Home 2014 (Page 31)

Year: 2014

Orlando Ramos

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Springfield City Councilor; District Director, Office of State Sen. James Welch, age 31

Orland-Ramos-01Orlando Ramos has always been a fighter.

He trained under local boxing legend Duke Belton and took plenty of punches. “But I think I’ve been hit harder in politics than in the ring,” he said. “I fought in the ring, and now I fight outside the ring for the people — for what I represent.”

After graduating from Putnam Vocational Technical High School, Ramos began his professional career as a carpenter, and was appointed union steward of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 108 in 2007, followed by election to the executive board in 2008. But he eventually left the trade to focus on public service.

“It all started for me when I was involved in drafting a piece of legislation relative to construction unions, and I made friends in the process,” he said. “After I hurt my back, I got offered an internship in the Western Mass. governor’s office, and it took off from there for me.”

Broadening his passion for service, Ramos has been a member of the Indian Orchard Citizens Council, the Ward 8 Democratic Committee, and the Labor Council for Latin-American Advancement, as well as a stint as Springfield license commissioner.

“That was a great learning experience,” he said. “I was able to accomplish a lot in terms of making positive changes on the commission. Combined with the whole experience working in the governor’s office, I felt like that was the path I wanted to take — helping other people.”

He was then offered a full-time position as district director in the office of state Sen. James Welch, handling a number of constituent services, and was elected to the Springfield City Council last November.

“I’m a single dad, and my daughter just turned 9, so one of my priorities is education, and access to education equality,” he said. “My biggest motivation in doing what I do is providing a better future for my child and the other children in the city.”

That said, when Ramos considers Springfield, he sees a city on the rise, despite its challenges. “I love the way our future looks right now, with so many businesses willing to invest in our city. People are excited about what the future holds for Springfield.”

In other words, it’s a city worth fighting for.

— Joseph Bednar

Meghan Parnell-Gregoire

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lending, PeoplesBank, age 39

Meghan-Gregoire-01Meghan Parnell-Gregoire says she just “fell into banking.” And she’s glad she did.

“It wasn’t planned; I just needed a job with benefits,” she explained. “So I got a job with Northampton Cooperative Bank.” She started as a teller, then moved into work as a processor, then an underwriter, then a mortgage originator. But that latter role meant long hours and too much time away from her young children, so she applied in 2008 to be a branch manager for PeoplesBank in Amherst.

“It was a huge shift; I had not really been in management — or in retail banking, except for five short months as a teller. So the bank took a huge risk on me, and I took a risk on them.”

The risk worked out well for both. In 2012, she was promoted to the commercial-lending arena, working closely with the bank’s Business Lending Center, a unique PeoplesBank program that focuses on small, local businesses.

“The Business Lending Center collaborates with branch staff and allows us to provide a higher level of services to businesses in our geographic footprint,” she said, adding that she finds a great deal of satisfaction helping commercial clients reach their goals.

“We might be helping small businesses in the growth stage and providing the financing needed to do that, or working closely with a business owner to identify ways to improve cash flow. On the flip side, with more mature businesses, they might need help sustaining cash flow, or maybe they’re getting ready to hand things over to the next generation,” Parnell-Gregoire said, adding that, in any case, it’s all about nurturing relationships, not making deals.

Being a single mother with a full-time job leaves limited spare time, but she still manages to work a number of volunteer efforts into her schedule, serving with the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, the Paolo Friere Social Justice Charter School, Family Outreach of Amherst, the Holyoke Children’s Museum, and the Holyoke Youth Soccer League, where she coaches preschoolers.

“I feel lucky,” she said. “I’ve been given a tremendous amount of opportunities, professionally and personally, and I want to take opportunities to give that back.”

— Joseph Bednar

Alex Morse

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Mayor, City of Holyoke, age 25

Alex-Morse-01Looking back on his first 27 months in office, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse says there’s been progress logged in many areas and some notable accomplishments for the team he’s assembled.

The Mass. Green High Performance Computing Center has opened its doors, a creative economy is taking shape, a long-awaited urban-renewal plan — a sweeping initiative to revitalize the downtown through the reincarnation of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority — has been introduced, an Innovation District has been created, a Community Literacy office has been established, and a tax-incentive program to stimulate new growth has been launched.

But Morse, the youngest mayor in the Paper City’s history when he was elected in the fall of 2011, said that perhaps the most important development — and it results in part from all of the above — has been his administration’s ability to “change the language around Holyoke,” as he put it.

“The number-one thing we’ve done, and in a relatively short period of time, is change the perception of the city,” the Holyoke native told BusinessWest. “And it had to start from within — we needed the residents of the city to feel there’s a sense of progress and that the city is going to get better, and that’s happened.

“The most humbling, and exciting, thing for me is going around the Valley and across the state and hearing people talk about Holyoke in a positive way, with this energy and excitement,” he went on. “I promised to be the chief marketing officer of Holyoke, and I’ve fulfilled that.”

There is considerable work still to be done, but Morse believes the foundation for progress has been laid. And the process of doing so has been a fascinating learning experience for the Brown University graduate and urban studies major.

He said every day is different and uniquely fulfilling, that he’s encouraged by the way in which all those on his team are working toward the same goals, and that perhaps the biggest downside is the slow pace of government, something he wasn’t fully prepared for.

“I’m oftentimes impatient when it comes to implementing new things and programs and seeing changes,” he explained. “Sometimes it takes longer than you’d like.”

But he believes the needle is moving in the right direction and this city, steeped in history, is ready to write some more.

George O’Brien

Geoff Medeiros

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Vice President, Brand, Yankee Candle Co., age 39

Geoff-Medeiros-01Geoff Medeiros says he’s not the one who comes up with the scents for Yankee Candle, such as the one that recreates the aroma of sizzling bacon — one of the so-called ‘man candles.’ No, there’s a committee of five or six devoted to that. Nor does he come up with the names for these products, such as ‘Luau Party,’ one of the offerings in the Exotic Escapes collection; there’s another team that handles that assignment.

But you might say that it’s his job, as vice president of Brand, to position these products, myriad others, and the stores that sell them for success.

That’s a simple way to break down a rather long and quite deep job description, one that includes everything from brand positioning to media planning to global consumer research. It was his decision, for example, to use the company’s highly visible billboard on I-91 to promote the scent called MMM, Bacon! “It definitely drew some PR for the company,” he said with a laugh.

Overall, Medeiros manages a number of brands for the company. Beyond the Yankee Candle label, there is the Home Classics brand sold at Target; the Simply Home brand, sold in Kohl’s outlets; and new offerings including Pure Radiance and Relaxing Rituals, both sold in the company’s retail stores.

Medeiros, who leads an 11-member Brand team, has honed his skills in a 15-year career in brand management, one that also included stints with Hasbro and Nestlé. He joined Yankee Candle in 2006, working first as director of Brand Management and then general manager before assuming his current position.

At all those stops, and especially with Yankee Candle, he has balanced his professional career with a passion to give back to the community. A Big Brother while attending Providence College, he currently sits on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County, and was instrumental in helping the agency increase its social-media presence for the 2013 Valley Gives event. Meanwhile, he has been an active member of the Mentor Program at Yankee Candle, which was established to create an environment that develops and advances talented young women at the company.

— George O’Brien

Andrew McMahon

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Chief Financial Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, age 33

Andrew-McMahon-01Sept. 11, 2001 changed many lives — Andrew McMahon’s included.

“I was in school and working a summer job cleaning air ducts,” he recalled. “The last job I worked was at the end of August; I was in New York City for a few days, working in the World Trade Center.”

Two weeks later, those towers were gone, America was shaken, and McMahon was reflective.

“I felt there was more that I could do. So, with some other guys at school, I joined the Air Force,” he said. “But there was a rush to get into the Air Force at that time, and it was hard to pick your job. I wanted to go be a fireman or an aerial gunner or something cool on the front lines, but I went in saying, ‘whatever you can give me.’”

Because of his accounting and business education, he was placed in a finance position — not exactly what he’d envisioned. But it turned out to be a good fit, and he managed, among other things, the finances of a special-operations unit — certainly a critical role.

Years later, working at Fort Bragg, McMahon and his wife had a son and wanted to return to their Western Mass. roots, where they both had extended families. So he became a reservist in the Air National Guard and took a job at Kollmorgen in Northampton, as a financial analyst working on defense contracts.

Three years later, he was hired by the VA Medical Center in Leeds, “which was more in line with all my training and would allow me to serve veterans in that capacity.” Veterans were close to his heart, especially because his brother — who did, in fact, end up with a ‘cool’ Air Force job, as a paratrooper — came home with a Purple Heart.

At the VA, McMahon manages close to $170 million in taxpayer funds. He has spearheaded efforts to centralize data, rebalance workloads, and automate processes, building the leanest fiscal department among all six VA medical centers in New England, and mentoring other managers in the organization to transform their service lines as well.

“I have a finance job, which I happen to be technically good at,” he said, “but I enjoy the fact that I’m still contributing to veterans, guys that served.”

— Joseph Bednar

Kevin Maltby

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Attorney, Bacon Wilson, P.C., age 39

Kevin-Maltby-01Kevin Maltby remembers being in a courtroom watching a judge trying to give some advice to a pro-se litigant in a debt-collection matter — someone representing herself because she couldn’t afford to hire an attorney — and deciding that there was something definitely wrong with that picture.

“The judge isn’t supposed to give advice,” said Maltby, a litigator and employment-law specialist with Springfield-based Bacon Wilson, P.C. “And I knew she would wind up in the clerk’s office. The clerks aren’t supposed to give advice either, but they do, and that’s nice, but I sat there and said, ‘there should be somewhere for this person to go to get the answers they need in a relatively short period of time, for free, to get them on course.’”

That’s essentially how the District Court Lawyer for a Day Program was launched. It took some doing, and there are many parties and volunteers involved, but it was Maltby who got the ball rolling and kept it rolling. At last count, more than 250 individuals had received assistance from the initiative, which, as the name suggests, places volunteer lawyers in the District Court to assist pro-se litigants in non-criminal matters.

The program has been so successful that, in 2012, the Hampden County Bar Assoc. presented Maltby with its Access to Justice Pro Bono Publico Award for its efforts. That’s just one of many accomplishments inside and outside the courtroom for Maltby, an accomplished litigator who is a five-time recipient of the Super Lawyers Rising Star award from Boston magazine, and has also been honored by the Mass. Bar Assoc. as the 2013 recipient of its Community Service Award.

He earned that designation through a long list of contributions within the community. At the top of that list is work he and his wife, Eliza, undertook to create the Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Support Group of Western Mass. and take part in other initiatives to raise awareness of pediatric strokes.

“They happen right when children are born or right after, and they often go undiagnosed,” Maltby said. “Work in these areas has opened my eyes to a lot of things, and made me realize that we can make a difference if we just try.”

Suffice it to say that he does more than try.

— George O’Brien

Ruby Maddox

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Assistant Director, Miller Worley Center for the Environment, Mount Holyoke College, age 33

Ruby-Maddox-01Ruby Maddox has always had a heart for the environment. These days, she’s trying to put it at the heart of every student’s experience at Mount Holyoke College.

Her role at the college’s Miller Worley Center for the Environment involves coordinating partnerships with the various academic departments, the community, and national organizations to create on-campus programs, community projects, and learning opportunities for students centered on environmental literacy.

“Our goal is to help students connect to the environment regardless of what academic discipline they’re in, so they understand the implications of their subject of study,” she said. For example, a political science student might learn about land rights, deforestation policy, and other issues. “All these things intersect with the environment so students can have a true liberal-arts education.”

Perhaps more significantly, Maddox spearheaded the creation in 2002 of a youth gardening program in Springfield that evolved into an entity known as Gardening the Community, which is centered on urban agriculture, sustainable living, and youth development.

At the time, she was a theater major at Holyoke Community College, but she was active in community service, and was inspired by a professor’s recommendation to start the gardening program.

“We operate in the Mason Square area and teach kids how to grow food on vacant and abandoned lots,” Maddox said, adding that the program, which also emphasizes building healthy communities and developing youth leadership, recently received a grant from the Mass. Department of Agriculture, and is one of the only urban community-supported agriculture programs in the area. “We employ about 30 youth each summer. It exposes them to the fact that building community is possible, and that they can be producers and not just consumers.”

Today, she still serves as chair of the GTC board of directors, while also maintaining a blog, thecbosector.wordpress.com, that focuses on community-based organizations with an emphasis on urban philanthropy. She has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and was an organizing committee member for the Undoing Racism Organizing Collective in Springfield.

In other words, Maddox believes in helping urban young people build a healthier future, in every way.

“My big thing is experiential learning, both for youth and adults,” she said. “I love my work.”

— Joseph Bednar

Angela Lussier

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
CEO, Angela Lussier Enterprises, age 33

Angela-Lussier-01Angela Lussier wanted to be a leader from the time she was a young child. But she was shy and six feet tall by age 13, which affected her self-esteem. “I was ashamed of who I was and afraid to take a leadership position because I didn’t want to speak in front of people,” she said.

Lussier finally overcame that fear and found her voice after joining Toastmasters International in 2006. “I had something to say, started talking, and people starting listening,” she recalled. Today, she uses her strength and personal story to help others realize their potential.

“Success isn’t about talent — it’s about courage. Living a mediocre life shouldn’t be an option,” she said. “But so many people are waiting for their life to start, rather than creating what they want.”

Lussier believes everyone has a gift, and encourages people to move forward by thinking about how they can use it to solve a problem and “become an asset to a company or to the world.” That philosophy lies at the core of her book, The Anti-Resumé Revolution, and her advice has been featured on Yahoo!, NBC, ABC, The Ladders, About.com, and CBS Money Watch.

“We all deserve a happy, fulfilling life, but people have to get out of their comfort zone and try new things that lead to different thought patterns,” she said, adding that she shared her own story during a 2010 TEDx talk in Washington, D.C. She also does public speaking and personal coaching, leads a ‘mastermind’ group, is working on a second book, blogs for Virgin.com, and is a monthly columnist for Lioness magazine.

Lussier has won many awards, including first place in the Division E Humorous Speech Contest of District 53 Toastmasters International in 2009, and she was featured in Billboard magazine’s “Transcending the Ordinary” in 2006. She serves on the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Western Mass., sits on the Business Advisory Council for the Mass. Rehabilitation Commission, and is a mentor with Valley Venture Mentors.

“It’s time to stop waiting for the future to change,” she told BusinessWest. “It’s time to start creating it.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Dr. Andrew Lam

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Author; Retinal Surgeon, Baystate Medical Center, age 37

Andrew-Lam-01Dr. Andrew Lam always wondered whether he’d work in medicine. Growing up in Illinois, he wasn’t the only one who wondered.

“My father was a cardiologist, and I could tell, just from being out in our small city, that being a physician was very, very gratifying,” he said. “We would literally be stopped at the mall by a patient saying, ‘your dad saved my life! Are you going to be a great doctor like your dad?’”

Lam’s passion, however, was history, which became the focus of his undergraduate studies. Still, he remained intrigued by medicine, and in particular wanted to be a surgeon. When he became fascinated with ophthalmology, he chose a field that isn’t particularly crowded — retinal surgery. He trained at the prestigious Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and has worked at his practice, Baystate-affiliated New England Retina Consulants, since 2008.

“I can’t imagine any specialty more specialized than mine,” he laughed. “You don’t need too many of us; ours is the only practice performing retina surgery in Western Massachusetts, basically.”

But he still needed to scratch that history itch, which he has done by writing two books, with more to come. The bestselling Saving Sight is a history of eye-care innovators and the challenges they faced changing the status quo; the stories are interspersed with Lam’s own professional journey. Meanwhile, Two Sons of China, written first but published only recently, is a fictionalized account that brings to life the almost-forgotten Chinese theater of World War II.

“I felt like a lot of people don’t know about it, but tens of thousands of Americans served in China during the war,” he said. “I want people to know more about this history, and I thought the best way was to write a fast-paced, emotional, engaging war story.”

Lam also volunteers in his hometown of Longmeadow in a number of ways, from the Center School Council to the Longmeadow Soccer Assoc. to the Republican Town Committee. And speaking of history, he also serves on the town’s Historical Commission and Historical District Commission, helping to lead an effort to expand the town’s historical district and, in general, dedicating himself to the preservation of historic buildings and open spaces.

— Joseph Bednar

Danielle Klein-Williams

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Owner, Dani Fine Photography, age 34

Dani-Klein-01Danielle Klein-Williams has been taking pictures since she was a child.

“I’ve always been really fascinated with the ability to capture memories that will last a lifetime,” she said, recalling how she was inspired by a photo album that her mother received from close friends after her grandfather died. “It had photographs going back to when my grandfather was in the Navy. These black-and-white photographs told my whole family history. It made an impression on me.”

Soon after that, her parents bought her a camera for Christmas, and she dove headlong into taking pictures, learning about photography, and attending summer camps devoted to the craft. “I decided it was something I wanted to pursue after high school. My parents were definitely leery — ‘you’ll never be able to support yourself’ — but I made it work.”

But not right away. After high school, she trained at the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, then launched Dani Fine Photography with her husband in 1999.

“I was only 19. As with every business, it was hard to get started,” she said, adding that the first seven years were a struggle, with little profit to put back into the company; marketing consisted of delivering flyers door to door. “We did a lot of work for free; we wanted to build our portfolio and get our name out there.”

The enterprise eventually grew, however, and Klein-Williams started focusing more on event and wedding photography. The business now employs eight people, including four photographers, and has won a number of awards, including being voted “Best of Wedding Photographers” by The Knot, and landing on the cover of Connecticut Bride. Meanwhile, over the past couple of years, she has cultivated a niche in boudoir photography.

Klein-Williams is staying busy in other ways as well, donating time, money, and photography services to a host of causes, including the Easthampton Learning Foundation, the Assoc. for Community Living, the United Way, the Susan B. Coleman Foundation, the Shade Foundation, the Hot Chocolate Run, Stepping Out for Autism, the Cancer Connection, Safe Passage, Best Buddies Massachusetts, and more.

“Getting involved in local charities is a great way to give back to the community,” she said, adding that they inspire her. “They’re people who are trying to make a difference, and they really know the definition of hard work, so it’s great to work with them.”

— Joseph Bednar

Sean Jeffords

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Owner, Beyond Green Construction, age 39

Sean-Jeffords-01They’re called ‘deep energy retrofits.’

That’s the name that’s been assigned to projects that bring 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century buildings into the 21st century, at least when it comes to energy efficiency and ‘green’ practices. And that adjective ‘deep’ means that these endeavors go much further than conventional energy retrofits, and they achieve far greater energy savings.

Such retrofits have become a growing component of the portfolio for Easthampton-based Beyond Green Construction, a venture that founder and owner Sean Jeffords, the highest scorer in this year’s 40 Under Forty competition, has positioned for solid growth as demand continues to soar for reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and more clean-energy production for both residential and commercial buildings.

“I have a passion for wanting to be able to give homeowners options in the new landscape we live in, where we’re trying to reduce energy consumption,” said Jeffords, who has long had a fascination with historic-building restoration, and thus opted to focus his company’s energies on the huge inventory of older buildings rather than new construction.

“There’s a huge opportunity when it comes to the existing infrastructure,” he told BusinessWest. “We’ve got a lot of old Colonials around here, and people are spending tons of money shivering with multiple sweaters on. They don’t know what they can do, and many times there are inherent mold problems at the same time. We can give them a healthier, more efficient home.”

Jeffords’ growing reputation has earned him some airtime on the Discovery Channel’s Renovation Nation, among many other media outlets, and he’s taken home several awards, including the Green Giant Award from the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. But he said his greatest reward is helping home and business owners find solutions to their energy and air-quality programs and become much more green and energy-efficient in the process.

And while such work is his business, it is also his passion, and he is eager to share his knowledge within the community. He partnered with Greenfield Community College in 2008, for example, to spearhead the development of the Western Mass. Green Consortium, an organization focused on connecting tradespeople, homeowners, business owners, and municipalities to new building-science information and networking opportunities.

Jeffords’ most recent voluntary focus is developing a trades alliance called ProjectRetroFIT, an envisioned partner to the NorthEast Sustainable Energy Assoc., advocating for high-performing buildings, while acting as a platform and resource association for tradespeople.

— George O’Brien

Justin Hurst

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Owner, Hurst & Crane Investments, LLC; Springfield City Councilor, age 35

Justin-Hurst-01Justin Hurst hasn’t exactly traveled a straight line to his current career.

First, he spent about 10 years in education, teaching English at Bridge Academy Alternative High School before moving to the Springfield High School of Science & Technology. Later, he earned his CAGS from UMass Amherst and went into administrative work, becoming the coordinator and later the director of Springfield’s Striving Readers Adolescent Literacy Initiative.

All the while, he was attending Western New England College School of Law at night, passing the bar in 2006. “But I was doing what I was passionate about,” he said. “The students were the driving force behind why I continued to teach for so long. It was a different challenge every day.”

But eventually, he found a different passion that would consume his time. He and a partner invested in a couple of houses, and that eventually became the enterprise known as Hurst & Crane Investments.

“What I love most is I that get to get dirty and use my hands,” he said. “I’m not one of those people who buys a property and hires someone to rehab it; I’m a hands-on guy, and I like to do a lot of the work myself.”

Having established deep roots in the city, Hurst eventually became interested in local politics and ran for Springfield City Council. He fell short on his first attempt, but in his second try, last fall, he was the top vote getter. “I love it,” he said. “In a classroom, you might impact 100 kids. But every single day as a city councilor, you have 150,000 residents to think about.”

Family is important to Hurst, who posed for his 40 Under Forty photo alongside his father, Frederick Hurst Sr. — publisher of the Point of View community newspaper — and his son, Justin Jr., to symbolize Springfield’s bright past, present, and future. Indeed, he and his wife, Denise, the first married couple to be named to the 40 Under Forty in the same year, are both vocal believers in their city’s future.

“I want to attract young professionals back to this city,” he said. “A lot of kids my age didn’t make it, or they made it out, but never came back. I think it’s imperative to do whatever we can to bring people back to the city.”

— Joseph Bednar

Denise Hurst

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Quality Improvement Manager and Human Rights Coordinator, Department of Mental Health; Vice Chair, School Committee, City of Springfield, age 34

Denise-Hurst-01To say Denise Hurst has a passion for advocacy would be an understatement.

“I started off volunteering at the Everywomen’s Center while studying at UMass Amherst; I was a trained rape and sexual-assault counselor and advocate,” she explained. “From there, I landed a position with the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, doing a lot of work around domestic violence and restraining orders. But I realized I needed to go back to school in order to further my education and get the skills needed to really advocate for those in need, particularly children and families.”

So she earned her master’s degree in social work at Springfield College while working for the state Department of Children and Families, spent time overseas in London as a child protective supervisor, and eventually transitioned to the state Department of Mental Health, where she works on quality improvement and human-rights issues.

On top of that, Hurst won a spot on the Springfield School Committee in 2009, and was re-elected last fall.

“I’m passionate about education, in particular for children in the city of Springfield,” she said. “I graduated from the public school system, and did so at a time when Springfield’s public schools had a better reputation. Now we have a lot of challenges, and there’s a sense that your zip code could dictate your future or how successful you can be. I want to help fight that idea.”

Hurst and her husband, Justin — a business owner and Springfield City Council member — are the first married couple to be named to the 40 Under Forty in the same year, but that doesn’t surprise former winner Ryan McCollum, owner of RMC Strategies, who nominated both. “They are truly the first family of Springfield in my eyes,” he said. “They love Springfield dearly and show it through activism in government, nonprofit volunteerism, and their professional life.”

It’s all about that passion, Denise Hurst said.

“I know what I’m doing will have life-changing effects for the broader community, and that can only be beneficial to us all,” she told BusinessWest. “Having grown up in Springfield, being a child of color, I’m passionate because I’m not that far removed from the many ills that affect our city.

“My mother always made it very clear we’re to help others,” she added. “I think it’s our responsibility.”

— Joseph Bednar

Lee Hagon

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Vocal Music Director, Minnechaug Regional High School, age 29

Lee-Hogan-01Lee Hagon took her first piano lesson at age 9.

“As soon as I felt the keys under my hand, I fell in love with music,” she said. “I always wanted to be a musician, loved to sing, and loved music lessons in school.”

Since then, music and education have played major roles in Hagon’s life. The Hartford resident taught piano for a decade before becoming the vocal music director for Minnechaug Regional High School last August. There, she directs three choirs, teaches the history of pop music and guitar, and is faculty advisor for the a cappella group Vocal Vibe, which has performed in many venues.

Hagon has performed extensively herself in the U.S., Spain, England, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, and Portugal; is part of the piano duo Belo Som, which released a CD of Brazilian and Argentine music last summer; and leads an adult choir at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Wilbraham.

She became minister of music there while earning her master’s degree at the Hartt School in Hartford, which led to her civic leadership in Western Mass. She founded and directed the Girls Inc. Chorus in Holyoke and was vocal music director for the Children’s Chorus of Springfield until 2012. She also founded and directs the Veritas Children’s Chorus at Springfield’s Veritas Preparatory Charter School.

“I love watching kids learn music, build confidence, perform, and feel empowered by it; it’s really powerful to be part of the process,” she said.

Five years ago, Hagon founded and organized the Joy of Music concert series in Wilbraham, which has brought world-class musicians to the area and generated funds for local nonprofits. She is also co-founder and organizer of the Springfield Unity Festival Chorus and is looking forward to its October festival at Symphony Hall, aimed at promoting diversity and racial harmony through the arts.

Hagon has won many awards and loves making a noteworthy difference in people’s lives. “Music has a way of connecting people and helping us remember that we are all human,” she said. “And if it is part of someone’s childhood, they can create an adult community that values the arts.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Nicole Griffin

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
President and CEO, Griffin Staffing Network, age 38

Nicole-Griffin-01Nicole Griffin’s beliefs have played an important role in her career. They begin with her faith in God, love for people, and conviction “that we are commissioned to serve others” — beliefs that were strengthened when someone helped her land a job interview at MassMutual.

“I got the job and am so thankful for what I have. The door was opened for me, so opening doors for others has been the model for my life,” said the founder of Griffin Staffing Network and Springfield Mustard Seed, a club that helps startup companies and entrepreneurs obtain the resources they need to become successful.

Griffin, who is married with two children, spent 12 years in the insurance industry before launching her own business. She began in MassMutual’s contracting department, was promoted several times, earned numerous awards, and created a task force to help departments work together in a productive manner.

From there, she moved to an underwriting position at Phoenix Insurance in Hartford, then returned to MassMutual.

During a volunteer stint with Junior Achievement, a student who didn’t know how to dress for a job interview inspired her to become a certified job interviewer, then open ABC Interviewing Co., which she ran part-time. The work was fulfilling, but not profitable. “I loved watching people grow, but wanted to do more,” she said.

Volunteer work at St. John’s Congregational Church in Springfield had sparked Griffin’s interest in human resources, and in 2010, she left the insurance industry and opened her own staffing agency, where she helps teens and adults acquire job-related skills and find temporary and permanent employment.

In 2012, she founded Springfield Mustard Seed in response to clients who wanted to become entrepreneurs. She is also a board member of Intercity Youth Inc. and Springfield Preservation Trust, and a member of the 2014 United Way Women’s Leadership Council Steering Committee and the Order of the Eastern Star. She was event coordinator for the Save Our Springfield Block Party in 2012 and served on the W.E.B. Dubois Committee in 2011 and 2012.

“I’m amazed at where I am,” she said. “But you only become successful when you help others.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Sean Gouvin

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Director of Facilities Planning & Engineering, Baystate Health, age 38

Sean-Gouvin-01Sean Gouvin remembers feeling really good, physically and otherwise, when he crossed the finish line at last April’s Boston Marathon.

“I was running strong in miles 18 to 26, which generally doesn’t happen,” said Gouvin, who has run the event 15 times, usually with Griffin’s Friends in support of Baystate Children’s Hospital. “And it was an incredibly beautiful day.”

But then, as he and his three children were sitting on a curb enjoying the sun, the crowd, the energy, and the moment, two explosions that they could hear but not see turned that beautiful day on its ear.

“It was like watching time stand still,” he recalled, noting that, after the blasts, there was silence for several seconds, then things went back to normal. “It was maybe 15 or 20 minutes before everyone fully realized what happened, and then the shock and the horror started setting in on people.”

Like many, Gouvin said, he was thankful he didn’t cross the finish line moments later, but also more thankful, and appreciative, of everything he has in his life. That includes his family, his soccer coaching, his work within the community, and a broad and quite rewarding job with Baystate Health.

It takes a lot of words to describe what he does as director of Facilities Planning & Engineering, so perhaps it’s all best summed up with a number: 4 million. That’s the number of square feet in all the facilities within the vast Baystate Health real-estate portfolio.

And it’s Gouvin’s responsibility to lead the team that essentially manages it all, handling planning, design, construction, and maintenance for buildings that range from the nearly century-old Springfield Building on the grounds of Baystate Medical Center to the recently opened Hospital of the Future just a few feet away.

It’s a huge job, one that ensures that there’s no such thing as a typical day, which is perhaps what he likes most about it.

“It’s different each day, so every day you have to be on,” he explained. “And with each day comes a new challenge. Thankfully, I’ve got a really great team. You’ve got to have a group of people that fit together extremely well to be effective in this environment, and we have that.”

— George O’Brien

Patricia Faginski

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Vice President and Financial Advisor, St. Germain Investment Management, age 39

Patty-Faginski-02Patty Faginski’s business card declares that she is a vice president and financial advisor. But she likes to consider herself an educator.

That’s because she spends a good deal of her time providing invaluable lessons — in everything from the need to have a portfolio that’s diverse, to the importance of savings for one’s retirement starting at a very young age.

“A lot of my job comes down to education on financial planning and what people are doing with their money,” she explained. “I consider it my job to help them understand the importance of asset allocation — that’s what it comes down to.”

And she finds this work extremely rewarding, because financial security doesn’t happen by accident — it’s achieved through careful creation of a plan and then effective execution of that plan, and she is involved with both, usually through a conservative approach to investing.

“What I like most about this job is meeting new people, finding out about their lives, figuring out what’s going to work for them in retirement, and giving them goals to set — and meet,” she said.

Faginski started her career in retail, managing a store and its 50 employees, before shifting to financial services and, more specifically, a job in the trust department with the old Woronoco Savings Bank (now Berkshire Bank). She was recruited to St. Germain in 2003, and has moved steadily up the ranks, from assistant vice president in the sales department to vice president and manager of Client Services, to her current post, which she assumed last year.

While assisting, and educating, many of the company’s more than 5,000 clients, Faginski, a single mother of a daughter and a son, is also active in the community, especially with Big Brothers Big Sisters. She’s served on that agency’s board for seven years and recently helped coordinate a major fund-raiser at the Colony Club that gave the organization some needed exposure and opportunities to cultivate new relationships. She has also been active with Habitat for Humanity and the Heifer Project, and is currently the leader of a Brownie troop.

While these various responsibilities make time management a serious challenge, she finds time for activities such as hiking and other sports, and spending time with her children — her most important investment of all.

— George O’Brien

Garett DiStefano

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Director of Residential Dining, UMass Amherst, age 39

Garett-DiStefano-01It’s called the ‘missed meal factor.’

As the name suggests, it’s a statistic that tracks the number of meals that students enrolled in the dining program at UMass Amherst miss — for whatever reason or reasons. Going back 15 years, the percentage of meals missed was around 40%, said Garett DiStefano, director of Residential Dining at the university since 2010, adding that it’s now about 10% or less, because — and to make a long story somewhat short — the students don’t want to miss any meals because of the quality of the food, the service, and the experience.

That’s why, of all the numbers concerning the dining program, this is the one he’s most proud of, although there is some serious competition in that regard.

Start with 1 — that’s where UMass finished in University Primetime’s ranking of the “50 Best Colleges for Food in the U.S.” for 2013. Or 3, where the school finished in the prestigious Princeton Review’s “Best Campus Food” ratings the past two years. There’s also 5.5 million, the number of meals the department serves per year, and even 15,291 — the number of pounds of fruit salad UMass Dining produced last September to shatter the Guinness Book of World Records mark in that category.

Since arriving at UMass after working as a Wall Street analyst — work he found “unfulfilling” — DiStefano has had a huge hand in generating all those numbers and many more. The career move was a nod to his childhood and work he started doing at Captain Nemo’s, a burger and fried-clam shack run by his father and uncle that has been a fixture at the Big E for 40 years.

“I didn’t even know there was a giant slide at the Big E,” he joked. “I spent my youth there peeling potatoes.”

Today, he directs the second-largest self-operating dining operation in the country, and professes to love every minute of his job. “Food is so dynamic, and you always have a different take on it,” he said. “And the customer base we serve is here 16 weeks in a row, every day. So we have to continue to make it interesting for them and keep it fresh, and make it so they want to come to the Dining Commons.”

— George O’Brien

Justin Dion

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Attorney; Chair of Legal Studies, Bay Path College, age 39

Justin-Dion-01Justin Dion was on what’s known as the ‘partnership track’ at the Springfield-based law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. He had established himself as one of the leading bankruptcy lawyers in the region, and it was only a matter of time before he was to be named shareholder.

But then, he took a position as an adjunct faculty member at Bay Path College, and his career path took a turn he couldn’t have foreseen years earlier.

“The more I did it, the more I really enjoyed teaching,” he told BusinessWest. “I found it to be a very empowering experience. And the fact that Bay Path is a women’s college, I found that I was really having a strong impact on these women’s lives, giving them a chance to improve themselves and the lives of their families.”

And now that he’s at Bay Path full-time, as chair of the Legal Studies department, he’s found that he actually has the best of both worlds, or three worlds, to be more precise. Indeed, through his work to create and now direct the Bay Path College Bankruptcy Clinic, Dion can blend teaching with legal work — in an advisory role to students — and also do volunteer, or pro-bono, work, something he found he really enjoyed while at Bacon Wilson.

Working in conjunction with an agency called the Mass. Justice Project, the clinic takes on bankruptcy cases, providing services free of charge to those who cannot afford them.

“This program allows my students to get some real, first-hand experience on what it’s like to deal with clients, and there’s a lot to be said for that,” Dion explained. “You can read about law in a textbook, but until you’re sitting across the table, holding someone’s hand who’s crying, and explaining to them that it’s OK and helping them through the process, you’re not getting the whole experience.”

While Dion enjoys life in those three worlds, the one that matters most is his family — his wife Kathleen, son William, and daughters Bethany, Madison, Sophia, and Charlotte.

“I spend most of my free time as a dad,” he explained, “and that’s the job I enjoy most.”

— George O’Brien

Jose Delgado

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Mayoral Aide, City of Springfield, age 28

Jose-Delgado-01Jose Delgado says he cares deeply about Springfield. “There is so much potential here, and I want to highlight the positive, bring more jobs to the city, and help make it a destination where people want to live.”

Delgado told BusinessWest that his parents taught him the value of education, while President Obama inspired him to get involved in politics and the community. “I’ve had many mentors and feel the need to give back. A lot of what I enjoy is related to education and working with young people,” he said, adding, “my bachelor’s degree is very important to me because my parents never made it to college, and my 2-year-old son, Jonah, adds to my motivation to continue fighting to improve Springfield.”

Delgado is volunteer chair of the Buy Springfield Now program that provides services and incentives to potential homeowners. “We also show off beautiful housing and neighborhoods in Springfield and have started an Open House series,” he said.

Delgado completed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Springfield Department of Urban Studies Fellowship, which is focused on cultivating young area leaders. “It’s important to me to keep young professionals here,” he said, explaining that he understands the lure of large cities because, when he was in college, he obtained an internship in New York with Russell Simmons, who co-founded the hip-hop music label Def Jam and created clothing lines.

After graduation, Delgado’s volunteerism led him to become program coordinator for the Mass. Latino Chamber of Commerce in Springfield through the AmeriCorps VISTA program.

Today, the mayoral representative is a committee member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, the Puerto Rican/Latino Leadership Council, the Atwater Park Civic Assoc., and the Springfield Ward 2 Democratic Party.

In addition, he assisted with tornado-relief efforts in Springfield and the creation of a city resource guide for residents, is working to streamline the constable application process, and serves on the North End Counter Criminal Continuum.

“There is opportunity in Springfield,” Delgado said. “It’s a place where a kid who grew up on welfare in the North End can become a mayoral aide.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

G. David Condon IV

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Chief Operating Officer, Northeast Security Solutions Inc., age 27

David-Condon-01It’s not easy having a Roman numeral at the end of your name.

That’s one of the things G. David Condon IV has found out during his career, and somewhat the hard way. Indeed, while with family members and very close friends he goes by George, to the rest of the world he’s David, his middle name. And this has come about far more out of necessity than choice, because he works in a family business, just down the hall from George David Condon III.

“Customers would call looking for George,” he explained. “We’d ask, ‘which one?’ They’d reiterate, ‘George Condon,’ and we’d again say, ‘which one?’ They’d say, ‘Big George,’ and we’d say, ‘do you mean the older George or the taller George?’ To clear it all up, I started going by David.”

By whatever name he’s called, Condon is a rising star in the local business community, and now a 40 Under Forty winner. He is working with his father to expand and diversify the family business, Northeast Security Solutions Inc., while also rising within the ranks of the local Rotary Club district, and even finding time to play on the road and in studio with a garage band known as Scrap Iron Sun.

With the company, which he joined in 2008 after graduating from UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, and now serves as COO, he sums up his duties with the phrase ‘everything else.’ “You have a bookkeeper, you have technicians, and an office manager, and I’m kind of everything else.”

He was one of the youngest people ever to join the West Springfield Rotary Club, then was its youngest president, and now he’s one of the youngest assistant district governors for District 7890, acting as a liaison of sorts between several of the area clubs and the district.

He and his wife, Michaelan, are expecting their first child in August. They don’t know the gender yet and don’t want to know. What they do know is that, if it’s a boy, he won’t be named George David Condon V.

“As someone who has had to go through the frustration of having the same name as someone else,” he said, “I’m ending the streak by not putting my kid through that.”

— George O’Brien

Izabela Collier

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Western New England University College of Pharmacy, age 37

Isabela-Collier-01Izabela Collier has a passion for diabetes treatment — but an even greater one for making sure people never need that treatment.

At Western New England University, her advisor suggested studying pharmacy because of her strong background in science. But after graduation, working for Baystate Health, she was unsure how she wanted to focus that degree. “Relentlessly, I would be asking my manager to switch me around to different areas of pharmacy.”

At the same time, she began to realize how many patients had diabetes — and, more significantly, how many people might be able to avoid it if they just understood how. “I really wanted to be on the other side of the spectrum, not just to be there to help them with crisis management, but to provide them with education so they never get to that stage,” Collier said.

So she became a certified diabetes instructor. She met a nurse and a dietitian who were as driven about the issue as she was, and together they launched the Diabetes Center of Western Massachusetts. “It was a fantastic opportunity from a business perspective, but it was very time-consuming.”

After three years, a different opportunity opened up at WNEU — this one as a clinical assistant professor of Pharmacy Practice. “I enjoy educating, and I really wanted to educate students. The teachers there made a tremendous difference in my life. Now I can give back what was given to me.”

Meanwhile, Collier established diabetes pharmacy clinics at two Veterans Affairs healthcare systems, in Springfield and Leeds, the success of which was recognized by the American College of Clinical Pharmacists in its Ambulatory Care Survival Guide. She also received a grant from the National Assoc. of Chain Drug Stores to provide community health screenings for the public, and she’s a founding member of the West Local Networking Group, a local chapter of the American Assoc. of Diabetes Educators.

“I’m passionate about working one-on-one with patients, focusing on chronic disease management and the pharmacist’s role in it,” said Collier, a native of Poland. “It’s not just medication dispensing, but re-education for chronic disease management. There’s a lack of education out there, and the pharmacist can provide that link between provider and patient.”

— Joseph Bednar

Nick Colgin

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Owner, Right at Home of Western Massachusetts, age 29

Nick-Colgin-01Nick Colgin was asked what he liked about mountain climbing, and especially about leading veterans, many of them disabled, on such expeditions.

He started with some levity — “you can’t get cell-phone reception where we go, and that’s usually a good thing” — but then turned quite serious.

“Having served in Afghanistan as a medic at a young age, you become numb to a lot of things,” said Colgin, who was awarded a Bronze Star for saving the life of a French soldier under fire in that conflict, but obviously saw many people die or suffer horrific injuries.

“Things that used to make me really happy and put a huge smile on my face don’t have the same effect anymore; when you lose a lot of people in your early 20s as patients, it tends to harden you a bit,” he went on. “But when I get individuals who may be blind or disabled and they’ve never climbed a mountain before and I take them up — they’re excited, they’re happy, and I can really feed off that emotion.”

Colgin has had several opportunities to do that in recent months — he just led some ice climbs in North Conway, N.H., for example — but now has some serious competition for the time he spends leading such excursions.

For starters, there’s the business venture he started just last fall, Right at Home of Western Massachusetts, a home-care outfit that has quickly expanded to 22 employees and a number of promising accounts. There’s also a growing number of speaking engagements, like the one at West Pharmaceuticals in Pennsylvania recently, which center on the issue of hiring veterans, and how companies can, and must, become better at that assignment.

Colgin has become a national figure on the subject of hiring veterans — he was put in the spotlight after remarks to Congress about his inability to find work in his chosen field of healthcare after returning home from the war — and has been mentioned by President Obama in several speeches on that matter.

And then, there’s his best friend and companion, an English pointer named Dixie. He finds time for all of the above, because they’re all vitally important to an intriguing life story that’s still being written.

— George O’Brien

Sandy Cassanelli

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
CEO and Co-owner, Greenough Packaging, age 38

Sandy-Cassanelli-01May 30, 2013.

Sandy Cassanelli says you always remember the day you were diagnosed with cancer. You don’t circle the date on the calendar, and you certainly don’t celebrate it, but you don’t ever forget. That’s because that date marks the beginning of a journey in which every emotion gets a workout, she said, one where the ending can’t be seen or predicted.

Cassanelli’s journey through diagnosis and treatment of stage 3 breast cancer included a bilateral mastectomy — “I knew I had to have one breast removed, and decided I didn’t want to go through this again, so I had them both removed” — as well as eight rounds of chemotherapy and then radiation. That last radiation treatment came in February, and soon thereafter, she was declared cancer-free.

Looking back on that journey, she said that what enabled her to keep going was all that she had going on in her life, and a firm desire not to relinquish any of it because she was sick. And the compilation pretty much tells her story.

In order, there’s her family — her husband, Craig, and daughters Samantha and Amanda — and the many things they do together. Then there’s the family business, Greenough Packaging. Casanelli was working as a travel agent for World Wrestling Entertainment, arranging flights and hotels for the Rock, the Undertaker, and others, when she and Craig opted to buy Greenough in 2003 from the estate of a deceased uncle who ran it. The West Springfield-based company distributes an array of cleaning and packaging supplies and paper goods, and the Casanellis, through a strong focus on customer service, have registered consistent growth.

“It’s a completely different experience,” she said of her profound career shift. “I love being a business owner, and I like that we’re creating jobs for people.”

And then, there’s her work in the community — everything from involvement with the West of the River Chamber of Commerce to her work on the board for the Glastonbury (Conn.) Education Foundation.

“Having the company and all the work in the community that I do has helped me move forward and barrel through it,” she said, “and not focus on the fact that I had that disease. It really helped me get through the rough days.”

— George O’Brien

Robert Chateauneuf

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lending, Monson Savings Bank, age 35

Rob-Chateauneut-01In almost 15 years in banking, Rob Chateauneuf has seen plenty of change — literally and figuratively.

He started out as a teller at Woronoco Savings Bank, later acquired by Berkshire Bank, while finishing his degree at UMass Amherst. “From there, I got my management degree, and I was lucky enough to be put through the management training program.”

And he found his true calling in commercial lending. “A senior lender noticed that I really like to do loans, and they’d started a small-business program; that’s how I got my first job in commercial lending,” he explained. “I really liked it.”

Eventually, Monson Savings Bank came calling, offering Chateauneuf a position as assistant vice president of Commercial Lending, a job he relishes. “People picture bankers as number crunchers, but so much more goes into it. I don’t do transactions; I build relationships.

“Every deal is different,” he went on. “And you’re helping a company that might employ a great deal of people in the area, so you’re actually helping to develop the economy in the Pioneer Valley. At the end of the day, I pick up my briefcase and computer and say, ‘wow, I feel like I contributed to society.’”

He has also contributed to the community through volunteer work, most notably by chairing the board at Hawthorn Services — a provider of programs for the elderly — until that organization merged with the Center for Human Development, where he now serves on the board of directors’ program committee. “We make sure that CHD continues to focus on the needs of our community, whether it be child services, elder care, or homelessness,” he said.

Chateauneuf, who has twin 3-year-old boys, Evan and Bryce, with his wife, Shauna, finds a certain creative spark in his job and his volunteerism — a side of his personality he used to nurture through music.

“When I finished college, I played drums on the road for five years while I was the assistant manager at the bank,” he said. “I still don’t know how I got into banking; my goal was to play the drums, to play music. I guess one day, you wake up and realize you need a job that pays the bills. And banking was where I was at the time. But I lucked out, because I love it.”

— Joseph Bednar

Tamara Blake

By
40 Under 40 The Class of 2014
Director of Psychology, Bay Path College; President and Founder, Angels Take Flight, age 31

Tamara-Blake-01As a licensed clinician working with children who have experienced loss and trauma, Tamara Blake knows about the big needs in troubled kids’ lives. But one day, she recognized a smaller, but still significant, need that she could help fill — literally.

In September 2010, while working at a transitional children’s home in Springfield, Blake saw kids getting picked up, and one had his belongings in a trash bag. “I said, ‘hey, wait a minute, I have a piece of luggage in my car.’ So I ran out, and we switched all the items from the trash bag to the piece of luggage. The face of the child was elated. You could see the posture change, the smile. I thought, that’s really, really easy to do.”

And she immediately wanted to do it on a larger scale. “That day, I created an e-mail, a flyer, and the name Angels Take Flight.” Within two months, she had gathered enough luggage for every child in the house for one year. With kids transitioning in and out every 14 to 45 days, that amounted to hundreds of pieces.

The nonprofit enterprise has been steadily growing ever since. “It became my goal to reach out to other homes, and now whoever has a need, whoever asks us, gets the luggage,” Blake said. “We give away thousands of pieces of luggage for multiple agencies, multiple families.”

In addition to soliciting donations and grants, Angels Take Flight conducts two major fund-raisers each year, a 5K run in the spring and a comedy show in the winter. Having connected with people across the country interested in the program, Blake believes her enterprise could go national. “I think it’s going to happen rather quickly — within the course of a couple of years.”

In addition to her other roles, Blake is an educator, starting out as a part-time teacher at Bay Path College, which hired her as director of Psychology for its one-day program in 2012. She’s also working to develop another nonprofit, Girls Will Shine, which will empower girls through the performing arts and media.

“I always knew I wanted to help people,” Blake said of the many facets of her professional life. “I just wanted to be that guide for people, to help them out any way I could.”

— Joseph Bednar

How to Create a Positive Work Culture

By
Modern Office Sections
Employees Want to Feel That They’re Making a Difference

By BILL SIMS Jr.

Creating a positive workplace culture is extremely important to cultivating a productive and profitable company. The quality of work we do depends on the quality of our workplace culture. When the environment we work in is positive, we become more engaged and committed employees.

By definition, workplace culture is a pattern of behaviors that are supported by a management system over time. Harnessing the power of positive reinforcement is the quickest and most efficient way to a better workplace culture.

The first step in creating a more positive workplace culture is recognizing that your current culture is not where you want it to be. It can be difficult to define your culture — almost like nailing Jell-O to a wall — because it is made up of many small behaviors. But it starts at the top with company leaders. The way they act and behave will be mirrored by employees. So if you want to change the behavior of your employees, start by changing the behavior of your leaders.

Leaders can start doing this by listening to their employees and understanding what motivates them. Get to know them, ask them their opinions, and share yours in return. I think the most powerful things that bosses can do are communicate, be transparent, and tell people where the ship is headed. Bosses should be asking questions like, “what are we doing that we could be doing better? What’s broken, and how can we fix it?” Ask those questions, listen to the employees, and, most importantly, empower the employees to go fix the problems.

Research tells us that that, more than money, employees want to feel like they are making a difference at work and getting recognized by their boss for making that difference.

As employees, we want the ability to do things, to change things. So often, employees’ ideas are not listened to or acted upon. It is the boss’s responsibility to provide the money, time, and resources for employees to complete tasks and make improvements, and then to celebrate and recognize those people for their contributions.

Now, this goes against many traditional management styles — the command-in-control, my-way-or-the-highway mindsets of old. The majority of bosses do what I call ‘leave alone/zap’ management. Simply put, it means that we leave employees alone and say nothing when they do something right, but we are quick to ‘zap,’ or punish, them when they make a mistake.

This kind of aggressive management style might get the job done temporarily, but it doesn’t create an environment where employees will take initiative to do things when their supervisor isn’t watching. And it will not produce the highest-performing culture possible.

Rosabeth Moss-Kanter, a professor at the Harvard Business School and an author of numerous books on business-management techniques, said, “compensation is a right; recognition is a gift.” In other words, paychecks get people to show up at work. But getting more from people than just average performance requires you as a leader to provide additional coaching and feedback when people demonstrate the behaviors that drive results in your company.

Bosses who think they don’t need to tell their employees they are doing a good job are not fully engaging them. It doesn’t cost you any money to tell somebody they did a great job. Believe it or not, saying ‘thank you’ for doing a good job is a much more powerful motivator than a paycheck.

Bosses should give employees immediate, sincere feedback when they demonstrate desired behaviors. That way, employees will be more likely to repeat those behaviors in the future. That’s the power of positive reinforcement. If you don’t do that, then you won’t get those extra behaviors.

For four decades, my company has designed and implemented behavior-based systems and approaches that bring continual improvement with positive reinforcement. In my work as a business consultant, I have built more than 1,000 recognition programs for companies including DuPont, Coca-Cola, and Ford. They recognized that their work environments could be better and sought help and ways to fix it.

What I’ve learned from helping so many companies is that, without positive reinforcement, you are getting less performance from your team than you could be, and your workplace culture will suffer. It’s only a matter of time before some other company does it better and leaves you in the dust, taking your good employees with them.

In my workshops, I frequently ask bosses, “is culture change fast or slow?” Most people think it’s slow, but in reality, you can change culture in one day, if you know how. Culture change is as simple as changing the behavior of the leadership team. By inverting the leadership structure and delegating responsibility to employees, culture can shift dramatically and quickly. Move too slow, and employees might think you are not taking their ideas and suggestions seriously. But, like going on a diet, culture change is something you must continue to work at day in and day out.

So there you have it. When a workplace culture is positive and happy, the employees are happy, and they work harder to make their clients happy. The end result will be that profitability will increase and turnover will decrease.

But remember: creating a positive work culture starts at the top. If you want a positive team, you must be a positive leader. And the best leaders are those who truly harness the power of positive reinforcement to create high-performing teams who do the right thing even when leaders aren’t watching.

Bill Sims Jr. is President of the Bill Sims Co. Inc. For nearly 40 years, Sims has created behavior-based recognition programs that have helped large and small firms to deliver positive reinforcement to inspire better performance from employees and increase bottom-line profits. A sought-after speaker, he has delivered leadership workshops and keynote speeches around the globe, and has built more than 1,000 positive-reinforcement systems at firms including DuPont, Siemens VDO, Coca-Cola, and Disney; www.greenbeanbook.com; www.greenbeanleadership.com

Making a Good First Impression

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Modern Office Sections
Understand That Your Staff Is Your Best Publicity Asset

By RUSSELL TRAHAN

Throughout the business landscape, countless days and hours are spent on the hiring process — rifling through résumés, conducting phone and in-person interviews, and vetting potential hires — and for good reason. Company payroll budgets only contain so much flexibility for new employees, and selecting the correct individual to fill an open position involves much more than just ensuring their competence in the role; your new employee is also joining the best weapon in your company-wide publicity arsenal: your staff.

Your selection of staff should go beyond just the tangible skills they bring to the office and their ability to complete projects and achieve goals during the workday — it should also include their talent for recruiting and driving business when the day is done as well. Your salaried or commission-based employees — present and future — should recognize the value of out-of-office networking skills and practices, as even simple interactions after hours or on the weekends could potentially engage new customers or clients.

It is for that reason that you, as a manager or business owner, should consider the people you employ an essential component to any of your publicity efforts, because they are often your establishment’s first impression and top recruiting asset once the lights go out for the evening.

There are multiple best practices for instilling a sense of off-the-clock commitment in your present and future employees, and utilizing them to foster a sense of organizational pride will work wonders in your efforts to bolster your company image. Online, in person, and over the phone, your staff should recognize their value away from the office.

The Social Ovation

Incalculable business relationships are now created and nurtured in the social-media stratosphere, and acuity in this area can be an accurate barometer for real-world success. Along with your business’ online presence and activity, your employees can boost your impact in the social-media arena by broadcasting company-wide or individual accomplishments from their personal profiles. This can be as simple as a sharing a blog post that a staff member is particularly proud of or that garnered an extensive degree of attention, or actively promoting any sponsored events or appearances.

Client or customer bases can be developed through your employees’ relationships, especially if they are sufficiently pleased with their individual contributions and the level of work coming out of your office to show it off. Regularly recognize and applaud their performance in the office, and they may be compelled to share it outside the office — chiefly on their social-media platforms. A fulfilled employee is an employee that enthusiastically wants to share your achievements.

Word of mouth is often the most powerful form of promotion or advertising, and your staff can be the premier vehicle for this type of reputation enhancement.

The Business Card Is Timeless

There is no action in the business world more common than the time-honored tradition of exchanging business cards. Even with a shift toward Internet centricity and networking, every executive should always have a business card on hand, which should contain their array of online links and contact information.

Employers should encourage their staff to keep a few cards at the ready. Any chance interaction outside the workplace can quickly shift into a professional conversation, and a casual swap of business cards Saturday night may result in a new product order or contract Monday morning. Many things will change in the business environment, but the business card is a timeless object that will remain a fundamental networking component.

Maintaining a Convention Game Face

Regardless of your primary field or industry, chances are you will send out staff representatives to attend a conference or convention on your company’s behalf at some point. Effectively working a booth is an imperative skill that your employees need to possess to ensure that you receive a tangible return on your sponsorship investment.

Part of making an appearance at a corporate convention a fruitful one is the overall demeanor from inside the booth. Your employees should understand the value of simple, conversational engagement with those who stop by. Not everyone will want to secure your services, but they should all be treated as such. A smile and a simple greeting to passersby can be the easiest route to increased booth traffic and solid sales leads at the event’s conclusion.

E-mail Etiquette Has No Day Off

With the culture of connectedness that was ushered in by the widespread adoption of laptops, tablets, and smartphones, your salaried employees are now within reach at all hours of the day, every day of the week.

When receiving work-related e-mails or text correspondence while away from the office, your staff should remain acutely aware that in-house etiquette still applies, and not allow themselves to slip into casual text-speak or a tone they may utilize on their day off. Improper e-mail decorum is an immediate strike against company credibility, so make sure you instill in your workforce the importance of proper electronic communication.

Bottom Line

Your product or service is only as good as the people you have onboard. When your employees and associates realize and appreciate their value to your operation and the role they play in actively promoting your business, the more cognizant they become of their actions when they leave the workplace. When you impress upon your staff their importance to the company and their influence on overall accomplishments, you create a workplace culture of collective input and shared success.

When your employees realize their fundamental position in your business, they ardently become an extension of your publicity undertakings, and make a point to contribute even when they are away from the workplace. n


Russell Trahan is president of PR/PR, a boutique public-relations agency specializing in positioning clients in front of their target audience in print and online. PR/PR represents experts of all kinds who are seeking national exposure for their business or organization.

PictureThis

By
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]

Fueling Momentum

DSCN0365DSCN0356DSCN0448DSCN0329F.L. Roberts and Co. hosted its second annual Managers Meeting and Awards Dinner on March 14 at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The fourth-generation, Springfield-based company operates gas station/convenience stores (including truck-refueling facilities and the Whately Diner), Golden Nozzle car washes, and Jiffy Lubes. Employees and business partners were treated to a football-themed evening including a pregame cocktail hour, featuring cigar rollers and a photo booth, followed by dinner, awards, and a keynote address by Joe Theismann, entrepreneur and former star quarterback for the Washington Redskins. Veterans were also recognized for their contributions and sacrifices. Top left: from left, Tom Hart; Peter Borucki; Edward Borucki, U.S. Navy veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor; and Barbara Hart. Top right: Joanne Palmer, Kevin Fay, and Steve and Katy Sanchioni enjoy the pregame cocktail hour outside the Premier Ballroom at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods. Above: Richard Smith, center, vice president of Operations for F.L. Roberts, and other managers present the Pandolfo Company Inc. with the Business Partner of the Year 2013 award for its service and dedication to the company over the past year and early completion of the new Golden Nozzle car wash on East Columbus Avenue in Springfield. In recognition of its service, F.L. Roberts has given the company a $1,000 donation for the charity of their choice. Right: from left, Angelo Rota and his father, guest of honor Nello Rota, U.S. Army Americal Division veteran; with Richard Smith, vice president of Operations for F.L. Roberts, and his wife, Debra Smith.

Hometown Heroes

LopezLandHeroes-2014-129Hardy,-Collins,-DuffyBerubeDr.-Pyle---John-SantoroKraefft-MGMFerreroThe American Red Cross Pioneer Valley Chapter recently honored 11 individuals at its 12th annual Hometown Heroes Breakfast. The Hero Award is given to people who have shown courage, kindness, and unselfish character when a friend, family member, or stranger faced a life-threatening situation, or who have had an extraordinary impact on his or her community. Top left: award recipients Gina Lopez (left) and Sandra Land. Top right: from left, Andrea Luppi of presenting sponsor Columbia Gas; recipients Joseph Allen, Maryann Alben, and John Weston; and Sheila Doiron of Columbia Gas. Center left: John Duffy of presenting sponsor Grainger Foundation (middle) with recipients Kevin Collins (left) and Art Hardy. Center: recipient Steven Berube with Ann Makkiya of presenting sponsor Smith & Wesson. Center right: recipient Dr. Wilson Pyle (right) with Dr. John Santoro of presenting sponsor Baystate Health. Bottom left: recipient Alan Kraefft (left) with Richard Taylor of presenting sponsor MGM Springfield. Bottom right: recipient Vincent Ferrero with Julie Vodde of presenting sponsor Health New England.

Bilding Permits

By
Building Permits Departments

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

AGAWAM

Community Shops Plaza
1325 Springfield St.
$10,000 — Interior renovations

CHICOPEE

City of Chicopee
816 James St.
$5,000 — Construct offices and storage

Riverbend Medical
444 Montgomery St.
$250,000 — Renovate Adult Medicine East

GREENFIELD

Arts Block, LLC
285-291 Main St.
$16,000 — Install snow guards on roof

Center for Human Development
148 Montague City Road
$284,000 — Building renovation

LUDLOW

Buckeye Pipeline Company, L.P.
1 Tank Farm Road
$70,000 — Foundation for new commercial structure

SOUTH HADLEY

Town of South Hadley
14 Mulligan St.
$15,000 — New antennas

SPRINGFIELD

405 Armory Street, LLC
405 Armory St.
$18,000 — Alterations to expand dining area at existing Subway

Al Alves
1291 Boston Road
$35,500 — Convert store front for pizza shop

Derf Realty
190 Carando Dr.
$133,000 — Convert 1,365 square feet of existing space into offices for Mass. State Police

Pizza Hut Inc.
793A Boston Road
$120,000 — Remodel existing Pizza Hut

Tahminh Kausar
590 Boston Road
$8,000 — Build new counter area for cash register

WESTFIELD

Kenia Associates, LLC
65 Springfield Road
$214,000 — Finish existing office space

L & R Market Inc.
35 North Elm St.
$111,000 — Masonry addition

RSP Realty, LLC
57 Union St.
$200,000 — 4,753-square-foot medical office build-out

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Emmanuel Baptist Church
38 Front St.
$132,000 — Restore portion of fire-damaged building

Real Estate Transactions

By
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

COLRAIN

96 Jurek Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Allan C. Smith
Seller: Cheryl A. York
Date: 03/07/14

GREENFIELD

52 French King Highway
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Megan Edson
Seller: S&S Realty LLC
Date: 02/25/14

3 Grove St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $166,500
Buyer: Lewis Gordon
Seller: Marcus D. Curran
Date: 02/28/14

39 Grove St.
Greenfield, MA 01376
Amount: $147,500
Buyer: Daniel M. Majewski
Seller: Michael J. Winn
Date: 02/27/14

60 Overland Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $155,500
Buyer: Sandra J. Lively
Seller: William J. Bontempi
Date: 02/28/14

20 Phyllis Lane
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Yedod Snir
Seller: Christopher L. Jones
Date: 03/03/14

HEATH

11 Modoc St.
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Clifford B. Long
Seller: Wendy Giard
Date: 02/28/14

NORTHFIELD

189 Birnam Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Gabriel D. Lapollo
Seller: Michael S. Fontaine
Date: 02/26/14

SHELBURNE

106 Bridge St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $199,434
Buyer: Everbank
Seller: Marc Carcio
Date: 03/05/14

SHUTESBURY

505 Pratt Corner Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Steven C. Wolf
Seller: Clarke, Richard B., (Estate)
Date: 02/28/14

WHATELY

61 State Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: 5 DAWG NT
Seller: Michael A. Labelle
Date: 03/07/14

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

57 Harding St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $149,900
Seller: Zerbinopoulos, M., (Estate)
Date: 02/27/14

178 High St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Joseph G. Baldarelli
Seller: Sharon M. Baldarelli
Date: 02/27/14

236 Mill St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $298,000
Buyer: Yichao Xu
Seller: Yong S. Dong
Date: 02/28/14

113 North West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Robert G. Vincent
Seller: CJA 3 LLC
Date: 02/28/14

287 North Westfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $159,900
Buyer: Benjamin Bobianski
Seller: Paula S. Robidoux
Date: 02/24/14

66 Ramah Circle South
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $210,500
Buyer: Popowich Family Inv. LLC
Seller: Pelter Inc.
Date: 02/27/14

712 South West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Vitaliy Ganovskyy
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 02/26/14

318 Silver St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $127,200
Buyer: Joseph G. Baldarelli
Seller: Sharon M. Baldarelli
Date: 02/27/14

146 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Eric J. Eaton
Seller: Stratum LP
Date: 02/28/14

25 Windermere Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $459,900
Buyer: James J. Meade
Seller: Caroline Morales
Date: 03/05/14

BRIMFIELD

6 North Main St.
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Christina C. Mealey
Seller: Derek M. Casinghino
Date: 03/06/14

CHICOPEE

24 8th Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Joshua A. Sroka
Seller: Campbell, Edith C., (Estate)
Date: 02/28/14

54 Bonner St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Brad P. Labonte-Banas
Seller: Paul R. Banas
Date: 02/28/14

57 Boucher Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Elizabeth L. White
Seller: Kim M. Small
Date: 02/28/14

16 Brightwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: LTL LLC
Seller: James L. Domingos
Date: 02/25/14

250 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $167,900
Buyer: Richard A. Funk
Seller: Anthony E. Ceria
Date: 02/26/14

596 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: Carla L. Brodeur
Seller: Michael M. Levesque
Date: 02/28/14

40 Deslauriers St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $152,750
Buyer: Chad A. Beaudette
Seller: John S. Godin
Date: 03/05/14

1466 Donohue Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $131,000
Buyer: Donald R. Peluso
Seller: Beauchemin, Donald G., (Estate)
Date: 02/28/14

58 Dunn St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Gregory J. Vanoostveen
Seller: Margo Abelson
Date: 02/27/14

44 Gardner Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Ryan L. King
Seller: Anthony J. Carraturo
Date: 02/28/14

945 Granby Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $117,000
Buyer: Sandra J. Treat
Seller: Marie Ann Forni
Date: 02/28/14

55 Highview Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $176,209
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Dennis P. Zygarowski
Date: 03/06/14

89 Jacob St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Kaitlyn B. Jones
Seller: Martin E. Laliberte
Date: 02/28/14

Jefferson Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $116,000
Buyer: Amanda R. Huerta
Seller: FNMA
Date: 03/06/14

22 Marble Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Patricia A. Fede
Seller: Philip W. Costello
Date: 02/28/14

20 Mount Carmel Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $153,000
Buyer: Alexander Hripak
Seller: Matthew F. Dusseault
Date: 02/28/14

108 Nonotuck Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $187,803
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Kristoffer Costa
Date: 02/27/14

36 Olko Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Lynn A. Maciolek
Seller: Steven P. Nicora
Date: 02/28/14

21 Overlook Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $152,900
Buyer: Ashley K. Shinkwin
Seller: Kenneth P. Senecal
Date: 02/28/14

89 Rochester St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $144,900
Buyer: Caitlin M. Casey
Seller: Donna Blazey
Date: 02/28/14

35 Saint Onge St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Suzanna Smith
Seller: Daniel J. Garrity
Date: 02/26/14

2070 Westover Road
Chicopee, MA 01022
Amount: $1,150,000
Buyer: Microtek Inc.
Seller: Kodiak Realty LLC
Date: 02/24/14

EAST LONGMEADOW

23 Betterley Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Raffaele S. Carrano
Seller: Bretta Construction LLC
Date: 03/03/14

37 Old Farm Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $807,500
Buyer: Andrew W. Artenstein
Seller: Susan A. Alfano
Date: 03/06/14

270 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Brian D. Basgen
Seller: Nu Way Homes Inc.
Date: 03/04/14

HAMPDEN

66 Forest Hill Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Bienvenue FT
Seller: Thomas J. Kane
Date: 03/04/14

23 Kibbe Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Jessica Rodrigues
Seller: Tennessee Jed RT
Date: 02/28/14

211 South Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Jason A. Foerster
Seller: Sherry Himmelstein
Date: 02/27/14

134 Thresher Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Jason T. Broom
Seller: Joseph M. Hickson
Date: 05/22/13

29 Wehr Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Daniel R. Hebert
Seller: Alan J. Murray
Date: 03/04/14

HOLLAND

11 Fenton St.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Michael Peltier
Seller: P. S. Roman
Date: 02/28/14

HOLYOKE

397 Apremont Highway
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Justin Laliberte
Seller: Wayne F. Falardeau
Date: 02/25/14

6 Bayberry Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $268,500
Buyer: Drew W. Nalewanski
Seller: Timothy S. Noonan
Date: 03/07/14

202 Easthampton Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Eloyd Molina
Seller: Patrick Moody
Date: 03/03/14

37 Francis Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $166,824
Buyer: Provident Fund Assocs. LP
Seller: FHLM
Date: 02/25/14

19 Green Willow Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Daniel P. Griffin
Seller: Margaret A. Parsons
Date: 02/28/14

71 Westfield Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $181,500
Buyer: Christopher Draper
Seller: Elizabeth A. Krok
Date: 02/25/14

LONGMEADOW

Colony Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $402,500
Buyer: Boulder Hill Construction
Seller: Elizabeth Pava
Date: 03/04/14

505 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Thomas R. Abbott
Seller: Daniel J. Swords
Date: 02/26/14

505 Laurel St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $282,500
Buyer: Michael J. Richard
Seller: Michael C. Paul
Date: 02/26/14

64 Nevins Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $215,500
Buyer: Michael S. Block
Seller: Ellen M. Foley
Date: 02/25/14

99 Pinewood Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Cartun
Seller: Carmel Armon
Date: 03/06/14

53 Williamsburg Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Aroosa Alam
Seller: Katherine Papazoglou
Date: 02/28/14

LUDLOW

74 Cady St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Leigh M. Cardarelli
Seller: Brad M. Dakers
Date: 02/28/14

34 Cypress St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $152,955
Buyer: Gail P. Rodrigues
Seller: Sticks & Stones Inc.
Date: 03/05/14

393 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $152,500
Buyer: Jack C. Mendes
Seller: Pros Choice Inc.
Date: 03/07/14

32 Grimes St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Joshua J. Auclair
Seller: David K. Carrington
Date: 02/28/14

7 Parker Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $349,376
Buyer: Freedom Mortgage Corp.
Seller: Michelle Baillargeon
Date: 02/25/14

MONSON

59 Bradway Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Ronald L. Poremba
Seller: Boulder Hill Construction
Date: 03/06/14

PALMER

8 3rd St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $452,000
Buyer: K3 Technology LLC
Seller: Wayne L. Buxton
Date: 02/28/14

139 Boston Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Stanley R. Lamb
Seller: William D. Bacyk
Date: 02/27/14

8 Cedar Hill St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Adam J. Skowyra
Seller: Bilton, Albert E. Jr, (Estate)
Date: 02/28/14

331 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $254,039
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Kenneth J. Edwards
Date: 02/25/14

1051 Overlook Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $218,019
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: James J. Russell
Date: 03/03/14

34 Shearer St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $227,282
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Debra J. Earle
Date: 03/04/14

RUSSELL

Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Russell Acquisition LLC
Seller: Texon USA Inc.
Date: 03/03/14

SPRINGFIELD

22 Ainsworth St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Ana M. Perez
Seller: Aaron L. Miles
Date: 03/03/14

23 Albee St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Valentina Thadison
Seller: Susan M. Szczebak
Date: 02/25/14

20 Alberta St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Raleigh Properties LLC
Seller: Paul J. Bailey
Date: 03/05/14

18 Angelica Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $276,000
Buyer: Oketo S. Williams
Seller: Ilidio A. Rodrigues
Date: 02/28/14

13 Banbury St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $132,653
Buyer: Roberto L. Maymi
Seller: Robert D. Valentine
Date: 03/03/14

54 Catalpa Terrace
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Karen M. Eagle
Seller: Shirley H. Morin
Date: 02/27/14

124 Donbray Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Justo R. Sepulveda
Seller: Bretta Development LLC
Date: 03/07/14

99 Forest Park Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $189,850
Buyer: Mon K. Tiwari
Seller: Miriam Steinberg
Date: 02/27/14

62 Grattan St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Carol J. Flores
Seller: Peter R. Carmichael
Date: 02/27/14

178 Hampshire St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Richard A. Pereira
Seller: Margaret M. Desellier
Date: 02/26/14

203 Jewett St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Christian A. Barthelette
Seller: Carlos A. Corredor
Date: 02/24/14

418 Longhill St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Mark A. Ballard
Seller: Doanes, Aric M., (Estate)
Date: 03/03/14

65 Mallowhill Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $131,750
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Alejandro Cabrera
Date: 03/06/14

53 Martha St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $156,400
Buyer: Somontia S. Smith
Seller: Haydee Bou
Date: 02/28/14

203 Mary Coburn Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Randolph Coates
Seller: Albert P. Shlosser
Date: 03/03/14

129 Moxon St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $131,000
Buyer: Gyasi Sellers
Seller: FNMA
Date: 02/26/14

125 Oakwood Terrace
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Viktoriva Romanchenko
Seller: Elaine C. Graham
Date: 02/28/14

39 Old Farm Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $124,900
Buyer: Winnie Ly
Seller: Ruth E. Marcial
Date: 02/28/14

3 Silver St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Radwan Zaitoun
Seller: Lisa J. Russell
Date: 03/07/14

691 State St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: CF SBC UST 3 LLC
Seller: Tracey A. Crawford
Date: 02/27/14

54 Timber Lane
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: David Muniz
Seller: Natalie Rose LLC
Date: 03/07/14

343 Trafton Road
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: James G. Ekmalian
Seller: Russel G. Webster
Date: 02/28/14

13 Treetop Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: James P. Murphy
Seller: James M. Niedbala
Date: 02/28/14

49 Trinity Terrace
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $171,400
Buyer: Kris Ludwig
Seller: Melro Associates Inc.
Date: 02/28/14

178 Waldorf St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $129,900
Buyer: Melissa Arce
Seller: Marth E. LLC
Date: 02/27/14

26 Weymouth St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $146,900
Buyer: Carmine Manzi
Seller: Neil G. Newman
Date: 02/28/14

218 Winton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $194,900
Buyer: Catherine E. Reynolds
Seller: Michael J. Richard
Date: 02/26/14

SOUTHWICK

14 Buckingham Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Cindy L. Degray
Seller: Michael Gavioli
Date: 02/28/14

10 Overlook Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $186,500
Buyer: Lisa K. Baltronis
Seller: Pinnacle Estates At the Ranch
Date: 03/07/14

200 Sheep Pasture Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: Robert M. Ducharme
Seller: Lon C. Winchell
Date: 02/28/14

136 Vining Hill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $349,900
Buyer: Lon C. Winchell
Seller: Thomas Witham
Date: 02/28/14

TOLLAND

Clubhouse Road
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Edward N. Allen
Seller: Ronald Mack
Date: 02/28/14

WESTFIELD

164 Bates Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Andre J. Dion
Seller: Greg H. Connors
Date: 02/27/14

19 Bush St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $147,500
Buyer: Cassandra L. Jaeger
Seller: Esther C. White
Date: 02/28/14

81 Carroll Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Valerie K. Dulude
Seller: Hagan, Helen G., (Estate)
Date: 03/07/14

132 Foch Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Jerah L. Organek
Seller: Kenneth H. Stomski
Date: 02/25/14

9 Gladwin Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Retained Realty Inc.
Seller: Matthew R. Swayger
Date: 03/03/14

21 Jeanne Marie Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $426,274
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Vincent L. Petrangelo
Date: 02/24/14

12 Joseph Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Edward J. Rondeau
Seller: Andrew D. Janicik
Date: 02/27/14

312 Northwest Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Elaine Hawks
Date: 03/04/14

71 Pontoosic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Matthew R. Schultze
Seller: Carlos Quiles
Date: 02/28/14

1168 Western Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $287,500
Buyer: Kristopher B. Johnson
Seller: Theresa M. Dion
Date: 02/28/14

70 Westwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Henry O. Wefing
Seller: Bernadette K. Gove
Date: 02/28/14

WILBRAHAM

67 Cherry Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $336,344
Buyer: Howard C. Eldridge
Seller: 2301 Boston Road LLC
Date: 02/25/14

5 Meeting House Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $377,500
Buyer: Christian P. Damour
Seller: Gerald T. Eady
Date: 02/28/14

5 Russell Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: David H. Silva
Seller: David H. Silva
Date: 02/28/14

98 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $163,000
Buyer: Augusto Coelho
Seller: James J. Szmyt
Date: 03/07/14

WEST SPRINGFIELD

106 Butternut Hollow Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $289,000
Buyer: Jeffrey J. Hebert
Seller: Sequoia Properties Realty
Date: 02/28/14

99 City View Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: Erik G. Sudnick
Seller: Thomas Scott-Smith
Date: 02/28/14

336 Prospect Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Lynda Peters
Seller: Frechette, Stephen L., (Estate)
Date: 03/07/14

274 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $975,000
Buyer: 274 Westfield Street LP
Seller: 3 Diamond Realty Corp.
Date: 03/06/14

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

Belchertown Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Kestrel Land TR
Seller: Thatsaul LP
Date: 03/06/14

310 Belchertown Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Rocky Hill Road Partner LLC
Seller: Stanley E. Stosz
Date: 02/28/14

43 Country Corners Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $645,000
Buyer: Christine S. Hutchins
Seller: Benjamin C. Hammond
Date: 03/04/14

BELCHERTOWN

454 State St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Richard K. Shone
Seller: Bonnie Robert
Date: 02/28/14

85 Turkey Hill Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Kevin R. Green
Seller: Raymond R. Rex
Date: 03/07/14

211 Warner St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Robb E. Kapinos
Seller: 21st Century Green Homes
Date: 02/28/14

44 Warren Wright Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $268,000
Buyer: Katherine F. Jekanowski
Seller: Jeffrey D. Skrocki
Date: 02/24/14

EASTHAMPTON

65 Glendale St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: 65 Glendale Realty LLC
Seller: 65-67 Glendale St. Realty
Date: 02/28/14

1 Summer St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $684,000
Buyer: North Harlow 2 LLC
Seller: Stephen C. Robinson
Date: 02/26/14

134 West St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: David L. Pogue
Seller: Tofino Associates LLC
Date: 02/26/14

HATFIELD

115 Elm St. #30
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Paula M. Corbett
Seller: Hatfield Village LLC
Date: 02/27/14

NORTHAMPTON

72 Drewsen Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $213,000
Buyer: Casey H. Krone
Seller: Linda Mondschein
Date: 02/28/14

53 Emerson Way
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $447,500
Buyer: Nicholas P. Lata
Seller: Countryside Homes Builder
Date: 02/25/14

16 Ford Xing
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $563,009
Buyer: Sherry H. McKenney
Seller: Wright Builders Inc.
Date: 03/05/14

65 Franklin St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $408,800
Buyer: John P. Berkowitz
Seller: Mark C. Wineburg
Date: 02/24/14

108 Grove St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $154,275
Buyer: Bruce P. Volz
Seller: Monska FT
Date: 02/28/14

200 King St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Valley Building Co. Inc.
Seller: Demers Family Realty LLC
Date: 02/28/14

206 King St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $434,000
Buyer: Valley Building Co. Inc.
Seller: Demers Family Realty LLC
Date: 02/28/14

56 Meadow St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Michael J. Behrens
Seller: Doppman, Magdalene T., (Estate)
Date: 02/28/14

172 North Maple St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: John P. McAllister
Seller: Paula M. Corbett
Date: 02/27/14

91 South St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $980,000
Buyer: Yarland Properties LLC
Seller: Minnick Real Estate LLC
Date: 02/28/14

91 Turkey Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Christopher J. White
Seller: Timothy V. Parsons
Date: 02/28/14

383 Westhampton Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Gleason Johndrow Rentals
Seller: Jacob W. Schrader
Date: 03/04/14

SOUTH HADLEY

154 Old Lyman Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Maxine Szydziak
Seller: Wells Fargo Bank
Date: 03/04/14

SOUTHAMPTON

71 Gilbert Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $399,000
Buyer: Jessica I. Saraceno
Seller: Robert K. Eckert
Date: 03/05/14

WARE

93 Beaver Lake Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Elsie C. Rutan-Heningham
Seller: Hunky Dory & Umps RT
Date: 03/06/14

42 Crescent St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $288,512
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Kevin M. Fleming
Date: 03/03/14

15 Lee Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Jennifer L. Friberg
Seller: David J. Armstrong
Date: 02/28/14

WILLIAMSBURG

42 South St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Jennifer Smith
Seller: Leonika R. Allen
Date: 02/26/14

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies Departments

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

Aguiar, Yabet
49 Russell St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Baer, Carol B.
a/k/a Pafenbach, Carol B.
83 Whilshire Dr.
Cheshire, MA 01225
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Beam, Dorothy H.
125 Simonich Circle
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Belcher, Mark D.
Belcher, Ann M.
15 Gilmore Ave.
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/10/14

Borey, Steven W.
Mosher-Borey, Renee L.
44 West Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 02/28/14

Chace, Jeremy E.
120 East Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 02/28/14

Charlton, Stephen W.
10 Number 9 Road
Charlemont, MA 01339
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/14

Croteau, Nicole L.
22 Tiderman Road
Wales, MA 01081
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Ferrando, Angela M.
21 Mayo St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/14

Ferris, William F.
474 East River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 02/28/14

Flamand, Gregory R.
109 Brookfield Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/14

Flynn, Brandon K.
73 Sterling St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Gustafson, Dorothy A.
7 Wilbraham Road
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Hillard, Raymond F.
101 St. James Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/11/14

Jabeen, Nargis
478 Newbury St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/14

Lord, Lorraine A.
47 Pleasant St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/14

Lunden, Kristen L.
355 School St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Neill, Diane Marie
P.O. Box 231
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Pasiecnik, Michael S.
Pasiecnik, Debra A.
P.O. Box 88
South Deerfield, MA 01373
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/05/14

Pocograno, Joseph E.
602 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 03/04/14

Ramirez, Juana M.
33 Pembroke St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/05/14

Ramos, Omar L.
34 Barbara Lane
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 02/28/14

Razzaq, Sheikh A.
478 Newbury St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/10/14

Stanikmas, Kevin M.
Stanikmas, Wendy M.
a/k/a Case, Wendy
a/k/a Melanson, Wendy
1026 Lincoln Road
Oakham, MA 01068
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/14

Streit, Laura J.
139 Robbins Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Universal Quality Machine Inc.
650 Beaulieu St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 11
Filing Date: 03/10/14

Varnot, Rosemary
46 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/06/14

Wiater, Paul N.
Wiater, Susan J.
280 Wildermere St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/04/14

Wise, Marcy L.
20 Herbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 03/07/14

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates Departments

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

AGAWAM

Alexa McCabe Esthetician
833 Springfield St.
Alexa McCabe

Allure Med Spa
159 Main St.
Mary Jo Carruthers

Crafty Cookie
1226 Springfield St.
Angela Jordan

Gregory’s
50 Kanawha Ave.
Gregory Ruge

JK Deliveries
29 Sutton Place
Jason Kendall

Tiffany M. Smith Realty
814 South West St.
Tiffany M. Smith

CHICOPEE

Ear 2 Track
1 Springfield St.
James Kometani

Gauron Provision
576 Fuller Road
William Guaron

Lilly Photography
254 Frontenac St.
Stephanie Knoll

The Spa at Stoney Brook
477 Britton St.
Marci Ryder

GREENFIELD

Absolutely Fabulous Hair
305 Wells St.
Jodi Kocsis

Chinese Bodywork
41 Main St.
Qing J. Luo

Hair Affairs
30 Mohawk Trail
Joshua Candelaria

MJM Aviation
108 Hastings St.
Michael McIntyre

Re-bath of Pioneer Valley
6 French Kings Highway
PV Bathrooms Inc.

Sketch Design
30 Warner St.
Matthew Beaudoin

HOLYOKE

Giggles Daycare
53 Argyle Ave.
Siobhan M. Sullivan

Ind Court Deli Mart
301 High St.
Roberto Rivera

Lalla Jolie Scarves & Accessories
97 Franklin St.
Lalla B. Ornan

Mr. Mold Finder
12 Arbor Way
Arthur Marshall

PALMER

Menard Garage Doors, LLC
1020 Central St.
Brenda Menard

Rainbow Gardens
3023 Foster St.
Nancy Golas

Ziggy Enterprises
1029 Park St.
Christiane Torchia

SPRINGFIELD

5 Star DJ Alliance
49 Nursery St.
Myrtho Lambert

A-One Mini Mart
431 White St.
Mohammad R. Awan

Acceptance Now
665 Boston Road
Rac Acceptance

B & D Dollar & Discount
494 Central St.
Louis Brantley

BPM Installations
22 Geneva St.
Brian P. Marceau

B.L. Cleaning Service
93 Duggan Circle
William E. Lowe

Bio Cleaner of Main Street
806 Main St.
Jong N. Joo

Chi Chi Sullivans
520 Sumner Ave.
Sarno Enterprises

City Beat Multimedia
70 Cornell St.
Anthony S. Bass

Ci Leigha
183 Maynard St.
Ci L. Woods

Dan Auto Sales
201 Berkshire Ave.
Daniel Rios

Durraingd Myndz Entertainment
1139 Sumner Ave.
Hector Emilio

EZ Services & Travel
16 ½ Longhill St.
Ricardo Del Valle

El Shaddai Daycare
70 Leete St.
Helen J. Salem

Express Grocery
1133 State St.
Gavy G. Pimentel

Felix’s Breakfast
67 Liberty St.
Lesbia I. Nieves

Fred Sellica Travel
672 Dickinson St.
Fred P. Sellica

Hampshire Hills Inc.
620 Page Blvd.
Hampshire Hills

Hunter Kelly Entertainment
76 Greene St.
Lamara S. Hunter

WESTFIELD

Alexander Ruge Trend Sound
356 Valley View Dr.
Alexander Ruge

Allied Logging
167 Prospect St.
Adam Roberts

Comp Control Inc.
7 Pineridge Ave.
James O’Neill

Danis Promotion
45 Northridge Road
Danis Slivca

Eastwood Self Storage
61 Union St.
Ronald Schortmann

GDM
111 Airport Road
Michelle Grassi

I Zing Thing
22 Elm St.
Suzanne A. Tracy

WEST SPRINGFIELD

A and J’s Used Auto Sales
44 Exposition Terrace
Julio A. Miranda

DMP Supply Company Inc.
21 Bramble Ave.
Donald Del Buono

Green Stone
34 Lewis Ave.
Sami Hajrizi

Neverlow Apparel
119 Highland Ave.
Jonathan Karas

Pho B6 Vietnamese Cuisine
764 Riverdale St.
John Huang

Picture Awards Inc.
871 Elm St.
Joseph J. Esile, Jr.

Scuderi Group Inc.
1111 Elm St.
Salvatore Scuderi

T-Shirt Station
1458 Riverdale St.
2P Designs, LLC

The Vape Bar Escape
209 Elm St.
Maria Filippone

Incorporations

By
Departments Incorporations

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

Agawam

F. Fusco Inc., 384 Walnut St. Ext., Agawam, MA 01001. Anthony F. Grassetti Sr., 32 Alexander Dr., Agawam, MA 01001. Retail sales of liquor, beer, wine, food, and meals.

Inspired Marketing Inc., 168 Elm St. Ste. B-10, Agawam, MA 01001. Jill Christine Monson, 86 Russell St., Springfield, MA 01004. Marketing and event planning.

MyEcigs Inc., 154 Beekman Dr., Agawam, MA 01001. Joseph M. Rondolettom, same. Retail sale of E-Cigarettes.

Amherst

Pita Pocket Inc., 5 Eaton Court, Amherst, MA 01002. George Ejja, same. Fast food and vegetarian food restaurant.

Chicopee

Inteliface Solutions Inc., 50 Austin St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Paul P. Barrasso, 23 Belgrade St., Revere, MA 02151. Biotechnical software and applications.

LC Corporation, 472 Burnett Road, Chicopee, MA 01020. Laurie A. Kareta, PO Box 295, Ludlow, MA 01056. Hair styling salon and spa.

Granby

RJ’s Outdoor Power Inc., 6 West State St., Granby, MA 01033. Robert W. Jennings, 116 Dixie Terrace, Chicopee, MA 01020. Engine-powered equipment repair.

Great Barrington

Fiddleheads Grille Inc., 252 Park St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. David Michael Pullaro, same. Restaurant.

Great Barrington Auto Supply Inc., 227 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Anthony S. Lioy, same. Retail/wholesale auto parts.

Holyoke

One Stop Technology Inc., 4 Open Square Way, Ste. 120, Holyoke, MA 01040. Robert L. Albrecht, 667 West Cherry St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Computer technology.

Longmeadow

Express Flooring Inc., 551 Williams St., Longmeadow, MA 01106. James R. Beach, same. Flooring services.

Jag Geriatrics, P.C., 15 Pendleton Lane, Longmeadow, MA 01106. Udaya Banu Jagedeesan, 46 Center Square, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Geriatric medical services.

Pittsfield

Burrito Grande Inc., 37 North St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Samir Abdallah, same. Restaurant.

David L. DeGiorgis Wood Craftsman Inc., 418 ½ West Housatonic St., Pittsfield, MA 01021. David L. DeGiorgis, 71 Thomas Island Road, Pittsfield, MA 01021. Construction contracting.

FBR Painting Corp., 18 Copley Terrace, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Fabiano Robadel, same. Painting.

DOING BUSINESS AS CERTIFICATES
 
The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of and March 2014.

AGAWAM

Alexa McCabe Esthetician
833 Springfield St.
Alexa McCabe

Allure Med Spa
159 Main St.
Mary Jo Carruthers

Crafty Cookie
1226 Springfield St.
Angela Jordan

Gregory’s
50 Kanawha Ave.
Gregory Ruge

JK Deliveries
29 Sutton Place
Jason Kendall

Tiffany M. Smith Realty
814 South West St.
Tiffany M. Smith

CHICOPEE

Ear 2 Track
1 Springfield St.
James Kometani

Gauron Provision
576 Fuller Road
William Guaron

Lilly Photography
254 Frontenac St.
Stephanie Knoll

The Spa at Stoney Brook
477 Britton St.
Marci Ryder

GREENFIELD

Absolutely Fabulous Hair
305 Wells St.
Jodi Kocsis

Chinese Bodywork
41 Main St.
Qing J. Luo

Hair Affairs
30 Mohawk Trail
Joshua Candelaria

MJM Aviation
108 Hastings St.
Michael McIntyre

Re-bath of Pioneer Valley
6 French Kings Highway
PV Bathrooms Inc.

Sketch Design
30 Warner St.
Matthew Beaudoin

HOLYOKE

Giggles Daycare
53 Argyle Ave.
Siobhan M. Sullivan

Ind Court Deli Mart
301 High St.
Roberto Rivera

Lalla Jolie Scarves & Accessories
97 Franklin St.
Lalla B. Ornan

Mr. Mold Finder
12 Arbor Way
Arthur Marshall

PALMER

Menard Garage Doors, LLC
1020 Central St.
Brenda Menard

Rainbow Gardens
3023 Foster St.
Nancy Golas

Ziggy Enterprises
1029 Park St.
Christiane Torchia

SPRINGFIELD

5 Star DJ Alliance
49 Nursery St.
Myrtho Lambert

A-One Mini Mart
431 White St.
Mohammad R. Awan

Acceptance Now
665 Boston Road
Rac Acceptance

B & D Dollar & Discount
494 Central St.
Louis Brantley

BPM Installations
22 Geneva St.
Brian P. Marceau

B.L. Cleaning Service
93 Duggan Circle
William E. Lowe

Bio Cleaner of Main Street
806 Main St.
Jong N. Joo

Chi Chi Sullivans
520 Sumner Ave.
Sarno Enterprises

City Beat Multimedia
70 Cornell St.
Anthony S. Bass

Ci Leigha
183 Maynard St.
Ci L. Woods

Dan Auto Sales
201 Berkshire Ave.
Daniel Rios

Durraingd Myndz Entertainment
1139 Sumner Ave.
Hector Emilio

EZ Services & Travel
16 ½ Longhill St.
Ricardo Del Valle

El Shaddai Daycare
70 Leete St.
Helen J. Salem

Express Grocery
1133 State St.
Gavy G. Pimentel

Felix’s Breakfast
67 Liberty St.
Lesbia I. Nieves

Fred Sellica Travel
672 Dickinson St.
Fred P. Sellica

Hampshire Hills Inc.
620 Page Blvd.
Hampshire Hills

Hunter Kelly Entertainment
76 Greene St.
Lamara S. Hunter

WESTFIELD

Alexander Ruge Trend Sound
356 Valley View Dr.
Alexander Ruge

Allied Logging
167 Prospect St.
Adam Roberts

Comp Control Inc.
7 Pineridge Ave.
James O’Neill

Danis Promotion
45 Northridge Road
Danis Slivca

Eastwood Self Storage
61 Union St.
Ronald Schortmann

GDM
111 Airport Road
Michelle Grassi

I Zing Thing
22 Elm St.
Suzanne A. Tracy

WEST SPRINGFIELD

A and J’s Used Auto Sales
44 Exposition Terrace
Julio A. Miranda

DMP Supply Company Inc.
21 Bramble Ave.
Donald Del Buono

Green Stone
34 Lewis Ave.
Sami Hajrizi

Neverlow Apparel
119 Highland Ave.
Jonathan Karas

Pho B6 Vietnamese Cuisine
764 Riverdale St.
John Huang

Picture Awards Inc.
871 Elm St.
Joseph J. Esile, Jr.

Scuderi Group Inc.
1111 Elm St.
Salvatore Scuderi

T-Shirt Station
1458 Riverdale St.
2P Designs, LLC

The Vape Bar Escape
209 Elm St.
Maria Filippone

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

North Adams Regional Hospital Closes
NORTH ADAMS — The board of trustees of Northern Berkshire Healthcare (NBH) approved a resolution late last month to close North Adams Regional Hospital (NARH), the Visiting Nurse Assoc. & Hospice of Northern Berkshire, and three medical practices owned by NBH. The decision was made in response to NBH’s worsening financial status. The organizations closed on March 28, but a court order kept the hospital Emergency Department open for the time being. “In the six years that I have been on the board, we have investigated every possible avenue and exhausted all options as we searched for a way to continue operating the hospital and its affiliates,” said Julia Bolton, board chair. “Board members, management, physicians, and employees have worked together with dedication and commitment to prevent this outcome. But now, given our finances and the daunting challenges that small rural community hospitals are facing in this healthcare environment, we can no longer continue.” More than 500 affected employees received layoff notices and assistance in filing for unemployment benefits. Northern Berkshire Healthcare Physicians Group includes Northern Berkshire Family Medicine, Northern Berkshire Ob/Gyn, and Northern Berkshire General Surgery, all in North Adams. “The implications of this decision are far-reaching, but our primary concern is for our patients,” said Timothy Jones, president and CEO of NBH. “We are working tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition to other care providers including other hospitals in the region.” Patients of Northern Berkshire Family Medicine and the VNA & Hospice of Northern Berkshire are being transitioned to other practices and agencies. “North Adams Regional Hospital opened 129 years ago in 1885, and as an institution we have served the people of this area with dedication and pride,” Jones said. “Many of those who work here have served our patients for decades, and today’s news is a shock. We wish it could be different.” Meanwhile, lawyers working for the state are seeking to keep emergency services operating for at least 90 days during any ownership transition or closure. Lawmakers are also discussing the possibility of merging NBS with a larger, more stable partner, most likely Berkshire Health Systems in Pittsfield.

Springfield Armor to Bolt for Michigan
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Armor, the NBA Developmental League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets, have signed a deal with the Detroit Pistons to become that team’s minor-league affiliate and moves to Grand Rapids for the 2014-15 season. Owner Michael Savit’s decision to sell, first reported by Michigan-based mlive.com, came as a surprise to Springfield officials. The team has played at the MassMutual Center for the past five years. The new Grand Rapids franchise has an undisclosed multi-year affiliation agreement with the Pistons in place, and the sale has met league approval, according to mlive.com. It will play home games at The DeltaPlex Arena in Walker, a Grand Rapids suburb. The franchise will be locally owned, and the Pistons will establish a single-franchise affiliation with it. Currently, 14 of the 17 D-League teams have single-franchise affiliations with NBA parents. Detroit currently is one of six NBA teams sharing the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Mad Ants. D-League teams follow one of two ownership models — exclusive ownership by the parent NBA club, or a hybrid affiliation in which local ownership controls day-to-day and business operations while the parent club controls basketball operations. The Grand Rapids franchise will follow the hybrid model, whereby the Pistons will pay players’ and coaches’ salaries and run basketball operations, but local owners operate autonomously in other business areas, including marketing and merchandising.

UMass Football to Leave Mid-American Conference
AMHERST — The University of Massachusetts has announced that it will end its football affiliation with the Mid-American Conference (MAC) following the 2015 season. Athletic Director John McCutcheon said the decision was made after the MAC President’s Council elected to exercise a contract clause that offered UMass a choice of becoming a full member for all sports in the MAC or opting to remain a football-only member for just two more years. The university has been conducting a study of its current and potential conference alignments with the assistance of Carr Sports Consulting. “While the report is not complete,” McCutcheon said, “we believe full membership for all sports in the MAC is not a good fit for us. Because most of the MAC schools are in the Midwest, the additional travel would strain our athletic budget and pose considerable time-management challenges for our student athletes. We are confident that, within the next two years, we will find a more suitable conference for our FBS football program.” Currently, UMass Amherst has 21 varsity athletic teams (10 for men, 11 for women). Football plays in the MAC, and the other 20 teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Hockey East (men’s ice hockey), and the Colonial Athletic Assoc. (men’s lacrosse). UMass began playing as a football-only member of the MAC in 2012. McCutcheon added that “we remain committed to FBS football. Many institutions have successfully navigated this challenging period of conference realignment, and we will do the same.” Football coach Mark Whipple expressed confidence in the future of the university’s football program. “I was aware of this possibility when I accepted the position of head coach, and I believe this move is in the university’s best interest,” he said. “My focus is on building a program that we all can be proud of and that provides a great experience for our student athletes.” Whipple, the coach with the most wins in UMass football history, returned to the helm of the program this year. The Minutemen’s 2014 home schedule includes three games at refurbished McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst and three games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Leadership Pioneer Valley Seeks Applications for Fall
SPRINGFIELD — Leadership Pioneer Valley (LVP) is now accepting applications for its 2015 class, which begins in late September. LVP is a regional leadership-development program for 40 existing and emerging leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. It helps businesses retain employees; enhances leadership skills, including collaboration, team building, confidence, and cultural competency; builds wider and more diverse networks; and increases community and regional understanding. The 10-month program immerses participants in an inspiring and results-driven curriculum that teaches hands-on leadership skills while examining critical issues that impact the region. LVP combines seminars and experiential learning at different locations throughout the Valley to foster the skills, collaboration, networks, and commitment needed to build the next generation of area leaders. The competitive application process prioritizes diversity by employment sector, geography, race, gender, and sexual orientation. “I have had the opportunity to work with some of the Baystate graduates of LPV,” said Steven Bradley, vice president of Government and Community Relations and Public Affairs at Baystate Health. “They are taking their learning seriously and upped their leadership within their departments and in the organization as a whole. It was a great experience for them and Baystate.” To find information about tuition, upcoming open houses, the 2014-15 program schedule, and how to apply, visit www.leadershippv.org. The application deadline is July 1.

Ted Hebert to Sue Big E Over Casino Fallout
WEST SPRINGFIELD — West Springfield resident Ted Hebert, owner of Teddy Bear Pools, who was opposed to the Hard Rock Casino proposed for the Big E fairgrounds and defeated in September by West Springfield voters, recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and Teddy Bear Pools against the Eastern States Exposition, claiming his West Springfield casino opposition has led to Big E management to exclude Teddy Bear Pools from the 2014 Fair after 28 consecutive years as an exhibitor. “We filed suit today [March 31] in Hampden County Superior Court seeking injunctive relief that would allow Teddy Bear Pools, an exhibitor at the Eastern States Exposition for the past 28 years, to have a continued presence,” said Hebert’s attorney, Paul Rothschild of the Springfield law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. “Prior to the referendum and after Ted Hebert expressed his personal opposition to a proposed West Springfield casino, documents we are prepared to submit in a hearing before the court will show that Big E management suggested Hebert ‘be a team player’ and withdraw his opposition to the casino. Since the referendum this past September, Ted Hebert has repeatedly reached out to fair management and members of the exposition’s board of trustees to maintain the long-standing relationship between Teddy Bear Pools and the Big E, and to continue a presence on the fairgrounds for this year’s fair. Hebert learned his company would not be welcomed at the 2014 Big E, and Teddy Bear Pools was omitted from the standard exposition communication about leasing space for the fall fair.” Big E President Gene Cassidy told the Republican that he was not aware of the lawsuit until he was asked about it by the newspaper. Rothschild said he planned to seeking a hearing in Superior Court based on the Massachusetts Civil Rights Statute, claiming that Hebert’s civil rights were interfered with by “threats, intimidation, or coercion” and exclusion from the upcoming Big E by fair management. The lawsuit will seek reinstatement as an exhibitor and an award of damages.

Business Confidence Up Slightly in March
BOSTON — The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index, continuing to hold close to a neutral 50 on its 100-point scale, rose slightly to 51.1 in March. “Business confidence in Massachusetts has been in neutral range for a year, dipping below neutral when there was a threat of federal default and when the  government shut down in October, but otherwise with not much upside,” said Raymond Torto, global chairman of research at CBRE and chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors. Torto pointed to several factors that are holding the confidence index down. “One is a generally negative view of national conditions, attributable in part to deadlocked politics. The confidence numbers are persistently low in relation to the actual performance of the economy. Another, as we noted last month, is particularly weak confidence among small employers, who face severe competitive pressures and feel the weight of regulatory burdens. Finally, hiring trends are built into our index, and among employers participating in our survey, the ability to contribute to job creation has been less hearty than might be expected during a recovery period.” AIM’s Business Confidence Index has been issued monthly since July 1991 under the oversight of the Board of Economic Advisors. Presented on a scale on which 50 is neutral, its historical high was 68.5, attained in 1997 and 1998; its all-time low was 33.3 in February 2009.

Company Notebook

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Company Notebook Departments

FieldEddy Acquires John Pires Agency
EAST LONGMEADOW — FieldEddy Insurance, one of the largest independent insurance agencies in Western Mass., continues to expand its footprint after recently acquiring the Ludlow-based John Pires Agency. The FieldEddy network is made up of agencies throughout Western Mass., with locations in South Hadley, Monson, and Ludlow, with headquarters located in East Longmeadow. “We feel that this is a great opportunity for the customers of John Pires as well as our agency,” said FieldEddy President Timm Marini. “We look forward to delivering our top-notch service and value to these customers, which is what FieldEddy has become known for.” The transition is expected to be seamless and is already underway, he added.

Balise Collision Repair Receives Prestigious Certification
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Balise Collision Repair on Riverdale Street in West Springfield has been officially certified as a Lexus-approved repair facility. There are fewer than 25 Lexus-certified repair facilities in the U.S., and Balise Collision Repair is the only one in New England. To achieve certification status, a facility’s technicians, supervisors, managers, and office staff must complete a rigorous training program, including online classes and on-site practicums. Employees are then tested in various areas depending on their job classification. Dave Thomas, Lexus Eastern Area customer service operations manager, made the presentation to Jeb Balise, president and CEO of Balise Motor Sales. Balise cited the dedication of the staff at the collision facility.  “This is a tremendous honor for us, and all the credit needs to go to the people who work at this facility for making it happen.”

Hazen Paper Dominates AIMCAL Awards with Record-setting Seven Wins
HOLYOKE — Hazen Paper Co. was honored an unprecedented seven times with awards at the annual management meeting of the Assoc. of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (AIMCAL) in Phoenix, Ariz. on March 16. The seven distinct Hazen products that merited the judges’ votes included packaging for sports equipment, drugstore and luxury healthcare, cosmetics and toiletries, a digital promotional poster for a pop/rock band, and DVD packaging. “We’re very pleased to have impressed the judges,” said President John Hazen. “Each award is validating alone. A combination of custom work we produce from the concept forward in our holographic lab and popular materials we stock to convert, as a whole they demonstrate Hazen’s versatility and exceptional ability to develop materials that ignite interest and turbo-charge sales in a wide variety of applications and markets.” Hazen received a technical award in the Nonfood category for Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x premium golf-ball sleeves and folding cartons featuring a rich, glowing finish created by transfer-metallizing film and laminating it to board, which Hazen completes in house. In addition to delivering a result that is twice as bright and reflective as foil, the surface achieves source reduction (95% less aluminum) and enhances recyclability, while improving folding, gluing, and filling operations. Hazen also received a technical award in Healthcare, Cosmetics and Toiletries for metallizing and converting setup boxes for Procter & Gamble’s Gucci Pour Homme and Made to Measure gift sets. Hazen metallized and laminated polyester with an Ultracure coating to litho paper for a luxurious package that resists fingerprints. AIMCAL judges awarded marketing honors to Hazen in multiple categories. In Retail Label, Hazen was recognized for a custom holographic label for Warner Home Video’s 75th-anniversary limited edition of The Wizard of Oz. The litho label features precisely registered custom holography as well as embossed lettering. In Healthcare, Cosmetics and Toiletries Packaging, folding cartons for Ultradent Opalescence Go Tooth Whitening System gleaned top honors for an eye-catching double-rainbow hologram and die-cut ‘bubbles’; Hazen metallized Double Rainbow holographic film and laminated it to solid bleached sulfate (SBS) to deliver a compelling package that simulates motion on the shelf. Custom holography earned Hazen the marketing award in Nonfood Packaging as well, for Pure Fishing’s Spiderwire Stealth Glow-Vis Braid, in a package for a unique fishing line. Hazen collaborated with Olympak Packaging and Printing to design a hologram, applied an embossable coating to polyester film, embossed and metallized the holograph, then laminated it onto recycled paperboard and sheeted it for printing in register. In Decorative/Display, Hazen Paper provided the digital substrate for a poster designed by Dwight Maddox for Don Miggs’ pop/rock band, miggs, to be printed on an HP 7500 Indigo digital press. Finally, in the Other category, Hazen custom holography won over the judges with an album cover for Gap Dream’s Shine Your Light, on Burger Records). Hazen created copyrighted holograms for front and back, and transfer-metallized the film to SBS, precisely registered for printing.

Mercy Home Care Receives Top Rating from DPH
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Mercy Home Care has earned a perfect, deficiency-free survey from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). To receive such a survey, home-care agencies must successfully complete a rigorous, unannounced evaluation that includes a review of medical records, clinical procedures, staffing levels, and quality data.  Surveyors also accompany staff members on home visits and interview patients about their experience with the agency. “The very nature of such a DPH survey leaves no room for preparation prior to the arrival of reviewers. Consequently, this deficiency-free survey underscores Mercy Home Care’s daily success in providing outstanding in-home nursing and rehabilitation services to patients who are recovering from illness or injury,” said Christopher McLaughlin, chief operating officer of the Mercy Continuing Care Network within the Sisters of Providence Health System. In Massachusetts, home-care agencies are reviewed by DPH surveyors every three years. Mercy Home Care’s most recent survey took four days to complete and involved 10 home visits with different clinicians as well as intensive reviews of 20 records. “Mercy Home Care patients are at the center of a multi-disciplinary approach to care that is designed to help them maintain or regain their independence. This approach requires staff members to work as a cohesive group, and the deficiency-free survey is a reflection of the outstanding teamwork at Mercy Home Care,” said Sue Pickett, executive director of Mercy Home Care.

More Than $800,000 Given to Schools Through Big Y Education Express
SPRINGFIELD — Big Y Foods Inc. announced recently that more than $800,000 in free educational materials was awarded to more than 2,000 schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut through the grocery chain’s Education Express program. The company provided a partial list of those supplies, which included 2,236 playground balls, 975 books, 372 calculators, 97 digital cameras, 59 computer tablets, 579 musical instruments, 1,313 packs of crayons, 2,523 reams of copier paper, and 27,128 pencils. Since its inception in 1993, the Big Y Education Express Program has awarded close to $14 million in free supplies and equipment to local schools. “At Big Y, we believe it is important to support our communities and the education of our children,” said Donald D’Amour, Big Y Chairman and CEO. “The Education Express Program helps our local schools supplement their tight budgets and get items for the arts, technology, and even necessities like paper and pencils. It’s just one way we are able to give back and help our future generation receive the essential tools they need for the best education possible.” Community support was the key ingredient to the success of Education Express, and the program was a win-win for customers, he added. Customers purchased money-saving products designated throughout the stores by specially designed school-bus logo shelf tags to earn valuable merchandise points for the school of their choice.  Schools then redeemed those points for free educational supplies such as computers, art supplies, musical instruments, and sports equipment. The program was free to Big Y customers, and shoppers could track their donated point totals on their register receipt and through a Facebook app. In addition to the Education Express Program, Big Y operates the Big Y Scholarship Program, which awards 300 scholarships worth $250,000 annually to academically outstanding students in its market area. Big Y also donates food valued at more than $4.5 million to local nonprofit organizations, schools, churches, and educational programs each year.

Fallon Health Marks Milestone
WORCESTER — Fallon Health, a not-for-profit healthcare-services organization, recently celebrated a historic milestone in the growth of community-based care for seniors. With its opening of four new programs last month, the number of Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) now exceeds 100 across the U.S. PACE, which was developed in San Francisco in the 1970s, helps to keep nursing-home-eligible elders living in the community. “The story of PACE is a rarity in today’s healthcare policy environment,” said Shawn Bloom, president and CEO of the National PACE Assoc. “PACE is a common-sense approach to providing care to older people that was rigorously studied and tested and then able to become a permanent part of our healthcare system. We don’t often see successful innovations allowed to thrive and grow like PACE.” The various PACE programs bring together a coordinated team of doctors, nurses, social workers, and therapists to provide seniors with an individualized care plan that addresses each person’s unique medical care and social needs. The result is higher-quality care and more favorable outcomes compared to traditional care options. More than 90% of PACE enrollees reside outside of nursing homes. “In Massachusetts, Fallon Health is proud to have led the way in senior-care services with our PACE program, Summit ElderCare, which we’ve offered for the last 19 years,” said Richard Burke, president of Senior Care Services and Government Affairs. “Today, Summit ElderCare is the largest PACE organization in New England and the fifth-largest in the nation.” There are now 103 PACE organizations operating in 31 states. As the only health plan in Massachusetts that is both an insurer and a provider of care, Fallon Health operates its PACE program in six locations in the Commonwealth: Worcester (two sites), Charlton (two locations), Leominster, and Springfield.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

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Chamber Corners Departments

AFFILIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• April 9: ACCGS Lunch N Learn, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Lattitude Restaurant, 1388 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Featuring “The Art of the Brand,” presented by Mary McCarthy of Andrew Associates. Attendees will learn the core elements of successful branding and the necessary building blocks that should be put in place in order to ensure that your brand successfully conveys meaningful messages that resonate with your customers or audience. Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission, and may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• April 30: Beacon Hill Summit, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hosted by state Sen. Gale Candaras. Spend a day at the State House and hear from key legislators, members of the Patrick administration in its final months in office, and our local delegation. Reservations are $180 and include transportation, lunch at the Union Club, and a wrap-up reception at the 21st Amendment. 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

• April 9: Chamber Breakfast, “The Power of Video,” 7:15-9 a.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott, 423 Russell St., Hadley. Learn about using videos to promote your business. Sponsored by Epic Filmmakers. Cost is $15 for members, $20 for non-members.
• April 23: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m., at Western MA Family Golf Center, 294 Russell St., Hadley. Cost is $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

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

• April 16: April Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College. Tickets: $20 for members, $26 for non-members.
• April 16: April Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at the Residence Inn by Marriott. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for non-members.

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

• April 10: Networking by Night, 5:30 p.m. More details to follow. RSVP appreciated. Contact us at (413) 527-9414 or [email protected]. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for future members.
• May 02: Wine & Microbrew Tasting, 6 p.m., at Wyckoff Country Club. Unfamiliar with wines? Looking for the perfect wine for dinner? You’ve had the Wente Merlot and Chardonnay, but want to try the St. Michelle Riesling? Well, then, step up to the tasting bar. All of our guests (21 years of age and older) are welcome and encouraged to enjoy samples of more than 42 unique grape and fruit wines. Not interested in wine? That’s OK, because we have a microbrew tasting going on for you, too. One location, one price. Every year the event has grown. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door.

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

• April 10: Seminar, “Art of Small Business,” first in a three-part series, 9-10:30 a.m., at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by Don Lesser of Pioneer Training. Tickets: $20 for members, $25 for guests. Registration is required due to limited space.
• April 21: Seminar, “Art of Small Business,” second in a three-part series, 8:30- 9:30 a.m., at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by Tina Stevens of Stevens 470. The program is free, but registration is required due to limited space.
• May 2: Spring Swizzle: Chamber Auction with a Twist! Hosted by Eastside Grill, 18 Strong Ave., Northampton, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Presenting sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Hospital. The 21st auction has a whole new look. This private party is the chamber’s first and best social of the spring, an auction that showcases chamber members, and a night to dress up and step out for dinner to die for and music to swizzle to. Proceeds from the auction help the chamber keep membership affordable and offer a rich program of benefits for members and the community. Cost: $75, or $100 at the door. To order tickets, contact Esther at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected].
• May 7: Arrive@ 5, 5-7 p.m., at King & Cushman Inc.; 176 King St., Northampton. Sponsored by Applied Mortgage Services Corp., King Autobody, and Goggins Real Estate. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Register at [email protected].
• June 4: Arrive@ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Black Birch Vineyard. Sponsored by Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, the Creative, and viz-bang! Cost is $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Register at [email protected].

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

• April 7: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at Renaissance Manor, 37 Feeding Hills Road, Westfield. The GWCC invites you to have coffee with Mayor Daniel Knapik in a very informal setting. Hear first-hand from the mayor about key issues and get an update on construction projects. The mayor also welcomes any questions or concerns you may have. Free, informative, and open to the pubic. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected].
• April 9: After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at Czar Energy, 53 North Elm St., Westfield. Don’t forget your business cards. Great connection opportunities. Bring a prospective new member for free. Members: advertise your business with a table top for $50. Hors d’oeuvres served. Walk-ins welcome. Haven’t been to an After 5? Your first one is free. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members (cash at the door). To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected].
• April 30: Beacon Hill Summit, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Beacon Hill Summit, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hosted by state Sen. Gale Candaras. Spend a day at the State House and hear from key legislators and members of the Patrick administration in its final months in office. Cost: $180, which includes bus, lunch, and reception. For more information, call the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

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

• April 16: Networking Lunch, hosted by Cal’s, 12-1:30 p.m. Must be a member or guest of a member to attend. Enjoy a sit-down lunch while networking with fellow chamber members. Each attendee will get a chance to offer a brief sales pitch. The only cost is lunch; attendees will order off the menu and pay separately that day. We cannot invoice you. For more information, contact the chamber at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected].

People on the Move

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Departments People on the Move

Bay Path College announced the following:

Brian Basgen

Brian Basgen

• Brian Basgen has been chosen as Executive Director for Information Technology. Basgen is a collaborative leader with a decade of experience managing IT in both higher education and the private sector. Most recently, he was the Assistant Vice Chancellor for IT at Pima Community College in Tuscon, Ariz. He holds an MS in IT management from Trident University and a BA in history and philosophy from Flinders University;
• Phylis Gedeon has joined the college as Associate Director of Compliance. Most recently, she was the Assistant Director of the Processing Unit in Financial Aid Services at the UMass Amherst. She earned her master’s of education in higher education at UMass and brings extensive and diverse knowledge in student financial services; and
• Michael Albano has been named Associate Director of Operations, Student Financial Services for Bay Path. Albano was the Associate Director of Financial Aid at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A graduate of Western New England University, he earned his master’s of education at Springfield College and is currently working on his doctor of education degree at Northeastern University.
•••••
Chuck Gijanto has resigned as president of Regional Markets for Baystate Health. In this role, he serves as CEO of Baystate Franklin Medical Center and Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and is responsible for Baystate Medical Practices in the Northern and Eastern regions. His last day will be June 27. Giganto joined Baystate Health in 2008 and has done much over the last six years to engage physicians, senior leaders, employees, community members, and donors in important discussions to set strategic direction for the system’s community hospitals. He has strengthened operations; led patient satisfaction, service, and financial-improvement initiatives; overseen the medical staff development plan; fueled new programs; and recruited critical physicians and healthcare leaders to the organization.
•••••
Becker’s Hospital Review recently released its list of the Top 100 Chief Medical Officers of Hospitals and Health Systems. That list of notable physician leaders in the nation includes Dr. Mohammed Shafeeq Ahmed, COO and CMO of Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and Baystate Health Eastern Region. Physician leaders were selected for inclusion on this list based on their healthcare experience, awards they’ve received, and their commitment to continuous improvement in safety and quality care. Many of the leaders were nominated by their peers, and the list was vetted by industry experts. Ahmed joined Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in 2003 as a practicing physician, medical director of Baystate Medical Practices – Mary Lane Ob/Gyn, and chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has also served as vice president of the medical staff and regional medical director for the Baystate Affiliated Physician Organization. In 2010, he began serving as chief medical officer. In 2012, he also assumed the role of chief operating officer for Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and Baystate Health Eastern Region.
•••••
Big Y Foods announced the promotion of Eric Swensen to Vice President of Center Store for the 60-store chain. Swensen will oversee all grocery, dairy, frozen food, health and beauty care, general merchandise, pharmacy, retail pricing, space management, and store brands. He will be responsible for developing strategies and tactical direction as well as planning and support for each of these departments. He will report to Michael D’Amour, executive vice president.
•••••
Diane Dukette has joined the Sisters of Providence Health System as Vice President of Fund Development. In this role, she serves as a key member of the Sisters of Providence leadership team, is responsible for all fund-raising and development efforts, and will lead major gifts. She will also design and implement a comprehensive plan for developing key external alliances by cultivating individual and philanthropic support. She will play a key role in driving philanthropic support for key system initiatives, including the recently announced expansion of the Sr. Mary Caritas Cancer Center. Dukette returns to SPHS with more than 20 years of experience in development, strategic marketing, and fund-raising. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Development at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.

Agenda

By
Agenda Departments

UMass Dine and Dash
April 12: Dining Services at UMass Amherst will host the fifth annual UMass 5K Dash and Dine on campus. The run/walk is held annually to raise funds for the Amherst Survival Center and to promote health and fitness at the university. The race fee, $5 for UMass Amherst community members and $15 for the public, includes registration and a complimentary meal at the newly renovated Hampshire Dining Commons following the award ceremony at the university’s dining facilities. The first 500 registrants will receive a T-shirt. Last year’s event raised a total of $5,000 for the center, but the goal this year is double that. “We’re looking forward to yet another successful Dash and Dine 5K this year to help to benefit the Amherst Survival Center,” said Ken Toong, executive director of UMass Auxiliary Enterprises. “This event is a great way to help neighbors in need and to involve both the students and the public in raising funds for an incredible cause, while working toward being fit and healthy.” Check-in begins at 9 a.m. at Berkshire Dining Commons, and the race begins at 11 a.m. At noon, prizes will be awarded to the top three runners in different age and gender groups, as well as the top male and female finishers in the event’s costume contest. To register or make a donation, visit www.runumass.com.

Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day
April 26: Breast-cancer survivors, their families, and friends are invited to celebrate life together at the 17th annual Rays of Hope Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day on Saturday, April 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MassMutual Center. Former WNBA player and breast-cancer survivor Edna Campbell will deliver the keynote address, titled “Bouncing Back,” at the popular event sponsored by Rays of Hope. The WNBA veteran — best-known for her time as a point guard with the Sacramento Monarchs — was diagnosed with breast cancer during her second season. After retiring from the WNBA four years later, Campbell became a nurse and now travels across the country sharing her story of survival while encouraging women to have regular breast exams and inspiring those who’ve been diagnosed. In addition to the keynote address, participants will be able to select two workshops from a number of topics, including “Breast Reconstruction,” “Coping Strategies for Caregivers,” “Personal Safety Tips,” “Let Your Yoga Dance,” “Advances in the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer,” “Mindful Eating,” “Unclutter Your Life and Start Living,” and “The Joy of Card Making.” Two sessions will be offered in Spanish only: “Recomendaciones Sobre Seguridad Personal” and “Promoviendo la Caminata de Rays of Hope.” As part of this year’s Survivors’ Day, there will be a special art exhibit made up of artwork completed by participants in the Rays of Hope-sponsored “Art from the Heart” program facilitated by art therapist and silk artist Pat Hayes. The program — a series of art-therapy workshops offered twice a year — provides a creative outlet for women to work in watercolor, precious metal, clay, and other media. The day will also offer networking opportunities and the chance to visit with several exhibitors selling a variety of breast-related products. A continental breakfast and buffet luncheon will be served. The cost is $35 per person, with the remaining cost underwritten by Rays of Hope. Parking will be validated for the Civic Center Parking Garage only. For those unable to afford the event fee, a limited number of scholarships are available by calling Sandra Hubbard at the Rays of Hope Outreach Office at (413) 794-9556. For more information on the 17th Annual Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day, or to request a registration form, call (413) 794-9556. For more information about Rays of Hope, visit www.baystatehealth.org/raysofhope.

Journey Around the World for Literacy
April 30: Link to Libraries invites you to travel to India, Asia, Latin America, France, Ireland, and Italy — all within the Delaney House and D. Hotel and Suites. A selection of ballrooms and suites will be transformed into different global destinations, complete with costumes, cuisine, décor, and local flavor. The event, which runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Delaney House on Route 5 in Holyoke, costs $25 per person, which includes multiple food stations.
An optional $10 buys unlimited sampling at specialty drink stations.
There will also be a cash bar. Funds will benefit literacy programs through Link to Libraries. To register, send a check,
payable to Link to Libraries Inc., to the following address: Link to Libraries, Attn. Karen Blinderman, Registrar, P.O. Box 958,
West Springfield, MA 01090. Your check is your reservation.

Not Just Business as Usual
May 1: The Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Foundation’s Not Just Business as Usual event is a key networking event for business leaders in Western Mass. This annual celebration, in its fifth year, is a celebration of innovative thinking which gives participants the opportunity to learn from business experts while raising significant funding for the STCC WORKS scholarship program. It will be held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A cocktail and networking reception will be run from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with dinner and keynote speaker to follow from 7 to 9 p.m. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Alan Robinson, award-winning author and associate dean of the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. Robinson will discuss his latest book, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas. Drawing on his work with companies worldwide, Robinson will review the strategies needed to develop a management team open to grassroots innovation and the policies and practices that encourage — and those that discourage — employees’ ideas.
Robinson has advised more than 200 companies in 15 countries. Both tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available. Tickets are $175 each or $1,500 for a table of 10. For additional information or to become a sponsor, contact Christina Tuohey, STCC’s director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, at (413) 755-4475 or [email protected]. To purchase tickets online, visit www.stcc.edu/njbau.

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. The 40 Under Forty program, launched in 2007, has become one of the region’s most-anticipated annual events, and the recognition has become a prestigious badge of honor for its recipients. Judges recently chose this year’s class from more than 150 nominations, a record. They will be announced, and their stories told, in the April 21 issue. More details on the gala will be revealed in upcoming issues, but tickets cost $65, and they typically sell out quickly. For more information or to order tickets, call (413) 781-8600.

Court Dockets

By
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.

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
Carol Kestyn v. Green Acres, LLC and PCE Management Co. Inc.
Allegation: Negligent maintenance of carpet in the common area causing trip and fall: $250,000
Filed: 2/18/14

Marcia Vincent v. Mackin Construction Co., and ABC Corp.
Allegation: Failure to properly remove and treat accumulated snow causing injury: $487,500
Filed: 2/25/14

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Cheyda Rodriguez v. Premier Education Group, LP, William Anjos, and Paul Ferrise
Allegation: FMLA interference and retaliation: $36,630
Filed: 2/28/14

Commerce and Industry Insurance Co. v. C.D.A. Roofing and Siding Contractors Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment on services rendered: $41,780
Filed: 2/21/14

Preferred Mutual Insurance Co. a/s/o Jose Santos v. Alves Fuels Inc.
Allegation: Defendant negligently overfilled fuel oil tank and pumped fuel into the plaintiff’s home: $59,021.71
Filed: 2/19/14

Ryder Truck Rental Inc. v. Souse Seafood Inc.
Allegation: Breach of vehicle lease agreement: $27,403.44
Filed: 2/24/14

Western Mass Electric Co. v. Videll Healthcare Springside, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $118,409.33
Filed: 2/20/14

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Adam Farnum v. Windalier Springdale Mall, LLC
Allegation: Slip and fall causing injury: $14,440
Filed: 2/4/14

Bernardo A. Sanchez Jr. v. Town Fair Tire
Allegation: Plaintiff sustained injuries when hit by a scissor lift, which was operated by an employee of the defendant: $13,077.10
Filed: 2/19/14

Juan Wollmershauser v. The Mercy Hospital Inc.
Allegation: Plaintiff was struck in the face by an automated door: $14,651.37
Filed: 2/14/14