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Month: July 2015

John Myers Named 2015 Insurance Professional of the Year

By
Daily News

BURLINGTON — John Myers, chairman of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Companies (AIM Mutual), has been named the 2015 Insurance Professional of the Year by the Insurance Library Assoc. of Boston. The award will be presented at a luncheon ceremony at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel on Oct. 16.

The Insurance Library Assoc. noted that Myers was selected for the honor because of “his dedication to the insurance industry and community at large.” Myers served as AIM Mutual’s chief executive for 19 years and was elected chairman of the board of directors in 2012. His insurance career has spanned more than 40 years.

During Myers’s tenure with AIM Mutual, he has worked to establish the company as an industry leader in the region, known for its contributions to workers’ compensation insurance legislation and workplace initiatives on behalf of employers and injured workers. AIM Mutual is now the second-largest workers’ compensation insurer in the Commonwealth and provides workers’ compensation coverage for 17,000 employers throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

Under Myers’s leadership, the AIM Mutual Insurance Companies have been consistently rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best Co. for their financial strength and stable outlook and have been recognized for their innovative approach to the business.

Myers was elected to the governing committee of the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau in 2004 and served as its chair in 2006. He has been a member of the Property Casualty Insurers Assoc. of America’s terrorism Risk Alternative Task Force since July 2007.

The Insurance Library Assoc. of Boston, founded in 1887, provides literature, information services, and professional education for the insurance industry and related interests. More information on its annual recognition award and this year’s recipient can be found at www.insurancelibrary.org.

State Economy Expands Robustly in Q2, UMass Journal Reports

By
Daily News

AMHERST — Massachusetts real gross domestic product grew at an estimated annual rate of 5.4% in the second quarter of 2015 according to the MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index, released today by MassBenchmarks, the journal of the Massachusetts economy published by the UMass Donahue Institute in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

U.S. real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.3%, according to the advance estimate of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Based on the latest available information, it’s estimated that, in the first quarter of 2015, the state economy expanded at a 2.1% annualized rate while the nation grew at a 0.6% annualized rate.

In the second quarter, the state’s economy rebounded strongly from the weather-induced slowdown of the first quarter, with robust growth in employment and spending. Massachusetts payroll employment expanded at a 3.1% annual rate in the second quarter, nearly twice as fast as in the first quarter, when employment grew at a 1.7% annualized rate. Nationally, payroll employment grew at a 1.7% annual rate in the second quarter, down from 2.2% in the first quarter. The state’s unemployment rate fell from 4.8% in March to 4.6% in June, while the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 5.5% to 5.3% during the same period. The state’s unemployment rate has reached pre-recession levels.

“The rising tide appears to finally be lifting the boats of the long-term unemployed, even though conditions for these workers remain difficult,” noted Dr. Alan Clayton-Matthews, MassBenchmarks senior contributing editor and associate professor of Economics and Public Policy at Northeastern University, who compiles and analyzes the Current and Leading Indexes.

The broader U-6 measure of unemployment, which includes part-time workers who want full-time work and those who are unemployed but marginally attached to the labor force, declined significantly in the second quarter. “For the 12-month period ending in June, the Massachusetts U-6 rate fell to 10.4%, a 0.6-percentage-point drop from the 12-month period ending in March,” he noted. “In June, Current Population Survey-based estimates put the Massachusetts U-6 rate at 9.7%. The corresponding U.S. rate in June was 10.5%.”

Massachusetts income and spending growth was also very strong in the second quarter. Based on withholding tax revenues, state wage and salary income in the second quarter grew at a 4.8% annual rate, following growth of 4.8% in the first quarter. Consumer and business spending on goods subject to the state’s regular sales and motor-vehicle sales tax increased dramatically in the aftermath of the snowiest winter on record. In the second quarter, spending grew at a whopping 19.3% annual rate, following 1.8% growth in the first quarter. The ability and willingness of households and businesses to spend reflects the underlying strength of the state economy and bodes well for future growth, the report asserts.

The MassBenchmarks Leading Economic Index for June is 4.8%, and the three-month average for April through June is 5.0%. The leading index is a forecast of the growth in the current index over the next six months, expressed as an annual rate. Thus, it indicates that the economy is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 4.8% over the next six months (through December 2015), suggesting that the state’s solid economic performance will continue through the rest of the year. It is projecting real state gross-product growth of 5.1% in the third quarter and 4.8% in the fourth quarter.

However, while the state economy appears to be in the midst of a solid economic expansion that positions the Commonwealth for solid future growth, risks to the outlook remain. Weak international economic conditions and geopolitical uncertainty continue to weigh heavily on the economic outlook for Massachusetts and the nation. The strong dollar, combined with sluggish growth in Europe and slowing growth in China, has had a significant impact on state and national exports. For the first five months of this year, Massachusetts merchandise exports are down 14.0% as compared to the first five months of 2014, while U.S. merchandise exports are down 5.2% during the same time period.

Westfield Financial Posts Solid Second Quarter

By
Daily News

WESTFIELD — Westfield Financial Inc., the holding company for Westfield Bank, reported net income of $1.4 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared to $1.3 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, net income was $2.7 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, compared to $3.0 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for the same period in 2014.

Among other selected financial highlights for second quarter of 2015:

• Total loans increased $73.3 million, or 10.7%, to $759.4 million at June 30, 2015 compared to $686.1 million at June 30, 2014. This was primarily due to increases in residential loans of $47.3 million, commercial and industrial loans of $23.4 million, and commercial real-estate loans of $2.1 million.

• Securities increased $20.7 million, or 4.2%, to $516.7 million at June 30, 2015, compared to $496.0 million at June 30, 2014. On a sequential-quarter basis, securities were relatively flat at June 30, 2015, compared to $515.2 million at March 31, 2015.

• Net interest and dividend income increased $78,000 to $7.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 compared to $7.7 million for the comparable 2014 period. On a sequential-quarter basis, net interest and dividend income increased $189,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

• The bank prepaid $10 million in Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings with a weighted average rate of 2.77% and incurred a pre-payment expense of $278,000 in the second quarter of 2015 in order to eliminate a higher-cost liability. Net gains on the sales of securities of $276,000 were used to partially offset the pre-payment expense.

• Non-interest expense increased $334,000 to $6.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 compared to the second quarter of 2014. On a sequential-quarter basis, non-interest expense increased by $154,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, compared to $6.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. The efficiency ratio, excluding non-core items, was 76.1% for the second quarter of 2015, compared to 78.1% for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

“Over the past twelve months, we have seen significant momentum in our efforts to grow both the loan portfolio and our deposit base,” said President and CEO James Hagan. “With loans increasing 10.7% year over year, we are demonstrating our commitment to growing our core customer franchise.

“We are also pleased to announce that Christopher Fager, assistant vice president, Commercial Lending, has recently joined Westfield Bank’s commercial team,” Hagan added. “Christopher brings more than six years of banking experience and is based in our commercial-lending office in downtown Springfield, which was established in August 2014.”

Finally, Hagan noted, “we continue to see success in Westfield Bank’s recent market expansion into Northern Connecticut. Our two Connecticut offices now have over $36.6 million in deposits. The Granby, Connecticut office has been open just over two years, and Enfield, Connecticut opened in November 2014. The customer base in the Connecticut market is very receptive to our brand of banking, and our objective is to continue to develop loan and deposit relationships.”

BCC, Elms Create Unique Weekend Program

By
Daily News

PITTSFIELD, CHICOPEE — Berkshire Community College (BCC) and Elms College in Chicopee have signed a memorandum of understanding allowing qualified BCC human services graduates, as well as graduates with associate degrees from other accredited institutions, to complete Elms College’s bachelor’s-degree program in social work at BCC’s main campus on West Street in Pittsfield.

BCC President Ellen Kennedy and Elms College President Mary Reap originally signed an agreement regarding the off-campus program for social work in May 2013. Classes previously offered in Lee will shift to BCC’s main campus starting next month. Students will work with BCC advisors as they complete their associate degrees at BCC and then with Elms advisors as they transition into the bachelor’s-degree completion programs.

“We’re pleased to welcome Elms College to our Pittsfield campus,” said Kennedy. “We know that students are the most successful when they have the flexibility to balance studies with work and personal commitments. Having top-notch educators from Elms College at our campus offering weekend classes will most certainly benefit students interested in earning a bachelor’s degree in social work close to home.”

Added Reap, “social work is a growing, vitally important field with expanding job opportunities for Western Massachusetts. We’re pleased to partner with Berkshire Community College to set students on the path to bachelor’s degrees leading to rewarding careers, empowering them to change lives for the better in the Berkshire community.”

In addition to social work, Elms will also offer two online degree-completion programs as part of the memorandum of understanding, including a bachelor’s degree in speech language pathology assistant and a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management.

Classes taught by Elms College faculty will be held at BCC on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. Students who complete coursework in 10 eight-week sessions over a 20-month period will be awarded a bachelor of science degree in social work. Two cohorts, consisting of new and returning students, will begin classes Aug. 29.

To qualify for transfer to Elms or enrollment into the off-campus program, BCC students must have earned an associate degree and have a minimum grade-point average of 2.5.

The two institutions originally signed an articulation agreement for social work majors in 2004. The first off-campus social work cohort launched in August 2013 and graduated this past May.

BCC currently has approximately 50 transfer-articulation agreements with colleges and universities throughout the country. Examples include Clarkson University, Colorado State University, Union College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Russell Sage College, Southern Vermont College, the University at Albany, the College of Saint Rose, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. BCC also has MassTransfer agreements with all Massachusetts state colleges and universities, including UMass Amherst and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

In addition to BCC, Elms College has a number off-campus agreements with institutions — including Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, Quinsigamond Community College, and Springfield Technical Community College — in dozens of programs, including early care and education, management and marketing, social work, nursing, accounting, and psychology.

For more information about BCC’s human-services program, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/humanservices or e-mail Audrey Ringer at [email protected].

For information about Elms College’s social work program, e-mail Maureen Holland at [email protected]. For information about Elms College’s social work degree-completion program, contact Wanda Banks at [email protected] or (413) 313-4287.

Fallon Health Expands Services in Western Mass.

By
Daily News

WORCESTER — Fallon Health, a not-for-profit healthcare-services organization, announced it is strengthening its commitment to the people it serves in Western Mass.

Members of its NaviCare program — a Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan and Senior Care Options program — now have access to Baycare Health Partners, a physician-hospital organization serving five Baystate Health hospitals and more than 200 medical practices in the Pioneer Valley.

Fallon members enrolled in the plan’s NaviCare program are able to access Baycare’s participating facilities and physicians including Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Baystate Noble Hospital, and Baystate Wing Hospital.

“Fallon has a high regard for Baycare Health Partners’ commitment to improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and sustainability of healthcare in the community,” said Patrick Hughes, president and CEO of Fallon Health. “We’re pleased to partner with them to increase accessibility to high-quality healthcare for one of the most vulnerable populations we serve — frail elders with complex care needs.”

NaviCare is a unique product for adults age 65 and over. It combines in one package all Medicare and Medicaid benefits, plus additional benefits and services designed to promote independence and quality of life. NaviCare is available to those ages 65 and over who are enrolled in MassHealth Standard. For those who qualify, NaviCare is available at a $0 premium with $0 co-payments. All healthcare is coordinated by a team of doctors, specialists, nurses, and social workers who develop a plan of care specific to each member.

“For more than 25 years, Fallon has remained committed to helping older adults with complex care needs to live as independently as possible in the communities in which they are comfortable,” said Richard Burke, president of Senior Care Services and Government Programs. “Each time we expand our NaviCare network, we’re able to provide more options that can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of older adults and their families.”

In addition to NaviCare, Fallon offers other products and programs for Medicare beneficiaries in Western Mass. and throughout the state, including a variety of plan choices for its Medicare Advantage product, called Fallon Senior Plan. Fallon also offers a Program of all-inclusive care for the elderly, called Summit ElderCare.

Deadline Is Friday for Business Expo Seminar Proposals

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Organizers of the 2015 Western Mass. Business Expo, presented by Comcast Business, have extended the deadline for submitting proposals for educational seminars to be presented at the annual show. Proposals will now be accepted through Friday, July 31.

This year’s event, set for Nov. 4 at the MassMutual Center, is expected to attract more than 2,000 business professionals. The show will feature a number of seminars to be presented during the course of the day in three tracks: Sales & Marketing, Business Management, and Hottest Trends. Presentations should be 45 minutes in length, be interactive, and give business owners and managers insight and actionable ideas to take back to their office or plant. Proposals may be sent to [email protected].

Cristina Perez Joins Team at Tighe & Bond

By
Daily News

WESTFIELD — Tighe & Bond, an environmental engineering and consulting firm, recently hired Cristina Perez to lead and expand its asset-management services for the firm’s clients.

A civil and environmental engineer with more than 15 years of consulting experience, she has more than nine years of experience with infrastructure asset management, capital-improvement planning, and geographic information systems (GIS). Perez will work primarily out of Tighe & Bond’s new Westwood, Mass. office.

Perez has consulted with numerous public and private clients on asset-management, GIS, facilities-management, pavement-management, sustainability, and climate-change projects. She leverages her background in civil engineering for designing and architecting targeted asset-management solutions for her clients.

“We are happy to welcome Cris to our growing team of experts,” said David Pinsky, president and CEO of Tighe & Bond. “Her expertise will benefit our communities and clients greatly as they become increasingly focused on asset management to prioritize and properly budget improvements within the constraints of limited funding.”

Perez earned her master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Tufts University. She received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

Springfield Museums Announce Summer Spectacular Schedule

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums have announced the schedule for the final two weeks of its annual Summer Spectacular Family Series, which runs through Aug. 14.

Every Monday through Friday, families visiting the Quadrangle will find a schedule packed with hands-on art and science activities, live reptile demonstrations, and family entertainment for all ages. All programs and performances are free with admission unless otherwise noted. The 2015 premier sponsor is MassMutual; the Summer Spectacular is underwritten by the Berkshire Bank Foundation and the Charles H. Hall Foundation.

On Friday, Aug. 7, the museums will offer free general admission to all visitors as part of the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Friday program. This year, 70 museums and cultural institutions across Massachusetts will participate in the program. Since its inception in 2009, Free Fun Friday has drawn more than 800,000 visitors to venues throughout the Commonwealth, with more than 165,000 people taking part last year alone. The free admission on Aug. 7 does not include planetarium tickets or special exhibit fees, and the museums are not able to accommodate groups on Free Fun Fridays.

The centerpiece of the six-week series is the array of top-tier family performers from around the Northeast, appearing in the Davis Auditorium every Wednesday through Friday at 11 a.m. This year’s slate includes a mini-residency by the Puppet People, who will perform every Thursday during the Spectacular, as well as shows by family favorites like the Nields and a host of others. A full schedule of performers is posted at www.springfieldmuseums.org. Featured performers during the final two weeks of the Spectacular include:

• Wednesday, Aug. 5: Jeff Danger Science Ranger performs “The Physical Science Show”;

• Thursday, Aug. 6: The Puppet People perform “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”;

• Friday, Aug. 7: Keith Johnson presents “Bubbleology: The Secret World of Bubbles” (two shows, 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.);

• Wednesday, Aug. 12: “Folk Rock Family Music” by the Nields;

• Thursday, Aug. 13: The Puppet People perform “The Elephant Child”; and

• Friday, Aug. 14: Magician Steve Lechner presents “The Cabinet of Scientific Curiosities.”

Fun and educational presentations are offered every week during the Spectacular, starting with live animal demonstrations by Forest Park’s Zoo on the Go program from 1 to 2 p.m. every Monday. More live animal programs featuring reptiles from the Springfield Science Museum’s Solutia Live Animal Center take place on Wednesdays and Fridays from noon to 3 p.m.

Young visitors to the Science Museum during the Family Series can enjoy science, math, and technology activities every Monday through Friday at the Curiosity Corner, presented in conjunction with the exhibit “Curious George: Let’s Get Curious!” (additional fee applies). Fans of Curious George can meet the mischievous monkey on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (check Welcome Center for location).

The six-week Spectacular also features activity and dress-up stations available daily from noon to 4 p.m. in the Hasbro Games Art Discovery Center at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, and a hands-on History Cart with artifacts from years past at the Wood Museum of Springfield History on Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. There are also daily planetarium shows (additional fee required) and impromptu science demonstrations by the Roving Scientist at the museum’s Family Science Adventures Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

General admission is free for members and Springfield residents with proof of address, and covers admission to all four Springfield Museums and most Summer Spectacular activities. General admission is $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and college students, $9.50 for children 3-17, and free for children under 3 and museum members. For more information, call (413) 263-6800, ext. 322.

Police to Occupy HCC Campus Aug. 7 for Criminal Justice Academy Field Day

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — The Holyoke Community College campus will be swarming with police activity Aug. 7, as law enforcement personnel provide demonstrations of their work for HCC’s Criminal Justice Academy, concluding two months of summer programming for area youth.

The Criminal Justice Academy Field day will cap a one-week intensive program designed to introduce area middle-schoolers to crime scene investigation and forensic science.

Field Day will include demonstrations from the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) bomb squad, the Chicopee police K-9 unit, and, weather permitting, a Massachusetts State Police helicopter.

Retired Granby Police Chief Lou Barry, HCC Class of 1973, runs the CJ academy, with assistance from HCC staff and other local police personnel.

In addition to the CJ Academy, HCC’s Summer Youth programming continues this week (July 27-31) with Youth Soccer, Lego Robotics, Youth Fencing, and Baking and next week (Aug. 3-7) with Science, Math and Technology for Girls, American Sign Language and Deaf Culture, and Beginning Web Design.

Chambers to Host Session on Sick Time Law

By
Daily News

HADLEY — The Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, and Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce will host an informational session of the new earned-sick-time law on August 6 at the Hadley Farms Meeting House, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Attorney General’s Office is presenting information sessions to educate employers and employees about the new measure, which went into effect July 1. These sessions, offered statewide and online, will provide guidance on implementation, explain employers’ and employees’ rights and responsibilities, and provide opportunities to get specific questions answered.

Information on the law may be found on the Attorney General’s Earned Sick Time web page: www.mass.gov/ago/earnedsicktime. This informational session is free and open to the public.

Deadline is Friday for Business Expo Seminar Proposals

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Organizers of the 2015 Western Mass. Business Expo, presented by Comcast Business, have extended the deadline for submitting proposals for educational seminars to be presented at the annual show. Proposals will now be accepted until July 31.This year’s event, set for Nov. 4 at the MassMutual Center, is expected to attract more than 2,000 business professionals. The show will feature a number of seminars to be presented during the course of the day in three tracks: Sales & Marketing; Business Management; and ‘Hottest Trends.’ Presentations should be 45 minutes in length, be interactive, and give business owners and managers insight and actionable ideas to take back to their office or plant. Proposals may be sent to [email protected]

Emily Dickinson International Society Annual Meeting Slated

By
Daily News

AMHERST — Emily Dickinson scholars and enthusiasts from around the world will be visiting Amherst August 7-9 for the annual meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society.

Staged in collaboration with the Emily Dickinson Museum, this year’s meeting has a theme of “Dickinson in Her Elements.” The programs, said EDIS President Martha Nell Smith, are inspired by the poet’s engagements with air, earth, fire, and water, and the general public is encouraged to attend and participate.

“There’s a delightful variety of offerings, from critical institutes, lectures, and musical performances to poetry workshops and tours of Emily Dickinson’s gardens and Amherst College’s Wilder Observatory,” said Smith, who noted that after the success of last year’s annual meeting in Amherst, she’s excited to be back in Dickinson’s home town again. “People are excited to be returning to Amherst. They do love being in Dickinson’s element.”

Among the many offerings are:
• A critical institute in which participants share and critique essays on Dickinson’s life and work; 

• Lectures by D’Youville College English Professor Marta Werner on “The Weather (of) Documents,” University of Georgia English Professor Cody Marrs on “Dickinson in the Winds of War,” and Tulane University English Professor Michelle Kohler’s “Prompter than a Star: Dickinson’s Clockwork”; 

• Performances by The Red Skies Music Ensemble of “Emily Dickinson in her Element: Accomplished Musician, Emerging Poet” and jazz pianist Tomoko Ozawa performing works inspired by Dickinson’s poetry on Martha Dickinson Bianchi’s Steinway in the Evergreens.

 The Red Skies Music Ensemble performance will be held Friday, August 7, at 8 p.m. at Amherst College’s Keefe Campus Center. Tickets are $20 at the door. There is limited, first come, first served, seating;

• Combining the music Emily Dickinson played and loved with an illustrated narrative and theatrical presentation of her own wit and commentaries from correspondence and poetry, the Red Skies Music Ensemble delivers an entertaining and vivid portrayal of Dickinson in her elements of music, nature, Amherst and New England. The event is co-sponsored by the Emily Dickinson International Society, Jones Library Special Collections, and the Emily Dickinson Museum; 


• Presentations by authors Nuala O’Connor (Miss Emily) and Susan Snively (The Heart Has Many Doors); and
• Poetry workshops and discussions, a hike on the Emily Dickinson Trail, visits to the Amherst College Wilder Observatory, and a program on Dickinson’s gardens.

The Emily Dickinson International Society was founded in 1988 to promote, perpetuate, and enhance the study and appreciation of Emily Dickinson throughout the world.

Opinion: BusinessWest July, 27, 2015

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Opinion

Consumers are Entitled to the Facts

By JIM McGOVERN and CHELLIE PINGREE

America has a proud tradition of empowering consumers. You can walk into any grocery store in the country, pick up a product from the shelf, and immediately learn the calorie count, the amount of protein per serving, and the full list of ingredients.

So it’s alarming that Congress could soon pass a bill that aims to keep consumers in the dark when it comes to foods with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

Last week, the House of Representatives considered the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act. Unfortunately, the bill does nothing to support safe and accurate food labeling. Instead, it protects the status quo by preventing states from requiring labels on foods containing GMO ingredients and locks in the current and inadequate voluntary GMO labeling system.

As more of the foods we eat contain GMOs, consumers naturally want to know which foods contain them. All they are asking for are the facts. This bill ignores that.

Congress needs to pass a law that puts consumers first by requiring mandatory GMO labeling across the country, eliminating confusion and establishing one national standard.

Polls consistently show that there is overwhelming support for clearly labeling foods that have been genetically modified or contain GMO ingredients. In a 2012 survey by the Mellman Group, 89% were in favor of labeling with 77% saying they “strongly” prefer GMO labeling. That same survey also showed strong bipartisan support for GMO labeling with huge majorities of Democrats (85%), independents (93%), and Republicans (88%) all in favor.

While Congress has been stuck in neutral, states have stepped up and passed laws that give the power back to consumers. In 2014, Vermont became the first state to require mandatory GMO labeling. Connecticut and Maine have both passed laws to require labeling and more than a dozen other states are considering similar oversight, including Massachusetts. What’s more, 64 other countries have GMO labeling, including Brazil whose consumption patterns are similar to those in the United States.

Supporters of the bill claim that GMO labeling will increase food prices. While plenty of things impact the prices we pay at the grocery store — including transportation costs and ingredient costs — GMO labeling is not one of them. In study after study, we have seen that a simple GMO disclaimer on food packaging will not increase prices.

Food companies change their labels all the time to make new claims, and all food companies will soon have to change their labels to make important changes to the Nutrition Fact Panel. Adding a few words to the back of the food package about genetic engineering will not have any impact of the cost of making food.

Opponents of updating food labeling made the same bogus arguments when they fought nutrition labeling in the 1980s. Back then, they claimed that disclosing the presence of calories, salt, fat, and sugar would require costly reformulations. But those much more significant changes to foods labels — adding the Nutrition Facts Panel and including more information about ingredients — didn’t change the price of food at all.

Americans want more information, not less. What we need is one law that makes GMO labeling mandatory across the country and establishes a single national standard that eliminates confusion and puts consumers in charge.

This debate isn’t about the safety of GMOs. It’s about consumers’ right to know what’s in the food they put on their tables. We ought to give them that right.

Jim McGovern is a U.S. representative from Massachusetts. Chellie Pingree is a U.S. representative from Maine.

Editorial: BusinessWest July 27, 2015

By
Opinion

A Character Test for Springfield

Looking at the matter objectively, this would seem like a strange time to be voicing anything approaching concern when it comes to the city of Springfield.

Indeed, in many ways, things haven’t been this good in the City of Homes for decades — maybe a century when you get right down to it. There’s excitement and energy in the air, a can-do feeling that comes naturally when the city is chosen as home for a half-billion-dollar casino, a Chinese company has selected it as the place where it wants to build subway cars, Union Station is poised to end nearly a half-century of frustrating dormancy, and there is greater entrepreneurial juice than at any time since Smith and Wesson started manufacturing guns here.

But momentum is a curious thing. One moment, an individual or baseball team — or city — can have it in abundance, and the next minute, all or most of it can be lost.

Springfield could very well be at one of those types of crossroads.

The casino project is, in fact, underway, although you really couldn’t tell that by walking though the South End. Things are off to a very slow start, and already MGM is asking the gaming commission to move up the opening date from 2017 to 2018.

The stated reason is the pending I-91 viaduct reconstruction project (we’ll get to that in a minute), but there is already concern that there might be more to this — much more. Connecticut has passed legislation allowing the owners of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun to explore opening a jointly run casino near the border with Massachusetts. Suddenly, 2018 looks like a best-case scenario for MGM’s facility, and people are starting to wonder out loud just how successful a Springfield casino will be with an already-established competitor operating 10 to 15 miles away.

And then, there’s that I-91 project. It’s been looming for about 18 months now, and work is set to begin (lane-closing schedules are starting to dominate local news broadcasts).

Residents, business owners, and people who work downtown are wary about this project, and they should be. Anyone who lived through — or tried to do business through — the Memorial Bridge reconstruction project and/or the seemingly simple process of reversing the ramps on I-91 to make the new Basketball Hall of Fame more accessible, can readily attest that these projects rarely proceed on schedule and are far more of an inconvenience than even the worst skeptics can anticipate.

Already, service businesses such as law, accounting, and financial services firms, as well as retail operations, are beginning to wonder if people will even try to get to downtown Springfield to do business with them.

All this is enough to potentially zap some of that all-too-critical momentum from the city at a time when Springfield seems to be rebounding in a very big way.

This may sound over-simplistic, but the city, its elected officials, and its business leaders, can’t let that happen. How? That’s the $64,000 question, and it will take some imagination to answer it.

One piece to the puzzle could be a well-constructed pubic relations campaign, one focused on how far the city has come, and how far it can go once the casino opens, construction crews have replaced the last piece of deteriorating viaduct, and some of the startups and next-stage companies taking root in Springfield hit their stride.

A PR blitz won’t make it any easier to get into downtown Springfield once the heavy work on I-91 begins, but it might keep the focus where it belongs — on the city’s long-term future — and not on traffic jams or the slow pace of progress in the construction of MGM Springfield.

As we said at the top, this might seem like a strange time to be even a little worried about Springfield, but that’s a sentiment many people are expressing.

The challenge moving forward is not to allow worry to stifle momentum.

The Mill District Builds on the Cowls Family’s Legacy

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Cover Cowls Mill District
Commercial Real Estate Cover Story Sections

an architect’s rendering of the Mill District

Above, an architect’s rendering of the Mill District, the latest business venture for the Cowls/Jones family, which has operated everything from a farm to logging ventures, such as the one seen below, circa 1900.

Cowls Loggers 1900

Planting New Seeds at Cowls Mill District

It’s said to be a place “where history and opportunity meet.” That’s one of the marketing slogans being used for the Mill District in North Amherst. Over more than 250 years and nine generations of the Cowls/Jones family, the site has been home to everything from a trolley station to a cow barn; from one of the nation’s first electric saw mills to a massive building supply store. Now in its latest incarnation, it is being fashioned into a unique mixed-use facility, described, alternately, as a ‘destination’ and a ‘community.’

Cinda Jones says that each generation of her family, going back more than 250 years, has left its mark on the family business, which started as a dairy farm in what is now North Amherst — and also on the community.

Usually, several marks.

In 1741, for example, Jonathan Cowls, who would eventually serve the town as a selectman, acquired what was known as the Home Farm, which stretched across a long strip of land from what is now Route 63 west to the Hadley line. He would eventually expand the small farm into lumber manufacturing. And in 1768, Jonathan’s son, David Cowls, and Sarah (Eastman) Cowls built the farmhouse at 134 Montague Road. Nine generations of the same Cowls/Jones family have lived in that house, which has also served as the operations center for the family business.

Fast-forwarding more than 125 years, Walter Dickinson Cowls, or WD, as he was known, would expand that house. He would also help build the North Amherst Library and eventually give the family enterprise the name it still uses today — W.D. Cowls Inc. As a partner in Cowls & Childs, a contracting business, he built roads and undertook several large construction projects, such as the Amherst and Sunderland Street Railway System. He was also a selectman and later a state representative.

WD’s grandson, Walter Cowls Jones, meanwhile, would expand the business into real estate, and he’s credited with building one of the first, if not the first, electric saw mills in the country. He was Amherst’s water commissioner and chairman of the Planning Board. His son, Denison, founded DH Jones Real Estate in 1958 and built several apartment complexes. Denison’s brother, Paul, ran the family sawmill and timberland operations and built Cowls Building Supply on the Home Farm site in 1980.

“There’s a long legacy of business innovation and community involvement,” said Cinda Jones, Paul’s daughter and current president of W.D. Cowls Inc., and one that she and her bother, Evan, many cousins, and even a niece (the 10th generation involved with the family business) are continuing.

Cinda Jones, left, and Mollye Wolahan

Cinda Jones, left, and Mollye Wolahan stand in Sarah Cowls’ cow barn, currently being transformed into an Atkins Farms Country Market.

And while Jones and her bother have many accomplishments on their resumes — in 2011, for example, they orchestrated a deal that would preserve a 5.4-square-mile forest in Franklin County now named after their father — perhaps their most significant contribution to that family legacy is a development known as the Mill District.

An intriguing work in progress, it embodies the past, present, and future, and is an ambitious redevelopment effort that involves several of the buildings and business operations started or expanded by previous generations of the Cowls/Jones family.

For example, on the site of what used to be a trolley barn on the north side of Cowls Road sits a new development called, appropriately enough, the Trolley Barn. It now houses The Lift salon, the Bread & Butter restaurant, and several apartments on the upper floors. Across the street and a few hundred yards to the east, in what’s still known as Sarah Cowls Cow Barn (named after WD’s only child), an Atkins Farms Country Market is taking shape, with an August soft opening planned.

There are other buildings and sites still to be developed, including a 14,400-square-foot saw mill, a replacement for the one Walter Cowls Jones built and that burned to the ground in 2001; the so-called Onion Barn; several mill houses along Cowls Road, and former farmland stretching to Route 116 called Goat Meadow. Potential uses range from additional retail to facilities for the arts to senior housing.

But Jones told BusinessWest that this development is not simply about finding new uses for properties named by and for her ancestors. It’s also about creating what she described, alternately, as a community and a destination, something she believes is sorely needed in an area less than a mile north of the UMass Amherst campus and three miles from Amherst Center.

“The vision for the Mill District is for an eats, arts, and entertainment destination, built with respect for our industrial and agricultural past and reflecting that history,” she explained. “This is where history and opportunity meet; it would be a place where you would have unique experiences not found on the Internet, a destination for not just college students, but people of all ages.”

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest talked with Jones and Mollye Wolahan, vice president of Real Estate and Commercial Development for W.D. Cowls Inc. about the Mill District and how it has the potential to change the landscape in North Amherst in myriad ways.

Board Feat

As she talked with BusinessWest in that farmhouse on Montague Road built by David and Sarah Cowls, Cinda Jones was supremely confident that the new Atkins Farms market, and the Mill District as a whole, would thrive.

And when asked why, she quickly dove into a discourse on geography — and business — concerning that decidedly rural area north and west of Amherst, starting with the town of Gill, population 1,500, where she lives.

The new Atkins taking shape in the Mill District

The new Atkins taking shape in the Mill District, set for a soft opening next month, is expected to be an anchor for the North Amherst development.

“They call it a food desert around here, and with good reason,” she said, referring to the area that also includes Leverett, Shutesbury, Ashfield, Conway, Deerfield, and other communities from which people commute to Amherst and Northampton. “I live on Route 2, and there’s nothing between Amherst and Route 2 of any substance; there’s no grocery stores of any size.

“Most people who work at UMass, in Amherst, and in points beyond, commute from more-affordable towns,” she went on. “These commuters are demanding better shopping and stopping options on their way home.”

This food desert, coupled with the need to redevelop several of the family’s shuttered or underperforming facilities, such as the saw mill, eventually led to the years-long process of conceptualizing the Mill District and then making it reality.

“We always knew that we would have the chance to do what every generation before us did, which was to figure out what our generation needed and then build it on the Home Farm site,” Jones explained. “The saw mill was sucking wind — it was losing money on 20 acres of land a half-mile north of UMass Amherst, and we decided to build what we know this area needs.”

And also build what is permitted on the commercially zoned property, she added quickly, noting that attempts to amend the zoning to allow more residential density have thus far failed. If that situation should change, then the future course of the district may be reshaped. But for now, the company is dealing with the present reality — meaning both the zoning laws and needs within the community.

This goal for the property is captured in an architect’s rendering of the district that is used as a marketing piece. It shows a mixed-use facility teeming with activity of both sides of Cowls Road. The image represents that mix of commercial and residential development that is sought, as well as a sense of community that both Jones and Wolahan described.

“We want to create a sense of place here in North Amherst,” said Wolahan, who brings a diverse resume to her assignmemt, including work as community development director for the Town of Mountain Village, the resort town adjacent to Telluride in Colorado. “And we found with the opening of the Trolley Barn and also with people coming into our office to explore opportunities with us is that there is such a demand for services and activities in this area.

“There is a large community here that doesn’t have the same services available in downtown,” she went on, adding that there is considerable vehicular traffic in the area on Routes 116 and 63. “There are a lot of families and many students living here, and what we’re trying to do is build on what’s already here and create not just the bricks and mortar, but the sense of community as well.”

While talks with Atkins about creating a presence in North Amherst and, more specifically, on the Cowls/Jones property had been going on for years (more on them later) the first piece of the Mill District development was the Trolley Barn.

The Trolley Barn

The Trolley Barn, now home to The Loft salon, Bread & Butter restaurant, and several apartments, opened its doors last year.

The apartments on the second and third floors leased out quickly — no surprise in an area always starved for market-rate housing — but the businesses also got off to fast starts, said Wolahan.

“Bread & Butter was packed when it first opened,” she recalled. “And it has pretty much stayed that way ever since.”

What’s in Store

When asked how she eventually corralled Atkins as a tenant, Jones didn’t mince words, and only needed a few of them.

“We begged them, begged, them, begged them, and begged them some more,” she said, adding that to cinch a deal, the developers essentially took as much of the risk out of the equation as possible, building out the property to suit and pledging to expand it if (or, more likely, when, Jones predicted) need arises.

That property, a.k.a. the Cow Palace, was, as the name suggests, a functioning dairy barn until only a few decades ago and more recently served as a lumber-storage area. The property bears Sarah Cowls’ name, because it was her operation, said Jones, adding that she was a cattle farmer who also bred sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs, and peacocks, while also growing onions, corn, tobacco, and potatoes.

The barn was actually the third property on the site presented to Atkins as a potential new home, said Jones, adding that she first proposed the saw mill and later the Trolley Barn site, before the company became sold on the dairy barn.

As she offered BusinessWest a tour of the Atkins facility, Jones said the store represents mostly historic preservation, with most all of the old barn kept intact.

The new Atkins will not have a kitchen, so foods will not be prepared there, she said, adding quickly that prepared items will be transported to the new site from the South Amherst flagship facility several times a day. And overall, the new location will offer essentially everything the company sells — from apples and cider donuts to floral arrangements; from cheese to meats.

Atkins is expected to serve as the Mill District’s anchor, said Wolahan, adding that it will likely bring the volume of traffic that can attract other kinds of businesses and create the momentum needed to make that conceptual rendering of the area in question a reality.

Once Atkins is up and running and traffic within the facility increases, both Jones and Wolahan expect other pieces of the Mill District picture to fall into place.

Indeed, while walking past the old saw mill, closed in 2010, Jones said its future use is limited only by one’s imagination.

“We could tear that structure down and build a 3 ½-story building on top, and that would probably be the smartest thing to do,” Jones explained. “But with so many acres of open space, I’m hoping to lease that space.”

As an example of what might work there, she cited Kings Bowl, which has several locations in the Northeast and as far south as Orlando. Billing itself as “the classy bowling joint,” it features a host of games in addition to bowling — shuffleboard, skee ball, and air hockey, for example — as well as a restaurant and bar. Such a concept, said Jones, would certainly be appealing in the five-college area.

Meanwhile, another small barn on the property, known as the antique barn, is drawing some interest from a bank as the possible site of a branch and community center, said Jones, adding that those talks are preliminary in nature, as are discussions with UMass Amherst about utilizing one of the facilities as a possible home for startups.

saw mill on the family’s property

Cinda Jones says the saw mill on the family’s property, a replacement for the one Walter Cowls Jones built, presents a number of development opportunities.

As for Goat Meadow, the large open tract off Sunderland Road, Jones said there have been some discussions with the builders of senior-housing developments about that parcel. Amherst is rated as one of the most attractive communities nationwide for retirees, mostly because of the activities and life-long learning opportunities related to the five colleges, she went on, and there is a shortage of housing for such individuals.

Overall, discussions are being conducted with potential tenants in many categories, said Wolahan, adding that a number of multi-family housing developers have expressed interest because the zoning permits commercial businesses on the ground floors of properties and residential above, as seen in the Trolley Barn.

One of Wolahan’s current assignments is to finalize a master plan for the site, which will essentially act as a road map for developing the various properties and parcels.

Plane Speaking

As she talked about the need for a destination, one that would create experiences for people of all ages, Jones referenced her nieces and nephews, some of whom who are already working at W.D. Cowls, and thus represent the 10th generation of the family to do so.

“There’s no place for them to go around here, no place to go and have fun,” she noted, adding that creating such a place constitutes one of the many ways she intends for her generation to leave its mark on the Cowls business — and the community.

Indeed, the family that has been writing history for three centuries is poised to script some exciting new chapters.

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

Baystate Noble Wins Financial-improvement Award

By
Daily News

WESTFIELD — Baystate Noble Hospital recently accepted the 2014 Financial Improvement Performance award at the 2015 MedAssets Healthcare Business Summit. Every year, this award is presented to a healthcare organization that achieved significant financial improvement and realized substantial cash acceleration in 2014.

MedAssets is a performance-improving company that focuses on helping providers understand financial and operational gains so they can effectively serve the needs of their community. Its main focus is the healthcare industry and its core values include compassion, character, confidence, and commitment. MedAssets values people who are committed to supporting their clients in upholding their cherished healthcare missions. They have a passion to improve healthcare and find it essential to value relationships with organizations such as Baystate Noble Hospital.

“This award helps to validate all the hard work we have put into it and that we are on the right track,” said Cristina Fialho, revenue coordinator at Baystate Noble Hospital.

Hotel on North Is “Putting the Berkshires on the Map” Honoree

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Daily News

PITTSFIELD — 1Berkshire, the countywide economic development organization, announced today that The Hotel on North project has been chosen as the 2015 “Putting the Berkshires on the Map” honoree in recognition of the substantial contribution it is making to the overall image of the Berkshires. This recognition will be presented at the fifth annual Celebrate the Berkshires event on Sept. 10 at the Stationery Factory in Dalton.

Hotel on North creates a unique modern experience that also pays homage to the building’s historic character. The hotel has been called a game-changer for downtown Pittsfield because of its potential as a catalyst for further development on North Street. In 2012 MM&D, LLC principally owned by David and Laurie Tierney, bought the former Besse-Clark and Gowdy-Shandoff Buildings and 2.5 years later, have opened Hotel on North. The project represents an extraordinary collaboration, partnering many Berkshire County businesses to manage and furnish the hotel and to provide ongoing services as well as lobby galleries to display local art.

“We believe in local,” said Laurie Tierney at a formal press conference in February detailing the plans for the project. Teaming up for the property’s design and now the manager of the hotel is Main Street Hospitality Group, owner of the Red Lion Inn and operator of the Porches at MASS MoCA and the Williams Inn in Williamstown.

Don Dubendorf, Chair of 1Berkshire cited the nomination of the project as “… a collaboration that created the vision, accepted the risk, and now has realized exquisite results. This venture provides commerce and jobs, serves visitors and residents alike and celebrates creativity, the cornerstones of our Berkshire economy.”

“We are so pleased to be recognized by 1Berkshire, an entity that fosters creative collaborations throughout the region,” said David Tierney, co-owner of the hotel. “The hotel represents a $14 million commitment to the growth of downtown Pittsfield and has created 50 permanent jobs for Berkshire residents. Our family has been investing in the Berkshires for over 50 years and this project is the culmination of our belief in redevelopment.”

This year’s Celebrate the Berkshires event will also showcase Berkshire-based individuals and businesses who demonstrate excellence in several “Trendsetter Award” categories. Visit 1Berkshire.com to reserve tickets.

ADA Observes 25 Years, Employers Face Increased Litigation

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Columns Sections

Business Law: Marking a Milestone

By OLGA M. SERAFIMOVA, Esq.

Olga Serafimova

Olga Serafimova


July 26 marked the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — landmark legislation that created rights for individuals with physical and mental disabilities in employment, government facilities and services, places of public accommodations, telecommunications, and transportation.

In recent years, employers have seen a significant increase in discrimination litigation under the ADA and its state law counterpart, M.G.L. c. 151B. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for the enforcement of the ADA’s employment provisions, over the past 10 years there has been a fast and steady increase in the number of charges filed with the EEOC premised on disability discrimination, from about 19% of all charges in 2004 to almost 29% by 2014. This increase is particularly noticeable since the 2008 amendments to the ADA went into effect, which significantly expanded the medical conditions that qualify as disability for purposes of the act.

The same bears true with regard to complaints filed before the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the agency that enforces c. 151B. Specifically, since at least 2008, disability discrimination claims have been present in approximately one third of all complaints filed with the MCAD, resulting in more than 1,000 disability complaints each year. For example, last year, of the 3,127 complaints filed with the MCAD statewide, 1,187 contained at least one count of disability discrimination.

Given these statistics, it is absolutely crucial for businesses to be familiar with the responsibilities imposed upon them by the state and federal disability anti-discrimination statutes.

In the employment context, there are four types of possible disability discrimination claims: (1) disparate treatment; (2) failure to accommodate; (3) hostile work environment; and (4) retaliation.

A disparate-treatment claim alleges that a disabled person is treated differently (less favorably) than non-disabled co-workers solely because of the person’s disability. The difference in treatment does not have to come from a malicious place to be unlawful and may constitute a less-obvious omission, such as the failure to consider someone for a promotion or to offer training necessary for advancement.

Disparate treatment claims are most often brought by employees who are currently suffering from a serious physical or mental impairment. In addition to apparent disabilities, such as an inability to see, hear, speak, or walk, employees with latent physical afflictions, such as diabetes, disc herniation, cancer, and HIV/AIDS, may also be covered. Employees diagnosed with a wide spectrum of mental disabilities may also be protected, including, for instance, major depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder.

Many employers are unaware of the fact that disability-discrimination claims may also be brought by employees who are not currently disabled. Specifically, a disparate-treatment claim may be brought by an employee with a past history of a serious medical impairment, as well as by a healthy employee who, for one reason or another, may be perceived by his or her employer as disabled.

Also, under what is known as “associational discrimination,” an employee who is closely associated with a disabled individual, such as a spouse or a child, is likewise protected from discrimination.

The second type of disability discrimination — failure to accommodate — is perhaps the most complicated area of the law. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees who are actually disabled. The most important thing for employers to know is that, once a request for an accommodation is made or the need for one becomes apparent, an employer must engage with the employee in what is called the “interactive process.”

This process can be as simple as a conversation aimed at finding out what accommodation is necessary and sufficient to permit the employee to perform the essential functions of his or her job. Employers should also keep in mind that taking too long to engage in this process or to grant a request for a reasonable accommodation can likewise lead to litigation and result in liability. Lastly, while there is an exception for requests that would put an undue financial burden on the employer, this standard is very hard to meet, and so the exception should rarely be relied upon.

As suggested by its name, a hostile-work-environment claim alleges that an employee who is disabled is subjected to an abusive work environment by others in the workplace. The law prohibits speech or conduct that is severe or pervasive and not merely unpleasant or uncivil. Nevertheless, employers are well advised to take all complaints of harassment seriously in order to reduce the risk of litigation.

Lastly, in retaliation claims, employees most often allege that they were fired in retaliation for either requesting a reasonable accommodation or speaking up about what they believe to be discrimination. Employers should know that conduct short of a termination, such as a reduction in hours or a change in shifts, may also result in litigation if perceived by the employee as retaliatory.

One way employers can reduce their risk of litigation is to have a well-trained management team. Supervisors need to know how to recognize requests for accommodations and how to handle complaints of harassment. Good documentation is also crucial. Oftentimes, employers find themselves defending against a disparate treatment or retaliation claim after taking well-deserved disciplinary action towards an employee. In these situations, a written record of poor performance, attendance, or other employment issues and a documented consistency in application of policies will make all the difference.

Olga M. Serafimova, Esq. is an attorney at Royal LLP, a woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm. Royal LLP is a certified women’s business enterprise with the Mass. Supplier Diversity Office, the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council; (413) 586-2288; [email protected]

Doing Business as Certificates

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DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of July 2015.

AGAWAM

Beauty & Barber Boutique
762 Springfield St.
John Minto Jr.

Hathorne Company
429 North Westfield St.
Lynne Romansky

M.C. Catering
1 River Road
Charles Slenkiewicz

CHICOPEE

CoCo Permanent Cosmetics
620 Grattan St.
Donna Silva

Lifesavers CPR & First Aid Training Company
7 Syrek St.
Allen McLaughlin

Luckham Transportation
68 Warregan St.
Adrian Luckham

Stopas Flooring
28 Dillon St.
Nicholas Stopas

HOLYOKE

AGS Brows Threading
50 Holyoke St.
Poonam Gruung

City Pizza
420 High St.
Adam Kaplan

Clean Slate Centers
59 Bobala Road
Amanda Wilson

Diamond Light Shredded
63 Jackson St.
Igor Poltalets

Dollar Tree Store
2269 Northampton St.
Pamela Ridley

Green Services
589 Pleasant St.
Ruda Faliano

Luigi’s Christian Book & Music Store
108 High St.
Eddie Rivera
Old Navy
50 Holyoke St.
Thomas Croston

Pandora
50 Holyoke St.
Matthew Scott

Racing Mart
582 South St.
Abbas Younes

Silk Deli & Bistro
1693 Northampton St.
Eva Roman-Elliot

Sun Tech. AV
10 Manor House Court
Robert W. Humphreys

Vin’s Carwash
185 South St.
Paul J. Mazzariello

NORTHAMPTON

Best Heads in Town
141 Damon Road
Shelley McCormick

Care at Home
88 King St.
Sherill Pineda

Leeds Sunoco
430 North Main St.
Amrik Singh

Oxbow Design Build
24 Ward Ave.
Christopher Millett Jr.

Skyline Recovery Service
376 Easthampton Road
Frank Fournier III

The Vintage Cellar
11 Bridge St.
Jasmine Montanaro

PALMER

Alpha Home Improvement
1310 South Main St.
James Peterson

D & M Auto Repair
1427 Park St.
David Tsrew

Gotta Dance
1240 Park St.
Kelly J. Peabody

SPRINGFIELD

Holy City Books and More
109 Mill St.
Maria Osorio

Hughes Fencing
52 Hardy St.
Michael T. Hughes

Innovation Property
1 Carando Dr.
First Notice Systems

JB High Quality Dental
175 Maple St.
Jose A. Bautista

L & J Linen
71 Allen St.
Jonathan Knight

LJO Cleaning Services
78 Gilman St.
Luz F. Orduz

Learning and Leadership
60 Navajo Road
Juan R. Hernandez

Lexington’s Boutique
1500 Main St.
Christina Rivera

Lloyd Heslop
13 Manilla Ave.
Lloyd Heslop

Lucky Trader
30 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Wahab Bari

Mahogani Flava, LLC
135 Boston Road
Yvette Anderson

Major & Major Inc.
1760 Boston Road
Anna Major

Mason’s Lawn Services
52 Aster St.
Cyril X. Maurice

Morganti Group Inc.
1 Federal St.
Robert Salvatore

Neo Tech.
225 Carando Dr.
John W. Lowrey

Orchard Medical Associate
835 Worcester St.
Kevin Epstein

Palate Inc.
8 Temby St.
Jose E. Hernandez

Pea Soup Catering
183 Emerson St.
Dianna Lemieux

Pine Point Variety, LLC
139 Boston Road
Keiandra Clinton

Preem Deluxe Clothing
111 Florida St.
Jiles Morgan

Printers and More
68 Kenyon St.
Mark Anthony

Saint James Mini Market
328 St. James Ave.
Domingo Castillo

Sangy Inc.
119 Boston Road
Mazhar Iqbal

Savers
1277 Liberty St.
TVI Inc.

Sharpened
62 Tufts St.
Kyle J. Wheeler

Square Level & Plumb
154 Carver St.
Cory Michael

Subway
1776 Main St.
Kamaya, LLC

Tom Tom Painting, LLC
151 Forest Park Ave.
Cynthia J. Sattal

Agenda

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Agenda Departments

Workshop on Estate Planning, Medicaid, Medicare
August 4: Monson Savings Bank will conduct a complimentary workshop titled “Straight Talk on Estate Planning, Medicaid Qualification and Medicare Pitfalls,” featuring attorney Karen G. Jackson, Esq., senior partner at Jackson & Torrone, P.C. The event is designed to help people understand what is needed for an effective estate plan and why it’s so important. In clear-cut language, Jackson will explain the “Big 5” pillars of estate and health care planning — a will, durable power of attorney, health care proxy, HIPAA release, and the living will or advance directive. She will also address some significant issues with Medicare and Medicaid that too often unnecessarily cost people a lot of money. The workshop will be conducted from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Gardens of Wilbraham, 2301 Boston Road in Wilbraham. It is free and open to the public. “Understanding estate planning, Medicaid, and Medicare can be daunting,” said Steve Lowell, President and CEO of Monson Savings Bank. “This workshop will simplify the steps needed to create an effective estate plan so that people may better protect themselves, their families and their assets.” Those interested may call Anna Calvenese at (413) 267-1221 e-mail to [email protected] to RSVP. Seating is limited. Refreshments will be served.

Information Session on Earned-sick-time Law
August 6: The Greater Northampton, Amherst Area, and Greater Easthampton chambers of commerce will host an informational session on the earned-sick-time law, presented by the Mass. Attorney General’s Office, at the Hadley Farms Meeting House. The session, one of several offered statewide and online, aims to educate employers and employees about the new law, which went into effect July 1. It will offer guidance on implementation, explain employers’ and employees’ rights and responsibilities, and provide opportunities to get specific questions answered. The earned-sick-time law was approved by voters on Nov. 4, 2014 and entitles employees in Massachusetts to earn and use up to 40 hours of sick time under certain conditions. The attorney general enforces this law and also wrote and published final regulations to clarify practices and policies in its administration. More information, including the final regulations and sample documents, may be found at www.mass.gov/ago/earnedsicktime. The information session is expected to last two hours, including time for questions and answers. Questions regarding these information sessions and the earned-sick-time law may be directed to Morgan Callahan at [email protected] or (617) 963-2024.

Bridge of Flowers Classic Races
August 8: Baystate Franklin Medical Center is the presenting sponsor for the Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association’s 37th annual Bridge of Flowers Classic Races. While the 10K race through Shelburne Falls draws elite athletes from throughout the Northeast, the 3K charity run/walk offers an option for others to participate at their own pace and fitness level. “We are fortunate to live and work in an area that is prime running and walking country,” said Dr. Thomas Higgins, chief medical officer and interim president of Baystate Franklin. “And the Bridge of Flowers races serve as goals for many people in our communities during their spring and summer training. Physical fitness is central to overall health and well-being, and we are delighted to support this inspiring event.” The Bridge of Flowers Classic Races attract more than 1,000 participants to Shelburne Falls. The 10K race, which starts at 9 a.m., is a spectator-friendly, figure-8 course that begins with a gradual climb from the village center’s historic iron bridge, then wends its way through neighborhood streets before circling back to the bridge, up Crittendon Hill, and back into town along shady downhill roads and flats. The 3K charity run/walk begins at 8:15 a.m. and follows the same first loop as the later run.  An awards ceremony and after party will follow the 10K run in a spot overlooking the falls. Race-day registration opens at 7 a.m. Registration may be completed online at www.bridgeofflowers10k.com; at the pre-race Spaghetti Fest on Friday, Aug. 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School, 75 Mechanic St., Shelburne Falls; or on the day of the race. All participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt featuring artwork by a local artist.

Jazz & Roots Festival
August 8: The second annual Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival celebrates the emergence of Springfield’s Cultural District and promotes an arts-driven, community-oriented, and sustainable revitalization of the city. The free event in Court Square will offer a festive atmosphere featuring locally and internationally acclaimed musical artists, dance and theater workshops, local arts and crafts, and plenty of food. More than 5,000 people are expected to attend and enjoy the sounds of jazz, Latin jazz, gospel, blues, funk, and more. The festival is produced by Blues to Green, which uses music and art to celebrate community and culture, build shared purpose, and catalyze social and environmental change. For more information and a lineup of performers, visit springfieldjazzfest.com.

Valley Fest
August 29: White Lion Brewing Co. announced that it will host its inaugural beer festival, called Valley Fest, at Court Square in downtown Springfield. MGM Springfield will be the presenting sponsor. The festival is poised to be White Lion’s signature annual event, introducing the young brand to craft-beer enthusiasts throughout New England and beyond. White Lion Brewing Co., the city of Springfield’s only brewery, launched in October 2014. Founder Ray Berry and brewmaster Mike Yates have released three selections under the White Lion brand and have been busy promoting their efforts in venues all over Massachusetts and other New England states. “Valley Fest will have the best of the best local, regional, and national beer and hard cider brands,” Berry said. “Even in our inaugural year, Valley Fest will be the largest one-day beer festival in Western Massachusetts. We expect to draw up to 2,000 enthusiasts from throughout New England. We are very excited to showcase the fourth-largest city in New England and all of its amenities.” Berry anticipates that more than 50 breweries and many local food vendors will converge on Court Square for two sessions. Enthusiasts will have an opportunity to sample more than 100 varieties of beer and hard cider alongside pairing selections by local chefs. Michael Mathis, MGM Springfield president, said his company “is excited to take the lead in sponsoring the inaugural Valley Fest. The local entrepreneurial spirit of White Lion Brewing, coupled with the historic Court Square setting, is a winning combination to start a new Springfield tradition. We look forward to Aug. 29.” A number of sponsors have already committed to the event, including MassMutual Financial Group, the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, the Dennis Group, Springfield Sheraton Monarch Place, Paragus Strategic IT, Williams Distributing, and the Springfield Business Improvement District (BID). “We are honored to sponsor Valley Fest and look forward to it being an annual event that shares in the facilitation of growth within the downtown community,” said Chris Russell, executive director of the Springfield BID. Visit www.valleybrewfest.com for event details, ongoing updates, and sponsorship opportunities. A portion of Valley Fest proceeds will support several local charities.

Williamstown Film Festival Presents Wind-Up Fest
Oct. 15-18: The annual Williamstown Film Festival (WFF), now in its 17th year, welcomes big changes with new faces, a new name, and new programming focus. Slated for Oct. 15-18, WFF Presents: Wind-Up Fest is a nonfiction festival with documentary film as its backbone. Other forms of nonfiction will be in conversation with documentaries, including long-form journalism, radio podcasts, photography, and social-practice art. The event’s new artistic director, Paul Sturtz, is also the co-director at the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Mo., and its new managing director, Sandra Thomas, is the former executive director of Images Cinema in Williamstown. “Our aim is to provide a unique, distinctive event for North Adams and Williamstown while serving as a destination festival for lovers of nonfiction. We are living in a time when nonfiction storytelling is offering one of the most vital, urgent ways forward,” Sturtz said. The festival will be curated by Sturtz, who was selected (along with his True/False co-director David Wilson) as one of 40 people in the inaugural Indiewire Influencers list, described as “visionaries that are changing the course of film.” “I’m excited to work with Paul to make his creative vision a reality,” said Thomas. “Working in partnership with the community, engaging a broad audience, and strengthening the festival’s presence are all important elements of the fest.” With the addition of Sturtz and return of Thomas, the board of directors announced the retirement of festival Executive Director Steve Lawson. “It’s been an exhilarating ride, but after 15 seasons as executive director, I felt it was time to pass the torch,” said Lawson. “This seemed like the right moment to segue to new voices and directions. Paul and Sandra have exciting plans in store for the festival which promise to build on all that we’ve achieved so far. Here’s hoping the first 16 years of WFF will prove to be the prelude to a dazzling future.” The festival has offices in North Adams and Williamstown and can reached at [email protected] or (413) 458-9700.

Western Mass. Business Expo
Nov. 4: Comcast Business will present the fifth annual Western Mass. Business Expo at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, produced by BusinessWest and the Healthcare News in partnership with Go Graphix and Rider Productions. The business-to-business show will feature more than 100 booths, seminars and Show Floor Theater presentations, breakfast and lunch programs, and a day-capping Expo Social. Details about specific events, programs, and featured speakers will be printed in future issues of BusinessWest. Current sponsors include Comcast Business, presenting sponsor; the Isenberg School of Business at UMass Amherst, education sponsor; Johnson & Hill, Health New England, and MGM Springfield as director level sponsors; and 94.7 WMAS, media sponsor. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Exhibitor spaces are also available; booth prices start at $750. For more information on sponsorships or booth purchase, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

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Chamber Corners Departments

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700
  
• Aug. 12: Chamber After 5 Lady Bea Riverboat Cruise, 5-7 p.m., at Brunelle’s Marina, 1 Alvord St., South Hadley. The Lady Bea features both inside seating and outside sun decks that attendees can explore while spending a wonderful evening on the Connecticut River. Sponsored by Alden Credit Union. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for guests.
 
GREATER CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
 
• Aug. 20: Mornings with the Mayor, 8-9 a.m., at Porter & Chester Institute 134 Dulong Circle, Chicopee. Coffee and light refreshments will be served while Mayor Richard Kos provides updates about what’s happening in Chicopee and other topics that impact the Greater Chicopee area. Submit questions by Aug. 17 to [email protected]
This event is for chamber members only and is free, but registration is required.
 
GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
 
• July 31: 31st Annual Golf Tournament, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Southampton Country Club, 329 College Highway, Southampton. Features prizes, contests, and raffles. Sponsored by A-Z Storage and Properties and Easthampton Savings Bank. Sponsorship opportunities still available. Cost: $110 if registered and paid by July 4, $125 after July 4. Payment due by July 17. Pricing includes cart, gift, lunch, and dinner.
• Aug. 10: Monday Morning with the Mayor, 8-9 a.m., at A-Z Storage & Properties, 165 Northampton St., Easthampton. This is your opportunity to bring your questions to Mayor Karen Cadieux for casual conversation and direct answers. This event is free and open to the public.
• Aug. 13: Networking by Night, 5-7 p.m., at Freedom Credit Union, 422B Main St., Easthampton. Join us along with our hosts, Freedom Credit Union and Wireless Zone of Easthampton, for a night of networking. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
 

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
 
• Sept. 9: September After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. Refreshments will be served. Bring your business cards and make connections. Cost: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
 
WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880
 
• Aug. 17: West of the River Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Tournament, at The Ranch in Southwick. Schedule: 11:30 a.m., registration; noon, lunch; 1 p.m., shotgun start, scramble format. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information and for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected]

Briefcase

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Briefcase Departments

Meehan Praises UMass Transparency Measure in New State Budget
BOSTON — The new state budget will allow UMass to bring a key business practice into the national mainstream, and dramatically advances the cause of “straightforwardness and transparency” in billing, UMass President Marty Meehan said Friday. The fiscal year 2016 budget signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker will allow UMass, as of 2016-2017, to retain the tuition paid by resident undergraduate students, rather than passing those funds along to the state. “I am pleased that the governor signed what the Legislature sent to him and that the reform UMass has sought for more than two decades has become law. This is a victory for students, for UMass and for transparency,” Meehan said. At the same time, Meehan said he was disappointed by a veto that reduced funding for the five-campus UMass system from the $531.8 million approved by a House-Senate conference committee to $526.6 million. “This veto presents challenges that we must now assess as we pursue our overarching goals of building quality, while at the same time protecting the university’s long-term fiscal stability,” Meehan said. In allowing UMass to retain tuition payments, the budget brings Massachusetts in line with virtually every state in the nation. In recent years, UMass was given the authority to retain the tuition paid by out-of-state students, but had been unable to extend the practice to resident undergraduate students until now. The new policy, which will not take effect until next year, is responsive to calls from state and federal officials for greater transparency and accountability in higher education.

Report: Massachusetts Economy on the Upswing
BOSTON — In a number of important respects, the Massachusetts economy is experiencing its strongest expansion since the heady days of the late 1990s, according to the editorial board of MassBenchmarks. As the board anticipated, this year’s severe winter weather had only a transitory, and ultimately minor, impact on economic conditions in the Bay State. Employment and the labor force are growing strongly, and payroll survey shows consistent and strong growth in employment. And gross state product growth, as estimated by the MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index (CEI), continues to outpace that of the nation. Once again, the state’s knowledge-intensive sectors are its primary growth drivers. Industrially, the expansion is being led by the dynamic professional, scientific, and technical services sector, which includes architectural, engineering, and specialized design services; computer services; computer-systems design; consulting services; research services; and other related services. Employment in software development is also growing strongly. These sectors rely heavily upon the Commonwealth’s highly educated work force, which remains in high demand, as reflected by the fact that college-educated workers continue to have the lowest unemployment rate among all socioeconomic groups in the state. While conditions for less well-educated workers have improved, unemployment and underemployment rates in many communities remain troublingly high. Economic growth continues to be disproportionately concentrated in the Greater Boston region and within the Route 495 belt. While there are notable exceptions to this pattern of imbalanced growth, including the cities of Lowell and Worcester, conditions in regions outside of the Greater Boston region are improving, but their economic performance continues to lag. Notwithstanding the solid performance of the Massachusetts economy, there are a number of short- and long-term threats to growth that could serve to slow and in some cases derail the Commonwealth’s expansion. Growth pressures in the immediate Greater Boston region are placing increased stress on the state’s transportation infrastructure, which this past winter’s severe weather revealed to be in serious need of attention and investment. These same growth pressures, along with inadequate housing production, are fueling rapidly rising home prices throughout Eastern Massachusetts. While this is good news for incumbent homeowners, it puts upward pressure on the cost of living, making it more difficult for the Greater Boston region to attract the highly educated workers it needs to meet the needs of growing knowledge-intensive organizations. And the state’s high electricity prices, which have risen in every corner of the state, are beginning to limit economic growth in regions that are sorely in need of more economic opportunities. In Berkshire, Franklin, and Hampshire counties, new natural-gas hookups have been suspended, which is directly constraining business expansions in Western Massachusetts. Additionally, the relatively slow growth of the global economy and considerable economic and geopolitical uncertainty continue to weigh heavily on the economic outlook for the nation and the Commonwealth. Greece and Puerto Rico appear to be headed for sovereign debt defaults, with highly uncertain impacts for Europe and North America. Critically important trading partners in Asia, including China and Japan, continue to face serious economic challenges. And the Middle East and Eastern Europe remain politically volatile. Going forward, while the Commonwealth’s leaders have little control over what happens internationally, it is well within their power to tackle the challenges presented by aging infrastructure and imbalanced growth patterns, MassBenchmark’s board notes. Toward this end, policies that improve the state’s transportation systems, both within Greater Boston and beyond, and extend educational and economic opportunities to more people and regions that have yet to experience the full benefits of the current economic expansion, should be priorities going forward.

REB Receives Grant from PeoplesBank to Support Talk/Read/Succeed Program
SPRINGFIELD — The Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Inc. (REB) has received a $2,500 grant award from PeoplesBank to support the work of the Talk/Read/ Succeed (TRS) program. Talk/Read/Succeed is a place-based holistic program and currently serves 150 low- to moderate-income families at two Springfield Housing Authority (SHA) developments in Springfield. The goal of TRS is to have all children enter kindergarten ready to learn and go on to read proficiently by 4th grade. The $2,500 grant award is part of PeoplesBank’s Community Care Program and will be used to support parent education programs at the SHA sites that will focus on how to support children in reaching critical developmental milestones, family health and wellness, adult education and career exploration, and financial literacy. In announcing the award, Susan B. Wilson, first vice president of PeoplesBank said, “at PeoplesBank, we welcome the opportunity to help others. As part of your community, we take an active interest in supporting programs that promote academic excellence for our youth.” David M. Cruise, president & CEO of the REB indicated that, “this award from PeoplesBank allows the REB and its partners to strengthen our parenting education and school engagement programming to support parents as active partners in our work to accelerate student achievement.” William H. Abrashkin, Executive Director of the SHA said “Building community support is vital to the success of Talk/Read/Succeed and its families and children. In particular, it is so important that PeoplesBank, a key member of the business community, has chosen to provide its support. We all know that without an educated workforce, businesses cannot grow and create wealth, and the most effective way to create an educated workforce is to reach families when their children are very young to help ensure that the children are brought up with positive values, including a love of reading, learning, and achievement. That is what TRS is all about, making this a win-win for both the business community and the families we serve.”

AIC Puts a Unique Focus on First-generation Students

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Education Sections

Life Lessons

Vincent Maniaci

Vincent Maniaci says AIC has a three-pronged plan for growth that includes programs to help students become prepared to enter the workforce.

American International College President Vincent Maniaci has been studying the booklet for weeks.

It contains quick snapshots of each member of the incoming freshmen class. His goal is to commit them all to memory so he can greet every student by name when classes begin this fall. Although it’s a small measure, Maniaci believes it’s important for him to make students feel special, especially since 44% of the student population is aiming to become first-generation college graduates.

“We try to get to know our students on a personal basis, and first- generation students always struggle more than those who come from an affluent background and have parents who have gone to college,” Maniaci explained, adding that understanding a student’s history helps staff give advice that is pertinent to each individual’s situation and aspirations.

Susanne Swanker agrees, and told BusinessWest that AIC has been successful in developing a sense of community between staff and students.

“It’s uncommon to walk anywhere on campus without having people greet you,” said the school’s acting chief academic officer and dean of the School of Business, Arts and Sciences. “It doesn’t matter whether you know them or not; it’s part of a culture in which everyone is supported and encouraged to do their best.”

That culture has been carefully cultivated by Maniaci and stems from his personal experience. Indeed, his path to success differs greatly from most people in his position, and he said it has made him aware of the importance of providing students with exposure and access to college, as well as what it takes to keep them there.

“I come from a blue collar background and had no plans to attend college; it was very alien to me,” he said, adding that no one in his family had a college degree and the only reason he enrolled at City College of San Francisco, a community college, was because he and a friend wanted to continue playing football after they graduated from high school.

So he signed up for courses, but didn’t attend a single class and had no plans to do so until he injured his knee during the third game of the season. At that point, Maniaci realized that the only way he could continue interacting with other team members was to show up for class.

“I’ve always been competitive, and once I started I did well,” he said, as he outlined the rest of his educational career.

But he will never forget his first day on campus.

“Adjusting to the environment is especially difficult for students from socio-economic backgrounds where college attendance is not a given,” he said, explaining how intimidated he felt when other students began quoting famous people he had never heard of.

Today he believes that mixing students from different backgrounds adds depth to the curriculum and helps prepare them for the world of work.

“The diversity that results from a population with mixed backgrounds is one of our strengths; we’re very student-centric and believe a college education is more than academic and intellectual growth,” he noted. “It includes personal, spiritual and professional development entwined with emotional intelligence, which takes place both inside and outside of the classroom. We all see things through a different prism based on the environment we come from, so being culturally diverse leads to deeper discussions.”

Course of Action

AIC has a strategic plan for growth that is focused on three areas, said Maniaci.

“Our first goal is to build the demand curve — we need to give parents and students a better reason to come here, give them a reason to borrow money or pay out of pocket for schooling; education is expensive, and they need to know what the return on their investment will be,” he explained, adding that students and their families need to understand that in addition to the fact that college graduates earn $1 million more over their lifetime than non-graduates, valuable lessons result from dealing with social, interpersonal, or political issues on campus.

The second pillar of the plan is to increase capacity, an initiative that runs the gamut, from the quality of the dining experience to student safety and course offerings, while the third component is to identify new programs that would benefit students.

“The world is changing so quickly that it’s important to identify future trends as we develop new programming,” Maniaci said.

Susanne Swanker says AIC’s new master’s program in Resort and Casino Management will help individuals take full advantage of opportunities in that industry.

Susanne Swanker says AIC’s new master’s program in Resort and Casino Management will help individuals take full advantage of opportunities in that industry.

Initiatives have been established to meet these goals, and for the past two years Dean of Students Brian O’Shaughnessy has worked closely with his staff to make sure that what is taught in the classroom correlates to students’ outside activities, something he said employers are looking for.

To that end, AIC also has a new four-year career-development program. Students in the federal work-study program, which comprise the majority of the population, apply for positions on campus during their first semester by working with career development staff members who help them to create a preliminary resume and teach them interviewing skills. Students receive assistance in applying for campus positions suited to their interests or major.

“In the past, students walked into different departments and asked if there were any job openings,” O’Shaughnessy said, adding that they are also bridging classroom connections by inviting underclassmen to attend sessions in their residence halls on topics such as using social media as a tool to market themselves, while upperclassmen are offered classroom presentations specific to their field of study.

The way housing is assigned has also changed, and the assumption that seniors are entitled to better options is not the rule of thumb. Every freshman on campus lives in a residence hall with a roommate and shares experiences and common spaces, including bathrooms.

“If they develop a sense of community and pride in their residence hall and feel safe and secure, it reduces the likelihood of damage or student-on-student crime,” O’Shaughnessy told BusinessWest, adding that for some students, feeling pride in the place they live in is a new concept.

During their sophomore or junior year, students can move into a suite which gives them more space. “A bathroom might be shared by four people instead of 30,” O’Shaughnessy said. “And seniors are eligible for full kitchens which provide them with opportunities to shop and maintain a household.”

Each student is also assigned a professional academic advisor who works with them during their freshman and sophomore years. They are experts in the college’s shared general-education requirements, which is helpful because many aren’t sure about what they want to major in. Swanker said they transition to a faculty advisor in their field of study during their junior year, a model adopted in 2013 that helps them focus on specifics that will help them find employment.

She added that the support they receive is especially important to first-generation college students who are highly motivated but often under a great deal of pressure if their family has invested everything they have into their education.

There is also a Center for Student Engagement and Leadership Develop-ment linked to clubs and organizations on campus.

“I tell all incoming freshmen that what they are learning is not specific to textbooks,” said O’Shaughnessy. “They’re learning how to think critically and solve problems whether they are a member of a club, dealing with an issue with their roommate, or in a leadership role on campus. We also stress that the skills they learn here can be applied to careers that haven’t even been invented yet.”

And since AIC works to respond to student’s individual needs, a number of new programs have been added to its Center for Academic Success. Today, they include the ACE (AIC Core Education) Program, a federally-funded initiative for first-generation college students as well as those with limited financial means. Services range from personal mentoring to academic support, career counseling, disability referral services, financial aid assistance, graduate school preparation, and specialized workshops and activities.

AIC also has a Supportive Learning Services program, which operates under the umbrella of its Curtis Blake Learning Services. It’s a fee-based program that provides students with one-on-one tutorial assistance to help with goal-setting, note-taking, time management, study skills, test taking, written expression, and self-advocacy.

Keeping Pace With the Times

Over the past few years, AIC has developed a number of new majors, and last November, officials finalized a decision to create a master’s degree program in Resort and Casino Management. Although it had been talked about when casino legislation was passed in 2011, Swanker said the school waited until voters cast ballots last November that ensured casinos would become a reality.

“The program will start this fall, and include courses in business specific to resort and casino management,” she said. “We’ve worked with executives at MGM to review the curriculum and make sure we’re covering topics that are relevant. We see career possibilities for graduates locally and in the region.”

Meanwhile, seven students were awarded a bachelor of science degree in Public Health for the first time during the commencement ceremonies in May.

“It’s a new, four-year program. We started it two years ago, but had some transfer students move into the major,” Swanker explained, adding that graduates have a wealth of opportunities in the growing healthcare field.

Another new offering is a graduate Family Nurse Practitioner degree. “We launched the program last fall; it’s very exciting because it’s an area of tremendous growth relevant to the direction in which healthcare professions are moving,” she continued.

AIC’s doctorate in Physical Therapy program also continues to thrive, and enrollment in its master’s program in Occupational Therapy is growing, thanks to its excellent reputation and the increase in students interested in health services.

Swanker said people employed in that field typically take part in team meetings that address specifics to a patient, so to prepare them for that aspect of a job, AIC began holding day-long workshops two years ago to mirror what they will experience when they begin their clinical rotations.

There are also new undergraduate majors, and last year a Visual and Digital Arts degree was offered for the first time. “It allows students with an artistic bent to combine their interest with technology,” Swanker said. “It was something that was missing because we didn’t have a major for people interested in the arts.”

Some students in the program are minoring in business or taking a double major in both fields, which will be beneficial if they want to run a small theater or an art gallery.

“The beauty of this degree is that it can be tailored to a student’s interests, because it includes writing, directing, acting and costume design. It has increased our enrollment and we have students coming here just for this major,” Swanker said.

Another new offering is a minor in Fraud and Financial Crime, which includes courses in criminal justice and accounting. “Students can take an exam when they complete the course and become certified in the field, which increases their chances for employment,” Swanker said.

Forging Ahead

Ground was broken in May on an $8 million renovation to the dining commons. The new, state-of-the-art space will include a wide variety of seating options as well as food choices and services, including customized preparation, an open concept kitchen with a Mongolian grill, a wood-fired pizza oven, and more.

“The dining commons is an important student and academic hub on campus,” Maniaci told BusinessWest. “The new facility will give students a more comfortable and modern place to come together and was designed to serve their needs and expectations.”

It’s part of a larger effort to create a campus that caters to the needs of students today, and will enhance the new programs that are helping students succeed and integrate lessons they learn inside and outside of the classroom.

“We’re teaching them that everything they do here can play a role in their future career, which ranges from how they present themselves to how they speak or how they conduct themselves as a member or leader of an organization on campus,” O’Shaughnessy explained in summation.

The changes have all been positive, and Maniaci is optimistic about the future. This sentiment is backed by facts: The Chronicle of Higher Education named AIC as one of the fastest-growing colleges from 2002-2012, due to a growth rate of 127%, which more than doubled their enrollment in ten years.

And the upward trajectory is expected to continue, thanks to the welcoming culture and the efforts to create new programs and majors that meet the changing needs of students today.

“I expect to make as much progress in the next 10 years as we’ve made in the last decade,” Maniaci said.

Chicopee’s New Development Czar, Mike Vedovelli, Gets Down to Business

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Features
Mike Vedovelli

Mike Vedovelli

Arriving at a Crossroads

In April, Mike Vedovelli found himself in a place he wasn’t expected to be — the market for a new job. But just as the Baker administration has gone in a new direction with the Mass. Office of Business Development, which Vedovelli served as Western Mass. liaison, he has gone in one as well. He’s the new director of the Community & Economic Development for Chicopee, and believes he’s in the right place at the right time, from a career-challenge perspective.

Mike Vedovelli says he was taken somewhat by surprise in March when he was told that his services to the Mass. Office of Business Development (MOBD) were no longer required.

But he added quickly that he always understood that the job he held for more than seven years existed at the whim of whoever was governor, and when it came to the MOBD, the Charlie Baker administration decided it wanted to go in a different direction.

The ensuing, and unexpected, job search was undertaken with a mix of trepidation — Vedovelli said he had never been unemployed before — but also a certain dose of confidence that resulted from the experience amassed and contacts made while with MOBD and also while working for nearly a decade in the Community Development office in Westfield.

Together, those resume stops provided skills he considered salable to both the public and private sectors, and as things turned out, he was right. There were several intriguing calls, he noted, adding that the one that stood out came from Tom Haberlin, an economic development consultant for Chicopee, who wanted to know if Vedovelli had any interest in running the department that he once headed for more than 15 years.

To make a somewhat long story short, he did.

And in mid May, Vedovelli became director of Community & Economic Development, a relatively new title in Chicopee and a job with a wide range of responsibilities.

Discussing the sum of those parts, Vedovelli said his new assignment puts him in the right place at the right time from a career-challenge perspective. This is the area’s second-largest metropolitan area, one of the state’s so-called Gateway cities, and a former manufacturing center — everything from tires to bicycles; from golf balls to military uniforms have been produced there — that is in many ways trying to reinvent itself.

Among the projects in various stages of progress are efforts to redevelop the former Uniroyal site and the area surrounding it — a problem that has challenged officials in City Hall (including a half dozen mayors) for roughly 35 years; continued revitalization and reshaping of the Memorial Drive retail sector; efforts to resurrect a long-moribund downtown; and plans to build another industrial park near Westover Air Reserve Base.

Overall, though, Chicopee faces the same basic economic development mission as other area communities — retaining existing companies, attracting new ones, and creating more of what has become the region’s most precious commodity — jobs.

the former Uniroyal facility

Mike Vedovelli says redevelopment of the former Uniroyal facility has been a challenge in Chicopee for more than three decades, and it remains a top priority.

And that mission dovetails nicely with Vedovelli’s work with MOBD, where he worked with businesses large and small that were looking to come to Western Mass. — or remain here despite various challenges confronting them in their efforts to do so.

Thus, he intends to call on those experiences, as well as those in Westfield, where one of his primary duties was overseeing deployment of community development block grants, as he takes on his new position.

“This position was attractive because I’m from Springfield, I know this area, I’ve done this kind of work before in Westfield, and I’m versed with local issues and matters such as community development block grants,” he explained. “And my seven years with the state enables me to bring the connections and the business relationships that I have, both on the state side, but also with commercial lenders, commercial brokers, and national and local developers.”

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with Vedovelli about his new assignment, the many issues confronting Chicopee, and the unique perspective he brings to his latest career stop.

Arriving at the Crossroads

As MOBD’s Western Mass. liaison, Vedovelli had a large and diverse territory to cover — essentially everything from Worcester west.

Initially, he needed a GPS system to find some of the communities he was assigned to and businesses with growth issues that needed resolution. He said he eventually figured out the lay of the land, a phrase that, as he applied it, meant more than just geography.

“It was a terrific learning experience,” he said of his time with MOBD. “I learned a lot about the issues businesses are facing and what they need to reach their goals. Working with them to find ways to stay in Massachusetts and grow their ventures was very rewarding work.”

And in the course of doing it, he made a number of contacts on the local, regional, and state levels, and came to understand the value of public-private partnerships when it came to creating economic development opportunities.

When his time with the state abruptly ended, he put out some feelers, and got some phone calls and e-mails back. Some of the correspondences involved opportunities that might develop down the road, while others were more immediate and thus more intriguing.

And it was the chance to lead Chicopee’s various development initiatives that most appealed to him.

“This city is in an interesting place in its long history,” he explained. “It’s a Gateway city, and it’s facing the same issues that those other Gateway cities are facing — job creation, redeveloping old mill buildings, revitalizing once-vibrant downtowns — but it has some unique challenges as well.

“But this city has enormous potential,” he went on. “Look at a map and you’ll see that all the major highways run through it. This is truly the crossroads of the region.”

And the city has reached a crossroads in a figurative sense as well, he went on, adding that while there is some land for development — such as the Chicopee River Business Park on the border with Springfield — city officials need to ready more property for development, a reality that puts an exclamation point behind such efforts as the proposed new industrial park and efforts to repurpose the Uniroyal site.

While he has a great deal of learning still to do when it comes to Chicopee, its players, opportunities, and challenges — he’s spent considerable time in recent weeks meeting with business owners, chamber leaders, and elected officials — Vedovelli was already quite familiar with the city when he took over the large office in the space the city leases on Center Street.

Indeed, he had worked with several individual companies in his capacity at MOBD, and from those experiences came to appreciate that ‘crossroads’ quality the city possesses, something that made it very attractive to companies looking to locate — or relocate — within Western Mass.

Perhaps the best example is Menck Windows, the German manufacturer that settled on Champion Drive in Chicopee as home to its first U.S. operation.

“I had been working with the principals of that company for a while when they were trying to zero in on an area,” Vedovelli explained. “And Chicopee just hit all the right buttons.

“One of the key assets that the city has is Chicopee Industrial Light and the cost advantages they bring,” he went on while listing the many factors that went into Menck’s decision process. “Things like that are very attractive to private industry, and Chicopee has many assets like that — location, access to major highways, an inventory of desirable buildings in the industrial parks that businesses can move into, attractive commercial property tax rates compared to other cities in the area; it’s an attractive package.”

And it has appealed to other clients as well, he said, listing other companies he worked with, such as Lymtech Scientific, which landed on Westover Road, and Chemex, the coffee-maker manufacturer that relocated to the city from Pittsfield last year.

Selling Points

Meanwhile, Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield have long been part of the same consortium when it comes to federal housing funds, and the communities are in the same economic target area, he explained, adding that he has experience working with officials in all three cities.

“Long before the buzzword collaboration started getting tossed around back in the early 2000s, we were already collaborating with each other,” he explained.

Looking ahead, Vedovelli said his informal job description is to forge more of those collaborative efforts, and do more hard selling of all Chicopee’s many assets, but from a different office.

He said there are a number of economic development issues facing the city, none larger, more complex, or more historic (in every sense of that word) than the Uniroyal project.

The complex of buildings once dominated the area near the Chicopee River in the Chicopee Falls section of the city, and in many ways, it still does. Some of the factory buildings have been torn down, others are in the process of demolition, and still others, especially the administration building, are targeted for possible reuse.

Since Uniroyal announced it was closing the massive plant in 1980, the city has been involved in an ongoing saga involving everything from taking control of the property to clearing it of hazardous materials; from demolishing the various buildings to devising redevelopment plans; the site was even proposed as a possible site for a new Catholic high school (it was eventually rejected).

It’s been a complicated, frustrating, and very expensive process, said Vedovelli, adding that it is now in the critical phase where the city will attempt to address the question ‘what comes next?’

There are many possible answers, he told BusinessWest, noting that while the new Pope Francis High School is off the table (it will be built on the site of the old Cathedral High School in Springfield) most everything else still is.

That includes the possibility of senior housing or another form of residential development in the former Uniroyal administration building, which is still in good shape and fit for redevelopment.

“There’s a lot of moving parts with this initiative — it’s a work in progress,” he said, adding that a request for proposals will likely be issued for the administration building this summer, and other RFPs will follow for other parcels.

Another priority moving forward is downtown, said Vedovelli, noting that while Chicopee’s central business district is less defined — and was never as robust — as those in other communities, it has potential to become more of a destination.

“The Munich Haus has become a real draw, it brings people downtown,” he said of the German restaurant on Center Street. “We’re looking at attracting another restaurant so they can feed off one another. But overall, we need to look at the storefronts, determine what’s working and not working, and make the area more attractive.”

One possible key to progress in that area is creating more foot traffic through new housing developments, he went on, adding that while there has been little progress with regard to the massive Cabotville Industrial Park and reported efforts to convert some of its space into apartments or condos, there is more promising news on the vacant John R. Lyman mill off Front Street.

“There’s a developer who wants to place 50 to 70 live-work lofts there, which would be a really nice addition to the downtown.” said Vedovelli, adding that a larger population of people living in that area would create a need for additional service and hospitality-related businesses.

Progress Report

As 2015 got underway, Vedovelli could not have envisioned himself tapping a pen on an aerial photo of the Uniroyal plant five months later while discussing possible options for the site’s future. Nor would he have imagined himself mulling strategies for bringing that desired foot traffic to downtown Chicopee.

But circumstances changed the picture in a hurry, and instead of driving across a four-county region hoping to spur economic development, he’s doing essentially the same job on a smaller, yet dynamic playing field.

It’s an abrupt change in the course of his career, one that has taken him to a crossroad — literally. It is not a challenge he sought, necessarily, but one he fully embraces.


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

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.

CHICOPEE

Women in Philanthropy of Western Massachusetts Inc., 4 Circle Dr., Chicopee, MA 01020. Monica Borgatti, same. For the educational and professional advancement of women in fundraising and related fields.

EASTHAMPTON

Belhumeur Enterprises Inc., 43 Bryan Ave., Easthampton, MA 01027. Pierre J. Belhumeur, same. Construction.

Christ Community of Hampshire County Inc., 181 Northampton St., B5, Easthampton, MA 01027. Chad Patterson, 7 Laurel Terrace, Westfield, MA 01085. Church organization.

EAST LONGMEADOW

AJS Appraisal Group Inc., 137 Allen St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Anthony J. Santaniello, same. Appraisal business.

Nadeau’s Landscaping Inc., 15 Benton Dr., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Benjamin E. Nadeau, same. Landscaping services.

GREENFIELD

Hair Therapy Inc., 40 School St., Suite 1, Greenfield, MA 01301. Madeline R. Maxam, 879 Bernardston Road, Greenfield, MA 01301. Hair salon.

HOLYOKE

Family Market Group Inc., 81 North Bridge St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Jose Tomas Almonte, 193 Cabot St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Grocery store with beer and wine.

Kronos Homeless Ministry Inc., 21 Bowers St. Apt. 305, Holyoke, MA 01040. Jesus Jimenez, same. Supplying homeless people with basic goods and services.

PITTSFIELD

Breezy Beach Anchors Inc., 157 Bull Hill Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Karen Ovitt, same. Wholesale and retail sale of novelty items.

Commonwealth Alternative Care Inc., 45 ½ High St., #2, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Nial Chase Demena, same. Providing palliative relief to medical patients. 

SPRINGFIELD

Independent Business Alliance of Western Massachusetts Inc., 640 Page Blvd., Room 104, Springfield, MA 01104. David P. Gaby, 1105 Worthington St., Springfield, MA 01109. Supports independent local business through advocacy.

JA Property Investments Inc., 135 Oakland St., Springfield, MA 01108. Pascacio Reynoso, same. Real estate services and other investments.

WESTFIELD

United Material Management Inc., 415 North Road, Westfield, MA 01086. Donald La Ferriere Jr., same. Providing administrative and support services to businesses.

Woodsville Realty Inc., 300 East Main St., Westfield, MA 01085. David J. DiCienzo, 90 Southwood Dr., Ludlow, MA 01056. To purchase, develop, maintain, and manage real estate.

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.

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Agawam Funeral Home Inc. v. Curran-Jones Inc. and Vincent Govoni
Allegation: Breach of non-compete agreement: $25,000
Filed: 5/4/15

Foster Company Inc. v. American Eagle Construction, LLC
Allegation: Failure to pay for costs of labor and materials provided for office renovation: $29,398.10
Filed: 5/18/15

New England Practice Management Inc. and Healthcare Management Inc. v. Southern New England Primary Care, P.C., Western Mass Primary Care, P.C., and Frank J. Stirlacci, M.D.
Allegation: Breach of contract for medical billing and claims processing services and unfair and deceptive trade practices: $231,197.42
Filed: 5/1/15

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Janice E. Boudreau v. Belchertown Day School and Patricia Bruni
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $83,776.80
Filed: 5/5/15

Jean Bouthiller d/b/a All Custom Masonry v. James J. Welch & Co. Inc. and Cottage Square Apartments, L.P.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $74,667.78
Filed: 5/8/15

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Maple Street Condominium LLC v. Academic and Behavioral Clinic Inc.
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $36,173.30
Filed: 5/28/15

Timepayment Corporation v. Topitz, LLC and Michael Pinard
Allegation: Breach of lease agreement: $8,005.49
Filed: 6/19/15

PALMER DISTRICT COURT
Kim A. Mongeau Ring v. Dave’s Soda & Pet City
Allegation: Negligent placement of display rack causing injury: $5,000
Filed: 6/16/15

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Hailey Martin, ppa Alyssa Reyes v. The Arbor Kids, LLC
Allegation: Minor plaintiff fell from a rock wall structure at the defendant’s daycare and sustained injury: $23,172.50
Filed: 6/1/15

Michael and Kathi Donahue v. Enduris Inc. and J.R. Kakley and Son Inc.
Allegation: Negligence causing property damage and breach of contract: $14,000
Filed: 5/22/15

Pride Convenience Inc. v. Witconn Enterprises, LLC d/b/a Concord Transportation and Richard Connery and Karen Whitney
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $5,184.62
Filed: 5/7/15

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Richard Roy and Ma Fe Roy v. CVS Pharmacy
Allegation: Negligent dispensing of prescription causing illness and emotional distress: $2,363.50
Filed: 6/26/15

Community Spotlight: Agawam Builds on its Family Friendly Character

By
Community Spotlight Features

Mayor Richard Cohen, seated, and Marc Strange


Mayor Richard Cohen, seated, and Marc Strange, the city’s new director of Planning & Community Development, say redevelopment of the Walnut Street Extension area remains a priority.

When you ask Mayor Richard Cohen to talk about Agawam, the city that still likes to be called a town, be prepared for a non-stop, enthusiastic, 30-minute sales pitch for the community where he has lived for the past 27 years, and served as mayor for seven non-consecutive terms.

And while that might be expected from the individual sitting in the corner office, especially someone who has invested so much time and energy in the city, Cohen said his enthusiasm — and optimism about what’s next — are well warranted.

The fifth-largest Hampden County community in population (neck and neck with West Springfield at around 28,000), Agawam has long endured the image of a town dominated by industrial parks, condos, strip malls, farms, golf courses (there are four of them), and, of course, the largest amusement park in New England. But is is fast becoming known for much more.

Indeed, while Cohen places great value in the town’s fully occupied Agawam Industrial Park, and in the town’s measures to preserve open farm space, his enthusiasm level rises to a new height when he talks about Agawam’s new School Street Park, a 50-acre project he calls “the largest development of its kind in the region in the last 25 years.”

The first phase of the park opened in 2008, with basketball courts, playing fields, play-scapes, and baseball fields. In early July, a ribbon-cutting was staged to open the second phase of the park, which features a concert band shell, a spray park, a disc golf course, a volleyball court, a large pavilion and numerous smaller shade pavilions, and walking trails throughout the park.

“This is truly a park for all ages,” noted Cohen, “and a great example of how family friendly the town of Agawam is. That’s what I want the image of Agawam to be.”

The park has been drawing great crowds in the few weeks that the second phase has been open, said Cohen, whose enthusiasm is also evident when he talks about the new, two-acre dog park, off Maple Street, scheduled to open in the fall. The facility is being built through a $250,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation.

What makes Agawam special though, says Cohen, and differentiates it from a lot of other communities, are taxes and services.

“Agawam has the lowest split tax rate in the area, but we’re able to deliver a lot of services for that money. The residents of Agawam get a great bang for their tax buck. Our schools are fully funded, and we have a great, Level-2-rated school system. We provide full services with no fees. We have weekly trash pickup with no fee, and free kindergarten for every student.”

One of the results of Agawam’s low tax rate and high-service government, said Cohen, is the stability of the town’s residential real estate values.

“When you buy a home in Agawam,” he said, “your investment tends to hold its value very well because of the efficiency of our taxes and services. Our community is one of the safest in the Commonwealth, and we’ve got a great school system. This is what families want.”

The engine that makes all this possible is Agawam’s industrial tax base.

With a fully occupied Agawam Industrial Park and nearly full Shoemaker Industrial Park, Agawam benefits from tax receipts as well as employment opportunities generated by a healthy list of companies that would be the envy of many area towns. Cohen rattles off names like OMG, the largest manufacturer of roofing fasteners in the world, HP Hood, Southworth, Sound Seal, Ebtec, Simmons Mattress, Fisher Scientific, and Six Flags.

“Who wouldn’t love to have Six Flags, one of the biggest attractions in the country, right there on Main Street in your town,” Cohen said proudly. “It’s been a great asset to the town, in terms of revenue, tourism, and job opportunities, especially for our young people, and that’s important.”

Being Industrious

To talk about the next big project on the table for Agawam, Cohen introduced the town’s new Planning & Community Development Director, Marc Strange, who took over the job three months ago from 32-year veteran Deborah Dachos upon her retirement.

Strange, formerly a private practice attorney, will be heavily involved in the long-awaited project to redevelop the Walnut Street Extension area, long a source of frustration and stagnation.

“Our vision is to turn this into a downtown pedestrian walking area,” said Strange, “with retail shops, housing, professional services, restaurants and green spaces, and make it a focal point of Agawam.”

Cohen acknowledged that such talk has been going on for years, if not decades, but there is renewed optimism that something can be done in this once-thriving retail area.

“This is a project that’s been on the drawing board for many, many years,” said the mayor, “but now we’re making some real progress, and I’m confident we can make it happen.”

The need for a “more-focused, city-center shopping area” is echoed by long-time Agawam business woman Kate Gourde, owner of Cooper’s Gifts, Apparel and Home and the developer of the adjacent Cooper’s Commons, an eclectic mix of shops and services housed in the former Country Squire Furniture building on Main Street.

“Agawam is a great town and a wonderful place to do business,” said Gourde. “But we’re not thought of as a great retail destination because our stores are spread out along many different streets.”

Kate Gourde, developer of Cooper’s Commons

Kate Gourde, developer of Cooper’s Commons, says Agawam needs a more focused shopping area to become a true retail destination.

Gourde, who has been running the family business for 28 years, said she welcomes competition from new stores that might open in the redeveloped Walnut Street Extension area. “I think it would be great for business and for everyone in Agawam, and I fully support it. We can really use a downtown retail center.”

Another factor in Agawam retailing that can’t be overlooked, is the effect of the Big E, the 17-day September fair that has grown into one of the largest fairs in the country. The Big E, in West Springfield, is literally a stone’s throw from Main Street in Agawam. When asked about it, Gourde just smiled and shrugged.

“Well, the Big E was here long before we were, and yes, it hurts our business for two weeks like it does most stores in town,” she told BusinessWest. “But we don’t whine about it. Over the years we’ve learned how to market a bit differently during the Fair, to the point where it’s not a huge factor anymore. In fact, it’s a great time to shop at Cooper’s Gifts.”

Kathy Ayre, owner of Ayre Real Estate, also on Main Street, disagreed slightly with Cohen’s assessment of the stability of residential real estate in the town. “We went into a downturn in 2005, just like the rest of Western Mass did, but that has gradually been leveling off,” she said. “And this year has been great. We just had the best quarter we’ve had in the past 10 years, and it’s still going in July.”

Ayre, whose company is traditionally one of the leaders in market share of Agawam real estate adds, “the mayor is correct though in that, compared to many other towns around, residential properties in Agawam do tend to hold their value very well.”

She cites the low tax rate, excellent school system, and the town’s services, as the main reasons for Agawam’s healthy residential real estate market. “It’s a great place to raise a family,” she said, “and it’s also a great location, abutting Connecticut. Suffield is an upscale town and we get a lot of business from Connecticut people looking to lower their costs or get more house.”

Ayre also cites easy access to the area’s highways and to Bradley International Airport as factors in the town’s location.

Like every other greater Springfield community, Agawam awaits the impact of the MGM Casino opening, two to three years down the road.

“I don’t know,” Cohen said flatly when asked to gauge its potential impact. “But we’re going to find out; we’ll be doing some baseline studies on a number of factors, to help us assess the impact during our ‘look-back’ intervals, to see if additional mitigation is warranted.”

Regaining his normal optimistic enthusiasm, Cohen added, “I hope the casino does great. I hope it’s a tremendous success for Springfield, because all of the surrounding towns benefit from a healthy, robust Springfield.”

Gourde looks upon the MGM Casino as an opportunity for Agawam businesses. “I don’t think it will hurt our business in any way, and I’ll be happy to take my shot at getting some of those casino patrons across the river and into our shops.”

Ayre is pragmatic. “No one knows if the casino will have any effect on the real estate market, but I really can’t see it hurting us. The one thing I do know, is that the town of Agawam will be here long after the casino opens, and it will still be a great town for families to live in.”

The Bottom Line

That last comment brings the discussion about Agawam full circle.

While officials there are looking for change, especially with the problematic Walnut Street Extension area — and the retail scene in general — one thing they don’t want to change is that image of being family friendly.

And that character trait extends well beyond the rides at Six Flags.

Agawam at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1761
Population: 28,608
Area: 35.75 square miles

County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $15.74
Commercial Tax Rate: $28.29
Median Household Income: $49,390
Family Household Income: $59,088 (2013)
Type of government: Mayor; City Council
Largest Employers: Six Flags New England, OMG Inc., Agawam Public Schools
* Latest information available

Sales & Marketing: Misreading Customers Means Missed Sales

By
Columns Sections

To Avoid That Fate, Do Battle with Your Assumptions

By JOHN GRAHAM

Selling is never easy. Never. But salespeople often make it even tougher for themselves by letting customers get away empty-handed. It isn’t that customers don’t find what they want or what they’re looking for. It’s just that they don’t want to deal with the salesperson.

With the 800-pound Internet gorilla lurking over every sale, today’s customers are much more demanding when dealing with salespeople. If the experience doesn’t meet their expectations, they’re gone.

More often than not, misreading customers causes them to look elsewhere—missed sales. It doesn’t need to happen and here’s how to avoid it:

1. Be sure you’re speaking with the right “customer.” Wrapped up in every customer is a handful of different customers, who behave differently depending on the situation. The first job is figuring out which of these customers you’re dealing with at the moment so you can respond correctly. Here they are:

• The “I want to know more” customer. This individual requires patience, so ask clarifying questions and get them talking. Don’t push, but gently pull them along until they’re comfortable.
• The “I have all the answers” customer. Let this customer talk and tell you all about it; don’t cut them off. This person wants to be the salesperson so let them feel they made the buying decision on their own.
• The “I know what I want” customer. By listening carefully to these customers, you may find inconsistencies in their thinking. Then by asking them follow up questions, these customers may recognize that what they thought they wanted was not a good idea after all.
• The “I can’t make up my mind” customer. Here, the salesperson becomes a resource, offering options and comparisons and making note of the customer’s responses so the person can recognize the best solution.

By making sure you’re talking with the right customer, salespeople take a big step toward making the sale rather than losing it.

2. Think individuals, not groups. Even though everyone is unique, we lump people into groups — doctors, servers, business owners, blue collar, boomers, Gen Z, old people, Hispanics, and on-and-on. In reality, we know that all Hispanics, accountants, or electricians are not the same.

For example, out of the nearly 80 million 18 to 35 year-old Millennials, there’s a segment of 6.2 million with an annual family income of $100,000 or more. They’re the affluent Millennials and they’re quite different from the other 62 million non-affluent Millennials of the total group.

According to a study, Money Matters: How Affluent Millennials are Living the Millennial Dream, this group is in a second phase. “Compared to non-affluent Millennials, affluent Millennials over index when it comes to changing jobs, buying a home, and making home improvements in the last 12 months,” and they also “over index when it comes to expecting a child in the next 12 months,” states FutureCast, the study sponsor.

It’s clearly good to be cautious when making marketing and sales assumptions about any group. Basing decisions on opinion, inaccurate information, or hearsay leads to misreading customers — and missed sales.

3. Don’t stop with first impressions. A marketing manager called about meeting to talk about working with his company. After a 400-mile drive, he arrived in a near-ancient pick up truck, wearing ragged jeans, a wrinkled shirt, and dirty boots. There was little doubt about that first impression: the meeting was going to be a waste of time.

Not recognizing it, we instantly pigeonhole customers — and that can be a mistake. First impressions may not tell the whole story. The man in the dirty boots is a good example. He was for real; his company became our largest account.

Never get carried away with first impressions, and be prepared to discard those that don’t fit.

4. Always offer options. There’s a lot to learn from companies that do a great job capturing customers by offering options. The Honda Accord, for example, comes in several models, each with a basic price: LX, Sport, EX, and EX-L. Choices engage customers so they don’t go away.

To be effective, options must be realistic and not so many that they become confusing or frustrating to customers. A financial advisor may present three scenarios for a client’s consideration, while a real estate agent may show a client several styles of homes. Options should create discussion and further interaction.

5. Don’t tell customers what to think. “Do you love it?” asked the interior decorator after delivering the reupholstered sofa cushions. The couple murmured a few words, “It’s bright and different.” But at that moment, one thing was certain; they didn’t love it.

Far too often, salespeople make the mistake of trying “to guide” customers, tell them what to think: “This a great buy.” “Isn’t this a perfect floor plan for your family?” “Don’t you just love the color?” “This is going to look great in your home.”

Customers want help and suggestions, but they don’t want salespeople telling them what to think. When that happens, it’s a turn off.

6. Forget about customer loyalty. It’s only human to believe that we have loyal customers. When some leave, we make excuses as to why they left. It’s tough seeing customers leave. It’s as if they are rejecting us. It negates everything we’ve done for them. Breaking up is painful, particularly after making customer care a top priority and bending over backwards to satisfy them.

We think that customers show their appreciation by being loyal to a company, brand, or salesperson. However, what we label as loyalty may be something quite different. It may be nothing more than convenience, price, laziness, inertia, or habit. Nothing more.

In other words, customer loyalty is an illusion. It lets us think the interchange with customers should result in their loyalty — and that’s a big mistake. Today, nothing — absolutely nothing —stands in the customer’s way from getting what the customer wants, the way the customer wants to get it, and where they want to get it.

We misread customers and lose them when we expect their loyalty. Our task is to focus on doing everything possible to give them a great experience. That’s the only reward that counts.

Misreading customers costs sales. To prevent this from happening, it takes doing battle with our assumptions, particularly those that influence how we think about customers and what we expect from them.

John Graham, of GrahamComm, is a marketing and sales strategist-consultant and business writer. He publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at [email protected], (617) 774-9759; johnrgraham.com

Building Permits

By
Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of July 2015.

AMHERST

Norwottuck Fish and Game Assoc. Inc.
1352 West St.
$20,000 — AT&T to add three new antennas

Sandri Realty Inc.
40 Belchertown Road
$10,000 — Repair damages from car accident

Town of Amherst
4 Boltwood Ave.
$10,000 — Install electric-vehicle-charging station

CHICOPEE

Brunelle Funeral Home
811 Chicopee St.
$30,000 — Install handicap ramp

His Land Associates, LLC
672 Fuller Road
$95,000 — Replace roof

Tylunas Funeral Home
159 Broadway
$30,000 — Install handicap ramp

GREENFIELD

Greenfield Real Estate, LLC
194 Cleveland St.
$50,000 — Upgrade existing building

Van Wood and Molly Small Corporation
19 Butternut St.
$40,000 — Install generators and heat pumps

LUDLOW

John’s Corner
202 Sewall St.
$5,000 — Install fire suppression system

Michelle Ruark
154 East St.
$3,500 — Re-shingle roof

NORTHAMPTON

Massachusetts Realty Corp.
1 River Road
$18,500 — Install new roof

Northampton Veterinary Clinic
227 South St.
$8,000 — Remodel second-floor bathroom

Smith College
23 Elm St.
$10,500 — Install sprinkler system

Thomas Moriarty
1 Florence St.
$17,000 — Remodel second-floor bathroom

PALMER

Municipal Public Access Cable
1659 North Main St.
$100,000 — Expand existing business into other half of building

SOUTH HADLEY

AT&T Mobil
8 Industrial Ave.
$25,000 — Cell tower replacement

Friends of the Pioneer
15 Mulligan Dr.
$48,000 — Install new fire sprinkler system

Mt. Holyoke College
50 College St.
$397,000 — Conversion of science labs

US Industrial Gaylord, LP
7-27 Gaylord St.
$1,000 — Install new stairs

SPRINGFIELD

Fontaine Investment Corp.
510 Cottage St.
$37,000 — Renovation of existing building to create additional office space

La Florentina Inc.
833 Main St.
$44,000 — Interior renovations to create opening in existing masonry wall

Mercy Medical
271 Carew St.
$3,095,000 — Create emergency electrical room

Phillips Edison
380 Cooley St.
$13,000 — Remodel space for new retail store

WESTFIELD

Church of Atonement
36 Court St.
$25,000 — Chimney and roof repair

Pioneer Valley Baptist Church
265 Ponders Hollow Road
$8,000 — Complete addition to church

Pioneer Valley Military & Transport
110 Airport Road
$87,000 — Construct storage building

Easthampton Electrical Diversifies into Untapped Markets

By
Easthampton Electrical feature construction
Construction Sections

Staying Plugged in to Opportunity

David Mitowski and Tim Hodnicki

David Mitowski and Tim Hodnicki stand near a van for Generator Boss, a new division created by Easthampton Electrical Services.

Easthampton Electrical Services, launched 60 years ago by Henry Mitowski, has always been entrepreneurial in nature, expanding from its roots in residential work to commercial customers, especially large apartment complexes. Today, this entrepreneurial bent continues with two new divisions, one focused on sales and service of home generators, and the other on a unique model for residential service. Overall, the company is keeping up with current trends — literally and figuratively.

Easthampton Electrical Services has been successful in a challenging niche market, and this track record is something President David Mitowski is quite proud of.

The company specializes in major apartment renovations, which is difficult work, because the units are usually occupied, and, unlike working in a new-construction setting, where electricians do their work and leave, they not only have to interact with residents, they also work alongside plumbers, carpenters, and other professionals who are doing renovations in the same unit at the same time.

“It takes a lot of teamwork and complex coordination, and can be slow and tedious,” said Mitowski. “We have to schedule things with the contractor and take part in daily and weekly meetings.”

The personality of their electricians factors heavily into the work because they need to be friendly and personable as the job may require moving tenants’ furniture, interacting with them, and explaining what they are doing.

“They need to put the tenant at ease, diffuse any animosity before it happens and do a really good job cleaning up. We leave a place in better shape than when we get there,” Mitowksi said.

But while the company has thrived on this demanding playing field, it has by no means been limited to it.

Indeed, as the firm started 60 years ago by Mitkowski’s father, Henry, soon after he finished his tour of duty with the Marine Corps, marks that milestone, it can also celebrate business diversity and an entrepreneurial spirit.

One could say that Easthampton Electrical has remained plugged in — figuratively speaking in this case — to changes within the industry and new and potentially lucrative opportunities.

The company has created two new divisions over the past few years, both of which are in the process of being trademarked.

The first, called Generator Boss, was born in response to recognized need after several recent weather calamities that created sizable and prolonged power outages, including the 2011 tornado and October nor’easter the same year.

As the names suggests, this venture involves the sale, installation, and service of home generators, and to date it has proven a sound addition to the company’s portfolio of services.

As has the other new division, called Electrical Experts, which is limited strictly to residential work, which runs the gamut from replacing an electrical outlet to resetting a circuit breaker or changing all of the wiring in a house.

What makes this service different from the way other contractors work is that everything has a pre-set price listed on a menu, and their trucks carry thousands of parts, making it highly unusual for an electrician to have to leave a job and return, which saves the homeowner and the company time and money.

Together, these various business divisions have made Easthampton Electrical a powerful player in the highly competitive local market, one with strong growth potential.

For this issue and its focus on construction, BusinessWest looks at the company’s first 60 years of keeping the lights on, and how the future looks even brighter.

Watt’s Happening

David Mitkowski said he started working with and beside his father when he was roughly 10 years old.

He told BusinessWest that all through high school and college, the plan was not to get involved with the family business. However, after graduating from college in 1973 with a degree in psychology, he realized he didn’t want to continue his schooling, which was necessary to pursue a job in that field.

“I was at a crossroads,” he said, while explaining why he decided to go join his father and eventually succeed him as president.

“My father had four employees at the time and did mostly small commercial and residential jobs, but I went to an estimating school and started bidding on big projects, such as schools and fire stations,” he went on, adding that his father handled the smaller jobs as he transitioned the company into the commercial, industrial, and bid market.

Since that time, Easthampton Electric has renovated more than 2,000 apartments and approximately 2 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. It has also completed more than 100 new residential projects and an equal number of new commercial and industrial jobs.

“At one point in the 80s, we had 35 employees. But then the economy took a downturn and we had to scale back,” Mitowski said, as he outlined the firm’s history and its tradition of doing quality work.

David Mitowski

David Mitowski says electricians at Easthampton Electrical Services are carefully chosen not only for their technical skills, but their ability to relate well to people.

Today, 75% of the company’s work involves renovating apartments, and Mitowski said it has become known for its ability to excel in this area. And due to its long history, in some cases it is returning to places it has worked at in the past; for example, it handled the original electric work when Heritage Green in Sturbridge was built 25 years ago, and went back for a second time as it helped rehab the apartment complex and bring it up to current standards.

Personality and the willingness to help others also comes into play in this niche, because the tradespeople working in an apartment must be willing to help each other.

“We might need to help a plumber lift a sink into place, but they will turn around and help us later,” Mitowski explained. “You can teach someone to do electrical work, but you can’t teach them respect for others and give them a likeable attitude, and we put as much emphasis on that when we hire someone as we do on their skills.”

The company recently finished rehabbing Colonial Estates in Springfield, and, overall, the work included installing new kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, smoke detectors, and safety upgrades in the 500-unit complex. “Right now, we’re working on an apartment complex in Pittsfield and also just finished 100 units in Pittsfield,” Mitowski said.

Although the atmosphere is not for everyone, Tim Hodnicki, who has been with the firm for 14 years and was recently named vice president, enjoys working in a team environment.

“We all come together to get a job done and try to complete it as quickly as possible. For example, everyone needed to revamp a kitchen goes in the same time and we may be able to install a brand new one in a day or two because we help each other,” he said. “The tradespeople work as a unit, which helps to forge strong relationships and leads to repeat business. It’s very different than working in new construction because everyone has to get along.”

Amping Up

In many ways, though, the second generation of the company has been as entrepreneurial as the first, especially in recent years and with the addition of new business ventures.

These expansion efforts have involved seizing opportunites as they have presented themselves, said Mitowski, and this was especially true with Generator Boss.

He said the idea was formulated after he received a call from General Electric and Briggs and Stratton asking if he wanted to sell generators.

“We had installed commercial models, but realized no one in the area was installing whole home automatic generators,” he noted, adding that although people were buying them from local stores, they had to hire a plumber and electrician to install them, and if something went wrong, they had no way to know which professional to contact.

Hodnicki agreed, and said people appreciate not having to call different professionals.

“We do the entire installation and all the maintenance, which includes yearly oil changes,” he explained. “The generators have been really popular; they kick on as soon as the power goes off and keep the heat on in the winter and the air conditioning going in the summer.

“They’re especially important if people have a well or have medical issues,” he went on, adding that price varies depending on the size of the home and how much the homeowner wants to operate, but the cost typically ranges from $5,000 to $10,000.

“They give people independence and security during a storm,” Mitowski said. “We installed one in Chester and the homeowner called us later and told us he lost power the next day.”

Meanwhile, the decision to launch Electrical Experts was made last September after Mitowski once again received a call.

It came from Success Group International in Florida, which asked if he was interested in joining a network of providers that use the same small business plan, which includes a pre-set price system, and is based on a model that was created after defining best practices for plumbers, roofers, heating and air conditioning specialists, and electricians.

Mitowski said the concept appealed to him, because the company hadn’t done much residential work after he transitioned it into the commercial/industrial sector.

The new venture involved a tremendous amount of training, and prices had to be adjusted to fit the Western Mass. geographic area, but the new branch of the company opened in March and has done very well.

“We’re very responsive, and schedule specific service times so customers don’t have to wait for someone to show up,” Hodnicki said.

He spent an enormous amount of time and energy training the electricians assigned to the new division and new method of pricing, but says it eliminates inefficiencies and is more cost effective than the usual way of doing business.

Mitowski concurs. “In the past, people would call us with a problem and we would send an electrician to their home who might have to go to the store and get a part. After they returned to the office, we would price the visit and send the person a bill,” he said, adding that one of customers’ biggest complaints has always been that a job takes too long. “We realize some people work faster than others, but this doesn’t affect the customer now because we charge a uniform price and they know what the work will cost right down to the penny before we start.

“Payments are made immediately after we finish, and we can get people approved for financing if they need it,” he went on. “No one else in the area has a system like this.”

Customers can also elect to sign up for a yearly plan, which costs $9.95 a month and gives them a discounted price on all services, a free annual inspection of their home’s electrical service, and waives any dispatch fees. “It includes checking every smoke detector and installing new batteries,” Mitowski said. “The yearly plan is especially good for people in older homes with aging electrical systems because we can keep an eye on things.”

Every electrician assigned to the division has been carefully screened and must undergo regular drug testing. “We believe it will help eliminate any doubts a homeowner might have about letting someone into their home,” Hodnicki said, adding that yearly background checks are also planned.

In addition, the company began installing EZ Breathe Ventilation Systems in people’s basements a year ago, a type of exhaust fan that can cover up to 7,000 square feet and maintain healthy humidity levels for $2 to $4 per month, eliminating the need for a dehumidifier.

“Before we decided to install the units we put one in the basement here. This building is about 100 years old and it got rid of the musty odor and all of the moisture,” Mitowski said, adding that the units cost $1,500 to $1,700 and bring fresh dry air into a basement while expelling odors, mold spores and contaminated air.

Wired for Growth

Mitowski is enthusiastic about the company’s new ventures, and says Easthampton Electrical’s future is bright.

“We have a lot of good things going on,” he said. “Our new divisions have exceeded our expectations and we’re very excited about their potential for success. We’re looking to grow, and this gives us a better chance to serve the local community. Rehabilitation work is great, but we want to serve more homeowners and make sure they get the value for their dollar that they expect.”

He added that Hodnicki wants to continue to expand the business, which is another bright spot for the company as it seeks out new ways to serve the residents of Western Mass. and Connecticut.

People on the Move

By
Departments People on the Move

Springfield-based United Personnel announced the promotion of two staff members, Danielle Cirillo and Marlene Johnson:

Danielle Cirillo

Danielle Cirillo

Marlene Johnson

Marlene Johnson

• Cirillo, who most recently has served as a staffing consultant in United Personnel’s Light Industrial Staffing Division, has been promoted to Project Manager for one of United Personnel’s larger accounts. In her new role, Cirillo will oversee all aspects of account management, including on-site staffing support, recruitment, employee relations, and project-based initiatives. She is a member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield. “I am pleased to receive this promotion, and I look forward to working with our clients to produce great results for them,” said Cirillo, an alumni of Western New England University.
• Johnson, who most recently served as a recruiter for United’s Professional Division, has been promoted to Staffing Consultant. In that role, she will work with both candidates and client companies, serving as the liaison between the two. “If you work hard, persevere, and persist, you will accomplish all that you desire,” said Johnson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Monroe College in New York City, and also serves as United’s Diversity Program Coordinator. She serves on the advisory committee for the School of Business and Information Technologies and is a member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield. “We are pleased to recognize the dedication and results-oriented approach of both Danielle and Marlene,” said Tricia Canavan, president of United Personnel, “and look forward to the positive impact they will have for our clients and candidates in their new roles.”
•••••
Stuart Kirshner

Stuart Kirshner

Environmental Compliance Services Inc. (ECS) announced that Stuart Kirshner has joined the firm as Health and Safety Manager. Kirshner has more than 18 years of experience in the environmental and safety sectors. His key skills include environmental health and safety (EHS) management program development, implementation, and administration. He applies compliance-enforcement policies through motivation, training, and process control, and his collaborative leadership style promotes team building, engagement, and a compliance culture. In his capacity as ECS’ health and safety manager, Kirshner is responsible for occupational safety and health for 25 office locations in 11 states, as well as enhancement of the firm’s safety culture through motivation and engagement of the workforce. His initial tasks include collaborating with the firm’s Information Technology department to redevelop the existing environmental health and safety program into a computer-based management system. He is also integrating EHS processes into the business-process-management system. Kirshner holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental management, as well as an undergraduate certificate for project management. He is a certified hazardous materials manager and a combat life saver certified by the U.S. Army.
•••••
Cheryl Hoey

Cheryl Hoey

Geoffrey Frost

Geoffrey Frost

Gomes, DaCruz & Tracy, P.C. recently announced the hiring of Cheryl Hoey, CPA, and Geoffrey Frost. Hoey has been hired as a Staff Accountant. She specializes in small-business and individual tax returns. Before joining the firm, she worked as a senior financial-risk consultant for an insurance company as well as a tax preparer for a local accountant during tax season. Frost has been hired as a Staff Accountant. He is a recent graduate from Elms College and has volunteered for Junior Achievement.
•••••
Freedom Credit Union announced the new executive committee of the board of directors, the appointment of a new board member, and two appointments to the leadership team of the credit union. At the recent annual meeting of the credit union, Lawrence Bouley was elected Chairman of the board of directors for the next three years. Bouley has been a board member of Freedom for the past 11 years and, prior to that, served on the FHBT Credit Union Board for 25 years. During his tenure, he will play an active role in the strategic direction of the credit union. Along with Bouley, the following board members were elected to three-year posts on the board’s executive committee: Donald Emerson, Vice Chairman; Louis Guillette, Treasurer; William Carey, Clerk; and John Reigner, Security Officer. Brian Harrington has been appointed to the board of directors to fulfill the unexpired term of a recently vacated seat. Harrington is an attorney and a deputy regional director in the Springfield office of the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection. While on the Freedom board of directors, he will be a member of the auditing committee, site committee, and security committee. In other news, David Chase Sr. has joined Freedom Credit Union as Vice President of Member Business Lending. Chase has more than 25 years of experience in the banking industry with an extensive background in commercial lending. Most recently, he was vice president of Commercial Lending at Hampden Bank. Chase is actively involved with several organizations, including the West of the River Chamber of Commerce as a board member. Chase is also a vice president of the board of Gray House and also serves as a member of the town of Agawam Planning Board. Finally, Christine Williams has been promoted to branch officer of the Freedom branch in Easthampton. In this capacity, she will oversee the financial and lending operations of the branch and develop new business opportunities with individuals and companies. For the past two years, Williams has been the assistant branch officer at the Easthampton Branch, and, prior to that, she worked at Citizens Bank. She has more than eight years of banking and credit-union experience.
•••••
Greg Richane

Greg Richane

Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) announced that Greg Richane has joined the LPV team as Program Coordinator. In this role, Richane will be responsible for coordinating and facilitating LPV’s signature 10-month regional leadership-development program and helping to recruit future participants. Richane comes to Leadership Pioneer Valley with a background in advocacy, events, and community engagement. Most recently, he worked as an organizer with the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, where he mobilized human-service professionals, clergy, and others to advocate for the needs of New York’s most vulnerable residents. In earlier roles, heworked as a housing advocate, campaign field organizer, and manager of large-scale fund-raising events, collaborating with professional and volunteer constituencies ranging from homeless adults to elected officials. Richane is a volunteer with the Northampton Survival Center and an active member of First Churches of Northampton. He holds a degree in theater studies from Boston University’s School of Fine Arts.
•••••
The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) recently recognized John Frederick of New England Business Associates in Springfield as the 2015 Direct Support Professional of the Year for Massachusetts. “We at New England Business Associates are proud of John. “The award shows the dedication Frederick has to support people with disabilities and reflects the quality of services provided by New England Business Associates,” said Jeannine Pavlak, executive director. The award was presented at the 2015 ANCOR Annual Conference, “Ignite!” in Arlington, Va. Direct support professionals (DSPs) — also referred to as caregivers, personal assistants, and direct-care or home-care aides — provide a rich mosaic of daily support services for the many Americans with disabilities. DSPs are integral in helping people with disabilities participate in their communities and lead full and independent lives. Since 2007, ANCOR has honored exceptional DSPs with the Direct Support Professional Recognition Award for exemplary work in furthering community inclusion and full participation for the many Americans living with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities. “The work that DSPs do is so important, not just to the people with disabilities they serve, but also to the social and economic lives of their communities,” said Chris Sparks, president of ANCOR. “DSPs like John deserve recognition for the difficult but inspiring work they do every day.” ANCOR’s Direct Support Professional Recognition Award is given to those who personify the values of ANCOR’s National Advocacy Campaign, which works to ensure a well-trained and sustainable direct-support workforce. Nominees are judged on the work they’ve done to build social networks, substantive community participation, and advocating for the people they serve. New England Business Associates is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve quality of life for individuals with disabilities through integrated employment and community involvement. Through its 32 years of service, NEBA has maintained an employment rate at or above 85%, serving more than 400 individuals annually.
•••••
The YWCA of Western Massachusetts board of directors met recently and elected the following individuals: Ann Donah, director of Development for Easter Seals Massachusetts; Nicole Griffin, president of Griffin Staffing Network; Pastor Gail Hill of Family Church in Springfield; Arlene Rodriquez, dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Springfield Technical Community College; attorney Deborah Saremi, general counsel of Future Health, LLC and Saremi, LLP Property Management Co.; Jamina Scippio-McFadden, director of Marketing & Community Relations at the UMass Center at Springfield; and Nancy Urbschat, principal and owner of TSM Design. Ann Turnberg, Coldwell Banker and president of the YWCA board of directors, was elected for a second term.

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies Departments

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

Bennett, Roger E.
919 Southampton Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/23/15

Blais, Eric J.
Blais, Carol A.
25 Dejordy Lane
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/29/15

Booth, Ran-dee
10 Glen Ridge Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/19/15

Boyd, Craig Michael
Boyd, Rose Louise
377 Dwight Road
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/22/15

Brogan, Gary L.
220 College Highway
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/25/15

Brouillette, Raymond J.
PO Box 1552
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/18/15

Cha, Chong Kwan
37 Gibson Dr.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/26/15

Christian, Bonnie A.
60 Wells St.
Greeenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/17/15

Conley, Lesvia V.
27 Eastern Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/22/15

Dufour, Michael R.
Dufour, Jennifer T.
a/k/a Westcott, Jennifer T.
615 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/16/15

Dunlap, Christopher B.
Dunlap, Donna S.
134 Arnold St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/28/15

Farr, Christy A.
4 Hilltop Dr.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/29/15

Freniere, Robert J.
79 Highland Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/26/15

Girard, Lori A.
77 Eagle St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/22/15

Glanville, Jameson T.
167 Dale St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/17/15

Grant, David W.
Lynch, Jaime K.
23 Boyd St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/22/15

Guadalupe, Alicia
90 Upland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/18/15

Jimmo, Steven M.
100 St. James Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/27/15

Kalesnik, Ann M.
37 Birch Hill Road
Blanford, MA 01008
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/30/15

King, Joann Marie
163 Woodlawn Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/29/15

Lachance, James M.
635 Royalston Road
Phillipston, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/24/15

LeBrasseur, Glen M.
LeBrasseur, Alison M.
51 Circleview Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/27/15

LeCompte, Carla Moore
26 East Green St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/22/15

Leonard, Karen L.
401 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/23/15

Lopez, Irisaida
109 Shaine Circle
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/25/15

Mateo, Matilde
a/k/a Mateo-Franco, Matilde
137 Woodlawn St., 2nd
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/18/15

Maynard, Gary Rene
Maynard, Janet Felice
635 Springfield St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/26/15

McGrath, Paul E.
McGrath, Mary-Jo E.
a/k/a Connolly, Mary-Jo E.
391 Ridge Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/26/15

McQuade, James T.
46 Oak St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/19/15

McSwain, Julianne
20 Mandalay Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/30/15

Miller, Monique R.
127 Corcoran Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/22/15

Miner, Bruce C.
PO Box 1596
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/19/15

Moriarty, Paul
7 Bruce St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/24/15

O’Connor, John L.
O’Connor, Donna M.
31 Watling St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/18/15

Perry, Charlotte May
a/k/a Robbins, Charlotte May
41 Mahaiwe St.
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/30/15

Phelps, Barbara E.
436 Vine St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/25/15

Piantek, Sandra A.
63 Nelson Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/19/15

PrestigiousOne LLC
Wyandotte Properties,LLC
Knaggs, Wilkenson
17 Dartmouth St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/29/15

Przypek, James Steven
Przypek, Amy Beth
a/k/a Bilodeau, Amy Beth
11 Longview Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/25/15

Puskey, John E.
Puskey, Debra A.
P.O. Box 158
Russell, MA 01071
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/27/15

Ramirez, Manuel
17 Indian Leap St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/29/15

Raymond, Laura E.
75 Cambridge St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/19/15

Regan, Patricia A.
1 South Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/29/15

Roberts’ Restaurant
Jiles, Michael Lee
Kulczyk-Jiles, Michelle Rose
46 Irvington St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/26/15

Romeo, Pasquale A.
Romeo, Lynda L.
95 Hall St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/18/15

Schnauber, Jonathan P.
60 Eleanor Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/23/15

Scopa, Frances Donna
20 Willmark Ave.
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/29/15

Soucie, Betty P.
130 Western Ave.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/24/15

Stosz, Amber L.
379 Linden St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/19/15

Strickland, James
PO Box 692
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/19/15

Suprenant, Lucille M.
65-D Paul Revere Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/19/15

Taylor, Maurice W.
46 N Canal St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/22/15

Thornton, Jonathan D.
Thornton, Jessica
a/k/a Reopelle, Jessica A.
352 Granville Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/28/15

Wright, Amanda R.
65 Craig Dr., Apt. N11
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/25/15

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook Departments

Falvey Linen Supply to Open Springfield Facility
SPRINGFIELD — The city of Springfield and Falvey Linen Supply Inc. have announced a plan for the Rhode Island company to open a new Springfield facility at 100 Brookdale Dr., located in the East Springfield neighborhood, with an expected investment of $7 million and the creation of more than 100 new jobs. “We are thrilled to welcome Falvey Linen to Springfield,” said Mayor Domenic Sarno. “This is a company with a history of success and will add more good-paying jobs for our residents and be a great addition to our business community. The word is out, and Springfield is on the rise.” Falvey Linen Supply is based in Cranston, R.I., with facilities in the Hartford area as well as Eastern Massachusetts. The family-owned and -operated company was founded in 1929. Its commercial laundry business has grown throughout its 86-year history and is currently managed by James and Patricia Falvey O’Hara, along with their daughter Kaitlin O’Hara, representing the fourth generation of the Falvey family. They plan to make an investment of $7 million for the purchase of a 240,000-square-foot building on 17 acres of land, including renovations and new laundry equipment for 100 Brookdale Dr. The company is currently conducting due-diligence procedures on the project, including permitting activities, building design, and water and sewer. This project will create new tax revenue from the redevelopment of 100 Brookdale Dr., provide new job opportunities, and create economic spinoff to area businesses. The company is seeking incentives through the state’s Economic Development Incentive Program, which would require participation of a local tax-increment-financing agreement, to help assist with the significant investment. “We’ve talked recently about how some of the major projects can lead to spinoff jobs of companies in the supply chain,” said Kevin Kennedy, Springfield’s chief development officer. “Falvey Linen is a first-class company that is looking to get into our market and this region, and certainly a factor in that is our growing hospitality industry with MGM Springfield. We’re excited to welcome them to Springfield.”

Six Flags Cops Two Awards for Coasters
AGAWAM — Six Flags New England announced that Wicked Cyclone has been named ‘best new amusement park attraction,’ and Bizarro has been named ‘best roller coaster,’ by the 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest sponsored by USA Today. Wicked Cyclone, which opened in May, is the first hybrid coaster to hit New England. It stands 10 stories tall and reaches speeds of 55 mph. With three inversions, Wicked Cyclone is the first coaster of its kind to have two zero-G rolls. Riders also experience more airtime on Wicked Cyclone than any other coaster on the East Coast. Bizarro made its debut at Six Flags New England in 2000, and has been the recipient of numerous industry awards. It features 5,400 feet of track, a 20-story lift hill, and speeds of 77 mph.

Local Union Donates to Cancer Center Capital Campaign
SPRINGFIELD — Transforming Cancer Care – the Capital Campaign for the Sister Caritas Cancer Center continues to gain momentum as the International Assoc. of Iron Workers Local 7 has donated $5,000 to the fund-raising project. “The Sister Caritas Cancer Center is an important resource for the local community, and we are pleased to extend our support to this important project,” said Fiore Grassetti, industry analyst and business agent for the International Assoc. of Iron Workers Local 7, which is responsible for erecting the structural steel framework of the expansion project. According to Grassetti, members of the union became further engaged in the project as they learned more about it, prompting them to offer their own financial support. “We are also impressed that Mercy Medical Center has made a concerted effort to employ a local and diverse workforce on this project.” The Sister Caritas Cancer Center is in the midst of a $15 million expansion that will bring all cancer services together in one location and meet increasing demand for outpatient cancer services. In the past two years, the number of patients receiving chemotherapy at the Sister Caritas Cancer Center has increased by more than 200%. By 2022, the need for outpatient cancer services is expected to grow by 26%. “There is no question that the importance of this expansion project resonates with leaders of the local business community, and we are grateful for their continuing support,” said Diane Dukette, vice president of Fund Development for the Sisters of Providence Health System. The project is scheduled for completion in the fall.

Donahue Institute Receives $14M Contract for Head Start Programs
BOSTON — The UMass Donahue Institute has been awarded a five-year, $14 million contract to provide training and technical assistance to Head Start and Early Head Start programs for all of New England. The institute will work with local Head Start programs on their educational, health, and family services as well as management systems to strengthen their ability to serve children and their families. Head Start and Early Head Start programs support the comprehensive development of children from birth to age 5 in centers, child-care partner locations, and their own homes. Early Head Start also provides services to pregnant women. Head Start and Early Head Start services include early learning, health, and family well-being. “We are very proud that the University of Massachusetts has emerged as one of the national leaders in providing training and technical assistance to Head Start programs,” said UMass President Marty Meehan. “The Donahue Institute’s work — which complements the early childhood programs at UMass Boston and UMass Amherst — is another outstanding example of the impact that UMass is having, not just in Massachusetts, but across all of New England.” Added J. Lynn Griesemer, executive director of the UMass Donahue Institute, “we are delighted and honored to receive this award. We have been the predominant provider of training and technical assistance to Head Start in this region for the past 12 years and have gained an outstanding reputation.” The contract was awarded by the Office of Head Start in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nationally, Head Start/Early Head Start is divided into 12 regions. The UMass Donahue Institute will be the sole provider of training and technical assistance to Region 1, which includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. “We are very excited to continue supporting Head Start programs throughout New England and helping them to improve the wonderful work they already do,” said Bess Emanuel, Head Start regional training and technical assistance coordinator with the UMass Donahue Institute.

Springfield Diocese Looks to Create Momentum for Catholic Education

By
Pope Francis High School
Education Sections

An architect’s rendering of the planned Pope Francis High School.

An architect’s rendering of the planned Pope Francis High School.

Many of the decisions hanging over Cathedral High School — and Catholic education in this region — since the tornado ripped through Springfield in 2011 have been answered. The diocese will rebuild, it will merge Cathedral with Holyoke Catholic, it will name the new high school after Pope Francis, and it will build the new facility for a population of roughly 500 students. But much work remains, principally the task of generating momentum for Catholic education at all levels, and creating a system that is truly sustainable.

Paul Gagliarducci says it’s likely ground won’t be broken for the new Pope Francis High School — the institution resulting from the merger of Springfield Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic High Schools — until September 2016.

While the location for the school (the site of the old Cathedral, destroyed by the 2011 tornado) has been chosen — after months of weighing various options — as has the name and nickname (Cardinals), and a working architect’s rendering of the facility has been circulated, much work remains to be done before a shovel can be put on the ground, he noted.

Indeed, administrators must decide how many classrooms to include, the nature and size of those facilities, and myriad other specifics before architects can begin, let alone finalize, designs, said Gagliarducci.

And from the big picture perspective, administrators involved in this endeavor have much more to do than construct a new school, he went on. They are also building enthusiasm — and a student body — for this facility, while also ensuring its long-term sustainability.

And all this is reflected in the unofficial title Gagliarducci, former school superintendent for the Minnechaug region and Somers, Conn., and long-time education consultant, now carries with regard to this endeavor.

That would be ‘interim executive director of the Pope Francis High School project,’ an assignment of indeterminate length — “I’m here as long as it takes to get the job done” — that will involve everything from coordinating the merger of the two schools to building the new facility, to designing a new governing structure for the diocese, all at a time when there are huge question marks hanging over the institution of Catholic education in this region and around the country.

Those question marks are reflected in statistics kept by the National Catholic Educational Assoc. (NCEA), based in Arlington, Va. They show that enrollment is not only down considerably from the peak years for Catholic education in the early ’60s, when there were 5.2 million students enrolled in 13,000 schools across the nation, but that the decline is an ongoing phenomenon, with no apparent bottom in sight.

Paul Gagliarducci

Paul Gagliarducci says the unofficial goal for Pope Francis High School is to make it one of the few Catholic facilities that has a waiting list for students wishing to enroll.

Indeed, total Catholic enrollment was 2.42 million for the 2004-’05 school year, less than half what it was 40 years earlier; 2.12 million for ’09-’10; and 1.94 million for ’14-’15, a roughly 20% falloff over a decade. The rate of decline was even more severe for pre-school and K-8. Enrollment for that constituency was 1.8 million for ’04-’05, 1.52 million for ’09-’10, and 1.38 million for ’14-’15, a nearly 25% drop.

There are many reasons for this decline, said Sr. Dale McDonald, PBVM, Ph.D., director of Public Policy and Education Research for the NCEA, who cited everything from the recession that came near the middle of this statistical period, to a sharp drop in the number of priests and nuns who once taught in Catholic schools, to the financial woes facing a number of dioceses across the country.

Overall, though, sharply falling enrollment comes down to a continuing decline in the number of people both willing and able to pay the tuition ($9,000 on average nationwide at the high school level, and $3,800 at the elementary school level) for a Catholic education.

Over the past decade, decline in enrollment has averaged between 1.8% and 2.5% per year, and 21% of the schools have closed, McDonald went on, and there is little, if anything, to indicate that this trend will slow, let alone stop.

“Unless we have some serious interventions, enrollment will continue to decline and schools will continue to close,” she said, adding that by interventions, she meant actions that would enable more families to afford those tuition figures mentioned earlier.

Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic have certainly not been immune to these trends. At Cathedral, for example, enrollment was at or near 3,000 in the early ’70s, and stood at merely 400 when the tornado tore across Springfield on June 1, 2011.

The current trends and uncertainly concerning the future certainly played a factor in the lengthy discussion about whether to rebuild Cathedral, where, and how — and also in the preliminary design of the school and projected capacity — roughly 500 students.

That’s about 115 more than the combined enrollment of the two high schools at present, said Gagliarducci, adding that this number reflects both realism and confidence moving forward.

“Looking at the group of freshmen coming in, the class of 2019, has just over 100 students, and that’s a pretty good number,” he said, adding that this is the combined enrollment for both schools, “If we can maintain that 100 to 125 students, and I think we can, we’ll have our 400-500 students and something we can build on.” Such confidence, he went on, stems from everything from the impact of a new facility on those weighing their education options, to efforts to emphasize the value and benefits of a Catholic education.

But making the school accessible to families of all income levels will be crucial, and for this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest looks at that challenge and how it might be met.

Setting a Course

As he talked about his assignment, the Pope Francis High School project, moving forward, Gagliarducci said that while it doesn’t say as much on any formal or informal job description, his mission is to make the new facility one of those Catholic high schools that actually has a waiting list for enrollment.

Doing so will accomplish many things, he went on, listing everything from fiscal flexibility to greater prestige to long-term sustainability.

plan for the property on Surrey Road

While designs for the new school are still being finalized, the plan for the property on Surrey Road is coming into focus.

“Right now, people know we want them,” he said, referring to the current, and aggressive, recruiting efforts. “But if we can get to a point where we get 175 to apply and we only take the top 100 to 125, that’s going to bring some competition, and that’s going to be good for us; that’s what our hope is.”

Such an eventuality would have seemed impossible a few years ago, especially after Cathedral was relocated into a shuttered elementary school in Wilbraham months after the tornado — and this scenario still seems like a real stretch of the imagination to many.

But Gagliarducci and others involved with this endeavor believe such a fate is possible, if the school can focus on those two parts of the enrollment equation mentioned earlier, and put more people in those categories of individuals willing and able to pursue a Catholic education for their children.

Essentially, it will come down to the laws of supply and demand, and reversing the picture that has defined the scene both regionally and nationally for years — where demand doesn’t come close to approaching supply.

And that assignment will come down to a host of factors, said Tom Brodnicki, senior partner with Partners in Mission, a consulting firm specializing in Catholic education that has been hired by the diocese to help coordinate the merger of the high schools and raise money for the endowment fund.

He listed listing everything from building a market for Catholic education to growing the endowment so more students can attend; from broadening enrollment among certain demographic groups, such as the Hispanic population (more on that later), to convincing area parents that the sticker price for Pope Francis is a relative bargain; from building what he and others called a “culture of philanthropy” in the region, to convincing parents of the need to start saving early for a Catholic education for their children.

All of those action items would fall into that category of ‘interventions,’ as described by McDonald. The question is whether they will be enough to stem the current tide.

Indeed, creating a waiting list for Pope Francis will certainly be a challenge, said those we spoke with, noting that while there are, in fact, schools where demand exceeds supply (often where the supply has been reduced through a merger), there are many more that are closing their doors or merging with others, as has happened with the Springfield diocese.

Statistics from the NCEA show that while 27 new Catholic schools opened over this past school year, 88 consolidated or closed. And those numbers have become the trend over the past few decades, said McDonald, adding that the rate of closure and consolidation has actually slowed considerably because there are simply fewer schools left to take such steps.

And while the economy and even demographic trends have had something to do with these developments — the decline of many cities in the Rust Belt/Bible Belt has resulted in falling Catholic school enrollments in that traditional stronghold — tuition, the inability to meet it, and the fiscal difficulties that ensue, are the primary reasons.

“As tuition moves higher, fewer people are able to afford it,” McDonald noted. “But schools facing lower enrollment still have expenditures, or operating costs, and many of these costs are fixed or increasing dramatically, such as health insurance for teachers and staff.”

Per-pupil costs generally far exceed tuition and are met through fund-raising efforts by the diocese in question, she went on, adding that there is help available to families facing those tuitions costs ranging from scholarships to tax credits made available in many states.

But the burden is proving too steep for many, especially those families with several children in school at the same time, McDonald noted, adding that, overall, there is little prospect for improvement.

“Without programs that will provide help for families, it’s not a happy forecast in many respects,” she said, “when it comes to the ability of parents to continue to pay the tuition that’s required to have a quality education.”

One of the serious, and ongoing, challenges for those in Catholic education is attracting members of the Hispanic population, said Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill, president of the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College.

Hispanic populations are growing in most urban centers, including Springfield and Holyoke, and, overall, Hispanics comprise roughly 60% of the nation’s Catholic-school-age children (those ages 3 to 18), but only 2.3% of those children are enrolled in Catholic schools.

“This is the crux of the problem in Catholic education today,” she told BusinessWest, adding that there are several reasons behind that statistic, including the fact that many Hispanic parents did not attend Catholic schools, and doing so is not a “part of their culture.” But the inability to meet tuition costs is also a huge factor.

“One of the issues facing Catholic education today is the inability to recognize the need to diversify what we’re doing, to be much more welcoming, and to be more open to introducing and welcoming the second culture and the second language,” she said, adding that there is movement nationally to address the problem.

Crosses to Bear

It was in this environment that the Springfield diocese was forced to make critical decisions after Cathedral was essentially destroyed by the tornado.

And it took all of four years to make most of those decisions, including whether to rebuild, under what circumstances (eventually via a merger with Holyoke Catholic), where to build, and how big to build.

After surveying the landscape and analyzing the data, officials decided to build a 120,000-square-foot school that can handle a population of 500 students. That is a small fraction of the total number of Catholic high school students in this region from a typical year decades ago — and a figure smaller than many alums of those schools think is possible — but it is quite realistic, said Gagliarducci.

“Some people think we should be doing much better — some of the critics said earlier that this area should be able to support four high schools,” he said. “Dream on … that’s just not going to happen.”

But Gagliarducci stressed that the facility can, and hopefully will, be expanded to accommodate more students in the future.

Facilities such as the auditorium, gymnasium, and cafeteria are being designed for closer to 700 students, he went on, adding that they cannot be expanded later, and thus must be built accordingly. But additional classrooms and facilities can be added later.

Tom Brodnicki

Tom Brodnicki says that one challenge for the diocese is to convince parents that their tuitions costs are a sound investment.

When asked how the diocese intends to arrive at the point where Pope Francis will need to be expanded, Gagliarducci and Brodnicki went back to the laws of supply and demand.

By building a first-class facility — not only a new building, but one outfitted with the latest technology and offering attractive programs of study — they hope to build demand. And it will take more than a new structure, because several area communities, including Longmeadow, West Springfield, Wilbraham (Minnechaug), and Chicopee (two facilities) have opened new state-of-the-art high schools in the past decade.

“The key is to develop a program that parents can get excited about,” Gagliarducci explained. “But ultimately, if I’m deciding as a parent to send my child to Pope Francis High School, I’m doing so because I believe in a strong religious education for my kids, so that has to be the paramount thing that’s going to attract people.

“But then you have to follow that up with a rich academic program,” he went on, “one where, at the end of four years, students are getting into the college of their choice; that’s very important.”

By growing an endowment, meanwhile, they intend to increase accessibility. Also, with economies of scale gained through the merger, they expect Pope Francis to be an efficient operation, one better suited to manage through the time it will take to build the endowment and grow enrollment.

“We believe that with the new facility and some of the excitement that it builds — along with this endowment fund, which will help with the affordability factor for some families — that a school with a projected enrollment of 500 is within reason,” said Brodnicki. “The real key is the level of academic excellence that’s provided, and convincing people that they are making a valuable investment in their children’s future.”

Elaborating, Brodnicki and Gagliarducci said Catholic education has not gone out of favor — it has simply become a less-appealing option for many families due to its cost.

The initial goal for the endowment, set by Bishop Timothy McDonnell, who retired last year, was $10 million. But Gagliarducci and Brodnicki want to set the bar higher to broaden accessibility and therefore meet demand.

Approximately one third of the 200 students now attending Cathedral receive a substantial amount of financial assistance to attend, said Brodnicki, adding that a large endowment and other forms of philanthropy will enable more low-income families to attend the school.

But to achieve sustainability, the new school must be able to attract students across all income levels, said Gagliarducci, adding that the goal is to continue the current breakdown — where roughly one third of the students pay full tuition, another third get some support, and the rest get substantial assistance — only with a larger student population.

Building Momentum

Surveying the national Catholic education scene, Brodnicki, who has had a front row seat to the changing landscape and has worked in a number of major metropolitan areas, said most cities are experiencing declines consistent with the statistics quoted by McDonald.

The Boston area is a notable exception, he added quickly, noting that most Catholic schools there are thriving, in part because the economy is more robust, but more so because of strong philanthropic support from wealthy individuals, many of whom are graduates of those schools and now serve on their boards of trustees.

“A few things happened in Boston,” said Brodnicki. “First, the economy took off; second, there is incredible wealth and a strong tradition of philanthropy. There are a number of Catholic individuals who have come together and made a firm commitment to Catholic education, especially the inner-city schools.”

The Western Mass. Catholic community can’t expect to approach that level of support, he went on, but it can — and, in essence, must — build a stronger base of philanthropic generosity if it hopes to create a sustainable Catholic education system.

And he said Cathedral, and to a lesser extent Holyoke Catholic, has a large alumni base, with many individuals in a position to provide support. The diocese must be more aggressive in reaching out to alums and making its case for support, he went on.

“Cathedral has a reputation for having many well-known graduates who have achieved wealth,” Brodnicki explained. “We’re going to go and visit those folks and lay out the case for support.”

While building a stronger base of support through its endowment and other forms of philanthropy, the Springfield diocese must also more aggressively promote Catholic education and convince current young parents, as well as those that will follow them, that it is a viable option and worthwhile investment.

Part of this equation involves making Catholic education more of a K-12 phenomenon, said those we spoke with, who again cited the more-rapid rate of enrollment decline at the elementary school level.

Springfield is a good example of that trend; not long ago there were five Catholic elementary schools in the city, but by the time the tornado touched down, they had been merged into one — St. Michael’s Academy.

Meanwhile, the diocese, as it goes about selling the new high school, must also sell a Catholic education, and this one in particular, as an investment, rather than as an expense that must somehow be met.

“People often view that $9,000 as tuition, not necessarily as an investment, Brodnicki explained. “We have to show someone who’s looking at spending $40,000 on their child’s education that, on average, graduates of Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic are receiving scholarship opportunities that average in the $80,000 to $90,000 range; people have essentially doubled their money in four years. Give me a stock that will do that, and I’m all over it.”

Grade Expectations

How well Gagliarducci, Brodnicki, and the diocese fare with the many aspects of the Pope Francis High School project remains to be seen. With some elements of the equation, such as the endowment, real progress may not be realized for years.

One thing that all agree on, though, is that given the many changes and challenges confronting those in Catholic education today, this will certainly be a stern test.

Ultimately, though, they believe this is a test they can, and will, pass.

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

Home Sales Rise in June in Pioneer Valley

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley reported Monday that single-family home sales in June were up 4.9% compared to the same time last year. The median price, meanwhile, dropped 1.5%, from $204,000 last year at this time to $201,000 this year, as first-time buyers continue to come into the market.

The association reported that across the Pioneer Valley, sales in June 2015 totaled 552, compared to 526 a year ago. In Hampden County, sales were up 11.4% over the same month last year (370 in 2015 and 332 in 2014), with the median price down 2.2%. In Hampshire County, meanwhile, sales remained the same (135 both years), with the median price down 4.6%. In Franklin County, though, sales were down 22% (42 in 2015 and 54 in 2014), and median prices were up 8.8%.

Picture This

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]

Capital Contributions

Balise Donation GroupCancer-Center Steelworkers Donor GroupTransforming Cancer Care — the Capital Campaign for the Sister Caritas Cancer Center — gained some additional momentum recently with two donations — one of $500,000 from Balise Motor Sales, and $5,000 from the International Assoc. of Iron Workers Local 7. The cancer center is in the midst of a $15 million expansion that will bring all cancer services together in one location and meet increasing demand for outpatient cancer services. At top (from left), Philip Glynn, MD, director of Oncology, Mercy Medical Center; Mohamed P. Hamdani, MD, chair of the Cancer Center Capital Campaign; Jeb Balise, CEO of Balise Motor Sales; Mike Balise, Vice President of Balise Motor Sales; and Daniel P. Moen, President and CEO, SPHS. Bottom, Moen thanks Fiore Grassetti (second from right) for the local’s donation. Also pictured are Diane Dukette, vice president of Fund Development for the SPHS, and Daniel Keenan, senior vice president of Government and Community Service.

Celebrating Community Day

Whittlesey&HadleyThe accounting firm Whittlesey & Hadley, P.C., hosted its 7th annual Community Day on July 10. This year, employees of the firm and its subsidiary, The Technology Group LLC, reached out in the Greater Hartford area and Springfield, and devoted their time and talents to community-based organizations primarily focused on providing academic, behavioral, and human services to the disabled and families and children. Here, employees are seen at the Boys & Girls Club Family Center on Acorn Street in Springfield, where they painted the boys and girls locker rooms. Seen here are: (front row, from left), Linda Wosko, O’Rita Swan, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club, Amy Richards, Danielle Dupont, and Lisa Zunis. (Second row, from left): Drew Andrews, managing partner of Whittlesey & Hadley, Michael Flaherty, Tim Gaines, and Peter Kravetz.

Coming to Springfield

df861e3d99The City of Springfield and Falvey Linen Supply Inc. recently announced a plan for the Rhode Island company to open a new Springfield facility at 100 Brookdale Dr. in the East Springfield neighborhood, with an expected investment of $7 million and the creation of more than 100 new jobs. Falvey Linen Supply is based in Cranston, R.I., with facilities in the Hartford area as well as Eastern Massachusetts. The family owned and operated company was founded in 1929.  Seen here at a press conference to announce the expansion are, from left, Springfield City Councilor Orlando Ramos; Ernesto Cruz, aide to State Rep. Jose Tosado; Kathy Brown, East Springfield Neighborhood Council; Mayor Domenic J. Sarno; James O’Hara, president of Falvey Linen; Kait O’Hara, manager of Falvey Linen; and Kevin Kennedy, Springfield’s chief development officer.

Raymond James Open House

Ribbon CuttingOn July 16, Raymond James staged an open house for clients and local dignitaries at its offices in Tower Square in downtown Springfield. Speakers included Tash Elwyn, president of Raymond James & Associates (RJA) Private Client Group, Jay Minkarah, president and CEO of DevelopSpringfield, and Vincent Petrangelo, Raymond James’ Springfield branch manager. Here, from left, Elwyn, Petrangelo, and Minkarah cut the ceremonial ribbon.

Scholarship Winners

CosenziThe Tom Cosenzi Scholarship recently announced the three students that each received the $1,000 scholarship for demonstrating excellence in the classroom. The winners of the award, established in memory of Thomas E. Cosenzi, are (from left, as seen with Thomas Cosenzi’s daughter, Carla): Cienna Harris, a senior at Hopkins Academy who will be attending Salve Regina University; Justyna Sudyka, a senior at Shepard Hill Regional High School, who will attend the University of Connecticut; and Francois Venne, a senior at Northampton high School, who will attend Holy Cross.

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

ASHFIELD

1147 Hawley Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Niels Cudnohufsky
Seller: Heather M. Johnson
Date: 06/19/15

BERNARDSTON

3 Huckle Hill Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $153,500
Buyer: Christopher R. Pappademas
Seller: Veronica A. Mayrand
Date: 06/19/15

513 Huckle Hill Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Franklin Land Trust Inc.
Seller: Peter R. James
Date: 06/23/15

51 Shaw Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Chad T. Giard
Seller: Douglas R. Fish
Date: 06/26/15

BUCKLAND

28 Franklin St.
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Dominic V. Vellucci
Seller: Goldie Keehn LT
Date: 06/19/15

COLRAIN

111 South Green River Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Mark A. Rosienski
Seller: Rockwell J. Lively
Date: 06/15/15

CONWAY

34 Hidden Ledge Dr.
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Whitney Compton
Seller: Kate A. Cort
Date: 06/25/15

110 Jones Corner Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: John D. Thurlow
Seller: Thurlow IRT
Date: 06/26/15

DEERFIELD

103 Hillside Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $222,500
Buyer: Rory J. Dexter
Seller: Nancy E. Callahan-Decker
Date: 06/26/15

99 Hillside Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $319,900
Buyer: Zachary Smith
Seller: James F. Smith
Date: 06/26/15

11 North Hillside Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Maksim Loboda
Seller: Michael Zabre
Date: 06/15/15

2 Pocumtuck Dr.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Julia Y. Chen
Seller: Sallie S. Lowe
Date: 06/19/15

6 Taylor St.
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $3,400,000
Buyer: Deerfield Academy
Seller: Patrick F. Mahoney
Date: 06/15/15

ERVING

13 Pleasant St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Eric D. Reed
Seller: Jeffrey M. Lively
Date: 06/26/15

GREENFIELD

758 Country Club Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Michael A. Crochier
Date: 06/26/15

204 Davis St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Gertrude Walker
Seller: Seth S. Eichenlaub
Date: 06/24/15

294 Deerfield St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Luke Stankowski
Seller: Michael J. McGrath
Date: 06/17/15

37 Green River Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $377,000
Buyer: Roberta K. Baker
Seller: David A. Walker
Date: 06/15/15

237 High St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Lynn Parker
Seller: Herbert E. Bushee
Date: 06/26/15

63 Log Plain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: Jaime M. Fitzpatrick
Seller: Mark S. Keel
Date: 06/25/15

164 Plain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Despres
Seller: Michael Stempel
Date: 06/26/15

29 Raingley Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $264,900
Buyer: Jeri L. Case
Seller: Gerald A. Bohdanowicz
Date: 06/19/15

19 Smith St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Lisa A. Morrison
Seller: Leslie F. Call IRT
Date: 06/19/15

135 Thayer Road Ext.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $181,565
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Jennifer L. Elie
Date: 06/19/15

MONTAGUE

75 Center St.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $213,500
Buyer: Sarah E. Lowe
Seller: Andrew R. Sewell
Date: 06/26/15

16 Chester St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Rachel L. Levey
Seller: Sokolosky IRT
Date: 06/19/15

30 Davis St.
Montague, MA 01301
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Jose A. Torres
Seller: Shawn Stone
Date: 06/15/15

40 Grove St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: John J. Mulligan
Seller: Benjamin D. Simanski
Date: 06/26/15

7 I St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $140,874
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Kent Haven
Date: 06/19/15

5 Sunset Dr.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: George W. Hardy
Seller: Elena M. Gillon
Date: 06/18/15

54 Turnpike Road
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $176,000
Buyer: Andrew D. Whiteman
Seller: Jean Walden
Date: 06/23/15

NORTHFIELD

31 East St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Joan V. Pack
Seller: Peter Talmage
Date: 06/17/15

651 Mount Hermon Station Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Andrew Tremblay
Seller: Eugene R. Oakes
Date: 06/26/15

ORANGE

24 East Howe St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $135,760
Buyer: Clarke T. Doody
Seller: Barbieri, Richard C. Sr., (Estate)
Date: 06/24/15

42-44 East Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Kevin Esposito
Seller: Eileen A. Pfeiffer
Date: 06/16/15

561 East Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: O’Reilly Auto Enterprises
Seller: Dabrowski Realty Holdings
Date: 06/17/15

426 East River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Silver Property Invests
Seller: Jay & C Realty LLC
Date: 06/19/15

260 South Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Richard F. Adams
Seller: Aprilee K. Howe
Date: 06/22/15

SHELBURNE

109 Main St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Justin P. Bourbeau
Seller: Eric C. Grant
Date: 06/25/15

SHUTESBURY

22 Pine Dr.
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Judith L. Remmel
Seller: Elliott R. Barker
Date: 06/25/15

Sumner Mountain Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Town Of Amherst
Seller: Joan A. Antonino
Date: 06/19/15

SUNDERLAND

207 North Main St.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Florence Muller-Reed
Seller: Anne T. Shepard
Date: 06/18/15

33 Russell St.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $236,693
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Cynthia R. McCluskey
Date: 06/19/15

66 South Main St.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $348,000
Buyer: Steven J. Benjamin
Seller: John P. Benjamin
Date: 06/25/15

WHATELY

101 Chestnut Plain Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Jeremy L. Johnson
Seller: Ellen P. White
Date: 06/19/15

Masterson Road (ES)
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Bruce M. Tutun
Seller: Steven R. Hannum TR
Date: 06/17/15

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

72 Alfred Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Denise Parolo
Seller: Gerald L. Orne
Date: 06/26/15

58 Doane Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $187,500
Buyer: Steven M. Thomas
Seller: Angela A. Delude
Date: 06/16/15

41 Dutchmaster Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Julie M. Unwin
Seller: Christopher J. Kowal
Date: 06/22/15

86 Florida Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Stanley Tolpa
Seller: Ivan W. Hardman
Date: 06/23/15

19 Grant St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: Brian F. Cotton
Seller: John C. Cotton
Date: 06/26/15

50 Howard St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Whitney M. Stevens
Seller: Sergey Savonin
Date: 06/19/15

187 Lancaster Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Scott Kenney RET
Seller: Scott Kenney
Date: 06/24/15

11 Liberty Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Ryan M. Scott
Seller: Sergey Savonin
Date: 06/22/15

1183 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $168,900
Buyer: Joel Navaroli
Seller: Tracey L. Marshall
Date: 06/26/15

16 Memorial Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $157,777
Buyer: Anthony J. Preston
Seller: O’Connell, Frances P., (Estate)
Date: 06/19/15

138 Mill St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Katherine Kukharchuk
Seller: Richard P. Martin
Date: 06/26/15

321 North Westfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $194,900
Buyer: David J. Dupre
Seller: Olga Gut
Date: 06/26/15

108 Vassar Road
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: David W. Kruzel
Seller: Barnard, Millicent L., (Estate)
Date: 06/19/15

33 Worthington Brook Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Carl J. Ashley
Seller: Robert A. Gordon
Date: 06/26/15

BRIMFIELD

92 Haynes Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Robert L. Kinghorn
Seller: Matthew W. Kmieczak
Date: 06/15/15

73 Little Alum Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Hamer D. Clarke
Seller: Edward H. Clarke
Date: 06/16/15

CHESTER

7 Maple St.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $119,000
Buyer: Erik D. Nordstrom
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/26/15

CHICOPEE

113 Boulay Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $153,500
Buyer: Cheryl McClendon
Seller: Steven M. Thomas
Date: 06/16/15

128 Glendale St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $167,500
Buyer: Gwen D. Ison
Seller: Jonathan Fleury
Date: 06/15/15

28 Grise Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Buyer: Jonathan Derderian
Seller: Susan M. Metzgar
Date: 06/26/15

221 Hampden St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $134,900
Buyer: Kimberly D. Demers
Seller: Marjanski, Theresa M., (Estate)
Date: 06/18/15

21 Janine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Matthew Tucker
Seller: Slowik, Kathleine M., (Estate)
Date: 06/15/15
50 Jefferson Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Daniel Defranco
Seller: Edward C. Chagnon
Date: 06/24/15

95 Marten St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $167,500
Buyer: Wilfredo Cintron
Seller: Scott Stuckenbruck
Date: 06/19/15

18 Maryland Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: John J. Kivel
Seller: Jan E. Balicki
Date: 06/17/15

63 Mellen St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Timothy S. Beauchamp
Seller: George Providakes
Date: 06/15/15

20 Miller St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $117,885
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Wladyslawa Kos
Date: 06/26/15

200 Newbury St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Ryan P. Lafleur
Seller: Steven G. Negron
Date: 06/19/15

55 Norman St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Stacy R. Bessonette
Seller: Michael P. Brodeur
Date: 06/26/15

97 Robak Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Ayaz Kagzi
Seller: Jamila Kagzi RET
Date: 06/25/15

6 Savory Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Steven G. Negron
Seller: Frank E. Szydlo
Date: 06/19/15

196 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $187,000
Buyer: Donna M. Dupuis
Seller: Andrew T. Dimauro
Date: 06/15/15

153 Vadnais St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $182,000
Buyer: Amber L. Boutin
Seller: Timothy W. Hunter
Date: 06/26/15

54 Wilmont St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Paul F. Strong
Seller: Eric M. Staszko
Date: 06/23/15

EAST LONGMEADOW

22 Brookhaven Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Sarah Kirchner
Seller: Elizabeth J. Griffin TR
Date: 06/25/15

19 Crescent Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Karl Schuhlen
Seller: John A. Matte
Date: 06/18/15

48 Greenacre Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Jonathan R. Fleury
Seller: Drumheller, E. K., (Estate)
Date: 06/15/15

47 Lori Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Peter A. Kumiega
Seller: Dino A. Isotti
Date: 06/18/15

60 Norden St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: Anthony R. Gorneault
Seller: James R. Goodwin
Date: 06/26/15

78 Nottingham Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Drew P. Sadowsky
Seller: Timothy J. Conway
Date: 06/24/15

624 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Drew H. McNary
Seller: Mary T. Scanlon
Date: 06/24/15

1 Pecousic Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Joel D. Baillargeon
Seller: Jonathan R. Shayne
Date: 06/19/15

21 Rankin Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Aimee J. Lawrence
Seller: Keith R. Asher
Date: 06/26/15

60 Rogers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Sara Goodwin
Seller: Therese Diclementi
Date: 06/25/15

106 Sanford St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Keith R. Asher
Seller: Robert J. Fafard
Date: 06/26/15

40 South Bend Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $252,400
Buyer: Thomas M. McGowan
Seller: Karen M. Murphy
Date: 06/19/15

60 Stonehill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $427,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: George J. Tynan
Date: 06/15/15

35 Virginia Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $163,000
Buyer: Sarah J. Gale
Seller: John J. Basile
Date: 06/24/15

GRANVILLE

81 Granby Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Michelle J. Meyer
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 06/26/15

HAMPDEN

9 Brookside Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $204,800
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Sean B. Fitzgerald
Date: 06/22/15

711 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Omari H. Murray
Seller: Mercure, Monica, (Estate)
Date: 06/19/15

54 Meadow Brook Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $142,900
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Reed
Date: 06/26/15

88 Raymond Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Allen W. Dunn
Seller: Stephen P. McMahon
Date: 06/25/15

128 Thresher Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Jason Broom
Seller: Kennedy, Adele N., (Estate)
Date: 06/22/15

HOLLAND

19 Lakeridge Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Ralph V. Donadio
Seller: Milton S. Natusch
Date: 06/23/15

4 Lakeshore Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Kirk G. Leigher
Seller: Kathleen M. MacDonald
Date: 06/26/15

16 Leno Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $353,000
Buyer: Laurie A. Philbin
Seller: Julie Johnstone
Date: 06/22/15

189 Mashapaug Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $273,895
Buyer: William S. Terbush
Seller: Edward Manicki
Date: 06/26/15

161 Stafford Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Shannon Horn-Eldred
Seller: Steven L. Gray
Date: 06/25/15

HOLYOKE

20 Edbert Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $162,500
Buyer: Juan C. Agosto
Seller: Brandon K. Boule
Date: 06/19/15

5 Harrison Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $157,500
Buyer: Agustin M. Barreto
Seller: Peter M. Zaitz
Date: 06/19/15

19 Lindbergh Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Tian H. Ng
Seller: Benjamin J. Wilbur
Date: 06/24/15

1 Loomis Ave.
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Anthony Carnovale Realty
Seller: Sarawood Retirement Home
Date: 06/22/15

64 Madison Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $221,900
Buyer: Christopher K. Kennedy
Seller: Thomas F. Bergin
Date: 06/16/15

6 Michelle Lane
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $354,000
Buyer: David L. Kolkemeyer
Seller: J. N. Duquette & Son Construction
Date: 06/17/15

17 Nick Cosmos Way
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $392,500
Buyer: 5 Sac Self-Storage Corp.
Seller: Nuzzolillo LLC
Date: 06/15/15

1383 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $168,500
Buyer: Kevin F. Bouthillette
Seller: Donna L. Mathes
Date: 06/16/15

352 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Shannon L. Steele
Seller: Jennifer J. Boyle
Date: 06/15/15

231 West Franklin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: Sarah-Marie Belcastro
Seller: Lisa M. Gonzalez
Date: 06/23/15

454 Westfield Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $126,000
Buyer: Rosalind Morales
Seller: US Bank
Date: 06/25/15

LONGMEADOW

173 Academy Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $365,900
Buyer: Brad A. Leveillee
Seller: Marc S. Dugre
Date: 06/25/15

1053 Frank Smith Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Forrest R. Spatcher
Seller: Jonathan Steiner
Date: 06/26/15

186 Inverness Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Adam J. Steinberg
Seller: Hal W. Haberman
Date: 06/25/15

36 Kellogg St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Shannon M. Danahey
Seller: Eugene S. Schmuter
Date: 06/22/15

53 Kenmore Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Robert A. Lane
Seller: Malconian, Donna M., (Estate)
Date: 06/19/15

692 Laurel St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Erik Allis
Seller: Kevin R. Cousineau
Date: 06/19/15

469 Maple Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $266,000
Buyer: Yesenia Y. Santos
Seller: Marie E. Meserve-Lucier
Date: 06/15/15

251 Park Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $816,000
Buyer: Randolph P. Davis
Seller: Boulder Hill Construction
Date: 06/18/15

94 Pioneer Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $269,500
Buyer: Maureen M. Hinshaw
Seller: Carlos R. Gadea
Date: 06/16/15

146 Wimbleton Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $319,900
Buyer: Ross A. Hildonen
Seller: Adam J. Steinberg
Date: 06/25/15

84 Woolworth St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Michael A. Szwed
Seller: June L. Leduc
Date: 06/26/15

94 Woolworth St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Norman Smith
Seller: Patrick M. Sullivan
Date: 06/17/15

LUDLOW

57 Barna St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Daniel Antonio
Seller: Gary S. Manuel
Date: 06/26/15

36 Chapin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: James A. Almeida
Seller: Almeida, Sophie V., (Estate)
Date: 06/22/15

800 Chapin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Nicole J. Konderwicz
Seller: Diane H. Boucher
Date: 06/26/15

70 Kirkland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $172,500
Buyer: Amanda Provost
Seller: Aldor Corp.
Date: 06/19/15

65 Laconia St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jeffrey R. Richards
Seller: Laurence J. Burke
Date: 06/25/15

Lyons St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Dominic Torretti
Seller: Mary L. Almeida
Date: 06/17/15

54 Reynolds St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Marti-Ann Martins
Seller: Barbara Brehaut
Date: 06/25/15

MONSON

214 Cedar Swamp Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Dimitri Krutov
Seller: Michael R. Rouette
Date: 06/18/15

39 Crest Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Jereth M. Hodge
Seller: Jennifer M. Zera
Date: 06/19/15

41 Crest Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $182,980
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Michelle D. Germain
Date: 06/17/15

20 Upper Hampden Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Richard E. Guertin
Seller: Andrew T. Dimauro
Date: 06/24/15

257 Wilbraham Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Gennie M. Brothers
Seller: Karen J. Holzwarth
Date: 06/26/15

PALMER

4018-4024 Church St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Donna T. Stovall
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/19/15

4042-4052 Church St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $254,000
Buyer: Milestone Rentals LLC
Seller: John F. Chaves
Date: 06/19/15

19 Converse St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Daniel C. McManus
Seller: Matthew A. Baker
Date: 06/26/15

23 Fox St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $187,500
Buyer: Melinda A. Hunter
Seller: Albert C. Distefano
Date: 06/24/15

26 Geraldine St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $177,500
Buyer: Evelyn Robinson
Seller: Albert D. Fontaine
Date: 06/19/15

16 Stewart Court
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $220,097
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Nancy F. Bogle
Date: 06/19/15

RUSSELL

120 Ridgewood Dr.
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Brian P. Gallagher
Seller: Linda Consolini
Date: 06/25/15

SOUTHWICK

36 Davis Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $275,920
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Ann M. Bartley
Date: 06/17/15

127 Feeding Hills Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Grimaldi
Seller: Sara J. Averill
Date: 06/15/15

15 Sunnyside Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Darcy J. Thureson
Seller: Kris G. Gonet
Date: 06/23/15

SPRINGFIELD

93 Aldrew Terrace
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: 93 Aldrew LLC
Seller: William C. Winkler
Date: 06/25/15

166 Arcadia Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $123,000
Buyer: Deveron R. McCummings
Seller: Anthony L. Samuels
Date: 06/16/15

45 Archie St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Dennis D. Griswold
Seller: Gary F. Caputo
Date: 06/15/15

81-83 Beaumont St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $123,000
Buyer: Cau S. Diep
Seller: De Q. Wu
Date: 06/23/15

413-415 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $825,000
Buyer: Kenquad LP
Seller: Kenwyn Park LP
Date: 06/25/15

68 Biltmore St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $117,000
Buyer: Joseph E. Thomas
Seller: Laurianne E. August
Date: 06/25/15

334 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $850,000
Buyer: A to Z Property Mgmt. & Renovation
Seller: Hallerin Realty LLP
Date: 06/24/15

727 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Boston Road & Pasco Route 20
Seller: Boston Road Self Storage
Date: 06/26/15

Boston Road (SS)
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: 739 Boston Road LLC
Seller: Liberty Auto Wash Inc.

898 Bradley Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $124,900
Buyer: Antony M. Calabrese
Seller: Henrietta M. Shea
Date: 06/26/15

53 Canton St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $138,400
Buyer: Izilda Barbosa
Seller: Carlos A. Rosado
Date: 06/25/15

141 Catalpa Terrace
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Rosemary Bonet
Seller: Sabina Arbelo
Date: 06/22/15

13 Cedar St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: WJSM Management Co. LLC
Seller: HSB Investments LLC
Date: 06/26/15

546 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Freya G. Baez
Seller: Carmen I. Torres
Date: 06/22/15

143-145 Commonwealth Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Ronaldo G. Alcantara
Seller: Yen Vo
Date: 06/23/15

30 Craig St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $118,253
Buyer: OCWEN Loan Servicing LLC
Seller: Gary S. Williams
Date: 06/22/15

157 Ellsworth Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: Myron K. Wolverton
Seller: Shawn B. Minahan
Date: 06/22/15

47 Eloise St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $118,500
Buyer: Ilia M. Calderon-Comellas
Seller: Bethzaida Santiago
Date: 06/18/15

144 Fenway Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Roberto Felix
Seller: Eric R. Goodkowsky
Date: 06/17/15

50 Fox Woods Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $173,000
Buyer: Charles Winston
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/15/15

33 Fredette St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Marquise A. Rowtham
Seller: Noreene D. Rowtham
Date: 06/22/15

172 Gardens Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $159,000
Buyer: Kyle P. Fenton
Seller: Omari H. Murray
Date: 06/19/15

201 Gillette Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Anthony L. Samuels
Seller: Erik R. Juergens
Date: 06/16/15

44 Harmon Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: Joel A. Braman
Seller: Maureen E. McDonough
Date: 06/15/15

50 Haskin St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Viesturs Ansbergs
Seller: Jason L. Sousa
Date: 06/19/15

308 Island Pond Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $124,900
Buyer: Kenneth R. O’Connor
Seller: Lynne M. MacDonald
Date: 06/26/15

45 Itendale St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $159,779
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Alwin Burke
Date: 06/17/15

14 Larkspur St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Justino Lopez
Seller: Adam S. Metsch
Date: 06/22/15

111 Leatherleaf Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $123,500
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Marie L. Long
Date: 06/17/15

49 Maybrook Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $129,900
Buyer: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Seller: Marth-E LLC
Date: 06/16/15

181 Monrovia St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Zfyferine Yasin
Seller: Peter K. Sacuta
Date: 06/26/15

13 Onondaga St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: Dylan N. Pilon
Seller: SAW Construction LLC
Date: 06/19/15

103 Pearl St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $1,245,000
Buyer: Kenquad LP
Seller: Quadrangle Court LP
Date: 06/25/15

127 Pennsylvania Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $229,900
Buyer: Tracey A. Trottier
Seller: David M. Gawron
Date: 06/18/15

70 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Kaileen W. Dougherty
Seller: Yesenia Y. Santos
Date: 06/15/15

111 Ramblewood Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $187,755
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Luis A. Moreno
Date: 06/15/15

95 Saffron Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Michael R. Henshaw
Seller: J. B. Camerlin Real Estate
Date: 06/17/15

170 Saffron Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $158,500
Buyer: Richard J. Hawley
Seller: Timothy J. Truman
Date: 06/26/15

127 Saint James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $119,000
Buyer: Benjamin Swan
Seller: JJS Capital Investment
Date: 06/17/15

1123 Saint James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $118,000
Buyer: Bank Of New York Mellon
Seller: Sandra I. Cappas
Date: 06/19/15

30-32 Sterling St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $169,368
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Joann R. Dagenais
Date: 06/19/15

370 Tiffany St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: George Kazakos
Seller: Noushique Merzoian
Date: 06/17/15

60-62 Tulsa St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Giannetti Realty LLC
Seller: Joseph A. Gianetti
Date: 06/15/15

14 Van Ness St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $134,900
Buyer: Emily Ocasio
Seller: Eric D. Supinski
Date: 06/24/15

131 Victoria St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Christina R. Staples
Seller: Chicklowski, P. N., (Estate)
Date: 06/16/15

2084 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Ashley J. Parzych
Seller: Margaret I. Slade
Date: 06/17/15

23 Wellfleet Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Andres C. Santana
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 06/26/15

106 Willowbrook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Mark L. Labrie
Seller: Dominic P. Paolucci
Date: 06/26/15

182 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Stalin J. Ortega
Seller: Robert K. Andersen
Date: 06/25/15

83 Wollaston St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $192,500
Buyer: Joel A. James
Seller: Zhenhua Li
Date: 06/25/15

TOLLAND

81 Slope Road
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $212,960
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Irene M. Hampton
Date: 06/22/15

WALES

131 Mount Hitchcock Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Kylie E. Demears
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 06/26/15

WEST SPRINGFIELD

80 Albert St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: David A. Johnson
Seller: Genevieve L. Smith
Date: 06/19/15

136 Althea St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Adam Sapowsky
Seller: John W. Keiser
Date: 06/19/15

99 Bear Hole Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Athas
Seller: James V. Izzo
Date: 06/15/15

18 Belmont Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Omar S. Sayed
Seller: MHFA
Date: 06/16/15

Birnie Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $266,100
Buyer: Elmore B. John
Seller: Frank J. Kolodziej
Date: 06/16/15

21 Boulevard Place
West Springfield, MA 01089
Buyer: Sherry A. Girard
Seller: Paul H. Gourinski
Date: 06/26/15

110 Bridle Path Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Theresa Pelegano
Seller: Lorelei J. Kaiser
Date: 06/16/15

31 Cayenne St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $267,500
Buyer: Hussein A. Nuwab
Seller: Kenneth Merrill
Date: 06/18/15

19 Cora St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: David M. Sanders
Seller: Daniel P. Clifford
Date: 06/26/15

17 Garden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $176,500
Buyer: Keshav Sanyasi
Seller: K&C Associates LLC
Date: 06/19/15

36 Greenleaf Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Christopher E. Grasso
Seller: Michael H. Boyer
Date: 06/17/15

293 Greystone Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Gelson Laguerre
Seller: Frederick Borrelli
Date: 06/19/15

70 Highland Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Genady Chuzzin
Seller: Ludmila Dibble
Date: 06/22/15

582 Kings Hwy.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $197,500
Buyer: Farida Talibi
Seller: Jody N. Gallant
Date: 06/23/15

38 Laurence Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Alan Dean
Seller: Athena Dratelis
Date: 06/19/15

52 Lewis Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Brittany M. Stevens
Seller: William J. Teece
Date: 06/19/15

772 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $227,500
Buyer: Jonathan Dominik
Seller: Bryan F. Grabowski
Date: 06/19/15

7 Neptune Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $249,467
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Tamora Kane
Date: 06/18/15

264 Rogers Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Baaladin A. Mamedov
Seller: Kimberly J. Bean
Date: 06/26/15

6 Upper Beverly Hills
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Eric J. Barkyoumb
Seller: Carol A. Caron
Date: 06/15/15

118 Wilder Terrace
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Carly Cavanaugh
Seller: Eric Parizo
Date: 06/26/15

34 Wolcott Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: George G. Callahan
Seller: Edna M. Rainville
Date: 06/15/15

WESTFIELD

57 Beveridge Blvd.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Carolyn Urns
Seller: Robert F. Sawyer
Date: 06/18/15

16 Camelot Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Artem Martynyuk
Seller: Michael D. Mastroianni
Date: 06/26/15

36 Casimir St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Michael Carfi
Seller: Hope E. Tremblay
Date: 06/17/15

42 Country Club Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $219,900
Buyer: Alison C. Stitsinger
Seller: Dennis M. Placzek
Date: 06/17/15

54 Dry Bridge Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $191,400
Buyer: Brian Peatman
Seller: Devine Construction Inc.
Date: 06/19/15

66 East Glen Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $272,500
Buyer: Serhiy Birchyn
Seller: Melissa A. Alvarado
Date: 06/19/15

37 Gladwin Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $220,000
Seller: Joseph J. Karis
Date: 06/15/15

134 Glenwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: John E. Nordquist
Seller: Brent Kreutzer
Date: 06/15/15

78 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $378,051
Buyer: Paul G. Masciadrelli
Seller: Granville Road LLC
Date: 06/16/15

36 Kellogg St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Victor Marchenkov
Seller: Sergey Dubovoy
Date: 06/22/15

19 Linda Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Angela A. Delude
Seller: Mildred M. Cortesi
Date: 06/16/15

52 Marla Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Jose J. Castillo
Seller: Raymond C. Sullivan
Date: 06/16/15

18 Noble Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $187,000
Buyer: Cynthia P. Hartdegen
Seller: Jaime M. Klenke
Date: 06/25/15

80 Pine St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $149,000
Buyer: Gunnar J. Collier
Seller: Erik Leen
Date: 06/24/15

216 Ponders Hollow Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Ruslan Golubchik
Seller: Richard A. Murdock
Date: 06/26/15

27 Rachael Terrace
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Peter Samberg
Seller: Anthony Collier
Date: 06/26/15

15 Ravine Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $363,900
Buyer: Matthew D. Mielke
Seller: John C. Hipsher
Date: 06/26/15

167 Root Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $282,250
Buyer: Michael T. McCarthy
Seller: Matthew D. Mielke
Date: 06/26/15

29 Saint Dennis St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Petr Mokan
Seller: Mary Majka
Date: 06/23/15

85 Skyline Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: William K. Poehlman
Seller: Joseph G. Walts
Date: 06/22/15

51 Wildflower Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Sergio A. Alvarado
Seller: David W. Kruzel
Date: 06/19/15

87 Wildflower Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Gary J. Kerr
Seller: Scott J. Thomson
Date: 06/26/15

WILBRAHAM

3 Daniele Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $212,500
Buyer: Harry E. Meservey
Seller: Keith A. Person
Date: 06/17/15

26 Mcintosh Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $406,500
Buyer: David J. Havican
Seller: Daniel J. Crowley
Date: 06/19/15

106 Mountain Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Ellen M. Noonan
Seller: Walter G. Worthington
Date: 06/19/15

15 Old Orchard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $290,900
Buyer: Nicholas A. Morin
Seller: Mark A. Girhiny
Date: 06/19/15

19 Porter Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $344,500
Buyer: Ryan D. Fol
Seller: Erin L. Sullivan
Date: 06/26/15

8 Ridgewood Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: David M. Gawron
Seller: Timothy F. Kane
Date: 06/18/15

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

15 Carriage Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Hoda Chou
Date: 06/18/15

11 Cranberry Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Matthew A. Taylor
Seller: Lloyd R. Craighill
Date: 06/17/15

33 Dana Place
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $680,000
Buyer: Jessica E. Maier
Seller: Carol C. Clark
Date: 06/23/15

39 Lindenridge Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $805,000
Buyer: Ellen J. Keiter
Seller: Bercume Construction LLC
Date: 06/15/15

489 Market Hill Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $489,000
Buyer: Howard I. Mentin
Seller: Ann M. Wentworth TR
Date: 06/25/15

90 McClellan St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Jeanne H. Ballantine
Seller: Steven Rigler
Date: 06/24/15

49 Ridgecrest Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $462,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Mazur
Seller: Janet Lansberry
Date: 06/23/15

19 Trillium Way
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Timothy L. Binzen
Seller: Ariella Schwell
Date: 06/15/15

643 South East St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $223,500
Buyer: Joel A. Boggess
Seller: Matt&Nick LLC
Date: 06/22/15

146 Shays St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Oliver Reams
Seller: Garis, Mabel R., (Estate)
Date: 06/25/15

586-592 West St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $421,000
Buyer: Ann M. Morgan
Seller: Karl W. Moore
Date: 06/26/15

BELCHERTOWN

23 Doe Hollow
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Eric Duquette
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/26/15

26 Edelcy Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $346,000
Buyer: Deron Davis
Seller: Ryan C. Czepiel
Date: 06/26/15

274 Hamilton St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Alexander Suvorov
Seller: Andrew J. Ferrier
Date: 06/19/15

2 Old Farm Circle
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Michael E. Millette
Seller: Richard C. Poissant
Date: 06/23/15

98 Pondview Circle
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Jeremiah W. Bentley
Seller: Mary E. Bryant
Date: 06/18/15

123 South St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Amber M. Knight
Seller: Gregory J. Ouhl
Date: 06/26/15

344 Ware Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Sankar S. Narayanan
Seller: Kenneth E. Kwasnik
Date: 06/25/15

CUMMINGTON

69 Cole St.
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Susan M. Teasley
Seller: Peter H. Rowland
Date: 06/26/15

EASTHAMPTON

8-A West St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Jie Zhang
Seller: Lisa Bartlett-Nuttelman
Date: 06/18/15

8 Deerfield Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Erin Tottenham
Seller: Joseph I. Briggs
Date: 06/24/15

21 Droy Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $184,000
Buyer: William R. Vancour
Seller: Kimberlee A. Dean
Date: 06/24/15

134 Line St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $203,000
Buyer: Steven J. O’Leary
Seller: Ashtons Acquisitions LLC
Date: 06/26/15

9 Lownds Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Frederick R. Hoffer
Seller: Richard E. Cadorette
Date: 06/23/15

10 Monska Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jacob A. Martinez
Seller: Lucille M. Gerard
Date: 06/26/15

20 Morin Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Edward J. Bloniarz
Seller: Christine M. Rourke
Date: 06/22/15

73 Mount Tom Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Lindsey Rothschild
Seller: Frederick J. Gauger
Date: 06/25/15

17 Picard Circle
Amount: $214,900
Buyer: Kimberly J. English
Seller: Anthony M. Covalli
Date: 06/26/15

31 South St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $227,900
Buyer: Molly Thomas
Seller: Revampit LLC
Date: 06/24/15

GOSHEN

24 South Main St.
Goshen, MA 01032
Amount: $257,000
Buyer: Nicholas M. Denno
Seller: Cichy, Virginia M., (Estate)
Date: 06/25/15

GRANBY

15 Amherst St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $242,500
Buyer: Albert V. Long
Seller: Richard J. Mei
Date: 06/16/15

525 Amherst Road
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Charles E. Romer
Seller: Jacqueline L. Newberry
Date: 06/23/15

23 Lynn Dr.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $205,900
Buyer: Daniel G. Paquin
Seller: Bruce A. Desmarais
Date: 06/25/15

9 Pinebrook Circle
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Wilfred Messier
Seller: Rene A. Lariviere
Date: 06/26/15

323 Taylor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $297,000
Buyer: William Dubuque
Seller: Denise O. Cote
Date: 06/26/15

HADLEY

11 Highland Circle
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Lynne M. Latham
Seller: Brian R. Umberger
Date: 06/25/15

HUNTINGTON

18 East Main St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Joshua E. Ellinger
Seller: Theresa R. Vogel
Date: 06/25/15

NORTHAMPTON

144 Acrebrook Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Amy Baver
Seller: Diane H. Bowyer
Date: 06/19/15

9 Avis Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Leah Fletchall
Seller: Sean J. Kellogg
Date: 06/16/15

9 Fair St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Benjamin C. Levy
Seller: Michele J. Kammerer
Date: 06/26/15

48 Fort St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $482,500
Buyer: Stephen H. Fenton
Seller: Steven T. Hoffman
Date: 06/22/15

3 Franklin Court
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Theodore C. Ridout
Seller: Francis E. Carey
Date: 06/23/15

28 Gleason Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Daniel Y. Lesley
Seller: 28 RT
Date: 06/24/15

35 Harrison Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $768,000
Buyer: 21 Wellesley Park NT
Seller: Melissa Difatta
Date: 06/26/15

40 Lake St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $240,500
Buyer: Evelyn Bloom
Seller: Kevin F. Bouthillette
Date: 06/16/15

69 Laurel Park
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $259,550
Buyer: Joanne Jaffin
Seller: Janet G. Rainier
Date: 06/19/15

152 Maplewood Terrace
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $388,900
Buyer: Terrence R. Reynolds
Seller: David R. Jackson
Date: 06/19/15

29 Matthew Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Tiffany A. Chapman
Seller: Terron L. Hillsman
Date: 06/26/15

25 Munroe St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $512,000
Buyer: Jonathan B. Liebman
Seller: Richard S. Hebble
Date: 06/25/15

127 Overlook Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $211,000
Buyer: Sean J. Kellogg
Seller: Shana Hiranandani
Date: 06/16/15

711 Park Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Scott P. Mahar
Seller: Susan J. Biggs
Date: 06/24/15

301 Prospect Heights
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Stacey G. Kors
Seller: Shauneen S. Kroll
Date: 06/22/15

49 Redford Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Zoe R. Johnson
Seller: Virendra J. Marathe
Date: 06/24/15

31 Ridgewood Terrace
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $418,500
Buyer: Sheila M. Coy RET
Seller: Clifford S. Dexheimer
Date: 06/19/15

56 Summer St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $418,700
Buyer: Julio C. Capo Jr. TR
Seller: Kristin K. Prentice
Date: 06/15/15

19 Union St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: Brian W. Dillon
Seller: Brian P. Dermott
Date: 06/16/15

PLAINFIELD

West Hill Road
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $116,000
Buyer: Jacob B. Morrow
Seller: Lawrence Panzeri
Date: 06/17/15

SOUTH HADLEY

105 Bardwell St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $218,500
Buyer: Alexandra A. Lauterbach
Seller: Bradford J. Willenbrock
Date: 06/24/15

11 Berwyn St., Ext
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: PCI Construction Inc.
Seller: Joseph N. Lecours IRT
Date: 06/26/15

46 Bridge St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $182,500
Buyer: Alain C. Turgeon
Seller: Kirk P. Grim
Date: 06/25/15

12 Cote Blvd.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $197,337
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Paul E. Cote
Date: 06/26/15

49 Lamb St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: NPJP Realty LLC
Seller: Dorene Pennell
Date: 06/25/15

44 Ludlow Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Adrian J. Dennis
Seller: Caroline E. Harvie
Date: 06/26/15

28 North St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $192,900
Buyer: Michael Ermold
Seller: Nancy L. Uzar
Date: 06/16/15

7 Oak Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $177,500
Buyer: Jessica Bonzek
Seller: Shanna Delprete
Date: 06/26/15

11 Stewart St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Nancy F. Papalardo
Seller: Scott Walsh
Date: 06/24/15

144 Stony Brook Village
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $305,555
Buyer: Jorge D. Reis
Seller: Whispering Pines at Root Road
Date: 06/24/15

19 The Knolls
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Denise L. Presley
Seller: Brian S. King
Date: 06/23/15

46 Woodlawn St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: Daniel T. Labonte
Seller: Elizabeth A. Gosselin
Date: 06/25/15

SOUTHAMPTON

38 Cook Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Patrick S. Fields
Seller: Frederick R. Hoffer
Date: 06/23/15

WARE

6 Bellevue Ave. Ext.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $123,000
Buyer: Elizabeth A. Pollette
Seller: John Clark
Date: 06/26/15

1 Campbell Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $131,064
Buyer: Bank New York
Seller: William G. Pike
Date: 06/19/15

11 Dugan Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Michael Keyes
Seller: Roseann Cooke
Date: 06/24/15

79 North St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $123,500
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: James E. Ayers
Date: 06/18/15

46 Shoreline Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Brandon Besaw
Seller: Martin C. Adomat
Date: 06/18/15

26 South St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: B&B NT
Seller: Stanley J. Wrzesien
Date: 06/25/15

157 Upper Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Patrick M. Howe
Seller: Juan A. Jarrett
Date: 06/17/15

WESTHAMPTON

86 Main Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $852,973
Buyer: Beatrice D. Steeneck
Seller: John Darman
Date: 06/26/15

74 Stage Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $173,000
Buyer: George R. Munson
Seller: Katie M. Potts
Date: 06/25/15

WILLIAMSBURG

18 Ashfield Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $185,500
Buyer: Marcy M. Moffet
Seller: Nicholas M. Denno
Date: 06/25/15

33 South St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: David L. Matusko
Seller: Mary T. Bennett
Date: 06/19/15

2 Valley View Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Norman B. Mccutcheon
Seller: Marvin J. Ward
Date: 06/22/15

WORTHINGTON

136 Old North Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Buyer: Anna Maunz
Seller: Jorge F. Sierra
Date: 06/19/15

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