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HOLYOKE — The Dowd Insurance Agencies will host a second blood drive in a series benefiting the Baystate Blood Donor Program. The drive will be held Friday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Dowd Insurance Agencies parking lot, 14 Bobala Road, Holyoke.

Each year at Baystate Health, more than 5,800 patients receive more than 23,000 transfusions of blood products, which means local blood donations are critical. At the Baystate Blood Donor Program, 100% of all blood and platelet donations are used in Western Mass.

Blood donation is easy and convenient. Roughly one pint of blood is collected during each donation, which can save up to three lives. To be eligible, blood donors must be at least 17 years old, be in good health, weigh at least 110 pounds, and have photo identification. Donors are able to give blood every eight weeks.

According to the American Red Cross, every two seconds someone in the U.S. is in need of blood. The blood type most often requested is type O because it can be transfused to patients of all blood types. While an estimated 38% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate, fewer than 10% actually do.

To schedule a time to donate, call Diane Cygan at (413) 437-1013 or e-mail [email protected].

Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Kiernan Gulick-Sherrill, owner of Green Earth Computers, recently announced that the business is expanding by two technicians and moving from Amherst to Northampton in order to better serve clients in a much larger office space.

The move to 20A Crafts Ave. will provide a more central location for many customers and make it easier for Green Earth staff to schedule on-site visits with clients across the Valley, Gulick-Sherrill said. The location is also more spacious, allowing for additional retail space for refurbished laptops, cables, and accessories.

Green Earth has also welcomed two new technicians to the team in response to the growing demand. Greg Schwartz and Daniel Cottle are set to join the company at a grand-opening reception on Friday, Oct. 9 from 5 to 9 p.m. The grand opening, which is open to the public, will feature the first of many Green Earth gallery exhibits, this one by photographer Jonathan Sherrill, Gulick-Sherrill’s father, and will be a part of Arts Night Out. An artist’s reception will be held from 3 to 5 p.m.

Schwartz has previous experience at a variety of tech companies, including TechCavalry and College Pro Computers, where he worked alongside Gulick-Sherrill.

Cottle is a Hampshire College graduate with more than 10 years of experience in computer and small-electronics repair. He previously worked in the Hampshire College Information Technology Department.

Green Earth Computers was created in 2009 and offers on-site and drop-off computer repair services as well as remote assistance. The business promotes sustainability and offers computer-recycling services. It also specializes in repair and replacement of computer screens and charge ports, as well as batteries.

For more information, call (413) 282-8324 or visit www.greenearthpc.us.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Melha Shriners will once again host the Shrine Directors Harvest Moon Ballroom Dance. The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 17 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at the banquet facility located at 133 Longhill St., Springfield.

Ballroom dancing for all skill levels will be available. All are welcome to enjoy a wide variety of hors d’oeuvres while dancing the night away to the sounds of the Blue Skies Big Band, performing swing, waltz, polka, and more.

Tickets cost $30 and sell out quickly. For tickets or more information, call (413) 736-3647.

Daily News

HOLYOKE — Cal Conniff will be honored by the New England Ski Museum (NESM) on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. The event is open to the public.

NESM’s Spirit of Skiing Award is given to honor a skiing notable who manifests the motto, “skiing is not just a sport, it is a way of life,” attributed to ski pioneer Otto Schniebs. Previous winners include Olympic medalists Stein Eriksen and Penny Pitou, U.S. Olympians Tom Corcoran and Tyler Palmer, Killington Ski Resort founder Preston Smith, renowned ski instructor Herbert Schneider, and ski-show impresario Bernie Weichsel.

Conniff spent his professional life working for the betterment of the ski-area industry, managing the Mt. Tom Ski Area from 1968 to 1973. He put the small facility on the national map by developing extensive night skiing and one of the earliest snow-making systems in the country in the 1960s, two innovations that were soon emulated throughout the resort industry. During his tenure at Mt. Tom, Conniff targeted the youth market, introducing thousands to the thrill of downhill skiing through numerous school programs.

Conniff took over leadership of the National Ski Areas Assoc. in 1973, moving its offices from New York City to West Hartford, Conn. and ultimately downtown Springfield in 1978, where it remained until his retirement in 1990. He now lives in Wells, Maine.

Conniff was an accomplished ski racer in college and won the four-way combined championships for the American Armed Forces in Europe when he was stationed in Germany in the 1950s. A graduate of American International College (AIC), he hosted a TV show on WWLP called Skiers’ Corner. He was inducted into AIC’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011, and to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1990. He is the former president of the New England Ski Museum, where an annual grants program was established in his name.

Tickets to the event, which starts at 5 p.m., cost $75 and available by calling the NESM at (603) 823-7177 or visiting www.skimuseum.com/events. Proceeds support the museum’s mission to preserve the history of skiing.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The board of directors of the newly-formed Springfield Regional Chamber has elected officers to lead the organization: Daniel Keenan, chair; Patricia Canavan, vice chair; Barbara-Jean Deloria, treasurer; and David Parke, clerk.

“The leadership of our new organization is incredibly strong,” said chamber President Jeffrey Ciuffreda. “With their breadth of knowledge and experience, combined with the talent, commitment, and capabilities from the entire board, the Springfield Regional Chamber is poised for continued growth and to maximize the investment our members place in us.”

Keenan is senior vice president of government and community relations for the Sisters of Providence Health System. He has been a member of the chamber’s legislative steering committee since 2006, previously serving as its chair. He had served on the board of directors of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) since 2010, most recently as its vice chair. Prior to joining SPHS, he served six terms as a Massachusetts state representative, holding several key committee assignments, including vice chair of Insurance, Ways and Means, and Taxation.

Canavan is president of United Personnel. A member of the board of directors of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, she most recently served as its vice chair. Canavan also served on the ACCGS board for the past two years. Canavan lends her leadership to other boards of directors, including the Baystate Health Foundation, Springfield Public Forum, and the Northampton Chamber of Commerce.

Deloria is a senior vice president at Florence Bank. She was a member of the ACCGS board of directors since 2005 and served as its board treasurer since that time. She is a past president of the West Springfield Chamber of Commerce and Dress for Success Western Massachusetts and serves on the Mass. Small Business Review Board.

Parke is a partner with Bulkley Richardson and a member of its business and finance department, focusing on general corporate and business matters, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactional work. He served on the ACCGS board for the past nine years and, according to Ciuffreda, was instrumental in the formation of the Springfield Regional Chamber. He serves on Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Inc. and is past chair and current member of the Friends of the Homeless board of directors.

Daily News

HOLYOKE — Lisa Pack of Holyoke Medical Center has been named Nurse of the Year by the March of Dimes Massachusetts Chapter in the category of Labor and Delivery. This is the third consecutive year a Holyoke Medical Center nurse has received this elite distinction.

“Lisa is highly deserving of this prestigious recognition,” said Spiros Hatiras, president and CEO of HMC and Valley Health Systems Inc. “Holyoke Medical Center prides itself on its exemplary team of professionals such as Lisa, who demonstrate consummate skill and deep compassion in providing critical nursing care.”

Added Pack, “I am humbled to be recognized by the March of Dimes to be chosen for this award. I feel blessed to be a member of the Birthing Center staff, where I have now worked for 22 years since it opened. It is a job I love and where we work as a team to support and empower women to have the birth they desire. I am also deeply committed to MotherWoman and postpartum depression, for which I facilitate a weekly support group at Midwifery Care of Holyoke.”

Pack will be honored at a reception in the Holyoke Medical Center lobby on Monday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.

The Nurse of the Year Awards is a statewide event that recognizes exceptional nurses, creates awareness of professional excellence, and promotes the future of the nursing profession, while helping to advance the mission of the March of Dimes. The selection committee reviewed applications in the categories of Advanced Practice, Community Health, Public Health, Education, Neonatal, Nurse Researcher, Administration, Pediatric, Family Medicine, Women’s Health, Student Nurse, Maternal/Newborn, Labor and Delivery, and Antepartum. More than 75 finalists emerged, and 17 were chosen to receive top honors in the various categories.

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NORTHAMPTON — Northampton Volkswagen, Country Nissan, and Country Hyundai announced the winners of the Summer Long Car Giveaway presented by TommyCar Auto Group. Trisha Slowinski of Colrain won a new Volkswagen Passat, Sarah Chase of Greenfield won a new Nissan Versa Note, and Theda Marinelli of Windsor, Conn. drove away in a new Hyundai Accent.

“I was shocked that I was the winner,” Marinelli said. “You never think anything like this would happen to you, and then it did. I am so thrilled that Country Hyundai had this giveaway, and I love my new vehicle.”

The giveaway, which ran from June 3 through Sept. 7, allowed customers to register at any of the three dealerships for their chance to win.

“We wish all of the winner congratulations and safe driving from everyone here at TommyCar Auto Group,” said TommyCar owner Carla Cosenzi. “The car giveaway was a great success for us, and we’re extremely happy with the overwhelming, positive response it received.”

Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Dani Klein Williams, owner and lead photographer at Dani Fine Photography, was approached earlier this year by Amherst Media Publications about creating a book, set to be released in early 2016, focusing on the art and business of boudoir photography.

Covering an array of topics in keeping with this theme, the book will comprise practical business advice as well as the step-by-step photographic techniques used by a successful professional photographer. For updates and more information on the progress of this project, follow the studio on Instagram and Facebook.

Dani Fine Photography, a boutique photography studio based on the second level of Thornes Marketplace in Northampton, has been in business for more than 15 years. The all-female photography team offers every kind of photography but specializes in wedding, commercial/editorial, and boudoir photography. The studio is open Tuesday through Saturday each week for inquiries, sessions, and walk-ins.

Daily News

EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Savings Bank, the wholly-owned subsidiary of ESB Bancorp Inc., and Hometown Bank, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Hometown Community Bancorp Inc., jointly announced they will form a strategic partnership through the merger of their holding companies.

After this transaction is completed, the combined mutual holding company will have more than $1.7 billion in assets and more than $180 million in equity capital, with a branch network of 23 offices located throughout Central and Western Mass. and Northeast Conn.

ESB and Hometown will merge mutual holding companies, but will continue to run their banks independently and autonomously. The announcement follows ESB’s 2015 acquisition of Citizens National Bank in Putnam, Conn.

“We are very pleased to partner with a company that is as strong and successful as we are,” said Michael Hewitt, president and CEO of Hometown Bank. “This is truly about two successful banking entities joining forces in a partnership to better serve our communities. This transaction gives us the size and scale to be competitive and successful for many years to come and expands our market presence.”

Added Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of Easthampton Savings Bank, “we are extremely excited to announce this strategic partnership with an organization with which we share a lot of familiarity and that, like us, has been a top financial performer for so many years.

“Our business models and cultures are very similar,” he added. “Both banks have strong boards and management teams and have long, successful track records. We are going to leverage those strengths by operating our two banks separately underneath the combined mutual holding company, while taking advantage of efficiencies and economies of scale at the holding-company level. We are all very confident that this multi-bank, holding-company model represents the best future for our two banks, as well as for other like-minded community banks in New England that may be attracted to our partnership over time.”

Hewitt noted that “the dynamics of community banking have changed dramatically over the years. Operating costs are under constant pressure, and net interest margins have narrowed, so now more than ever, size truly does matter. For both banks, this transaction creates critical mass, even stronger finances, and a plan to better serve all of our communities for many years to come.”

As a result of this transaction, Hometown Community Bancorp will merge into ESB Bancorp, and Sosik will serve as the merged company’s CEO, while Hewitt will serve as its president. Both Sosik and Hewitt will continue as CEOs of their respective banks. The merged parent holding company is also planning to change its name to Hometown Financial Group to better reflect its strategic positioning as a multi-bank holding company.

“While we are going to change our holding company name, customers should expect no changes, name or otherwise, at either Hometown Bank or Easthampton Savings Bank,” Sosik said. “To the contrary, our customers will continue to see the same great service and level of community commitment that they have come to expect over the years. In fact, as part of this transaction, ESB is funding a $1 million contribution to start a charitable foundation for the communities served by Hometown Bank.”

Both banks operate on identical technology platforms, so there will be no customer disruption, Hewitt added. “This will be entirely seamless to the customers of both banks.”

The boards of directors of both banks have unanimously approved this transaction. The merger is subject to a vote by both bank’s corporators, as well as receipt of customary regulatory approvals. The merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

Daily News

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. announced the promotion of Richard Marotta to president of Berkshire Bank and Sean Gray to chief operating officer of the bank.

Marotta will be responsible for all aspects of administration, risk, and infrastructure, including people and systems, compliance, and credit. He has been serving Berkshire as executive vice president, chief risk and administrative officer since 2013.

Gray will be responsible for the operating teams of the bank, including retail, commercial, small business, home lending, wealth management, and insurance. He has been serving Berkshire as executive vice president, retail banking since 2010.

“Richard and Sean are results-driven, high-integrity leaders that have been integral to the growth of this company, and this promotion reflects their contributions. As we continue to execute on our strategic vision, their leadership and ability is increasingly important to our success,” said Michael Daly, CEO of the bank and the company.

Additionally, the bank promoted three executives — George Bacigalupo, Josephine Iannelli, and Linda Johnston — to senior executive vice president, while promoting eight others to the executive team, broadening the responsibilities of these leaders and creating a more effective operating structure. They are Michael Carroll, executive vice president, chief risk and credit officer; James Curran, executive vice president, regional commercial leader, Central Mass. and Connecticut; Mark Foster, executive vice president, regional commercial leader, Eastern Mass. and ABL; Tami Gunsch, executive vice president, retail banking; Scott Houghtaling, executive vice president, regional commercial leader, New York; Allison O’Rourke, executive vice president, investor relations and financial institution banking; Deborah Stephenson, executive vice president, compliance and regulatory; and Gary Urkevich, executive vice president, IT and project management.

“We are also recognizing the accomplishments of other current executives and expanding our overall executive team,” Daly said. “This reorganization is a natural extension of the strong growth Berkshire has experienced and positions us well for future growth and expansion. We believe the best way to accelerate our company’s progress is to empower the next level of leadership through more engagement and greater accountability. We’re proud of the bench we’ve built and our ability to promote from within. I have no doubt that this leadership team will drive Berkshire to new heights in performance, integrity, and culture.”

Daily News

BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker has formally appointed Greenfield Community College President Robert Pura to the newly established Economic Development Planning Council for the Commonwealth.

“It is an honor to be chosen as a member of the Economic Development Planning Council, and I want to thank the Baker-Polito administration for their confidence,” said Pura. “I look forward to working with Secretary [of Housing and Economic Development Jay] Ash and the council in planning for the future of the Commonwealth. I am especially appreciative of the governor’s desire to seek input and perspective for this important work from our community.”

The Council will convene its first meeting in October.

In addition to 37 years experience as a teacher and administrator in the Massachusetts community-college System, the past 15 as president of Greenfield Community College, Pura is also a graduate of a community college. As the first in his family to attend college and the child of an immigrant, he understands what a community-college education can mean to students. “Opening the doors to higher education to all who aspire to a better life for themselves and their families while at the same time maintaining high academic standards is the noblest mission in higher education,” he said.

Pura has chaired the Massachusetts President’s Council and served on its executive committee. He was a member of the working group on assessment of student learning for the state Department of Higher Education and currently serves on the Commission on Academic Student and Community Development for the American Assoc. of Community Colleges. He sits on the Baystate Health board of directors and the New England Assoc. of Schools and Colleges Higher Education Commission.

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AGAWAM — Dave’s Soda and Pet City raised $8,620 to support Thomas J. O’Connor (TJO) Animal Control and Adoption Center during the Dave’s Putting for Paws Golf Tournament recently held at the Ledges Golf Course in South Hadley.

In the past, Dave’s Soda and Pet City has put on this golf outing as a way for employees and vendors to have a day of fun and networking. This year, company owner Dave Ratner decided to open it up to the public and raise money. The Putting for Paws golf tournament attracted 100 people, including Dave’s employees, vendors, and public golfers. The event included a full day of golf, a barbecue dinner, and an awards ceremony in the afternoon.

“We saw the opportunity to make a big difference through our event, and our vendors have been on board from the very beginning. We are all very excited to be able to invite the public to play golf with us and help such a great group,” said Ashley Mascroft, marketing coordinator for Dave’s Soda & Pet City.

Added Scott Renius, executive director at the Foundation for TJO Animals, which supports the animals at the TJO Animal Control and Adoption Center, “the money donated to the Foundation for TJO Animals by Dave’s will greatly help in supporting the care and welfare of the many animals in need of medical attention, training, and daily care at the TJO Animal Control and Adoption Center. The funding will provide opportunities for the animals to become healthy, adoptable pets and be placed in their forever homes.”

Natural Balance was the event’s Top Dog sponsor, the Best of Show sponsor was Petcurean, and the Best of Breed sponsor was Merrick Pet Foods.

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AMHERST — The Family Outreach of Amherst will host its fourth annual Warm Up the Night event on Thursday, Oct. 22 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave., Amherst.

The tent at Lord Jeffery Inn will be transformed into a strolling culinary extravaganza. Enjoy delicious small bites, sips, and tastes from an eclectic mix of local food vendors, including 30Boltwood, Bistro 63 at the Monkey Bar, the Blue Heron, Bread and Butter, Carr’s Ciderhouse, the Alvah Stone, Jasper Hill Farm, Sun Kim Bop Food Truck, and more. Features this year include a pig roast, live music by musicians the Winterpills and Roger Salloom, and a special appearance by local guitar legend J Mascis.

Tickets are $45 per person. Visit www.chd/familyoutreach for more information or to register, or contact Rachel Condry at (413) 548-1272 or [email protected].

Daily News

AGAWAM — The Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast (EANE) announced its findings from the 2015 Insurance & Benefits Survey, conducted earlier this year, with 121 companies participating from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

The survey posed more than 130 questions. It covered health insurance, including cost, coverage, eligibility, and employee cost sharing. It also addressed retirement plans, disability benefits, and voluntary benefits.

The greatest change in the survey findings continues to be in health insurance. Employers will offer, or have introduced, methods to control costs, while attempting to comply with the Affordable Care Act. These methods include shifting deductible costs and co-share to employees by altering plan design.

More specifically, the survey indicates the employers’ contribution towards an employee’s coverage option has decreased from 2013 levels. While monthly premiums illustrate minimal changes, the annual deductible per person and per family has increased. As a result, employers have reassessed their benefit packages, and long-term-care benefits are affected.

“Everyone is looking at the bottom line, and controlling healthcare costs is often on the top of that list,” said Mark Adams, director of HR Solutions for EANE. “That said, employers want to remain attractive to new employees and preserve their benefit packages.”

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SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield College School of Social Work and the Peace Corps announced the launch of the new Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, which will provide graduate-school scholarships to returned Peace Corps volunteers. Program fellows will serve as interns in local, underserved communities while they complete their studies, allowing them to bring home and expand upon the skills they learned as volunteers.

“We are delighted to partner with Springfield College to support our returned volunteers as they pursue higher education and continue their commitment to service,” Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said. “Communities are moved forward by the selflessness of volunteers, and returned Peace Corps volunteers have unique skills and experiences to offer their local communities.”

Selected applicants will receive a graduate fellowship while enrolled in the Springfield College Master of Social Work program. As part of the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, students will complete an internship, receive a stipend, and have tuition credits waived each year.

“Springfield College was founded in 1885 with the mission of educating students in spirit, mind, and body in leadership for service to others,” said Springfield College Vice President and Provost of Academic Affairs Jean Wyld. “Given this mission, we are excited to partner with the Peace Corps and look forward to welcoming our Coverdell fellows to the School of Social Work. The college is pleased to collaborate with the Peace Corps for this new program and to extend the impact of the School of Social Work still further.”

Peace Corps volunteers who are involved in the program will earn their master’s degree in social work from Springfield College. As part of the program, students will complete 1,050 hours of service in the field in partnership with more than 1,000 agencies in New England and New York.

“There is a synergy between Springfield College’s mission to educate future leaders in service and the Peace Corps’ mission to create sustainable change through dedicated partnerships around the world,” said Francine Vecchiolla, dean of the Springfield College School of Social Work. “Our welcoming school community will offer abundant opportunities for a Coverdell fellow to help promote a better understanding of other cultures and a cross-cultural ethical mandate that is central to social-work education.”

Through their internships, Coverdell fellows will apply what they learn in the classroom to a professional setting. They not only gain valuable, hands-on experience that makes them more competitive in today’s job market, but they also further the missions of the Peace Corps and Springfield College. By sharing their global perspective with the communities they serve, fellows help fulfill the Peace Corps’ commitment to strengthen Americans’ understanding of the world and its people.

“As a returned Peace Corps volunteer and faculty member in the Springfield College School of Social Work, I look forward to working with our Coverdell fellows to provide meaningful exposure to their overseas experience,” said Karen Clark-Hoey, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, who served in Romania from 1994 to 1996. “Together, we will create opportunities on and off campus to foster student insight into life in a developing country. Ultimately, we would aim to demystify living and working overseas and broadening student understanding of leading a global life.”

The Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program began in 1985 at Teachers College, Columbia University, and now includes more than 90 university partners across the country. The program is specifically reserved for students who have already completed the Peace Corps service abroad. Since the inception of this program, more than 4,500 volunteers have participated. For more information, visit peacecorps.gov/fellows.

To learn more about the Coverdell Fellows Program at Springfield College, contact Clark-Hoey at [email protected].

Daily News

GREENFIELD — In celebration of Manufacturing Day 2015, Greenfield Community College (GCC) will open its doors on Thursday, Oct. 1 between 5 and 7 p.m. to students, parents, and others interested to learn more about manufacturing practices, free training programs, and the outstanding opportunities a career in manufacturing can provide.

Manufacturing Day is an annual national event at the local level supported by area manufacturers as they host students, teachers, parents, job seekers, and other community members at open houses, plant tours, and presentations designed to showcase modern manufacturing technology and careers. The goal is to expand the community’s knowledge of manufacturing and improve the public perception of manufacturing career opportunities.

“GCC is responding to the growing demand for highly skilled professionals in the manufacturing sector who can design, program, and operate technology,” said GCC President Bob Pura. “According to the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, the average age of a manufacturing employee is now 56, and by the year 2020 they project an unprecedented shortage of skilled manufacturing workers who will need to be replaced.”

The event will be held in the Core Lobby of GCC, One College Dr., Greenfield. Activities will include an opportunity to meet and greet area manufacturing companies and learn about what they make, as well as explore GCC’s training programs. Attendees can join a scavenger hunt, enter to win prizes,and enjoy refreshments.

Immediately following Manufacturing Day, attendees are invited to join GCC’s Pioneer Valley Institute presentation by Journeyman machinist Jim Terapane, who is also president of the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage. His presentation, titled “North from the Springfield Armory II: Local Industrial DNA,” will discuss the industrial lineage of the machine-tool industry of the Pioneer Valley and goes back to the manufacturing of arms at the Springfield Armory, which was a springboard to machine-tool industries stretching up the Connecticut River to Windsor, Vt. The event, which is free and open to the public, will run 7 to 9 p.m. in the Sloan Theater.

Those interested in applying for the free training programs should also attend the information and application session on Monday, Oct. 19. For details, visit www.gcc.mass.edu/manufacturing or contact Jeremiah Riordon at (413) 775-1611 or [email protected].

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HARTFORD, Conn. — Regional accounting firm Whittlesey & Hadley, P.C. announced the following promotions to senior audit associate: Timothy Bessette, Nicholas Deets, Patrick Kelly, Caitlin Main, Alex McCabe, James Mercadante, Steve Norris, Andrew Pires, Michael Ray, and Kyle Rounseville. In addition, Rachel Hahn has been promoted to senior tax associate.

In the firm’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Technology Group, LLC, Hadas Davis was promoted to senior network engineer, and Kenneth Blain was promoted to network engineer.

“I am pleased to see our team’s dedication to accounting and technology excellence,” said Drew Andrews, the frm’s managing partner. “These promotions are the result of our clients’ continued satisfaction in all that we do for them.”

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SPRINGFIELD — The 25th annual SIDS Race For Life, in memory of Barry Metayer Jr., will be held this Sunday, Sept. 27 at 11 a.m., with runner registration at 9:30 a.m. The five-mile road race and 3.5-mile fun walk will begin and end at the John Boyle O’Reilly Club on Progress Avenue in Springfield.

The accompanying food truck festival is the first of its kind in the area, and for the past four years, the trucks have been as big a draw as the race. A new lineup of trucks will be on hand to feed hungry runners and spectators. In addition to local favorites such as Log Rolling (coffee, muffins, burgers, and hot dogs) and MJ’s (breakfast sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, and Philly cheesesteaks), the Cupcake Brake will be coming in from New Haven with custom cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, and whoopee pies; Sun Kim Bop will offer Korean tacos, burgers, dumplings, and wraps; and Felix’s Baked Potato will serve up loaded baked potatoes. On the lighter side, Chanterelle to Go will serve farm-to-table soups, salads, and sandwiches.

The SIDS Race for Life is made possible by a wide roster of sponsors, led by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Williams Distributing, Darby O’Brien Advertising, and Baystate Health. All proceeds from the race will benefit the Massachusetts Center For SIDS. For further information about registration, routes, and more, visit www.sidsrace4life.com.

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SPRINGFIELD — As the weather begins to change, the need for layers and warmer clothing is becoming ever more important, especially for the Salvation Army of Greater Springfield. The organization is gearing up for another frigid winter, which brings a critical need for warm, new or gently used winter coats.

To help local families stay warm as the mercury plummets into polar temperatures, the Salvation Army of Greater Springfield announced the launch of the 2015 Coats for Kids campaign. The public can help by donating new or gently used winter coats by Friday, Oct. 16. Warm winter coats are needed in all sizes to fit infants and youth as well as young adults.

Coats for Kids was established in 1980 and has collected tens of thousands of winter coats that are distributed to kids in need throughout the Greater Springfield region. The day for qualified families to register and receive selected coats will be Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Salvation Army location on Pearl Street in downtown Springfield.

“Now is the perfect time of year to clean out your closets and make a difference in a child’s life by donating coats that no longer fit,” said Maj. John Ferreira of the Greater Springfield Salvation Army. “There are many local businesses that will provide drop boxes for the Salvation Army to collect the coats this season, many of whom have been helping with this campaign for years. We are so grateful to the community and those businesses for caring about the well-being of children in the Pioneer Valley and providing them with the means to stay warm this winter.”

Presenting sponsors Berkshire Bank, Belmont Laundry, America’s Box Choice, and Market Mentors, LLC, as well as many other local businesses — including Braman Termite and Pest Elimination, City Tire, Columbia Gas, Curry Printing, Eastfield Mall, Eddie’s Furniture, Enfield Square, Fireside Designs, Food Zone International Supermarket, Hampden Zimmerman, Monson Savings Bank, Noonan Energy, Pride, Raymour & Flanigan, Wilbraham & Monson Academy, and the Zoo in Forest Park — are working to provide support for children in need by keeping them warm this winter. All have teamed up with the goal of collecting thousands of new or gently used winter coats for local children.

For more information on Salvation Army Coats for Kids, call WMAS at (413) 737-1414 or visit salvationarmycoatsforkids.com.

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WESTFIELD — Tighe & Bond, a New England leader in civil engineering and environmental consulting, recently hired mechanical engineer Jason Curtis to bolster its growing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) team. He has experience designing a range of institutional, educational, residential, healthcare, commercial, and combined heat and power projects throughout the region. He will work primarily out of the firm’s corporate office in Westfield.

Curtis has managed projects from the conceptual design phase through construction administration. He has completed HVAC system designs and overseen the production of MEP and fire-protection construction documents. Known for working closely with owners and architects in design-coordination efforts, he also has performed energy models and life-cycle cost analyses to evaluate various prospective energy-conservation measures for renovation projects.

“Jason is a welcome addition to our MEP team,” said David Pinsky, president and CEO of Tighe & Bond. “As the demand for our mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering services has grown, we have expanded our staff to better serve our clients and provide more integrated services. We now have a robust MEP team of 10 that quickly respond to our clients’ needs.”

Curtis earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Union College. He is licensed in both Massachusetts and Connecticut, and is registered in Accredited LEED AP Building Design + Construction. In addition, he is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers.

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HOLYOKE — Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. announced the hiring of three new associates: Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Joseph LeMay, and Robert Spano.

Fitzgerald graduated summa cum laude from Elms College with two bachelor’s degrees, in accounting and information systems and in business management and marketing. She is currently enrolled in the MSA program at Elms. As an undergraduate student, she earned the Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship, the Margaret & Agnes O’Donnell Scholarship, and the Donald A. & Dorothy F. Axtell Grant Scholarship.

Before pursuing accounting, Fitzgerald worked as a customer-service professional at a local bank. In her current position, she works closely with clients to meet their engagement needs and supports the lead accountant in matters including compliance testing and financial analysis.

LeMay comes to MBK from Westfield State University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MSA. He brings a background in bookkeeping, cost-accounting analytical research, and public-accounting experience to his position through various internships in both public accounting and private industry, including an internship with Meyers Brothers Kalicka. As an associate, his responsibilities include performing audit testing for various industries as well as tax returns for individuals and businesses.

Spano holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from American International College, where he is currently enrolled in the MSAT graduate program. He specializes in field work and compliance testing. Before joining the firm, he completed an internship at a local firm, where he gained experience in taxation and fraud examination.

“Elizabeth, Joseph, and Robert represent the next generation of accountants in our profession,” said Howard Cheney, partner and director of the firm’s Audit and Accounting practice. “They are young, vital, and motivated to provide quality service to our clients. At MBK, we believe strongly in the development of our next generation to ensure the continuity of the service we provide to our clients. We couldn’t have asked for better candidates.”

Daily News

GREENFIELD — The Connecticut River Watershed Council’s (CRWC) 19th annual Source to Sea Cleanup, taking place this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 and 26, will feature a number of fun activities for participants in addition to the trash cleanup.

Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers remove tons of trash along rivers, streams, parks, boat launches, trails, and more in all four states of the Connecticut River basin. All are invited to join the fun and be part of the effort to generate cleaner rivers. For more information or to find a local cleanup group, visit www.ctriver.org/cleanup.

“Thousands of volunteers from across four states come out on a single weekend to help clean up our rivers. They literally remove tons of trash every year. Their hard work and dedication is impressive and inspiring, and we want to do everything we can to make this effort fun, too,” said Alicea Charamut, CRWC river steward and cleanup organizer. To date, volunteers have prevented more than 897 tons of trash from polluting area rivers.

Participants who join the Green River Cleanup in Greenfield will enjoy food from a variety of local vendors, music from Tuff Riddim, as well as a post-cleanup celebration hosted by Leinenkugel Brewing Co. Cleanup participants who join the Jewish Community of Amherst at the Oxbow in Easthampton will be joined by the Northampton Brewery. Participants are also invited to the brewery after the cleanup for a post-cleanup celebration. These are just two of the many local cleanups happening all along the Connecticut River and streams this weekend as part of the Source to Sea Cleanup.

During the Cleanup, participants are encouraged to keep their cameras handy and snap lots of photos to submit in the Source to Sea Cleanup photo contest. Photos must be submitted through CRWC’s website, www.ctriver.org/cleanup. Public voting will determine the top 15 photos, which will be submitted to a panel of judges to select winners. Many prizes have been donated by a number of companies in support of the cleanup, including North Country Lodge & Cabins at the source of the Connecticut River in Pittsburg, N.H., as well as Cabela’s, Mount Washington Resort, Jiminy Peak, Adventure Park at Storrs, and more.

“In addition to removing tons of trash from our rivers, the Source to Sea Cleanup strengthens community and gives people an opportunity to improve their neighborhoods,” said CRWC Executive Director Andrew Fisk. “When people help clean their rivers, they make connections with each other and with their rivers. Those connections have benefits lasting well beyond the cleanup. That’s what it’s all about. And if you can have a bit of fun while you’re at it, then even better.”

Source to Sea Cleanup lead sponsors include NRG’s Middletown Generating Station, Pratt & Whitney, and TransCanada. To learn more about CRWC, visit www.ctriver.org.

Daily News

HOLYOKE — Kathleen Anderson, president of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, announced that the Fall Economic Development Business Breakfast, “Holyoke’s Building Blocks,” will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 a.m. at the Log Cabin in Holyoke.

“Local and regional community economic and property development will be the focus,” she explained. “It is important for our business community to understand what is available for future development in the city and for our keynote speaker, Richard Sullivan, to see the opportunities as he attracts businesses to this region.”

The keynote speaker will be Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, who served as chief of staff under then-Gov. Deval Patrick, worked as state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and was appointed commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation while serving as Westfield mayor from 1994 to 2007.

Breakfast attendees will hear from local property owners about their success and plans for the future, and get updates on progress from a local property- and land-developer panel led by City Office of Planning and Economic Development Director Marcos Marrero, John Aubin of Open Square, Andrew Crystal of O’Connell Development Group Inc., E. Denis Walsh of Weld Management, Glenn Shealey of Quantum Properties, and Sullivan.

New chamber members will also be introduced to the business community, including Batchelder Associates, Alternative Health, Elevation Art & Framing, Century Homecare, Fiesta Cafe, Advanced Restoration, Presley Law, PLLC, Insurance Center of New England, Signs and Design, and Revitalize CDC. Salutes will go out to Open Square on its 25th anniversary and to FLN-MAR, celebrating 45 years in business.

The breakfast is sponsored by Ferriter Law, Holyoke Medical Center, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite & Driscoll. Admission is $20 with advance registration for Holyoke chamber members, $25 for member walk-ins, and $30 for the public. Tickets may be purchased in advance at holyokechamber.com/events.

Daily News

LONGMEADOW — Enfield Holistic Occupational Therapy, a fieldwork site developed by the Bay Path University Master of Occupational Therapy program that has a longstanding partnership with the Enfield Housing Authority, was the recipient of the 2015 Regional Award of Excellence in Program Innovation – Resident Services and the 2015 National Award of Merit in Program Innovation – Resident and Client Services.

These awards are from the National Assoc. of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and the New England Regional Council of NAHRO. The Enfield Holistic Occupational Therapy fieldwork site was nominated by the Enfield Housing Authority.

Enfield Holistic Occupational Therapy is one of two role-emergent, community-based fieldwork sites developed by Bay Path University. This innovative fieldwork model allows for the emergence of occupational therapy into community sites to provide programming to meet the therapeutic needs of its population.

“One of the best things about Enfield Holistic Occupational Therapy is that it is a win-win partnership,” said Scott Bertrand, executive director of the Enfield Housing Authority. “Bay Path students gain experience in their chosen field while providing programs and services at no cost to our residents at the Mark Twain Congregate Living. More important, it allows our older individuals to continue the joys of living independently. Undoubtedly, the work of the Bay Path students has had a tremendous impact on the lives of the residents, families, and caregivers within our community.”

The Enfield Housing Authority offers affordable housing opportunities to older residents who experience difficulty with one or more daily functions, such as meal preparation, dressing, or bathing, but is not classified as a healthcare facility.

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment (www.nahro.org) comprises more than 3,000 housing authorities, and only 187 are recognized with awards on the national level.

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]

 

 

Fantastic Pour

Celebrity Bartenders 1Celebrity Bartenders 2Celebrity Bartenders 3Celebrity Bartenders 4

On Sept. 10, the Springfield Boys & Girls Club partnered with the Student Prince/the Fort in a celebrity bartending event. All tips and a portion of the proceeds from sales benefited the club and its services. From top to bottom: from left, celebrity bartenders Nick Tokman, cast member on Deadliest Catch; former NBA players Travis Best and Lou Roe; former UMass basketball coach Bruiser Flint; and current UMass basketball coach Derek Kellogg share a moment with Fort partner Andy Yee.  Peter Picknelly, partner at the Fort and president of Peter Pan Bus Lines, chats with patrons. From left, celebrity bartenders George O’Brien, BusinessWest editor; Brittany Decker, reporter for Western Mass News; and radio personality Mike Baxendale from Rock 102 with Yee. From left, celebrity bartenders Malcolm Getz, retired CPA and serial entrepreneur, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno with Picknelly and Fort bartender Matt Dessereau.

 

 

All Aboard

CRRC USA Rail Corp groundbreakingCRRC USA Rail Corp groundbreaking 1CRRC USA Rail Corp groundbreaking 2

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Gov. Charlie Baker (center) joined a host of local and state officials and representatives of CRRC USA Rail Corp. recently for a groundbreaking ceremony (above) at the city’s former Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard, where the company will build its first North American plant — a project that promises 100-plus construction jobs from the building of a 220,000-square-foot facility, and more than 150 new manufacturing positions. Among the company officials on hand was Weiping Yu, vice president of CRRC Corp. Limited in Beijing (bottom). “We have an exciting road ahead as we embrace this unique opportunity to partner with Massachusetts on our first transportation project in the United States,” he said, adding that the company sees potential for significant growth in the U.S., and has increased overseas investments by 61% over the past year. “We have a focused vision and a strong commitment not only to being the best, but understanding the infrastructure needs of our global partners and working together to achieve them.” Others sharing thoughts at the ceremony included Yi Lu, general commercial counselor for the New York Chinese Consulate; Chuanhe Zhou, president of CRRC USA Rail Corp.; Jay Ash, the state’s secretary of Housing and Economic Development; and Stephanie Pollack, the Commonwealth’s Transportation secretary. See page 60 for more extensive comments from the event.

Cover Story

A Cancer Battle Plan

Mike Balise

Mike Balise

Since he was first diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer roughly a year ago, Mike Balise, co-owner of the large family of auto dealerships bearing the family’s name, has fought the disease with determination, creativity, and his indomitable humor. (When told that he had already reached stage 4, he asked the doctor, “can we create a fifth?”) He’s already lived longer than the doctors told him he would, but it’s not longevity that makes this story compelling — it’s the quality of that life and the manner in which he’s become an inspiration to all those around him.

Mike Balise has always been a huge New England Patriots fan.

He’s had season tickets since 1988, but was attending games — the 1985 AFC championship tilt against the Dolphins in Miami that sent the Pats to their first Super Bowl is one he fondly remembers — long before that.

Speaking of Super Bowls, he’s been to four now, including last February’s classic Patriots triumph in Phoenix (more on that adventure later). Meanwhile, through his business — several players and coaches buy or lease cars from the family of dealerships Mike serves as co-owner and vice president — he’s on a first-name basis with several people within the Pats’ organization, including its iconic head coach.

So when Judge Richard Berman freed Tom Brady earlier this month by vacating the four-game suspension imposed by the NFL, Balise was naturally in a celebratory mood.

Well, sort of, but not really.

Mike Balise, seen here with Patriots coach Bill Belichick

Mike Balise, seen here with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, says he’s focused on not letting his stomach cancer dictate his life.

He told BusinessWest that he was very tired of the whole ‘Deflategate’ ordeal by that time, and was candid when he said he thought way too much time, money, and energy was spent on a matter that was taking needed attention from “real issues in this world.”

More to the point, he had just started a new chemotherapy regimen, and he was still dealing with the accompanying physical and emotional issues. Meanwhile, the pain that had retreated for the better part of six months was back with a vengeance and had reached what he considered a new level of severity.

“When that decision came out, I couldn’t have cared less about anything,” he said.

And there were still other, more pressing matters on his mind — such as the nagging question about what to do about his mother if and when that chemotherapy leads to serious hair loss, as the doctors are telling him it probably will.

Indeed, Viola (Vicky) Balise doesn’t know that her 50-year-old son, the youngest of her six children, has been diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer and continuously impresses those same doctors by the simple fact that he’s still alive.

And she’s not about to find out any time soon.

Balise said the news that reaches his bedridden, 88-year-old mother is censored, for lack of a better word, and family members are extraordinarily careful about what they say and do around Vicky to keep the diagnosis from her.

As for the impending hair loss and how to explain it away, Mike has a solution. His plan is to stage a promotion — details of which are emerging — whereby he will auction off one of his two season tickets to raise money for cancer research and treatment, attend the game with the high bidder, shave his head, and paint whatever image that companion wants on his bald scalp.

And if the hair should not grow back quickly or profoundly? “I’ll just tell her I like it that way,” said Balise with a laugh.

Various forms of creativity and humor have been Balise’s best weapons since he was first given his diagnosis in October 2014 and told bluntly that people who get this form of cancer generally don’t live more than nine to 12 months after reaching stage 4, which he already had.

Mike Balise says one of his priorities now is spending time with his family

Mike Balise says one of his priorities now is spending time with his family, including, from left, daughters Nicole and Marisa, a dog named Brady, son David, and wife Maryellen.

“I told the doctor, ‘I could have gone anywhere in the world for this diagnosis. You’re supposed to be good; can’t you think harder?’” he recalled, adding that the joke helped him through that terrible moment somewhat, but couldn’t stem the flow of tears coming from his wife, Maryellen, and brother, Jeb, who were with him in the room — or make the doctor any more at ease.

While making jokes about that diagnosis, Mike has also asked a lot of hard questions. Among them: what’s the longest anyone has ever lived after reaching stage 4 with this cancer? “The doctor checked with some other hospitals, came back, and said, ‘I think 20 months is the longest anyone’s lasted.’”

Doing the quick math in his head, Balise said 20 months for him would be roughly next May. He’s determined to not only get there, but somehow keep going and, through modern science, set a new longevity mark for people with his condition.

More importantly, he’s focused on living life as he would otherwise, and make the very most of whatever time he has left. That means considerable time on his boats, with his family, at Gillette Stadium, at the Balise headquarters taping radio commercials, and bringing attention to the need for more cancer services in this region.

He said 2015 has been both the most difficult year of his life and, in many respects, also the best. “Overall, I found more meaning this past year than at any other time in my life.”

For this issue, he consented to talk with BusinessWest about all that he meant by that statement, and how he copes with a very uncertain future through a “strategy for life” that he and his loved ones created together.

Setting the Stage

Balise told BusinessWest that the first 49 and a half years of his life were marked by very few health concerns of note, with the biggest issue, quite literally, being a bathroom scale that at times posted the number 335 or more when he stepped on it, but generally read between 235 and 245 in recent years.

“I was a gym rat — a weightlifter and a cardio nutcase,” he explained. “I grew up kind of fat, but I never had any real problems.”

So he wasn’t overly concerned when, in July 2014, he started feeling discomfort in his stomach. But anxiety increased as the pain continued and worsened.

When asked to describe it, Balise, who was at the time sipping a Diet Coke, said it would be like consuming an extremely large amount of that product and having it collect without burping.

“It was like an airy, gassy feeling — it’s a little hard to describe,” he recalled. “It started out mild, and then it got uncomfortable pretty quickly.”

Balise eventually went to seek medical attention, thus beginning an odyssey that has summoned every emotion and challenged him in ways he couldn’t have imagined.

And he could imagine plenty, especially after the colorful analysis provided by his local internist as he assessed and explained the information given to him following an endoscopy Balise endured early last October.

“He said, ‘you’re about to step into the ring with Mike Tyson … and you’ve never been to the gym before,’” Balise recalled, adding that doctors would soon tell him, “‘we don’t cure this kind of cancer; we can make it so your quality of life is better and extend your life, but we don’t cure this cancer.’”

As he talked about how this bout has unfolded, and what lies ahead, Balise said he was doing so somewhat reluctantly. He stressed repeatedly that there are many people in this region waging similar fights alone, and there is nothing extraordinary about his other than perhaps the severity of his cancer and the fact that his name, face, and voice are well-known within the community.

He said he consented to do this interview and a few others over the past year or so to shed some light on the myriad physical and emotional issues confronting all those who are battling cancer or will fight it someday, and to drive home the fact that those numbers continue to climb as the population ages and advancing science permits longer and, often, more successful fights against the disease. And more resources will be needed to help people wage those fights.

To get his points across, he summoned memories of visits to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he was taken aback by the sheer volume of people engaged in their own battles.

“It’s standing room only there all the time,” he said with seriousness in his voice mixed with a strong dose of concern. “You go there for your ‘labs,’ and you get there at 7 in the morning and you won’t leave till 5. There’s elderly people, individuals who are really sick, who don’t have a place to sit while they’re waiting, sometimes for 45 minutes, for their name to get called before their labs are done.

“There are people clamoring to get in that building,” he went on. “And when I talk to people I know who have been treated for cancer here in Springfield … it’s clear there’s a complete lack of capacity to handle the cancers out there.”

His own fight, as well as those images from Dana Farber and other facilities, no doubt played a role in the Balise family’s decision to make a $500,000 donation recently to the capital campaign to expand the Sr. Mary Caritas Cancer Center on the Mercy Medical Center campus.

“We might have done it anyway, but this …” he told BusinessWest, using that word to describe the sum of everything he’s experienced and witnessed since being diagnosed, “made it a no-brainer.”

Mike Balise with his brother, Jeb.

Mike Balise says he hasn’t enjoyed a better, stronger relationship than the one he’s had with his brother, Jeb.

Jeb Balise used that same term to describe the gift. He told BusinessWest that it was, like all donations from the Balise corporation, a decision made by a small team of individuals that field and assess myriad requests for support, and Mike is a member of that team.

He had input in the Caritas Center donation, Jeb went on, but kept what would be considered a low profile, especially with regard to the dollar amount.

“He didn’t want to make it seem that, because he had cancer, we were giving this money,” Jeb explained, adding that, throughout this ordeal, his brother has worked very hard to see to it that things are not about him.

Instead, Mike’s been focused on making a difference, or more of a difference, Jeb continued, adding that, while he’s always been active within the community and with causes such as autism — he recently took a 7-year-old from his neighborhood with that condition to see Pats coach Bill Belichick as he delivered a new car to him — the cancer fight has provided more opportunities to do so.

“His tonic is being able to make a difference,” said Jeb. “Certainly he’s been an inspiration, and we’ve gotten a lot of feedback from other cancer survivors and people going through the same thing, and that’s tonic for Mike. He’s not really trying to save himself — he doesn’t have false expectations — but whether it’s raising money for the cancer cause or just helping the individual person with whatever their situation might be, that’s his biggest motivator.”

Body of Evidence

Turning back the clock a little more than a year, Mike Balise recalled that it took doctors some time to figure out what was causing that aforementioned pain in his stomach.

The discomfort started in July, and by September, he had seen a few doctors, who couldn’t find anything. Jeb, who had watched a colleague in the car business succumb to stomach cancer nine months after being diagnosed, grew increasingly concerned and prodded his brother to seek attention.

“I had a terrible feeling — I didn’t like what he was saying,” Jeb recalled.

Mike, meanwhile, was thinking that it was an ulcer, and as his 25th wedding anniversary and a planned weekend on Mount Washington approached, concern mounted.

“I said to Maryellen, ‘I’m going to go up there, and this ulcer’s going to rupture, and I’m going to be six hours away from a crappy hospital,’” he recalled, adding that the trip was eventually canceled amid his vow that he would make it up to her.

A few days later, though, an endoscopy rendered that pledge irrelevant and turned their world on its end.

“The procedure probably lasted about 30 seconds, and when it was over, they knew I was in pretty big trouble,” Mike told BusinessWest. “The guy said, ‘we found a tumor, and you should go to Boston’ — and that’s all he said.”

His internist, Dr. Rodney Larson, provided far deeper insight in the form of that Mike Tyson analogy. But it would be another week before the news became official, for lack of a better word.

“The doctor was looking at a screen, and it looked just like the TV in the movie Poltergeist,” said Balise, using more humor to relate the chain of events. “It had no distinguishable pattern or anything; it was just a fuzzy TV screen.

“He said, ‘do you see this?’ and I said, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me, doc — I don’t see anything.’ And then he replied, ‘you’re right; I forgot that you didn’t spend 15 years in medical school,’” he went on. “Then he said, ‘if we don’t get you on chemo this week or next week, your odds of survival will go down a lot.’”

There were more inquiries from Balise, and more humor. “My first question was, ‘how many stages are there?’ They said, ‘four.’ I go, ‘can you make a fifth?’” he recalled, adding that, when he asked how long he had to live and the doctor balked at answering, he insisted on knowing and issued what amounted to a threat.

“The doctor said, ‘well, we really don’t like to get to into prognosticating like that; it just confuses the patient more — people can obsess on that,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘cut the bullshit, doc; if you don’t tell me how long I’ve got, I’m going to leave and do whatever I need to do to get an answer.’

“So he looks at his screen, thinks for second, looks at the stage — I was stage 4 — and says, ‘80% of the people who get this will be dead in nine to 12 months.’”

Thus commenced a tortuous period that Balise likened to being a rat in a cage.

“The rat doesn’t accept that he’s in a cage,” he explained. “He wanders around the cage, poking at every nook and cranny repeatedly, looking for a way out. I was the same way.”

On a good night, Balise said, he could muster perhaps a few hours of sleep, a pattern that continued until he and loved ones came up with what he called a “strategy for my life, not just for my illness.”

Life Lessons

On the first page of that figurative document was dealing with the “dirty stuff, the painful stuff, the uncomfortable stuff,” meaning the broad task of putting his affairs in order, an important and challenging process, especially since he has an autistic 18-year-old daughter.

“We made the hard decisions, set up trusts, did all the paperwork,” he said, adding that, for this work and so many other aspects of his fight, he has leaned heavily on Jeb.

“I’ve never had a greater relationship with a human being in my life than the one I’ve had with my brother,” he told BusinessWest. “The trust factor is 100% there; in many of the cases where I would have to think through a lot of details, I just give Jeb durable power of attorney, and he can make any decisions, or my wife can.”

Jeb, deflecting attention away from his own contributions to the process, said simply that such financial work is “one of my strong suits.”

He said his brother has many as well, including the ability to use humor and other elements of his personality to not only navigate the physical and emotional whitewater from this ordeal, but also put others more at ease as they cope with the unfolding developments.

“Mike’s a warrior,” said Jeb. “He’s one part politician, one part Saturday Night Live character … and he’s a pretty smart businessman, too.”

But while Mike’s humor and other sentiments during this battle have been real, Jeb went on, he has used these various defense mechanisms to hide some of the many types of pain he has experienced during the ordeal.

“He really has done well, but he certainly masks much of what he has gone through,” he told BusinessWest. “His seemingly nonchalant attitude about all this is hard to put into words, but I think Mike really has focused on the quality of life every day instead of dwelling on the inevitable — and for all of us. He tries to focus on, ‘hey, what can I do today that’s meaningful and makes a difference?’”

Indeed, with that hard stuff behind him — and even during that challenging process — Balise said he went about, well, living life as he would have and not letting his diagnosis get in the way.

In some respects, that hasn’t been too difficult, because until recently, the pain that triggered this story had been absent from his life. Still, the chemo treatments, although less of an ordeal than he anticipated in some respects, have nonetheless packed a wallop, impacting everything from his energy level to his sense of taste, with the latter causing particular dismay.

“It’s been delightful compared to what I always heard it that would be — it’s been very kind to me,” he noted. “It changes … even though it’s the same medicine, the experience would be different every time I had it.”

Meanwhile, there have been many adjustments to make and new realities to accept when it comes to his body and what he can and can’t do.

“For years, I would bench-press 135 pounds 10 times, 185 pounds 10 times, and then 225 between four and eight times, and that was after doing all kinds of other warmups,” he explained. “Now, I do 100 pounds, one set, and I’m lucky if I can get 15 in.

“I don’t look that much different or worse,” he went on, adding that he currently weighs about 225 and hasn’t drawn too many questions from his mother about his waistline. “But things are different in terms of what my body can do and from a strength standpoint, but not from a flexibility standpoint or a million other standpoints.”

There have been changes in his workload as well, with Balise working a fraction of the 60 to 80 hours he traditionally put in during a work week years ago, with his duties now focused on coaching, mentoring, and continuing to be the voice of the company.

Those changes have resulted in part from his condition, but also due to some needed succession planning and realization that the company is much larger and more complex than it was years ago, said Jeb, adding that the company hired a COO roughly a year ago, and very recently added a vice president of sales, who handles many of Mike’s former responsibilities.

Living Color

For the most part, though, Balise said he has kept cancer from dictating his life, and his fight would be only one of many figurative headlines used to capture the news of the past year.

Indeed, he said the most tears — and they resulted from a hard mix of emotions — came not from anything related to his condition, but rather on the day he and Maryellen took Nicole, their 18-year-old autistic daughter, to a school outside Boston, where she will spend more than 10 months a year.

“Until then, she had never spent a night away from home,” he noted. “On January 5th, she started a residential program in Boston, which is great for her. Still, that was one of the teariest days of my life; she can’t talk, but if she could, that day she would have said, ‘mom and dad, drag your asses out of here — I’ll be fine … I’m so sick of living at home with you.’ She did much better than her father that day, believe me.”

There were also plenty of memories from last February’s Super Bowl, for which Mike, his family, and several of the company’s dealers who prevailed in a competition boarded a leased corporate jet.

Jeb, who admitted to being far less of a Pats fan than his brother — “frankly, I’d rather watch paint dry than a football game” — watched the contest with Mike’s children, and said the Pats’ historic comeback and the game’s unlikely ending took on added significance because of Mike’s condition and thoughts that this might be his last Super Bowl.

Looking back on the past several months, though, Mike said he hasn’t dwelt on his own mortality and has instead been focused on living for the day, and even the moment.

He said there’s been only one occasion when he momentarily allowed himself to think, ‘this might be the last time I do this,’ and that was at Christmas, spent at the family’s home in Florida.

“I had a great Christmas Eve and then woke up Christmas Day with my kids in my house in Florida, and I just felt really despondent, thinking, ‘this is going to be the last Christmas, the last this, that, and the other thing,’” he recalled, adding that this funk was broken by a joke told by Rock 102 personality and close friend John O’Brien, who was visiting him at the time.

“I was in a fit of laughter that lasted three days,” he went on. “I would have wrestled myself out of it anyway, but it took him six seconds, and it was a joke to my wife that I overheard.”

And such negative thoughts have not returned. He doesn’t know if they will, but he’s committed to fighting such urges.

Life has gone on in most all respects, including that recent visit to Gillette Stadium, when Belichick taught the youngster how to grip a football and spent some time hanging with the child.

“He’s always gracious, and even though it was a really busy time, he met with the kid and spent some time with him in the middle of the work day,” said Balise as he grabbed his phone to proudly show some photos from the day. “He’s as real as you can get.”

The trip to Gillette, however, also coincided with a visit to Dana Farber for what Balise believes is the fourth CAT scan he’s had since he was first diagnosed. He didn’t know at the time exactly what the scan revealed, but said this simple fact means there is probably more bad news coming.

“What they’re looking for is not so much the cancer in my stomach, but the cancer in my lymph nodes and how that’s developing and if it’s hit any major organs yet,” he explained. “My doctor, who I think the world of, and he’s bright as hell and a really nice guy … he didn’t bring up the scan. So the kind of guy I am, I’m thinking, ‘you didn’t bring up the scan, so that means we’ve got bad news on the scan.”

Balise didn’t need the scan to tell him something was wrong. The pain that returned in July grew in its intensity, and as the calendar turned to August, it was with him 24 hours a day.

Still, he remains optimistic, notes that he’s never stopping hoping that a cure might be found, and hopes the new chemotherapy and other forms of treatment might buy him some time, meaning quality time — and more.

“This new chemo that I’m on could have the effect that it knocks this thing on its heels for a year, like my doctor said optimistically,” he said. “And when and if this one fails, there’s one other type of chemo that I might try. Doctors could be wrong; there might be a miracle, I might get hit by a bus … who knows what could happen?”

He does know that he plans to keep matters in perspective, and recalled a few of those visits to Dana Farber as he explained how he does that.

“You never see a child there — maybe once in a while, if they get a little slack and they bring me to one of the hospitals next to Dana Farber like Brigham & Women’s, I’ll see a kid with no hair,” he explained. “It’s only happened twice, because they really keep the kids separated, which is a good thing. But let me tell you … if you want to get your head out of your ass real quick, get a look at a 10-year-old kid who’s going through this stuff. That’ll do it.”

Bald Ambition

Looking ahead, Balise said he has a number of wishes and hopes for the future, starting with the Patriots. “I want to see Tom Brady finish the season,” he said, adding that, like many other fans of the team, he believes Deflategate will become a motivating factor for the Pats and their quarterback and possibly inspire another title run.

Meanwhile, he desperately wants to outlive his mother, a sentiment she would share under any circumstances, although he joked that none of his siblings may accomplish that feat at the rate she’s going.

He also wants to bring greater attention to the need for more cancer services — everywhere, but especially here in Western Mass. — and plans to continue using his still-high profile and ongoing fight to be part of that effort.

What he doesn’t want is for anyone to feel sorry him — he’s packed a lot into his 50 years, and has certainly enjoyed the many trappings of wealth — and cites those and many other reasons why.

Overall, he wants to spend as much time on the water and with his family as possible and be relentless in his efforts not to let cancer dictate the terms of his life.

He’s not sure when or how this figurative bout with Mike Tyson will end, but he does know he’s not ready to be counted out yet.

He’s still got plenty of living to do.

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

Court Dockets Departments

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

FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT

Gregory J. Caulto and Jonathan David Lavietes v. John W. Dewitt and Lisa Paterno Dewitt d/b/a JW Dewitt Business Communications
Allegation: Breach of contract and non-payment of services rendered: $57,421
Filed: 8/4/14

 

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Axia Insurance Co. v. Kenneth Hark and LJM Insurance Agency Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract, breach of duty, conversion, unjust enrichment: $250,000
Filed: 7/18/14

Joseph Miller v. People’s Savings Bank
Allegation: Breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion: $35,000
Filed: 7/23/14

Nuvo Bank and Trust Co. v. RIG Rest, LLC f/k/a Airedock Systems, LLC and Paul Gelinas
Allegation: Breach of contract on commercial promissory note: $209,759.63
Filed: 8/13/14

 

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT

Mountainview Landscapes and Lawncare v. Bassette Printers, LLC and Bassette Realty, LLC
Allegation: Non-payment of services rendered for winter upkeep of property: $6,121
Filed: 7/28/14

 

PALMER DISTRICT COURT

Gregorio Santiago v. the Hanover Insurance Co.
Allegation: Failure to effectuate a prompt, fair, and equitable settlement: $21,745.44
Filed: 7/21/14

 

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Comcast Spotlight Inc. v. Centaurian Dental Inc. d/b/a Columbia Family Dental
Allegation: Non-payment of advertising services rendered: $14,904.75
Filed: 7/25/14

Freedom Credit Union v. Theresa A. Welch and Michael Welch d/b/a Floral Dynamics
Allegation: Non-payment of promissory note: $11,727.54
Filed: 7/25/14

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Sambrico, LLC d/b/a Vista Home Improvement
Allegation: Non-payment of workers’ compensation policy: $23,453.23
Filed: 8/6/14

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.  v.  Milford Hardwood Floors  Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of workers’ compensation policy: $12,141.27
Filed: 8/6/14

Springfield Plumbing Supply Co. Inc. v. Michael J. Swayger d/b/a Swayger Plumbing
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $10,674.37
Filed: 7/23/14

U. S. Foods Inc. v. MGB Inc. d/b/a Electric Café and Margaret Buxold
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $9,137.30
Filed: 7/28/14

Opinion

Opinion

 By Michael Guidi, D.O.

Substance abuse in the U.S. and in our local communities is growing at an alarming rate. We in the Mass. Medical Society (MMS) have done our best this past year in trying to limit prescription writing of narcotics, and we need to continue to do so.

But what are the solutions to limiting use of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, and synthetic marijuana? Do we continue to read the headlines — and the obituaries of young people — and hope and pray that our children and grandchildren do not fall victim to this epidemic?

I hope not.

Last year, the MMS House of Delegates adopted policy encouraging all primary-care physicians to take a history of each patient’s illicit drug use, and support greater inclusion of behavioral health, including wraparound services, within primary-care settings, and advocate for payment for these services.

Here is what I am doing along those lines to create a wraparound approach to primary-care behavioral medicine:

• I take a proper history regarding the use of illicit and/or prescription drugs. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of physicians asking these questions directly to the patient and making eye contact while doing so.
• I incorporate behavioral-health services in my office on a daily basis. This allows direct communication between the mental health specialist and me — something that has been missing for much too long.
• I helped establish a grass-roots network in my community of those interested in reducing illicit drug use and substance abuse among those of all ages. Connecting with a network in your community is a way to share information and expertise and identify the resources and interventions that need to be developed. In my community, we are creating a network of substance-abuse counselors, public-health nurses, board members, public-safety officials, probation officers, and school-committee members.

Working with this network, I helped secure a grant from the MMS Foundation for Family Services of the Merrimack Valley to support a program for students ages 12-18 at risk for substance abuse in Lawrence. The $25,000 grant will support a mindfulness-based curriculum aiming to build emotional resilience and reduce substance abuse.

While this grant will help, we all need to do our part to fight against the ravages of substance abuse. So I urge all of you to please reach out to your family, friends, and neighbors and help create programs that will be successful in your communities.

Dr. Michael Guidi is a family physician and member of the MMS Committee on Student Health and Sports Medicine.

Commercial Real Estate Sections

Part and Parcel

Kevin Kennedy

Kevin Kennedy stands at the site of the former Chestnut Junior High School in Springfield’s North End. Below left: the school during demolition.

School demolition

Recent calamities in Springfield, including the tornado of 2011 and the natural-gas explosion of 2012, created hardship — but also intriguing development opportunities. The same can be said of the 2013 fire that leveled the historic Chestnut Street Junior High School. It eventually resulted in four shovel-ready acres in the heart of what has come to be called the Medical District.

Kevin Kennedy says that, before Chestnut Junior High School was essentially destroyed by fire in 2013, Springfield had what amounted to a development opportunity in the city’s North End.

It just wasn’t a very solid opportunity, Kennedy, the city’s chief development officer, went on, as evidenced by the fact that at least three requests for proposals (RFPs) involving that property over the past decade or so — he admits to actually losing count — failed to yield a workable project.

The reason was simple: the cost of repurposing the school or demolishing the structure, built in 1901 and vacant since 2004, and then remediating the four acres it sat on, made redeveloping the site financially prohibitive.

And there were other issues as well, said Kennedy, adding that the building was listed on the Massachusetts Register of Historic Places, thus limiting what could be done with the building and even making demolition a stern, time-consuming hurdle to overcome.

But the fire changed the dynamic in many ways by essentially removing all those obstacles.

Amid safety concerns, the city demolished the four-story structure, and, to apply a lesson it learned from what it did (or, more to the point, didn’t do) following a fire at the former Gemini manufacturing complex in the South End, it remediated the site, including removal of the foundations, said Kennedy.

“This site is now highly developable,” he told BusinessWest, adding that, while the price tag for razing and cleaning the site exceeded $1.5 million, the city may well come to consider that bill a sound investment rather than an aggravating expense.

Thus, like other recent calamities in Springfield — most notably the 2011 tornado and 2012 natural-gas blast — the suspicious fire at the Chestnut Street school has created an intriguing development opportunity.

But, as with those other opportunities spawned from disaster, this one comes wrapped in challenges, the biggest being the fact that those four acres lie in what is statistically one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Commonwealth, a possible stumbling block when it comes to some of the possible strategies for redevelopment, including retail.

But that area is rich in other ways, said Kennedy, adding that it lies in the heart of what city economic-development officials have come to call the Medical District.

Springfield’s Medical District

The former Chestnut Junior High School is at the center of this map showing Springfield’s Medical District.

Indeed, Baystate Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center, and Shriners Hospital for Children are all within only a few hundred yards of the school site, he explained, adding that a number of other medical facilities, many under the Baystate umbrella, are now located just off Main Street in the so-called Wason section of the North End.

More than 10,000 people, many of them in well-paying positions, work at facilities considered part of the Medical District, said Kennedy, adding that the numbers add up to some compelling opportunities, ranging from the broad spectrum of retail to the creation of market-rate housing for some of those workers, including the hundreds of young doctors in residence at Baystate.

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, Kennedy laid out some of the possibilities for this potential-laden blank canvas in the North End’s Memorial Square neighborhood.

Out of the Ashes

The deadline for responding to the RFP for the Chestnut Street site was Sept. 14, said Kennedy, adding that it will be extended to Oct. 5 (with questions due by Sept. 25) to give the development community more time to consider options.

“We’ve had a number of calls, and for that reason we think there’s a bit of interest,” he noted. “And that’s why we’re going to extend it and give people a few more weeks.”

At the very least, he is expecting a far more energetic response than when the 82,000-square-foot school was still standing, with its hundreds of windows boarded up, a state it had been in for several years.

“We had some proposals,” he said, referring to those RFPs issued while the imposing school was still standing. “But when the developer actually got down to brass tacks and put pencil to paper, it didn’t pencil, and all those RFPs went for naught.”

The shovel-ready nature of the property distinguishes it from most not only in Springfield, but also neighboring communities, he went on, as does its close proximity to so many prominent healthcare facilities.

The fire that engulfed the Chestnut Middle School

The fire that engulfed the Chestnut Middle School in 2013 has in many ways created a better development opportunity.

Indeed, the North End has been the site of a number of new developments in recent years, topped by Baystate’s massive $270 million expansion formerly known as the Hospital of the Future. But it has also been a source of speculation about what could — and should — happen next.

So much so that the city commissioned the UMass Amherst Center for Economic Development to undertake a study of the area. That document, “The Springfield Medical District: An Analysis of the Medical Industry and Its Workers,” was completed in 2012.

The report’s authors identified opportunities and challenges in equal abundance.

“The concentration of the medical industry in the district offers many opportunities for commercial and residential development,” they wrote. “However, the city must overcome considerable barriers if it wishes to realize this potential; there is a large potential market for additional shopping, eateries, and other services that cater to medical workers and clients — although few such opportunities currently exist.”

Expanding on those challenges, the report’s authors list everything from I-91, which slices through the North End and creates what they call a “spatial barrier to pedestrian circulation within the district,” to the low-income nature of the residential neighborhood, which is currently home to a very small percentage of the medical personnel working in the district.

The report implies that, if the city could create more attractive housing in the area and, overall, make it a more sought-after place to live, it could capture a large amount of purchasing power it is currently losing to surrounding communities.

“There is a fairly consistent trend — the more one earns, the further away they live from the district, with the highly paid physicians and administrators living the furthest away,” the authors note. “We estimate roughly $400 million in aggregate purchasing power of employees who live outside the city. This means that Springfield fails to capture the indirect economic benefits of its medical industry — the jobs and businesses that are supported by the spending of households.”


Click HERE to download the latest list of available commercial properties in Western Mass.


 

The Chestnut School site won’t change this dynamic on its own, certainly, said Kennedy, noting quickly that market-rate housing on the site could keep some employees not only in Springfield, but in the North End.

“We’ve had conservations with both hospitals,” he said, referring to Baystate and Mercy. “And they both have a need for housing for both employees and trainees. Baystate, for example, is a teaching hospital, and you have residents who aren’t looking for permanent housing, but may need something.”

But there are several options for the property, which is currently zoned residential, he went on, adding that there are several potential opportunities within the broad realm of retail.

The Memorial Square area lacks a major supermarket and other types of shopping, he noted, adding that the parcel is large enough for a supermarket or a chain pharmacy such as CVS. Inquiries to date have reflected an interest in both commercial and residential developments, he went on, adding that the city doesn’t really have a preference.

“We don’t want to presuppose anything,” he told BusinessWest. “We want to see what we think the best deal is and talk with the residents of the neighborhood to see what they want, and then balance the economics with those preferences.”

Razing Expectations

Looking at the Chestnut Street opportunity and the circumstances that created it, Kennedy mixed optimism with some philosophy.

“Oftentimes, as we’ve seen several times in Springfield in recent history, when something bad happens, something good can come of it,” he said, adding that the tornado’s path of destruction certainly contributed to MGM’s choice of the South End for its $800 million casino project.

Whether a similar, smaller-scale success story can be written a few miles to the north in another challenged neighborhood remains to be seen.

But Kennedy believes that fateful fire may have set the stage for another landscape-altering development.


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

Education Sections

Storehouse of History

Building 19

Above: an architect’s rendering of a renovated Building 19. Below left: a late-19th-century shot of the structure, which served primarily as a warehouse for the Armory.

Building19-1865

It’s called Building 19. That’s the number the federal government attached to the structure at the Springfield Armory that eventually grew to 660 feet in length and was used to store hundreds of thousands of rifle stocks at a time. Despite its historical and architectural significance (its first portion was completed 14 years before the Civil War started), the building has essentially been lost to time, serving as a storehouse for unwanted equipment that those at Springfield Technical Community College, which moved into the Armory complex in 1967, can’t simply throw away. But plans have been blueprinted to make ‘19’ the new center of the campus.

Springfield Technical Community College President Ira Rubenzahl likes to say the school moved into the historic Springfield Armory site back in 1967 … “and it’s been moving in ever since.”

Elaborating, he said the process of converting former Armory manufacturing buildings, office space, officers’ quarters, and other structures into classrooms, administration areas, and assorted other academic facilities hasn’t really ceased since it first began back when Lyndon Johnson patrolled the White House.

And the latest, and perhaps most ambitious, example of this phenomenon in the college’s nearly-50-year history is the planned conversion of the structure known as Building 19, which was once a warehouse that held more than a half-million rifle stocks at any given time, into the home for a host of facilities ranging from the library to the financial-aid office to the bookstore.

“It’s going to be the centerpiece of the campus,” said Rubenzahl, who took the helm at the school in 2004 and has overseen several projects involving reuse of old Armory buildings. He noted that, while there are still some hurdles to clear, especially final appropriation of the $50 million this undertaking will cost, the project is rounding into shape.

Gov. Charlie Baker visited the region late last month to announce $3 million in state funding for what amounts to final designs for the project, which will make use of all 660 feet of this intriguing structure, which is historically and architecturally significant, said Rubenzahl.

Indeed, Building 19 is the only standing structure in this country that can be called a caserne, a French term for a combination military barracks and stables, although it was never actually used for that purpose. From the beginning, which in this case means 1846, when the first of four sections of the building was completed, it has served primarily as a storage facility.

“It wasn’t used as a stables, but it looks like one,” he explained, “because it’s built on the model of a caserne, which had the cavalry horses on the first floor and the cavalry officers living above them. It’s not a replica; it’s the U.S. Army’s version of what this might look like in the United States.”

The building’s ground floor has dozens of arched entrances, or openings, which will allow for a great deal of creativity when it comes to design of the spaces inside while dispensing a huge amount of natural light, said Rubenzahl. Meanwhile, the second floor features an equal number of large, slightly curved windows, which can be used to shape unique, desirable working and studying spaces.

“We’re told that 40% of the exterior walls are entrances, which is very unusual,” he said. “We have all these arches, so you can make an entrance anywhere you want. And then you can do some nice things with light; it’s going to be very dramatic.”

The renovation of Building 19 is likely to commence sometime next year, said Rubenzahl, and while it won’t be ready for the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017 that are now being blueprinted, it should be open for business the following year.

STCC President Ira Rubenzahl

STCC President Ira Rubenzahl says that, if renovated as planned, Building 19 would become the new center of the campus.

Overall, the ‘new’ Building 19 will reorient the campus, with the focus shifting from Garvey Hall to the renovated structure, and centralize it as well, in a way that will add needed convenience to students and staff alike.

“This will help organize the campus in a way that it’s never been organized before,” he explained. “From the beginning, the college took this space, then it took that space, and said, ‘we need something for this … we’ll put it over here.’ There was never a master plan to organize the functions in a coherent way that would help the students.

“That’s what we’re doing with Building 19,” he went on, “and it will be a huge step forward.”

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest looks at the ambitious plans for Building 19, and how they would change the landscape at STCC — in every sense of that word.

Blast from the Past

In recent years, Rubenzahl told BusinessWest — actually, since the day the college opened — students could spend their entire time at the school and never really notice Building 19, as large as it is, other than to walk by it on the journey from the parking lots off Pearl Street to the classroom buildings in the center of the campus, constructed in the ’80s on the site of former Armory buildings.

All that will change if funding is approved and construction starts as scheduled, he went on, and by September 2018, the structure would be the undisputed hub of the campus.

This startling transformation has been decades in the making, he went on, adding that discussions concerning what to do with Building 19 have been ongoing — at different levels of intensity, to be sure — since the college’s earliest days, when it was known as the Springfield Technical Institute (STI).

That was in the fall of 1967, roughly three years after U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara announced that the federal government would decommission the Armory, built in the late 18th century on a site chosen by George Washington, and about 18 months after city officials lost a pitched battle to keep it open.

Soon after those efforts failed — or years and even decades before that, depending on whom one talks to — officials began eyeing the site as a possible home for a college, especially the west side of Federal Street, with its long brick buildings and large courtyard.

In those early days, STI and the Armory actually co-existed as the latter was decommissioned, with the school gradually occupying more of the Armory buildings in the years to follow. Building 16, as it was called, the Armory’s main administration building, served the college in that same capacity, and eventually became known as Garvey Hall in honor of the school’s first president, Edmond Garvey.

Meanwhile, Building 27 became home to the school’s library; Building 20, one of the youngest structures on the property, dating back to the 1940s, would house most health programs; and a series of buildings on the east side of Federal Street, first home to GE and then Digital Equipment Corp., became the Technology Park at Springfield Technical Community College, now home to dozens of businesses and, most recently, a charter school.

As for Building 19, well, it has been used almost exclusively for storage, said Rubenzahl, adding that, over the decades, all manner of equipment and supplies have wound up there — and remained there for years.

Indeed, as he offered BusinessWest a tour of the facilities, he walked past everything from long-obsolete computers to rusting air conditioners to an old phonograph.

“We’re a state agency, and that means we’re not allowed to throw things out,” he explained, adding that disposing of all equipment or identifying other potential users is a laborious, time-consuming process that certainly helps explain why such items accumulate.

Building 19, seen in the background

Building 19, seen in the background in front of Armory buildings torn down to make way for new classroom buildings, has historical and architectural significance.

Soon, these objects — and their numbers have been dwindling recently — will have to reside somewhere else because Building 19 will be getting a serious interior facelift and new lease on life.

As he talked about it on a hot summer’s afternoon, Rubenzahl walked the length of both floors and pointed to the third, a windowless, loft-like area, talking about how each will be repurposed.

The ground floor, with those arched entrances, will become home to a number of offices, including admissions, registration, financial aid, and others, and also the bookstore, currently located in Building 20, he said, adding that the space throughout the building is dominated by columns, which makes it far more suitable for offices and student uses than for classroom space.

The second floor, meanwhile, will house the library and other student services, he said, adding that facilities will be placed toward the center of the spaces, generating maximum benefit from all those windows.

Overall, the building is in good condition, he noted, and while the older structures pose challenges, they were in many ways overbuilt because of their intended uses, and have stood the test of time.

“They were built by the Army, they were built for weapons storage in some cases, and they’re just very solidly constructed,” he explained. “Structurally, these buildings have great integrity, so in many ways, they’re good buildings to renovate.”

Building Momentum

When the renovation project is complete, Rubenzahl said, the campus will have tens of thousands of square feet of space to repurpose — in Building 16, the library, and other structures — and these developments create opportunities for the college, the Commonwealth, and perhaps the community as well.

Meanwhile, there are other projects to tackle, including Building 20, the largest structure on the campus, which is partly in use (the first three floors are occupied), but there are a number of infrastructure issues.

A master plan is being developed for the entire campus, said Rubenzahl, adding that the Armory complex offers a wealth of opportunities but also myriad challenges.

And that explains why the college that moved in 48 years ago is still moving in.


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

Construction Sections

Space Race

The MassMutual Center garage

The MassMutual Center garage is critical to parking capacity downtown, but was in dire need of repairs.

At a time when parking is at a premium in downtown Springfield, the central district’s largest parking garage, serving the MassMutual Center and numerous local businesses, plays an important role for workers and event-goers alike. But the five-story structure has long fallen into disrepair.

“We’ve had problems with drainage and water leaking from the roof through the various levels and damaging property and people’s cars,” said Mary McNally, executive director of the Springfield Parking Authority. “Then all that stuff accumulates on the iron, so that’s rusted; we’ve had a significant amount of property-damage claims.

“Overall, we just wanted to maintain the structural integrity of the building,” she went on, “because it’s the main garage in the city, and there’s no plan at present to replace it, so we needed to do somewhat of an intermediate level of repair.”

For the past several weeks, Marois Construction has set up shop in the garage, barricading off large swaths of parking spaces as workers perform a number of repairs aimed at keeping the structure serviceable for the near future. The job is expected to be finished in mid-November.

Marois submitted a bid of $889,940, the lowest of three bids received. The others were Contracting Specialists Inc. of Attleboro for $1,099,750, and P.J. Spillane of Everett for $1,463,890.

Renovations include a host of needed upgrades, McNally said. “They’ll fix the drainage and fix the waterproofing, restore the roof integrity, and install new drains. There will be some painting, some remortaring of the exits, some of the cinderblock needs to be restored, and many of the bar joists, which support the deck structure on each floor, need to be replaced. They’re also resurfacing some of the concrete on the lower levels that get the most traffic.”

Joe Marois, president of the South Hadley-based contractor, said the goal is to complete an intermediate repair that will hold up for the foreseeable future whether or not the garage is eventually rebuilt.

“We’ve recently finished up all the concrete, masonry, and block repairs that had to be done. We’re changing out some of the plumbing, drainage, and so forth, and doing some miscellaneous concrete repair and reinforcing some of the existing steel,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re addressing the concerns in the city’s engineering report.”

Shuffling the Decks

Garage Beam

rusted ironwork in the garage

Top: some of the rusted ironwork in the garage. Bottom: one of many areas off-limits to parkers until issues with drainage and loose debris can be remedied.

The 44-year-old MassMutual Center garage — which borders Harrison Avenue, Dwight Street, and Falcons Way — is the oldest and highest-volume garage in Springfield’s central business district, with a maximum capacity of 1,232 vehicles.

But the structure has been problematic for users for some time, with certain areas roped off on occasion to protect vehicles from debris. Preserving its functionality is critical at a time when the city will lose close to 500 spaces from two downtown parking garages under the I-91 viaduct.

That viaduct is undergoing a massive reconstruction that will close down a mile-long stretch of the interstate for at least two years starting this fall, making hundreds of parking spaces off limits. But McNally, who meets with state Department of Transportation officials every three weeks to review the upcoming construction schedule, is convinced the central district will have enough parking.

“I was worried a year ago, but not currently,” she said. “The contractor [Framingham-based J.F. White Contracting Co.] is very cognizant of the impact on both garages, north and south. I’ve been assured repeatedly at these meetings that they will do what they say they’ll do — and the contract they have with the state requires that they take no more than 450 spaces from the second levels on both garages. With the current occupancy and capacity, I don’t expect any problems at all. That’s very good news.”

One reason for reassurance is the fact that the repair work on the nearby MassMutual Center garage promises to recapture about 100 spaces perennially lost, especially in the winter, to leakage and drainage problems. “If those issues are remedied, those spaces come back,” she said.

In addition, McNally noted, the fifth-level roof deck, which is typically chained off, may also be available for use soon, bringing all 1,232 spaces in the garage back into play.

“There have been considerable engineering studies assuring us the roof deck is safe for parking, and that’s 200 spaces,” she explained. “The roof was never declared unsafe, but there wasn’t demand for it. We anticipated there would be demand, though, which is why we went ahead and did those tests, giving us the comfort that it’s safe.”

Looking Forward

The Springfield Parking Authority, which is funded by parking revenues, oversees on-street and off-street parking in Springfield, including the downtown parking garages. The Marois project is part of a $4 million capital plan for improvements to city garages.

The Parking Authority has also been working with MGM Springfield on a long-term commuter-parking arrangement during construction of the $800 million casino in Springfield’s South End — necessary, because the project footprint will eliminate several parking areas in the district.

Marois said both major construction projects downtown — the viaduct restoration and the casino — are going to strain parking options to some degree, making his company’s repair work on the MassMutual Center garage that much more important.

“I totally think that’s going to be a big deal,” he said. “We’re going to lose a lot of spaces underneath the viaduct while they’re doing that work. I think the city has taken the right steps here in anticipation of that shortage.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Chamber Corners Departments

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• Oct. 1: Amherst Area Chamber Annual A+ Awards Dinner, 5-9 p.m., at the Hadley Farms Meeting House, 41 Russell St., Hadley. The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce Annual A+ Awards Dinner is the social event of the year.This year, we will be honoring six awardees for their contributions to life and commerce in the Amherst Area. The MVP Award, Legacy Awards, and awards for Lifetime Achievement in Business, Community Service, and Young Professionals will all be given. In addition, we seek to honor our two Cooley Dickinson Scholarship winners. Presenting sponsor:  PeoplesBank.

• Oct. 30: Chamber Legislative Breakfast, 7: 15-9 a.m., at the Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave., Amherst. Sponsored by Eversource. Cost: $15 for members, $20 for non-members.

GREATER CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• Sept. 23: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., Marcotte Ford, 1025 Main St., Holyoke. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. For more information or to register, visit www.chicopeechamber.org.

• Oct. 2:  Rock Your Holidays with a Great Promotion, 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Seminar presented by Liz Provo, authorized local expert, Constant Contact. Cost: free for members, $10 for non-members.

• Oct. 13: Table Top Expo & Business Networking Event, 4:30-7 p.m., at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Presented by the Greater Chicopee, Holyoke, Westfield, and Springfield Regional chambers of commerce. Exhibitor tables are $125 for members of the participating chambers. Cost to attend: $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Open to the public.

• Oct. 16:  Lunch & Learn with Thom Fox, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Hampton Inn, 600 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. “Want to Make More Money: All You Have to Do is Ask!” Cost:  $15 for members, $23 for non-members.

• Oct. 21: Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Hadley Farms Meeting House, 41 Russell St., Hadley.

• Oct. 28: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Loomis House, 298 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• Oct. 8: Networking by Night, at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital Health Center Southampton. Join us and our host for a Fall Fiesta celebration, and enjoy a fun night of networking, interactive health stations, and appetizers provided by Meyers Catering. Sponsored by Dollars for Scholars.

• Oct. 19: Celebrity Bartenders, 6 p.m., at Opa Opa Brewery. Join in on all the fun and laughs as you help support funding this season’s holiday lights.

• Nov. 4: Networking by Night, 5-7 p.m., at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Join the Greater Easthampton, Greater Northampton, and Amherst Area chambers along with our host, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, for a networking extravaganza. Sponsored by Duseau Trucking.

• Nov. 6: 
CheckPoint 2015 Legislative Summit. Registration and networking, 11 a.m.;
 welcome, lunch, and keynote speaker, noon to 1:30 p.m.; Chamber View
Dialogue with chamber executives, followed by legislative response, 1:30-3 p.m.; cocktail reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres, 3-4 p.m. Keynote speaker:  state Senate President Stanley Rosenberg. Also hear from Tim Wilkerson, regulatory ombudsman of Economic Policy Development at the Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development. Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions to invited legislators.

• Nov. 7: 15th Annual Greater Easthampton Chamber Viva Las Vegas Bowl-a-Thon, at Canal Bowling Lanes, 74 College Highway, Southampton. Two sessions:  3 p.m. and 6 p.m. A night of fun, laughs, music by DJ Jay Paglucia, and pizza as you help support funding this season’s holiday lights.

• Nov. 11: Monday Morning with the Mayor, 8-9 a.m., Burger King, Easthampton.

• Dec. 3: Holiday tree lighting and visit from Santa, 6:30-8 p.m., at Pulaski Park, Easthampton.

• Dec. 4: Greater Easthampton Chamber Snow Ball, 6-11 p.m., at the Garden House, Look Park. An old-fashioned, elegant, holiday affair. Sit-down dinner featuring Meyers Catering, live music, and dancing featuring Maxxtone. Dress in style, black tie optional.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

• Sept. 23: Legislative Coffee Hour, 7:45-9 a.m., at Slainte Restaurant, 80 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. Sponsored by Ferriter & Ferriter Law and Hadley Printing. Speakers: Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, Holyoke Police Chief James Neiswanger, and Holyoke Fire Chief John Pond. Join us for coffee and conversation where members of the community have a chance to ask questions regarding issues facing Western Mass. and the Greater Holyoke area. Tickets: $20 for members with advance reservations, $25 for non-members and at the door. Price includes a continental breakfast.

• Oct. 7: The Chamber Coffee Buzz Morning Networking, 7:30-9 a.m., at Dean Technical High School, 1045 Main St., Holyoke. The Coffee Buzz is a great way to jump-start your day with the opportunity to meet business and community leaders while enjoying coffee and a light breakfast. The Coffee Buzz series is sponsored by Lyon & Fitzpatrick, LLC. Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse will help launch the chamber’s new morning networking series. Public-school receiver Stephen Zrike Jr. will be the guest speaker. Free to the business community. Sign up online at holyokechamber.com or call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

• Oct. 13: Table Top Expo & Business Networking Event, 4:30-7 p.m., at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Presented by the Greater Chicopee, Holyoke, Westfield, and Springfield Regional chambers of commerce. Exhibitor tables are $125 for members of the participating chambers. Cost to attend: $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Open to the public. Call the Holyoke chamber at (413) 534-3376 to secure your table or sign up online at holyokechamber.com.

• Oct. 14: Autumn Economic Development Business Salute Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at the Log Cabin, 500 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Sponsored by Holyoke Medical Center, Ferriter & Ferriter Law, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite and Driscoll. Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., is keynote speaker. Other guests include Andrew Crystal, vice president at O’Connell Development Group Inc.; Marcos Marrero, director of the Holyoke Economic and Development Office; E. Denis Walsh of Weld Management; and John Aubin of Open Square. New members Holyoke Signs & Design, Elevation Art and Framing, Century Homecare, and Presley Law, PLLC will also be recognized, as well as FlynMar Rubber & Plastics’ 45th anniversary and Open Square’s 25th anniversary. Tickets include a buffet breakfast and cost $25 for members with advance reservations and $30 for all others. Reservations may be made online at holyokechamber.com.

• Oct. 21: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Northeast IT Systems Inc., 777 Riverdale St., West Springfield. Business networking event. Refreshments, 50/50 raffle, and door prizes. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for all others. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up, or visit holyokechamber.com.

• Oct. 22: Leadership Holyoke/Meet at Wistariahurst Museum, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A leadership series with HCC faculty members participating as instructors and facilitators. Community leaders will participate as speakers. Sponsored by PeoplesBank and Holyoke Community College.

• Oct. 28: Murder Mystery Dinner, 6-9 p.m., at the Yankee Pedlar, 1866 Northampton St. Networking cocktail hour at 6-7 p.m., with full-course dinner to follow. Sponsored by Meyers Brothers Kalicka and Baystate Restoration Group. During “Mystery at the Masquerade,” trade clues with other guests and solve the crime at this night of masks and murder. Cost:  $49.95 for members, $52.95 for non-members and at the door.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• Oct. 7: October Arrive @ 5 Open House, 5-7 p.m., at the chamber office. Sponsored by Pioneer Training, Innovative Business Systems, and Florence Savings Bank. Cost: $10 for members.

• Nov. 4: November Arrive @ 5 Open House, 5-7 p.m. Hosted by Cooley Dickinson Hospital, 30 Locust  St., Northampton. Cost: $10 for members.

• Dec. 2: December Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Hampshire Council of Governments, Northampton. Sponsored by Applied Mortgage. Cost: $10 for members.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Oct. 1: Community Discussion, 7 p.m., at Westfield State University, Scanlon Hall, 577 Western Ave., Westfield. Free and open to the public. The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Friends of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail, the city of Westfield, and Westfield State University, will host a healthy-community advocate, Mark Fenton. Residents, health professionals, business owners, planning experts, and anyone with an interest in redesign of a community for improved health outcomes should attend. Fenton is a national public-health, planning, and transportation consultant; an adjunct associate professor at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; and former host of the America’s Walking series on PBS. He has authored numerous books, including the bestselling Complete Guide to Walking for Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness.

• Oct. 5: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at the Arbors, 40 Court St., Westfield. Event is free and open to the public. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

• Oct. 5: Medicare Made Easy, 4:30-6:30 p.m., at Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Presented by Sarah Fernandez, Medicare sales manager, Health New England. Cost: free for members, $30 for non-members. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at  (413) 568-1618.

• Oct. 13: Table Top Expo & Business Networking Event, 4:30-7 p.m., at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Presented by the Greater Chicopee, Holyoke, Westfield, and Springfield Regional chambers of commerce. Exhibitor tables are $125 for members of the participating chambers. Cost to attend: $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Open to the public.

• Oct. 14: Oktoberfest After 5 Connection, 5-7p.m., at East Mountain Country Club, 1458 East Mountain Road, Westfield. Sponsored by Highland Valley Elder Services and MedExpress Urgent Care. Cost: $10 for members, $15 cash at the door for non-members. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

• Oct. 19: Long-term-care Planning, 4:30-5:30 p.m., at Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Sponsored by Renaissance Advisory. Cost: free for chamber members, $30 for non-members. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618

NORTH CENTRAL CONNECTICUT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.ncccc.org
(860) 741-3838

• Oct. 20:  Networking Lunch, noon-1:30 p.m. For more information, contact the chamber at (860) 741-3838 or [email protected]

• Oct. 22:  Business to Business Expo, 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 1 Bright Meadow Blvd., Enfield, Conn. For more information, contact the chamber at (860) 741-3838 or [email protected]

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY

www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900

• Oct. 8: October Networking Social, 5 p.m., at McCray’s Farm. Join us for our monthly networking social, complete with fall fun such as pumpkin picking and hayrides. Cost: free for NAYP members, $10 for non-members. RSVP with the chamber.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER

www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• Oct. 7: PWC Headline Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Munich Haus, 13 Center St., Chicopee. Featuring Kathleen Corbett, former president of Standard & Poors, lead director of the MassMutual board of directors, and founder of Cross Ridge Capital. Cost: $30 for PWC members, $40 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.professionalwomenschamber.com.

• Oct. 13: PWC Ladies Night, 5-7 p.m., at Kate Gray, 398 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. Enjoy complimentary wine and refreshments. Reservations are complimentary but required. Reservations may be made by contacting Gwen Burke at [email protected] or (413) 237-8840.

SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Sept. 22: September 2015 Pastries, Politics, and Policies, 8-9 a.m., at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. Featuring state Sen. Benjamin Downing, chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. Cost: $15 for members, $25 for non-members. For more information, contact Sarah Mazzaferro at (413) 755-1313.

• Oct. 7: Springfield Regional Chamber Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Crestview Country Club, 281 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam. Featuring Duane Cashin, sales growth strategist, motivational speaker, sales trainer, business development consultant, and author. Saluting Noonan Energy (125th anniversary) and Adam Quenneville Roofing, Siding and Windows (20th anniversary). Sponsored by United Personnel. Cost: $20 for members in advance, $25 for members at the door, $30 for generation admission. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

• Oct. 13: Table Top Expo & Business Networking Event, 4:30-7 p.m., at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Presented by the Greater Chicopee, Holyoke, Westfield, and Springfield Regional chambers of commerce. Exhibitor tables are $125 for members of the participating chambers. Cost to attend: $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Open to the public. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

• Oct. 14: Springfield Regional Chamber Lunch-n-Learn, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. “Creating Marketing Campaigns Perfect for the Holiday Season,” with local authorized Constant Contact representative Liz Provo. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for general admission.Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

• Oct. 23: Springfield Regional Chamber Super 60, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Chez Josef, 176 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam. Honoring the region’s top performing companies. Featuring keynote speakers Emily and Oliver Rich – the Tea Guys. Cost: $50 for members, $70 for general admission. Tables of eight or 10 available. Reserve by Oct. 14. No walk-ins accepted, no cancellations after deadline. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.ourwrc.com
413-426-3880

• Sept. 24: Breakfast Seminar, 7-9 a.m. at Oakridge Country Club, Feeding Hills. Breakfast tickets available, $25 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information and for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected]

• Oct. 6: West Springfield Mayoral Candidates Forum, 6 p.m., at West Springfield Town Hall. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected].

• Oct. 7: Wicked Wednesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m., hosted By John P. Frangie, M.D., West Springfield. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events, hosted by various businesses and restaurants, that bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected].

• Oct. 28: Food Fest West, 5:30-8 p.m., at Chez Josef, Agawam. The event will feature the foods of area restaurants, including Chez Josef, Classic Burgers, Crestview Country Club, EB’s, Hofbrau Joe’s, Murphy’s Pub, Partner’s Restaurant, Pintu’s, and more. Proceeds raised by Food Fest West will go toward the Partnership for Education and the WRC Educational Fund, which provides grants to businesses for on-the-job training and continuing-education needs. Cost: $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Tickets may be purchased online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected].

Agenda Departments

STCC Diversity Series

Sept. 30: Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) will kick off its 2015-16 Diversity Series with an appearance from bestselling author and youth advocate Wes Moore at 11 a.m. in the Scibelli Hall gymnasium. Moore — a veteran, Rhodes scholar, and founder of BridgeEDU — has authored several successful books, including The Work: My Search for a Life That Matters; The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates; Discovering Wes Moore; and Forcefully Advancing. Moore has been featured by USA Today, Time, People, Meet the Press, The Colbert Report, MSNBC, and NPR. He is the host of Beyond Belief on the Oprah Winfrey Network and is the executive producer and host of PBS’s Coming Back with Wes Moore, which focuses on the reintegration of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their return home. As the founder and CEO of BridgeEDU, an innovative college platform that addresses the college-completion and job-placement crisis, Moore created the program to reinvent freshman year in a way that gives students real-world internship and service-learning opportunities as well as core academic classes. Moore’s appearance is made possible through the support of Baystate Health, MassMutual, PeoplesBank, An African-American Point of View, the city of Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, the STCC Black Professionals Group, and the STCC Diversity Council. The event is free and open to the public. An author signing will be held at 9:30 a.m., and copies of Moore’s books will be available for purchase. For additional information, call Myra Smith at (413) 755-4414. For a complete listing of STCC Diversity Series events, visit www.stcc.edu/diversity.

Get On Board!

Oct. 8: OnBoard, a Springfield-based nonprofit organization that matches qualified individuals and area boards of directors, is inviting local organizations and businesses to participate or become a sponsor in the “Get On Board!” event in October. The event, to be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, will connect local organizations with individuals looking to increase their community involvement. OnBoard was founded in the mid-’90s by attorney Ellen Freyman of Shatz, Schwartz & Fentin, P.C. The group’s mission is to help organizations expand their governance diversity by enlisting women, people of color, and other under-represented populations to their boards of directors/trustees, committees, and advisory groups. OnBoard has been connecting qualified people in the Greater Springfield area with organizations seeking leadership that reflects the diversity of the region. The cost for organizations to register to participate in the event is $125. As a nonprofit organization itself, OnBoard relies on the support of local businesses in order to hold ‘Get On Board.’ A number of funding options are available to local businesses who are interested in contributing to the event, including a $500 community-partner sponsorship and a $1,000 general-sponsorship opportunity. To register or become a business sponsor, visit www.diversityonboard.org.

Rake in the Business Table Top Expo

Oct. 13: The Springfield Regional Chamber is once again partnering with the Greater Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield chambers of commerce on the 18th annual Rake in the Business Table Top Expo and Business Networking Event from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Castle of Knights, 460 Granby Road, Chicopee, sponsored by Nuvo Bank & Trust Co. The expo provides local vendors an affordable opportunity to exhibit products and services to consumers. Last year, more than 100 vendors participated in the event, including photographers, marketing firms, staffing firms, banks, entertainment venues, and health insurers. Exhibitor space is available for $125, which entitles the exhibitor to an eight-foot, skirted display table and two complimentary entry passes. Electricity is limited but available upon request. The Table Top Expo is open to all chamber members as well as the general public for a nominal fee of $5 per person in advance, $10 at the door. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com. The event is sponsored by platinum sponsors Health New England, PeoplesBank, MedExpress Urgent Care, and Noble Visiting Nurse and Hospice Services; gold sponsors Nuvo Bank, Peoples United Bank, and BusinessWest; and silver sponsors Spectrum Business, Chicopee Savings Bank, Elms College, Dave’s Truck Repair, the Republican, Easthampton Savings Bank, and First American Insurance Agency. For more information or to exhibit, contact Sarah Mazzaferro at [email protected] or (413) 755-1313.

HRU Recognition Event

Oct. 15: Human Resources Unlimited will present its annual Recognition and Fund-raiser Event at Springfield Country Club, 1375 Elm St., West Springfield. Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m., and the program runs from 7:45 to 9 a.m. The Sheldon B. Brooks Employer Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to YMCA of Greater Westfield; the Employer of the Year Award will be presented to Harrington Memorial Hospital; the Rookie Employer Award will be given to Plastipak Packaging; and the Armand Tourangeau Volunteer of the Year is John Ernst. RSVP by Friday, Oct. 2 at [email protected] or (413) 781-5359. The breakfast is by invitation only, and seating is limited to the first 200 people. The suggested minimum donation is $100. Proper business attire (jackets for gentlemen) is required. The gold sponsors are Hub International (formerly FieldEddy Insurance) and United Bank, and BusinessWest is the media sponsor.

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 150 companies, seminars and Show Floor Theater presentations, breakfast and lunch programs (the former featuring Harpoon Brewery CEO Dan Kenary as keynote speaker), and a day-capping Expo Social. Current sponsors include Comcast Business, presenting sponsor; Health New England, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, MGM Springfield, and Wild Apple Design, director-level sponsors; the Isenberg School of Business at UMass Amherst, education sponsor; Elms College, information-center sponsor; 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.

Daily News

EASTHAMPTON — TopatoCon, hosted by the merchandiser and publisher TopatoCo, will bring some of the Internet’s most popular creators to Eastworks on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27.

In addition to an exhibit floor where independent artists will be greeting fans and selling their work, TopatoCon will offer hands-on workshops, live podcast recordings, TED­style presentations, tabletop gaming sessions, and a pop­up TopatoCo store.

TopatoCon will be held in the Eastworks building at 116 Pleasant St. in Easthampton. Tickets cost $15 per day and $25 for a weekend pass if purchased in advance at topatocon.com, or $20 per day if purchased at the door.

“We’re really excited to collect a diverse selection of the best creators that embody the rich DIY online culture that we’re a part of and put it out into the world for people to discover,” said Holly Rowland, vice president of TopatoCo and co­founder of TopatoCon. “We hope to make this event the first of many.”

Easthampton-based TopatoCo, founded in 2004 by cartoonist Jeffrey Rowland, is the virtual home to more than 75 independent artists and designers. To learn more, visit www.topatoco.com or e-mail [email protected].

Education Sections

Root Geometry

Daniel Montagna says the UMass Center

Daniel Montagna says the UMass Center at Springfield is looking to build on the momentum gained during a solid first year.

Dan Montagna says he can easily quantify the success enjoyed by the UMass Center at Springfield during its initial year, as well as the momentum it gained for the second, which started earlier this month.

Indeed, the number of classes offered at the 26,000-square-foot facility in Tower Square increased from 20 in its first semester of operation a year ago to more than 25 this fall. And while he didn’t have an exact count when interviewed by BusinessWest — the so-called ‘add/drop period’ for many classes was still ongoing — he was quite certain that the number of students enrolled in classes in the state-of-the-art facility had increased markedly as well.

“Going from fall to spring, we saw a sharp increase in both the number of classes and programs, as well as enrollment,” said Montagna, who assumed the role of director of Operations at the center last spring. “And for the fall, it looks like a little bit of an uptick in the number of classes, but a potentially greater number of students who will be attending classes here.”

There were other measures of success, he went on, including the 275 or so community events of varying sizes staged at the center’s diverse facilities.

As for the other assignment put to him by BusinessWest  — qualifying how the center has fared with its mission of helping to bring vibrancy to downtown Springfield and provide new levels of convenience for area students — he said that was slightly more difficult, especially the first part of that equation.

And it will certainly take more than 12 months to effectively answer that question.

But he felt very confident saying that the center has established a firm foothold downtown, forged several strong working relationships with other area colleges, and already become a huge asset for the region.

“From our measures, it’s been a very successful start for the center,” he said, adding that the obvious goal is to build on that momentum. “It’s about growth, expansion of the academics, and seeing what other courses we can bring in and focus on concentration areas.

“As for the other side of the equation, the community-engagement side,” he continued, “the fact that we’ve been able to plant roots in the heart of downtown Springfield and host perhaps 300 community events has been outstanding, and something we continue to build on.”

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest takes a quick look back at the UMass Center’s first year in operation, and then puts the focus on how this facility can continue to gain momentum.

Course of Action

Montagna was on hand when the center opened its doors a year ago — and actually well before that — in the capacity of assistant director of operations.

He had taken that role after stints as a project manager for a private consulting firm that specialized in work with nonprofits, and, before that, as a program manager for the so-called Bay State Roads program, a state- and federally funded transportation initiative that provided technical assistance to officials in area communities. He said he joined the team at the UMass Center because he was intrigued by the center’s role with the university — and with the city of Springfield — and wanted to be a part of it.

“What attracted me to it was the concept of UMass bringing a campus to the downtown Springfield area,” he explained. “That immediately grabbed my attention, and as a local native, growing up in Agawam and living in the Pioneer Valley my whole life, I have a personal investment in the surrounding community.

“I’ve always been a cheerleader for Springfield doing better things,” he went on. “And the timing around the developments in the downtown, the revitalization efforts, along with the university making this investment and wanting to bring some of what they’re known for to the downtown area, was really exciting to me.”

He would take on a much bigger part last spring, when William Davila, the center’s first director of Operations, left to take a position with the Center for Human Development.

Montagna said his job description has a number of moving parts — from keeping the proverbial lights on to being a liaison to Tower Square management to being the face of the center within the community — but at its heart it’s fairly simple: to continually broaden the center’s impact in downtown Springfield and within the region’s higher-education sector. And, he said, a successful first year has provided a solid foundation on which to build.

“We want to focus on all aspects of our mission, building not only the scope of academic programs here, working with the campus communities,” he explained, “but also the community-engagement component; we want to be much more than a satellite campus.”

Elaborating, he told BusinessWest that the center can be classified using a number of nouns, starting with ‘facility.’

Indeed, it serves as a central location from which UMass Amherst and other colleges and universities can offer classes and other programs.

That location, as well as the large inventory of facilities — from large classrooms to varying-sized conference rooms to large study areas — also makes the center a resource, another of those nouns, said Montagna, adding that a wide array of nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and economic-development groups have staged meetings and other types of events there.

That list includes Springfield Public Schools, the United Way, the Department of Homeland Security (which staged a training program for local law-enforcement officers there), and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield.

As it carries out those roles, the center also serves as a “partnership,” he went on, adding that UMass Amherst collaborates with Westfield State University, UMass Boston, Springfield Technical Community College, and Holyoke Community College to provide convenient access to courses in a number of fields.

The center now hosts classes for several UMass Amherst programs, including the College of Nursing, which has a large presence there, as well as TEACH 180 Days in Springfield, the Isenberg School of Management’s part-time MBA program, and University Without Walls. Meanwhile, it also hosts UMass Boston’s Addictions Counselor Education Program; Adult Career Pathways, Adult Basic Education, community health training, and workforce-training programs from STCC and HCC; and a Community Planning course, which is a collaboration between the STCC, Westfield State, and UMass Amherst planning departments.

All of the above assures a steady flow of students and instructors into the center, which offers both day and night classes, said Montagna, adding that this critical mass inspires use of another term to describe the facility — catalyst.

And while there may be some objective gauges of the overall impact of the center — such as in the number of additional lattes sold at Dunkin Donuts or paninis at Hot Table on the ground floor at Tower Square — this is more of a subjective analysis at this point, he told BusinessWest, although those at the center continue to look for more ways to measure its impact.

“One of the things I’m really working on with my staff is the quantifying component,” he explained. “We’re trying to measure as much as we can; we’re trying to work toward more cohesive, more comprehensive tracking of our usage and our impact downtown.”

Overall, he believes the center is certainly contributing on the micro level — with receipts at area downtown restaurants, for example — and will eventually be impactful on the macro level as well, being one of a host of new facilities, businesses, and initiatives that make downtown a true destination.

Branching Out

Summing up the UMass Center’s first year of operation, Montanga said the initiative (there’s still another noun used to describe it) returned to that notion of putting down roots, noting that they have certainly taken a firm hold.

What develops from those roots remains to be seen, obviously, but he believes the center will grow into a vital contributor to the region’s economy, its ongoing efforts to create a large, capable workforce for the future, and the vibrancy of a downtown in the midst of a comeback.

In many respects, he said in conclusion, it is already all of the above.

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

Daily News

View of Main and Howard Street

View of Main and Howard streets


View of State Street and MGM Way

View of State Street and MGM Way

SPRINGFIELD — MGM Springfield announced it has presented updated renderings and new details of its design to the city of Springfield. The new drawings are the result of a complete site-plan review driven by several factors, including a one-year opening-date extension, final directives on historic property use, construction market trends, and in-depth conversations with Mayor Domenic Sarno and city officials.

In a letter to the mayor, MGM executives hailed the new design as a better approach to immediately activating the Main Street corridor and spurring new economic development, while reconfirming September 2018 as the completion date.

“I believe this is one of the most exciting moments in the history of MGM Springfield,” said Michael Mathis, MGM Springfield president. “As we collaborate with the city on what is best from an economic-development perspective, the finer details are taking shape, and our programming is improving minute by minute.”

This more integrated urban design features off-site residential space, which opens up room for a Main Street hotel that would encourage tourists and visitors to more readily engage Springfield’s downtown. Conversations are underway with property owners of nearby potential residential sites that would complement the resort-casino development.

As the final design evolves, the project will feature a new five-story hotel atop a floor of retail, creating an improved scale on Main Street. The 250-room hotel would now become the eastern anchor at Howard Street of the 14.5-acre development.

“This design brings to life our commitment to develop new residential activity in downtown Springfield,” Mathis noted. “Through our extensive and detailed review, we determined off-site residential would more quickly encourage ancillary development across the downtown. We are currently talking to potential partners in developing market-rate residential units.”

Under the revised design, the historic columned façade at 73 State St., which had been the iconic focal point for the hotel tower, will remain as such for the updated structure, which will be home to what is tentatively being called the South End Market. With floor-to-ceiling windows, the market will be an inviting, trendy gathering space featuring local and national food and beverage vendors.

“We have never lost sight of how important it is to integrate our development and its unique design needs with this historic New England downtown,” Mathis said. “We think the changes along Main Street and this new layout are more in line with a true downtown mixed-use development that will make MGM Springfield the premier urban resort in the industry.”

Following several meetings with Springfield officials, MGM Springfield will present this new design plan to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The company will continue to refine its design as it proceeds with the site-plan review process with the city.

Daily News

PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Museum has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Assoc. of Children’s Museums and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to encourage families of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits.

The program will enable low-income families (two adults and two children) to visit the Berkshire Museum free with the presentation of an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. Families can also visit any participating museum year-round for a minimal fee. The museum’s participation in this program is funded by the TD Charitable Foundation.

The Museums for All initiative represents a stride toward the goal of reaching more children and parents, especially those living in poverty, with the valuable learning resources of museums. Museums, with their unique focus on bringing children, families, and communities together, are committed to providing access to all. Each year, children’s museums host more than 31 million visitors. The Museums for All initiative will allow family-friendly museums to further expand their reach and impact.

Features

Succeeding at Succession

Kevin Vann (left) and Mike Vann

Kevin Vann (left) and Mike Vann, principals with the Vann Group.

Mike Vann didn’t have the exact figures, but he said round numbers would certainly get his points across. And he was right.

There are roughly 7.5 million businesses in this country owned by an individual or individuals over the age of 55, said Vann, a principal, with his father, Kevin, of the Springfield-based business-consulting firm the Vann Group. And maybe 25% of them have “some semblance” of a succession plan in place.

He chose that phrase carefully, and then qualified it by saying that many of those plans would not be considered up to date or realistic.

“There’s something there, but it’s outdated and it’s no longer relevant, but they can can check the box and say they did something,” Mike explained, adding quickly that business owners need to do more than something — they need something well thought out and realistic.

This simple truth explains why BusinessWest and the Vanns are partnering to make succession planning the topic of the second installment of the magazine’s ongoing lecture series of issues confronting all those in business.

In fact, there will be two presentations of the same program in different locations for the convenience of those who might — and should — attend. The first offering of “Heading for the Exit: Business Succession Realties and Process,” will be staged Wednesday, Sept. 30 at the Student Prince/the Fort in Springfield, while the second will be conducted Wednesday, Oct. 7 at the Smith College Conference Center. In both cases, registration will be at 7:15 a.m., with the program running from 7:30 to 9 a.m.

Kevin Vann said the title of the lecture was chosen carefully because effective succession requires careful, thoughtful planning, this is indeed a process, and there are many realities — many of which business owners don’t want to acknowledge.

At the top of that list are the fact that they are getting older and need to address succession, because this issue will not go away or take care of itself.

The format for the lectures will be a general presentation followed by what the Vanns hope will be an intense round of Q&A. That’s because everyone should have questions about this subject, they said, but too often they don’t get asked.

“The presentation highlights market trends as to what’s going on with this subject and what’s driving the succession-planning needs and challenges,” Mike said. “And then, it will feature a walk-through of what the succession-planning process looks like and all the different moving pieces. It covers everything from understanding the value of your business to the importance of having your financial plan in place, to the need to have a life plan in place for after your business is transitioned.”

Kevin added that the program will provide some needed information, but also drive home some key points, such as the fact that, when it comes to succession planning, many business owners make assumptions, which can and often do lead to big problems down the road.

“Business owners assume way too much as far as who may be part of their succession plan,” he explained. “They assume the children might or that a key employee might, or a strategic competitor might.”

Other assumptions or mistakes include everything from trying to be fair with all of one’s children to the presumed value of the company, to not properly preparing the business for sale, he went on, adding that the keys in all aspects of this process are to be realistic and avoid guesswork.

Kate Campiti, BusinessWest’s associate publisher, said the magazine launched its lecture series this past spring as part of ongoing and multi-faceted efforts to keep readers informed and up-to-date on matters of concern to all business owners.

The series’ first lecture, “Technology Has the Power to Change Healthcare,” featured a panel of experts talking about a subject that touches many businesses and every individual, said Campiti, adding that the second installment in the series can be equally impactful.

“Succession is an issue that every business must address,” she said. “It’s a difficult issue, there are many factors involved, and people need to plan. This lecture is designed to get these points across and to assist business owners with the work of putting a plan together, which is indeed a process.”

Admission to the lectures is free; however, registration is required by visiting www.businesswest.com. The deadline for registering for the Sept. 30 lecture is Sept. 22, while the deadline for the Oct. 7 presentation is Sept. 29. For more information, call (413) 781-8600.


— George O’Brien

Features

Learning Opportunities

WMBExpo 2015 LOGO

At its core, the Western Mass. Business Expo is, as the name suggests, a business-to-business showcase, an event that turns a bright spotlight on companies large and small and across sectors of the economy.

But there has always been a strong educational component to the annual fall event, said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, which has produced the show since 2011. And the 2015 edition of the Expo, set for Nov. 4 at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, will be no exception.

In fact, she said, it will set a new standard when it comes to programs and events designed to help business owners and managers better understand and navigate the complexities of doing business today.

Indeed, seminar topics will run the gamut from medical marijuana in the workplace to preventing white-collar crime; from creating sales opportunities to brand development; from bullying in the workplace (and how to prevent it) to a new term not yet officially in the dictionary: ‘parentrepreneurship.’

In addition to 16 seminars across four tracks, there will be other opportunities to learn, said Campiti, listing everything from breakfast and luncheon keynote speakers and their messages on both business and life, to a special program on robotics featuring area high-school students, to the so-called, and appropriately named, ‘Business Resource Hub.’

This special corridor of the Expo show floor will be occupied by a host of agencies with varying missions but a common purpose — helping area businesses thrive.

“The Business Resource Hub will be a true resource,” said Campiti. “It has never been tougher to be in business and stay in business, and those trying to run often have questions — about everything from how to secure financing to how to navigate the new sick-leave law — but often don’t know where to look to find answers. The Business Resource Hub will help them make important contacts with a host of state and local business-assistance agencies.”

The specific seminar schedule is still to be finalized, said Campiti, but the tracks have been selected — Sales & Marketing, Workforce Development, Entrepreneurship, and Hottest Trends — as have many of the topics for discussion. A brief look at some of the working titles of the seminars gives a hint of the wealth of information to be disseminated. They include:

• “Parentrepreneurship: Being Both a Parent and an Entrepreneur”;
• “Building a Pipeline of Sales Opportunity”;
• “Why Interns Can Make a Difference for Your Company”;
• “Securing Your Business from White-collar Crime”;
• “How to Work with Humans: Harnessing the Power of Employees”;
• “Increasing the Sanity, Fairness, and Appreciation in Your Family Business”; and
• “Secrets to Hiring and Developing the Right People.”

Meanwhile, other components of the show include a return of last year’s highly successful Retail Corridor, the ever-popular pitch contest staged by Valley Venture Mentors, a Healthcare Corridor, a Technology Corridor, the day-capping Expo Social (one of the best networking events of the year), and much more.

The Expo will again be presented by Comcast Business, which has been the show’s lead sponsor since BusinessWest began producing it in 2011. Director-level sponsors are Health New England, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, MGM Springfield, and Wild Apple Design. The Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst is education sponsor, and Elms College is the information-center sponsor. Details on the Expo can be found by visiting www.wmbexpo.com.


Fast Facts

What: The Western Mass. Business Expo
When: Nov. 4
Where: MassMutual Center, Springfield
Events and Activities: Breakfast hosted by the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, featuring Dan Kenary, CEO and co-founder of Boston-based Harpoon Brewery; lunch hosted by the Professional Women’s Chamber; Show Floor Theater presentations; informational seminars; Pitch Contest, matchmaking opportunities, robotics displays, the Business Resource Hub, and more.
Exhibitor Information: Booth sizes and rates are: 20×20 showcase unfurnished: $2,250; 20×20 showcase furnished: $2,400; 10×20 double unfurnished: $1,250; 10×20 double furnished: $1,350; 10×10 corner unfurnished: $850; 10×10 corner furnished: $925; 10×10 standard unfurnished: $750; 10×10 standard furnished: $825.
For More Information: Call (413) 781-8600, or visit www.wmbexpo.com.