff, same. Law office.

FEEDING HILLS

Bluestone Insurance Inc., 1325 Springfield, St. Unit 15(6), Feeding Hills, MA 01030. Brett Ralph, 233 North Stone St., West Suffield, CT 06093. Insurance agency.

HOLYOKE

Bialas Custom Interiors Inc., 68 Winter St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Adam Bialas, same. Interior construction and finish work.

NORTHAMPTON

Mayflower Naturals Corp., 10 Highland Ave., Northampton, MA 01060. Joshua Bell, same. Antiquarian, historical, literary, scientific, medical, chiropractic, artistic, monumental or musical purpose.

Mayflower Organix Corp., 10 Highland Ave., Northampton, MA 01060. Jana Edelbaum, 17 East 80th St., New York, 10075. Antiquarian, historical, literary, scientific, medical, chiropractic, artistic, monumental, or musical purpose.

PITTSFIELD

MPS Media Inc., 75 Sherwood Dr., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Andrew Schneider, same. Television production, management, and consulting.

Pittsfield Engineering Corporation, 777 West St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Christine McCrery, same. Industrial services.

Star Tag Inc., 26 Dunham Mall, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Bi Wang, same. Transportation.

SOUTH HADLEY

Construction Labor Unlimited Inc., 17 Forest Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075. Jesus Rodriguez, 273 Roger St., South Hadley, MA 01075. Commercial construction contractor.

SOUTHAMPTON

Pizza 99 Co. Inc., 15J College Highway, Southampton, MA 01073. John Diamandakis, same. Bar and restaurant.

SPRINGFIELD

The Law Offices of David J. Lemasa P.C., 83 State St., Springfield, MA 01103. David Lemasa, 1409 Sunfield Dr., South Windsor, CT 06074. Law.

TSMD Consulting Inc., 73 State St., Suite 310, Springfield, MA 01103. Thomas Spencer, 22 Myrtle Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040. Consulting for horticulture industry.

Way Community Baptist Church, 18 East Alvord St., Springfield, MA 01108. Rev. Viola McCoy Pastor, same. To preserve the Baptist faith, through worship service, Christian education, choir, and community outreach ministry.

World Concrete Contractors Inc., 1655 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103. Santos Rodriguez Gonzalez, same. Concrete solution and construction.

Xtrem Radio Victoria Inc., 26 Haskin St., Springfield, MA 01109. Wilfred Hernandez, same. Civic social education of religion.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Pioneer Flooring Solutions, 116 Grandview Ave., West Springfield, MA 01089. John Spano, same. Construction and flooring contractor.

Wise Truck Inc., 202 Day St., West Springfield, MA 01089. Sergey Mudry. 900 Morgan Road, West Springfield, MA 01089. Truck service.

WILBRAHAM

Paramount Construction ABC Inc., 35 Springfield St., Wilbraham, MA 01095. John Pappanikou, same. Construction and contractor.

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Briefcase Departments

State’s Jobless Rate Remains Above 7%
BOSTON — The state’s unemployment rate remained above 7% for the fourth consecutive month in October as the Commonwealth’s expansion continued what has been a slow advance. The jobless rate rose to 7.2% in October, compared with 7.1% in September and 7.2% in August, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The U.S. unemployment rate was 7.3% for October. Massachusetts added 9,100 jobs in October after increasing payrolls by 9,400 positions in September, the state reported. However, those gains were not enough to put a dent in unemployment, analysts said. The automatic federal budget cuts known as sequestration, which went into effect earlier this year, have disproportionately hurt Massachusetts, due to its high concentration of industries that rely on such funding, such as defense, healthcare, and scientific research, experts noted. The leisure and hospitality sector, which includes hotels and restaurants, led October’s job gains, adding 3,200 positions. Trade, transportation, and utilities gained 2,500 jobs, and the education and health services sector added 1,900 jobs. Construction jobs have grown steadily, adding 1,300 jobs in the month and 6,300 over the past year, a 5.5% increase. The financial activities sector added 600 jobs in October, and the professional, scientific, and business services sector gained only 600 jobs. Manufacturing lost 1,400 jobs over the month, and government employers cut 200 jobs.

Senate Backs Minimum-wage Hike; House Considering Vote
BOSTON — The state Senate voted overwhelmingly late last month to raise the state’s minimum wage from $8 per hour to $11 per hour over three years, putting the Commonwealth on track for the highest such pay in the nation. The Senate voted 32-7 to approve the increase. The measure calls for $1 increases on July 1 in the next three years. House leaders are balking at the proposal, however, warning that it would be a mistake unless the state also cuts costs for businesses by overhauling the state’s unemployment-insurance system. “Right now, the whole proposal, as far as we’re concerned, is in flux,” Speaker Joe DeLeo told the Boston Globe, adding that he expects a vote in the House will wait until at least January.

Governor Pledges $200m for I-91 Viaduct Work
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Deval Patrick announced $200 million late last month to replace a section of the I-91 viaduct in downtown Springfield, but told the audience at an Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield luncheon that the 2½-year project is only one step toward taking that section of the highway to grade level — or below. “It’s a great opportunity for the city and region to restore the connection of the downtown and riverfront,” Patrick told those assembled. The city’s mayor, Domenic Sarno, said the project could have a potentially huge impact on the city, and said he’s asked the state to think big. “Stay tuned,” he told the audience. “I want something bold and visionary.”

Millford Voters Latest to Say ‘No’ to a Casino
MILFORD — Voters in Milford became the latest in the state to turn thumbs down to a casino plan late last month, rejecting a $1 billion proposal involving Foxwoods by a nearly 2-1 margin. The agreement, which would have allowed the casino giant access to a resort on 187 acres off Interstate 495, was defeated by a vote of 65% to 35%. Voters in Milford thus joined those in West Springfield, Palmer, East Boston, and other cities and towns that have rejected casinos in their communities.

Tower Square Chosen for UMass Satellite Facility
SPRINGFIELD — UMass Amherst officials have chosen Tower Square in downtown Springfield as the site of what’s being called a “satellite center,” which is due to be open for the start of the fall semester in 2014. The facility will be known as “UMass Springfield.” At an elaborate press conference staged in the Tower Square concourse, university, state, and city officials announced that the MassMutual-owned facility had prevailed in a months-long competition to host the satellite facility. The other locations to submit bids were Harrison Place, 1350 Main St. (One Financial Plaza), and the Peter Pan bus terminal. The center will include academic programs to be offered by the UMass campuses in conjunction with UMass Online and UMass Amherst’s Springfield programs.

WSU Trustees Name Interim President
WESTFIELD — Westfield State University trustees have named Elizabeth Preston, vice president of Student Affairs, as the school’s interim president, following the resignation early last month of embattled president Evan Dobelle. Preston will serve until a permanent president is selected, a process that university board of trustees chairman John Flynn expects will take at least until the end of the school year to complete.

Mohegan Sun, Suffolk Downs to Team Up for Revere Casino Bid
BOSTON — Connecticut casino giant Mohegan Sun has agreed to join a Suffolk Downs casino bid in Revere, giving both parties in that entity a second chance to win big in the competition for coveted casino licenses. Mohegan Sun had spent the past five years trying to win the rights to build a casino off the Mass. Turnpike exit in Palmer, but voters there rejected a host-community agreement at a Nov. 5 referendum vote. Meanwhile, Suffolk Downs saw voters in East Boston reject plans to build a casino on track-owned land in that community. Track officials later reworked their plans — placing the casino entirely on land in neighboring Revere, which approved a casino referendum — and commenced a search for a new partner after Caesars Entertainment was asked to bow out amid questions and concerns posed by the Mass. Gaming Commission.

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Company Notebook Departments

Rockville Financial, United Financial to Merge
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Rockville Financial Inc. and United Financial Bancorp announced recently that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $369 million, based on the closing price of Rockville Financial Inc. common stock on Nov. 14. The combination will create the largest community bank headquartered in the Hartford-Springfield market, with $4.8 billion in assets, more than 50 branches, and top-five deposit market share in each metropolitan statistical area. In the merger, United Financial Bancorp Inc. shareholders will receive 1.3472 shares of Rockville Financial Inc. common stock for each share of United Financial Bancorp Inc. common stock. Upon closing, Rockville Financial Inc. shareholders will own approximately 49% of stock in the combined company; United Financial Bancorp Inc. shareholders will own approximately 51%. The merger is expected to generate approximately $17.6 million in fully phased-in annual cost savings, or approximately 15% of the expected combined expense total. Additionally, the merger is expected to be approximately 30% accretive to the standalone 2015 earnings of both entities, excluding the impact of the potential revenue-enhancement opportunities. “We are very pleased to announce the combination of these two great community banks,” said William Crawford IV, president and CEO of Rockville Financial. “This merger is a significant step in our strategy to expand our footprint. Our complementary branch networks provide both greater market density and unique franchise scarcity value. The combined company will create a top-performing New England community bank that has the scale, product depth, and efficiency to compete effectively and deliver strong returns to our shareholders and an expanded product suite to our customers.” Added Richard Collins, United Financial Bancorp’s chairman, president, and CEO, “this transaction creates value for our shareholders, customers, and employees. We are uniting two strong community banks and creating a dominant player in the New England banking market with greater competitive strength, growth potential, and profitability. United Bank has a history of growth through mergers of equals dating back to our days as a cooperative bank. It is fitting that today we announce this merger of equals and celebrate the new United Bank.” The new company will be governed by a 20-person board of directors consisting of an equal number of Rockville and United directors. The leadership team of the combined company will be assembled from both organizations with Rockville’s Crawford serving as CEO, United’s J. Jeffrey Sullivan as president, and Rockville’s Eric Newell as chief financial officer. United Financial Bancorp’s Robert Stewart Jr. will serve as chairman of the board of directors, while Raymond Lefurge Jr. from Rockville will be appointed vice chairman. Other key executive positions will be drawn from the executive management teams of both organizations. Collins will retire and provide consulting services for one year. “I am excited to join Bill Crawford and the members of our combined management team to lead the combined company,” said Sullivan. “Individually we are each very good banks; together we have the critical mass to drive efficiency and growth, to take advantage of advancements in technology, and to deliver the best banking experience for our customers.” Upon closing, Rockville Bank will adopt the United name, and the holding company will be United Financial Bancorp Inc. Trading will continue on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol UBNK. The organization will be headquartered in Glastonbury, Conn. It will maintain regional offices in West Springfield and Worcester, as well as Enfield and South Windsor, Conn.

Boston Globe Names PeoplesBank a Top Place to Work
HOLYOKE — For the second year in a row and after an independent survey by WorkplaceDynamics, the Boston Globe has named PeoplesBank as one of Massachusetts’ best employers in its Top Places to Work magazine. “The companies on our Top Places to Work list foster productivity and innovation by investing in the happiness of their employees, which cannot solely be measured in dollars and cents,” said Boston Globe Business Editor Mark Pothier. The Boston Globe invited 1,746 companies to participate, more than 76,000 employee surveys were completed, and 125 were chosen as finalists. Douglas Bowen, president and CEO of PeoplesBank, credited his employees for the bank’s second Top Places to Work award, stating, “this award is really an affirmation from our associates. The Boston Globe named PeoplesBank a Top Place to Work, but their dedication makes it a great place to work.” PeoplesBank attributed its success in being named again this year to a high-performance culture that is focused on community service, environmental sustainability, and employee engagement. According to Janice Mazzallo, executive vice president of Human Resources at PeoplesBank, the bank has created a unique culture and set of values that focus on employee development, life-work balance, and community service. “In order for people to feel engaged, they need to feel as if the company cares about them. Our associates know that that we expect them to be effective and serve customers in a professional manner. They are also clear that we care about them, their families, and the community.” The Boston Globe also noted that, out of the 125 finalists, PeoplesBank was one of 11 that improved their scores the most over last year. The Top Places to Work magazine also highlighted the positive impact of the bank’s weekly farmers’ market. “We’re a local community bank, and for us to be supporting local agriculture, that’s just very important to us,” stated Susan Wilson, first vice president of Corporate Responsibility, in the article.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Departments People on the Move

Freedom Credit Union, which has nine branches throughout the Pioneer Valley, recently announced the following:

Patricia Carbee

• Patricia Carbee, Freedom’s Assistant Vice President of Internal Auditing, has been promoted to Vice President and Director of Enterprise Risk Management. Carbee, with more than 33 years of experience in the finance industry, including expertise in regulatory auditing, compliance auditing, lending, and management, will manage risk management, guide the development of a risk-based culture throughout all product lines, and oversee the Compliance Department, loan-litigation matters, and business continuity. Most recently, she was an Auditor with New England Credit Union Services, LLC, a division of the Massachusetts Credit Union League. Carbee earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Nichols College. She is also member of the Assoc. of Credit Union Internal Auditors and the Mass. Bankers Internal Auditors Assoc.;

Jeffrey Smith

• Jeffrey Smith joined Freedom as Chief Lending Officer and will manage commercial, mortgage, and consumer lending activities. Smith has 30 years of lending experience in the financial-services industry and has held several senior management positions throughout his career, including his most recent position as Vice President at Florence Savings Bank. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Orono and his MBA in Finance from Western New England University. He is currently President of the Northampton Rotary Club and a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley. Smith has also been an instructor for the Center for Financial Training since 1994, teaching courses on subjects such as real-estate finance, marketing, accounting, and analyzing financial statements; and

Nora Braska

• Nora Braska was named Freedom’s Training and Development Officer. She is responsible for managing employee training of Freedom’s staff and overseeing their professional development. Braska has more than 20 years of experience in the financial-services industry, including her most recent position as Assistant Vice President and Training Officer at Hampden Bank. She is a board member of the Center for Financial Training – Springfield Regional Council, and is a member of the Professional Women’s Chamber of Western Mass.
•••••

Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq., a partner in the Springfield-based law firm Goldsmith, Katz & Argenio, P.C., was selected as the first recipient of the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court Pro Bono Award for Western Mass. Goldsmith received the recognition from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. Goldsmith was presented the award by at a special reception held at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston on Oct. 23. The program honors those in the legal professions who have improved the availability of and delivered volunteer legal services in Massachusetts, and recognizes those who have served their local communities as well as assisted in the administration of justice in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. For more than 25 years, Goldsmith, a specialist in bankruptcy and commercial law, has represented debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, trustees, financial institutions, and creditors’ committees. Goldsmith received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and his juris doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law.
•••••
Jewish Geriatric Services (JGS), a healthcare system serving seniors and their families for more than 100 years, recently announced the following:
• Alta Stark has been named Director of Marketing & Public Relations and is responsible for ongoing marketing, public relations, and corporate communications for JGS and its affiliates. Stark comes to JGS from Baystate Health, where she spent more than six years as a senior communications specialist. Stark holds a master’s degree in Television, Radio & Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and graduated from SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising Design.
• Darlene Francis has been named Executive Vice President of Wernick Adult Day Health Care Center, located on the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of JGS. Francis is responsible for directing, supervising, and coordinating daily activities for participants at Wernick. Most recently, Francis was the practice manager of the JGS Family Medical Practice, which closed in June 2013. Francis received an associate’s degree in Medical Assisting from Springfield Technical Community College, and is certified by the AAMA. She also holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration from American International College, where she earned the Martha Wilson Memorial Award.
•••••

Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Amy B. Royal, Esq., Founding Partner of Royal LLP, the woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm, has been elected to serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Center for Human Development Inc.
•••••
TD Bank has promoted Lauren Winters to Store Manager of the 412 Boston Road store location. Winters is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing day-to-day operations. Winters has six years in banking centered on the customer experience, operations, and training. She joined TD Bank in 2011 and most recently served as an Assistant Store Manager in Chicopee.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Chamber Corners Departments

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

• Dec. 4: ACCGS Business @ Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by the Colony Club, Springfield. Community Foundation of Western Mass. President Katie Allan Zobel will explore the value of philanthropy, report on the success of the inaugural Valley Gives, and provide a sneak peek at this year’s 12-12-13 event. Sponsored by Masiello Employment Services. Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission, including complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.
• Dec. 11: ACCGS Lunch ‘n’ Learn, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hosted by La Quinta Inns & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. The program, “The Power of E-mail Marketing,” is a comprehensive look at best practices and winning strategies for getting an audience to open, read, and act on an email. Presented by Liz Provo, authorized local representative for Constant Contact. Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for generation admission, including networking time and a boxed lunch. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by calling Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

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

• Dec. 11: Chamber After 5/Holiday Party, 5-7 p.m. Hosted by the Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave., Amherst. Sponsored by Amherst Laser & Skin Care. Make new contacts, see old friends, eat, drink, and network. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• Dec. 5: Holiday Party, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Hosted by the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, 264 Exchange St., Chicopee. Free for all members.
• Dec. 7: New York Bus Trip. Bus leaves the chamber parking lot at 7 a.m. and returns at 9:30 p.m. Enjoy a day on your own in New York City. Cost: $48 per person. For more information, contact the chamber at (413) 594-2101.
• Dec. 9: Gail’s Retirement Party, 5:30 p.m. Hosted by Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. After years of hard work and dedication, it’s time for Gail Sherman, president of the Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, to take a permanent vacation. Join us as we offer her best wishes in her retirement. Cost: $25 per person.
• Dec. 18: December Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by the Log Cabin, 500 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Cost: $20 for members, $26 for non-members.

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

• Dec. 2: New Member Info Session, 12-1 p.m. This is a chance to tell us more about your business and how the chamber can best serve you, meet other new members, and learn how to make to the most of your chamber membership. A light lunch will be served. RSVP to (413) 584-1900 or [email protected].
• Dec. 4: Northampton Chamber Monthly Arrive@5, 5-7 p.m. Hosted by Thornes Marketplace. Sponsored by Keiter Builders, Johnson & Hill Staffing, and United Bank. Arrive when you can, stay as long as you can for this casual mix and mingle with colleagues and friends. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
• Dec. 17: 2013 December Incite Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m. Presenting speaker: Kathleen McCarthy, Smith College president. Series sponsor: United Personnel. Cost: $20 for members, $30 for non-members.

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

• Dec. 2: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m. Hosted by Dunkin’ Donuts, 625 East Main St., in the Little River Plaza Center. Mayor Daniel Knapik would like your participation in the upcoming coffee hour by submitting any questions, concerns, or ideas for discussion. He will also provide updates and news about the city. To submit questions and to register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected]. The public is welcome to attend.
• Dec. 13: Holiday Breakfast 2013, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. Platinum Sponsor: Westfield State University. Silver Sponsor: Easthampton Savings Bank. More information to come on this annual event.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• Jan. 15: Table Top Expo. For more information, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 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
Harold Sanabria v. Ainsky D. Smith and B & R Leasing Inc.
Allegation: Plaintiff was a bicyclist negligently struck by the defendant’s taxi: $10,198.26
Filed: 10/25/13

GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Stanley S. Boron v. Aubuchon Hardware and Lorenz Family, L.P.
Allegation: Negligent maintenance of premises causing fall: $2,000+
Filed: 10/1/13

Lou Giramma v. Peter Sheperd d/b/a Sheperd Masonry and Roofing
Allegation: Breach of contract to perform work at the plaintiff’s home: $22,180
Filed: 10/21/13

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Kent W. Pecoy v. Glen R. Hanson and Colony Hills Capital, LLC
Allegation: Claims for breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith, and fair dealing: $500,000
Filed: 10/22/13

Nestor M. Sostre, as personal representative of the estate of Nestor E. Sostre v. 272 Worthington Street Inc. d/b/a Glo Ultra Lounge
Allegation: Wrongful death caused by negligent service of alcohol: $8,000
Filed: 11/7/13

QVC Inc. v. Renaissance Specialty Products Inc.
Allegation: Suit on previous judgment for breach of contract: $36,904.84
Filed: 10/16/13

Robert and Annie Jennings v. Wal-Mart Inc.
Allegation: Plaintiff, Robert Jennings, was given the wrong heart medication by Wal-Mart Pharmacy causing hospitalization: $125,000
Filed: 11/15/13

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Gail Hescock v. Franklin Eye Care Associates, LLC and Pierre Alfred, M.D.
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $198,000
Filed: 9/1/13

Shirley L. Waterhouse v. Amsoni Inc. and Bucklin Neighbors
Allegation: Negligent maintenance of property: $17,643.42
Filed: 11/7/13

Sheila Lagrenade v. Lincoln National Corp. d/b/a Lincoln Financial Group
Allegation: Unfair and deceptive trade practices and non-payment of disability benefits: $30,000+
Filed: 11/13/13

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
Kelsie Pinto v. Bruce Transportation Inc.
Allegation: Negligent operation of a bus causing injury: $3,515
Filed: 9/23/13
SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Miguel A. Rodriguez v. Transportation Options Inc. and Sig Marie Colon
Allegations: Negligent operation of a motor vehicle: $24,999.99
Filed: 10/9/13

Nicholas A. Sacoio v. BSC Realty Inc. and Mardi Gras Entertainment Inc.
Allegation: Negligent failure to properly train, educate, and supervise employees causing injury to patron: $4,543.10
Filed: 10/17/13

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
United Service Co., LLC v. Redevco, LLC
Allegation: Default on decontamination and asbestos-removal contract: $20,170
Filed: 10/29/13

PictureThis

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 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]

Gala of Lights
The Spirit of Springfield held its 18th annual City of Bright Nights Ball Nov. 16 in the Grand Ballroom of the Springfield Sheraton in downtown Springfield. The black-tie event, with the theme ‘Under th Sea,’ raised money to support the award-winning Bright Nights in Forest Park, taking place through Jan. 5, and the many events presented by the nonprofit organization.  From top, left to right: from left, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and wife Carla, Patti and Daniel Moen, president and CEO of Sisters of Providence Health System, Patrick Leary, shareholder and vice president of Moriarty and Primack, P.C., Kelley Tucky, Bright Nights Ball chair and vice president of Community and Public Affairs for MGM Springfield, and Richard Ross; Noreen and Mark Tolosky, president and CEO of Baystate Health; the Grand Ballroom is ready for guests; from left, Maj. Matthew Mutti, Col. Kenneth Lute, Col. James Keefe, and Brigadier Gen. Paul Smith salute the military after the singing of the National Anthem. (PHOTOS BY PAUL SCHNAITTACHER)

Lunch Money
The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) recently hosted a Lunch with Gov. Deval Patrick, left, at the sold-out Springfield Marriott Grand Ballroom, right. The special event was an occasion for the governor to announce a $200 million investment in Phase 1 of the I-91 Springfield Viaduct project and $1.2 million to create a permanent home for Camp STAR Angelina at Forest Park. The investments are expected to be a catalyst for additional economic and community-development opportunities in the region.(PHOTOS BY DRISCOLL PHOTOGRAPHY)

Legislative Voices
On Nov. 21, the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) held its annual Government Reception at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield. The event provides a forum each year for attendees to meet with area legislators to make their voices heard. Left to right from top: Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, left, and Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen speak with an attendee; Carl Breyer Jr., left, managing partner of Park Place Realty, and Ed Sullivan, mayor-elect of West Springfield; Chris Thompson, left, vice president of Business Development for the Springfield Falcons, converses with state Rep. James Welch.(PHOTOS BY DRISCOLL PHOTOGRAPHY)

They Honor Us Whom We Honor
The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts recently celebrated the latest class of the Order of William Pynchon, the 98th annual awards event which honors distinguished civic service in the name of Springfield’s founder. Pictured, left, at the banquet held at Chez Josef, are 2013 Pynchon medalists, from left, Joan Kagan, president and CEO of Square One; Jean Caldwell, writer for the Boston Globe and American Baby magazine; Jean Gailun, advocate for reading education and the children of Springfield’s Kensington Avenue Magnet School; and Sirdeaner Walker, mother of 11-year-old bullying and suicide victim Carl Walker Hoover and now an advocate for bullying awareness, who was instrumental in the drafting and passage into law of the state’s 2011 anti-bullying bill. Right: from left, Susan Kline, chair of the Jewish Geriatric Services (JGS) board of directors; Sally Fuller from Cherish Every Child; Alta Stark, Pynchon trustee and event chair and director of marketing and public relations for JGS; Richard Halpern, JGS board member; Martin Baicker, president and CEO of JGS; and Susan Halpern, vice president of philanthropy for JGS. (PHOTOS BY ED COHEN)

Spa Night
SkinCatering, a massage and skin-care spa for men and women, recently celebrated its grand opening on the second floor of Tower Square in downtown Springfield. The spa, whose team is Skin-Safe Certified by the Melanoma Foundation of New England, offers body and facial services as well as yoga and numerous specials. An open house welcomed the public to indulge in a few of the most popular services, including chair massages, at left, with massage therapists Ariel Gignac, left, and Amy Pearson. Right, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, center, congratulates Leanne Sedlak, owner and massage therapist, to his right, at the ribbon cutting. Holding the ribbon, from left, are Sedlak’s husband Scott, roofing specialist for Adam Quenneville Roofing and Siding; Don Courtemanche, executive director of the Springfield Business Improvement District; Sarno; Sedlak; and Kim Brunton Auger, lead esthetician.

Getting the Ideas

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Holiday Gift Guide Sections

Some Suggestions for the People on Your Holiday Gift List

The holiday shopping season is well underway, but many still have a lot of work to do to as they endeavor to draw lines through the names of those of their holiday gift lists.
In the spirit of the season, BusinessWest is offering some ideas. But these aren’t just any ideas. They’re suggestions involving local businesses, many of which you’ve read about on the pages of this magazine in recent months.
We start by listing the business venture and then move on to the item or items you may want to consider there.
We hope you’ll consider these options and, when possible, buy local.

Amherst Farm Winery
Route 9, Amherst, MA 01002
(413) 253-1400
www.amherstfarmwinery.com

• Tasting and bottle of Pumpkin Frost dessert wine: $25
Enjoy a winter afternoon wine tasting at the Amherst Farm Winery. The rustic barn that houses the granite-top tasting counter, winemaking kitchen, and gift shop also features a fireplace sipping room. A tasting includes a choice of five of the 15 vintages, a bonus sample of Winemakers limited Chocolate/Raspberry DIVA or Pumpkin Frost dessert wine, and a logo wine glass.

A.O. White
78 Center Square
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
(413) 525-1800
www.aowhite.com

• Kinross Cashmere Sweater in plum: $325
• Maker & Co. pinstripe fitted shirt in plum, gray, and lime: $125
Lewis White of A.O. White says every man’s wardrobe needs a fine cashmere sweater. Paired with a quality pima cotton shirt and favorite trousers, the casual outfit is perfect for holiday get-togethers and relaxing weekends. Dads, sons, brothers, boyfriends, and husbands will all appreciate an exquisite new cashmere sweater, especially to mix and match with different tailored shirts.

Bay Path College
588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, MA 01106
(413) 565-1066
www.baypath.edu; [email protected]

• 2014 Women’s Leadership Conference Early Bird gift certificate: alumni, $250; general public, $275
April is not far off, actually, and the much-anticipated annual Women’s Leadership Conference staged each spring by Bay Path College, an event of inspiration, education, and community, makes a great gift. This year’s speakers for the April 25 event have not been made public yet, but with past keynotes by award-winning thespians, businesswomen, and government leaders, including Jane Fonda, Queen Latifah, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the schedule for the 2014 ‘Own Your Story’ conference is sure to be as exciting and motivating as ever.

CityStage/Symphony Hall
One Columbus Center, Springfield, MA 01103
34 Court St, Springfield, MA 01103
Box Office: (413) 788-7033
[email protected]
www.citystage.symphonyhall.com

• Bud Light Comedy Series 6-Pack: $149
Provide laughter this holiday season! Give one of CityStage & Symphony Hall’s Comedy Gift Packs, which will provide a great night out for friends and family. Consider the Bud Light Comedy Series 6-Pack, which includes a Bud Light Cooler and two tickets to see Paul D’Angelo, the Irish Comedy Tour, and Etta May at CityStage.

Cooper’s Gifts & Curtains
161 Main St., Agawam, MA 01001
(413) 786-7760
www.coopersgifts.com

• Bangle bracelet: $98 – $216
• Collectible clasps: $50 – $75
A gift that has the ability to look different with add-on pieces is in vogue, and the made-in-Massachusetts LeStage Convertible Collection of sized sterling silver bangles, some with 14-carat gold accents, is the perfect idea, because the removable and collectible clasps are the eye candy. There are so many clasp choices, and all are gift-wrapped, compliments of Cooper’s Gifts & Curtains.

Dave DiRico’s Golf & Racquet
1050 Riverdale St., West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 734-4444
www.davediricogolf.com

• TaylorMade SLDR driver: $399
The avid golfer will probably already know that the latest TaylorMade SLDR driver is out, and it can be found at Dave DiRico’s Golf & Racquet. The club’s low, forward center of gravity promotes high-launch, fast ball speed, and low spin for phenomenal distance, and the loft can be increased or reduced up to 1.5 degrees with a 12-position loft sleeve for optimal trajectory. Made of titanium with a flexible graphite shaft, it’s perfect for men, women, and senior golfers.

Denise Smith Photography
(413) 224-1636
www.denisesmithphotography.com
Call for appointment

• Family portrait package gift certificate: $425
Create memories and keep them forever with a personalized family portrait session taken by regional portrait specialist Denise Smith. Using her expertise for a clothing and design consultation, your gift of timeless photography will become a family treasure. Gift certificate includes consultation, on-site photography session, and 16 x 20 classic mounted print.

It’s All About Me
2 Somers Road, Hampden, MA 01036
(413) 566-2285
www.allaboutmeshoppe.com

• Shimmer party dress: $53
A boutique and gift shop where you can find fashionable, fun, unique, and affordable apparel and gifts is always a sure bet. Consider a party dress in her size from It’s All About Me in Hampden for New Year’s Eve. Beautiful soft shimmer fabric is absolutely adorable, with colors of charcoal, gold, and silver by YA Los Angeles. Available in small, medium, and large, this dress is glamorous enough for any special event.

Kaleidoscope Pottery
1 Cottage St, # 11
Easthampton, MA 01027
(413) 527-6390
(Call for appointment or for gallery locations where pottery is sold)
www.kscopepottery.com

• 5” diameter soap dish: $28
Artist Evelyn Snyder collects different leaves to create designs and patterns on stoneware slabs that she then forms into various shapes of platters, bowls, and vessels. Kaleidoscope Pottery appeals to gardeners, nature enthusiasts, and those who appreciate beautiful and functional pottery. A great gift item for everyday use is her handmade stoneware soap dishes — the soap happens to be from Sage Meadow Farm in Easthampton — and all pieces are dishwasher- and microwave-safe.

Kate Gray Boutique
749 Maple Road, Longmeadow, MA 01106
(413) 567-7500
www.kate-gray.com

• Wellensteyn jacket: $399
The holidays are a perfect time to update the wardrobe of a special woman in your life, but need help choosing? Consider a boutique like Kate Gray in Longmeadow for that personal attention and help in finding unique clothing made with fitted cuts and fine quality fabrics. She’ll always have something one-of-a-kind … like a burgundy metallic winter sports jacket by Wellensteyn.

Kiddly Winks
801 Williams St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
(413) 567-0688
www.kiddlywinks.com

• Squigz Fun Little Suckers! $50
Joy Leavitt at Kiddly Winks says one of the hottest toys this season is Squigz Fun Little Suckers!, a collection of colorful silicone-rubber shapes that flex, stick, and suck people into creativity they may not have been aware of. The shapes connect to each other and any solid, non-porous surface, leaving no residue or marks on surfaces. All ages can connect a masterpiece, providing hours of individual or family fun.

The Delaney House
3 Country Club Road, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 532-1800
www.logcabin-delaney.com
www.stayatthed.com

• ‘Have A Bite. Stay The Night’: $179
The eclectic menu at the Delaney House blends American, Asian, and European tastes — certain to please even the pickiest partner — but consider merging that experience with a night in the new D. Hotel & Suites for a romantic couples package. Gift package includes $75 toward dinner at Delaney’s Grill or the Mick, in-room champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, and full breakfast.

Lorilil Jewelers
1500 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 731-5400
www.lorililjewelers.com

• Rolex watches: 26 mm, $10,650; 31 mm, $11,650; 36 mm, $12,850
Known for the elegant Rolex and David Yurman brands, Lorilil Jewelers in downtown Springfield offers a showroom of sparkle and shine all year long. But if tastes run on the high side, consider one of three sizes of Rolex Datejust watches. It’s been proven, time and time again, that one of these ‘timeless’ trinkets is sure to please.

Pioneer Valley Indoor Karting
10 West St., West Hatfield, MA 01088
(413) 446-7845
www.pioneervalleykarting.com

• Annual PVIK $50 membership and one race: $70
A 23,000-square-foot track offers an area where karts can reach speeds up to 40 mph. The 1,000-foot road course challenges the most experienced drivers through seven left turns and four rights. Every race is timed down to .001 of a second, and each driver will receive a time sheet after their race to compare. Kids 8 and older, over 48 inches, and weighing under 180 pounds can ride as well as adults.

Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club
121 West St. (formerly Bassett Boat Co.)
Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 736-1322
www.pvriverfront.org

• Annual Membership and access to all programs, indoor and outdoor: $500
(BusinessWest readers receive 25% off)
Looking for something unique for an active family member or friend? Consider a rowing class, indoor in cold weather, or on the Connecticut River the rest of the year. Offering programs for youth and adults, ages 12 to 99, the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club is a rowing facility in the North End of Springfield with a mission to promote river-based sporting activities, develop river access, and encourage recreation in the Greater Springfield metropolitan area.

SkinCatering Massage & Skincare
Tower Square, 1500 Main St., Suite 220
Springfield, MA 01115
(413) 282-8-SPA
www.skincatering.com

• Massage and facial combo: $125
• Couples massage: 60 min., $115; 90 min., $165;
2 hours, $215
Pamper someone special with a two-hour massage and facial combo, or, better yet, book a one-hour couples massage and enjoy a true spa experience together. SkinCatering offers a release from the hectic holidays, and after all the stress and strain, an extra-special, very personal gift is just what the doctor ordered.

Springfield Falcons Hockey
45 Falcons Way, Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 739-GOAL
www.falconsahl.com

• Holiday Hat Trick: $45 (for a limited time only)
Have a hockey fan in the family? Help them take in a hockey game and support Falcons Hockey in downtown Springfield with a special package from the Falcons. The Holiday Hat Trick offers two Falcons ticket vouchers, a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, and a special Falcons holiday puck.

Springfield Symphony Orchestra
Springfield Symphony Hall
34 Court St., Springfield, MA 01103
Box Office: 1350 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 733-2291
www.springfieldsymphony.org

• BOGO Choose 3: various prices
Give the gift of classical and pops music from the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO). Buy one, get one (BOGO) offers a ‘Choose 3’ SSO subscription that allows you to select any three Springfield Symphony Orchestra performances during the 2013-14 season and save up to 20% versus the cost of single tickets. BusinessWest readers get a second comparable Choose 3 subscription free with the purchase of one Choose 3 at the regular price, for a 50% savings. (Reference code BWBOGO for 50% off second package.)

— Elizabeth Taras

Help Wanted

By BusinessWest Staff December 3, 2013

Employment Sections

A chart of area employment agencies

Click here to download the PDF

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