Month: June 2014

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

Archambeau, David J.
Archambeau, Dawn L.
a/k/a Archambeau, Dawn Kelleher
24 E St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/30/14

Axler, Bobby
Axler, Roberta A.
336 Inverness Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/15/14

Barnes, Steven S.
Barnes, Lori A.
125 East Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/08/14

Booth, Jamie Marie
121 North Main St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/14/14

Botta, Roberto G.
Botta, Carmela
32 Green St.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/14/14

Boyd, Amy L.
a/k/a Hochreich, Amy Lee
14 Meadow Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/05/14

Bushey, Henry D.
74 Woodstock St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/04/14

Cameron, Lucretia D.
1259 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/07/14

Casey, Kathleen E.
P.O. Box 296
East Otis, MA 01029
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/09/14

Chey, Chansophoan
392 Paige Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/15/14

Collins, Michael A.
283 Wildermere St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/01/14

Collins, Michael C.
Collins, Meagan L.
a/k/a Laramee, Meagan L.
22 Pembroke Place
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/15/14

Devine, Tarra M.
268 Talmadge Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/09/14

Ezold, Jerome
Ezold, Amanda
16 Maple Crest Circle, Apt. G
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/01/14

Fitzgerald, Sean
9 Brookside Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/09/14

Frates, Jennifer Anne
a/k/a Collasius, Jennifer A.
8 Western Ave.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/09/14

Gagne, Lester T.
24 Kowal Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/06/14

Garczynski, Kamie A.
52 Yvette St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Gilardi, David A.
Gilardi, Linda E.
18 Sixth St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/09/14

Gondek, Richard M.
Gondek, Barbara A.
61 Williams St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/13/14

Hansen, Barbara
405 Pittsfield Road #A3
Lenox, MA 01240
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/02/14

Harris, Jesse Allen
Harris, Samantha Marie
a/k/a Gwozdzik, Samantha
16 Lee Road
South Deerfield, MA 01373
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/30/14

Hemminger, Sylvia A.
188 Main St.
Haydenville, MA 01039
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Hughes, Susan C.
36 Collins St.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Johnson, Lana D.
13 Cherry St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Kelly, Michelle Ann
90 Blueberry Hill St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/15/14

LaCosse, Daniel A.
2517 Hancock Road
Williamstown, MA 01267
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/30/14

Laura Robitaille Interiors
Robitaille, Laura A.
11 Hillary Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/30/14

Leger, Gary Michael
77 Valley View Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/01/14

Lemire, Joseph T.
59 New Ludlow Road, Apt. 18B
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Lemire, Tina G.
67 Kendall St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Lenahan, Michael R.
167 Union Road
Wales, MA 01081
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/08/14

Manning, Cathy A.
P.O. Box 463
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Marcil, Glenn S.
Marcil, Ann-Marie
a/k/a Marcil, Ann Marie
220 Blandford Stage Road
Russell, MA 01071
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/05/14

Miazga, Matthew M.
165 Bay Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/15/14

Midstate Construction
Lackey, Theodore L.
299 Phillipston Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/30/14

Moran, Katiria E.
a/k/a Lopez, Katiria
530 East Main St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/08/14

Moreira, Iris R.
a/k/a Moreira Gomez, Iris R.
PO Box 80636
Springfield, MA 01138
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/08/14

Moynihan, Cynthia A.
85 Jarvis Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/13/14

Olmo, German J.
19 Lockhouse Road, Apt. 23-3
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/08/14

Peguero, Aurelina T.
P.O. Box 3403
Pittsfield, MA 01202
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/09/14

Perez Claudio, Carmen M.
258 Union St., Apt. 3
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/15/14

Petley, Brandon H.
1015 Doe Valley Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/02/14

Ramos, Frank
274 Eleanor Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/14/14

Reynolds, Debbie M.
a/k/a Mason, Debbie M.
392 College Highway
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/01/14

Rolnick, Misty M.
a/k/a Fletcher, Misty M.
160 Montgomery Ave. Ext.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/01/14

Rosario, Freddy
64 Prospect St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/07/14

Royal Air
Moskvitch, Peter
Moskvitch, Svetlana
a/k/a Archoulik-Moskvitch, Svetlana
171 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/09/14

Rudder, Melissa Sue
P.O. Box 725
Greenfield, MA 01302
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Sexton, George C.
Sexton, Eleanor J.
P.O. Box 541
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

Sheehan, Jean A.
a/k/a MacGillivary, Jean A.
75 Appleton St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/30/14

Sign Smith
Smith, William E.
Smith, Jayne R.
158 Route 20
Chester, MA 01011
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 04/30/14

Sjolander, Amy A.
292 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/13/14

Slattery, William P.
321 Elm St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/08/14

Smith, Robert F.
Smith, Michele M.
24 East Palmer Park Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/12/14

St. Amand, Steven A.
134 Cabot St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/07/14

Willmore, Sandra O.
252 Union Stret, Apt. 1A
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/15/14

Company Notebook

Company Notebook Departments

ECS Acquires Assets of Pangean-CMD
AGAWAM — Environmental Compliance Services Inc. (ECS) announced the completion of the acquisition of the corporate assets and human talent of Pangean-CMD Associates Inc. (PCMD) of Woodstock, Ga. This acquisition, the largest in ECS’s 32-year history, will drive its evolution by expanding the market areas the company serves into Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, and Utah. In addition, it will also expand the existing company capabilities in the Carolinas, Florida, and Ohio. “This acquisition now means that ECS has a national presence that combines senior think-tank engineering with self-performed field services throughout the petroleum, building-sciences, and due-diligence market sectors,” said Mark Hellstein, ECS founder and CEO. “With the addition of the passionate team from Pangean-CMD, we are better-positioned to service the upstream petroleum market.” Kevin Sheehan, ECS COO, added that “this acquisition will also provide professional growth and opportunity to employees as well as an effective tool to recruit new, talented staff.” ECS is now one of the only firms in the petroleum market that offers environmental services, compliance services, remediation, and cost recovery with in-house staff on a national basis. This strategic acquisition enables ECS to simplify the compliance and remediation process for petroleum customers while reducing their costs, essentially becoming a one-stop shop for clients. The expanded staff will also allow for boots-on-the-ground support for ECS’s existing web-based compliance-management programs. “The success of Pangean-CMD has evolved solely from our passion, our commitment to our customers, and our reputation for good, solid work,” said Darren Moore, president of Pangean-CMD. “Combining our assets will allow us to build relationships, share knowledge, and draw on the collective expertise of our co-workers to do what we have always done best: provide the best customer service and work environment possible.” Established in 1982 and headquartered in Agawam, ECS has grown to more than 20 office locations nationwide.

Lioness Magazine Aims to Raise $10K in 60 Days
SPRINGFIELD — Lioness magazine is looking to raise $10,000 in seed funding on indiegogo.com, a popular crowd-funding website. “Mainstream entrepreneur magazines are geared toward men, from their style to their content. Their publishers admit that more than 60% of their readers are males. Even though female entrepreneurship is rapidly on the rise and even though in 2013 female-owned companies generated more than $1.3 trillion, there was still no mainstream magazine for these women, until now,” explained Lioness founder Natasha Clark. Lioness launched in August 2011 and since then has been read by more than 3,000 people worldwide. Seventy-nine percent of the readers are women between the ages of 25 and 45. With the launch of the new lionessmagazine.com, the news site is able to provide daily content in addition their regular monthly magazine. “Western Mass. is a great place to live and do business, and my hope is to grow Lioness and keep it headquartered right here,” Clark said. From June 2 to Aug. 1, she is shooting to raise $10,000 in seed money to keep the magazine afloat through 2014. She has primarily been funding the company herself. Working as a program manager at the nonprofit Springfield School Volunteers, Clark — one of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty honorees in 2010 — works on the all-female staff to bring volunteers into the school district as mentors, academic tutors, and participants in the popular Read Aloud program. When the campaign closes, Clark will transition to running the startup full-time. She thought crowd funding would be an ideal way to raise funds and educate the public about Lioness’ mission at the same time. “I love that platforms such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter give entrepreneurs like me a fighting chance to raise some capital to get our startups to the next level,” she said. “I just want to do something really awesome for women entrepreneurs around the globe, and I want to be able to do it in my hometown.” To learn more about Lioness and its Indiegogo campaign, visit igg.me/at/lionessmagazine.

Kathleen Doe Launches Creative Design Venture
NORTHAMPTON — Kathleen Doe has announced the launch of Kathleen Doe Creative Design, putting more than a decade of industry experience to work in founding her own business. The Northampton-based venture specializes in print and package design, marketing communication, and brand development, providing a complete range of creative services from concept to execution. Previously, Doe was the senior graphic designer and studio director at Stevens 470 in Westfield. She graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in the school’s renowned Electronic Media, Arts and Communication program. She is a member of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, the Northampton Area Young Professionals, and is on the Board of Directors of the Irish Cultural Center at Elms College.

Leadership Pioneer Valley Graduates Class of 2014
NORTHAMPTON — The 2014 class of Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) graduated on June 5 in ceremonies at the Smith College Conference Center. Prior to getting their certificates, the 35 participants in the 10-month program presented their accomplishments from working in six teams on issues facing the region. Each project was submitted by a local nonprofit or past LPV team. Three of the projects were continuations from prior years, and the nonprofit partners included Peace Jam of New England, STCC’s Latino Success Project, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Project topics included increasing access to higher education, attracting and retaining young professionals, publicizing regional history, engaging young people in leadership, and connecting local colleges and universities to the regional food bank. Each team offered expertise and energy to make a difference on community challenges from throughout the region. Each team project afforded experiential-learning opportunities and the chance to further community trusteeship while making a real impact in the region. Teams also had to collaborate with their partners to reach their own goals and meet the expectations of the nonprofit partners. Each participant participated in day-long monthly sessions from October until May, featuring seminar-style leadership-development sessions and hands-on field experiences in communities throughout the Pioneer Valley. Through the program, they refined their leadership skills, gained connections, and developed a greater commitment to community trusteeship and cultural competency. The culturally diverse class of 35 men and women represent nonprofit, private, educational, and public organizations throughout Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. The 2014 graduates are: Sherill Acevedo, Baystate Medical Practices; Jasmine Amegan, Westfield State University; Kerri Bohonowicz, Community Health Center of Franklin County; Amy Britt, Tapestry Health; Ronda Carter, Health New England; Christina Casiello, MassMutual; Jenny Catuogno, Gaudreau Insurance; Tammy-Lynn Chace, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce; Eliza Crescintini, Children’s Study Home; Geoffrey Croteau, MassMutual Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services; Nasheika Durham, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Andrew Fletcher, Holyoke Community College; Kelsey Flynn, MassMutual; Valerie Francis, Health New England; Meghan Godorov, Mount Holyoke College; Cynthia Gonzalez, Greenfield Cooperative Bank; Richard Griffin, City of Springfield’s Economic Development Department; Rachel Jones, Springfield Technical Community College; Kevin Jourdain, Sisters of Providence Health System; Diane LeBeau, Westfield State University; Yamilette Madho, Big Y Foods Inc.; Matthew Kullberg, WGBY; Rosemarie Marks-Paige, Health New England; Josiah Neiderbach, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lizzy Ortiz, City of Springfield’s Office of Housing; Beena Pandit, MassMutual; Lee Pouliot, City of Chicopee; Jennifer Sanchez, Springfield Technical Community College; Isabel Serrazina, Springfield Housing Authority; Nicole Skelly, United Bank; Kyle Sullivan, John M. Glover Insurance; Colin Tansey, Specialty Bolt & Screw; Todd Weir, First Churches of Northampton; Christopher Whelan, Florence Savings Bank; and Jonencia Wood, Baystate Health.

ESB Teams Up with Pioneer Valley Habitat for Easthampton Build
EASTHAMPTON — Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of Easthampton Savings Bank, announced that the bank has become a keystone sponsor for the first Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity home in Easthampton. The bank contributed $10,000 to the East Street Habitat home. The money will go toward the costs of planning, construction, volunteer recruitment, and training. A 15-volunteer committee is already in place to plan the building of the East Street Home. “This particular build is significant because we are building two homes at once, and it is our first Women Build Initiative, which is a project designed to proactively welcome women leadership and women volunteers,” said Peter Jessop, interim executive director of the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity. “Three of our steering committee members are from Easthampton Savings Bank, so ESB is providing more than just financial support — they are also providing leadership and volunteer capacity. This is the true spirit of the Habitat model, and we hope ESB’s commitment will inspire others to get involved.” Added Sosik, “the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity is about building communities. Being a sponsor gives us the unique opportunity to become involved in a family’s journey towards home ownership in our community. Plus, the Women Build Initiative is a great way to empower women to get involved in the construction of a home and help a family who wouldn’t be able to build a home otherwise.” Easthampton Savings Bank has supported Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity since 2004 with contributions totaling over $31,000, while ESB employees sit on the organization’s board of directors, finance committee, and the Women Build steering committee.

Wellness Center Becomes Accredited Program for Diabetes Education
SPRINGFIELD — The Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center was recently named an accredited diabetes-education program by the American Assoc. of Diabetes Educators (AADE). This accomplishment represents yet another step in the implementation of the ‘pharmacist as educator’ philosophy that is central to the vision of the university’s College of Pharmacy. Diabetes education is a collaborative process through which people with or at risk for diabetes gain the knowledge and skills needed to modify behavior and successfully self-manage the disease and its related conditions. These are provided by diabetes educators. “Trends show that diabetes education is moving out of the hospital and into the community, so AADE’s accreditation program was created, in part, to encourage diabetes education where the patient is seeking care,” said Leslie Kolb, program director for the AADE’s Diabetes Education Accreditation Program. “The Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center is exactly the type of program we envisioned when we set up our accreditation program in 2009.” Kam Capoccia, associate professor and director of the Consultation and Wellness Center at 300 Cooley St. in Springfield, noted that it is one of 13 AADE-accredited programs in the Commonwealth. “This is a pharmacist-run diabetes center, and we are proud and honored to serve the community.” Added Nicole D’Amour Schneider, senior manager of Pharmacy Operations for Big Y, “the Western New England University and Big Y Foods Inc. Consultation and Wellness Center has been providing our community with excellent, patient-centered care and disease-state-management education for nearly four years. Our congratulations go out to our partners at the Western New England University College of Pharmacy for achieving this impressive accomplishment.”

Q Restaurant Opens on State Street in Springfield
SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Dominic Sarno joined other public officials and neighborhood business leaders on June 2 for a ribbon cutting to mark the grand opening of the Q Restaurant, the latest example of renewed reinvestment and revitalization along the State Street corridor. Advertised as serving “real southern barbecue,” the restaurant opened for lunch on May 19 and started serving lunch and dinner on May 26. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. “This is another example of the city’s continuing ability to attract new investment that revitalizes neighborhoods,” said Sarno. “Not too long ago, this building was seized by the city. Now, it is back on the tax rolls, it is looking better than ever, and I’m hoping it will be an asset to the neighborhood for years to come.” Located at 890 State St., the property was purchased from the city in 2013 by Craig and Chris Spagnoli, a father-and-son team that had previously worked with the city on revitalizing foreclosed properties in the Forest Park neighborhood. The Spagnolis have invested more than $500,000 in starting the restaurant and are also planning to rehabilitate the upper floors into 15 units of rental housing. “My son Chris’s wife, Sarah, is from the South, and since we’ve been working in Springfield, we’ve always talked about how we thought a good southern barbecue restaurant would go over well,” said Craig Spagnoli. “We’re hoping Q will be a popular place for the neighborhood, for the colleges nearby, and for commuters wanting to pick up takeout on their way home.” The restaurant is located in Mason Square on the edge of the campus of American International College and a few blocks from Springfield College. It is across the street from the former Indian Motorcycle factory, and the restaurant boasts several Indian models as a tribute to the neighborhood’s manufacturing legacy.

Agenda

Agenda Departments

40 Under Forty
June 19: The eighth annual 40 Under Forty award program, staged by BusinessWest, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, honoring 40 of the region’s rising stars under 40 years old. An independent panel of judges chose this year’s class from more than 150 nominations, a record. Their stories were presented in the April 21 issue, and may also be read here. Tickets cost $65. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600.

Mutton & Mead Medieval Festival
June 21-22: Experience old England in New England with the fourth annual Mutton & Mead Medieval Festival, which returns to 210 Turners Falls Road in Montague on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. A benefit for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and the Montague Common Hall, the festival transports fairgoers to the adventurous days of Robin Hood with two full days of fun for all ages, featuring 65 artisans and 40 hours of entertainment including knights jousting on horseback, whimsical stage shows, dancers, jesters, fairies, and unique musical acts not seen anywhere else. The festival also features a children’s area with activities for kids throughout the day as well as puppeteers and medieval characters. The event brings the medieval world to life with re-enactors demonstrating skills such as cooking, textile arts, blacksmithing, and swordplay. Attendees will also have a chance to feast on delicacies including turkey legs, roasted lamb, mead, beer, and ale. Cost is $15 for adults, $10 children and seniors. Children under 6 are free. Parking is $5.

Western Massachusetts Developers Conference
June 26: The Western Massachusetts Developers Conference — a regional event aimed at connecting regional leaders and economic-development specialists with brokers, site selectors, investors, and others interested in learning about the exciting development opportunities of the region — will begin at 8 a.m. at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. The conference will highlight Western Mass. as an exceptional place to invest, start, and grow businesses and will feature Roger Crandall, chairman, president, and CEO of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., as the keynote luncheon speaker. Crandall will share why this Springfield-based company calls Western Mass. home. In addition, the day will include information on shove-ready development opportunities, a review of the Western Mass. Value Proposition, a CEO panel sharing how the region supports business growth, and a review of recent major infrastructure investments and exciting projects on the horizon, such as the proposed MGM resort casino in Springfield. The day-long event includes a light breakfast, lunch, tours, and reception. This event is being coordinated by organizations including the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Western Mass., Economic Development Partners, MassDevelopment, and MassEcon. Gold sponsors for the conference include Baystate Health, Health New England, and Mass Mutual. The silver sponsor is Hampden Bank, and supporting sponsors include Hampden Bank, TRC Solutions, and United Bank. The event is free, but space is limited, and registration is required. For more information and to register, visit www.westernmassedc.com.

ACCGS Annual Meeting
June 27: ‘Social entrepreneurism’ will be the focus of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield’s (ACCGS) annual meeting, presented by MGM Springfield, on June 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Springfield. The event will feature Sam Intrator, professor and chair of the Education and Child Study Program, a member of the Urban Studies Program, founding director of the Smith College Urban Educational Initiative, and the co-founder of Project Coach, a program that uses sports as a means to engage, connect, and empower adolescents and youth. The annual meeting will also include the annual election of officers and directors, a recap of the ACCGS successes in the past fiscal year, and the presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year Award, presented annually to honor the memory of Richard Moriarty, a long-time participant in the ACCGS. Reservations are $40 for members, $60 for general admission, and may be made at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

Leadership Skills for Supervisors, Managers
July 24: Ensure the future of your organization by providing leadership skills for your supervisors and managers. The Principles of Leadership II series, sponsored by the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, emphasizes team-building skills. Participants will learn how to develop high-performance teams, lead change, and take their time-management and interpersonal skills to the next level. The series follows on the heels of Principles of Leadership I, which focused on the one-to-one relationship between the supervisor or manager and each of his or her direct reports. Participants in Principles of Leadership II, which begins on July 24, must complete five core programs — on topics ranging from team dysfunction to problem-solving skills; from time management to emotional intelligence — to receive the certificate of completion. To register, contact Sue Miller, director of Learning and Development at the Employers Assoc., at [email protected] or (877) 662-6444, ext. 3013.

Western Mass. Business Expo
Oct. 29: BusinessWest will present its fourth annual Western Mass. Business Expo at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. The business-to-business show, which last year drew more than 2,000 visitors, will feature more than 100 booths, seminars, and Show Floor Theater presentations; breakfast and lunch programs; and a day-capping Expo Social. Comcast Business will again be Presenting Sponsor, while the social will be sponsored by Northwestern Mutual. Current Silver Sponsors are Health New England and DIF Design, and additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information on sponsorships or booth purchase, call (413) 781-8600.

Jared Bednar Named New Coach of Springfield Falcons

SPRINGFIELD — The Columbus Blue Jackets have named Jared Bednar head coach of the Springfield Falcons, the club’s American Hockey League affiliate. Bednar has served as an assistant coach of the Falcons since 2012, helping the club capture consecutive division titles since his arrival. “Jared has been instrumental in the development of several of our prospects in Springfield while serving as an assistant coach, and was a big part of the team’s recent success,” said Blue Jackets Assistant General Manager Chris MacFarland. “He’s very well-respected throughout the hockey community, and we’re confident he will excel in his new role within our organization.” Bednar served as the head coach of the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen from 2010 to 2012, amassing a record of 81-63-12 over the course of two seasons. He joined the Rivermen after serving as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat during that club’s inaugural 2009-10 season.

Tipping Point

Restaurateurs Must Take Steps to Avoid Costly Penalties

By MARK A. TANNER, Esq.

Mark A. Tanner

It is impossible to order a cup of coffee or sandwich without being confronted by a ubiquitous jar labeled “tips for tuition,” “tipping isn’t just for cows,” or some such other catchy phrase. While many patrons smile and happily drop their spare change in the tip jar or leave a gratuity following a meal, the seemingly selfless act of tipping can lead to unintended consequences for restaurateurs who are either unaware that Massachusetts closely regulates tips, or have implemented unlawful tip-sharing procedures.

These unintended consequences may include the imposition of multiple damage awards and civil and criminal penalties for unwary restaurateurs who violate Massachusetts General Laws c. 149 § 152A.

The far-reaching impact of this law is demonstrated in the 2012 case of Matamoros v. Starbucks Corp. In this class-action lawsuit, a group of coffee baristas brought and won a lawsuit against Starbucks over the distribution of tips from the jar placed alongside the store’s cash registers. Under Starbucks’ policy, tips from the collective tip jar were distributed to workers, including workers who had managerial responsibilities for Starbucks such as ‘shift supervisors.’ In finding for the baristas and against Starbucks, the federal appellate court held under Massachusetts law that no employee with managerial responsibilities could participate in Starbucks’ tip-sharing procedure, even though the lion’s share of the shift supervisors’ day-to-day work involved the same job function as the baristas, serving Starbucks’ guests.

As applied to restaurants in Massachusetts, the law mandates that management may not keep, demand, request, or accept any portion of a tip given to waitstaff or a service bartender, and prohibits management from distributing tips or service charges to anyone who does not fall into one of these two categories. Restaurant management may, however, require that waitstaff and service bartenders pool or share tips or service charges with other employees who fall into one of these categories, but all tips or service charges must be paid by the end of the same business day.

A tip under Massachusetts law is broadly defined as “a sum of money, including any amount designated by a credit-card patron, a gift, or a gratuity, given as an acknowledgment of any service performed by a waitstaff employee or service bartender.” Most mandatory service charges imposed by restaurants must be treated the same as tips.

Under the law, ‘waitstaff’ is a broad category of employees that includes servers, bus people, and counter staff, who: (1) serve beverages or prepared food directly to patrons, or who clear patrons’ tables; (2) work in a restaurant, banquet facility, or other place where prepared food or beverages are served; and (3) have no managerial responsibility. ‘Service bartenders’ are employees who prepare alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages for patrons to be served by another employee, such as a waitstaff employee. Stated plainly, the law allows tip pooling or sharing or ‘tipping out’ between servers, counter people, bus people, and all bartenders, but specifically excludes any individual with managerial responsibility, no matter how slight, as well as those individuals not specifically included, such as doormen, cooks, hostesses, and expediters.

As evidenced in the Starbucks case and a number of other recent lawsuits and settlements, restaurateurs who violate this law are subject to far greater liability than the wrongfully withheld tips. Under the law, an employee, and often an entire class of employees (say, your entire front-of-house staff for the past three years) may seek up to three years worth of prior unpaid tips, multiple damages equal to three times the wrongfully withheld tips, as well as their attorneys’ fees and costs. Additionally, any restaurateur who violates the act, even if it does so innocently, may be liable to the Commonwealth for fines of up to $25,000 and criminal penalties. Put into context, the judgment against Starbucks in the barista case was slightly over $14 million.

Courts have ruled that the Legislature’s intent in passing the act was to ensure that service employees receive the tips, gratuities, and service charges that customers intend them to receive. With the potential for huge judgments and onerous civil penalties, unless the law is amended, restaurant management should, at a bare minimum, implement these practical suggestions for tips and service charges:

• Do not allow restaurant employees with supervisory responsibility, no matter how slight, to share in tips earned by waitstaff or service bartenders;

• Have a written tip pooling/sharing policy that excludes individuals who are not waitstaff or service bartenders, and ensure it is followed by all employees;

• Pay out pooled tips only to eligible employees and on the same day the tips were earned; and, finally,

• Hold regular trainings with managers, supervisors, and employees to ensure compliance with the law and your individual restaurant’s tip-sharing policies.

Mark A. Tanner is a shareholder in the Northampton office of Bacon/Wilson, P.C. Prior to practicing law, he graduated from the Hotel Restaurant Management program at UMass Amherst, received an MBA from the University of Colorado, and managed numerous restaurants throughout the country. Tanner currently advises restaurateurs and other businesses in litigation and business-planning matters. This article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice; (413) 584-1287; baconwilson.com/attorneys/tanner

2014 Mid-year Tax Planning

Accounting and Tax Planning Sections

Take Steps Now to Reduce Your Tax Burden Later

By JAMES BARRETT
The first half of 2014 has produced little in the way of major tax legislation, but tax-planning opportunities still exist.

This mid-year tax-planning article focuses on plans that may take a little more time to implement rather than on strategies that must be executed in the limited time remaining at year-end.

Tax Planning for Individuals

Managing Your Income

Income-tax planning typically involves some combination of three strategies:

• Earn income taxed at favorable tax rates, such as long-term capital gains or qualified dividends;
• Avoid income bubbles, which can cause you to be subjected to a higher marginal tax rate in the ‘bubble year’ than your normal, or average, marginal tax rate; and
• Delay the payment of tax by deferring the receipt of income to a later year or accelerating the payment of deductible expenditures into the current year.

James Barrett

Managing your income to minimize your tax has become more challenging with the advent of complex tax provisions such as the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and the 3.8% surtax on net investment income. The former causes you to lose any tax benefit from otherwise tax-deductible expenditures, such as state income taxes and real-estate taxes on your home. The latter subjects your investment income to a premium tax rate if your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds a stated threshold.

When you are estimating your income for 2014, you may want to consider several target figures:

Paying Your Income Taxes

If you do not pay enough tax throughout the year, penalties may apply. But with proper planning, the penalties are avoidable.

If it appears that you will be subject to an underpayment penalty, you may be able to reduce or eliminate the penalty by initiating or increasing your quarterly estimated tax payments. If you’re employed, instructing your employer to withhold more from your pay can even eliminate penalties that accrued earlier in the year. A quirk in the penalty rules treats withheld taxes — even withholding that occurs late in the year — as if they had been taken evenly throughout the year.

While most people want to avoid unnecessary penalties, it is seldom a good idea to pay more than the law requires or to pay your taxes earlier than necessary. Why let the government hold your money only to return it to you next year as a tax refund — with no interest?

Your goal should be to pay just enough to avoid an underpayment penalty but not so much as to create a large refund. If it looks as if you have been paying too much tax, cut back on your withholding or lower your remaining quarterly estimated tax payments.

Funding Your Retirement Plans

Contributing to a tax-qualified retirement plan can reduce your current tax obligations and help you save for your retirement in a tax-efficient manner. Contributions and the earnings on them provide tax deferral on earnings until you receive distributions.

In the case of Roth IRAs, the tax deferral may be permanent. So the sooner you make the contribution, the sooner your tax-deferred earnings begin. If you already have a plan in place, consider making a contribution now rather than waiting until the last minute.

The following limits apply for the 2014 tax year:

• Participants in a 401(k) plan can defer up to $17,500 ($23,000 for ages 50 or older);
• The IRA contribution limit is $5,500 ($6,500 for ages 50 and older);
• Simple IRA participants can defer up to $12,000 ($14,500 for age 50 and older);
• Self-employed individuals can contribute 20% of their self-employment income up to $52,000.

IRAs and Roth Accounts

Anyone with earned income, including alimony, is generally eligible to contribute to an IRA. That means that a child who has a job can set up an IRA and begin saving for retirement.

Claiming a deduction for your contribution to a traditional IRA is another matter. It depends on your income and whether you (or your spouse if you are married) are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Contributions to a Roth IRA are never deductible.

• If neither you nor your spouse is covered by an employer’s plan, you may choose to deduct your contribution to your traditional IRA.
• At higher income levels — modified adjusted gross income above $70,000 for singles and $116,000 for joint filers — no deduction is allowed if you (and your spouse if you are married) are covered by an employer’s plan.
• If you are married and only one of you is covered by an employer’s plan, the spouse who is not covered may claim the deduction, unless your joint modified adjusted gross income exceeds $191,000.

Many people find the long-term benefits of contributing to a Roth IRA or a Roth 401(k) outweigh the short-term financial benefits of tax-deductible contributions. While Roth contributions are not tax-deductible, none of the income earned in the Roth account will ever be subject to income tax unless there are early distributions.

In addition, the Roth account is not subject to the lifetime required minimum distribution rules that apply when you reach age 70½.

Eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA depends on the amount of your income. No contribution is allowed if your modified adjusted gross income for 2014 exceeds $129,000 for singles or $191,000 for joint filers.

You can make a direct rollover from your traditional IRA or other qualified retirement plan into a Roth IRA. However, you must pay tax on the rollover amount. There is no income limit associated with Roth rollovers.

‘Magic-age’ Years

Is 2014 a magic-age year for you? There are two ages that affect retirement plans, and both involve a ‘half birthday.’ Once you reach age 59½, the extra 10% penalty no longer applies to distributions from your qualified retirement plans, including IRAs.

But if you reach age 70½ during 2014, you must begin to receive minimum distributions from your traditional IRAs. Although the first annual distribution need not be taken until April 15, 2015, you may want to take the first distribution during 2014, to avoid the need for two distributions in 2015.

Changes to the 60-day Rollover Rule

This year (2014) will be the last year that you can obtain multiple short-term tax-free loans from your IRAs. A withdrawal from your IRA is treated as a tax-free transaction if you redeposit the amount into the same or another IRA no later than 60 days after the date you made the withdrawal. Note that the IRS may waive the 60-day requirement under some circumstances, for example, such as an error by your financial institution.

You are allowed only one tax-free rollover per year. The one-year waiting period begins on the date you receive the IRA distribution, not on the date you roll it back into another IRA.

For years, the IRS had said that the one-year waiting period applied separately to each of your IRAs. After the Tax Court interpreted the rule differently in its Bobrow decision (TC Memo 2014-21), the IRS decided to treat all of your IRAs as one IRA for the purposes of the one-year waiting period. However, the IRS says it will not apply this more restrictive interpretation to any rollover that involves a distribution from an IRA before Jan. 1, 2015.

Rollovers between Roth IRAs are subject to the same 60-day rule and one-year waiting period that apply to rollovers between traditional IRAs. After 2014, all of your Roth IRAs will be treated as one Roth IRA for purposes of the one-year waiting period between rollovers.

Rollovers from employer retirement plans to IRAs do not count for purposes of the one-year waiting period. Similarly, conversions of regular IRAs to Roth IRAs are not considered. The one-year waiting period also does not apply to trustee-to-trustee transfers between traditional IRAs or between Roth IRAs.

Making Your Home Energy-efficient

While most of the residential energy tax credits expired at the end of 2013, one remains in effect — the credit for qualified expenditures made for residential energy-efficient property placed in service before Jan. 1, 2017. The IRS defines qualified expenditures for residential energy-efficient property to include:

• Qualified solar electric property expenditures for use in a qualifying dwelling unit;
• Qualified solar water-heating property expenditures for property that heats water for use in a qualifying dwelling unit, if at least half of the energy used by the property for such purpose is derived from the sun;
• Certain qualified fuel-cell property expenditures;
• Qualified small wind-energy property expenditures for property that uses a wind turbine to generate electricity for use in connection with a qualifying dwelling unit; and
• Certain qualified geothermal heat-pump property used to heat a dwelling unit or as a thermal energy sink to cool the dwelling unit, which meets the requirements of the Energy Star program.

The residential alternative energy credit is equal to 30% of the cost of eligible solar water heaters, solar-electricity equipment, fuel-cell plants, small wind-energy property, and geothermal heat-pump property.

You may rely on a manufacturer’s certification that property is eligible for the credit, so long as the IRS has not withdrawn the manufacturer’s right to make the certification.

Complying with the ACA

Starting in 2014, lower-income individuals may be eligible for a tax credit to help pay for health-insurance coverage purchased through an affordable insurance exchange established by the Affordable Care Act. The credit is refundable, so those with little or no income-tax liability can still benefit. The credit also can be paid in advance to the insurance company to help cover the cost of premiums.

Starting in 2014, the individual shared-responsibility provision calls for each person to have minimum essential coverage for each month, qualify for an exemption, or make a payment when filing his or her federal income-tax return. The open-enrollment period to purchase health insurance coverage for 2014 through the Affordable Insurance Exchange ran from Oct. 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014.

Keeping Good Records

Every April, most people resolve that they are going to keep better tax records … next year. While it is obvious that, if you do not keep good records, you are likely to overlook legitimate tax deductions, the result could be even harsher.

In the Durden decision (TC Memo 2012-140), the Tax Court disallowed a couple’s charitable-contribution deduction to their church even though they could prove the payments with canceled checks. The tax law requires a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity for gifts of $250 or more.

In this case, the couple obtained the required letter after their tax return was being examined by the IRS. The court denied the deduction because the letter was not issued prior to the due date of the tax return as required by the tax law.

Business Activities

Whether you own your business or work for someone else, a number of tax-saving opportunities could be available to you if you stay alert and keep good records.

Changing Jobs

Costs you incur in seeking new employment may be deductible if you itemize. And if you have to relocate, the cost of moving yourself and your family may be deductible — even if you don’t itemize.

As with most provisions of the tax law, a review of the technical rules is necessary to determine whether you qualify. Be sure to contact your tax adviser.

Hiring Your Children

If you own a business and have children, consider putting them to work during summer vacation or after school. You will be able to deduct their wages, as long as you make their pay commensurate with what you would pay non-family employees for the same services.

For 2014, each child can earn as much as $6,200 and pay zero income tax. A child who earns $11,700 and contributes $5,500 to a traditional IRA will also pay zero income tax.

Honing Your Job Skills

Parents of college-age students are generally aware of education tax credits like the American Opportunity Credit. If you undertake training to maintain or enhance your job skills or if you pursue an additional degree, you may qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit or be able to deduct the cost of your education or training as an itemized deduction.

Talk with your tax adviser. Not only are you never too old to learn, but you’re also never too old to claim a tax benefit.

Working from Home

If you operate a business from your home and use a distinct room or area solely for business activities, you may qualify for a home-office deduction. The IRS has simplified the record-keeping requirements but not the qualification requirements. In rare cases, employees who are required by their employer to work from home may also qualify for this deduction.

Caring for Dependents

Working couples with young children and those caring for aged relatives often incur costs associated with hiring outside caregivers so that they can work or go to school. Some of these costs may qualify for the dependent-care tax credit. Qualifying costs may include day camp and similar activities during the summer months.

Establishing a Retirement Plan

If you own a business, you may be able to avail yourself of a defined-benefit type of retirement plan. These plans often allow higher retirement contributions than other types of plans. The higher retirement benefit must be weighed against the additional cost of providing comparable retirement benefits for your employees.

To qualify for a tax deduction in 2014, your retirement plan generally must be in place before the end of the year. Exceptions are IRA and SEP (simplified employee pension) plans, which can be set up through April 15, 2015.

Small employers — generally those with 100 or fewer employees — that set up a qualified retirement plan may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $500 per year for three years. The credit is limited to 50% of the qualified startup costs.

Writing Off Capital Expenditures

Generous business-tax write-off rules, like bonus depreciation, expired at the end of 2013. And the expensing election limit under Section 179 has been reduced to $25,000 for 2014, but only if the total amount of qualified asset purchases does not exceed $200,000.

Depreciating Vehicles

For passenger automobiles first placed in service during 2014, the deduction limitations for the first three tax years are $3,160, $5,100, and $3,050, respectively, and $1,875 for each succeeding year. For trucks and vans first placed in service in 2014, the depreciation limitations for the first three years are $3,460, $5,500, and $3,350, respectively, and $1,975 for each succeeding year.

In past years, bonus depreciation made the first-year limitation much higher. However, since bonus depreciation expired on Dec. 31, 2013, the new limits will apply for 2014 unless Congress acts to reinstate bonus depreciation retroactively to Jan. 1, 2014.

Repairing Older Assets

For tax years beginning in 2014, new rules are in effect for determining when expenditures can be deducted as a repair expense and when they must be treated as the cost of a new asset subject to depreciation. All businesses should review their repair/capitalization policies to assure that they are in compliance with the new rules.

Monitoring Passive Activities

Complex rules govern the tax treatment of business activities in which the owner does not materially participate. If these so-called passive activities produce a loss, that loss may not be currently deductible. If the passive activity is profitable, the income could be subject to the 3.8% surtax on net investment income.

If you are the owner of a business, it’s a good idea to keep detailed records of the hours you spend working in the business. This record keeping is especially important if you have another full-time job or if the potentially passive activity is not your primary business endeavor.

Estate Planning

For 2014, the unified credit for estate and gift taxes has been raised so that the tax applies only to estates greater than $5.34 million. And the estate-tax exclusion is portable, so if you and your spouse have combined estates that do not exceed $10.68 million, you can avoid the estate tax without the necessity of including language in your will creating a bypass trust.

The annual gift-tax exclusion for 2014 remains at $14,000 per person. Therefore, if you are married, you can gift up to $28,000 per donee, or recipient, this year without any federal gift-tax ramifications by using the gift-splitting rules. Gifting is a good way to reduce your taxable estate and may be an important element of your estate plan.

You may have executed your current will and estate plan without consideration of the increased unified credit amount and the portability feature of the new estate-tax law. If so, a review is in order to make sure your assets will be handled in the most tax-efficient manner.

Offshore Account Disclosures

If, during 2013, you had a financial interest in, or signature authority over, at least one financial account located outside the U.S., and the aggregate value of all your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, you must file electronically with the Treasury Department a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

The new Form 114 replaces TD F 90-22.1 and is due to the Treasury Department by June 30, 2014. The form must be filed electronically and is available only online through the BSA E-Filing System website (bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html).

In Conclusion

Tax planning is an ongoing process. Your tax picture can change — sometimes dramatically — during the course of a year, and you need to react accordingly. Implementing thoughtful mid-year strategies now may help you lessen the taxes you face in April 2015.

One final thought: saving taxes is generally a good strategy. But making a bad business, investment, or personal decision just to save some tax dollars is never a good strategy.

James Barrett is managing partner of Meyers Brothers Kalicka in Holyoke; (413) 536-8510; [email protected]

Summer in the Valley

Sections Travel and Tourism

Mark Your Calendar with These 20 Happenings

In the mood for some music or theater? Enjoy art or antiques? Feel like trying out some different kinds of food?
The Pioneer Valley offers myriad opportunities to enjoy the summer, so if you’re feeling stir-crazy — or the kids say they’re bored — check out these 20 summer destinations, which only scratch the surface of what’s available in Western Mass. Whether you’re into baseball or fireworks, concerts or dogs, you’re sure to find plenty to do.

Taste of Amherst
Town Common, Amherst
www.facebook.com/tasteofamherst
Admission: Free
June 19-22: Kick off the summer by eating your fill during the four days of the 2014 Taste of Amherst. In addition to food offerings from about 20 town restaurants — most for $5 or under — the event will feature live entertainment by the River, 93.9 FM, as well as fun family events. The Taste runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, and is presented by Atkins Farms Country Market, with sponsorship by the Amherst Business Improvement District, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and UMass Amherst.

Stearns Square Concert Series
Worthington and Bridge streets, Springfield
(413) 781-1591; www.facebook.com/stearnssquare
Admission: Free
Starting June 26: Thursday evenings heat up in downtown Springfield for another season of concerts in Stearns Square, starting with a visit from Black 47 on June 26, this summer’s kickoff concert. And the bands — from notable local lights to internationally acclaimed acts — just keep coming, including FAT (July 3), the Spin Doctors (July 10), Roomful of Blues (July 17), Diamondback (July 24), Truckstop Troubadors (July 31), Maggie Rose (Aug. 7), John Eddie (Aug. 14), Doug Demings and the Jewel Tones (Aug. 21), and the Smithereens (Aug. 28). All concerts begin at 8 p.m., and there are no opening acts this year. What began 14 years ago as a way to liven up downtown Springfield — it was originally held in the Court Square area — has become a weekly destination for music lovers, people watchers, and scores of motorcyclists. The series is sponsored by the Springfield Business Improvement District.

Williamstown Theatre Festival
1000 Main St., Williamstown
(413) 597-3400; www.wtfestival.org
Admission: $15 and up
July 2 to Aug. 17: Sixty years ago, the leaders of the Williams College drama department and news office conceived of an idea: using the school’s theater for a summer performance program with a resident company. Since then, the festival has attracted such performers as E.G. Marshall, Blythe Danner, Colleen Dewhurst, and Christopher Reeve. This summer, the program will present a range of both classical and original productions, plus other programs like the interactive workshops, post-show Tuesday Talkbacks with company members, and ‘A Festival 4th,’ when actors will celebrate the Fourth of July by gathering at the Williams College Museum of Art to read the Declaration of Independence and the British reply before viewing the college’s noted Founding Documents collection. Williamstown’s classic small-town parade then kicks off on Spring Street at 11 a.m. and ends at the Clark Art Institute for the grand opening of its newly expanded campus.

Clark Art Institute
225 South St., Williamstown
(413) 458-2303; www.clarkart.edu
Admission: Free on July 4; otherwise $20 for adults, free for under 18 and students
Starting July 4: Immediately following the Williamstown parade, enjoy hot dogs, live music, balloons, and other family fun on the museum’s East Lawn before the Clark — which has been closed for an extensive renovation — officially reopens at 1 p.m. Admission is free on grand-opening day. Galleries will be open until 9 p.m., and the Eagles Band will perform at 7 p.m., followed by fireworks at 9. Founded in 1936, the Eagles Band is the oldest continuing performance ensemble in the Berkshires, performing music from the late ’30s through the early ’50s, in styles ranging from traditional brass to contemporary and pop arrangements. Guests are welcome to return throughout the summer (admission $20, students and under 18 free), with new exhibitions including “Make It New: Abstract Paintings from the National Gallery of Art,” which will include Jackson Pollock’s “Lavender Mist,” opening Aug. 2. Perhaps the most impressive work of all is the Clark’s new, 42,650-square-foot Visitor Center — designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ando, who is known for incorporating landscape into his design. The center boasts new dining facilities, a museum shop, outdoor terraces, and 11,070 square feet of additional special exhibition space. And if you can’t make it to Williamstown on July 4, there’s always…

Monson Summerfest
Main Street, Monson
(413) 267-3649; www.monsonsummerfestinc.com
Admission: Free
July 4: In 1979, a group of parishioners from the town’s Methodist church wanted to start an Independence Day celebration focused on family and community, The first Summerfest was held at the church, featuring food, games, and fun activities. With the overwhelming interest of nonprofit organizations in town, the event immediately grew, and relocated onto Main Street the following year. With the addition of a parade, along with booths, bands, rides, and activities, the event has evolved into an attraction drawing more than 10,000 people every year. The festivities will be preceded this year by a town fireworks display on June 28.

Star Spangled Springfield
Downtown Springfield
(413) 733-3800
Admission: Free
July 4: Speaking of fireworks, what’s a better end to an Independence Day filled with food, family, and outdoor fun than taking in a spectacle of the skies? Springfield’s annual show, starting at 9:30 p.m., is a welcome tradition, but it’s hardly the only one. For example, South Hadley and East Longmeadow have slated their displays for July 3, Old Sturbridge Village will light up the night on July 4, and Westfield and Greenfield have events scheduled for July 5. Many other cities and towns are planning fireworks as well; check with municipal offices for times.

Berkshires Arts Festival
Ski Butternut, 380 State Road, Great Barrington
(845) 355-2400; www.berkshiresartsfestival.com
Admission: $5-$13
July 4-6: Now in its 13th year, the Berkshires Arts Festival has become a regional tradition. Thousands of art lovers and collectors are expected to descend on the Ski Butternut grounds to check out and purchase the creations of more than 175 artists and designers, as well as experiencing theater, music, and dance from local, national, and international acts. Founded by Richard and Joanna Rothbard, owners of An American Craftsman Galleries, the festival attracts top artists from across the U.S. and Canada. Visitors can also participate in interactive events like puppetry and storytelling, all the time enjoying a respite from the sun under tents and in the ski resort’s air-conditioned lodge.

Tanglewood
297 West St., Lenox
(617) 266-1200; www.bso.org
Admission: $21 and up
Starting July 5: Tanglewood has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937, and like previous years, it has a well-stocked slate of concerts in store for the 2014 season, including an All-American Opening Night Gala Concert on July 5 and a special gala concert on July 12, a dance-inspired program featuring both the Boston Symphony and fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO’s prestigious summer music academy. This season, Tanglewood will offer a special focus on American music with orchestral, opera, and film presentations in the Koussevitzky Music Shed, and opera, chamber music, and recital programs in Ozawa Hall, which marks its 20th anniversary season in 2014. Check out the website for the extensive roster of shows and events, including a number of non-classical shows, such as Tanglewood regular James Taylor, who perform in the Koussevitzky Music Shed on July 3 and 4, with both performances followed by fireworks displays.

Brimfield Antique Show
Route 20, Brimfield, MA
(413) 283-6149; www.quaboaghills.com
Admission: Free
July 8-13: What began humbly — when a local auctioneer decided to hold open-air auctions on his property, and grew into a successful flea market — eventually began including neighboring properties as it grew. It expanded in the ’80s and ’90s to a one-mile stretch of Route 20 on both sides, and these days, the Brimfield Antique Show is a six-mile stretch of heaven for people to value antiques, collectibles, and flea-market finds. Some 6,000 dealers and close to 1 million total visitors show up at the three annual, week-long events; the first was in May, and the third runs Sept. 2-7. The Brimfield Antique Show labels itself the “Antiques and Collectibles Capital of the United States,” and — judging by its scope and number of visitors — it’s hard to disagree.

Green River Festival
Greenfield Community College, One College Dr., Greenfield
(413) 773-5463; www.greenriverfestival.com
Admission: Weekend, $75; Saturday, $49.99; Sunday, $34.99
July 12-13: For one weekend every July, Greenfield Community College hosts a high-energy celebration of music; local food, beer, and wine; handmade crafts; and family games and activities — all topped off with four hot-air-balloon launches (rides are available) and a spectacular Saturday-night ‘balloon glow.’ The music is continuous on three stages, and this year features Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, Lucius, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Trampled by Turtles, Grant Lee Phillips, and more than two dozen other artists. Children under 10 can get in for free, as the family-friendly festival features children’s music performers, a kid’s activity tent, games, circus acts, a Mardi Gras parade, and other surprises. New for 2014 is the Maker’s Market, a collective of fine artisans from across Western Mass., offering an impressive array of handmade crafts and jewelry. The festival began in 1986 as purely a hot-air-balloon affair, but quickly integrated musical entertainment into the event. Now, its one of the most eclectic events in the Valley.

Yidstock
Hampshire College, 893 West St., Amherst
(413) 256-4900; www.yiddishbookcenter.org/yidstock
Admission: Festival pass, $145 for members or $185 general admission; tickets may be purchased for individual events
July 17-20: Boasting an array of films, concerts, lectures, and workshops, Yidstock 2014: The Festival of New Yiddish Music lands in Amherst in mid-July. The third annual Yidstock festival will bring the best in klezmer and new Yiddish music to the stage at the Yiddish Book Center. The festival pass includes admission to all concerts, lectures, and workshops. The weekend will offer an intriguing glimpse into Jewish roots and jazzy soul music through popular Yiddish bands like the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Klezmatics, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, and more. Friday and Saturday feature dance workshops as well.

New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game
MacKenzie Stadium, 500 Beech St., Holyoke
(413) 533-1100; www.valleybluesox.com
Admission: $5-$8
July 20: The Valley Blue Sox (formerly the Holyoke Blue Sox) continue to bring plenty of baseball excitement to Holyoke and its surroundings, playing in a league that attracts some of the top collegiate talent each summer. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for these guys to really showcase their talent in a professional setting,” General Manager Hunter Golden said. “Major League Baseball is a big believer in our product and the caliber of players we bring. Watch the College World Series, and chances are you’ll see half our roster.” This year MacKenzie will host the league All-Star Game, starting at 12 noon on July 20, but the club will play plenty of other home games into early August — usually featuring giveaways and other promotions — to provide families with a fun, affordable evening out.

Bang on a Can Plays Art
1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams
(413) 662-2111; www.massmoca.org
Admission: Festival pass, $75; individual concerts, $15-$24
July 26 to Aug 2: The Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, a residency program for composers and performers, will take place from July 15 through Aug. 4 at MASS MoCA. The heart of this three-week workshop is a week-long series of 14 concerts running from July 26 to Aug. 2, highlighted by two major Saturday events in the museum’s Hunter Auditorium. The first is David Lang’s “death speaks” on July 26 at 8 p.m., featuring the Bang on a Can All-Stars with special guest Shara Worden. Lang combed through every song by Franz Schubert and pulled out just the moments when Death is a character, speaking directly to us, and then set those texts to new music. On Aug. 2 at 4 p.m., the museum will present the six-hour Bang on a Can Marathon with special guests Steve Reich and Glenn Kotche of Wilco. The festival finale will include more than 50 musicians and composers from around the world, and will feature Steve Reich’s newest composition “Radio Rewrite,” a remix of two songs by Radiohead. Another highlight will be a rare performance of Edgar Varese’s riotous masterpiece “Ionisation,” the first piece ever written for percussion ensemble.

Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival
Court Square, Springfield
(413) 303-0101
Admission: Free
Aug 9: Following in the footsteps of the Hoop City Jazz and Arts Festival, which drew more than 20,000 people to downtown Springfield, is the inaugural Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, intended to celebrate the emergence of Springfield’s Cultural District and promote an arts-driven, community-oriented, and sustainable revitalization of the city. The event will offer a festive atmosphere featuring locally and internationally acclaimed musical artists, a variety of ethnic cuisines and local food producers, and more. This inclusive event aims to bring people from Springfield and the surrounding region together to foster connection, stimulate the local economy, and highlight positive initiatives contributing to the betterment of Springfield’s residents, and uniting the city with the rest of the Pioneer Valley. The festival is being produced by Blues to Green, a nonprofit organization led by Kristin Neville, wife of legendary jazz musician Charles Neville. The organization’s mission is to use music and art to celebrate community and culture, build shared purpose, and catalyze social and environmental change.

Dog Shows at the Eastern States Exposition
1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield
(413) 737-2443; www.thebige.com
Admission: Free
Aug. 20-24: The Big E fairgrounds certainly haven’t gone to the dogs, but it will seem that way for five days in August, when dog shows take over the Better Living Center. The Elm City Kennel Club Dog Show will be in town on Aug. 20 and 24, the Newtown Kennel Club Dog Show will take over on Aug. 21 and 23, while the Northwestern Connecticut Kennel Club Dog Show will make an appearance on Aug. 22. Come see dogs in all breeds compete for best in class and best in show.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
358 George Carter Road, Becket
(413) 243-0745; www.jacobspillow.org
Admission: $50-$150
Aug. 23: In its 82nd season, Jacob’s Pillow has become one of the premier venues for dance in the U.S. Dance enthusiasts will surely marvel at the dozens of free and ticketed recitals performed by celebrated companies from around the world, not to mention Jacob’s Pillow’s other offerings of photography and art exhibits, seminars, discussions, and film screenings. The season concludes on Aug. 23 with the Festival Finale, featuring a performance by the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet or LeeSaar. The ticket also includes entry to a festive after-party, with drinks, desserts, photo-booth fun, and DJ BFG spinning live at the ultimate dance celebration. Proceeds benefit the community programs of Jacob’s Pillow.

Three County Fair
41 Fair St., Northampton
(413) 584-2237; www.threecountyfair.com
Admission: $8-$10
Aug. 29 to Sept. 1: In 1818, the Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden Agricultural Society was formed, with the purpose of promoting agriculture, agricultural education, and agricultural science in the Commonwealth. The society relied on exhibitions, displays, competitions, and demonstrations to fulfill its purposes, awarding prizes in agricultural and domestic categories. Almost 200 years later, the society’s original purpose still provides the umbrella under which the Three County Fair is presented to the public. Over time, however, various entertainment events became part of the annual fair, from carnival rides and games to thoroughbred horse racing, horse demonstrations, crafts, and, of course, plenty of food. “Taste the past, enjoy the present,” fair organizers say, and visitors will certainly experience a good deal of both.

Blandford Fair
10 North St., Blandford
(413) 848-0995; www.theblandfordfair.com
Admission: $5-$10
Aug. 29 to Sept. 1: Not much has changed in the 145 years of the Blandford Fair, but that’s what makes it so charming. This Labor Day weekend, at the 147th edition of the event, fairgoers can witness the classic rituals of the giant pumpkin display, the pony draw, and the horseshoe tournament, plus more modern additions, like the fantastically loud chainsaw-carving demonstration and the windshield-smashing demolition derby. With many more exhibits and attractions to offer, a weekend at the Blandford Fair is an ideal way for families to close out the summer.

Old Sturbridge Village Family Fun Days
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA
(800) 733-1830; www.osv.org
Admission: Adults, $24; children, free
Aug. 31 to Sept. 2: Bring the whole family to Old Sturbridge Village on Labor Day weekend, when the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast opens its doors to children for free (normally, youth admission is $8). Guests are invited to play baseball the way early New Englanders did, make a craft, join a game of French & English (tug of war), meet the oxen in training, try their hand at marbling paper, see a puppet show, watch a toy fire-balloon flight, visit the Freeman Farm, stop and see craftsmen at work, and much more. In addition, the weekend will feature appearances by Bob Olson, performing 19th-century magic, as well as the Old Sturbridge Village Singers and the Old Sturbridge Village Dancers. Let your kids step back into the 1830s and enjoy the last summer weekend before school.

Glendi
St. George Cathedral, 22 St. George Road, Springfield
(413) 737-1496; stgeorgecath.org
Admission: Free
Sept. 5-7: Every year, St. George Cathedral offers thousands of visitors the best in traditional Greek foods, pastries, music, dancing, and old-fashioned Greek hospitality. In addition, the festival offers activities for children, tours of the historic St. George Cathedral and Byzantine Chapel, various vendors from across the East Coast, icon workshops, movies in the Glendi Theatre, cooking demonstrations, and a joyful atmosphere that the whole family will enjoy.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Managers Must Understand the Term ‘Adverse Employment Action’

By HUNTER S. KEIL

Hunter Keil

When an employee sues their employer, it is often obvious why they are upset. They may have been fired, their hours may have been cut, or they may have been passed over for a promotion. Sometimes, however, the employer action is not obviously adverse or apparently detrimental to the employee. This leads to the important threshold question of what constitutes an ‘adverse employment action.’

While the term ‘adverse employment action’ does not appear anywhere in the Massachusetts anti-discrimination statutes, courts have long used it to differentiate between terms, conditions, or privileges of employment that are material — and therefore governed by the anti-discrimination statute — and those effects that are trivial and not properly the subject of a claim. In order for a plaintiff to successfully bring a claim against their employer for discrimination or retaliation, they must prove they were subject to an adverse employment action.

The courts and the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) have interpreted what constitutes an adverse employment action broadly, and what may appear to an employer to be a neutral and rational action could be found by the courts or the MCAD to be an adverse employment action resulting in large damages.

This is exactly what happened this past March in Superior Court. In Kelley v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, a Superior Court judge upheld a jury’s finding that a lateral transfer of an employee, which could have been seen as a promotion, was an adverse employment action for the purposes of a retaliation claim. The trial judge upheld the jury’s award of $500,000 in emotional distress and $250,000 in punitive damages. While the employer may have felt that its actions were a rational response to a difficult situation, and that the plaintiff was not negatively impacted, the jury and judge saw it differently.

The plaintiff in this case was employed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation as a clerk in the sign shop. The plaintiff was educated only to a seventh-grade level. She had previously applied to have her position upgraded to an administrative assistant I, but that request was denied because she was not deemed to have the requisite skills for that position. In 2005, a co-worker and a supervisor began having an affair, resulting in what the judge called “blatant favoritism.” In January 2006, the plaintiff complained about the situation, and this complaint eventually resulted in a sexual-harassment investigation by human resources into the relationship between the plaintiff’s supervisor and the co-worker.

During the course of the investigation, the plaintiff was interviewed at her place of employment in alleged disregard for her privacy. The supervisor under investigation was told to stay away from the sign shop, but the plaintiff saw him there. Further, an e-mail the plaintiff sent summarizing the allegations was shared with the co-worker, and was found in other places in the workplace. This upset the plaintiff to the extent that she took approximately five weeks of sick leave.

The investigation concluded that the relationship between the co-worker and supervisor had been inappropriate and detrimental to the workplace. After the findings were released, the plaintiff sent a letter to the defendants voicing her displeasure with some of the findings and informing her employer that she may file a complaint with the MCAD. When she returned to work, there were changes to her starting time and lunch break, and she was asked to take a refresher course for a skill she claimed she no longer performed. The plaintiff was upset enough by these changes to leave work and go back on sick leave.

Approximately a week later, the plaintiff was transferred laterally to a position as an administrative assistant in a different location. The reason given for this transfer was to make the plaintiff more comfortable, but the plaintiff was never consulted as to whether the transfer would in fact make her more comfortable.

The trial judge explained that job transfers are reviewed under the “totality of the circumstances,” and that multiple factors in this case supported the jury’s finding of an adverse employment action. These reasons included a longer commute, new duties that the employer had previously determined the plaintiff did not possess the skills for, different hours, and a loss of the comfort the plaintiff had felt in her previous position.

This case highlights just how cautious employers must be when transferring employees or making any significant changes to the terms and conditions of employment. The employer may have thought it was doing the right thing in this case by removing the employee from a work environment that she was clearly struggling with and giving her a job title she had previously applied for. The employer likely did not even consider many of the factors the court relied on in finding that the transfer was an adverse employment action.

The courts and MCAD will consider how the transfer will affect the employee in ways besides salary and benefits, and employers must consider these factors as well. The easiest way the employer in this case could have protected itself was by discussing the move with the employee. Some of the factors taken into account — such as commute times — may not have been known to the employer at the time of the transfer. The only way the employer could have understood the multiple factors the court considered would have been to engage with the employee to understand what factors the employee saw as significant. While the standard for an adverse employment action is an objective one — an employee’s subjective feelings are not enough — this case highlights how it is difficult to determine whether the employee has been materially disadvantaged without understanding his or her subjective feelings.

Finally, extra care must be taken when an employee has engaged in protected activity. The employer knew in this case that the employee had engaged in protected activity by filing the sexual-harassment complaint, and the employer knew that she was considering action in the MCAD. In such a scenario, employers must take extra caution before any change is made to the terms and conditions of employment.

Hunter Keil is an associate with Robinson Donovan, P.C., where he concentrates on employment law and litigation; (413) 732-2301; hkeil@robinson-donovan.

Country Bank Awards $12,000 to Carson Center

WARE — Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, and Shelly Regin, first vice president and director of marketing at the bank, recently paid a surprise visit to the Baystate Mary Lane Community Benefits Advisory Committee (CBAC). Scully personally acknowledged the work of the CBAC and awarded the Carson Center two checks. The first, for $2,000, was a portion of the proceeds from Country Bank’s Community Series performances at the Center at Eagle Hill. The second check, for $10,000, was a direct gift from Country Bank to further the Carson Center’s provision of services for community members who are struggling with addiction. These funds were given to compliment the Yes to Life structured outpatient addiction program at the Carson Center, which was funded by Baystate Mary Lane Hospital’s determination-of-need (DON) funds last year. DON funding was made available for community health initiatives as part of the state Department of Public Health’s DON process related to capital expenditures for Baystate Medical Center’s new Emergency Department in Springfield. “We are so proud to support this important and worthwhile program, which will help so many of our community members” Regin said. “Country Bank recognizes this as an opportunity to assist the Carson Center and their Yes to Life Program, and in turn bring support to those who need it in our surrounding towns.”

What’s in a Name?

Holland & Bonzagni Helps Clients Protect Their Intellectual Property

Partner Donald Holland

Don Holland says most people don’t realize that a patent application in the U.S. can be a long, tedious process, taking on average three to five years. It’s more believable when one considers the sheer volume of existing and potential patents.

For example, back in the 1970s, Holland — who has an aerospace engineering degree in addition to his law degree — was employed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, working on rotary pumps and turbines for jet engines.

“It’s amazing to think there are 230,000 patents in that area alone,” he told BusinessWest — representing a tiny sample of all the patents issued by the U.S., across all industries.

It doesn’t help, he added, that patent examiners almost always reject an application on first submittal, because they want to build a record of diligence and avoid the impression that they’re not doing their job. “So it’s not a smooth road.”

But it’s a fascinating one for Holland, who left the Patent Office in 1981 to launch his own intellectual-property law firm. He was joined in 1989 by a partner, Mary Bonzagni — a former student from his teaching days at Western New England College School of Law — to form Longmeadow-based Holland & Bonzagni.

Although they’re registered as ‘patent attorneys’ (the only term technically allowed by the American Bar Assoc.), their work runs much deeper than that, encompassing patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, product licensing, litigation, and general counseling — in other words, just about anything a client needs to bring new products to market and then zealously safeguard those products.

“In this field,” Holland said, “I like to say that nobody dies, and nobody goes to jail. Instead, you do everything you can to help clients succeed with their products and services without impediments from copycats.”

He detailed one memorable case involving a manufacturer of household items who took action against Christmas Tree Shops. The discount chain had bought seconds from the client one year, then wanted firsts at seconds prices the following year. When the client refused, the chain commissioned Asian manufacturers to create cheaper knock-offs of his products.

Holland & Bonzagni did some investigating, then assembled a team of sheriffs to seize 117,000 items from the stores to assess the level of damage to the plaintiff. Within six weeks, Christmas Tree Shops ceased its knockoff sales, wrote the plaintiff a six-figure check — and then became its best customer.

Another high-profile case involved Yankee Candle, which successfully sued New England Candle Co. for copying the look of the Yankee Candle storefronts at its Enfield store.

Those types of cases might make news, Holland said, but they only scratch the surface of a broad palette of services — and a rich education in intellectual-property law — that the firm brings to its clients. For this issue’s focus on law, BusinessWest sat down with Holland to learn more about a field that continues to challenge and gratify him today, 33 years after taking on his first client.

Stock in Trade

The firm has expanded its client base significantly since then, he noted, working with between 100 and 200 companies every year and dealing with patent and trademark issues in between 50 and 75 countries.

“We’re no different than any other intellectual-property firm,” he said. “Most patent attorneys are either engineers or have strong science backgrounds. Recently, there are patent attorneys who are computer programmers, too. I’m an aerospace engineer, and Mary is a chemist.” In fact, she was working with a solid-waste management firm on a sludge-recycling project in Detroit when she started to consider other career paths for her organic-chemistry background, and pursued her law degree at WNEC.

The firm’s clients are generally industrial corporations, both foreign and domestic, and include manufacturers of aircraft, food, paper products, biomedical equipment, computer software, chemicals, electronic components, and other high-tech items. It also services chains of restaurants, hospitals, and other businesses. Bonzagni does a good deal of work for paper companies, including one area firm that makes security threads for currency.

“My work is 50% trademark work, which is a lot of fun,” Holland said, adding that the firm has a long-standing policy of representing only companies it admires, from regional names like Yankee Candle and Friendly’s to much smaller firms. “We’ve said we don’t do work for anyone we don’t like, and we stand by that. Early in our practice, we wanted to work for people we respect and enjoy, and that’s what we still try to do.”

The first step in trademark work, he explained, is determining which brands are the most sacred to a company — “the brands a company would be ticked if someone else copied.” Why not protect all of them? It comes down to budget, as each action costs money and time.

“If you say, ‘you have 40 trademarks, and you need to register all of them,’ you’re not going to get the work,” he said. “They don’t want to spend that kind of money. Typically, you take a look at the top three to five trademarks, and analyze which can be protected and to what extent. We suggest to them which marks should be registered.” Trademarks, he added, are applied to products, and service marks to services.

This work to protect trademarks becomes critical when another company copies a product name or look.

“If a client has registered its name and the registration has become incontestable, that’s one half of the lawsuit; you don’t have to prove who owns your name,” Holland said. “So when you go to court, you’ve already proven one of two things. The second is whether someone has infringed that trademark, or has used a mark confusingly similar.” Generally, consumers are surveyed as part of the legal action, and if 35% of them are confused by the similar names or logos, the plaintiff has proven his case.

Litigating a trademark violation can take one to three years and cost upwards of $200,000, but patent litigation — a claim that a company has copied a patented product design — can be much more involved, lasting four to eight years and costing between $500,000 and $2 million, depending on the type of case and the parties involved.

Knowledge Is Power

Beyond litigation and consulting with clients on how to bring their products to market and grow their business, education is a large part of Holland & Bonzagni’s mission.

After teaching intellectual-property law for 23 years at WNEC, Holland now teaches in the Paralegal Studies program at Bay Path College. “I have a lot of fun teaching,” he said. “My patent professor was able to get a patent job for anyone in class who wanted to go into the patent profession, so it has been my pleasure to teach students about the fun and rewards of being intellectual-property attorneys.”

The firm also presents seminars on a number of subjects in the broad realm of trademarks, trade secrets, counterfeit goods, licensing technology, Internet piracy, and more.

“We have 10 different seminars tailored for different clients, which we give at no charge after we establish a relationship with the client,” he said, before adding, “I typically will tell the owner or president of the company that there will be no charge for the seminar — if somebody will give me a tour.”

Holland has also authored a booklet titled Corporate Guide to Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets, and the firm posts industry news on its website, www.hblaw.org. Currently, visitors can read about the America Invents Act passed by Congress last year that shifts the U.S. from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system, meaning only the first person to file a patent application can receive a patent, unless the first inventor publicly disclosed the invention beforehand and filed a patent application within 12 months after that disclosure.

In other words, there is no longer a one-year grace period for an inventor to keep an invention totally secret before deciding to file a U.S. patent application. Someone with knowledge of the invention could conceivably beat the earlier inventor to Patent Office and prevail.

“A lot of companies don’t know this until they’ve been burned,” Holland said. “Under the old system, you had a grace period. Now, if you’ve invested $2 million, $3 million, $5 million in a product, competitors could copy the product and don’t have to spend the millions you did in research and development.”

Other challenges exist for inventors, he added. For instance, there’s no such thing as a worldwide patent, meaning if someone wants to market a product in, say, Europe, Canada, and Australia, they need to pay separate fees and go through individual processes in each country. Fortunately, 2015 will see the emergence of a single European patent, covering most European Union members and reducing filing costs by more than 75%.

Meanwhile, the Internet age has produced its own raft of trademark issues, including the practice known as ‘typosquatting,’ where someone will create a website almost named after a real company — www.smythandwesson.com, for instance, with the ‘i’ replaced with a ‘y’ — to draw in users who misspell a URL.

Back to the Drawing Board

Holland continuously came back to how impressed he is with the clients he works with, and how much he learns from them.

“People are brilliant at what they do, but sometimes too humble to recognize it,” he said, citing as one example the man who created the x-ray arm that moves around a patient. “Previously, the table moved. His invention is now in 5,600 hospitals.”

Then there’s another favorite client, a company that claims roughly 10% of the U.S. market share for beef. “It was fun going out to visit them and represent them in all sorts of trademark matters and patent matters.”

When it comes to fascinating clients, however, “everyone has them,” he told BusinessWest. “I’m not alone. Go to any intellectual-property firm, and they have clients as good as ours or better.”

And, as a general rule, those clients are not in the mood for lengthy legal battles. They just want to get on with their business.

“Some law firms are all about wins and losses,” Holland said. “But I’ve learned that our clients just want to solve a problem and move on to the next matter. They just want to sell their product or service and not get involved in a lawsuit.”

He laughed when he recalled his fastest-ever litigation, a copycat case where the documentation was clear and the case was settled in two weeks — and the defendant ended up purchasing work from the client. Most cases are much more complex, keeping the staff at Holland & Bonzagni — which also includes two paralegals and four support staff — busy.

Holland said the firm wants to grow, but it’s difficult to get lawyers to commit to Springfield. “We’ve been looking for three or four years. If you graduate law school, do you want to go to Boston or New York, or Springfield? Unless you grew up here and know how great the area is, it’s tough to see it.”

So hiring, like patent law, isn’t a smooth road, either. But it’s all part of the challenge for an engineer and a scientist who found, in the broad realm of intellectual-property law, a far more satisfying path. n

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Editorial

Opinion

State Must Think Big on Gateway Cities

The Patrick administration recently announced that it will seek $100 million from the Legislature to spur business growth in the state’s so-called gateway cities, which include several communities in Western Mass. The four-year plan calls for everything from job training to loans for small businesses, all in an effort to spark progress in communities that, for the most part, have missed out on the economic progress the Commonwealth has seen in recent years.

But while that may sound like a big number, it really isn’t, not when you consider that there are now 24 of these cities — there were an original 11 designated in 2008, with 14 more added in 2010 — and that the problems facing them are large and quite stubborn.

For those reasons, we ask the governor and his administration to think and act bigger — make that much bigger — when it comes to these cities. Otherwise, progress will come slowly and unremarkably, if at all.

Backing up a bit, the state’s stated desire to help gateway cities, also called ‘legacy cities’ by some, is laudable, because help is clearly needed. These are, for the most part, old, industrial cities, with the industries varying from paper to shoes to fishing, that have tried in recent years to reinvent themselves as something else, but mostly have come up well short in those efforts.

The original 11 gateway cities are Brockton, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Springfield, and Worcester. Those later added include Attleboro, Barnstable, Chelsea, Everett, Leominster, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, Peabody, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Taunton, and Westfield.

Some of these cities are doing better than others — Lowell has made a stunning turnaround over the past decade or so, for example — but most are still burdened with high unemployment and poverty rates, underperforming school systems, struggling neighborhoods, moribund downtowns, old mills that haven’t found new uses, and a lack of new business development.

The Gateway Cities program was launched to provide assistance to these communities — many of which, like Springfield, Worcester, New Bedford, and Pittsfield, anchor the regional economies surrounding them — because it was clear that they were not rebounding on their own.

One of the biggest reasons why is jobs, or, more precisely, a lack thereof. To create more, these communities must become more entrepreneurial — a theme we’ve stressed before — while also assembling workforces that can compete in this knowledge-based economy and embracing new industries and the cultural economy.

All that will take a lot more than $100 million over the next four years.

The Patrick administration’s plan calls for spending $20 million in job training in technology and advanced manufacturing careers at vocational schools and community colleges; $5 million to be spent on loans for small businesses; another $25 million to renew annual tax credits for companies that commit to adding jobs; a $15 million fund to jump-start commercial development projects; tax credits for housing construction; and $10 million in grants and loans to clean up contaminated industrial sites, among other considerations.

In our view, this represents a good start.

But if the Patrick administration is serious about enabling cities like Springfield, Holyoke, Lawrence, and Fall River to share in the prosperity enjoyed by Boston, Cambridge, and other communities, it must adequately fund programs to get the job done.

As we said, the state must think and act bigger when it comes to making investments in these legacy cities.

Community Spotlight: Agawam

Community Spotlight Features

Zone Change Spurs New Growth in Agawam

Deborah Dachos says a recently approved ordinance for mixed-use zoning in the Walnut Street Extension area will promote revitalization.

Mayor Richard Cohen created what he calls a “dream plan” to revitalize the Walnut Street Extension area years ago, and says it has taken tremendous patience and untold hours of dedicated work to bring it to fruition.

The idea is to make the area into an attractive, walkable, downtown-style location with venues that enhance quality of life for residents of the city, he told BusinessWest, adding that the plan received a major boost early this month when city councilors approved a mixed-use business C zoning change for the area. It relaxes dimensional requirements for buildings and is aimed at encouraging the development of new restaurants, cafés, family-oriented enterprises, and second-story residences.

“Agawam is a great place to live, work, and play, and we want to maintain those attributes and continue to develop them. Our goal is to create an environment that is friendly and can be used by families for entertainment. We don’t have a downtown, and need a place where people can walk and have things to do,” said Cohen, adding that the Walnut Street Extension area had been declining for years, and prior to the zone change, there was no incentive for business owners to improve their property because they were uncertain as to whether they could realize a return on their investments.

Deborah Dachos, director of Planning and Community Development, agreed, and said the new zoning offers an ideal setting for growth and is in line with what business owners and residents want in that section of the city. “The zoning change has finally passed,” she said. “It involved a concerted effort to work with businesses to make the area more user-friendly and less restrictive. We worked hard on the plan, which includes the old Food Mart site and former Ames store building.”

She explained that the downturn in this commercial area began when Food Mart and Ames moved out, leaving both structures in the Springfield Street shopping plaza vacant. The decline was exacerbated after a fire led to the closing of the former Games and Lanes building, which housed a bowling alley. “The Walnut Street commercial area was developed in the ’50s, and the decline occurred over a 10-year period. But the mayor and I made a concerted effort to revitalize the area 12 years ago.”

Progress began after the city sought and gained acceptance from the state to designate the location as an exceptional-opportunity area. The designation made tax-increment financing possible, allowing the city and businesses to agree on a property-tax exemption for up to 20 years, based on a percentage of value added through new construction or significant improvements.

In 2010, city officials also completed an economic-development plan that made the Walnut Street Extension neighborhood a priority. It included the provision for mixed-use zoning, which was refuted by the city council last December before being passed this month.

Parking has been problematic for business owners in the district, but that obstacle is being addressed. The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission accepted the city’s application for district technical assistance, and has plans to study parking and pedestrian issues in the area. “Their report will provide the town with the information we need to seek a MassWorks grant of up to $1 million to address the deficits and construct new parking areas. It’s important because business owners have complained that there is inadequate parking,” Dachos said, adding that the study was contingent on getting mixed-use zoning passed.

Inroads to Success

New venues for family entertainment have begun to crop up in the Walnut Extension Street area in the past few years, and several new businesses are expected to open in the future.

Revitalization began when Dave’s Pet Food City purchased the former Ames building about six years ago. The company used about half of the space and put the remainder up for lease.

Stick Time Sports Inc. opened its doors last fall in a portion of the building, offering training for hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse in its complex, which includes two 45-by-85-foot synthetic turf fields, a strength and conditioning space, a fully equipped pro shop, and a birthday party/conference room for special events.

And a new YMCA is scheduled to open in early August in the old Food Mart building. It is under construction, and will be called the Agawam YMCA Wellness and Program Family Center.

“It will offer everything included in a traditional YMCA, with the exception of a swimming pool and basketball gym,” said Kristine Allard, chief operating officer for the YMCA of Greater Springfield. “There will be a fitness center, café, community space, group exercise area, and technical center, as well as a child-development center with projects and activities for children whose parents are exercising or participating in other programs.”

The facility is being built in response to need expressed by residents and city leaders, and will be the first YMCA in New England without a pool and gym. “It’s a groundbreaking concept, and we are extremely excited about it; it will be beautiful and functional and will contribute to the community,” Allard said.

Mayor Richard Cohen says the Walnut Street Extension area is becoming a center for family recreation.

The site was chosen several years ago, but it took time to raise enough money to proceed with construction. Allard said $300,000 has been raised for that purpose, but $100,000 is still needed to cover the first year of operating expenses, and fund-raising efforts include soliciting new memberships as well as donations.

Another major improvement is also anticipated. The former Games and Lanes site at 346-350 Walnut St. Extension, which has been an abandoned eyesore for 13 years, may soon be sold and revitalized, thanks in part to an environmental study completed in March that provided the city with a cost-assessment and remediation plan for the 2.3-acre brownfields site. The building on the property was occupied by Standard Uniform Corp. from 1969 through the late ’80s, and when an underground gasoline tank was removed in 1989, contamination was discovered.

“In the past, developers were reluctant to purchase the property because the cost of cleaning it up was unknown,” Dachos said. “The current owner invested $1 million to do the work, but it was not enough. So in 2012, the city applied for a MassDevelopment grant so prospective buyers would have a better understanding of what needed to be done.”

She told BusinessWest that four parties recently expressed interest in the site, and a Ware couple is pursuing a purchase-and-sale agreement. “They want to make the property into a family entertainment center with a racing theme,” she said, adding that go-kart racing would not have been possible before the mixed-use ordinance passed because the site had been zoned for industrial use.

“Their plan is consistent with other new businesses in the shopping center, which include a tae kwon do training center that opened about 18 months ago and a new Napa Auto Parts store,” Dachos said. “The theme of the Walnut Street Extension area has become family-oriented entertainment and services. A new Dollar General store opened a few months ago at 53 Springfield St., and a Salvation Army Family Store opened about two years ago at 65 Springfield St.”

Cohen said fulfilling his dream plan has taken years of effort, but the vision is finally being realized.

“We have been diligent in pursuing our goal of making this area into a beautiful place for families to enjoy, and we are finally going to be able to see the fruits of our labor,” he explained. “Many people become critical when they see empty buildings, but they don’t know the passion and time it takes to get something to happen. Now that the economy is turning around, there is money for mixed-use zoning from state, federal, and private investors, and a private-public partnership is beginning to take shape.”

Infrastructure improvements that will advance the plan include widening the Morgan Sullivan Bridge from four lanes to five. The bridge connects West Springfield and Agawam, and MassHighway has deemed it structurally and functionally deficient. It approved $12.3 million for bridge reconstruction and remediation of three intersections neighboring the span.

“The bridge is the gateway into the Walnut Street shopping-center area,” Cohen said.

Dachos added that the state has assigned the project to a consultant and it is in the design stage, with construction expected to begin in the winter of 2016-17.

The mayor said these improvements are needed to promote the area and give new businesses the easy commuter access they need to thrive. “There were a lot of pieces of the puzzle that had to be put into place. But everything is finally coming together.”

Other changes are also being made to enhance quality of life in the city. Agawam’s 50-acre School Street Park will undergo a $2 million expansion this year that will include a splash park, disk golf, a volleyball area, a picnic area, walking trails, and a band shell, where open-air concerts can be held during the summer. And a 1.7-mile stretch is being added to the 3.7-mile Connecticut River Walk and Bike Path, which will make the park accessible from the pathway that runs from Springfield into Agawam.

The city will also begin construction on a new dog park this summer, said Cohen, adding that funding for that project comes from a variety of sources. The city received a $237,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation, which was supplemented by $14,000 in Community Preservation Funds and another $10,000 raised by the Agawam Dog Owner’s Group.

In addition, the city recently saw completion of a $4 million project on Main Street that includes new curbing, lights, signs, sidewalks, and traffic signals.

“There are a lot of nice things going on here,” the mayor said, noting that Agawam was designated the second-safest city in the Commonwealth and the 11th-safest in the U.S. in January, based on data from police reports.

Future Outlook

Cohen is happy the City Council voted in favor of mixed-use zoning in the Walnut Street Extension area, and says the future outlook is bright.

“Agawam is a beautiful place, and our convenient location, affordable land and buildings, and low tax rate allow us to build good lives for ourselves and our children. We are proud that this is a safe community with family values and great schools, and the year 2014 bodes very well for Agawam residents,” he said.

“We have learned to be patient and never give up,” the mayor added, “and I hope our dream and vision for the Walnut Street Extension will become a reality that the community will be proud of in the near future.”

Doing Business as Certificates

DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of June 2014.

AGAWAM

A-1 Inspection Services
569 Springfield St.
Kelly Nadeau

Bellerose Realty, LLC
85 Peros Dr.
Glen Bellerose

DDMJ Transportation
712 South West St.
Vitaliy V. Ganovsky

Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging
1623 Main St.
Michael Madden

M & H Handyman Services
18 Arrowood Dr.
Kenneth E. Mayo

Marasi Pool Water
32 Horsham Place
Steven Marasi

AMHERST

Center for Yoga & Healing Arts
17 Kellogg Ave.
Patricia Townsend

Innate Body Wisdom Physical Therapy
96 North Pleasant St.
Marjorie Giliberto

Let’s Go Dog Walking Service
153 High St.
Laura Robinson

CHICOPEE

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

Echo Painting
78 Aarendon Ave.
Igor Morozov

My Tech Guy
675 Rendleton Ave.
Luis Rivera

Spagnoli’s Catering
587 Grattan St.
Louise Spagnoli

Sunny Day Lawn Care
16 Victoria Park
Nicholas Stiles

HOLYOKE

City Corner Convenience
579 Dwight St.
Mohammad Bashir

Fanzone
50 Holyoke St.
Mary Dent

JC Mini Market
4 Adams St.
John C. Almonte

Karfoke Social Club
293 Clemente St.
Daniel Rios

Know Your Business
256 Maple St.
Christina Stevenson

Malls Convenience
50 Holyoke St.
Khushal Gogri

Manny’s Pizza
510 Westfield St.
Charlene M. Fantakis

New England Fish & Chip
530 High St.
Frankie Cardona

Pizza Shop
172 Sergeant St.
Imiran Racheel

The Danish Hot Dog
50 Holyoke St.
Niels Christiansen

Volt Scooter
56 Nonotuck St.
Kenneth L. Harstine

NORTHAMPTON

College Planning Services
8 Tiffany Lane
Ruth Delisle

DFB Tech
440 Westhampton Road
Daniel Burke

Potential Energy Consulting
26 Crescent St.
Michael Jaeger

Terra Vinca
78 South Main St.
Sarah Harvey

The Tigerlily Salon
122 Main St.
Christina Grail

Valve Spring
79 Bland Road
Christina Divigard

PALMER

NexCentury Entertainment
1125 Thorndike St.
Alexander Sopollec

Never Forget Publishing
120 Peterson Road
Justin Lincoln

Palmer Hobbies
1428 Main St.
William Lanza

Sundance Industries
10 Willoughby Lane
Wayne Degon

SPRINGFIELD

110K Entertainment
318 Locust St.
Joseph Janas

A & D Tool
34 Front St.
Felix Dynak

Advantics Inc.
101 King St.
Suzette T. Cotton

All About Business
1655 Main St.
Ralph Rodriguez

Amir M. Parach
156 Island Pond Road
Amir M. Parach

Antojitos Criollos
197 Plainfield St.
Luis A. Alvarado

Arcangel Auto Repair
100 Verge St.
Arcangel Mattei

Auto Kings, LLC
867 Boston Road
John Feliciano

Bader Alazam
43 Blanding St.
Bader Alazam

Beyond Glamorous
14 Bryant St.
Latisha Smith

Boston Revolutionary
139 Ithaca St.
Stephen Joseph

Collectibles Items
75 Dwight Dr.
Thuy Trann

Congregation Torah
2 Eunice Dr.
Alliance of Orthodox

D & B Towing
141 Carver St.
David Reyes

Dean’s Sewer & Drain
134 Sunrise Terrace
Dean Veratti

E.T. Boutique
528 Main St.
Edward Hernandez

Environment Control
471 Forest Hill Road
Timothy C. Foley

Feng Enterprises
42 Berkshire Ave.
Feng Zheng

Fu Yuan
1203 Parker St.
Paul M. Chen

GForce Enterprise
69 Mohegan Ave.
Gennaro T. Danielle

Grez Automotive, LLC
604 Boston Road
Pan Siphanoum

International Auto Sales
715 Liberty St.
Ryan M. Conway

Ivan Kasana
1655 Boston Road
Ivan Kasana

J & P Commercial Cleaning
320 Goodwin St.
Judith Maldonado

J.C. Williams Community Center
116 Florence St.
Katishia Gallishaw

J.O. Associates
34 Front St.
Jeffrey Orchyrmowicz

JJ’s Kiddy Kab
50 Massachusetts Ave.
Shuana Amanda

King Cow Jerky
64 Magnolia Terrace
Bob Wool

The Hair Parlor
524 Main St.
Sarah Christine

Urban Gear Inc.
1640 Main St.
Jin Woo

Verizon Wireless
1420 Boston Road
Alice C. Brennan

Weldon Rehabilitation
233 Carew St.
Kevin A. Jourdain

WESTFIELD

A & J Landscaping
70 East Silver St.
Antonio Goncalves

Awilda’s Hair Care
18 Arnold St.
Awilda Colombani

International Food Market
45 Meadow St.
Alex Altman

Ray of Hope International Church
15 Summer St.
Parlad Gurung

Richard Keith Ringer
11 Crestwood Circle
Richard K. Ringer

Sophisticated Production
33 Stuart Place
Melissa R. Tessier

St. Jean Appliance
459 Southwick Road
Randy C. St. Jean

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Ballard Mack Sales
124 Ashley Ave.
John Picking

Bare Skin
470 Westfield St.
Amanda Douglas

Comfort Inn & Suites
106 Capital Ave.
Nataver Inc.

Licensed Avon Beauty
250 Westfield St.
Deborah L. Scharmann

Reliance
24 East School St.
Aleksey Baedakov

Rikoh Americas Corporation
1 Interstate Dr.
Ricoh Americas

Opinion

Opinion

Healthcare Stakeholders Support Reform

By LYNN NICHOLAS

An impressive collection of healthcare stakeholders have joined with the Mass. Hospital Assoc. (MHA) in calling for the state to support two extremely important reform efforts in the FY 2015 budget.

First, policymakers should address desperately needed behavioral-health reform measures. Five of Massachusetts’ largest care-provider organizations are jointly calling on the Legislature to support vital behavioral-health reform measures in next year’s budget. In addition to MHA, the Mass. Assoc. of Behavioral Health Systems, the Mass. Medical Society, the Mass. College of Emergency Physicians, and the Mass. Psychiatric Society are urging the adoption of both budgetary action and vital administrative steps needed to bolster timely access to behavioral-health services.

The Commonwealth’s behavioral-health system is broken, and immediate supports are needed to reinforce critical mental-health and substance-abuse services while we all work toward comprehensive, systemic reform. The multi-step plan advanced by our collective organizations calls for important investments in community-based placement services, outpatient and community-based diversionary services, and inpatient hospital-level services. It also urges the Legislature to adopt operational reforms that advance patient access to appropriate services on a timely basis and reduce emergency-department delays.

The persistent call for comprehensive reform of the Commonwealth’s behavioral-health system is gaining traction throughout the state. While thorough and systemic reform may take some time, it’s essential that policymakers move forward on some immediate interim steps that will preserve access and advance true parity for behavioral-health coverage and services. We hope this growing call from healthcare, public advocacy, and civic leaders will result in meaningful improvements for all patients in the very near future.

Second, new federal healthcare funding should be dedicated to its intended purpose — to support both low-income health-coverage programs and those who provide the care.

Hospitals, home-care providers, physicians, community health centers, advocates for patients, and organizations devoted to fighting major diseases are all calling on the state to ensure that the use of federal healthcare funding coming to Massachusetts through the Affordable Care Act is set aside to support the funding of Medicaid and other low-income healthcare programs in a transparent manner. Gov. Deval Patrick’s budget created the Health Insurance Expansion Fund to house the enhanced federal Medicaid revenues the state receives and dedicate the funding to support the financing of health-insurance coverage for low-income Massachusetts residents.

This approach is supported by the MHA, Health Care For All, Health Law Advocates, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, the Mass. League of Community Health Centers, the Mass. Assoc. of Behavioral Health Systems, the Mass. Law Reform Institute, the American Heart Assoc. and American Stroke Assoc., the Mass. Medical Society, the Mass. Health Council, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals.

This coalition has urged the Legislature to carry the governor’s recommendation forward while adding language that increases transparency — so that the amount of revenues in the fund, as well as expected additions and expenditures, are reported regularly — and explicitly authorizes one of the uses for the funding to be to support those who provide care to Medicaid patients.

This federal money was intended to shore up and support the important healthcare programs that have been developed under the state’s reform effort. By connecting the funding directly to these programs, the Legislature can create true transparency and accountability and help preserve the many collective successes we have achieved since the passage of the first health-reform efforts back in 2006.

Lynn Nicholas is president and CEO of the Mass. Hospital Assoc.

Ingredients for Success

Cover Story

Hot Table Puts Expansion on the Menu

Co-founders John (left) and Chris DeVoie.

John DeVoie calls it an “internal motivator.”

That’s how he chose to describe the small, rather nondescript note taped to one wall of what passes for the corporate headquarters of Hot Table Panini — the cramped back room of the location within Tower Square in Springfield.

It reads simply “500 stores by 2030.”

That’s not an official goal of this company, which now operates three sites that specialize in what could be called custom panini sandwiches, and has another two set to open in the next six months or so. But it is a target, or a conversation starter, or, as he said, a number designed to motivate those working for this growing venture.

“If you don’t put goals on the walls, you don’t get anywhere,” he joked, adding that Hot Table may indeed have 500 locations by the start of the century’s fourth decade. “Or it could have five by 2030.”

Right now, the plan is to be exponentially closer to the former number than the latter, said both John and his brother, Chris, who launched this venture together, along with their brother-in-law, Don Watroba, in 2006, and have made their brand a growing part of the local culinary lexicon ever since.

They started in the Breckwood Shoppes in Sixteen Acres near Western New England University (they’re both alums) in the spring of 2007, opened their second site in Tower Square in 2009, and their third in Enfield in 2012. They plan to open a site in Glastonbury, Conn. in September, and another on Route 9 in Hadley a few months later.

After that? Well, that’s to be determined, said the brothers DeVoie, who noted that there have been discussions about more locations in Connecticut and Western Mass., a likely push toward Central and Eastern Mass., possibly starting in the region known as MetroWest, and perhaps expansion in the Albany area.

“We’re leaving ourselves open; we’re pushing further south into the Hartford market,” said John, adding that the company is in preliminary talks with franchising consultants about that eventual step. “But we do see opportunities in Eastern and Central Mass.”

What is known is that the co-owners feel good about where they are, and excited about where they could be a few years down the road. In other words, they believe the concept they’ve adopted — what’s known in the industry as ‘fast casual,’ which rests strategically between fast food and traditional sit-down dining — shows great promise and staying power, and also that their brand has established itself in this market and has the potential to do so in other markets.

For evidence, they look at what’s been achieved at their first three locations. The Breckwood Shoppes store has shown steady growth and has attracted a following that goes well beyond the university across the street, said Chris. Meanwhile, the downtown Springfield location has succeeded in space where several other eateries failed, growing each year since it opened and showing enough promise to re-up on the lease for another five years.

The original Hot Table location, in the Breckwood Shoppes, has drawn business from well beyond Western New England University, which sits across the street.

And in Enfield, on Freshwater Boulevard next to Costco, Hot Table has proven it can go toe-to-toe with a host of competitors in close proximity, said John, noting that the location there, in a major retail area, competes effectively with Starbucks, Red Robin, Panera Bread, McDonald’s, Friendly’s, Arby’s, and many others.

“You gain confidence when you jump into the sandbox, and there’s a Panera Bread across the street, and a Chipotle, and a Moe’s, and a D’Angelo’s,” he explained. “In Springfield, we were working in a certain market with not a lot of competition, but then we jumped into Enfield, and all the national brands are there — you name it, it’s there — and we’ve grown sales every year since 2012, hopefully taking market share from all those other people.”

Chris agreed. “When you’re on that stage with all the nationals, you need to perform,” he explained. “You need to give people a reason to choose Hot Table over all the others, and we’ve done that.”

All of the above has given the DeVoies that confidence John noted, as well as the wherewithal to scale up their concept. The questions now concern when, where, and how the expansion will play out.

The partners intend to be patient, picking their spots carefully and strategically, and for this issue, they talked at length with BusinessWest about just what those terms mean.

Bread Winners

While certainly not as well-known as the exploits of the Blake brothers — Prestley and Curtis — who launched Friendly’s almost 80 years ago, the story of the DeVoie brothers is becoming part of local entrepreneurial lore.

A decade or so ago, they were both working in corporate sales, doing well at their craft and making good money. But they were not feeling entirely satisfied.

“I was getting tired of making money for other people,” said John, effectively speaking for the two of them. “I always wanted to do something on my own, and I was definitely ready for something else, something entrepreneurial.”

And he and Chris were leaning strongly toward that ‘something else’ being in the restaurant business.

They started talking with Watroba, a veteran of the industry who had operated the Gold Mine, Admiral DW’s, Captain DW’s, and TD Smith’s, among other area venues, and eventually agreed to go into business together.

And in choosing a dining concept, they listened, and responded, to advice from other family members.

Indeed, it was the DeVoies’ sister who told them about a dining model she encountered on a trip to Italy — cafés of sorts called tavola calda, which translates, literally, to ‘hot table.’

“This was their version of fast casual,” said Chris, adding that more input from their parents helped solidify the concept. After returning from an ocean cruise, they reported that the most popular dining option was a made-to-order panini bar.

Meanwhile, the two took what they had learned from years on the road in sales and applied it to their vision. “We had a lot of experience with taking clients out, all over the Northeast, and all over the country, for that matter,” said Chris, “and we could see the fast-casual market was what people were migrating toward — away from the sit-down restaurants and diners, where they could sit in a good environment or get it to go. We knew that this was the kind of restaurant we wanted to establish.”

What eventually emerged and opened its doors in the Breckwood Shoppes in 2007 was what John described as a cross between Panera Bread — which he credited with popularizing fast casual — and Subway, where customers could customize their sandwich, see it being prepared, and, if they desired, eat it in a warm, relaxed atmosphere.

“People like to customize their sandwich as they move down the line,” John explained. “They like to see what’s being done, and they love to see presentation.”

Over the past seven years, the brothers DeVoie have solidified their place in the market (Watroba is no longer involved in the venture) while also putting in place a product and a culture they believe will help take the company to the next level, or the next several levels, as the case may be.

“To succeed in this business today, you have to fire on all cylinders; if not, you’ll get gobbled up,” said John, referring to food, service, cleanliness, and the environment. “You have to do it all well, and I think I can say that we do that here.

“At this point in the game, we’re pretty confident that we have a product that people want, and while we’re still streamlining things, we know who we are,” he went on. “Now it’s the real-estate game — finding the right real estate for us to expand.”

Turning Up the Heat

As he talked with BusinessWest, John DeVoie opened his laptop and clicked his way to Google Earth and then to aerial photos of the area in Glastonbury where the next Hot Table location will open in the fall.

He did so to illustrate just what the company is looking for as it goes about selecting sites. This particular location, on Main Street, is in the middle of a bustling retail area that sits on the edge of a large, somewhat affluent residential area, he said, adding that this site is very similar to the Enfield location in that regard, and this is the model the company is eyeing as it moves forward.

“Look at the rooftops,” he said while panning across the specific site. “It’s right off a major highway, and this plaza is loaded — there’s a whole bunch of high-end retail. And right down the street, there’s a Whole Foods, Panera Bread, Plan B Burger, Five Guys, and more. There’s also a corporate center where a lot of people work; this is where we want to be.”

That same phrase could be applied to Hadley, he went on. The chosen location on Route 9, a plaza now under construction, is just in front of the Home Depot, visible from the road, and surrounded by a host of national chains, including Panera Bread. Hot Table will share the building with Starbucks, Aspen Dental, and two or three other tenants, and hopefully draw from the area colleges, but also the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.

“That area has a lot going on,” said John. “It has the university and the five-college system, but there are also a lot of people living there, and it’s a huge retail area.”

Chris agreed. “The college community is part of it,” he explained, “but we look for rooftops, industry, businesses, and a destination shopping area, because people will often drive to an area like Hadley or Enfield and say, ‘where do we want to go to eat?’ — and there are several choices.”

While working to get the next two locations off the ground almost simultaneously — something the company hasn’t done before — the DeVoies have been thinking about where to go next, and when.

They are in no rush to expand, and will be careful and deliberate in this process, waiting for sites they know will enable their model to succeed.

For example, the company would like to expand into West Springfield and be part of the sprawling retail area on Riverdale Street. But they can’t find exactly what they want and have no intention of forcing the issue.

“There’s tons of space available, but finding the right spot is very difficult, and I’d rather wait for the right spot than make a mistake,” said John, referring to his overall philosophy with regard to expansion. “I’d love to be in West Springfield on Riverdale, but we’re not going to put a store north of I-91 — that’s a deathtrap there. I’d like to be in the Riverdale Shops, and we’ve been looking for four years, but there’s nothing that meets our criteria.”

Overall, said Chris, the preferred locations must offer visibility, accessibility, and parking, and would ideally be in a regional shopping center located in a heavily populated area. In other words, Hot Table is looking for the same qualities that all other chains are seeking.

And this helps in the selection process, he went on, adding that it’s very easy to track where other brands, such as Panera Bread, have gone, and essentially follow their lead when it makes sense to do so.

“The nationals spend a lot of money picking the right real estate,” he explained. “We can piggyback on what they do.”

This is what many experts say Burger King did decades ago — locating almost everywhere McDonald’s did — and it’s not a bad strategy for an emerging company that doesn’t have a small army of people scouting possible sites.

Elaborating, John said the company won’t expand simply for the sake of expanding and reaching stated goals, something he said Starbucks did years ago when it was adding roughly six new sites a day and eventually had to close many of them due to poor performance and what amounted to market oversaturation.

“It’s all about picking the right spots,” he said, adding that the proper equation involves both quantity and quality. “The big guys can afford to make mistakes, and they all do, but at our size, we can’t.”

Food for Thought

Looking ahead, the DeVoies said they’ll continue to look for expansion possibilities in Western Mass. and Connecticut, but also look hard at taking the brand — complete with a new logo featuring the name and a grill — into new markets.

“Our short-term goal into next year is to stick our toe into Eastern and Central Mass.,” said Chris, adding that MetroWest, a cluster of cities of towns west of Boston and east of Worcester, will likely be the landing point.

Also, there could be movement west into the Albany area, he went on, adding that there are ongoing discussions about which direction — figuratively, but also quite literally — to take next.

But there is more to taking a brand like Hot Table to the next level than scouting for locations, said the brothers.

Indeed, the company must be aggressive in its branding and marketing, said John, with the goal of associating the name with a product — in this case, paninis — an important consideration when it comes to taking it to new markets.

He noted that, with products like fried chicken and burritos, a few brand names immediately come to mind. And when it comes to burgers, it’s more than a few, especially with the flood of new chains to emerge in recent years. The goal with Hot Table is to make just such an association, he went on, adding that the company is working hard on that assignment.

“Paninis are very popular, and you’ll find them on a lot of menus,” he explained. “And the industry leader [Panera] has a section of the menu dedicated to paninis. But no one, on a national scale, has said, ‘this is ours — this is what we identify our company with.’

“Before McDonald’s came on the scene, everyone was selling hamburgers — they were very popular, and they were on everyone’s menu,” he went on. “Then McDonald’s came along and said, ‘this is going to be what we do.’ Our strategy is to do the same thing with the panini.”

As part of this process, the company, working in conjunction with the Springfield-based marketing firm Six Point Creative, has introduced a logo, one that ditches the coffee cup that was once juxtaposed against the Hot Table name and replaces it with a grill mark.

“This is one of the ways we’re working to associate us with the panini — and nothing leaves the store without a logo on it,” said Chris, adding that the company is building name recognition, and a reputation, largely through word of mouth and aggressive use of social media, although other vehicles, such as billboards, may be put to use after the two new locations open for business.

Meanwhile, another challenge for the company as it expands, said John, is maintaining standards for excellence, as well as the company’s culture — which he said is grounded in taking care of both customers and employees — as it moves into new markets, either organically or through franchising.

“One of the challenges to growing, and especially with franchising, is making sure things get done the Hot Table way, and also making sure people know the heart of our company, know who we are, know our systems, and know how we treat employees,” he explained.

“If you open a store in Natick and just hire someone off the street,” he continued, “you might find someone who’s great, but they still don’t know the culture. So we have to figure out a way to imbue that culture without watering it down. And that’s a challenge for any company that’s growing.”

Setting Their Sites

Returning to that small sign in the Hot Table headquarters room, John DeVoie said, in essence, that 500 is just a number, or, as he said, a motivator.

He and Chris are not at all sure how many locations they’ll have in 16 years, or 16 months, for that matter. What they do know is that their concept and their specific product works. And they believe they can take it to new markets regionally and perhaps nationally.

“When we started this venture, the plan was never to build just one of these,” said Chris, adding that the business plan has been altered many times over the past eight years, and that process will certainly continue. “How many we open and where we go … those are questions we can’t answer now, but we wanted to build a scalable model, and we have.”

In other words, and as they say in another medium, stay tuned.

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

Day Tripping

Sections Travel and Tourism

A chart of the region’s tourist attractions

Click here to download the PDF

Picture This

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]

Woman of the Year
The Professional Women’s Chamber of Western Massachusetts honored Carol Fusia Campbell, president of Chicopee Industrial Contractors, with its Woman of the Year award in ceremonies on June 3 at the Castle of Knights in Chicopee. Left to right from top, Campbell is presented with a key to the city by Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos. Campbell is presented with a citation from Kathy Tobin, president of Friends of the Homless. Campbell poses with, from left, Michelle Depelteau of Sunshine Village, Nancy Mirkin of Florence Savings Bank, and Gina Golash Kos, executive director of Sunshine Village.
Photos by Denise Smith

Fruit of the Vine
Black Birch Vineyard co-owner Ed Hamel (right) recently gave a tour to members of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. The visit to the vineyard in Southampton was part of an Arrive@5 event, where members come together and network at a place of business. Hamel and three other owners opened the vineyard in 2012, making and bottling wine there, as well as sponsoring wine tastings, concerts, and other events.

Breaking Ground

Green Business Sections

Amherst Farmer Refines Method of Growing Plants Without Soil

Joseph Swartz shows off the roots of lettuce plants growing hydroponically in his greenhouse at Swartz Family Farm in Amherst.

Imagine growing 120,000 pounds of food each year without any soil on top of public housing in the Bronx.

Although the idea may sound farfetched, it’s not a fantasy. Instead, it’s one of many projects that Joe Swartz of Swartz Family Farm in North Amherst has accomplished in recent years.

Swartz is a master hydroponic gardener who has taken the industry to new heights. In fact, the New York City farm he designed for Skytop Vegetables was the first in the nation to be grown on top of a public-housing structure. “I did the early sketches on my kitchen table in Amherst,” he said, as he talked about the 8,000-square-foot rooftop farm that opened in February 2013, and provides fresh, nutritious vegetables to residents of the building and neighborhood as well as patrons of nearby restaurants and markets.

Swartz has gained international recognition as an expert in hydroponics, which is a method of growing plants without soil. They are planted from seeds in holes set in plastic containers and thrive on a nutrient solution dissolved in water that runs beneath them and is recycled after the plants take what they need from it.

Swartz has 28 years of experience in operating a year-round, pesticide-free, hydroponic vegetable-and-herb facility in Amherst. It’s a field he entered long before most people thought about where their produce came from and environmental concerns created a demand for locally grown vegetables and fruits.

As a result, Swartz has become a leading expert in hydroponic system design, high-end crop production, biological pest control, system troubleshooting, and much more, and has spoken all over the U.S. and in many foreign countries about his groundbreaking work.

“It’s very gratifying, and when I think of the evolution of all that has happened in the industry since I began my farm, it’s mind-boggling,” he said, adding that he gave a recent lecture at a national conference in Las Vegas and was just invited to speak at a major agricultural conference in England.

The concept of transforming unused rooftop space into a hydroponic garden has many environmental benefits, which include water conservation. “All rainwater that strikes a flat roof has to be channeled into the city’s stormwater systems, and most systems in U.S. cities are completely overwhelmed; one inch of rain that falls on an acre equates to 27,000 gallons of water,” Swartz explained, adding there are more than 15,000 acres of rooftop space in New York City alone.

“But a rooftop greenhouse has gutters on all sides, and rainwater is sent into an underground tank, where it is filtered, cleaned, and used for farming,” he went on. “So it allows us to take a waste product and convert it into food in a very sustainable manner.”

Benefits also accrue from the fact that a rooftop greenhouse shares synergy with the building. Sun that hits the roof and requires the building to be cooled is absorbed by the crops, which also absorb heat from the building in winter, preserving it rather than having it simply go into the atmosphere, Swartz said.

In addition, the system takes heat from the building’s smokestack and uses it to heat the greenhouse. “It capitalizes on heat that is normally wasted. Plus, the greenhouse has thermal curtains that hold the heat in at night. So it’s a win-win situation for the building owner and the owner of the garden,” he told BusinessWest. “It also produces jobs for local residents without many job skills and allows people in the neighborhood to get fresh, nutritious food that doesn’t have to trucked in from thousands of miles away.”

And rooftop gardens, which are rapidly expanding across the country, also provide inner-city children with agricultural knowledge. “We worked with a local school in the Bronx, and a frightening number of children thought milk was made in a manufacturing plant. They had no concept that it came from an animal,” Swartz said. “And most of the people in the neighborhood got their food from a small convenience store and did not have access to nutritious, locally grown vegetables and herbs until the garden was created.”

Growing Venture

Swartz Family Farm has been in business for 100 years, but Swartz likes to keep a low profile, and there are no signs to mark the entrance to his home, greenhouses, and acreage on 11 Meadow St.

“My grandfather Joseph and his wife Anastasia purchased 40 acres and started this farm after they came here from Poland in 1919,” he said. The couple grew mixed vegetables and tobacco and raised their family on the site.

Swartz’s father and uncle took the farm over in the ’50s and turned it into a large-scale potato-growing operation. In addition to growing potatoes on their farmland, they rented land in Hadley, Amherst, Sunderland, Hatfield, and South Deerfield; at the peak of their business, they were raising 300 acres of potatoes.

But his uncle died in 1970, and in the ’80s, the price of land became exorbitantly expensive due to extensive residential development in the area. “As my father got older, he scaled back to the 40 acres here.”

Swartz was in high school when he realized farming his family’s land on a seasonal basis was not a viable option because the economy was booming and seasonal help and additional farmland for crops were unavailable. “So I decided I had to look at a small-scale, very intensive type of agriculture,” he said.

His interest in controlled environmental agriculture, or hydroponics, began in 1985 when he was a student at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst. He learned the system had been pioneered in Holland and had expanded to the United Kingdom and Spain, where hydroponic greenhouses were operational year-round.

“The same nutrients you would normally apply to a field are dissolved in water,” he noted. “The plants take what they need, and the rest is recaptured and reused. It only requires 10% of the water needed for conventional agriculture, so it is a very environmentally friendly form of agriculture.”

However, the university did not have a program where Swartz could learn how to implement this growing method on a large scale. But he was fortunate enough to meet a retiree living in Ashby, Mass. who was running a small greenhouse growing hydroponic flowers. He had been the lead associate at Cornell University’s research center on Long Island, was originally from Holland, and had pioneered a large portion of the hydroponic technology that was being implemented in the U.S.

Swartz received valuable guidance from him on how to produce a premium product year-round inside a greenhouse on his property.

But when he began building a greenhouse on his family’s land and shared his plan with local farmers, they thought the idea was ridiculous.

“I was considered a crackpot. We have a very tight-knit agricultural community in the Valley, and no one understand why I would grow produce in water when there was beautiful soil here,” he recalled. “But for me, it was a necessity.”

The day after Swartz graduated from UMass, he began working in his new, 5,000-square-foot greenhouse. “At that time, there were 13 hydroponic farms in the state, and today we are the only one of them that is still in operation — we have the longest-running hydroponics farm in the Commonwealth,” Swartz told BusinessWest, adding that he also grew seasonal vegetables on the farm’s 40 acres and sold them to traditional markets.

But his greenhouse thrived. “In my first year, I produced more than 80,000 heads of Boston lettuce in it. In a field, you only get 5,000 heads per acre, and you can only plant one crop. But I was able to plant year-round,” he said, explaining that he devised a system where he was continuously harvesting and reseeding in different sections of the greenhouse.

Paradigm Shift

Swartz has continued to produce hydroponic crops at Swartz Family Garden for 30 years. Lettuce has always been a staple, but after his initial success, he built two other greenhouses and soon was shipping 300 cases of sweet basil a week to 42 Whole Foods stores across the Northeast.

About 15 years ago, when hydroponics became more well-known, Swartz delved into consulting work, which was a natural transition, although he continued farming his own greenhouses. “There were very few experts in the U.S. back then, and there wasn’t much information about how to grow hydroponically on a sustainable, commercial scale,” he said.

Over the past five years, as awareness and concern about the environment escalated, the demand for local products began to rise.

“Public awareness changed buying habits, and the demand for urban agriculture began to grow,” Swartz said. “It was a paradigm shift because, before that, food was produced on large commercial farms which were often not even in this country.” In fact, when he first began to sell Boston lettuce, there was nothing but iceberg lettuce in the stores, and there was no demand for any other variety.

About four years ago, Swartz was approached by two men who were starting a company called Sky Vegetables. “They wanted to take the concept of urban agriculture one step further and build commercial farms on flat city rooftops, because there is so much of that space that is unused,” he said.

He became their director of farming, and in 2009 began designing a hydroponics rooftop garden for a new LEED Platinum-certified building in the Bronx that would be used for public housing. Arbor House was completed in 2012, and the rooftop farm opened in February 2013.

“The space was leased for $1 for 99 years, and lettuce and cooking greens such as chard, kale, sweet basil, upland cress, and baby bok choy are grown there. Sky Vegetables operates the farm independently, and the building’s residents have the opportunity to get food from it via a community-supported agriculture program,” Swartz said.

Today, his wife, Sarah, operates their hydroponic farm in Amherst, which sells produce to local vendors such as Atkins Market. Swartz left Sky Vegetables six months ago to consult full-time with growers across the globe. He just finished an ongoing project in Kuwait and is going to Dubai to assist a large-scale farm in replicating a hydroponics system in Singapore. “I need to fine-tune the system before they can expand and replicate it,” he explained.

Limitless Potential

Swartz has more than 49,000 hours of greenhouse production time and has also done consulting work in a variety of settings. This year he has already been to Nassau, Bahamas; Santa Cruz, Calif.; Atlanta; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Las Vegas.

“Hydroponic gardens range from simple, home-built systems that are outside, to conventional greenhouse systems, to very high-level, computer-controlled greenhouses, to a garden in Nova Scotia that grows without sunlight inside a warehouse, using LED lighting,” he explained. “It’s a 100% controlled atmosphere — and the final frontier is space.”

Indeed, he noted that a colleague, Gene Giachumelli, professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona, is designing a hydroponics food-production system for outer space, where one of the challenges is zero gravity.

“It’s a very interesting industry, and hydroponics is the safest food-production method possible,” Swartz said, as he stood on his family farm, gazed at his greenhouse, and recalled his own history.

“My father and many other people thought I was crazy when I started this. But I have taken the farming techniques I developed in the Valley and am working with growers across the globe today,” he said, adding that pesticides are not needed, and “you cannot get safer food products.”

That endeavor has no limits, and Swartz will continue to grow his own business as well as help other people across the world create farms without soil, sunlight, and other factors — in the process transcending what any farmer could have imagined several generations ago.

Powerful Statement

Green Business Sections

Hadley-based Venture Has Big Plans for ‘Small Wind’

Patrick Quinlan, left, and Bill Stein, with an HR-3 model wind turbine outside their Hadley facility.

When Patrick Quinlan and Bill Stein went about the task of assigning a name to the company they started in 2012 to design, build, and service small wind turbines, they quickly settled on ‘Black Island.’

That phrase may not mean much to most people — Quinlan joked that many who hear it think it has something to do with pirates — but it does resonate with those who know their geography. Or their wind power.

Black Island, so named because of a distinct lack of snow — there is also a White Island nearby that obviously has some — is in the Ross Archipelago in Antarctica. It is home to a major U.S. telecommunications center, and is among the most climatologically inhospitable places in the world.

The official population is zero, and for good reason — actually, several reasons. The island is often visited by category-5 hurricane winds exceeding 150 mph, temperatures regularly dip south of 40 below zero, and the island is in absolute darkness for almost half the year.

For nearly three decades now, the facility there — America’s South Pole communications link to the world — has been powered in part by several of the so-called HR-3 (3-kilowatt) series of small wind turbines built by a Vermont-based company called Northwind Power Co, later renamed Northern Power Systems.

It was this product that Quinlan and Stein were recruited to essentially reintroduce to the market — Northern exited this stage in favor of ‘big wind’ products several years ago — by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This was an entrepreneurial challenge they accepted, in part because they were both unemployed at the time, but also because they’ve been working in wind power throughout their careers and saw vast potential for products that fall in the category of what the industry calls ‘small wind.’

These would be units rated at under 10 kilowatts, said Quinlan as he spoke with BusinessWest in the company’s R&D facility in the ironically named Propeller Building on River Drive in Hadley. And there is growing demand for such products among commercial, industrial, and even residential users, he noted, adding that a study conducted by Navigant Research revealed that the market for small wind turbines will double to $3.3 billion annually by 2018.

An installation crew is seen with one of the HR-3 models in operation on Black Island in Antarctica.

There will likely be many competitors for that growing pie, but Black Island, which also plans to develop a 1-kilowatt version of the HR (high-reliability) product, will be well-positioned, he noted, steering the conversation back to Antarctica and the brand name chosen for this venture. That remote location has become a proving ground of the highest magnitude for the HR series of products, he said, adding that the company uses a photo of an installation on that South Pole outpost, along with the slogan “Toughest Wind Turbines on the Planet,” in its marketing materials.

And while there aren’t many, if any, other places like Black Island, reliability, in general, has been an issue with small wind turbines, said Stein, adding that the Black Island product distinguishes itself in this regard due largely to a spring-damper system called VARCS (variable-angle rotor-control system), which enables the turbine to handle high winds by pitching the rotor upward into a helicopter position when winds are strong.

“The demonstrated survivability of our H-3 wind turbine is exemplary, and uniquely distinguishes our design,” he said, adding this competitive advantage is important because demand for such turbines will be great in areas where competitively priced solar power is not practical — like Antarctica and other places that don’t get much year-round sun.

The current business plan calls for the company to build a small number of 3-kilowatt wind turbines in the Hadley facility — it has already filled a few orders from the U.S. Air Force — and eventually scale up production of those units, most likely in conjunction with Greenfield-based Applied Dynamics, while also introducing the 1-kilowatt unit capable of powering a home or small business.

“We’re leveraging the great reputation of the HR series to build a very solid, practical wind turbine that we think will be attractive to everybody, because small wind does not have a great reputation for reliability otherwise,” said Quinlan. “And there are so many great applications for small wind.”

For this issue and its focus on green business, BusinessWest examines an emerging local company that is looking to make a powerful statement in an intriguing and potential-laden industry.

Turns for the Better

Quinlan told BusinessWest that naming a wind-turbine company Black Island is similar in many ways to a carmaker naming one of its products after a racetrack where it has enjoyed great success — and that has happened many times over the years, with the Dodge Daytona, Chrysler Sebring, and Pontiac LeMans, among others, coming to mind.

That’s how powerful a statement he believes the brand name makes, and how much it resonates with the company’s audience.

“Among the people who purchase small wind turbines, they know about the Black Island facility and respect what’s happened there,” he said. “In many instances, people have called them legendary wind turbines because they’re so anomalous in their reliability.”

Quinlan and Stein have been telling the Black Island story repeatedly over the past few years as they’ve taken their venture off the drawing board and into reality and worked to differentiate themselves from what they call “commodity small wind turbines.” For example, there was the presentation given before the Mass. Clean Energy Center (MCEC), which eventually gave the partners a $150,000 grant to help get the planned 1-kilowatt unit off the ground.

In addition to lessons learned in the climate of Antarctica, Quinlan and Stein told the MCEC — as they have other groups and BusinessWest — that, when it comes to small wind turbines, there is a lot of “junk” out there.

“In short, small wind turbines are disappointing customers,” Quinlan explained. “There is a strong need for a cost-effective, reliable, and productive alternative that is dependable.”

All those words could be used to describe the original HR-3, he went on, adding that the product had made a name for itself in Antarctica and other remote locations, so much so that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory launched a search for a company that would service existing models and create what amounts to the next generation of the product.

It focused its efforts on Stein and Quinlan, two veterans of what could be the called the wind-power movement, who are now partnering with Lawrence Mott, an engineer on the originally built HR-3, on the Black Island venture

Quinlan is the former associate director of the UMass Wind Energy Center and has been involved with wind power for more than 30 years. He worked at Southern California Edison and AeroVironment Inc. on wind-turbine testing and in-field troubleshooting, and worked with individual electric cooperatives and municipal utilities across the West on wind-power projects. In Washington, he served as a renewable-energy expert as a Congressional fellow, working for the ranking member of the House Science Committee, and then as ASME White House technology fellow supporting the presidential science advisor at the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Stein, meanwhile, is a former senior research fellow at the UMass Wind Energy Center who also began work in the field in the early ’80s.

He started building wind turbines at Clark University, worked at Natural Power Inc., a wind-instrumentation company, and started his own wind-power company, Astral Wilcon, a manufacturer of 8- and 15-kilowatt residential-sized wind turbines. He worked briefly at MIT’s Fusion Energy Laboratory and at Yankee Environmental Systems, where he developed meteorology instrumentation.

With $180,000 in funding from the NREL, the partners eventually set up shop in Hadley and contracted with the agency to design and then test a modified HR-3 at Texas A&M University’s Alternative Energy Institute. During those tests, the turbine ran flawlessly, said Quinlan, adding that, since then, the company has produced a handful of the units and sold two to the Air Force.

It hopes to secure more orders at the Small Wind Conference in Stevens Point, Wis. later this month, he went on, adding that the partners project sales of perhaps 20 units this year.

The company also sells new and refurbished parts for the roughly 100 legacy HR-3 units still operating around world, mostly in remote locations such as mountaintop installations and offshore oil rigs, said Quinlan, adding that this component of the business provides a steady cash flow that makes the venture less of a business risk.

Looking forward, the partners are optimistic about scaling up production of the HR-3. Quinlan projects sales of the $39,000 turbines possibly reaching 100 units by next year.

“We’re targeting organizations that highly value reliability,” he said, adding that failures in the field can be extremely expensive and disruptive because getting service is so difficult and time-consuming. “This includes government agencies that have telecommunications networks, telecom companies that have microwave towers, oil and gas companies, and microgrids — small, self-contained utilities.”

Meanwhile, climate change may create business opportunities in another of the world’s most remote outposts — the Arctic, he explained.

“The Arctic will soon be navigable,” he told BusinessWest. “And there’s a lot of interest in setting up telecommunications systems there to support ship traffic, and that could create opportunities for us.”

The partners are also optimistic about development of the 1-kilowatt model now on the drawing board, with a prototype expected soon.

That product will compete with solar and other options for the business of those willing and able to use renewable energy to power their homes and businesses, said Stein, adding that, while solar has become an attractive option now that the price tag for such installations has come down in recent years, there is, and will continue to be, decent demand for wind power.

That’s because there are some places where solar is not a viable option, and where wind is, because it’s plentiful, said Quinlan.

“We’re looking at the windy states — the whole center of the country and the coasts,” he said, adding that preliminary projections forecast first-year sales of perhaps 1,000 units, and 5,000 annually within a few years.

Demand may be bolstered by growing need among businesses, government operations, schools, and other facilities to continue operating after a weather disaster or power outage, he went on, adding that small wind can provide that capability.

Gust in Time

When Quinlan and Stein were asked if they’ve been to Antarctica to see their product in action, they both enthusiastically said ‘no,’ although Stein admitted that it might be fun to go there — “for a few days, maybe, and at the right time of year.”

There are no plans for such an excursion, or to visit any of the other remote locations where the company’s turbines are in operation or will soon be put to use.

“We know what these units can do — we don’t need to go to the South Pole,” said Quinlan, adding that pictures from such outposts will suffice.

But Black Island will always be a big part of this company. As Quinlan said, it has been a proving ground, and because of that it is now a brand name — one that is expected to do big things in the world of small wind. n

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

By the Books

Accounting and Tax Planning Sections

A chart of area accounting firms

Click here to download the PDF

Be Prepared for Expiring Tax Provisions

Accounting and Tax Planning Sections

Many of These Changes Will Impact Individuals and Businesses

By MARK J. COREY, CPA

Several well-known tax breaks have expired in 2014, and absent Congressional action to renew them, they will not be available for taxpayers in 2014.

There has been discussion by the Senate and the House to renew some or all of the expired provisions, but no laws have been passed. While indications are that at least some of these provisions may eventually be extended, if the expiration of these commonly used tax provisions has a significant impact on you or your business, you may want to prepare by adjusting withholdings and estimated tax payments just in case.

Expired Provisions Affecting Individuals

Mortgage-insurance Premium Deductions

Homeowners were allowed to deduct qualified mortgage-insurance premiums by treating them as home-mortgage interest.

Mortgage Debt Relief

Generally, cancelled or forgiven debt is considered taxable income. However, up to $2 million of cancelled principal-residence mortgage debt could be excluded from taxable income if the debt was discharged on or after Jan. 1, 2007, and before Jan. 1, 2014, as a result of foreclosure, short sale, or mortgage restructuring.

State and Local General Sales-tax Deduction

Taxpayers had the option to deduct sales tax instead of state income tax in years before 2014. This provision was especially beneficial for individuals who lived in states with no income tax.

Educator Out-of-pocket Expenses Deduction

For many years, elementary and secondary school teachers enjoyed an above-the-line deduction of up to $250 for out-of-pocket expenses for school and classroom-related expenses.

Tuition and Fees Deduction

Taxpayers were able to deduct above-the-line qualified higher education expenses. Taxpayers will no longer get this deduction for 2014, but the Lifetime Learning Credit and American Opportunity Credit will still be available for college students.

Non-business Energy Credit

This credit for the installation of qualified energy-efficiency improvements, such as insulation, windows, doors, and roofs, as well as certain water heaters and qualified heating and air-conditioning systems, expired Dec. 31, 2013.

Expired Provisions Affecting Businesses

Expanded IRC Section 179 Expensing

For tax years beginning in 2010 and through 2014, taxpayers were allowed to expense up to $500,000 for eligible property additions that they would have otherwise capitalized and depreciated over their useful lives, provided the eligible additions did not exceed $2 million. The Section 179 deduction dropped to $25,000 for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2014.

Bonus Depreciation

A bonus depreciation deduction was allowed for qualifying fixed assets acquired and placed in service from 2007 through 2013. The rate was generally 50%; however, for qualifying assets placed in service from Sept. 9, 2010 through Dec. 31, 2011, the rate was 100%. For 2014 and future years, there is no current bonus depreciation allowed except on long-production property and certain non-commercial aircraft, for which the expiration was extended by one year to Dec. 31, 2014.

Retail and Restaurant Improvements

Certain qualified business assets were allowed a shorter life for depreciation purposes. Qualified leasehold improvements and restaurant improvements, placed in service from Oct. 23, 2004 through Dec. 31, 2013, were depreciated over 15 years. Qualified retail-store improvements, placed in service from Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2013,were also depreciated using a 15-year life. For these types of additions placed in service in 2014, the depreciable life generally reverts back to 39 years but depends upon the individual type of expenditure.

R & D Tax Credit

Taxpayers were allowed a tax credit equal to 20% of the excess of qualified research expenses for the current year over the prior year, basic research payments made to qualified organizations, and specific energy-research-consortium expenditures paid or incurred through Dec. 31, 2013.

Conclusion

There are many well-known and popular tax breaks that expired prior to 2014. On April 28, 2014, the Senate introduced the EXPIRE (Expiring Provisions Improvement, Reform, and Efficiency) Act of 2014 to extend more than 50 expired tax breaks and benefits. That same day, the bill was approved by the Senate Finance Committee but has advanced no further due to disagreements on procedural issues. The House has taken a different approach, and the House Ways and Means Committee has passed 12 separate tax bills, including seven for business-tax extenders and five related to charitable deductions.

One of the business-extender bills, a simplified research-credit bill which would make the extension permanent, was passed by the House, and it is expected that the remaining 11 bills will be considered prior to the August recess. Given the different approaches by the House and Senate, reaching agreement may be a challenge. n

Mark J. Corey is a senior tax manager in the Springfield office of Wolf & Co., P.C. Wolf is a leading regional certified public accounting firm with offices in Springfield, Boston, and Albany, N.Y., which provides accounting, tax, and consulting services to individual and business clients.

Time to Be Flexible

Avoiding Discrimination Claims Based on Caregiver Responsibilities

By KARINA L. SCHRENGOHST and CRYSTAL BOATENG

Karina L. Schrengohst

Crystal Boateng

Over the past 30 years, the demographics of the workforce have changed. Women comprise approximately half of the working population, many of whom are working mothers. In addition, although women primarily continue to carry caregiver responsibilities, gender lines related to family and caregiver responsibilities have shifted, and the number of men who take on or share in primary caregiver responsibilities continues to increase.

Further, many employees, both female and male, have caregiver responsibilities for elderly parents and other family members, which is a trend that will likely continue to increase as the Baby Boomer population ages. Additionally, a growing number of employees face both child-care and elder-care responsibilities simultaneously. Finally, some employees have caregiver responsibilities for children, spouses, parents, and other family members who are disabled.

Whether they have children, elderly parents, disabled spouses or family members, or a combination of caregiver roles, many employees have family and caregiver responsibilities that they must balance with work responsibilities. What does that mean for employers? In a nutshell, it means that many employees are asking their employers for flexible work schedules and leave (sometimes beyond that required by state and federal law).

‘Caregiver responsibilities’ is not a protected category under state or federal law. However, despite the absence of state or federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on family or caregiver responsibilities, claims based on caregiver discrimination may be pursued under the umbrella of other protected categories, such as sex or race. This is because employment decisions that give rise to discrimination claims based on caregiver responsibilities are often based on assumptions and stereotypes about gender roles and race or ethnicity. Consequently, caregiver discrimination is frequently unintentional, which makes it even more challenging for employers.

Supervisors sometimes make assumptions about how committed, ambitious, and dependable an employee with caregiver responsibilities is. These assumptions impact the employment decisions they make. For instance, female caregivers may be perceived as more committed to caregiving than to their jobs and as less competent than other employees, regardless of how their caregiver responsibilities actually impact their work. As a result, women may be denied employment opportunities or other benefits available to men.

On the flip side, male caregivers may be perceived to be poorly suited to caregiving. As a result, men may be denied parental leave or other benefits that are available to women. Stereotypes may further limit employment opportunities for people of a particular race or ethnicity.

How can employers reduce the risks associated with discrimination claims based on caregiver responsibilities? To begin with, employers should consider adopting best practices such as:

• Developing, disseminating, and en-forcing a strong policy of equal employment opportunity;
• Focusing on specific, job-related qualification standards;
• Ensuring that employment decisions are based on such standards and are well-documented; and
• Investigating complaints of caregiver discrimination promptly and thoroughly.

In addition, employers need to understand what their obligations are (and aren’t) under state and federal law to provide leave for caregiver responsibilities. Some employers may have an obligation to provide leave under the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

In addition, in some states, including Massachusetts, some employers may have an obligation to provide leave in addition to that required under the FMLA. Under the Massachusetts Small Necessities Leave Act, an employee who is eligible for FMLA leave is also eligible for a total of 24 hours in a 12-month period to accompany his or her child or elderly relative to medical appointments or appointments for other professional services related to the elder’s care.

Further, employers would be wise to consult with employment counsel when developing or revising policies and procedures that may impact employees with caregiver responsibilities to ensure compliance with state and federal law.

Finally, it is important for employers to train managers and supervisors about company policies and procedures, the company’s legal obligations, and how to handle requests for a flexible schedule and time off, to ensure that employment decisions concerning employees with caregiver responsibilities are consistent with state and federal law.

Karina L. Schrengohst, Esq. is an attorney at Royal LLP, a woman-owned, SOMWBA-certified, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm; (413) 586-2288; [email protected]. Crystal Boateng is a law clerk at Royal LLP.

Hiring Unpaid Interns

This Controversial Practice Is Coming Under Intense Scrutiny

By AMELIA J. HOLMSTROM, Esq.

Amelia J. Holstrom

Summer is here, and as the temperature rises, so do the number of job applications and résumés found in an employer’s mailbox. It isn’t any secret that college students nationwide are aggressively applying for summer jobs or internships that will provide them with the experience they need after graduation. In addition, because of the downturn in the economy, employers are doing more with less and do not have extra money available to hire and pay these individuals.

In response, more employers have been striking the balance between work and resources by classifying workers as unpaid interns instead of hiring them as employees. The increase in unpaid internships has not gone unnoticed by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the courts.

Unpaid internships have come under increasing scrutiny in the past few years. Wage-and-hour lawsuits filed by unpaid interns are receiving national news coverage more and more frequently.

Just last year, a federal court judge found that unpaid interns at Fox Searchlight Pictures who worked on the movie Black Swan were entitled to wages as employees. The unpaid interns in that case performed tasks such as photocopying, taking lunch orders, and answering the phones, all tasks that had previously been performed by paid employees.

Fox Searchlight Pictures was not the only company in the news. There have been others: Warner Music Group, Charlie Nash, and publishers Conde Nast and the Hearst Corporation have also been sued by former interns.

With employers under the microscope, now is the time for companies to carefully review when a for-profit company can legitimately classify a worker as an unpaid intern without setting themselves up for a costly lawsuit. Private-sector internship programs may offer unpaid internships only under very specific criteria. The six criteria that must be met in order to properly classify a worker as an unpaid intern are as follows:

• The internship must provide training similar to training the individual would receive in an educational environment;
• The intern must benefit from the experience;
• The intern does not displace other employees and works under the close supervision of already-existing staff;
• The employer derives no immediate advantage from the work of the intern;
• The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job after the internship; and
• The intern and employer both understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the hours worked.

An employer must carefully consider all of the facts and circumstances when determining whether interns must be paid. If all six criteria are not met, then an employment relationship exists between the business and the intern, and, consequently, the intern must be paid at least the minimum wage, plus overtime if the intern works more than 40 hours in a workweek. For employers in Massachusetts, misclassification of interns can lead to mandatory treble damages plus payment of their attorneys’ fees under the state’s wage-and-hour laws.

Internships can be extremely valuable to both the intern and the employer, but can lead to legal risks if an unpaid intern position does not meet all of the six criteria. There are some things employers can do to limit their risk:

• Draft a written agreement confirming that no wages will be paid for the time spent performing work and that the intern is not entitled to employment at the completion of the internship, and have the intern sign it;
• Do not use interns to cover vacations or as temporary employees while a position is vacant;
• Establish a specific duration for the internship and stick to it;
• Provide close supervision to the intern by existing staff;
• Ensure that the internship is for the benefit and experience of the intern, rather than the employer; and
• Make the internship as academic an experience as possible.

Given the recent attention directed toward internships, employers need to be vigilant about their unpaid internships. To do so, employers must carefully examine every internship they want to offer and ensure that it is in compliance with state and federal wage-and-hour laws. To be sure that you are making the right choices, you should consult with your labor and employment counsel before hiring an unpaid intern.

Amelia J. Holstrom joined Skoler, Abbott & Presser in 2012 after serving as a judicial law clerk to the judges of Connecticut Superior Court, where she assisted with complex matters at all stages of litigation. She is a 2011 graduate of Western New England University School of Law, where she was the managing editor of the Western New England Law Review. Her practice is focused in labor law and employment litigation; (413) 737-4753; skoler-abbott.com

Kristina Drzal Houghton Elected Chair of Springfield Boys & Girls Club

SPRINGFIELD — At its recent annual meeting, the Springfield Boys & Girls Club board of directors elected Kristina Drzal Houghton, CPA, as its new chairman. Houghton has been an active member of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club’s board of directors since 2003, serving on the club’s finance, Festival of Trees, and resource-development committees. Houghton is a partner and director of taxation services for the Holyoke-based public accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. She has extensive experience in tax-exempt organizations and unrelated business-income tax issues, as well as tax compliance and planning for closely held businesses. Her clients include those in the service, retail, transportation, medical, construction, manufacturing, education, insurance, and not-for-profit industries. Houghton received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from American International College and her master’s in taxation from Bentley College, and she has more than 30 years of experience in the area of taxation. She was a former tax manager with Coopers & Lybrand. Her professional affiliations include the AICPA and the MSCPA. She is the immediate past president of the board of the Springfield Symphony, served as the former treasurer of Spirit of Springfield, and was a troop leader for more than 12 years for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Mass. Houghton is licensed as a certified public accountant in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin Receives United Way’s Gold Award

SPRINGFIELD — Local law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., serving Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, was recognized as a Gold award recipient from the United Way of Pioneer Valley during its 2014 annual celebration. Local businesses were recognized with Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards for extraordinary support during the 2013-14 campaign. Each year, the United Way of Pioneer Valley runs an annual campaign that provides funding for local nonprofit organizations and community initiatives. Donations finance health and human-service programs throughout the region. Awards were presented at the annual celebration, which was hosted recently at Chez Josef in Agawam. “We are proud to have the good fortune to be able to give back to a community that supports our success,” said partner Steve Schwartz, who has been with the firm since its inception 45 years ago. “We are equally proud of the other contributing businesses recognized at the United Way of Pioneer Valley annual event. We accomplish more working together.” The United Way of Pioneer Valley is the regional affiliate of United Way Worldwide, a leadership and support organization and network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories. United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their full potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. For 90 years, the United Way of Pioneer Valley has been working in partnership with individuals, businesses, and organizations that advance the common good throughout the Greater Springfield community, including the 25 cities in Hampden County, South Hadley, and Granby.

MassMutual Donates $155,000 on Behalf of Financial Professionals

SPRINGFIELD — MassMutual has awarded $155,000 to eligible nonprofit organizations through its annual Community Service Awards (CSA) program. The awards are given on behalf of MassMutual financial professionals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to nonprofit organizations in their local community. New this year, MassMutual has increased its giving to include six $5,000 Silver awards in addition to its usual 10 $10,000 Gold awards and a top $25,000 Platinum award. “At MassMutual, we are proud of the significant impact our financial professionals have on their communities. What better way to encourage more of them to volunteer than to recognize those that are highly dedicated to helping others?” said Nick Fyntrilakis, vice president of Community Responsibility at MassMutual. “We are delighted to expand our program this year to honor more individuals who are making a positive difference in their communities across the country.” This year’s $25,000 Platinum Award winner is Darren Scrimpshire, a financial professional with MassMutual South Texas in San Antonio. Scrimpshire is being recognized for his work with San Antonio Fitness, Independent, & Recreational Environment (SAFIRE), a day activity center for young adults with intellectual disabilities that focuses on healthy lifestyles, continuing education, and pre-vocational skills. This year is MassMutual’s 18th year presenting Community Service Awards. Each award recognizes the many selfless hours of volunteer time and talent that MassMutual’s financial professionals put in during the year to improve their communities. MassMutual has contributed more than $1.4 million to charitable organizations across the country through its CSA program since its inception in 1996. The CSA program is just one of a variety of philanthropic programs sponsored by MassMutual in support of nonprofit organizations where its financial professionals live and work. Last year, in total, MassMutual provided nearly $8 million in philanthropic investments throughout the U.S., of which more than $900,000 supported organizations in honor of its financial professionals.

Court Dockets

Court Dockets Departments

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

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
ERPortal Software Group, LLC v. Dee Zee Inc.
Allegation: Defendant has failed and refused to pay for software created and installed by the plaintiff: $473,877.95
Filed: 4/29/14

Hillcrest Capital Partners, L.P. v. Max S. Construction, Maxim Shalypin and Liliya Shalypina
Allegation: Defendant defaulted on various promissory notes: $463,855.73
Filed: 4/22/14

Kayrouz Realty, LLC v. EL Pilon Restaurant and Jose I. Gonzalez
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $151,950.00
Filed: 5/13/14

U.S. Electric Services Inc., d/b/a Hampden Zimmerman Electric Supply Co. v. PAL Construction, LLC, Jeff Steil Electric, and Albany Road-Springfield Plaza, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $39,357.10
Filed: 4/23/14

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Boulanger’s Plumbing & Heating Inc. v. 1776 Brewing Company, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of labor and materials: $41,983.61
Filed: 4/22/14

Interland Real Estate v. William Shelton d/b/a High and Mighty Beer
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $179,313
Filed: 4/8/14

June A. Ducharme v. George P. Grillo, M.D.
Allegation: Negligent and careless treatment: $1,010,000
Filed: 4/17/14

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Loss Prevention Services v. Shahid Iqbal and ZMS, LLC
Allegation: Default on contract: $6,149.47
Filed: 5/15/14

Raymond D. and Lynette M. Shipman, as trustees of Shipman Realty Plus v. Positive Reflections
Allegation: Non-payment of rent, plumbing services, water and sewer damages, and commission: $10,274.47
Filed: 4/14/14

PALMER DISTRICT COURT
Yolette Jean-Babtiste v. Classic Management, LLC and William and Joan Metcalf, d/b/a S&K Lawncare
Allegation: Negligent maintenance of property causing slip and fall: $23,860.94
Filed: 5/15/14

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Ted Ondrick Co. v. Patriot’s Environmental Group
Allegation: Suit on previous judgment: $20,784.87
Filed: 4/22/14

Samantha Parsons v. Millenium Nails Inc.
Allegation: Failure to use sanitary instruments resulting in infection: $7,739.07
Filed: 4/10/14

VIP Physical Therapy v. Elco Administrative Services Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract and failure to pay: $2,575
Filed: 4/22/14

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Alves Fuels Inc. v. W&I Construction Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of fuel services rendered: $30,931.02
Filed: 4/15/14

Real Estate Transactions

Departments Real Estate

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

FRANKLIN COUNTY

BUCKLAND

7 Martin Road
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Horace D. Taft-Ferguson
Seller: Peter Chadwick
Date: 05/12/14

CONWAY

98 River St.
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $149,500
Buyer: Danielle L. Thompson
Seller: Anthony T. Rice
Date: 05/15/14

DEERFIELD

20 Crestview Dr.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Joseph J. Butz
Seller: Willard E. Plumley
Date: 05/13/14

382 Lower Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $382,000
Buyer: Jaime D. Reloj
Seller: Steve & Kathy Melnik FT
Date: 05/09/14

GILL

14 South Cross Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Jonathan Holmes
Seller: US Bank
Date: 05/14/14

GREENFIELD

42 Congress St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Valencia LLC
Seller: Freehigh LLC
Date: 05/09/14

108 Crescent St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Monahan INT
Seller: Krystyna Colburn
Date: 05/15/14

111 Elm St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $144,500
Buyer: Jeremy S. Stone
Seller: Troy Santerre
Date: 05/15/14

39 Gold St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $243,750
Buyer: David H. Tasgal
Seller: James R. Scace
Date: 05/05/14

16 Michelman Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Robert J. Escott
Seller: Warren D. Sampson
Date: 05/16/14

347 Wells St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Dmitry D. Darmanchev
Seller: Mackin Construction Co.
Date: 05/09/14

89 West St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Johnathan R. Griffen
Date: 05/13/14

MONTAGUE

116 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Jonathan E. Billings
Seller: Macintire INT
Date: 05/14/14

49 Old Stage Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $203,000
Buyer: Scott P. Schenk
Seller: Duane W. Greene
Date: 05/12/14

32 Park St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Hall
Seller: Sarah J. Reid
Date: 05/08/14

14 Randall Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $156,500
Buyer: William Codington
Seller: Rita T. Plaza
Date: 05/14/14

66 Sunderland Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Windy Hollow Acres LLC
Seller: Amy Plavin
Date: 05/14/14

NORTHFIELD

299 Birnam Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Clifford S. Phillips
Seller: Nurten Foster
Date: 05/16/14

ORANGE

12 North Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust
Seller: Scott Grenquist
Date: 05/15/14

70 Oaklawn Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Marc H. Moss
Date: 05/07/14

540 South Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Brian A. Heath
Seller: Karol L. Brodeur
Date: 05/09/14

SHUTESBURY

20 Great Pines Dr.
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Jaime C. Morton
Seller: James M. McNaughton
Date: 05/16/14

828 Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Jennifer Smetzer
Seller: David A. Bellemore
Date: 05/15/14

284 West Pelham Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: David J. Larue
Seller: Salvatore Dinardi
Date: 05/12/14

SUNDERLAND

104 North Silver Lane
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $322,000
Buyer: Gregory M. Bell
Seller: Mark D. Clark
Date: 05/15/14

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

73 Bessbrook St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Armando Arroyo
Seller: Antoinetta Moylan
Date: 05/16/14

157 Cambridge St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $211,000
Buyer: David W. Piette
Seller: Joseph M. Santaniello
Date: 05/15/14

341 Cooper St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Marlene N. Johnson
Seller: Sullivan, Catherine M., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

2 Corey St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $152,110
Seller: Dmitriy M. Shapovalov
Date: 05/09/14

5 Cottonwood Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $346,500
Buyer: Thomas M. Gordon
Seller: Robert C. Roy
Date: 05/09/14

45 Liswell Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Kara Krupa
Seller: Jeffrey R. Jochim
Date: 05/07/14

437 Southwick St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $222,000
Buyer: Donna M. Bys
Seller: Katherine E. Petschke
Date: 05/08/14

28 Virginia St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Sergey Tokarev
Seller: Matthew C. Hunter
Date: 05/08/14

BRIMFIELD

85 Cubles Dr.
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Laura M. Kuszarski
Seller: Samsel, Una, (Estate)
Date: 05/15/14

131 Tower Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Genise Jackson
Seller: Nancy Orr
Date: 05/15/14

CHICOPEE

64 5th Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: David A. Fredette
Seller: Sergey Savonin
Date: 05/15/14

15 Boutin Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $152,500
Buyer: Michael W. Robbins
Seller: Michael J. Robbins
Date: 05/14/14

17 Graham Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Brandon R. Houle
Seller: Czupryna, Frederick J., (Estate)
Date: 05/14/14

716 McKinstry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Stephen R. Doel
Seller: Marta Alvarez
Date: 05/05/14

86 Orchard St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Danielle M. Cormier
Seller: Suzanne F. Bruno
Date: 05/15/14

20 Pendleton Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Resolute RT
Seller: Richard A. Burns
Date: 05/07/14

3 Pleasantview Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $119,900
Buyer: Tisha D. Libbey
Seller: Oak Ridge Custom Home Builders
Date: 05/14/14

24 Sandtrap Way
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $377,900
Buyer: Jesse A. Wells
Seller: Francis W. Soucie
Date: 05/14/14

School St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Yarland Properties LLC
Seller: John B. Murray
Date: 05/09/14

21 Sitnik Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Olga Kvashenko
Seller: Sophie Czekanski
Date: 05/09/14

EAST LONGMEADOW

15 Converse Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Kimberly A. McCluster
Seller: Sean P. Shimansky
Date: 05/16/14

241 Hampden Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: David Ayers
Seller: Matthew A. Bean
Date: 05/09/14

N/A
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Shannon L. Ecker
Seller: Wilbraham Builders Inc.
Date: 05/05/14

55 Pineywoods Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Vladimir Strelnitski
Seller: Anthony E. Gentile
Date: 05/16/14

278 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $219,500
Buyer: Steven A. Carando
Seller: Linda S. Orcutt
Date: 05/14/14

14 Redstone Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $223,000
Buyer: Julianne M. Lessard
Seller: Anthony Cianflone
Date: 05/16/14

887 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Shelby P. Marrin
Seller: Robert R. Driscoll
Date: 05/15/14

40 Spruce St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: T&K Realty LLC
Seller: Kirkpatrick, Mark D., (Estate)
Date: 05/14/14

5 Tamarack Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $487,500
Buyer: Laura L. Grant
Seller: Joseph R. Kennedy
Date: 05/05/14

178 Tanglewood Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Stephen J. Beek
Seller: Richard F. McKeever
Date: 05/05/14

80 Waterman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Scott R. Caron
Seller: Michael Torcia
Date: 05/15/14

338 Westwood Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Ortiz
Seller: Thomas F. Drumm
Date: 05/16/14

HAMPDEN

43 Chapin Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $167,200
Buyer: Richard B. Francis
Seller: Ryan S. Hemingway
Date: 05/09/14

40 Oak Knoll Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $289,555
Buyer: Bruce J. Strange
Seller: Robert P. Kaboray
Date: 05/05/14

HOLLAND

1 Hamilton Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Diane Cady
Seller: Jason P. Curving
Date: 05/07/14

5 Inlet Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $137,000
Buyer: Daniel Burns
Seller: Gary Biesadecki
Date: 05/09/14

23 Island Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Timothy Hill
Seller: David R. McGuill
Date: 05/15/14

2 North Leisure Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $244,900
Buyer: Robert J. Kamay
Date: 05/09/14

40 Old County Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Eric B. Piskorski
Seller: Leslie Germaine
Date: 05/09/14

30 Over The Top Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Todd Oberheim
Seller: Mark D. Schultz
Date: 05/07/14

HOLYOKE

293 Beech St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Javier Soto
Seller: Pyles, Allie E., (Estate)
Date: 05/15/14

540 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Daniel A. Warner
Seller: John Gajowy
Date: 05/16/14

35 Ridgeway St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $152,900
Buyer: Donald R. Packard
Seller: Richard G. Rondeau
Date: 05/09/14

237 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Richard G. Rondeau
Seller: Barbara J. Crosson
Date: 05/09/14

24 Vassar Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: HSBC Bank
Seller: Neil N. Feldman
Date: 05/06/14

LONGMEADOW

28 Ardsley Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Seth Tenenbaum
Seller: Richard G. Duncan
Date: 05/09/14

33 Brittany Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $461,500
Buyer: Jack W. Bailey
Seller: W. S. Keeley
Date: 05/16/14

106 Longfellow Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $233,000
Buyer: Daniel R. Huse
Seller: Jeffrey E. Roche
Date: 05/16/14

309 Merriweather Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Brent L. Ulrey
Seller: Elizabeth A. Barton
Date: 05/12/14

205 Nevins Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $211,300
Buyer: Michael J. Templeton
Seller: Carole A. Veratti
Date: 05/13/14

162 Williamsburg Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Kal A. Dulaimy
Seller: Kay A. Rhee
Date: 05/05/14

76 Woodland Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Joshua Warren
Seller: Robert F. Cheritano
Date: 05/06/14

LUDLOW

810 Moore St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $319,900
Buyer: John J. Diggins
Seller: Marc A. Toton
Date: 05/12/14

52 Norwich Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Matthew D. Mol
Seller: Patrick D. Meffen
Date: 05/16/14

PALMER

255 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Stanley J. Zych
Seller: Glen A. Hitchcock
Date: 05/16/14

3007 Palmer St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Barbara A. Corbett
Seller: Shorey E. Dow
Date: 05/16/14

52 Smith St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Timothy S. Benton
Seller: Wallace J. Roberts
Date: 05/16/14

Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $129,500
Buyer: Stephanie L. Bearce
Seller: June M. Slozak
Date: 05/13/14

RUSSELL

122 Huntington Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $134,900
Buyer: Jessica M. Beaudry
Seller: Rosanna Seymour
Date: 05/15/14

SPRINGFIELD

34 Audubon St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $149,000
Buyer: Ruben Borrero
Seller: Julianne M. Lessard
Date: 05/16/14

40 Bangor St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Laurie A. Gilbert
Seller: James M. Daly
Date: 05/16/14

705 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Mohammad Sarker
Seller: JJSA 17 Acquisition Co. LLC
Date: 05/16/14

604 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Grez Automotive LLC
Seller: Walter J. Grzebien
Date: 05/07/14

901 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $1,073,865
Buyer: GP Springfield MA
Seller: US Bank
Date: 05/14/14

145 Chalmers St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Jessica L. Cote
Seller: James M. Wingard
Date: 05/15/14

15 Delaware Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Wanda Lockett
Seller: Sticks & Stones Inc.
Date: 05/13/14

195 Durant St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $117,000
Buyer: Sherleen Alequin
Seller: Blueline Management LLC
Date: 05/08/14

196 East St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Juan Vazquez
Date: 05/16/14

19 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Carlito Gonzalez
Seller: Kenneth M. Mills
Date: 05/16/14

50 Ellery St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $122,817
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Toum Sea
Date: 05/05/14

44 Fallston St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Brianna M. Dieni
Seller: Jorge Herrera
Date: 05/09/14

63 Freeman Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Robert Hines
Seller: MBC Properties LLC
Date: 05/16/14

58 Gillette Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Sara D. Burrington
Seller: Heather M. Woods
Date: 05/16/14

103 Glenoak Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $135,500
Buyer: Geoffrey R. Farrington
Seller: Carl J. Paquette
Date: 05/16/14

43 Hazen St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Howard C. Hill
Seller: John F. Carberry
Date: 05/15/14

Hickory St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

56 Louis Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Ryan B. McGuire
Seller: Gregg P. Desmarais
Date: 05/15/14

78 Manchester Terrace
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Christine Dettman
Seller: John E. Cole
Date: 05/13/14

216 Mazarin St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Quetszy A. Melendez
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 05/07/14

122 Newton Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Rimondi
Seller: Amanda L. Spear-Purchase
Date: 05/05/14

84 North Brook Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Anthony Santos
Seller: Jose A. Rivera
Date: 05/14/14

Naismith St. #41
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

198 Park Dr.
Springfield, MA 01106
Amount: $142,500
Buyer: Michael A. Torcia
Seller: Dorene A. Archambault
Date: 05/14/14

Paridon St. #10
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Grand Paridon LLC
Seller: Camelback LLC
Date: 05/06/14

1956 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Dominic A. Falzone
Date: 05/12/14

202 Pasco Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Simone S. Carvalho
Seller: Lawrence Picard
Date: 05/08/14

108 Pidgeon Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $138,900
Buyer: Jose L. Rodriguez
Seller: Barbara J. Klocker
Date: 05/14/14

215 Rosemary Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Nitza Ramos-Cruz
Seller: Charlotte A. Carrington
Date: 05/16/14

Silver St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

1493 South Branch Pkwy.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Leonard A. Lindsay
Seller: Curtis F. Terrell
Date: 05/08/14

82 Treetop Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $131,000
Buyer: Robert Ackerman
Seller: Meilleur, Aline D., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

23 Varney St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Patricia M. Shibles
Seller: Ronald Rovelli
Date: 05/16/14

45 Welland Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Jorge L. Baiz
Seller: Regina F. Walker
Date: 05/12/14

Wells St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Courtside Of Springfield
Date: 05/15/14

1425 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: RHL Properties LLC
Seller: Simmons Ventures LLC
Date: 05/07/14

SOUTHWICK

3 Field St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Michael F. Ferraraccio
Seller: Marc A. Wenners
Date: 05/07/14

4 Iroquois Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $283,000
Buyer: Michael Diotalevi
Seller: Robert V. Sala
Date: 05/14/14

35 Miller Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Dayle Stowell
Seller: Robert G. Valentine
Date: 05/12/14

10 Tammy Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Jacqueline N. Ditrocchio
Seller: Gregory F. Garstka
Date: 05/08/14

WALES

49 Mount Hitchcock Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Amy Roode
Seller: Wendy E. Baker
Date: 05/05/14

WESTFIELD

41 Canal Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Gregg P. Desmarais
Seller: Tirone Development Corp.
Date: 05/15/14

32 Carriage Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $223,500
Buyer: Scott P. Battles
Seller: David C. Carkhuff
Date: 05/12/14

13 Clinton Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Marta V. Martinez
Seller: Oleg Iurtue
Date: 05/16/14

26 Kellogg St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Rustam Orozaliev
Seller: Stanislav Morozov
Date: 05/09/14

56 Overlook Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $217,500
Buyer: Laura Reinholz
Seller: Elizabeth B. Goyette
Date: 05/09/14

45 Parker Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Ion Malancea
Seller: Ivan Mokan
Date: 05/15/14

321 Pochassic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Pavel Matovich
Seller: Frank A. Langone
Date: 05/09/14

187 Tannery Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $256,000
Buyer: Matthew P. Wzorek
Seller: Cesar Ramirez
Date: 05/09/14

42 Willow Brook Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Robert T. Clayton
Seller: Marc T. Bergeron
Date: 05/12/14

WILBRAHAM

9 East Colonial Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Samuel B. Everett
Seller: Hale, Doris M., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

4 Oldwood Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Keith A. Person
Seller: Samuel B. Everett
Date: 05/16/14

WEST SPRINGFIELD

103 Forest Glen
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Jessica F. Caron
Seller: Joan B. Smith
Date: 05/15/14

50 Harney St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: David M. Siegel
Seller: Una Z. Reiser
Date: 05/16/14

43 Kerry Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: John J. Yates
Seller: Donald W. Duquette
Date: 05/09/14

698 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Kevin R. Lalonde
Seller: Mary P. Lagodich
Date: 05/05/14

161 New Bridge St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Shannon L. Tanski
Seller: John D. Clarke
Date: 05/16/14

78 Pease Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Robert C. Roy
Seller: Laura A. Kaplan
Date: 05/09/14

64 Sean Louis Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $612,000
Buyer: Rajshree Patel
Seller: Stephen R. Hoey
Date: 05/09/14

32 South Blvd.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: TM Properties Inc.
Seller: Ralph Draper
Date: 05/12/14

18 Wilbert Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Kyle M. Douglas
Seller: Bohn, Gustave F., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/14

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

28 Kettle Pond Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $389,900
Buyer: Molly J. Goren-Watts
Seller: Djaferis FT
Date: 05/05/14

136 Leverett Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Ludmila Tyler
Seller: Joslad & Associates PC
Date: 05/14/14

150 Leverett Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $350,430
Buyer: David T. Eisenhauer
Seller: Jeremy Ober
Date: 05/07/14

Lindenridge Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Buyer: M. C. Dufour
Seller: Tofino Associates LLC
Date: 05/16/14

38 Maplewood Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Dean Brown
Seller: Barbara B. Yaukey
Date: 05/15/14

20 McClure St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Nathaniel A. Whitmal
Seller: Marta Ostapiuk
Date: 05/15/14

Sunset Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Worcester City Campus
Seller: August M. Woicekoski RET
Date: 05/15/14

BELCHERTOWN

211 Allen Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Jonathan J. Crosby
Seller: Michael Beresky
Date: 05/16/14

45 Depot St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $925,000
Buyer: NE Fibers LLC
Seller: Whitney National Realty
Date: 05/12/14

29 Ledgewood Circle
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $258,500
Buyer: Scott M. Blanchard
Seller: Dennis M. Dube
Date: 05/15/14

59 North St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Thomas N. Synan
Seller: Deborah Becerra
Date: 05/16/14

62 South Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Pogoda
Seller: Robert T. Marsh
Date: 05/15/14

130 Springfield Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Nathan A. Marean
Seller: Clarence E. Robinson
Date: 05/07/14

76 Sheffield Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Dustin J. Carey
Seller: Christopher T. Faber
Date: 05/15/14

EASTHAMPTON

17 Bayberry Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Michael J. Horan
Seller: John F. Horan
Date: 05/09/14

110 Lovefield St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Albert C. Park
Seller: Robert A. Varey
Date: 05/13/14

412 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $1,460,000
Buyer: Argotec Stevens LLC
Seller: JPS Elastomerics Corp.
Date: 05/09/14

19 Matthew Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $297,500
Buyer: Sandra L. Graves
Seller: George R. Paquette
Date: 05/16/14

99 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Jenna K. Schmidt
Seller: Tyler J. Novotny
Date: 05/06/14

5 Susan Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Jeremy A. Jungbluth
Seller: Kristi Neathawk
Date: 05/16/14

38 Treehouse Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $274,900
Buyer: Kathleen I. Dyer
Seller: EH Homeownership LLC
Date: 05/09/14

19 Wemelco Way
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Miri Realty LLC
Seller: FDR LLC
Date: 05/15/14

GOSHEN

1 Lake Dr.
Goshen, MA 01096
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Charlie Lotspeich
Seller: David Weiland
Date: 05/09/14

GRANBY

92 School St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Ryan T. Williams
Seller: Francis W. Gallagher
Date: 05/08/14

151 West St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Willard A. McKinstry
Seller: Alfred W. McKinstry
Date: 05/15/14

HADLEY

2 Hawks Meadow
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $137,200
Buyer: Countryside Home Builders
Seller: Alan Sthilaire
Date: 05/09/14

150 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: George F. Moriarty
Seller: Shauneen A. Valliere
Date: 05/12/14

153 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Vertical Assets LLC
Seller: Jeffrey C. Mish
Date: 05/09/14

20 Sylvia Heights
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $516,000
Buyer: John F. Pappenheimer
Seller: Sortino, Elaine J., (Estate)
Date: 05/14/14

123 West St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $602,400
Buyer: James B. Mead RET
Seller: Frederick H. Pratt
Date: 05/07/14

HUNTINGTON

3 East Main St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Hamel Arenius-Kinloch
Seller: Nance J. Bendus
Date: 05/15/14

NORTHAMPTON

29 Adare Place
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Nada M. Kawar
Seller: Matthew D. Thomas
Date: 05/16/14

102 Bancroft Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $797,000
Buyer: Ravindra M. Nadkarni
Seller: David J. Starr
Date: 05/15/14

24 Bayberry Lane
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Melanie J. Currie
Seller: Gary R. Campbell
Date: 05/13/14

57 Chestnut St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $479,000
Buyer: Killian O’Connell
Seller: Gertrude E. Hooks
Date: 05/14/14

241 Crescent St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Suleiman A. Mourad
Seller: Peter N. Gregory
Date: 05/05/14

34 Forbes Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: David B. Erickson
Seller: Suzanne J. Williams
Date: 05/15/14

30 Hatfield St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Peter W. Kelley
Seller: Longtin, Kyle, (Estate)
Date: 05/09/14

9 Kingsley Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $266,500
Buyer: TN Real Estate Group LLC
Seller: Koch Holding Co. Inc.
Date: 05/08/14

60 Masonic St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $965,000
Buyer: Traddles LLC
Seller: Media Education Foundation
Date: 05/15/14

SOUTH HADLEY

51 McKinley Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: James M. Purchase
Seller: Annemarie Sias
Date: 05/09/14

15 Normandy Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $228,000
Buyer: Jermey S. Milligan
Seller: Dustin Carey
Date: 05/15/14

19 North St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Jonathan E. Fedus
Seller: Leonard F. Pope
Date: 05/09/14

99 River Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Bryan Barsalou
Date: 05/16/14

3 San Souci Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Raymond L. Brousseau
Seller: Robert A. Baker
Date: 05/05/14

SOUTHAMPTON

7 Parsons Way
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Robert D. Hutchison
Seller: Laura A. Reinholz
Date: 05/09/14

227 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Ronald H. Laurin
Seller: Rita M. Kosior
Date: 05/14/14

WARE

80 Shoreline Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $316,000
Buyer: Margaret D. Soucie
Seller: Theresa M. Girard
Date: 05/14/14

Building Permits

Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of June 2014.

CHICOPEE

Cabot Street Pub
66 Cabot St.
$4,000 — Install commercial kitchen hood

FedEx Ground
140 Lonczak Dr.
$2,000,000 — Install new conveyors

SDI, LLC
45 Plainfield St.
$651,000 — Strip and re-roof

LUDLOW

ALM Group
592 Holyoke St.
$58,000 — Addition

NORTHAMPTON

Atwood Drive, LLC
8 Atwood Dr.
$600,000 — Fit up 13,000 square feet on first floor for new tenant

Better Homes Properties, LLC
34 New South St.
$51,000 — Exterior repairs

Coolidge Northampton, LLC
243 King St.
$15,000 — Alterations in Suite 246

Michael Banas
357 Bridge St.
$20,000 — Repair rear egress

Pine Street, LLC
98 Pine St.
$7,300 — Strip and shingle roof

Pun Family, LLC
176 Pine St.
$22,300 — Renovations and new entry for massage therapy

Ryan Road School
498 Ryan Road
$138,000 — Install new roof

Thornes Marketplace, LLC
150 Main St.
$22,000 — Install partitions and sprinklers at Heavenly Chocolate

PALMER

Paixao Properties
2052 Main St.
$4,000 — Expand commercial kitchen

SMOC
8 Depot St.
$15,500 — New roof

Wing Memorial Hospital
40 Wright St.
$103,000 — Replace commercial kitchen hood exhaust

SOUTH HADLEY

Loomis House
246 North Main St.
$35,000 — Repair porches

Mount Holyoke College
50 College St.
$65,000 — Renovate bathrooms

Mount Holyoke College
17 Morgan St.
$63,000 — New windows

SPRINGFIELD

Caring Health Center
860 Boston Road
$120,000 — Interior remodel for exam rooms

City of Springfield
90 Berkshire Ave.
$575,000 — New roof and masonry work

Valley Plating Associates
412 Albany St.
$390,000 — Addition

WESTFIELD

Kenia Associates, LLC
65 Springfield St.
$214,000 — Commercial alteration

Noble Hospital
115 West Silver St.
$95,000 — Replace existing acoustical ceiling

WEST SPRINGFIELD

134 Capital Drive, LLC
1680 Riverdale St.
$250,000 — Renovate 12,000 square feet of office building for new retail tenant

John Salema
2068 Riverdale St.
$350,000 — Construct new building

Paul Klose
645 Westfield St.
$10,000 — New roof

Incorporations

Departments Incorporations

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

CHICOPEE

Titos Auto Sales Inc., 357 Chicopee St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Jeffrey L. Jose, 80 Fisher Road, Chicopee, MA 01013. Used auto sales.

SOUTH HADLEY

Rock Voices Inc., 33 Carlton St., South Hadley, MA 01075. Anthony Lechner, same. Musical instruction, education, and performance.

Silverthorne Theater Company Inc., 41 River Road, South Hadley, MA 01075. J. Lucinda Kidder, same. To prepare and present theatrical productions and engage in educational activities in theater skills and appreciation.

SPRINGFIELD

Vargas Cleaning Services Inc., 14 Draper St., Springfield, MA 01108. Carlos Enrique Vargas Gabriel, same. General cleaning services.

WESTFIELD

Zhong Rong Inc., 68 King St., Westfield, MA 01085. Shou Qi Liang, same. Restaurant.

WESTHAMPTON

J & D Sales & Repairs Inc., 19 Perry Hill Road, Westhampton, MA 01027. James Meehan, same. Automotive sales and repairs.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Go Pro Appliances Repair Inc., 149 Wayside Ave., West Springfield, MA 01089. Priscilla J. Kowal, 91 Blue Ridge Dr., Somers, CT 06071. Appliance repair.

S.A. I.T Inc., 12 Royce Court A#1, West Springfield, MA 01089. Surya Sharma, same. IT enabled services.

WILLIAMSBURG

MRJW Enterprises Inc., 39 Petticoat Hill Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096. Louis Montgomery, same. Construction.

WILLIAMSTOWN

New England Lawn & Garden Care Inc., 371 Hopper Road, Williamstown, MA 01267. Valerie Caryl Ross, same. Landscape and garden services.

Briefcase

Briefcase Departments

DevelopSpringfield Touts Rebuild Springfield Work
SPRINGFIELD — DevelopSpringfield hosted an event on May 29 to mark the two-year anniversary of the Rebuild Springfield Plan release and to commemorate the third anniversary of the June 1, 2011 tornado. City officials, volunteers, contributors, residents, and other stakeholders gathered on Central Street to hear remarks highlighting Rebuild Springfield Plan progress. Attendees were provided an opportunity to tour newly rebuilt homes in the severely tornado-damaged Central Street corridor. The Rebuild Springfield Plan is a city-wide master plan designed to provide a framework for addressing the redevelopment needs of neighborhoods impacted by the June 2011 tornado. Additionally, the plan serves as a guide for addressing a wide range of issues relevant to the city as a whole. DevelopSpringfield, in partnership with the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, facilitated the planning process, which included the input of city residents and stakeholders and was published in the spring of 2012. The recent gathering featured remarks by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno; Jay Minkarah, president and CEO of DevelopSpringfield; Nick Fyntrilakis, DevelopSpringfield board chair and vice president of Community Responsibility for MassMutual Financial Group; Bishop Bruce Shaw, pastor of New Hope Pentecostal Church; Melvin Edwards, city councilor and Maple High/Six Corners Neighborhood Council president; Tim Allen, city councilor; Steven Bradley, DevelopSpringfield board member and vice president of Government and Community Relations and Public Relations for Baystate Health; Jose Claudio, DevelopSpringfield board member and director of Community Development for the New North Citizens’ Council and speaking on behalf of the North End Housing Initiative; and Alberto Ayala, speaking on behalf of VIVA Development. All of the speakers played a role in planning and rebuilding efforts in the city. They noted that the new homes and cleanup in the Central Street corridor are clear signs of rebirth in that neighborhood, with construction of the new Elias Brookings School in the background. With the assistance of federal, state, and city investment, progress is being made on several other key projects, including plans for construction of a New South End Community Center at Mason Wight Park. Trees have been planted, parks rehabilitated, and the Dryden Memorial School rehabilitated, among many other signs of physical improvements since the tornado. Beyond the response to the challenges brought on by the tornado, the plan also provides a framework to advance other important community priorities throughout the city. Progress on these fronts is also evident in many ways, including work in addressing educational and workforce-training priorities; efforts to highlight cultural assets, including the designation of the Springfield Central Cultural District downtown; enhanced public safety programs; and cohesive and collaborative economic-development initiatives to attract business and permanent jobs to the city. The full plan is available at www.developspringfield.com. DevelopSpringfield also announced the publication of the Rebuild Springfield Progress Report 2014. Developed in collaboration with many volunteers who participated in the Rebuild Springfield planning process, the report highlights many of the plan’s priorities. It is available online at www.developspringfield.com and in print at DevelopSpringfield offices at 1182 Main St. in Springfield, and was distributed in the Republican on June 5. A Spanish-language version will be available soon and distributed throughout the community and also online.

Construction Spending Rises Modestly in April
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Total construction spending rose modestly for the third straight month in April as a mix of increases and declines in public and private categories showed the sector’s recovery remains fragile and fragmented, according to an analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Association officials said the industry could benefit from new federal investments in infrastructure to offset declining public-sector demand. “Residential, private non-residential, and public construction spending all have areas of strength but also pockets of weakness,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “While the overall trend remains more positive than last year, growth is likely to be spotty for the foreseeable future.” Construction put in place totaled $954 billion in April, 0.2% above the revised February total and 8.6% higher than in April 2013. The year-over-year growth so far in 2014 has exceeded the full-year increase of 5% recorded from 2012 to 2013. Private residential construction spending inched up 0.1% in April to a six-year high. The latest total exceeded the year-ago level by 17%. Single-family construction rose 1.3% in April and 14% year-over-year. Multi-family spending soared 4.4% and 31%, respectively. Improvements to existing single- and multi-family structures slumped 2.2% for the month but increased 17% from a year ago. Private non-residential spending dipped 0.1% in April but climbed 5.6% over 12 months. Most major categories increased from year-ago levels. However, the largest private segment, power construction — comprising work on oil and gas fields and pipelines as well as electricity projects — slipped 0.6% for the month and 3.9% over the year. The fastest-growing private type was office construction, which jumped 3.1% in April and 26% since April 2013. Public construction spending rose 0.8% for the month and 1.2% year-over-year. The largest public segment, highway and street construction, declined 1.1% in April but increased 4.9% from a year before. The second-biggest category, educational construction, gained 3% and 4.9%, respectively. “The outlook for the rest of 2014 remains uneven,” Simonson predicted. “Demand for apartments appears to be very strong, but there are several warning signs about home building. Despite dropping last month, power and manufacturing construction should remain the leading private non-residential categories, with hefty growth for the year as a whole. The rebound in public construction that occurred last month may not be repeated soon.”

<strong>State Seeks $100 Million for Gateway Cities
BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick is asking the Legislature to approve a bill that would make $100 million available to the state’s 26 so-called Gateway Cities, including Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Westfield, and Pittsfield, for a host of economic development initiatives. Included in the bill are provisions for: $15 million for commercial development projects; $10 million in grants and loans to clean up contaminated industrial sites; $5 million for loans for small businesses; $25 million in annual tax credits for companies that commit to adding jobs; and $20 million for ‘middle-skills’ job training in manufacturing and information technology. “We are trying to make sure every resident — and not just residents of Boston — have access to economic opportunities,” said Alex Zaroulis, a spokeswoman for Patrick’s office of Administration and Finance. However, some legislators said the proposed spending was not enough to make a real difference in the struggling cities. “The level of funding proposed by the governor is simply insufficient,” said Rep. Antonio Cabral, a New Bedford Democrat. “The surest way to undermine faith in the Commonwealth’s programs is to fund them at a level that we know won’t solve the problem.”

April Trade Gap Widens to $47.2 Billion
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. trade deficit jumped to a two-year high in April, as exports declined and imports surged to a record high. The deficit rose to $47.2 billion in April, up 6.9% from an upwardly revised March deficit of $44.2 million, the Commerce Department announced this week. Exports dropped for the fourth month out of the past five, falling 0.2% to $195.4 billion. Meanwhile, imports climbed 1.2% to a record high of $240.6 billion.

People on the Move

Departments People on the Move

Dena Hall

Michael Moriarty

United Financial Bancorp Inc. announced that J. Jeffrey Sullivan, president and member of the board of directors, is leaving the company to pursue other professional interests. In addition, it was announced that Dena Hall has been promoted to Western Mass. Regional President for United Bank, and Michael Moriarty will be Executive Vice President, Western Mass. Commercial Banking Executive. “I want to thank Jeff for his commitment to United Bank over the past 12 years and his effort in helping us achieve a successful legal close of our merger,” said William Crawford IV, CEO of United Bank and United Financial Bancorp Inc. “Jeff has enjoyed a long career in banking and demonstrated a strong personal and professional commitment to Springfield and Western Mass. All of us who have had the opportunity to work with Jeff wish him well in his future endeavors.” In addition to her leading role as Western Mass. Regional President for United Bank, Hall will continue to serve as Chief Marketing Officer for the bank and President of the United Bank Foundation. She has nearly 20 years of experience in bank marketing and charitable giving. She came to United Bank in 2005 after serving as Assistant Vice President of Marketing for Woronoco Savings Bank (now Berkshire Bank) and Executive Director of the Woronoco Savings Charitable Foundation in Westfield. Hall worked previously for the Community Foundation of Western Mass. Hall was named one of the Springfield region’s top young business and community leaders by BusinessWest magazine in its inaugural 40 Under Forty compilation in 2007, and was also named the Business Woman of the Year by the Westfield Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the board of trustees for the Baystate Health Systems Foundation as well as a member of the Westfield Re-Development Authority and the Western Mass. Corporate Funder’s Forum. She is also the chairwoman of the Capital Campaign Scheduling Committee of Greater Springfield. Hall is a graduate of UMass Amherst, the Massachusetts School for Financial Studies, and the National School of Banking and Finance at Fairfield (Conn.) University. Moriarty, who previously held the title of Senior Vice President and Regional Team Leader for United Bank for more than seven years, will take on a key role as Executive Vice President, Western Mass. Commercial Banking Executive. Prior to joining United Bank, Moriarty was Vice President of Commercial Lending for the Bank of Western Massachusetts. He also was Vice Pesident of Commercial Lending for the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. Earlier in his banking career, Moriarty was a Bank Examiner with the Office of the Commissioner of Banks in Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College and an MBA from Western New England University. He is also a graduate of the Stonier National Graduate School of Banking, American Bankers Assoc. Hall’s and Moriarty’s new roles with the company became effective earlier this month.
•••••

Douglas Bowen

Banker & Tradesman has named Douglas Bowen, President and CEO of PeoplesBank, a Community Bank Hero. In awarding that honor, the publication said it goes to individuals who show “an exceptional dedication to service and investment in their community.” Bowen and the others were recognized at a special reception to honor those in the industry who have gone above and beyond to better their organization and their community. Since becoming President and CEO of PeoplesBank in 2007, Bowen and his leadership team have led a culture change at the bank. That shift defined a triple bottom line for the bank: going forward, enhanced financial performance would be linked to community and employee engagement as well as environmental sustainability. The team focused on developing new and higher levels of employee engagement and involvement by creating life-work balance initiatives, a management-development program, employee-led think tanks, and employee-recognition events. PeoplesBank associates have volunteered an average of 6,000 hours each year for charitable causes, and 48 of the bank’s officers serve on the boards and committees of 115 nonprofit organizations. The bank has also donated more than $5 million to local charitable and civic organizations and financed more than $70 million in wind, hydroelectric, and solar energy projects. PeoplesBank, having built three LEED-registered offices, is also a leader in green construction. “I am proud to say that, when I look around at work, I see heroes — PeoplesBank associates doing remarkable things for our customers, the community, and our organization every day,” Bowen said in accepting the award.
•••••

Linda Ellen Jones

Linda Ellen Jones, currently the Vice President of Statutory Affairs at Alfred University in New York and a national expert in structural ceramic materials, has been appointed Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Western New England University. Jones will be the university’s chief academic officer and oversee the academic integrity of all colleges, schools, and institutes on campus. The provost is responsible for working with the deans and faculty to develop new programs, and oversees the academic-appointment process. “I am thrilled to be joining Western New England University as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs,” said Jones. “As we all know, higher education is at a remarkable crossroads. The work in front of us is to help our students answer the questions, who do I want to be, and how do I best prepare for a future rich in possibilities? I look forward to championing a faculty and staff who understand the potential and who are willing to embrace our collective future.” Jones currently heads the New York State College of Ceramics, which is comprised of the School of Art and Design, the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering, the Scholes Library, and the Schein-Joseph Museum. The College of Ceramics is a unit of the public SUNY system, but administered and housed by the private Alfred University. A materials scientist, Jones is recognized as a national expert in high-temperature corrosion and degradation of structural ceramic materials, and serves as a professor of materials engineering. Prior to her post at Alfred University, Jones served as Director of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College in Northampton. She received her Ph.D. and master’s degree in fuel science, materials science, and engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Mary Washington College. Jones succeeds Dr. Jerry Hirsch, who is retiring after 16 years of service as the Provost of Western New England University.
•••••
Monson Savings Bank (MSB) has announced the promotion of Terry Poloski to Mortgage Originator. Poloski joined the bank in December 2011, has more than 30 years of experience in consumer and mortgage lending, and has worked with every aspect of the lending process, including underwriting. She is not only adept at helping her borrowers obtain the right financing package, but also at assisting them with every detail along the way, said Steve Lowell, MSB president, adding, “we are extremely fortunate to have Terry on our team. She embodies the Monson Savings commitment to customer service and is highly qualified to help people find the right financing package for new homes, construction, and refinancing.” Poloski is a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley.
•••••

Steven Mitus

PeoplesBank announced that Steven Mitus, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Balise Motor Sales Co., has been named to the PeoplesBank board of directors. Mitus formerly served as a Corporator for the bank. He is a cum laude graduate of UMass Amherst, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is also a graduate of Holyoke Community College. Mitus currently serves as a trustee of Baystate Health, where he is vice chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee; as a trustee of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, where he chairs the Audit and Finance Committee; and as a director of Health New England, where he is a member of the Compensation and Audit committees. The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield presented him with the Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year Award for his current and past community service. Mitus is also a past recipient of the Holyoke Community College Distinguished Alumni Award. He is a member of Financial Executives International, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the the Mass. State Society of CPAs.
•••••

Ryan Leap

Easthampton Savings Bank announced that Ryan Leap has joined the bank as Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending. Leap brings to the bank more than 14 years of commercial-lending experience, most recently as Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending for Union Bank in Morrisville, Vt. He has worked as Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending for Hoosac Bank, a division of Mountain One Financial Partners, MHC, in North Adams. Prior to that, Leap was a Vice President of Commercial Lending with the Bank of Western Massachusetts in Northampton, which later became People’s United Bank. Leap earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Pa.
•••••
FieldEddy Insurance announced the following:

Gina Clark

Sara Goodreau

• Gina Clark has been appointed Finance Manager. She will be responsible for training and supporting the finance-team members on all aspects of accounts payable and accounts receivable. Previously, she worked for several years in the finance and human-resources departments at Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.;
• Sara Goodreau has been appointed Personal Lines Account Manager. She holds her CISR and CIC designations. Her knowledge of various computer operating systems will benefit Goodreau as a staff trainer, and she will assist with operational tasks.

Carla Dawley

• Carla Dawley has been appointed Personal Lines Account Manager. In that role, she will apply her knowledge in both the insurance and banking industries to provide customer service to her existing and new clients. Dawley has her P&C license and is currently working on obtaining her CISR designation.
•••••
TD Bank has named Denise Fleming Assistant Vice President and Store Manager of the branch located at 693 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee. She is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at the store. Fleming has more than eight years of banking experience. Prior to joining TD Bank, she served as a Branch Sales Officer at Rockville Bank in Enfield, Conn. Fleming is a member of the Chicopee Rotary Club and the Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, and is a graduate of the Connecticut School of Finance and Management.

Denise Fleming

She serves as community chairperson for the Independent Transportation Network’s annual Walk for Rides and also is a volunteer driver for the nonprofit organization, which provides transportation to senior citizens and the visually impaired.
•••••
The YMCA of Greater Springfield announced the following appointments to its board of directors:
• Fran Smith, a veteran of the newspaper advertising and circulation business for 34 years, and currently Advertising Manager at the Republican and masslive.com;
• Mark Smith, Vice President of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management for Smith & Wesson, and previously Director with the Chicag0-based consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal;
• Dan Flynn, Senior Vice President and Marketing Manager at People’s United Bank; and
• Stacey Church, Assistant General Manager of the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

Chamber Corners Departments

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

• June 27: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place. This event will feature ‘the year in retrospect’ and presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year award. Cost: $40 for members, $60 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• July 9: ERC5 Member Appreciation Night with the Western Mass. Pioneers, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Lusitano Stadium, 400 Winsor St., Ludlow. Enjoy an exhibition game, food, contests, surprises, and more. Reservations are complimentary for ERC5 members, $5 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected]. The ERC5 is an affiliate of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield
• July 14: ACCGS Annual Golf Tournament at the Ranch Golf Club in Southwick. Schedule: 10:30-11:30 a.m., registration/practice; 11 a.m.-noon, course-side lunch; 12:30 p.m., shotgun start. Cost: $600 for a foursome, $150 for an individual golfer, $30 for reception only. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

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

• June 19-22: Taste of Amherst 2014. Come enjoy four days of fun at the 2014 Taste of Amherst, on the Amherst Town Common. Live entertainment will be provided by 93.9 the River, fun family events, and more than 20 local restaurants. Hours: Thursday, June 19, 5-9 p.m.; Friday, June 20, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, June 21, noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, June 22, noon-4 p.m.
• June 25: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. New-member reception. Don’t miss this annual event, hosted by all the businesses at 25-35 University Dr.: Cheryl Nina Salon, Encharter Insurance LLC, J. F. Conlon & Associates, Sawicki Real Estate, and  Ziomek & Ziomek, Attorneys at Law. The Pub will provide food and drink. Sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank. Tickets: free for new members (if you joined between June 2013 and June 2014), $10 for members, and $15 for non-members.
• July 21: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Golf Tournament, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Registration and lunch are from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with a shotgun start at noon, and reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. Cost: $125 per player. Presented by Hampshire Hospitality Group. Co-scholarship sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Silver sponsors: Encharter Insurance, J.F. Conlon & Associates, MBA. Lunch sponsor: Davis Financial Group, LLC. Dinner sponsor: Fallon Community Health Plan. Bronze sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, NEPM, Steve Lewis Subaru. Carts sponsor: Taylor Rental. Water sponsor: Atkins Farms Country Market. Towels: Hampshire College.

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

• June 19: Mornings with the Mayor. Chamber members meet with Mayor Rich Kos at a different host business every other month to talk about what’s happening in the city of Chicopee. Submit questions you’d like addressed, by June 16, to [email protected]. For more information, contact the Greater Chicopee Chamber at (413) 594-2101.
• June 25: June Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Teddy Bear Pools & Spas. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
• June 26: Member workshop, “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. E-mail is more important than ever to the communication efforts of businesses and nonprofits everywhere, and to customers, donors, clients, and supporters of those organizations. This session will reveal some simple but effective best practices and considerations for the small-business or nonprofit seeking to make their e-mail newsletters more effective. Attendees of this presentation will learn the different types of newsletters, what to write about in your newsletter or announcement, how to consider using images, subject-line best practices and when to send your newsletter, the importance of understanding how connected e-mail and social media are and how they have to be done together, and what types of additional tools might be useful.

FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

• June 27: Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at Terrazza Ristorante, Country Club Road, Greenfield. Elected state officials and chamber election of officers. Tickets: $13 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464 or www.franklincc.org.

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

• July 10: Netwrking By Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7p.m. Hosted by the Oxbow Water Ski Show Team, 100 Old Springfield Road, Northampton. The program will feature a gala waterski show and networking under the tent on the shores of the Oxbow. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, and host beer and wine. Sponsored by Mantis Graphics and William F. Steplar Financial Services. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members. RSVP requested.
• July 25: 30th Annual Golf Tournament, at Southampton Country Club, 329 College Highway, Southampton. Scramble format with 9 a.m. shotgun start. Games, contests, and raffles. Team fees include lunch and steak dinner. Major sponsors: Easthampton Savings Bank and Five Star Building Corp. Event sponsors: Innovative Business Systems Inc. and TurningLeaf Design. Opportunities for business exposure include tee sponsors, donations to the golfer’s gift bag, and raffle-prize donations. Team fees: $440; tee sponsorships: $75/$125. This year’s 30th anniversary tournament will honor William Cater Jr., the first golf chairman. Contact the chamber to sign up a team, arrange a sponsorship, or make a raffle or gift prize donation.

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

• June 19: “The Art of Small Business: Pricing,” 9-10:30 a.m. Hosted and sponsored by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Special guest: Don Lesser of Pioneer Training. Lesser has been a consultant and business owner for more than 30 years. He will share insights and techniques that have contributed to his success. How do you determine what rate you should charge for your time? What is a livable rate for your work? What is the range of rates for your work in your market? How do you price a job, and how do you cover add-ons and other changes? Do you have separate rates for different types of clients? What about donating services? How do you negotiate rates with a potential client? This workshop covers the process of determining your rate and sticking to it. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members.

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

• June 20: June Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. Sponsors: platinum, First Niagara; gold, United Bank; silver, United Way of Pioneer Valley. Speaker: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Suzanne Scallion. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Consider donating a raffle prize. To register, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
• June 25: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 3, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “You’re Social. Now What? Is It Working?” Speaker: Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• June 27: Local Legislative Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. The luncheon is for the chamber communities of Blandford, Chester, Granville, Huntington, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, and Woronoco. The state legislators for each community have been invited to speak. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Cost: TBA. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• July 10: The Chamber’s 37th Annual Pancake Breakfast, 7-11 a.m., at South Middle School, 30 West Silver St., Westfield. Sponsored by: City of Westfield, Walmart, Appalachian Press, Noble VNA, and Peppermill Catering. Highlights: Vendor tables, bounce house, face painting, music, and more. Cost: adults, $6; seniors, $5; children under 12, $3. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

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

• June 19: Annual Breakfast Meeting, 7-9 a.m., at Chez Josef, Agawam. Sponsored by OMG and Development Associates. The event will kick off with the welcoming of new chairman John Weiss and the incoming WRC board of directors. Cost: $25 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information and for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• August 18: Annual Golf Tournament, at the Ranch Golf Course, Southwick. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

MGM Springfield Wins First Casino License in Massachusetts

SPRINGFIELD — MGM Resorts International received a unanimous vote Friday from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) approving an agreement to award MGM Springfield a license to operate a resort casino in downtown Springfield. This is the first approval of a casino license in the Commonwealth. The commission’s decision comes after an extensive, two-year process of hearings and background investigations culminating in a final week of hearings and deliberations. MGM formally announced its interest in a resort casino in Springfield in August 2012. At one time there was a field of five companies vying for the sole Western Mass. casino license. The MGM Springfield site is located on approximately 14.5 acres of land between Union and State streets, and between Columbus Avenue and Main Street. Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts, called it “a great day for Springfield, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and MGM. We’re proud of what our talented team and our many dedicated city and community partners have accomplished together. We thank the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for its thorough vetting process and look forward to continuing our work with Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and other Springfield and Western Mass. elected officials and governmental leaders, along with residents and businesses of Springfield and the region, as we move this project forward.” Murren was joined by MGM Resorts President Bill Hornbuckle and MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis for the decision at the MassMutual Center. The crowd gathered included elected officials; civic, business, and community leaders; and MGM Springfield supporters. MGM Springfield, an $800 million investment, is designed to ignite an urban revival. MGM and its professional partners worked painstakingly to put together a design that celebrates the history of Springfield while moving the Gateway City into a new era of commerce and economic opportunity. The integrated resort casino is designed to enhance the entire urban center of Springfield. The mixed-used development project calls for a 25-story, 250-room hotel with world-class amenities, including a spa, pool, and roof deck; 125,000 square feet of gaming space with 3,000 slot machines, 75 gaming tables, a poker room, and a high-limit VIP gambling area; about 55,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space that will accommodate 15 shops and restaurants; and a multi-level parking garage. Plans also envision a high-energy dining, retail, and entertainment district with an eight-screen cinema, bowling alley, and outdoor stage. This will be developed by Davenport Properties of Boston, in partnership with MGM on land now occupied by the tornado-ravaged South End Community Center and Howard Street School. Michael Mathis, MGM Springfield president, said, “MGM is very grateful to the MGC and, most importantly, to our supporters. Today’s decision says yes to jobs, yes to downtown revitalization, and yes to opportunity and hope. We have been, and will continue to be, a committed partner to the city and the Commonwealth. We have worked hard to develop the strong relationships necessary to create a world-class urban casino resort proposal that will anchor a renaissance for an important gateway city and the region around it. We now look forward to that becoming a reality.” MGM Springfield will bring 3,000 permanent jobs and 2,000 construction jobs to downtown Springfield. MGM has established a hiring goal of 35% of the workforce from the city of Springfield and 90% from a combination of Springfield and the region. Additionally, MGM Springfield has entered into surrounding-community agreements with neighboring communities providing for tens of millions of dollars. However, all casino projects in the Commonwealth still face the threat of a ballot repeal of the casino law. Attorney General Martha Coakley ruled last year that the repeal question is unconstitutional. Following an appeal by advocates of the repeal effort, the Supreme Judicial Court is expected to decide by July if the question may appear on the November ballot. Because the repeal effort hangs in the balance, the MGC and MGM entered into an agreement to award the single Category 1 (resort-casino) license available for Region B (Western Mass.) contingent on the outcome of the repeal matter. The future date allows the postponement of the licensing and related fees until the repeal question is resolved. “The City of Springfield deserves a brighter economic future,” Mathis said. “Its residents spoke loudly when they voted yes for MGM Springfield in a July 2013 referendum. A successful repeal would mean the loss of good jobs, new economic development, and a needed revenue stream. It would also eliminate the opportunity to recapture billions of dollars currently lost to neighboring states. MGM is ready to help the Commonwealth achieve these worthy goals.”

FSB Announces Addition of Susan Seaver to Mortgage Team

FLORENCE — Florence Savings Bank, a mutually owned savings bank serving the Pioneer Valley through nine branch locations, announced that Susan Seaver has joined the bank as vice president and mortgage originator, responsible for mortgage originations in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. Seaver comes to FSB with a strong résumé of service in the banking industry. Most recently, she was vice president and mortgage officer with People’s United Bank. Her experience includes training and supporting a staff of in-house originators, and she has been a multi-year recipient of the top producer award for success in closing residential loans. Her professional activities include serving as a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley, the Professional Women’s Chamber of Western Mass., and the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. In the community, she has volunteered with a number of organizations, including the Michael J. Dias Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Western Mass. Eldercare. In announcing the appointment, FSB President and CEO John Heaps Jr., said that “we are very pleased to have Susan join our team here at Florence Savings Bank. She comes to us with extensive banking experience. I am confident our customers will be well-served by her contributions.”

40 Under Forty Gala Set for June 19

HOLYOKE — The big night is almost here. BusinessWest’s eighth annual 40 Under Forty Gala is set for June 19 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke, where final preparations are underway. More than 650 people are expected for the gala, which has become an early-summer tradition and one of the region’s premier networking events. A few tickets are still available. To order some, or for more information, call (413) 781-8600 or visit www.businesswest.com.

Gabrielle Thomes Joins Staff at Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing

SPRINGFIELD — Loomis Communities announced that Gabrielle Thomes has been appointed director of Social Services at the nursing center at Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing. In this role, she will plan and implement social services and help individuals and their families find the correct level they need for care and recovery or, when necessary, hospice. Thomes is a licensed social worker who previously worked at Wingate in East Longmeadow.

State Awards $3.5M in Grants to Boost Renewable Thermal Industry

BOSTON — The state Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced it is providing $3.5 million to nine businesses — including two in Western Mass. — to help grow renewable thermal markets in Massachusetts and strengthen infrastructure development. “The Patrick Administration is committed to growing our economy and supporting local businesses,” said DOER Commissioner Mark Sylvia. “By developing the infrastructure needed to support the adoption of renewable heating and cooling technologies, we will increase consumer options to reduce both the use of fossil fuels and the amount of money spent by Massachusetts homeowners and businesses to heat and cool their buildings.” These are the first grants from the new Massachusetts Renewable Thermal Business Investment Financing Program, which is designed to provide financial support for businesses seeking to establish or expand distribution, manufacturing, or marketing of renewable thermal technologies or supply-chain infrastructure. A variety of technologies are eligible, including woody biomass, grass pellets, advanced biofuels, biogas, solar thermal, and inverter-driven air and ground source heat pumps. The two Western Mass. grants were awarded to Rocky Mountain Wood in Wilbraham, $1 million to develop a community-scale wood-pellet-manufacturing facility; and to Northeast Biodiesel in Greenfield, $540,000 to complete a biodiesel plant and expand waste vegetable-oil collection and biodiesel distribution.

Joseph Malmborg Joins FSB Financial Group

By BusinessWest Staff June 13, 2014

FLORENCE — FSB Financial Group, the investment division of Florence Savings Bank, announced that Joseph Malmborg of Springfield has joined its team as a financial services representative. In this capacity, he will work with individuals and business owners to develop strategic, long-term financial plans to help customers achieve their financial goals and objectives. Malmborg comes to FSB Financial Group with a résumé of 25 years of banking and investment-management experience. Most recently, he was an investment advisor with United Bank, where he managed and developed a $30 million investment portfolio. He is additionally a former investment advisor at Banknorth, registered investment advisor with MassMutual, and business development manager at Fleet Financial. Malmborg began his career as a branch sales manager at SIS Bank. The Westfield State College graduate is a licensed investment advisor representative with Commonwealth Financial Network, holding the Series 7 (General Securities) and Series 65 (Uniform Investment Adviser Law) licenses. He is also licensed to sell both life and health insurance. Malmborg is a past director of the East Longmeadow Chamber of Commerce. His other community activities include teaching Junior Achievement and being involved with Cursillo of Western Mass. “We are pleased to welcome Joe to our investment team. He will work closely with Jean Kelley and Nicole Domnarski to ensure that every FSB Financial Services client receives the highest degree of service and best possible investment advice in the Pioneer Valley,” said John Heaps Jr., president and CEO of Florence Savings Bank. “Joe’s extensive background and strong community involvement will make him an invaluable part of our team.”

Steward Health Care, Doctors Express Announce Affiliation

By BusinessWest Staff June 13, 2014