Month: July 2016

Health Care Sections

Out of the Darkness

HCNcoverART0616

For a decision of such finality, the choice to end one’s life has come easier over the past 15 years, according to both national and statewide statistics. The reasons for the increase in suicide rates are myriad — economic stresses, mental illness, social isolation, substance abuse, and too many others to mention — and the outward signs are often unclear. But resources are available across the region to stem the tide, if only at-risk individuals can be identified in time and steered toward the help they need.

It’s alarming enough, Melissa Perry says, that overall suicide rates, both nationally and in Massachusetts, are on the rise. But she is struck by some of the details that comprise the larger trend.

For example, suicides among girls ages 10 to 14 tripled over 15 years, from about 50 in 1999 to 150 in 2014 — a relatively small number compared to the general population, but a distressing statistic nonetheless. Perry, director of Behavioral Health Nursing at Holyoke Medical Center (HMC), suggests one factor behind this increase: the pervasiveness and incessance of bullying in the social-media age.

“When we were young, we were able to get away from the name calling and getting picked on in school, just by going home,” she told BusinessWest. “Social media has kicked it up a notch. Girls are picked on at school and then continue to get picked on every time they’re on social-media sites; it continues and never ends. I really think that plays a huge role in girls struggling. Even switching schools doesn’t solve the problem.”

Click HERE to view a chart of Behavioral Health Centers in the area

According to a study released earlier this spring by the National Center for Health Statistics, it’s not just teen and tween girls at risk. After a period of consistent decline in suicide rates in the U.S. from 1986 through 1999, rates for the overall population have increased steadily from 1999 through 2014, the last year for which data is available. In fact, 42,773 people died from suicide in 2014, compared with 29,199 in 1999.

“That’s a significant jump,” said Nina Slovik, a social worker and clinic director at the Center for Human Development, before detailing some possible drivers behind the surge. “The economic climate is a very significant factor — job loss and financial insecurity. Social isolation is a factor, which can be seen in the rate of divorce and the increase in the number of people who are not getting married and might not be socially connected. And you certainly cannot discount the enormous increase in drug addiction and substance abuse.”

Nina Slovik says suicide triggers range from economic insecurity and social isolation to substance abuse and mental illness.

The bottom line is that suicide is now the 10th-leading cause of death in the U.S., and number two among the 15-24 age group. Slovik noted that African-American men are the only demographic group whose suicide rate is down, and the only age group to decline is men and women over 75.

“The problem is widespread across all the other age ranges,” she said, adding that people who feel disenfranchised, such as LGBT individuals, are at higher risk, while those who have made suicide attempts in the past are much more likely to try again in the future — about 40 times more likely, in fact, than those who have never done so.

“The causes can be complicated,” said John Kovalchik, HMC’s Outpatient Behavioral Health manager. “There’s a family history of violence, sexual molestation and abuse, a history of substance abuse or mental illness, being incarcerated, having access to firearms, things of that nature.”

Access to tools of violence don’t tell the whole story, however. While the share of suicides involving guns has declined since 1999 — from 37% to 31% — suffocation deaths, including strangulation and hanging, are up from less than 20% to about 25%, perhaps reflecting the fact that everyone has access to such means, while gun-ownership rates are down in some states.

The larger question, of course, is what to do about what Slovik characterizes as not just a psychiatric problem, but a full-blown public-health issue. The professionals who spoke with BusinessWest agree that suicide prevention and intervention resources abound in Western Mass., but identifying at-risk individuals and connecting them to help isn’t always easy. But through education and greater public awareness, they say they’re making strides.

No Boundaries

While financial struggles are rampant at a time when Americans hear the recession is over, yet many are still unemployed or underemployed; and while substance abuse is a growing issue in many states, including Massachusetts, the risk factors for suicide extend far beyond those timely factors, ranging from mental illness and a history of abuse to lack of an emotional support system to family disruptions like divorce and lawsuits, according to the Mass. Coalition for Suicide Prevention.

“Suicide doesn’t really have any boundaries; it’s one of those things that can occur in any population,” said Robert Reardon, who chairs the Pioneer Valley Coalition for Suicide Prevention, the statewide organization’s regional chapter. “We want to make sure the message we’re sending out about suicide prevention is as diverse as our communities in the Pioneer Valley.”

Reardon is also director of Outreach and Community Services for Tapestry Health, a regional network of public-health services that, as one part of its mission, links people to suicide-prevention services and offers workshops and educational programming aimed at making people more aware of the outward signs of potential suicide.

Those signs vary widely, but can include feelings of hopelessness; preoccupation with death; withdrawal from family, friends, sports, and social activities; drastic behavioral changes; depression, anxiety, and eating disorders; giving away possessions; taking unnecessary risks; lack of energy; inability to think clearly or make decisions; loss of interest in work or school; changes in appetite, sleeping habits, or personal appearance; and financial worries — just to name a few.

However, the Mass. Coalition notes, individuals also possess ‘protective factors’ — personal, familial, and interpersonal factors that help one cope with life. These range from a sense of humor to good problem-solving skills; from strong faith to good nutrition and regular exercise; from connectedness to family or church to a sense of purpose.

“Nobody is just one thing — a big mass of depression or mental illness or alcoholism,” Slovik said. “Everyone has particular strengths and skills. We have to look at the larger picture.”

Kovalchik said it’s important that people are able to recognize not only the warning signs of a potential suicide, but these resiliency factors, so they can help their loved one focus on them instead of their stressors.

Which means talking and asking questions when warning flags emerge. The coalition emphasizes that talking about suicide will not put the idea into someone’s mind; rather, most people will be relieved that someone has noticed their pain and are willing to help.

After all, the organization notes, people who die by suicide generally do warn others, and may be trying to get attention in order to get help — and they should be taken seriously.

“It never hurts to ask someone questions,” Slovik said. “Whether it’s a family member, friend, co-worker, whomever, if for any reason you think a person is at some risk, you won’t create a suicidal person by asking direct questions; that’s a myth, and it’s not borne out by clinical experience or data.

“Asking people about suicide does not increase the risk,” she went on. “In fact, it may decrease their sense of isolation, the feeling that nobody knows what they’re going through, that nobody has ever felt like they do. There’s a lot of shame and embarrassment associated with feeling suicidal, and if you can overcome that sense of isolation, that’s a good first step that can lead to a larger discussion.”

She doesn’t recommend giving clinical advice to someone who is suicidal, but it’s important to listen closely, express understanding, and suggest resources that might be able to help.

“There are often shame-based associations with being depressed, being anxious, being frightened, being bullied,” she told BusinessWest. “But if you can break down the barrier by getting them to talk about it, that can be very meaningful. Getting in the door is a big deal.”

Medical professionals are increasingly doing their part, Kovalchik said, by screening patients who arrive in emergency rooms for behavioral-health issues, substance abuse, and past trauma, to name a few signs. “It’s important that we don’t separate the body from the mind, as we have historically.”

Melissa Perry

The importance of speaking directly to someone suspected to be a suicide risk is often magnified when dealing with a teenager, Perry said, because this group tends to be more impulsive and often responds to a stressor more quickly than someone a bit older.

“If someone might be thinking about suicide, having that conversation — and then supporting them and offering them hope — is a big step,” Reardon said. “Then you can help that person seek help through other resources; there are a lot of mental-health services and organizations in the region that can provide support.”

Healthy Choices

For its part, Tapestry works with recovery learning communities, or RCLs, a program of the state Department of Mental Health to offer information and support to people struggling with mental illness, and that initiative’s Alternatives to Suicide peer-support groups.

“Those have been well-received by folks because they’re run by people who have attempted suicide or had long-standing thoughts of suicide,” Kovalchik said. “But you have to get someone to buy in and seek help. That is the tricky piece, I think.”

Meanwhile, the Mass. Coalition for Suicide Prevention, since its founding 17 years ago, has worked with the state Legislature to get more than $28 million allocated for suicide-prevention services targeting veterans, older adults, college and university students, youth and young adults, mid-life adults, and LGBT youth.

The coalition’s training efforts have reached nearly 31,000 advocates, teachers, clinicians, substance-abuse staff, elder advocates, and youth service organizations, among others, and the organization co-sponsors 14 Massachusetts Suicide Prevention Conferences, attracting hundreds of participants each year.

Efforts like these, and the programs operated by agencies like the Center for Human Development, are making a difference in the lives of those they reach, Slovik said, even though too many are still succumbing to suicide.

“The most significant approach to preventing suicide is getting people to find a place where they can talk about whatever is going on in their lives — that therapeutic relationship with somebody that can help engender a sense of hope,” she said. “Hope is really the most critical factor in preventing suicide. How do you instill hope in people? It’s relationship-based: talk to people, find out what their risk factors are, and focus on their protective factors.

“It’s a complex problem, and there are no guarantees,” she concluded. “We don’t kill anyone, and we don’t save anyone. If we’re lucky, we help people save themselves.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Tessier Associates Diversifies Its Portfolio

Architecture Sections

Blueprinting a Growth Pattern

Robert Stevens

Tessier Associates has been in business since Warren Harding was in the White House and Prohibition was the law of the land. No architecture firm can survive that long — and through all those twists and turns in the economy — without being resilient and resourceful, and the Tessier firm has been both. In recent years, for example, it has been diversifying its portfolio, complementing a dwindling amount of public-school work with projects in higher education and other sectors, and now has a steady supply of work in the pipeline.

The photos, sketches, and blueprints adorning the front entranceways and conference rooms at architecture firms usually tell a story — or, to be more precise, a big part of the story.

Indeed, collectively, these images become a highly visible, although not always organized, chronicling of a company’s history, examination of its portfolio, and window into its past, present, and, in some ways, its future.

This is definitely true at Tessier Associates, the nearly-century-old firm that has long been doing business out of a large storefront on the second floor at Tower Square in downtown Springfield. The photos in the front lobby and hallway leading to the production areas speak to the company’s proud history, which has included everything from dozens of school projects to a number of new churches and a host of commercial buildings, including bank branches, which became a prolific niche for a number of years (more on that later).

The main conference room offers more of the same, but specifically a look at more recent history — and a very necessary diversification of the portfolio to reflect changing times when it comes to designing new public schools, additions, and renovations.

“It’s much more difficult to get school projects today. There are fewer of them out there, and the selection process is now out of Boston — the rules have changed,” said Robert Stevens Jr., long-time principal with the company, noting that, while local school systems once did the hiring of an architect for a project, now those decisions are the purview of the Mass. School Building Authority.

Go HERE for a list of Architecture Firms in the region

This explains why the conference room still features photos and drawings of some of the firm’s school projects — including Lenox Middle/High School, which actually dates back to the late ’90s, and Hampshire Regional High School, newer work but still more than a decade old — but far more wall and easel space is now devoted to work with area colleges and businesses, which have become a far larger and more reliable pipeline of projects.

There are several images, for example, of a new dining commons being planned by Western New England University. Curved, and featuring large amounts of glass and a host of different and unique dining areas, the structure currently taking shape on the drawing board reflects a heightened interest in food and food service at institutions of higher learning, said Stevens.

“Food is a big deal now, and it’s important when it comes to recruiting students — you have to be on the cutting edge of this,” he explained. “These facilities now require a lot of social space, a lot of dining opportunities, a number of seating arrangements, and some quiet space; there’s a lot that goes into these now.”

The walls tell of other recent projects at Bay Path University and Springfield College, and also the Big E, which is exploring possible renovations to several of its historic buildings, including the coliseum (see related story, page 6). Stevens noted that such private-sector work is both necessary and, at the moment, at least, steady enough to keep the firm busy and in a contemplative mode when it comes to expansion and bringing on more staff.

One of the Tessier firm’s renderings of the planned dining commons at Western New England University.

Still, like many in businesses across virtually every sector of the economy, Tessier has some doubts about the staying power of the current expansion, if one chooses to call it that, and noted that there are risks to bringing on more staff, especially in a sector as vulnerable to swings in the economy as this one.

He believes the economy is improving, but, like most others, would like to see more solid evidence that the upswing is real.

“We could be hiring others, and we probably should be,” he explained. “When you’re leery about whether the economy is really improving, you tend to hold back, even when you think you need to hire.”

For this issue and its focus on architecture, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at … well, the walls and easels at Tessier Associates and at what they reveal about where the company has been, and where it’s going.

Designs on Diversification

Tracing the history of the company, Stevens said it was started by Henry Tessier in 1923, who was still working part-time when Stevens joined the firm in the mid-’80s.

“Henry worked until he was in his mid-90s,” he recalled. “He obviously liked what he did — he was still coming into the office every day.”

Under the tutelage of Tessier and later his son, Bob, and fellow partners Doug Engebretson, who retired in 2012, and Stevens, the firm developed a number of niches within the broad realm of architecture, including everything from churches to those aforementioned bank branches.

The former remains a source of some work, said Stevens, noting that the portfolio includes several projects in this category, including the new Immaculate Conception Church in Holyoke, St. Patrick’s Church in Springfield, Nativity Church in Holyoke, and Holy Name Church in Springfield.

As for those bank braches, they were a solid source of work decades ago as area institutions sought to develop a presence in many of the emerging suburbs.

“There was a period of time just after I came here when we really did nothing but bank branches,” he said, noting that, in those days — and perhaps not so much now — architects could, and did, get creative with design of the teller lines and other elements of those structures to give them individuality.

But the firm’s main bread and butter starting in the mid-’80s was public-school projects, said Stevens. The portfolio includes initiatives across this region and beyond, with most of them in response to growing populations and/or a need to replace or modernize aging infrastructure. The list includes additions and renovations at Frontier Regional School in South Deerfield, Commerce High School in Springfield, and JFK Middle School in Northampton, as well as new construction at Quarry Hill Elementary School in Monson and Grafton Elementary School in Grafton, among many others.

But by 2004, the pipeline of school projects dwindled to a trickle as the state all but stopped funding schools and changed the formula for how such initiatives were funded. By the time conditions changed and money started flowing more freely, the selection process for architects had changed, adding another layer to the challenge of landing such projects. The last one the firm handled was Hoosic Valley Regional Middle and High School in Cheshire in 2012.

With school work dwindling and prospects for improvement in that realm dim, the firm has done what it has always done since Warren Harding was in the White House and Babe Ruth was leading the American League in home runs, said Stevens — create a diversified portfolio and adjust its focus to where the work happens to be at a given time.

Indeed, an architecture firm cannot survive 93 years and an untold number of economic twists and turns, including both the Great Depression and Great Recession, without being flexible, resourceful, and resilient, and the Tessier firm is deserving of all those adjectives.

Drawing on Experience

Recently, for example, the firm has garnered a number of projects in higher education, tapping into one of the pillars of the region’s economy.

“We’ve been relying mainly on private work in recent years,” said Stevens, “and we’ve been successful in getting some nice projects. We’ve done a lot of work at area colleges and universities.”

Perhaps the signature initiative in this realm is the $30 million Center for the Sciences and Pharmacy building on the Western New England University campus, undertaken in 2009. “That was a significant project for us, coming right after the recession,” Stevens explained.

But there have been many others, including several projects at Bay Path University, including, most recently, renovation to some of the science labs. There has also been work at Springfield College, Elms College, and other schools.

The Center for the Sciences and Pharmacy building at Western New England University is one of Tessier’s signature projects.

Meanwhile, there have been other forms of commercial work, including an office addition and renovation project for UniFirst Corp., a Wilmington-based supplier of uniforms and provider of related services that has a facility in Springfield, as well as another site in New York that the Tessier firm is also working on.

Those projects and others have provided Stevens with a sense that the economy is improving, that business owners are becoming more confident about the immediate future, and that this scenario may continue for some time.

And this sentiment wasn’t present in the years immediately after the Great Recession, even when analysts were saying the economic picture was brightening and businesses in many sectors, including those in the broad realm of construction, should see some trickle-down.

“Things were questionable in the few first years after the recession ended — I would hear that the economy was improving, but we weren’t feeling it,” he explained. “But at this point, it seems like there’s more activity.

“We have backlog — you can see enough work out for a year or two,” he went on, “and that’s pretty unusual for recent years.”

This is what he tells builders who will call and ask him what he thinks and what he knows — calls that come often, because, historically, architecture has been an accurate barometer of the economy; when firms are busy, that’s a good sign, and when they’re not … well, no explanation needed.

“The climate is improving,” he said in conclusion. “I’m feeling much more optimistic than I was a few years ago.”

Lines of Business

Tucked in a corner of the Tessier firm’s conference room is an aerial photo of the Elms College campus, complete with the wellness center the company designed.

Stevens couldn’t pinpoint the date of that project, but did know that it was some time ago. That was an acknowledgement that what’s on the walls and easels of such firms don’t exactly (or always) reflect current events.

But those items tell a story, or, as noted earlier, the story.

In this case, it’s one of a history of creativity — both on the drawing board and in business itself — and resiliency.

In other words, Tessier has developed a blueprint for surviving and thriving in changing times.

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

Financing an ESOP

The Relationship Between Lender and Company Is a Key Factor

By Steve J. Schwartz, Esq. and David K. Webber, Esq.

Steve Schwartz

David Webber

In the May 13, 2013 issue of BusinessWest; we penned an article titled “A Primer on the ESOP.” This is an extension of that article that specifically focuses on financing an ESOP, or employee stock- ownership plan, and informs the reader of the lender’s concerns in making a loan as part of the structure of a leveraged ESOP.

In the prior article, we described an ESOP as follows: an ESOP is a qualified defined-contribution retirement plan established under §§ 401(a), 409, and 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code. Unlike other qualified plans, an ESOP is designed primarily to invest in shares of a closely held corporation, referred to in the code as ‘employer securities.’ The sponsor company may transfer the shares of common stock as a qualified contribution, or the ESOP may purchase shares from shareholders or the sponsor company. In a ‘leveraged’ ESOP, the company takes out a bank loan to fund the purchase, then lends the funds to the ESOP to finance the purchase of shares. A 100% sale of shares to an ESOP may require a series of smaller transfers because 100% bank financing is unlikely.

The selling shareholder may receive cash as partial or complete consideration for the shares. In the alternative, or in addition to cash, the selling shareholder may self-finance a portion by accepting a note as partial payment. As the note is paid off in installments, the plan trustee transfers shares to each of the employees’ accounts, eventually vesting all the stock in employee accounts in accordance with the terms of the plan.

The lender has its usual concerns in making the loan, which will eventually be used to purchase shares by the ESOP. The considerations do not vary much between financing an ordinary loan and financing an ESOP. The lender’s customary due diligence is utilized to assess the credit worthiness of a borrower. If the company is a customer of the lender, it will normally have a relationship with the current management.

If the ESOP is part of an exit plan and there will be a change of control, the lender will be concerned with the capacity of the new management team to manage the business. It is important that the new management team be involved in dealing with the lender in obtaining the loan. In the event there is not a change of control, it will also consider this issue for the future in case there is a change of control due to death or disability or part of a future plan to vest control in new management. Hopefully, the lender will have experience in dealing with an ESOP transaction.

It is important for the company to prepare a financial plan for the period of the loan so that its needs for financing are included in its request for financing. It is also important that working capital and other financial requirements are included in the request. The company’s request should consider any contingencies.

The lender will analyze the company’s financial circumstances, including the security for its loan and the ability of the company to make the loan payments. The lender will also consider the company’s other financing requests.

As part of the ESOP planning process, the company shall be required to engage an independent appraiser to determine the value of the shares to be sold as part of the ESOP. The lender will review the appraisal carefully in its approval process. It will provide the lender with an independent view of the company and its prospects.

The terms of the loan should be keyed to the ability of the company to generate profits. However, there are limitations on the term. An ESOP is a retirement plan and must comply with applicable laws; the internal note and pledge agreement from the ESOP to the company will be subject to federal government scrutiny. A term that is too long, or an interest rate greater than market rate, is suspect because it could unduly favor the selling stockholder over the employees.

Shares are released to the employees’ individual accounts on the payment of the loan. A longer term would affect the release of shares to the ESOP participants: the longer the term, the slower the release of shares. The term and interest rate of the note should therefore be reasonably short (fewer than 10 years) in order to mitigate excess scrutiny from the IRS and Department of Labor.

The loan normally will be secured by all the assets of the company. It is not unusual for the lender to request the personal guaranty from the stockholders. Also, it may be necessary for the proceeds of the sale to be pledged as additional security for the loan. The lender may agree to reduce the additional collateral as the loan is repaid.

If the company has existing loans or new loans with the lender, there will be cross-collateralization, cross-default, and cross-guarantee agreements. If any loan is in default, the default will apply to all the other loans. In the event a stockholder is owed money by the company, the lender may require that the stockholder subordinate the obligation to the lender and restrict the payment terms of the obligation to protect the company’s cash flow. The lender may require life insurance on the management team to be assigned to the lender as additional collateral for the loan.

As with any loan, there will be annual reporting requirements, financial covenants, and other performance metrics. The terms should be clearly set out in the commitment letter. The lender may have other requirements such as insurance, landlord’s consent, mortgagee’s consent, and collateral control agreements if some of the assets are not on the premises of the company.

The loan from the company will be documented by a separate note and security agreement to be signed and delivered simultaneously with the loan to the lender. In addition, there will be a stock-purchase agreement between the ESOP and the seller(s) of the shares.

The lender will require that the proceeds of the ESOP loan must be used solely to purchase shares in the company. The ESOP will be able to repay the note from company contributions to the ESOP or from dividends paid to the ESOP from the company.

In summary, the relationship between the lender and company is a significant factor in the establishment of the ESOP, financing the purchase of company shares and the future of the business. Even if a lender is initially skeptical, the lender can become an invaluable part of the business-succession team once the plan has its blessing.

We want to thank Vicky Crouse and Frank Crinella of TD Bank, N.A. and L. Alexandra Hogan, Esq. of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. for their assistance in preparing this article.

Attorney Steven J. Schwartz, of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., concentrates his practice in the areas of family business planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and estate planning; (413) 737-1131; [email protected]. Attorney David K. Webber, of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., concentrates his practice in the areas of closely held business, corporate law, real estate, trusts and estates, and bankruptcy; (413) 737-1131; [email protected].

The New Fiduciary Standard of Care

Proposed Rule Changes the Playing Field in Many Ways

By Charlie Epstein

Charlie Epstein

After a five-month comment period, four days of public hearings, more than 3,000 comment letters, some 300,000 petitions, more than 100 meetings with industry stakeholders, and nearly a year to the day that the Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled its ‘conflict of interest’ proposed rule, we ‘the people’ have a new fiduciary regulation.

The new rule is meant to move the needle when it comes to advice offered to the largest pool of retirement savings in America today — nearly $12 trillion in retirement assets and $7 trillion in IRA assets.

Depending on who you talk to and which side of the investment-advice-fiduciary industry you are in, this more than 1,060 pages of regulation by the DOL represents the best of times, the worst of times, or, more likely, something in between.

So, what’s in this final regulation — and what do you, as a consumer with an IRA or business owner offering a 401(k) plan to employees, need to know?

The ‘New’ Fiduciary

First of all, any individual (think of your current advisor, broker, or consultant) receiving compensation for making investment recommendations that are individualized or specifically directed to a particular plan sponsor running a retirement plan, plan participant, or IRA owner for consideration in making a retirement decision is now a fiduciary.

Prior to this rule, the majority of broker-dealers and wire houses refused to allow their brokers to be fiduciaries when providing advice to a retirement plan. The fact of the matter, is, in reality, in spite of what these organizations may have said about their brokers, it was the actions of their brokers that actually ‘deemed’ them to be fiduciaries, regardless of what their parent companies, legal departments, and executives may have said.

Someone is a fiduciary by their actions, not by who they say they are. This new rule was the path forward for the DOL to insure that any advisor, regardless of what they may say they are, will now be a fiduciary and will need to behave with the highest standard of care, prudence, diligence, and loyalty to 401(k) plan participants and IRA holders (more on this to follow).

Beginning in April 2017, if an advisor provides recommendations regarding any and all retirement accounts, such as 401(k), 403(b), IRA, etc., they will be a fiduciary under ERISA.

Being a fiduciary under the final regulation means an advisor must provide impartial advice in the clients’ best interest and cannot accept any payments creating conflicts of interest — this would be compensation that varies based on the recommendations — unless the advisor qualifies for an exemption to what would otherwise be considered a prohibited transaction (the BIC exemption).

Being a Fiduciary

Anyone who is a fiduciary must adhere to the following requirements:

• They must have a duty of loyalty to the person or persons they serve — think 401(k) plan participants or IRA holders;

• They must have a duty of prudence, acting with a standard of care, skill, prudence, and diligence and to act in the same way that someone ‘familiar with such matters would act’;

• They must disclose all the services being provided;

• They must disclose the fees and expenses for offering such services;

• They must make sure those fees are ‘reasonable’; and

• They must disclose and avoid any conflicts of interest.

Fiduciary Compensation

As already mentioned, anyone acting as a fiduciary can only receive ‘levelized compensation.’

For many advisors providing advice to the 401(k) and IRA industry, this will represent a significant change in not only how they offer their services, but how they will be compensated going forward. Many 401(k) plan providers pay both direct and indirect compensation to both brokers and the broker/dealers they work for. This indirect compensation may be paid as 12b-1 compensation from the mutual funds inside a 401(k) or IRA. It may be in the form of indirect compensation brokers receive from the companies they work for in the form of incentive compensation arrangements, trips, even seminar training and dinners. All of this ‘indirect compensation’ will be prohibited under the new standard of care.

Benefits to the IRA Consumer and Plan Sponsors of 401(k) Plans

Going forward, it will be much easier for consumers in IRAs and businesses that sponsor 401(k) plans to understand the services their advisor provides and the compensation they receive for those services. While the new rule does not require that a fiduciary to a 401(k) plan have a contract, this author believes it would be in the best interest of all parties that the advisor/consultant to a 401(k) plan have a service agreement (contract) that details the specific fiduciary and non-fiduciary services they will provide to the plan, the ‘level fee’ they will charge, and an industry fee-benchmarking report that demonstrates the ‘reasonableness’ of the fees being charged. In this fashion, the plan sponsor fiduciary will have a prudent and documented due-diligence process from their advisor to justify their services and fees.

The BIC

For advisors interested in preserving (or establishing) a variable compensation model, the DOL has paved a path, though one fraught with a number of complicated and potentially expensive disclosures. Known as the ‘best interest contract exemption’ (BIC), this exemption requires a commitment by the firm and the advisor to:

• Provide advice in the best interest of the client;

• Charge only reasonable compensation;

• Avoid misleading statements about fees and conflicts of interest;

• Adopt policies and procedures designed to ensure that advisors provide best interest advice; and

• Prohibit financial incentives for advisors to act contrary to the client’s best interest.

The Treasury Department and the DOL made it clear that advisors can continue to sell commission-based products (think variable annuities and indexed annuities) and that these products have a place in an individual’s financial plan, provided the advisor demonstrates they are in the client’s best interest and not the advisor’s. The DOL’s concern for many years has been that these are complicated products that most individuals do not understand and therefore may have been sold not in their best interest.

In addition, many in both the DOL and Treasury have long been concerned that, since these products are more expensive than non-guaranteed products (think low-cost index funds), and typically pay variable compensation to agents and brokers, it is harder to discern whose best interest they are being sold for.

The BIC exemption will allow advisors to offer these valuable products where they are and can be demonstrated to be in the best interest of the client. As Tom Perez, Labor secretary, stated during the announcement of the new fiduciary standard, not everyone should drive a Yugo.

Price alone, in the absence of value, is not and should never be the deciding factor for every consumer. The new regulation contains language that emphasizes that fees alone are not the only factor when making investment decisions.

Takeaways

1. A two-year phase-in of the new regulations. First, beginning on April 1, 2017, all advisors to any new 401(k) plan or IRA arrangements will be fiduciaries, and may only receive level compensation, unless they plan to qualify under the BIC exemption.

Second, beginning on April 2, 2018, all existing client-advisor IRA relationships will need to provide new disclosure to the investor.

All of this will require a massive undertaking by a significant segment of the investment industry in increased disclosure, compliance, and government oversight. Look for fees and expenses to the consumer to rise for the small consumer and shrink for the larger 401(k) and IRA accounts.

2. Exodus from the 401(k) business. It is the opinion of this author that 50,000 to 100,000 advisors and firms will exit the 401(k) business in the next two to five years due to increased compliance and litigation.

State Farm already has announced it will exit the 401(k) business and its advisors will not be allowed to sell 401(k) plans.

3. Increased fee litigation. There have already been numerous cases against 401(k) service providers for ‘excessive fees’ that have settled in the $30 million to $100 million range. One case has gone to the Supreme Court (see Tibble vs. Edision). Look for the number of cases to increase, and the size of the 401(k) plans that will be sued to decrease from $100 million plans down to mom-and-pop $1 million plans, as the legal community lines up to be the ‘enforcer’ of this new fiduciary enforceable standard of care. The reality is, the DOL does not have the legal power in the Constitution to enforce the regulation it writes; only the U.S. Treasury can.

The U.S. Treasury has already acknowledged it does not have enough auditors to investigate and enforce this new regulation. The DOL, knowingly and willingly, wrote this rule, all 1,060 pages, with the intent that the legal community would be the enforcer of the regulation.

In addition, five industry groups have already filed lawsuits to block the DOL’s fiduciary rule for the negative impact against consumer choice and government overreach. Look for these cases to accelerate over time.

For a lively and entertaining view of the ongoing fiduciary debate that will certainly continue for years to come, I encourage you to visit YouTube’s “Last week Tonight, John Oliver Retirement Plans” (HBO) and my “America’s 401(k) Coach Rips John Oliver over Retirement Plan Slam!”

Charlie Epstein is the author of two industry leading books — Paychecks for Life, How to Turn Your 401(k) Into a Paycheck Manufacturing Company, and Save America Save, the Secrets of a Successful Retirement Plan. He is the president of Epstein Financial Services, a fiduciary and registered investment advisory firm; [email protected]

New PeoplesBank President Looks to Set the Bar Even Higher

The Feeling’s Mutual

Tom Senecal

Tom Senecal takes the helm at PeoplesBank at an intriguing time for the institution — and the industry. Competition is keen, and efforts to achieve growth are challenged by thin margins and stagnant, historically low interest rates. The bank has made a commitment to continue this fight as a mutual institution, a strategy Senecal believes will continue to bring a host of inherent advantages.

Tom Senecal called it “going from the back room to the front lines.”

That’s how he chose to describe his decision in 2001 to leave his position as controller at Holyoke-based PeoplesBank and join the commercial-lending team led at that time by future President and CEO Doug Bowen.

Looking back on that not-so-subtle and fairly unusual career move, Senecal said that, at that juncture, he understood it was a necessary move if he was to achieve what was an already-emerging goal — to move higher up the ladder in banking administration, and perhaps to the top rung.

“I knew, career-wise, that if I wanted to be … well, where I am today, I needed more exposure and experience than just an accounting background,” he explained, noting that Bowen’s career trajectory has become common in the industry today. “So I made a conscious decision to change careers and move to the front line of servicing customers.

“This was outside my comfort zone — I was 41 years old, moving from an accounting environment to a sales environment,” he went on. “But I knew I needed that experience.”

What Senecal — who was named president last August after prevailing in a search for Bowen’s successor a few months after he made his retirement plans known — didn’t know in 2001 but does know now, is that, while leaving the back room improved his chances to advance in this industry, working in both settings will better enable him to handle that position’s varied job description.

“My experiences, both on the financial side and in lending, brought something different to the table, and that’s important given the current banking environment,” he explained. “Both jobs enabled me to see how the bank operates, but from different perspectives.”

Senecal takes the helm at PeoplesBank at an intriguing time for both that institution and the banking industry as a whole. Indeed, he officially takes both the president and CEO titles (Bowen maintained the latter until late June) just as the bank, probably not coincidentally, announced it was taking its commitment to being a mutual bank to a higher level.

Specifically, the institution changed its bylaws in a way that will make any future conversion to a stockholder-owned company exceedingly more difficult. Before, a vote to take such a step would require a simple majority of votes among corporators to move in that direction; now, it will take a super-majority, or 75% (much more on all this later).

As for the industry in general, a trend toward consolidation and gaining all-important size and economies of scale continues unabated, with the recently announced merger of Westfield Bank and Chicopee Savings Bank being the latest in a lengthy string of such moves.

Senecal acknowledged the benefits of size in this era of rising regulatory costs and razor-thin margins, but said PeoplesBank will continue to address those challenges as a mutual institution, and with an operating strategy forged by his immediate predecessors and honed by Bowen during his 10-year tenure.

Tenets include everything from calculated territorial expansion, including a strong push into Springfield, to permanent residency on the cutting edge of new banking technology and an emerging niche in lending to ‘green’ business ventures.

Describing what might come next, Senecal started by implying strongly that there won’t be any attempts to fix anything that isn’t broken (and that’s most things). Getting slightly more specific, he said the bank will continue its efforts to grow the only way a bank can grow in this region and this banking environment — by gaining additional market share.

And this brings him back to mutuality and a commitment to retain that operating structure. As a mutual institution, the bank is not beholden to stockholders, he explained, and in this case, the word ‘local’ doesn’t refer to where commercial lenders live and play golf, but rather to where decisions are made.

“We believe that local decisions really do mean something,” he noted. “There aren’t many mutuals left, and that means people don’t feel comfortable that the decisions are being made in Western Massachusetts. I think that’s a big advantage for us.”

For this issue and its focus on banking and financial services, BusinessWest talked at length with Senecal about his career in banking, his attainment of that goal he set long ago, and what to expect — or not expect, as the case may be — from PeoplesBank moving forward.

Matters of Note

Summing up the progressive Doug Bowen administration at the 131-year-old institution, Senecal said his predecessor “set the bar very high.”

As he spoke those words, he was referring to awards and honors, specifically to the bank’s regular appearance on a host of regional and statewide ‘best-of’ lists. They include everything from the Boston Globe’s compilation of the best places to work in the Bay State to Boston Business Journal’s list of the top corporate charitable contributors, to MassLive’s Readers Raves.

Meanwhile, Bowen himself was honored in 2009 as one of BusinessWest’s first Difference Makers, and in 2011 as a Globe 100 Innovator for, essentially, creating an environment that fostered and facilitated all of the above.

But that reference to setting the bar high actually referred to much more than placement on lists and plaques for the front lobby. It was also a reference to overall growth (the bank crashed through the $2 billion barrier in total assets during Bowen’s tenure), territorial expansion in the form of six new branches, a ‘green’ philosophy (three of those branches are LEED-certified), innovation (the institution has created a Customer Innovation Lab and hired a so-called ‘data scientist’), and the bank’s strong commitment to mutuality and the many competitive advantages it brings.

Senecal will work to keep the bar where it is and hopefully raise it even higher, and he’ll bring to this task that aforementioned blend of experience in the back room and on the front lines.

A Coast Guard veteran, Senecal eventually decided the military would not become a career, and went back to school, earning a degree in business at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

Tom Senecal, seen with other members of the PeoplesBank team, says the bank’s commitment to remain a mutual institution makes a strong statement.

He started his career in the financial-services sector with the Big 4 firm KPMG, as a senior manager and CPA. In that capacity, he provided organizational leadership and technical consulting expertise in the areas of auditing, accounting, tax compliance, and financial reporting for small to mid-sized banks in Massachusetts and Connecticut. One of the clients in his portfolio was PeoplesBank, which eventually recruited him to the role of controller.

As mentioned earlier, he drifted far out of his comfort zone a few years later and joined the commercial-lending team, where he remained until 2004, when he accepted an offer to join Florence Savings Bank as CFO and treasurer.

He returned to Holyoke in 2008 when Bowen, who took the helm at PeoplesBank a year earlier, encouraged him to take that same role with his bank.

“I looked upon coming back here as an opportunity,” he explained. “PeoplesBank is a larger, broader-reaching bank geographically that had a lot of opportunities for growth because of its name recognition and the marketability of PeoplesBank. Having had some conversations about the future with people here, I decided to come back.”

The search for Bowen’s successor, which began in the summer of 2015, eventually focused on two internal candidates, and Senecal prevailed.

Making a Statement

Since taking over as president of the bank, Senecal has put himself even closer to the front line — actually, right on it.

Indeed, he’s spent some time behind teller windows at several of the branches, getting an up-close look at what happens there, while also taking the opportunity to speak with some customers directly.

“I don’t think one of those branches is going to invite me back to scan checks, because I wasn’t very good at it — I think I kept the staff an extra hour,” he joked, adding quickly that those experiences were nonetheless fruitful and somewhat eye-opening. “As much as I can laugh about it now, that’s an example of understanding what the front line is really like.”

Beyond this time in the field, Senecal said he’s spent his first several months as president working toward that vote on mutuality and also developing a new four-year strategic plan. Dubbed Vision 2020, it will be presented to the board of directors in September.

When asked what’s in it, Senecal offered only generalities, and said it focuses on every aspect of the banking operation, including retail and commercial products and services, cash management, retail delivery channels, digital delivery channels, and more.

“We’re strategizing and looking at best-in-class products and services to compete with the larger institutions,” he explained. “Remaining as a mutual enables us to do that; we don’t have to worry about the next quarter’s earnings — we can make investments in these technologies and people and not worry about it. We’re in it for the long term.”

Elaborating, he said the bank changed two bylaws that will make converting to a public company far less likely. The first is the new requirement of a super-majority. The second is a so-called ‘protective self-enrichment clause,’ which prevents any director or senior manager from financially benefiting if that 75% vote from the corporators is actually obtained.

“Management and directors cannot participate in any initial public offering,” he explained. “This takes away all the financial incentive to convert; it requires senior management to focus on the long term and growing responsibly.”

Commenting on the decision to change the bylaws regarding mutuality, Senecal said he’s not sure such a step was necessary given that the bank hasn’t shown any interest in moving toward converting to stock ownership. But the vote does make a statement, and an important one, he went on, in terms of its commitment to the community.

“It was an opportunity to commit the institution and send a message to the community about who we are,” he explained. “I think it’s hard to deliver that message because most people don’t understand what mutuality is and how it affects them.

“Having been the CFO of two banks and having talked to other banks, I’ve gotten a real sense for what community banks do for our communities,” he explained. “You can talk to the big banks and the public banks, and they’ll tell you they’re committed and they’re creating foundations, but take a look at what they contribute to the community compared to what the mutual banks contribute, and you’ll see a huge difference.

“The public doesn’t see that,” he went on. “But on the inside, we see that.”

On-the-money Analysis

Still, despite the apparent advantages of mutuality, it does bring some competitive challenges, especially when it comes to size and its benefits, and capital (which ultimately determines how much a bank can lend) and how to attain it.

“Size is not overrated,” Senecal said, adding that it is the best method for coping with costs that continue to rise (compliance costs have nearly tripled for PeoplesBank over the past three years, from $1 million to $2.5 million, for example), while banks cannot recover them by adjusting rates for loans and deposits.

As for raising capital, public banks do so through stock offerings, he noted, while for mutual banks, the only source of capital is earnings, which are elusive in this era of those rising operating costs and in a region generally defined by the compound modifier ‘no-growth.’

But Senecal said there is room for growth in market share, and, as an example, he pointed to the residential mortgage market.

“We were a top-four mortgage lender in Hampden and Hampshire counties last year,” he explained. “There were probably 190 originators in our market, and we had 4% of that market. To me, there’s a lot of market share that can be acquired — and in many ways beyond bricks and mortar.”

This was a reference to emerging technology in the financial world and digital ways of doing business, a realm the bank has been on the leading edge of for years, Senecal noted — a trend he expects to continue.

Meanwhile, there is also room for growth in commercial lending, he said, adding quickly that the market remains highly competitive, despite the fact that the spate of mergers and acquisitions has actually created fewer players.

“There may be fewer banks, but there aren’t fewer lenders — this remains a very competitive environment fueled by historically low rates,” he explained, adding that area institutions are raising the already-high stakes by recruiting not simply individual lenders, but entire teams of lenders.

“I think the public institutions are feeling that they can steal market share by acquiring a group of commercial lenders,” he explained, adding that PeoplesBank has a different strategy, one focused on creating and maintaining relationships through stability.

“We’ve had very little turnover in our commercial lending area,” he explained, “and that has definitely helped us grow that part of our business.”

As for the overall growth strategy, Senecal said PeoplesBank has historically done it organically (it has never acquired another institution), and this trend will continue.

“When I arrived in 1995, this bank had $450 million in assets; today, we’re just about $2.1 billion,” he explained. “We did that through organic growth — putting branches in, increasing our loans, increasing our deposit base. We will continue to focus on that same strategy, although it’s definitely challenging.”

A Strong Bottom Line

When asked to compare and contrast work in the back room and on the front lines, Senecal said there are basic and very important differences.

“Having worked in the finance area, I’d say it’s very easy to make decisions looking at numbers and not understanding the customer impact,” he explained. “When you get to the front lines, you realize those decisions impact your customers, and they become more difficult.”

As he noted earlier, working in both environments will benefit him immensely as he goes about trying to move an already-lofty bar still higher.

He said he’s ready for the many challenges facing the banking industry today, and so is the institution he now leads.

In other words, the feeling is mutual — in all kinds of ways.

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

Progress, One Building at a Time

Opinion

Editorial

You won’t find it at or anywhere near the top of those oft-cited lists of all the economic-development activity happening in Springfield, a compilation dominated by MGM’s casino, CRRC MA’s subway-car-manufacturing facility, the I-91 reconstruction project, Union Station, and Silverbrook Lofts.

But the recently unveiled $1.8 million purchase and renovation of the historic Merrick Phelps House on Maple Street is significant in its own way — many ways, actually.

The property, once the home to Solymon Merrick, inventor of the monkey wrench, was an eyesore, a blight on the once-proud Maple Street-area neighborhood. No one wanted anything to do with it, and for years it sat there deteriorating, a highly visible symbol of all of the many things wrong with Springfield.

Enter DevelopSpringfield, the nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation created in 2008 to advance development and redevelopment projects, and its energetic president and CEO, Jay Minkarah. Unofficially, the agency’s mission is to generate momentum and progress in the City of Homes through a number of initiatives, one of them being the acquisition and repurposing of properties like the Merrick Phelps House.

And this project has created both.

Beyond restoring one of the proud properties that gives the city its nickname and converting it into business space, this effort is now a highly visible symbol of the many things going right in Springfield — specifically a strong blend of public and private investments that can only succeed in generating more of the same.

Indeed, when residents, business owners, developers, and even state officials see a project like this, they become far more likely to look upon Springfield as a place they want to invest in. They look upon an initiative like this and say, ‘well, if someone can do that, then we can…’

Anyone with an imagination can fill in the blank. And as DevelopSpringfield, other agencies, and private developers undertake more projects like the Merrick Phelps House, more groups and individuals will be inspired to try and do so.

This is the basic formula for redeveloping properties, blocks, streets, neighborhoods, and communities. Progress begets more progress. It’s a simple theory, but it works, as we’ve seen in cities across the country, and locally, in Lowell and even Holyoke.

It is through projects like this that progress spreads beyond the central business district and into surrounding neighborhoods, where people live — and more would choose to live if it were a place they could take pride in.

Springfield, as we all know, is all about neighborhoods, and many of them — in fact, most of them — need to turn to the past tense when putting that word ‘pride’ to use.

When officials and organizations like DevelopSpringfield talk about progress coming one building at a time, it sounds cliché. But it’s not. This is how cities rebuild themselves and restore lost pride — one property, one important project at a time.

State Grants Are Money Well-spent

Opinion

Editorial

It’s one of those headlines that would probably get lost amid others on the business pages of the newspaper, or even this publication — about mergers, acquisitions, new CEOs, the market’s seemingly endless ups and downs, and even the price of gasoline.

But it shouldn’t.

‘Baker-Polito Administration Awards $8.5 Million in Workforce Training Grants’ doesn’t seem like big news, and to most, it probably isn’t. But in many ways, it’s huge news for this state and the individual companies that make up its diverse, technology-driven, and talent-dependent economy.

In other words, this is money well-spent. Make that very well-spent.

To explain, let’s look beyond the headline.

That $8.5 million, awarded a few weeks ago, will go to dozens of companies of all sizes. Locally, the list includes everything from small technology companies, like Westfield-based EpiCenter, to giant retailers, like Big Y Foods, to mid-sized service providers, like East Longmeadow-based Tiger Press.

These companies may be different in many respects, but they share a few distinct qualities: they’re smart, because they realize the inherent value of training employees in an age when technology continues to advance and new and better methods for doing business emerge, and they look upon training as an investment, not an expense item to be avoided or put off until when the skies are bluer. And they’re resourceful, because they applied for grants made available through the state’s Workforce Training Fund to help make that wise and usually sizable investment in training more palatable and stretch further.

A program of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the training program provides grants up to $250,000 to companies of any size to pay for workforce training over a two-year period. Grants are awarded to projects that will upgrade workers’ skills, increase productivity, and enhance the competitiveness of Bay State businesses. Grants are matched dollar for dollar by the award recipients.

The grants are used to not only train existing employees, but bring on additional workers and thus fuel additional growth for the participating companies.

At Sound Seal Inc. in Agawam, for example, $168,000 will be awarded to train 59 workers, with an expectation that six jobs will be added by 2018. At Valley Steel Stamp in Greenfield, $123,120 was awarded to train 27 workers, with that same number expected to be added by 2018. At Tapestry Health in Florence, $58,585 was awarded to train 90 workers. Monson Savings Bank was awarded $58,675 to train 167 workers, with two additional jobs expected by 2018. The list goes on.

Beyond the numbers, what’s important to note is what they mean — that hundreds of additional workers will be better-equipped to handle the increasingly challenging jobs of today’s technology-fueled economy, and more businesses, including manufacturers, will be better able to compete with companies around the globe.

As we’ve said on many occasions, the biggest challenge facing area businesses isn’t interest rates or consumer confidence or the price of oil — it’s the skills gap that is pervading each and every sector of the economy, and the ensuing, and ongoing, need for talented workers.

As mentioned at the top, ‘Baker-Polito Administration Awards $8.5 Million in Workforce Training Grants’ is not a grabber when it comes to business-story headlines. But it should be.

It should grab the attention of everyone who does business in the Commonwealth — and wants to do it better.

This is truly money well-spent.

That’s What Drives Continued Growth at Greenfield Savings Bank

Focus on the Fundamentals

John Howland, far right, with team members (from left) Mark Grumoli, commercial loan officer, Denise Coyle, chief operating officer, and Tom Meshako, treasurer and chief financial officer.

Blocking and tackling.

Those are the fundamentals of winning football at any level, or so most coaches would say. But John Howland uses that phrase often as he talks about banking.

He uses it, as those on the gridiron do, in reference to maintaining a keen focus on the basics, the things one has to do right in order to achieve success. And in the case of financial institutions, that list includes some things that most would consider obvious — everything from good customer service to attractive products and services; from having competitive rates on those products to giving back within the community.

But there are also many items that fall into the category of ‘fundamentals’ that are perhaps less obvious, said Howland, president and CEO of Greenfield Savings Bank, a position he took roughly 16 months ago.

In that category would fall such things as imaginative new products, such as GSB’s ‘express business loan,’ a name that pretty much says it all (more on that later), as well as efforts to stay on the cutting edge of technology. Also fitting that description is the bank’s recent hosting of a meeting of the Franklin County Young Professionals Assoc. and other efforts to help foster leadership, as well as a somewhat related philosophy, said Denise Coyne, GSB’s executive vice president and COO, one centered on the notion that taking care of employees is as important as taking care of customers.

Then, there was the recent Asparagus Festival in Hadley, the town famous for its production of that vegetable. GSB was a sponsor of that event, said Howland, noting this alone constitutes blocking and tackling by supporting a local tradition and helping it continue. But the bank went further, renting additional space beyond that traditionally given to sponsors and awarding some of it to commercial customers who could benefit from the exposure and foot traffic.

“They were able to show their goods and gain awareness,” said Coyne. “It was a great opportunity for them, and for us as well, to show we’re working with businesses like that.

“We continue to do the blocking and tackling of banking — looking at updating technology, continually refining the offerings we have for our customers, and facilitating and expediting the interaction between the customer and the bank,” he added in an effort to sum things up. “We’re committed to organic growth through customer demand — it’s as simple as that.”

But there’s nothing inherently simple about executing all of that, and for this issue and its focus on banking and financial services, BusinessWest talked with several leaders at GSB about how it’s accomplished by a focus on fundamentals — and the expansion of that term as it applies to banking.

Sticking with the Game Plan

As he talked about his first 16 months at the helm and the bank’s broad strategic plan moving forward, Howland interspersed those thoughts with observations — and commentary — about the bank’s hometown of Greenfield.

Where once its economy was in many ways dominated by large manufacturers that employed hundreds who filled the downtown’s restaurants and lunch counters, it is now characterized by smaller businesses, many of them in an emerging ‘green’ energy sector as well as the centuries-old and still-stable agricultural sector.

“Going back 40 or 50 years, there might have been 30 or 40 fairly good-sized companies headquartered here,” he explained. “Most of those have consolidated and been rolled up into large, national organizations.

“What we see now is the next generation coming through,” he went on. “And this is in many areas — food service, manufacturing, green energy. We now have a large number of small companies that make product here and ship it elsewhere; we’ve created a new economy.”

In many respects, GSB is well-suited to meeting the needs of this changing business landscape, he said, adding that very large manufacturers would likely do business with a considerably larger institution. Meanwhile, the bank’s lending sweet spot and small-business focus positions it to serve these emerging ventures.

“We have an opportunity to fuel some of this growth,” he explained. “We can be the institution that can lend to these people when they need a piece of equipment or buy a piece of land. We can be there to assist them.”

That’s just one of many reasons why Howland and his team are optimistic about the prospects for the future — when it comes to the community and the bank. Both are at intriguing junctures in their history.

When he talked with BusinessWest soon after his arrival early last year, Howland, who came to Greenfield from First Bank of Greenwich, described the institution, and the cities and towns it served, with terms like ‘stability,’ ‘continuity,’ and ‘community-centered flavor,’ and what he’s seen and heard since has only reinforced those sentiments.

“This is a wonderful area, not just Greenfield but all of Franklin County,” he said, noting that he and his family have relocated there. “It’s an incredibly close-knit community, and one of the things I really like about this area is that multiple generations can live together; I’ve lived in areas where we have more transient populations where people come and people go. But in this part of the state, it’s not unusual to see parents and children living next door to each other. And that makes for a very special community.”

Later in that discussion with BusinessWest early last year, Howland said the bank was well-positioned for continued stability and growth because of its firm roots in the community, expanding commercial-loan portfolio, and presence in a region that was not as heavily banked — or ‘overbanked,’ as many would say — as other areas in Western Mass.

And, again, his experiences to date have only added figurative exclamation points to all of the above.

For these reasons, Howland said GSB doesn’t have to become preoccupied with gaining size and scale — as so many other institutions across the region have, as witnessed by the spate of mergers and acquisitions and rash of new branch openings — and remains focused on growing organically.

“Growth through acquisition is not really our strategy,” he continued. “We would consider an acquisition if we felt that it made sense, but we really are focused on enhancing our position within the markets that we serve and complementing the services we provide to our customers to expand our relationships with them.”

Gaining Ground

Overall, GSB is focused mostly on maintaining the status quo and growing market share across the spectrum of product lines — through more of that blocking and tackling.

“Our strategy is pretty straightforward, and there’s no magic to it, really; it’s about providing the best service we can provide for customers, and attracting both loans and deposits,” he explained. “There are no silver bullets, and no rabbits you can pull out of a hat.”

But there is plenty of room for innovation and creativity, he went on, pointing to products like the express business loan. Through the program, said Mark Grumoli, senior vice president and commercial loan officer, businesses can get up to $100,000, sometimes in 24 or 48 hours.

Products like this one have enabled the bank to maintain strong market share in Franklin County but also move well beyond ‘dabbling’ in neighboring Hampshire County and especially Northampton, a term he said he would apply a decade ago.

“Over the past eight years, much of the loan growth, especially on the commercial side, has come in Hampshire County,” he said, adding that this has been achieved through a combination of awareness, direct presence (new branches in Amherst and Northampton), and a relationship-driven focus.

There’s also — and this is quite timely — ‘Buy in July,’ a program the bank has staged for a quarter-century now that encourages homebuyers to step up during what is a traditionally the busiest time for that market through incentives such as a 25-year, biweekly product that is fairly unique.

“It’s programs like this that really help the mortgage department,” said Coyne, adding that, for the past 14 years, the bank has been the top residential lender in Franklin County and has registered 38% growth in that realm within neighboring Hampshire County. “It’s because of programs like this that really help borrowers out.”

But this business of blocking and tackling goes beyond products and services, said those we spoke with, a philosophy that brings Howland back to that meeting of the young professionals and, more importantly, a commitment that goes beyond making the lobby available for a meeting.

“We believe that this group is very important to the future of Franklin County,” he explained. “A lot of the outlying areas in the state, those outside the urban areas, are suffering from an aging population; in Amherst, the fastest-growing segment of the population is 80- to 90-year-olds.

“So we’re trying to support, in any we can, the environment for younger people in Franklin County,” he went on. “And we’re doing the same in Hampshire County. This is the kind of basic stuff a community bank needs to do. I’m not expecting any transactions out of this; it’s about building community and making the community stronger.”

Scoring Points

As he continued to talk about continuity and a desire to continue doing what the bank has always done, Howland pointed to the name over the door and on the stationery as perhaps the most visible example.

Indeed, at a time when almost every other institution has dropped the word ‘savings’ for one reason or another, GSB has no plans to follow suit.

“We were Greenfield Savings Bank then, and we’re Greenfield Savings Bank now,” he said, adding that this consistency has a lot to do with history, tradition, pride, and mission.

But also, it’s not really something that needs to be done to propel the bank forward and generate growth.

That assignment comes down to blocking and tackling — and the bank has no intention of losing its focus on those fundamentals.

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

Ludlow Mills Projects Create Added Momentum

Community Spotlight Features

Community Spotlight

Brian Mannix says plans to transform the clock tower building into market-rate apartments, with retail and office space, could bring young professionals to the community.

Brian Mannix stood at the foot of Ludlow’s new riverwalk behind Ludlow Mills and talked about a future he could clearly picture.

“Think of what it would be like to clear away some of this greenery and have a restaurant with seats facing the river and boutique shops with benches outside,” said Mannix, chair of the town’s Board of Selectmen, as he spoke about Ludlow Mills, the projects underway on its campus, and the unlimited potential the property will hold for years to come.

Eric Nelson says Mannix’s vision may become reality. “We have one building now with the potential for a view of the river, and when we create Riverside Drive, which is on the comprehensive plan for the site, it will open up new vistas,” said the recently named president and CEO of Westmass Area Development Corp., which owns the site and is working to revitalize it. “Plus, we just knocked down two large structures with asbestos between the large mill buildings and the river, and the vistas from them are tremendous.”

The mills encompass a sprawling complex of more than 60 buildings set on 170 acres, and Westmass predicts that, over the next 15 years, more than 2,000 new jobs will be created and retained there, and more than $300 million will be spent in private investments.

Two years ago, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts opened a new, $28 million acute-care facility on the grounds, which marked the beginning of the revitalization of the largest brownfield mill-redevelopment project in New England and kept 75 to 100 jobs in Ludlow.

“HealthSouth was a big jump start,” said Lawrence Curtis, president and managing partner of WinnDevelopment, which specializes in housing and mill redevelopment and has two projects planned at the Ludlow Mills. One is a $24.5 million adaptive reuse of Mill 10 that will result in 63 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom apartments for seniors.

Curtis said that project is fully funded and expected to be complete in the fall. “We’re transforming a vacant building with broken windows into a vibrant space that will contain subsidized and market-rate apartments with beautiful architectural features, including exposed beams and brick and large windows,” he said.

The ambitious second phase of the company’s work was announced at the recent Developers Conference in downtown Springfield, and involves the conversion and reuse of Mill 8, which features the town’s iconic clock tower. The plan is to turn the building’s 231,000 square feet across several floors into 100 to 136 market-rate apartments with commercial, retail, and office space on the first floor. The estimated cost is $60 million, and Curtis said significant funding needs to be secured before work can get underway.

But he considers it an ideal site.

“Ludlow Mills is a beautiful, intact complex situated in the center of town; it’s a great location, and Winn Development and the town of Ludlow are fortunate to have married to take advantage of the space there,” he said, adding that, in the past, many people wondered what would become of the property.

And indeed, the revitalization of the complex and the new projects will make a decided difference.

“The potential of what this will bring to the town is overwhelming,” Mannix said, noting that many fund-raisers have been held over the years to repair the clock tower, and the news that the building will remain and be put to new use makes many residents happy.

“The clock tower is a signature piece that people see when they drive into town, and we hope it will become the icon of the new project,” he continued, as he lauded Westmass and Winn Development for their efforts.

Westmass purchased the site five years ago, and since that time, it has attracted $75 million in public and private investment, outside the newly announced $60 million clock-tower building renovation.

“WestMass has a real desire and determination to use the mill property to put Ludlow on the map, and the redevelopment is a step forward in Ludlow’s future,” Mannix told BusinessWest, noting that the loft-style apartments planned for the clock tower could bring new, young professionals to town, hopefully followed by small boutiques and restaurants to enhance the site.

Nelson said the work that is complete, in progress, and in the planning stages speaks to the partnership that the town formed with Westmass.

“This is the fruit of all that has been done. When the comprehensive zoning and master plan were created, we envisioned these types of projects,” he said, explaining early public meetings with residents to determine what they wanted in terms of preservation and development, which included senior housing.

Progress Report

The majority of buildings that make up the heart of Ludlow Mills on State Street were built between the 1870s and 1920s by Ludlow Manufacturing and Sales Co. From the 1860s through the 1970s, it made cloth, rope, and twine out of Indian-grown jute, flax, and hemp, employing about 4,000 people in its heyday.

Plans are on the table to convert the historic clock tower building into market-rate housing.

Although the property fell into a state of decline after the operation shut down, great strides have been made toward revitalization, thanks to public and private investments, including the one by HealthSouth, which paid tribute to the town’s history by using 100,000 salvaged bricks and planed wooden beams from old mill buildings in its new hospital. Today, the complex is a mixed-use district and home to many small manufacturing and design businesses that include Iron Duke Brewery, which opened in a 3,000-square-foot space in December 2014.

Mannix said the microbrewery has done so well, it plans to add an outside patio with entertainment in the near future.

Potential to build a new senior center also exists at the mill site, and the selectmen recently listened to a proposal presented by Council on Aging officials and Friends of the Senior Center who want the town to build a $10 million, 23,000-square-foot facility on a 4.4-acre parcel of land next to HealthSouth. “They did a lot of groundwork and had a great presentation,” Mannix said.

The mill property has also been enhanced by a riverwalk that officially opened several months ago. It starts behind the clock tower and ends at HealthSouth.

Mannix said the town just received a $429,500 MassWorks grant for the riverwalk that will be used to install new signage to educate people about the history of Ludlow and Ludlow Mills, as well as new lighting and markings that will help make it more accessible.

A great deal of needed infrastructure work has also been completed in the area.

“The water and sewer lines downtown were installed when Ludlow Mills was in its heyday, but were never mapped out. We needed to bring them up to code to have the ability to attract developers and all types of businesses,” Mannix said, noting that a $5 million sewer-separation project was just finished, and close to $4 million has been spent to upgrade the utilities on State Street.

In addition, new curbing, sidewalks, and lighting have been installed along a 1.5-mile stretch on East Street that runs from the bridge to Williams Street.

Although downtown vacancies were on the rise a decade ago, over the past few years new restaurants and beauty salons have been filling empty storefronts.

“We’re finally moving forward in the right direction. We’re looking to improve our downtown district and constantly looking for businesses that want to locate there,” Mannix said.

He noted that Cumberland Farms on West Street just expanded, and the one on East Street recently purchased a former restaurant next door, razed the building, and is building a new, expanded storefront.

A new solar farm is also in the planning stages. Mannix told BusinessWest that Ed Godin, who owns Ludlow Auto Salvage, has closed his decades-old family business and is turning it into a solar facility. It will be the second solar farm in town; several years ago, the Ludlow landfill was converted into a 2.7-megawatt facility by California developer Borrego Solar Systems Inc.

“All of the electricity generated at the landfill is sold to the town at a substantially reduced rate; it saves us $120,000 each year,” Mannix said, adding that he is happy the land owned by Ludlow Auto Salvage will be used to generate green energy.

A new public cemetery may also become part of the landscape; the town is in the process of purchasing 40 acres next to Ludlow Auto Salvage for that purpose. The site was once home to a driving range and has been unused for about a decade.

Mannix said the purchase is important because the town’s current public cemetery will be filled in two or three years, and the new cemetery, located off Center Street or Route 20, will be large enough to last for decades.

View to the Future

Nelson said the town vigorously supported Westmass after it purchased the property, and partnered with the state to secure enough state and federal funding to complete the cleanup of the brownfield site and get the needed infrastructure work done.

“Having these things complete makes it attractive to developers like Winn. Their projects are challenging enough, and having the infrastructure and cleanup completed allows them to do what they do best,” he said. “We’re starting to see people focusing not only on the mills, but on Ludlow itself.”

Indeed, the new HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital and work being done by WinnDevelopment are already bringing new life to the area.

“The community has been very receptive to what we are doing, and thanks to our track record, skill set, and interest from the town, a real transformation is happening at the Ludlow Mills,” Curtis said.

Mannix agreed. “The clock-tower project and the transformation of Building 10 will be a giant step forward for the future of the town,” he said, adding that Ludlow already has a lot to offer. “We have top-of-the-line schools and a sports complex behind the high school, our own golf course, a beach at Haviland Pond and a town pool on Whitney Street which both offer extensive youth programs during the summer, a community center, great services which include free trash pickup, a reasonable tax rate, and Lupa Zoo, which is a real asset as it constantly brings new people into town.

“Things are very positive, and a lot of it has to do with the Ludlow Mills and people like Ed Godin,” Mannix went on. “We are very pleased with the growth that is taking place.”

Nelson said every dollar invested in revitalizing a mill property multiplies and has a ripple affect in the community and region in general: contractors get work, there is a need for building supplies, and new jobs are created once projects are complete.

“If you throw a rock in a pond, it makes waves, and the largest waves are right where it lands,” he said.

With a view of the river that will be seen not only from the new apartments facing it, but from many businesses that occupy the property in the future, it’s not hard to see why officials can easily imagine a bright future for Ludlow.

Ludlow at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1774
Population: 9,872 (2010)
Area: 28.2 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $18.13
Commercial Tax Rate: $18.13
Median Household Income: $53,244
Family Household Income: $67,797
Type of Government: Town Council; Representative Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Hampden County House of Correction; Massachusetts Air National Guard; Kleeberg Sheet Metal Inc.; R&C Floral Inc.
* Latest information available

Big E’s 100th Is Cause for Celebration, Reflection

Cover Story

Marking a Milestone

Eugene Cassidy, president and CEO of the Big E, with one of the many pieces of memorabilia collected from patrons of the fair.

The Eastern States Exposition turns 100 this year. For organizers of the 17-day fair every fall and a host of other events during the year, planning such a celebration comes easily. But the centennial is in many ways more than a party — it’s an opportunity to reflect on the Big E’s history, its place in the region, and the many challenges that stand in the way of continuing this tradition for the generations to come.

The request went out on various forms of social media a few years ago.

The Eastern States Exposition, long on history but admittedly somewhat short on older archival material and memorabilia concerning its century-long existence, was looking for the public’s help in rectifying that problem — and in telling an important story.

“When we moved here [the Big E fairgrounds] from our offices at 31 Elm St. in Springfield in 1950, we jettisoned a lot of our archives; we have our business records and our meeting notes, but we don’t really have a good archive,” explained Eugene Cassidy, the institution’s president and CEO. “So we spent the past several years collecting Eastern States memorabilia, mostly from people who are fond patrons of the fairgrounds. And a lot of fascinating stuff poured in.”

The donations include dozens of photographs, some of them going as far back as the 1920s, and many chronicling the horrific floods of 1936 and 1955; promotional posters, including one from 1925 that was found behind a wall by two sisters from Ludlow as they were relocating to Alaska; a framed copy of some of the early attempts to answer a request from some journalists to shorten the exposition’s lengthy name (yes, this was the origin of the term ‘Big E’); and a metal sheet detailing the dates of the 1950 exposition that was designed to wrap neatly around street signs.

“People couldn’t tell what street they were on, but they knew the dates for the exposition,” said Cassidy as he held up the well-preserved artifact, marveling at its purpose.

Construction of the coliseum commences in 1916, just months before the National Dairy Show was to come to West Springfield.

These items and countless others will be put on display during this year’s Big E, the 100th birthday celebration, which will commence Sept. 16. Collectively, they speak to the institution’s place — not only in the region, but in the hearts, and memory banks, of the millions who have visited the fairgrounds over the years.

In many ways, this is what will be celebrated during this milestone year, said Cassidy, adding that Big E administrators want to use the occasion to bring awareness to the institution’s long history, the manner in which it has become part of the social fabric of the region (in a figurative, but also quite literal, sense, as we’ll see) — and the fact that help, in many forms, will certainly be needed to preserve this tradition for future generations.

Indeed, the Big E is facing a number of formidable challenges as it stares down its second century, said Cassidy, now in his fifth year at the helm, listing everything from an ever-growing number of forces competing for the time and energy of families to the inexorable decline of agriculture in Massachusetts and the Northeast (the bedrock on which the exposition was built), and an aging exposition infrastructure that includes several buildings that date to the beginning in 1916, including the venerable coliseum.

“My goal is to raise awareness so that people in the greater community might take a step back and think about what Eastern States means to the region,” he explained. “This is an opportunity for people to refamiliarize themselves with Eastern States at hopefully a different level, and to take note of our resilient ability to remain successful in an environment that becomes increasingly more difficult to survive in.”

Elaborating, he said fairs of this type across the country are struggling mightily, but many have the support of their various states to fall back on.

“Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo recently gave the New York State Fair $55 million to rehabilitate a few buildings on their fairgrounds, and the Indiana State Fair gets 6% of the revenues from gaming in that state,” said Cassidy, adding that the Big E is certainly not likely to receive similar forms of support.

To fund needed capital projects and relieve the exposition of growing amounts of debt, other measures will be required, said Cassidy, noting that a capital campaign for the nonprofit organization is a distinct possibility.

For now, he wants to grow awareness and gain a full appreciation for the institution.

“My personal goal is for as many as possible in our Greater New England region to have a connection to, and a fondness for, the future of this organization, some respect for its history, and a desire to be a part of it moving forward,” he explained. “It’s going to take all of that in order to assure that this organization continues to have its incredible importance on the stage of national agriculture and food production, and to continue to have the economic impact it has.”

For this issue, BusinessWest takes a look at the Big E’s centennial, what is planned from a celebratory standpoint, and especially at what this institution must do after it blows out the candles for its 100th birthday.

Party Animals

Cassidy told BusinessWest that the Big E is used to throwing big parties — in most respects, that’s what it does for 17 days each fall — so a 100th-birthday celebration is, in many respects, no big deal.

Well, at least from a planning and execution perspective; again, this is what they do. From a historical and, yes, public-relations perspective, though, this is a very big deal, an opportunity that exposition officials intend to fully maximize.

This panoramic photo shows the Big E in the 1920s, when it was fast becoming a tradition in the region.

There will be a number of special touches, he went on, pointing to everything from the birthday-cake-like signage now adorning the administration building to the flagpoles now affixed to the coliseum (an attempt to recapture the look from 1916 and the ensuing decades); from the display of artifacts collected from the public to a spirited effort to bring back performers from the exposition’s heyday in the ’50s, ’60s, and early ’70s (the return of the Cowsills falls into that category); from a new/old logo, as well as coasters, buttons, and magnets with the number ‘100’ on them, to a special Big E tartan, a pattern bearing a mix of the primary colors of the Big E, the town of West Springfield, and the six New England states already woven into ties and scarves — the fabric of the community in a literal sense.

There will also be a commemorative book on the centennial, due to be released just before this year’s fair begins (one can already be ordered online).

Wayne Phaneuf, executive editor of the Republican, was the main editor for the book and one of those contributing content and selecting photos, the latter of which essentially tell the story of the past half-century.

Phaneuf told BusinessWest that he did some extensive research for the project and learned a number of things while doing so.

That list includes everything from the full roster of entertainers who appeared over the years — “I never knew Bob Hope came here,” he said — to insight into how the federal government essentially commandeered the fairgrounds during both World War I and World War II for use as a staging area and supply depot.

But mostly, that research merely reinforced what he already knew.

“As a kid growing up in this area, there were only two things kids really looked forward to,” he said while summing things up — “Christmas and the Big E.”

And that sentiment basically applies to people of all ages, he went on, adding that the book — and the 100th anniversary, really — is all about memories.

People from across this area and soon well beyond started collecting them in 1916, when Joshua Brooks, a prominent area businessman and lithographer by trade (his company printed bank notes, among other things), pulled off an unlikely coup and brought the prominent National Dairy Show to a once-muddy flood plain beside the Westfield River.

Actually, when he sold this region to the highly skeptical fair organizers during intense meetings in Chicago, that area was still mostly a swamp — but one for which Brooks had big plans.

Growing Concern

Two years earlier, he and 62 others listed as original incorporators launched the Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition. Its lengthy purpose was to “to hold agricultural and industrial expositions, and fairs within the county of Hampden, to engage in agricultural and industrial products and in livestock, to conduct races, sports, and general amusements, and to promote the agricultural and industrial development of the eastern states.” (No, there’s nothing in there about cream puffs or deep-fried … anything.)

Brooks’ ambitious plan was to launch the first exposition by bringing the National Dairy Show to the site. And to do that — again, against seemingly all odds — he essentially sold a promise: to build the roads, buildings, facilities, and amenities needed to stage that event, because none existed at the time.

To make a rather long story short, he delivered on that promise, raising more than $500,000 to get it all done.

A year after the successful staging of that event, the Eastern States Exposition and Dairy Show began, only a few months before the U.S. officially entered World War I. The first fair drew 138,000 people, roughly one-tenth what it does today.

BigE-BobHope

Until the mid-’70s, the Big E was the undisputed entertainment hub in the region, hosting entertainers such as Bob Hope (top) and sporting events like auto racing.

After the war, the Big E initiated a pattern of continued growth and expansion that would continue for decades — not simply in terms of infrastructure, but also in prestige, attendance, and prominence within the region and also well beyond it.

The Big E, and especially the fair each fall, would find a unique place in the region’s consciousness, while drawing celebrities and politicians, including a sitting president, Dwight Eisenhower, and his sitting vice president, Richard Nixon.

By the middle of the 20th century, the Big E — as it came to be known in 1967 amid complaints from the press that there were just too many syllables in Eastern States Exposition — became the undisputed center of entertainment in Western Mass. and Northern Conn., as well as a place for events of all types, because the coliseum was the largest venue of its kind in the region.

Indeed, the exposition was, for many years, home to professional hockey (the American Hockey League in the form of Springfield’s franchise, but also the parent National Hockey League when the Hartford Civic Center’s roof collapsed in January 1978, leaving the Whalers temporarily homeless). But it was also home to what is now CityStage (then StageWest) starting in 1967, as well as other entertainment facilities, including the Storrowton Dinner Theatre.

The list of those who have appeared in West Springfield is long and prestigious, and includes the likes of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Lionel Barrymore, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Liberace, Arthur Godfrey, and countless others.

“We have a great, storied history for entertainment — we had the biggest names going back to the 1920s,” Cassidy said. “Anybody who was anybody played at the Eastern States. Buddy Hackett played here so many times that, in the late ’60s, the police chief gave him a key to the town of West Springfield. He loved the fair, and he loved his connection to us.”

The exposition also hosted all manner of events, including college and high-school graduations, a wide array of sporting events, and many political gatherings, including the 1964 state Democratic convention. (The state’s junior senator, Edward Kennedy, then campaigning for re-election, was injured and nearly killed as the plane taking him to that convention crashed in Southampton).

Survivor’s Story

But while the exposition’s history is replete with big names, big events, and big crowds, it is, in many respects, a story of survival, of overcoming challenge.

Those challenges have come in a number of forms — from two world wars to the Great Depression, which took a heavy toll in a number of ways, to the building in the early ’70s of the Springfield Civic Center, which took hockey, many school graduations, and scores of other events across the Connecticut River and actually prompted Big E officials to briefly consider a move to the Nutmeg State as a way to counter that threat.

Then there were the natural disasters, the floods, and especially the hurricane that visited Western Mass. in September 1938, just a few days after that year’s fair had begun.

Photos taken in the aftermath of the disaster told a story of complete devastation, with rides, tents, and structures crumpled, a situation compounded by a forced early closing and resulting loss of revenue as well as the lingering effects of the depression, which cast a large shadow over the prospects for recovery.

The situation was summed up poignantly in remarks, included in the centennial book, from Republican reporter Frank Bauer, who attended a meeting convened by Brooks that featured a host of area business leaders curious about what could, and would, happen next for the fair.

“The Eastern States Exposition, even then a venerable 22-year-old institution, was in danger of extinction, down and out from the big blow,” he wrote. “There was no treasury, no funds, and no insurance to begin to cover the damage and loss of revenue.”

Before that meeting ended, Bauer went on, Brooks and ally Harry Fisk asked for and received commitments from those in the room for funds to restore the fair.

While the situation nearly eight decades later is not as dire in most respects, there are some similarities, said Cassidy, noting that the Big E is facing a host of challenges — if it not to its survival, then certainly to its bottom line and many of its traditions, especially its agricultural roots.

Chief among them, perhaps, is the aging infrastructure at the fairgrounds and the ever-rising cost of restoring and modernizing buildings built decades ago.

President Dwight Eisenhower, left, visits the Big E in 1953.

Fair officials have received some estimates, for example, that it would cost at least $40 million, and probably more, to completely restore the coliseum to its former glory and original look and make it suitable for many of the events it can no longer stage, said Cassidy.

“The coliseum is obsolete today — professional hockey moved out in the ’70s, and they stopped playing high-school hockey there in 1991,” he explained, adding that the facility is now used mostly for horse shows and the Shrine Circus. “The building is in need of a $50 million to $60 million investment to make it contemporary in this day and age.”

There are other facilities that need work as well, he said, pegging the total amount of deferred maintenance at more than $140 million.

To capitalize the needed work, the Big E, despite several very successful years recently, would have to revert to its old methods for raising money, he explained. Well, sort of.

“In the old days, when we had a rainy fair and lost money, Mr. Brooks would get on the phone and call everybody up and say, ‘I need you to write me a check for $16,000,’” Cassidy said, adding that those calls went to corporators, board members, and other prominent supporters of the exposition. “And the money came in; it paid the bills, and it got us through difficult times.”

That model was actually still in place in 1978, when the Big E used it to finance the Young Building, Cassidy said, adding that, when Brooks’ son, J. Loring Brooks, died in 1980, that development strategy was essentially retired.

As a result, to fund its operation, the Big E has taken on increasingly larger amounts of debt, he explained, noting that the number has risen exponentially over the past few decades.

Thus, when the centennial celebration is over, the focus will shift entirely to the next 100 years, said Cassidy, adding that this includes development of a new strategic plan that will specifically address challenges and how to fund them.

“It will have a meaningful and robust development and fund-raising piece to it,” he said, adding that a likely step is a capital campaign, something the fair hasn’t done — at least in the modern sense of that term.

With those thoughts as a backdrop, Cassidy noted, again, that this Big E will, from a production standpoint, be business as usual, but it will also comprise a sincere effort to show just how important that business is for the region, and how challenging it will be to continue it into the future.

Fair Game

As he posed for a few photos with some of the memorabilia collected from area residents, Cassidy stopped at the large conference room in the administration building.

He wanted to show off the renovations to that facility, but also, and more importantly, make a point.

To do so, he started by gesturing to the photos of Joshua and J. Loring Brooks (they were both known as J.L.) at the far end of the room.

“Those used to be out in the hallway, where no one really saw them,” he explained, adding that, now, they’re almost impossible to miss.

In fact, the horseshoe-shaped conference table is set up so that each member of the board of directors will face those pictures, of the founder and the man who continued his work for several decades.

“So, in a way, while addressing the present and the future, we’re always reminded of the past and the need to preserve that history and those traditions,” Cassidy explained.

In many respects, that’s exactly what the 100th-birthday celebration is all about.

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

Building Permits

Building Permits Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of June 2016.

AGAWAM

Liqori Plaza, LLC
831 Springfield St.
$48,000 — Renovations

Sabrina’s Pizzeria
557-559 Springfield St.
$3,875 — Renovations

AMHERST

Cyrano Properties LLC
18 Kellogg Ave.
$7,485 — Add half bath

PCJ Riverside Partners LLC
19 Montague Road
$15,000 — Fixtures and cabinets

Stavros Center For Independent Living
210 Old Farm Road
$25,000 — Replace two rooftop cooling units

Slobody Development Corp.
7 Pomeroy Lane Unit 4
$4,500 — Paint, add classroom sink, clean carpet

HADLEY

Big Y Express
75 Russell St.
$180,000 – New metal shingled roof on convenience store & carwash. New hardie board siding on C-store and car wash

The Mocha Emporium
367 Russell St.
$6,000 — Remodeling and installation of coffee counters

Modestow LLC
251 Russell St.
$13,400 – Install new ADA compliant shower unit & install new foot lockers, demo existing kitchen

Pearson Hadley LLC
380 Russell St.
$20,500 – Construction of one hard-walled office & one 9-foot long partition wall

LUDLOW

Blue Water Sushi
221-223 East St.
$6,500 — Fire-suppression System

Dialysis Center of Ludlow
14 Chestnut Place
$18,300 — Roof repairs

Europa
782 Center St.
$25,000 — Alterations

WESTFIELD

City of Westfield
22 Franklin Ave.
$5,250 — Frame in 20’ x 26’ library

Devon Shops LLC
457 East Main St.
$9,195 — Interior Renovations

Meridian Transport Company
9 Flower St. Ext.
$1,250,000 — Erect new 12,000-square-foot office building

Rock Steady Real Estate LLC
815 North Road
$40,000 — Remodel existing office space & add bathroom

Savage Arms Inc.
100 Springdale Road
$1,150,000 — Construct new test firing range inside Savage Arms facility

WEST SPRINGFIELD

99 Restaurant & Pub
1053 Riverdale St.
$30,000 — Cosmetic changes, remove non-structural wall

Camp Webber
79 Great Plains Road
$7,000 — Repair pool house/first aid roof

Hospitality Restaurant
9778 Main St.
$6,000 — Renovations

Mansfield Paper Bldg. 2
380 Union St.
$10,000 — Repair block wall and loading dock door

Taco Bell
298 Memorial Ave
$59,600 — Exterior changes to facade

Real Estate Transactions

Departments Real Estate

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

FRANKLIN COUNTY

BUCKLAND

19 Stone Road
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Murdock
Seller: Joseph E. Murdock
Date: 06/03/16

CHARLEMONT

192 Main St.
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $152,500
Buyer: Lori Shulda-Merrigan
Seller: Margaret L. Simos
Date: 06/06/16

COLRAIN

429 Main Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $127,900
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Frederick B. Pike
Date: 06/01/16

DEERFIELD

31 Elm Circle
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $224,900
Buyer: Marya C. Santos
Seller: Susan B. Bronstein
Date: 05/31/16

73 Mill Village Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Cheryl A. Harris
Seller: US Bank
Date: 06/03/16

84 North Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $302,550
Buyer: Kimberly D. Snyder
Seller: Marlene L. Sanderson
Date: 06/10/16

GREENFIELD

114 Birch St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Nathaniel B. Hussey
Seller: Robert E. Wainstein
Date: 06/06/16

345 Chapman St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $172,200
Buyer: Steven P. Brunette
Seller: Barber, Joyce A., (Estate)
Date: 06/10/16

74 Crescent St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $298,000
Buyer: Karen T. Renaud
Seller: Deborah Keisch
Date: 06/03/16

96 Highland Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $476,800
Buyer: Louis S. Ruvolo
Seller: Wendell D. Wyatt
Date: 06/01/16

118 James St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $131,355
Buyer: Melissa A. James
Seller: Diane L. West
Date: 05/31/16

99 Maple St.
Greenfield, MA 01376
Amount: $157,900
Buyer: Peter Lapa
Seller: Pioneer Coop of Franklin County
Date: 05/31/16

64 Orchard St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: James K. Grinwis
Seller: Martha D. Tobin
Date: 06/08/16

33 Phillips St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Mary E. Underdown
Seller: Peter C. Underdown
Date: 06/01/16

6 Silver Crest St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: William R. Kostanski
Seller: Timothy E. Graves
Date: 06/06/16

HEATH

56 Avery Brook Road
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Melissa J. Durrin
Seller: Randall Cobb INT
Date: 06/06/16

LEVERETT

58 Number 6 Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $349,000
Buyer: Robert D. Kieras
Seller: Stanley W. Modrzakowski
Date: 05/31/16

34 Teawaddle Hill Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Thaddeus W. Jarowski
Seller: Robert L. Hinckley
Date: 06/02/16

LEYDEN

39 Frizzell Hill Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Angie L. Reynolds
Date: 06/10/16

MONTAGUE

10 Crescent St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jennifer L. Tobey
Seller: MHFA
Date: 05/31/16

42 Dell St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Samantha J. Kain-Call
Seller: Samantha L. Chabot
Date: 06/10/16

85-85B Greenfield Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $291,000
Buyer: Michael W. Tutun
Seller: Derick G. Picking
Date: 06/10/16

3 Randall Wood Dr.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Felix Ramos
Seller: James K. Newkirk
Date: 06/06/16

94 South Prospect St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Tyler G. Hobbs
Seller: Bryan G. Hobbs
Date: 06/01/16

NEW SALEM

361 Petersham Road
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $152,000
Buyer: Stephen A. Norwood
Seller: Tina Barnicle
Date: 06/10/16

106 South Main St.
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $343,300
Buyer: Richard C. Nicoll
Seller: Douglas C. Guarino
Date: 06/07/16

NORTHFIELD

13 Glenwood Ave.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $175,250
Buyer: Spencer W. Gowan
Seller: Livingstone, Dorothy L., (Estate)
Date: 06/01/16

ORANGE

76 Chase St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $192,500
Buyer: Kerwin J. Cross
Seller: David M. Moynihan
Date: 06/09/16

85 Oak Dr.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Dell C. Stuvick
Seller: Andrei Agapov
Date: 06/01/16

234 Oxbow Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Timothy E. Matthews
Seller: Pablo Perea
Date: 06/07/16

14-18 Pleasant St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Steven Hickey
Seller: M. Ward RT 1
Date: 06/09/16

SHUTESBURY

7 Baker Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $491,500
Buyer: Jeffrey R. Lacy
Seller: Wendy Pearson
Date: 06/06/16

19 Kettle Hill Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Jane W. Couperus
Seller: Linda J. Repasky
Date: 06/02/16

15 Merrill Dr.
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $202,500
Buyer: Talib Sadiq
Seller: Freeman W. Albertson
Date: 06/08/16

202 Pelham Hill Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Marie S. Barham
Seller: Amy Beth
Date: 05/31/16

542 West Pelham Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Tonio J. Sagan
Seller: Aaron J. Kater
Date: 05/31/16

SUNDERLAND

27 Meadowbrook Dr.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $249,550
Buyer: Kelly A. Ziomek
Seller: Aaron R. Lorenz
Date: 06/06/16

207 Montague Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Mass. Conservation and Recreation
Seller: Franklin Land Trust Inc.
Date: 06/03/16

46 Old Amherst Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $615,000
Buyer: 46 Old Amherst LLC
Seller: Rgink LLC
Date: 06/01/16

19 Plumtree Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $287,500
Buyer: Frontier Properties LLC
Seller: Kathy L. Ryan
Date: 06/01/16

WARWICK

95 Chase Hill Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Caroline Carrithers
Seller: Elan D. Sicroff
Date: 05/31/16

88 Hastings Heights Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $316,600
Buyer: Steven E. Snyder RET
Seller: Ivy Conover Santos TR
Date: 06/10/16

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

41 Abbey Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $386,000
Buyer: Michael A. Gamelli
Seller: Marc D. Gendron
Date: 05/31/16

390 Barry St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Daniel M. Beaudry
Seller: Mirella Manna
Date: 05/31/16

231 Coyote Circle
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Renato A. Mapua
Seller: Christopher A. Freda
Date: 06/03/16

16 Edgewater Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $273,000
Buyer: Robert A. Casamento
Seller: Andrea Hedlund
Date: 05/31/16

24 Edgewood Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Alice S. Cormier
Seller: Judy A. Stieg
Date: 06/10/16

6 Fordham Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Christopher Bonci
Seller: Heather-Jill K. Williams
Date: 05/31/16

30 Halladay Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Steven P. Merhar
Seller: George E. Gendreau
Date: 05/31/16

35 Hayes Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Sean M. Duclos
Seller: Margaret J. Dane
Date: 06/07/16

44-46 James Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Muhammad Razzaq
Seller: Kevin A. Ritchie
Date: 06/06/16

1327 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Michael A. Coughlin
Seller: Christopher Rice
Date: 06/09/16

33 North West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Justin Piascik
Seller: John G. Kudlic
Date: 06/08/16

337 North West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Raymond E. Snow
Seller: Robert J. Consedine
Date: 06/10/16

1057 North St. Ext.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: James P. Cool
Seller: Michael A. Gamelli
Date: 05/31/16

1122 North St. Ext.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Peter A. Wiernasz
Seller: Kraus, David M., (Estate)
Date: 06/09/16

54 Raymond Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $154,600
Buyer: Dmitriy Vasilchenko
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 06/09/16

182 Rowley St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Stephen J. Roth
Seller: William N. Beaudry
Date: 06/09/16

BRIMFIELD

49 7th St.
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Glenn S. Welch RET
Seller: Julie E. Gerrish
Date: 06/01/16

CHESTER

86 Maynard Hill Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: William F. Murray
Seller: Curtis S. Gezotis
Date: 06/06/16

CHICOPEE

107 7th Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Timothy D. Roberts
Seller: Spencer R. Hart
Date: 06/03/16

68 Blanchwood Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Cameron M. Szczygiel
Seller: Lee J. Hannah
Date: 06/01/16

9 Boisvert St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: J. Figueroa-Morales
Seller: Citibank
Date: 06/09/16

52 Boucher Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $174,600
Buyer: Lauren Skinner
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/08/16

45 Boulay Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Buyer: Kevin P. Hogan
Seller: John M. Macnaught
Date: 06/09/16

125 Boutin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Diane S. Haskell
Seller: Gerald R. Labonte
Date: 06/08/16

20 Chapin St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Belz
Seller: Robert N. Massaro
Date: 06/01/16

37 Charpentier Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Leonardo Rodriguez
Seller: Carlos E. Soto
Date: 05/31/16

231 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Campagnari Construction
Seller: Campagnari Construction
Date: 06/03/16

384 East St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Chelsea K. Yvon
Seller: Michael Crevier
Date: 06/10/16

69 Francis St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Kimberly A. Dziel
Seller: Jolynne M. Kruzel
Date: 06/07/16

1297 Granby Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Dawn M. Jones
Seller: Irene Allyn
Date: 06/03/16

23 Lemuel Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $173,000
Buyer: Debbie A. Wheeler
Seller: Thomas J. Batchelor
Date: 05/31/16

43 Loomis Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $183,500
Buyer: Lisandra Gonzalez
Seller: Yiannacopoulos, George, (Estate)
Date: 05/31/16

42 Lukasik St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Richard Wilson
Seller: Waycon Inc.
Date: 06/03/16

1979 Memorial Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Jin M. Li
Seller: Real A. Rouillard
Date: 05/31/16

127 Monroe St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Carlos E. Soto
Seller: Kapinos, T. L., (Estate)
Date: 05/31/16

184 Moore St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Jeffrey R. Peters
Seller: Bryan D. Stadnicki
Date: 06/07/16

33 Olivine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Luis M. Ortiz
Seller: Erick M. Santana-Colon
Date: 06/07/16

21 Rzasa Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: William Wright
Seller: Timothy J. Nadeau
Date: 06/03/16

122 State St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Jaimie Waterman
Seller: Jason A. Brazee
Date: 06/06/16

33 Wintworth St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $134,500
Buyer: Ashley M. Brickhouse
Seller: Rehome Properties LLC
Date: 06/03/16

140 Woodlawn St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Melinda Barnes
Seller: Mark Zolendziewski
Date: 06/03/16

EAST LONGMEADOW

22 Colony Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $244,900
Buyer: Christopher J. Edwards
Seller: Scott D. Silloway
Date: 05/31/16

30 Mill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: William F. Croken
Seller: Michael Carabetta
Date: 06/01/16

193 Millbrook Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Mohammad A. Khan
Seller: Aniello Carannante
Date: 06/07/16

Pembroke Terrace
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Blake E. Andrews
Seller: Christopher D. McKinnon
Date: 06/03/16

569 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Briana M. Perkins
Seller: Edith C. Buckley
Date: 06/10/16

2 Ridge Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Natasha T. Conti
Seller: John J. Doyle
Date: 06/09/16

120 Smith Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Britney L. Tryba
Seller: Morean, Henry R., (Estate)
Date: 06/03/16

GRANVILLE

462 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $258,900
Buyer: Gary R. Edbrooke
Seller: Barbara Greene
Date: 06/03/16

41 Sodom St.
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $234,900
Buyer: Matthew Halla
Seller: Rodger J. Sandsmark
Date: 06/01/16

HAMPDEN

34 Meadow Brook Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Vince C. Torchia
Seller: Richard F. Kelly
Date: 05/31/16

59 Meadow Brook Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: George A. Romano
Seller: George A. Romano
Date: 06/03/16

155 Mountain Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $267,500
Buyer: Mark E. Omalley
Seller: Thaddeus A. Comeau
Date: 05/31/16

HOLLAND

117 Butterworth Ext.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: David Ponte
Date: 06/08/16

53 Island Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jeremy Beu
Seller: Margaret Triumfo
Date: 06/09/16

17 Williams Lane
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Sean R. Higgins
Seller: Romie Goulart
Date: 05/31/16

HOLYOKE

44 Arden St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $206,000
Buyer: Daniel E. Cahillane
Seller: Shirley A. Leary
Date: 05/31/16

36 Bray Park Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Christine M. Kaleta
Seller: Robert T. Foran
Date: 06/01/16

233 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $188,800
Buyer: Elizabeth M. Martin
Seller: Jarrid L. Kendall
Date: 06/02/16

23 Magnolia Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Maria DelaTorres
Seller: Lisa B. Ballard
Date: 05/31/16

356 Mackenzie Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Amanda L. Tourigny
Seller: Ian M. Guenette
Date: 06/06/16

75 Magnolia Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Chad Grise
Seller: Ronald R. Authier
Date: 05/31/16

47 Memorial Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Donna A. Powers
Seller: 47 Memorial Drive LLC
Date: 06/03/16

1205 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: Josephine D. Tittle
Seller: Arthur W. Mason
Date: 06/02/16

1789 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $369,000
Buyer: Five Sticks LLC
Seller: Robert L. Jubinville
Date: 06/01/16

130-132 Oak St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Estrella Orengo
Seller: Richard Harty
Date: 06/10/16

346 Race St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Seller: Ralph Thompson
Date: 06/01/16

6 Sequoia Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $279,245
Buyer: Sharon Szostkiewicz
Seller: David G. Breveglerei
Date: 06/01/16

635-637 South Summer St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Iglesia De Dios Pentecost
Seller: Donald D. Miele
Date: 06/10/16

22 Vermont St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Joseph W. Bevins
Seller: Kathleen M. Conlin
Date: 06/01/16

47 View St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Kathryn M. Averill
Seller: Brian Donoghue
Date: 06/08/16

141 West King St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $346,000
Buyer: Jennifer L. King
Seller: Kerry T. O’Sullivan
Date: 06/03/16

12 Willow St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $138,500
Buyer: Daniel Barnes
Seller: Donna A. Powers
Date: 06/03/16

67 Yale St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $294,638
Buyer: Heath P. Naquin
Seller: Mary S. Reynolds
Date: 05/31/16

LONGMEADOW

277 Ardsley Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $770,000
Buyer: Jason T. Pananos
Seller: Bruce Suchy
Date: 05/31/16

76 Burbank Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $369,900
Buyer: John A. Eisler
Seller: Lisa A. Dailey
Date: 06/10/16

135 Dover Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $391,000
Buyer: Michael A. Shemin
Seller: Michael J. Keating
Date: 06/06/16

178 Edgewood Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Lisa Dailey
Seller: Joseph M. Lataille
Date: 06/10/16

379 Maple Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $166,500
Buyer: Marcus C. Imes
Seller: Donald Overson
Date: 06/10/16

121 Meadow Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Green
Seller: Foundation Investors Inc.
Date: 06/03/16

82 Tecumseh Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Jason M. Paine
Seller: Ian L. Goldsmith
Date: 05/31/16

239 Williamsburg Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $515,000
Buyer: Andrew C. Bauer
Seller: Donald H. Damour
Date: 05/31/16

69 Willow Brook Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $380,500
Buyer: Lee Shinoda
Seller: Irma B. Schwartz
Date: 06/07/16

58 Yarmouth St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Karl Schuhlen
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 06/02/16

LUDLOW

734 Alden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Tiffany Duchesne
Seller: William C. Halcott
Date: 05/31/16

21 Arbor St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Diane L. Bourgoin
Seller: Laurent V. Bourgoin
Date: 06/02/16

Dinis St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $128,900
Buyer: Stephen A. Lafond
Seller: Whitetail Wreks LLC
Date: 05/31/16

1170 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $327,000
Buyer: Michael Destefano
Seller: Maria C. Pereira
Date: 06/06/16

501 Miller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Jaroslaw T. Kudla
Seller: Olga Lozyniak
Date: 06/06/16

64-66 Oak St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $182,900
Buyer: Mario G. Carneiro
Seller: Nancy M. Rodrigues
Date: 06/03/16

46 Vienna Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Sean Stack
Seller: Brunelle, Ernest G., (Estate)
Date: 06/07/16

MONSON

16 Boston Road, East
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Kathleen L. Foley
Date: 06/08/16

17 Crest Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Debra A. Gagner
Seller: Laurent R. McDonald
Date: 06/10/16

10 Hospital Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Marlene A. Halcott
Seller: David S. Roche
Date: 05/31/16

239 Hovey Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: James S. Beniamino
Seller: Mark Ziolkowski
Date: 05/31/16

171 Moulton Hill Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $152,341
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Anthony J. Dart
Date: 06/03/16

125 Palmer Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Care For Animals LLC
Seller: Dorsie R. Kovacs
Date: 06/08/16

188 Wales Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $159,920
Buyer: Bank New York
Seller: Robin T. Heaton
Date: 06/01/16

PALMER

47 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Kevin J. Dingman
Seller: Rita H. Pikul
Date: 06/03/16

1076 Overlook Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $153,900
Buyer: Ronald A. Petrain
Seller: Marcelino Alicea
Date: 06/09/16

2057 Pleasant St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $166,796
Buyer: Pennymac Loan Services LLC
Seller: Kenneth Soffen
Date: 06/02/16

172 Shearer St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Dylan J. Bachand
Seller: Anthony Moura
Date: 06/03/16

RUSSELL

1081 Huntington Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: Nicholas P. Davis
Seller: Robert A. Vanwart
Date: 06/10/16

SOUTHWICK

27 Eagle St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $480,150
Buyer: Brian B. Beger
Seller: Colin Burns
Date: 06/03/16

8 Gloria Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $182,000
Buyer: Henry C. Moreau
Seller: Justin K. Kiefer
Date: 06/10/16

67 Hillside Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Shawna A. Sperry
Seller: Charles E. Strong
Date: 06/07/16

16 Woodland Ridge
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Charles M. Jasak
Seller: Michael Rennicke
Date: 05/31/16

SPRINGFIELD

41 Alwin Place
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $372,000
Buyer: Chantal Ayotte
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 06/06/16

100 Anniversary St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Alexis Santiago
Seller: Charles Jasak
Date: 05/31/16

35 Anniversary St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $167,500
Buyer: Robert Caudle
Seller: Richard J. Wilson
Date: 06/03/16

39-41 Ashwood St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Joao M. Pereira TR
Seller: Joseph Wurszt
Date: 06/09/16

100 Belvidere St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Kyanna M. Samuels
Seller: Bianca Jackson
Date: 06/10/16

142 Benz St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: Sean Bouchard
Seller: Renata B. Lurie
Date: 06/01/16

111 Berard Circle
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Peter A. Varley
Seller: Kevin M. Beaulieu
Date: 05/31/16

249 Bowles Park
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Scott D. Hansen
Seller: Beverly A. Simonet
Date: 05/31/16

117 Bremen St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Melanie J. Daly
Seller: Groussis, Andreas G., (Estate)
Date: 06/01/16

47 Brittany Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Luz A. Morales
Seller: Edward J. Leitgeb
Date: 05/31/16

16 Burt Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Matthew R. Rosomer
Seller: AEM Property Investment
Date: 06/09/16

68 California Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Albert A. Shulze
Seller: David J. Hamelin
Date: 06/09/16

19 Calvin St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $115,400
Buyer: Cory J. Blodgett
Seller: Theresa A. Hurley
Date: 05/31/16

1586 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: HSBC Bank
Seller: Enrique Burgos
Date: 06/06/16

71 Cornwall St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Hector L. Velez
Date: 06/01/16

163 Croyden Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Veronica Lopez
Seller: Steven A. Montagna
Date: 06/06/16

33-35 Daniel St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: Eddie Santiago
Seller: Kevin S. McNamara
Date: 06/03/16

26 Desrosiers St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Jessica Alicea
Seller: Luis Velazquez
Date: 06/03/16

170 Draper St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $122,900
Buyer: Melanie I. Diaz
Seller: Anita F. Barrett
Date: 05/31/16

259 Draper St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Bryan J. Richton
Seller: Matthew D. Perry
Date: 05/31/16

33 Eckington St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Om Khadka
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/10/16

109 Dunmoreland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Jose Monteiro-Luss
Seller: Lancelot Watson
Date: 05/31/16

280 Dutchess St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: David A. Bergeron
Seller: Gerald M. Fitzgerald
Date: 05/31/16

67 Fairfield St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Otto W. Chambers
Seller: Warren A. Turner
Date: 06/01/16

32 Felicia St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Anthony Serrano
Seller: John Martin
Date: 06/03/16

19 Hope St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: Angel L. Laboy
Seller: Roberto Felix
Date: 06/06/16

214 Jeffrey Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $130,400
Buyer: Webster Bank NA
Seller: Keith E. Kilduff
Date: 06/09/16

71 Lamont St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Stefanie M. Kro
Seller: Carlos Varela
Date: 06/03/16

255 Laurelton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $122,500
Buyer: Denise Mercado
Seller: Roy Properties LLC
Date: 06/01/16

39 Laurelwood Lane
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $176,500
Buyer: Benjamin A. Tanguay
Seller: Cynthia A. Steinbock
Date: 06/06/16

18 Leroy Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $129,061
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Deborah Santoro
Date: 06/07/16

186 Leyfred Terrace
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Quimeena K. Thomas
Seller: Roy Properties LLC
Date: 06/10/16

958 Liberty St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Josephe T. Kyndy
Seller: Peter M. Dion
Date: 05/31/16

43 Lyons St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Tina Blackshear
Seller: Tamara Feliciano
Date: 06/01/16

340 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $850,000
Buyer: Bar South Land Holdings
Seller: Bruce A. Bromley
Date: 06/09/16

26 Manitoba St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: Roland A. Guzman
Seller: Global Homes Properties
Date: 06/03/16

19-27 Maple St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: Temple Property Group LLC
Seller: Odin Holdings LLC
Date: 06/09/16

52 Marmon Court
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Alyssa L. Bronner
Seller: Katherine L. Fletcher
Date: 06/03/16

1333 Page Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Constance A. White
Seller: Taryn L. Zucco
Date: 05/31/16

53 Pennsylvania Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Lauren E. McFarlane
Seller: Michael R. Grimaldi
Date: 06/07/16

1082 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $176,500
Buyer: Brandon M. Kelly
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/03/16

54 Prospect St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $138,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Myrna Torres
Date: 06/07/16

127-129 Ranney St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $131,250
Buyer: ARJR LLC
Seller: WN Management LLC
Date: 06/03/16

30 Rockland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Boris Maksov
Seller: Ellen Blanco-Tryba
Date: 06/10/16

35 Rogers Ave.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Gabriel L. Santiago-Diaz
Seller: Norberto Sobral
Date: 05/31/16

64 Roy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $119,600
Buyer: Ana M. Sears
Seller: Dorothy Leonard
Date: 05/31/16

230 Russell St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Ebony Hopper-Robinson
Seller: Steven Exware
Date: 06/03/16

961 Saint James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Fresh Anointing Ministers
Seller: Episcopal Missions
Date: 06/03/16

100 Signal Hill Circle
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $226,500
Buyer: Michael P. Leahy
Seller: Michael Carabetta
Date: 06/10/16

663 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $131,250
Buyer: ARJR LLC
Seller: MEI Management LLC
Date: 06/03/16

61 Tioga St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: S&J Radkowski LP
Seller: Shaun M. Blanchard
Date: 06/06/16

29 Trillium St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Nhan T. Le
Seller: Joel Flecha
Date: 05/31/16

296 West Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Luis Velez-Plaud
Seller: Christopher J. Edwards
Date: 06/01/16

15 West Crystal Brook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Jon Harden
Seller: Spatz, Florence, (Estate)
Date: 05/31/16

77 Wayne St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $174,900
Buyer: Luis A. Ruiz
Seller: Amy B. Dewar
Date: 06/03/16

1576 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Gustavo Figuereo
Seller: Serge E. Ayotte
Date: 05/31/16

79 Willowbrook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $229,900
Buyer: Nikisha McMillian
Seller: Michael A. Salvador
Date: 06/09/16

83-85 Wilmont St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $131,250
Buyer: ARJR LLC
Seller: MNL Management LLC
Date: 06/03/16

50-52 Windsor St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $131,250
Buyer: ARJR LLC
Seller: MNL Management LLC
Date: 06/03/16

51-53 Winthrop St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $141,500
Buyer: Peter K. Sacuta
Seller: FNMA
Date: 05/31/16

WEST SPRINGFIELD

100 Beacon Hill Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $296,000
Buyer: Michael J. Macutkiewicz
Seller: William J. Kalenkowitz
Date: 06/10/16

90 Belmont Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Vitaly V. Katykhin
Seller: FNMA
Date: 05/31/16

17-19 Day St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Brian J. Kolodziej
Seller: Michael A. Izatt
Date: 06/01/16

64 Forris St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $166,900
Buyer: Alison Chaloux
Seller: Theodore N. Paquette
Date: 06/08/16

86 Garden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $182,900
Buyer: Samantha Sheaffer
Seller: Sean M. Duclos
Date: 06/07/16

143 Garden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Jaafar AlDulabi
Seller: US Bank
Date: 06/03/16

439 Morton St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Richard S. Dudley
Seller: Renato A. Mapua
Date: 06/03/16

106 Prince Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Lori A. Ramirez
Seller: Lisa A. Normand
Date: 06/07/16

90 Tatham Hill Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $212,500
Buyer: Gerald W. Halpin
Seller: Persons, Marion G., (Estate)
Date: 05/31/16

144 Valley View Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Thomas E. Ranstrom
Seller: Ruth Eleris
Date: 05/31/16

47 Wilder Terrace
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $176,000
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Thanh Nguyen
Date: 06/01/16

191 Woodmont St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $243,500
Buyer: Kevin E. Pender
Seller: Thomas E. Ranstrom
Date: 05/31/16

WESTFIELD

53 Airport Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Bodacious LLC
Seller: Jarvis Surgical Inc.
Date: 06/08/16

11 Amy Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $274,950
Buyer: Thomas F. Reed
Seller: Corey J. McConnell
Date: 05/31/16

60 Court St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: BHIM Reddy LLC
Seller: 60 Court LLC
Date: 06/01/16

487 East Main St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: JNR Land Holdings LLC
Seller: John Huang
Date: 06/01/16

66 Foch Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $187,500
Buyer: Donald T. Garvey
Seller: Barry Roberts
Date: 05/31/16

30 Forest Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Lisa A. Shea
Seller: Steven M. Boisseau
Date: 06/06/16

97 Hawks Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Jeffrey S. Cahill
Seller: Eugene N. Makucha
Date: 05/31/16

13 Harrison Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Anna Karaduman
Seller: Sergey N. Vasilevich
Date: 06/09/16

17 Leaview Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: David L. Azinheira
Seller: Sean D. Searles
Date: 06/10/16

77 Lindbergh Blvd.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Mason P. Richard
Seller: Judy A. McGrath
Date: 06/02/16

563 Pochassic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Benjamin H. Johnson
Seller: Randolph T. Bonin
Date: 05/31/16

29 Russell Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $142,709
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Angel M. Gonzales
Date: 06/07/16

41 Sylvan Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $351,500
Buyer: Stephen A. Tansey
Seller: Belco Construction Co Inc.
Date: 06/10/16

75 Woodcliff Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: E. R. Sarmiento-Castillo
Seller: Paul J. Quinn
Date: 05/31/16

WILBRAHAM

2821 Boston Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $397,500
Buyer: Kens Realty LLC
Seller: O’Connell Oil Associates
Date: 06/09/16

2 Conifer Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Joseph M. Lataille
Seller: S&C Homebuyers LLC
Date: 06/10/16

3 Cooley Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $282,750
Seller: Mark S. Robinson
Date: 06/10/16

5 Evergreen Circle
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $392,500
Buyer: Robert D. Pomeroy
Seller: David J. Oldread
Date: 06/10/16

755 Glendale Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $377,000
Buyer: Thaddeus A. Comeau
Seller: William H. Bakeman
Date: 05/31/16

23 Hunting Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Christopher Perrault
Seller: USA VA
Date: 06/06/16

4 Monson Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Denise L. Clark
Date: 06/03/16

913 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Pauline Purcell
Seller: US Bank
Date: 05/31/16

23 Victoria Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $538,000
Buyer: David T. Oldread
Seller: Matthew D. Thornton
Date: 06/10/16

8 West Colonial Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $309,900
Buyer: James Bartolomei
Seller: Thomas F. Sweeney
Date: 06/01/16

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

40 Berkshire Terrace
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $281,500
Buyer: Samuel J. Redman
Seller: Donna C. Ashworth
Date: 06/10/16

55 Cherry Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Jody Jellison-Goodell
Seller: Joanne T. Swift RET
Date: 06/07/16

197 East Hadley Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: Brokk K. Toggerson
Seller: Elizabeth A. Braun
Date: 06/08/16

21 Hazel Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Samuel Hebb
Seller: Arthur W. Hebb
Date: 06/03/16

296 North Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $690,000
Buyer: Joel M. Greenbaum
Seller: Dea Marsh Land LLC
Date: 06/08/16

24 Potwine Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Shing-Fa Shiao
Seller: Theresa J. Almeida
Date: 06/10/16

70 Red Gate Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $608,000
Buyer: Maxine H. Oland
Seller: Anita M. McGahan RET
Date: 06/01/16

46 Rolling Ridge Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $331,000
Buyer: Jicheng Tang
Seller: Michal Jacob-Goldstein
Date: 05/31/16

34 Tamarack Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Jingjing Wu
Seller: Annemarie Heath
Date: 06/01/16

BELCHERTOWN

199 Bay Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Viens
Seller: Deborah Bedore
Date: 06/10/16

230 Daniel Shays Hwy.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Marcin R. Podraza
Seller: Glaucia Rezende-Cedroni
Date: 05/31/16

18 Dogwood Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $348,000
Buyer: Gary M. Gtherson
Seller: J. N. Duquette & Son Construction
Date: 05/31/16

260 Gulf Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Patrick K. Wittbold
Seller: Frances W. Fairchild
Date: 06/10/16

Hickory Hill
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $409,000
Buyer: R. Mark Leckie
Seller: J. N. Duquette & Son Construction
Date: 06/01/16

3 Metacomet Circle
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $178,900
Buyer: Peter J. VanBuren
Seller: Patrick A. Guerdon
Date: 06/07/16

366 North Liberty St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Jarrid L. Kendall
Seller: Norman Veroneau
Date: 06/09/16

390 North Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $303,000
Buyer: Corey J. Lynch
Seller: R. Mark Leckie
Date: 05/31/16

95 Pine St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $347,000
Buyer: Craig A. Schumacher
Seller: Justin D. Hooten
Date: 06/01/16

53 Poole Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $229,900
Buyer: David H. Korytoski
Seller: Harvey O. Lussier
Date: 06/03/16

20 Rita Lane
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Joel Flecha
Seller: Scott W. McMahon
Date: 05/31/16

101 South Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Scott W. McMahon
Seller: John C. Dziel
Date: 05/31/16

249 Ware Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Jason Culley
Seller: Mark G. Hennessey
Date: 06/10/16

324 Warren Wright Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Mark J. Burtness
Seller: Erin E. Fernandes
Date: 05/31/16

CHESTERFIELD

33 Curtis Road
Chesterfield, MA 01096
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: Elisabeth Gaddy
Seller: Timothy G. O’Neil
Date: 05/31/16

80 South St.
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $134,403
Buyer: Edward J. Rickey
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 06/01/16

EASTHAMPTON

12 Clark Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Rebecca Rhodes
Seller: Christopher Steed
Date: 06/07/16

4 Duda Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $206,799
Buyer: Norwich Properties LLC
Seller: US Bank NA
Date: 05/31/16

142 Ferry St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Katherine P. Lebeau
Seller: Jonathan N. Kelley
Date: 06/09/16

3 Gaugh St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $257,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Shaver
Seller: Katherine E. Lyons
Date: 05/31/16

1-3 Lincoln St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Tear
Seller: Keith Redfern
Date: 06/01/16

14 Mayher St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Donna J. Wilson
Seller: Ernest G. Damon
Date: 05/31/16

25 Pinebrook Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Linda M. Shaw
Seller: Fusco, Charles C., (Estate)
Date: 06/01/16

34 Spring St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $202,000
Buyer: Marcie J. Stock
Seller: Jane W. Couperus
Date: 06/01/16

2 West Park Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $118,950
Buyer: Thomas E. Werbiskis
Seller: Greenwood, Helen S., (Estate)
Date: 06/03/16

GRANBY

172 Batchelor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Philip A. Lamoureux
Seller: Robert W. McAllister
Date: 06/10/16

237 Carver St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Emily Babb-Koziol
Seller: Jason J. Weakley
Date: 06/09/16

505 East State St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $399,000
Buyer: Bryan R. Guillemette
Seller: Stephen Lheureux
Date: 06/03/16

7 Lakeview Ave.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $208,900
Buyer: Nicholas J. Chirekos
Seller: Paul E. Macgregor
Date: 05/31/16

50 Pleasant St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Cory M. Menard
Seller: Stephanie Lussier
Date: 06/01/16

5 West State St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $725,000
Buyer: Aksharpurshotam LLC
Seller: SAI LLC
Date: 06/02/16

171 Taylor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Colin Brooks
Seller: James J. Picard
Date: 06/08/16

HADLEY

18 High Meadow Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Melissa A. Prats
Seller: Kuo-Shyong Chang
Date: 06/08/16

43 Huntington Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Dechen Dolma
Seller: Mellissa A. Prats
Date: 06/08/16

91 North Maple St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Steven J. Beauregard
Seller: Richard J. Buckowski
Date: 06/09/16

HATFIELD

46 Gore Ave.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $242,900
Buyer: Garret R. Pitts
Seller: Paul M. Kelly
Date: 06/03/16

Nolan Circle
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $163,000
Buyer: Christopher Laflamme
Seller: Tex R. Douglas
Date: 06/08/16

HUNTINGTON

2 Upper Russell Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $138,099
Buyer: Bank New York
Seller: Wayne A. Howes
Date: 06/08/16

NORTHAMPTON

15 Berkshire Terrace
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Hale-Rattigan
Seller: Crowther, Karen E., (Estate)
Date: 06/06/16

103 Crescent St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Crescent Bright Phillips
Seller: Haim Shahar
Date: 05/31/16

161 Crescent St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Susannah Lupert
Seller: William Orr
Date: 06/03/16

206 Elm St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: 206 Elm Street RT
Seller: Homeshire Properties LLC
Date: 06/01/16

19 Ladyslipper Lane
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $311,000
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Peter A. Serafino
Date: 06/07/16

15 Laurel St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Marcia K. Sailor
Seller: John A. Enis
Date: 06/06/16

42 Lexington Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Debra B. Truskinoff
Seller: Walter G. Hindmarsh
Date: 06/06/16

79 Masonic St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Joseph P. Curran
Seller: Christian Science Society
Date: 06/08/16

88 Maynard Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $546,500
Buyer: Alphonse Vasquez
Seller: Margaret R. Slater RET
Date: 06/01/16

78 Moser St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $383,480
Buyer: Sarah R. Bachrach
Seller: Kent Pecoy & Sons Construction
Date: 06/03/16

284 North Farms Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Linda M. Olbris
Seller: North Farms Land TR
Date: 06/01/16

125 North St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: Stephen G. Sireci
Seller: Deborah S. Cieboter
Date: 05/31/16

327 Riverside Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Stephanie A. Davolos
Seller: Lindsay S. Pope
Date: 05/31/16

282 South St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Joshua J. Schroeder
Seller: Kochapski, Ronald J. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 06/09/16

PELHAM

61 Arnold Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $524,575
Buyer: Christopher W. Hockman
Seller: Indenture Of Trust
Date: 06/08/16

PLAINFIELD

151 South St.
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $4,000,000
Buyer: AC Real Estate Group LLC
Seller: Spirit Master Funding 2
Date: 06/08/16

SOUTH HADLEY

9 Burnett Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Robert A. Siudzinski
Seller: Peter A. Nelson
Date: 06/09/16

14 Dale St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $164,900
Buyer: Louis Langlois
Seller: Elizabeth H. Bray
Date: 06/03/16

295 East St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $318,400
Buyer: Bank New York
Seller: Thomas J. Leonard
Date: 06/09/16

56 East Carew St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Katie M. Malloy
Seller: Kevin Malloy
Date: 05/31/16

68 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: Brant S. Lingle
Seller: Andrea M. Paul
Date: 06/01/16

373 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $222,000
Buyer: Jennifer Caisse
Seller: Matthew J. Stone
Date: 06/06/16

30 Leahey Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Elyse R. Ness
Seller: Emma M. Bushey
Date: 06/01/16

58 Lincoln Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Zachary Bono
Seller: Karen Duclos-Pheasant
Date: 06/01/16

120 Morgan St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Amy E. Lashley
Seller: Fabian Anazco
Date: 05/31/16

160 North Main St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Tiffany Trzebiatowski
Seller: Brant S. Lingle
Date: 06/01/16

96 Pittroff Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Patrick Grafton-Cardwell
Seller: Valerie D. Tillinghast
Date: 06/07/16

10 Queen Circle
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Kate E. Wesolowski
Seller: Charlene M. Mahoney
Date: 06/07/16

30 Richview Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jonathan A. Duby
Seller: Corey J. Harris
Date: 06/10/16

10 South Sycamore Knls
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $294,500
Seller: Magrath, Hedwidge L., (Estate)
Date: 06/10/16

50 Searle Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $198,400
Buyer: Dream RT
Seller: David B. Rundle
Date: 06/09/16

24 Westbrook Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Jed T. Hollingsworth
Seller: Best4u RT
Date: 06/01/16

43 Westbrook Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Shaun J. Whalen
Seller: Stapley, Jacqueline M., (Estate)
Date: 06/10/16

18 Yale St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Kathryn M. Murphy
Seller: Edward M. Scanlon
Date: 06/01/16

SOUTHAMPTON

2 Old Harvest Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $129,900
Buyer: Matthew J. Charles
Seller: Triple 7 LLC
Date: 06/03/16

15 Rosalie Lane
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $347,500
Buyer: Jerry P. Will
Seller: Michael J. Ferriter
Date: 05/31/16

107 Strong Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Christopher S. Wall
Seller: Elaine M. Shea
Date: 05/31/16

Woodmare Lane
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: James R. Labrie
Seller: Chester J. Kellogg
Date: 06/10/16

WARE

43 Bank St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Donald Francis
Seller: Northborough Capital Partners
Date: 06/10/16

13 Belmont St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Cynthia A. Hunter
Seller: Andrew Dale-Crowther
Date: 06/03/16

85-91 Main St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: TCF Enterprise LLC
Seller: Joel J. Harder
Date: 06/09/16

152 Upper Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Kristine Barnes
Seller: FNMA
Date: 06/10/16

27 Warebrook Village
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Marjorie M. Wojcik
Seller: Stewart A. Terrien
Date: 06/06/16

161 West Main St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Shirleen Perniciaro
Seller: Robert J. Rolla
Date: 05/31/16

WESTHAMPTON

87 Chesterfield Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $353,250
Buyer: Erica D. Silber
Seller: Lewis Breitner
Date: 06/10/16

WILLIAMSBURG

7 Cider Mill Road
Williamsburg, MA 01039
Amount: $597,000
Buyer: Lori A. Schwartz
Seller: David Schuman
Date: 06/10/16

Company Notebook

Company Notebook Departments

Newman’s Own Foundation Donates to Link to Libraries

EAST LONGMEADOW — Link to Libraries Inc., which has donated a half-million new books to children in New England, just booked a donation of its own — a $15,000 grant from Newman’s Own Foundation. The grant was initiated through Big Y World Class Markets. “For all of us at Big Y, we are proud to continue to link the Newman’s Own Foundation with Link to Libraries in order to further the language and literacy skills of students within our marketing area,” said Claire D’Amour-Daley, Big Y’s vice president of Corporate Communications. “Our customers have also enjoyed being part of this yearly initiative.” An all-volunteer nonprofit with no paid staff, Link to Libraries serves 25,000 children in 400 sites in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Newman’s Own Foundation grant will fund the purchase and distribution of thousands of books in the coming months. “Over 92 cents per dollar is used to buy books,” said Susan Jaye-Kaplan, president and co-founder of Link to Libraries, which is based in East Longmeadow. “Thanks to this generous grant from Newman’s Own Foundation and our network of 209 volunteers, ranging in age from 5 to 81 years old, we’re well-positioned to deliver on our mission to to enhance the language and literacy skills of children of all cultural backgrounds.” Newman’s Own Foundation turns all net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman’s Own food and beverage products into charitable donations. To date, Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation have given more than $470 million to thousands of charities around the world. Since its inception in 2008, Link to Libraries has donated nearly 500,000 new books, including more than 75,000 this fiscal year, said Jaye-Kaplan.

Berkshire Hills to Acquire First Choice Bank

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. and First Choice Bank announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which First Choice Bank will merge into Berkshire Bank, and its subsidiary, First Choice Loan Services Inc., will become a subsidiary of Berkshire Bank in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $111.7 million.
Berkshire’s total assets will increase to $8.9 billion, including the $1.1 billion in acquired First Choice assets. This market-expanding merger provides entry into attractive markets with strong demographics, and includes six branches near Princeton, N.J., and two in the greater Philadelphia area. First Choice reported $436 million in net loans (excluding loans held for sale) and $906 million in deposits as of March 31, 2016. First Choice Bank is the second-largest community bank by deposit market share in Mercer County, N.J., an area with per-capita income well above national and regional averages. First Choice Loan Services is a leading residential retail and consumer direct mortgage originator serving borrowers across the U.S. Total mortgage production in 2015 was $2.5 billion. Berkshire will have a pro forma market cap of approximately $905 million and 101 branches, serving customers and communities across the Northeast. “We’re pleased to welcome First Choice customers and employees to America’s most exciting bank,” said Michael Daly, CEO of Berkshire Bank. “This partnership builds on Berkshire’s commitment to create a strong regional platform for serving our customers, while diversifying our revenue streams, improving profitability, and increasing shareholder value. The First Choice franchise builds on markets where we presently manage commercial relationships, and adds a well-positioned deposit base, a best-in-class home-lending operation, and enthusiastic new teams that complement our current culture. After integration, the transaction is expected to be accretive to Berkshire’s earnings per share, return on equity and return on assets, liquidity, and capital. We have a strong track record of execution, and our collective teams are positioned to complete this integration flawlessly.”
Martin Tuchman, First Choice’s chairman of the board, commented, “we’re pleased to announce this combination with Berkshire and believe our customers, community, and employees will benefit greatly from this transaction. We believe Berkshire fits both the culture of our bank and our expanding mortgage operation. Their product suite and commitment to service will enable the combined company to better compete in this growing marketplace. With Berkshire’s attractive stock, I’m pleased to be a shareholder going forward, and our bank employees and mortgage-lending group look forward to joining the Berkshire team.”

OMG Hosts Students for Junior Achievement Job Shadow Program

AGAWAM — OMG Inc. hosted students from three Springfield Middle Schools recently as part of the Junior Achievement Job Shadow Program. OMG has served as a host for the job-shadow program for the past 10 years, and this year’s visits included 48 students from Balliet Middle School, Springfield Public Day Middle School, and M. Marcus Kiley Middle School. The premise behind JA Job Shadow is that, while in school, students don’t often have the opportunity to develop realistic expectations of their future career and lifestyle options. The job-shadow experience lets them see what professionals do in on a daily basis, and is meant to give the students perspectives on a professional and diverse work environment. “During their time at OMG, we introduce them to a few senior managers, take them on a tour, and let them know about our basic hiring requirements, such as the need for a high-school diploma or GED, and characteristics we look for, such as strong communications and time-management skills, and the ability to work well on a team,” said Sarah Corrigan, director of Human Resources at OMG. “We also make it fun and engaging by having the students complete a scavenger hunt of fun facts about OMG during their visit.” Hubert McGovern, president and CEO of OMG, agreed. “The most recent group from Kiley asked great questions,” he said. “They asked about the company’s success record, whether OMG offered benefits like life and health insurance, what percentage of the work force was represented by women, and what we do to help make our employees better. We were really impressed by their level of interest and the way they conducted themselves during the visit.” Headquartered in Agawam, OMG Inc. is North America’s largest supplier of specialty fasteners and products for commercial and residential construction applications. The company operates two business units: OMG Roofing Products and FastenMaster.

Academy of Music Installs New Audio System

NORTHAMPTON — The Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton recently acquired a new, state-of-the-art audio system, designed and installed by Jason Raboin. The hall had become increasingly busy with a variety of programming, from rock concerts to theatrical productions, literary arts to dance, youth programs to indie music, which would all benefit from an enhanced system, said a spokesperson for the Academy. Two challenges were identified for the project. First, the speakers needed to provide consistent coverage throughout the entire theater without interfering with sightlines to the stage opening or distracting from the architectural beauty of the 125-year old opera house, and second, the limited rigging options within the historic performing-arts center demanded compact, lightweight loudspeakers as part of a visually unobtrusive sound system. The installation centered around four Fulcrum Acoustic CX1595 speakers powered by Ashly nXp amplifiers. The speaker’s lightweight, compact, visually unobtrusive design provides consistent coverage throughout the entire theater without interfering with sightlines to the stage opening or distracting from the architectural beauty of the 125-year old opera house. Two compact, portable Fulcrum Acoustic Sub215 subwoofers provide concert-level low frequency for the historic theater while minimizing visual intrusion. Raboin, as a touring sound engineer (Joan Baez, Modest Mouse, Lake Street Dive) who had worked on a variety of audio systems in the field, said, “I have not heard anything that sounds better than Fulcrum Acoustics speakers. When you combine their fidelity with their lightweight and compact size, they really were the only choice for this installation. It was hard to believe that such a compact system would be able to cover the venue at the desired SPL, but the system exceeded our expectations and the theater’s design goals.” At mix position, a Yamaha Ql1 mixing console was chosen for its compact footprint as well as its ability to handle the wide variety of programming offered year-round in the theater.

Florence Bank Donates $25,000 to Cancer Center

FLORENCE — Florence Bank recently contributed $25,000 for use over a five-year period to the Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS)to assist in the expansion of the Sister Caritas Cancer Center at Mercy Medical Center.
Springfield-based SPHS is a not-for-profit entity providing a range of special benefits to the community, such as programs to manage care for people with chronic diseases, health-education and disease-prevention initiatives, outreach for the elderly, and care for the poor and uninsured. Mercy Medical Center is conducting a capital campaign to support the $15 million expansion of the Sister Caritas Cancer Center at the hospital. Specifically, the funds will be used to consolidate all cancer services into a single unified space and meet the increased demand for outpatient cancer services. In the past two years, the number of patients receiving chemotherapy at the Sister Caritas Cancer Center has increased by more than 200%. By 2022, the need for outpatient cancer services is expected to grow by 26%. Gifts to the capital campaign will support the addition of new treatment spaces, including 32 new infusion bays, whose design will increase privacy for patients, as well as for family members and friends. The campaign will also support the consolidation of all cancer services, enhancing communications between oncology staff and facilitating ease of access to existing services for patients. “Florence Bank has steadily supported our programs for years,” said Diane Dukette, vice president, Fund Development, Sisters of Providence Health System. “We are grateful for their ongoing generosity and commitment to the people we serve. This significant pledge to the capital campaign will help further our efforts to create a unified area for patients to receive their cancer treatment in a truly collaborative clinical environment.” Florence Bank, a longtime supporter of Sisters of Providence Health System, is known for its many charitable contributions, including its annual $100,000 Customer’s Choice Community Grants program.

Springfield One of Three Cities to Launch Futurecity Massachusetts

SPRINGFIELD — On Friday, July 15, the Springfield Central Cultural District (SCCD) will be one of three statewide districts to launch Futurecity Massachusetts, a new approach to transforming cities that puts art, culture, and creativity at the center of redevelopment and revitalization. Futurecity Mass is a joint initiative of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and the Boston Foundation.

Futurecity Massachusetts will work with mayors, urban planners, and arts and business leaders in Boston, Worcester, and Springfield on key real-estate projects in state-designated cultural districts in the three cities, targeting areas ready for development and job growth.

It is the first U.S. effort to advance the strategies of Mark Davy and his London-based Futurecity, which has created more than 200 partnerships across the globe that reposition cultural assets from community amenities to marketplace drivers. Futurecity has been immersed in cultural placemaking projects for more than a decade, and Davy believes Futurecity Massachusetts will secure the Commonwealth’s global position as a cultural leader.

Davy will visit Springfield on July 15 to meet and workshop with local cultural and economic-development leaders. He will take knowledge from a walking tour of the Cultural District, an extensive workshop, and a general reception back to his UK team to review. In October, Futurecity will return to present a strategy to the Springfield public. The MCC hopes to eventually expand the program statewide.

A press event will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Friday with Davy, MCC Executive Director Anita Walker, Mayor Domenic Sarno, and SCCD Executive Director Morgan Drewniany on the steps of City Hall. Both press and the general public are invited to attend.

The Springfield Central Cultural District, which encompasses an area of the metro center of Springfield, is membership-based, involving many of the downtown arts institutions. Its mission is to create and sustain a vibrant cultural environment in Springfield.

Local Business Volunteers Bring JA to Fairview School

CHICOPEE — Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts (JA) and 33 volunteers from area banks, businesses, and colleges teamed up to bring Junior Achievement programs to all 436 students at Fairview School in Chicopee for last month’s JA in a Day event.

“This is the sixth year that Chicopee Savings Bank Foundation has sponsored JA in a Day for these students,” noted Jennifer Connolly, president of Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts. “The students and teachers look forward to ending their year with JA, and Junior Achievement looks forward to ending our year with this terrific school. Nowhere else are our JA Volunteers treated to a final assembly with hundreds of cheering students and handmade cards and notes. It is an amazing event.”

This year, JA volunteers from Chicopee Savings Bank, Bank of America, Santander Bank, Westfield Bank, Webster Bank, TD Bank, Babson Capital, Elms College, UMass Amherst, and Lead Yourself Youth brought Junior Achievement programs to students in grades K-5 at Fairview School.

Carlos DeLeon, a Chicopee Savings Bank volunteer, noted, “the students had a good understanding of how a city runs. They had a great understanding of a savings account, and we talked about how taxes help the city rebuild.”

Erika Eisnor, a Santander volunteer who taught JA Our Region in a fourth-grade class, noted that “JA is so much fun and a great learning experience.”

Added Kidon Gebersadik from Bank of America, “it’s never too early to learn about good money habits. These exceptional students are learning about building blocks that will lead to more stable financial lives down the road, making our communities and local economies stronger.”

Tim Dominick, a teacher at Fairview School, explained that the program “further offered the students a chance to explore their creative thinking process. The students benefited from the teamwork and problem solving the program offered.”

JA programs empower students to make a connection between what they learn in school and how it can be applied in the real world, enhancing the relevance of their classroom learning and increasing their understanding of the value of staying in school. Each year, JA reaches more than 10 million students worldwide and helps them develop successful financial-management habits, empowering them to explore the potential of becoming an entrepreneur and providing them with the skills necessary to succeed in a global workforce. Locally, Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts reaches more than 11,000 students.

MARX Events Announces Second Annual Dream Wedding Giveaway

EAST LONGMEADOW — For the second straight year, MARX Events, along with dozens of participating vendors, will award a U.S. veteran or active service member a free wedding. The giveaway aims to honor the service and sacrifice of the military and create a special atmosphere for a military couple as they embark on the next chapter of their lives together.

The nomination process is now open. Community members may nominate themselves or someone they know by submitting either a written or video story to www.marxdreamwedding.com.

This second annual MARX dream wedding includes a free wedding-venue space with food and beverage for 50 participants, complimentary flowers and photography, wedding dress, rehearsal dinner, and full entertainment services provided by MARX alongside many other services and providers.

Participating vendors and sponsors include Chez Josef, the Delaney House, Operation: Love My Dress, Formal Affair, Pete’s Sweets, Pop’s Biscotti, Deluxe Limo, Mikkie Viereck, CJC Lighting & Events, Tanya Constigan Wedding Planning, Robert Charles Photography, Wedding Day Sourcebook, WMAS, Western Mass News, Smith & Wesson, and With Love Jacquelyn.

The wedding ceremony will take place at Chez Josef in Agawam, and the rehearsal dinner will be held at the Log Cabin in Holyoke in April 2017. The top three finalists will be announced on Veterans Day, and the winner will be announced on Dec. 20.

“This is our way, each year, to give back to the men and women of our military who give so much for us,” said Mark Ashe, managing partner of MARX Events.

AIC Awarded Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) has received a one-time $347,000 Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant from the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) in support of the college’s Nursing Education Achievement Program (NEAP).

HRSA is the primary federal agency for improving access to healthcare for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. HRSA programs span across America, providing direct healthcare to 23 million people, particularly those who live in underserved inner cities and rural communities. In addition, HRSA provides scholarships and programs to encourage greater minority participation in the healthcare professions.

In partnership with Baystate Medical Center, the Western Mass. chapter of the National Assoc. of Hispanic Nurses, and the Western Mass. Black Nurses Assoc., NEAP will provide professional nurses to mentor participating students along with implementing multiple evidence-based supports that will strengthen the ability of economically and educationally disadvantaged students to pass their courses, graduate, and move into the workforce.

“It is an honor for American International College and the Division of Nursing to be awarded this grant, which recognizes AIC’s dedication and success in diversifying our community’s nursing workforce,” said Dean of Health Sciences Cesarina Thompson.

For more information about AIC’s programs and services, visit www.aic.edu.

Picture This

Departments Picture This

A photo essay of recent business events in Western Massachusetts July 11, 2016

Developers Conference

The Western Mass. Developers Conference, sponsored by the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., was staged on June 23 at the MassMutual Center. The event featured an address from Gov. Charlie Baker (top photo); an announcement from Lawrence Curtis (middle), president and managing partner of WinnDevelopment, that his firm intends to build market-rate housing, retail, and office space at the iconic clock tower building at Ludlow Mills; and a host of programs and seminars. The event drew hundreds of area developers and business leaders, including (bottom, from left) Maura McCaffrey, president and CEO of Health New England; Ashley Allen, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Health New England; Carol Campbell, president of Chicopee Industrial Contractors; Carol Leary, president of Bay Path University; and Dianne Fuller Doherty, director of the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network.
Photos by Ed Cohen

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AM7J4703-6x4

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Court Dockets

Court Dockets Departments

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

Hampshire District Court

Western Development Corp. v. James Rule, Marjorie Rule, Kenneth Wood, and Urshula Wood
Allegation: Breach of Contract: $261,000
Filed: 06/28/16

Springfield District Court

Perkins Paper Inc. v. The First Chandler Corp. dba Betsy’s Diner
Allegation: Breach of contract, failure to pay for goods: $27,102.98
Filed: 05/16/16

Springfield Superior Court

Grimes Horticulture Inc. v. Liberty Family Farms Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract, failure to pay for goods: $108,948.45
Filed: 06/16/06

Westfield District Court

NFR Distributors Inc. v. AMS Flooring LLC, Dave Minchuk, and Julia Minchuk
Allegation: Breach of contract: $6,834.84
Filed: 05/20/16

Gilbert & Sons Insulation Inc. v. David Minchuk
Allegation: Breach of contract: $9,415.43
Filed: 05/19/16

Springfield Electrical J.A.T.C. v. Brian Biuso aka Brian J. Biuso
Allegation: Breach of apprentice scholarship loan agreement and apprentice promissory note: $11,896.26
Filed: 06/10/16

Amalia Fitzgerald and Robert Fitzgerald v. Big Y Foods Inc.
Allegation: Negligent display of bottled water obscured view of water on floor resulting in injury: $3,025.97
Filed: 06/08/16

Agenda

Agenda Departments

Wine and Canvas Event

July 21: Charlene Manor Extended Care Facility in Greenfield will host a Wine and Canvas event from 6 to 9 p.m. During the event, an artist will guide participants through the re-creation of a selected work of art. Canvas, paint, brushes, and other supplies are provided. Registration is $20, discounted from the normal price, and includes two glasses of wine. Participants must be 21 or older. Those interested may RSVP to (413) 774-3724, ext. 248 by Thursday, July 14. Charlene Manor, located at 130 Colrain Road in Greenfield, is a nonprofit organization that provides short-term rehabilitation, long-term skilled nursing care, respite care, specialized Alzheimer’s and dementia care, and hospice services. For more information, visit www.charlenemanor.org.

Indian Motocycle Day

July 24: The Springfield Museums will present its seventh annual Indian Motocycle Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the continuation of a long-standing tradition honoring the classic motorcycles that were manufactured in the city from 1901 to 1953. Last year, more than 1,000 people attended the event, which featured more than 60 classic Springfield-built Indians owned by local collectors. The event is sponsored by Sampson Funeral Home and AAA Pioneer Valley; the media sponsor is Rock 102 WAQY. MassMutual is the 2016 season supporter of the Springfield Museums. The museums re-established the Indian Day tradition in 2010 after a five-year hiatus. From 1970 until 2005, the event was held at the now-closed Indian Motocycle Museum on Hendee Street in Springfield, which was owned by Esta Manthos and her late husband, Charlie. In 2007, Esta Manthos donated their extensive collection of Indian motocycles, artifacts, and memorabilia to the Springfield Museums, where they are now on view in the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. This year’s Indian Day will pay tribute to Augusta and Adeline Van Buren in honor of the 100th anniversary of their historic cross-country ride. In 1916, the sisters became the first women to cross the continental U.S., each on their own Indian Powerplus motorcycle built in Springfield. Along their eventful 60-day, 5,500-mile journey from Brooklyn to San Francisco, they became the first women to reach the 14,115-foot summit of Pike’s Peak. The two were inducted into the American Motorcyclist Assoc. Hall of Fame in 2002, as well as the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame in 2003. Springfield Museums is also celebrating the centennial of this groundbreaking event in its exhibit “Crossing the Country to Cross Barriers: The Van Buren Sisters Ride into History,” which will feature photographs, news articles, and rare memorabilia detailing the sisters’ courageous trip. In addition to the motorcycles on display, there will be a variety of vendors, food, and beverages, music provided by Rock 102 and a local DJ, and the awarding of trophies for the best Indians in a variety of categories. Commemorative T-shirts will be available for purchase. Anyone bringing a pre-1953 Indian will receive a free admission pass plus a commemorative Indian Day button. Exhibitors, and especially vendors, are encouraged to pre-register by calling (413) 263-6800, ext. 304. Admission to the event is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 3-17, and includes access to the Wood Museum of Springfield History and the Indian Motocycle Collection. The event is free for members or with paid museum admission.

Lean LaunchPad Weekend

July 29-31: In today’s competitive market, startups and small businesses need all the help they can get. The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Elms College will hold a Lean LaunchPad weekend to help startups identify the specific problems their products or services can solve for customers. The weekend-long workshop, titled “Creating Customers and Value,” will help businesses fail less, save money, and discover target customers and ideal business models. The Lean LaunchPad weekend course combines hands-on experience, customer interaction, and business fundamentals to entrepreneurship. Participants will dive deep into the ‘value-proposition canvas’ to understand product market fit; they will also learn how to turn ideas into statements that convince customers to buy. The events will begin with a 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. session on Friday, July 29, and run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and 31. The workshop will include an “Idea Jam,” a look at business pitch concepts, team formation, networking, in-depth exploration of the value-proposition canvas, hands-on development of customer-value creation, an overview of market size and customer segments, and a business-pitch competition. The facilitators for the Startup Lean Weekend will be Jeremy Casey and Rick Plaut. Casey started Name Net Worth, a software startup company, in Springfield in 2014. His background as a serial networker, commercial lender, and communicator was the springboard to his transition from corporate America to entrepreneurship. He was president of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS), which was in its infancy when he joined. Over five years, he grew the board of directors and the membership, and has helped make YPS the top membership organization for young professionals in the region. He has conducted workshops with many high schools and colleges in the Northeast, and has mentored many startup organizations through Valley Venture Mentors, helping them get their businesses started and providing ongoing feedback as they grow. Plaut became an entrepreneur in 2009 after 30 years as a corporate ‘intrapreneur,’ developing new products, customers, markets, and businesses. Currently founding his third enterprise, he is a partner in InCommN and was a partner at Universal Quality Machine. He and his partners at InCommN teach the principles of Lean LaunchPad to entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and businesses with a need for quick growth in new markets. He also shares the tools of Lean LaunchPad and the Business Model Canvas with students at a number of local colleges, including Smith, Elms, and UMass. He is also a mentor and facilitator for early-stage startups at Valley Venture Mentors, and is a board member and mentor for a variety of early-stage enterprises. The cost is $250 per person or $150 for Elms alumni.

People on the Move

Departments People on the Move

Tejas Gandhi

Tejas Gandhi, the former chief administrative officer at Navicent Health in Macon, Ga. — where he led the organization through an era of positive change and restructuring, contributing greatly to its financial recovery — has been named chief operating officer at Baystate Medical Center. His appointment became effective June 13. Gandhi fills a position left vacant by Nancy Shendell-Falik, who for two years served in the dual position at Baystate Health as chief operating officer and senior vice president/chief nursing officer for Baystate Medical Center, prior to being named president of Baystate Medical Center and senior vice president of Hospital Operations for Baystate Health in October 2015. “Dr. Gandhi is a true change agent, whose culture-building skills and talents in the area of continuous process improvements will be an asset in leading Baystate Medical Center and supporting Baystate 2020, our health system’s strategic plan,” said Shendell-Falik. “His adherence to core values and accountability in all actions, as well as his advocacy of transparency, especially in his own interactions, will make him a key member of the Baystate Health family.” Gandhi, with 15 years of professional experience in healthcare administration, comes to his new position from a hospital similar to Baystate Medical Center — a 637-bed teaching hospital affiliated with Mercer University School of Medicine, a Level I trauma center and three-time Magnet designated hospital for nursing excellence nationwide. Prior to joining Navicent Health in 2013, Gandhi was employed by Virtua Health in Marlton, N.J., the largest comprehensive healthcare system in Southern New Jersey, where he helped change the overall culture to one of continuous process improvement, resulting in cost savings and key improvements for the organization. During his 10 years there, Gandhi oversaw the process-driven planning process for a new $618 million replacement hospital and regional ambulatory center, also leading successful initiatives to improve clinical safety and quality outcomes, as well as patient satisfaction and employee engagement. Gandhi attended the University of Bombay, India, where he received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He later received a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a doctorate in health administration and leadership from Medical University of South Carolina.

•••••

In a visit to the governor’s Western Mass. office in Springfield recently, Gov. Charlie Baker introduced Michael Knapik, a former state senator and state representative from Westfield, as the office’s new director. Knapik will be a primary liaison between the administration and constituents and communities in Western Mass. “With more than two decades of experience representing Western Mass. constituents, Mike is exceptionally qualified to lead our Springfield office,” Baker said. “Operating the office is one of the many essential tools we use to maintain an important relationship with the people, local leaders, and municipalities of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties.” Added Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, “Mike will be an asset to both the administration and those serviced by the Springfield office. I look forward to working closely with him in his new role to continue building upon the strong relationships our administration has cultivated in the western part of the state.” Knapik said he is “excited to join the Baker-Polito administration and begin working with people across Western Massachusetts again. Western Massachusetts has a lot to offer, and I look forward to playing an active role in our communities and the overall conversation with the rest of Massachusetts on behalf of the administration.” Knapik served Westfield and 11 surrounding communities in the state Legislature for 22 years, first as a representative from 1991 to 1994 and then as a senator from 1995 to 2013.

•••••

Kevin Maltby

Bacon Wilson announced that attorney Kevin Maltby is now president of the Hampden County Bar Assoc. (HCBA) after taking the oath of office Wednesday in front of his partners and peers at the association’s annual meeting and membership dinner at the Springfield Sheraton. “I am enormously grateful to the members of the bar association for their confidence in me, and gratified to follow in the footsteps of my partners at Bacon Wilson, including past presidents Paul Rothschild, Hyman Darling, and Michael Ratner,” Maltby said. “I consider it an honor to be counted among their ranks. So many Bacon Wilson attorneys have, over their lengthy careers, given their time and legal skills to serve the Hampden County Bar.”

Michael Katz

Michael Ratner

Paul Salvage

Also in attendance was attorney Michael Katz, who took office as chair of the bar’s Bankruptcy Section, while attorneys Michael Ratner and Paul Salvage were each honored for their 50 years of membership. Maltby has a long history of service and involvement with the Hampden County Bar Assoc. He has served on the bar’s board of directors each year since 2012. He was honored with the HCBA’s Access to Justice Pro Bono Publico Award for 2012 for his vision and implementation of the Springfield District Court Lawyer for the Day program. Additionally, in 2013, he received the Community Service Award from the Mass. Bar Assoc. Maltby is a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Advisory Committee on Professionalism. He has extensive jury-trial and courtroom experience, and is a former prosecutor for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. He is also an adjunct professor of Legal Studies at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, where he teaches litigation, advanced litigation, criminal law, and evidence. He earned his law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 2001, and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from UMass in 1998. In 2014, he was a recipient of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty distinction, and has been a named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for seven years, since 2009.

•••••

The Westmass Area Development Corp. board named Eric Nelson the new president and CEO of the private, nonprofit, industrial- and business-development corporation that offers master-planned land resources at Chicopee River Business Park, Hadley University Business Park, Deer Park in East Longmeadow, and the historic Ludlow Mills. Nelson succeeds Kenn Delude, who is retiring after 10 years as president and CEO of the organization. Nelson has more than 30 years of experience in site development and design and has consulted on numerous industrial and commercial site-development projects. His background also encompasses financing development and creating public-private partnership agreements. Having served as senior vice president of Westmass for the past two and a half years and with Westmass since 2011, Nelson has conducted regular meetings with industrial and business prospects interested in Westmass properties, conducted pre-development site analysis and research, headed the process of zoning and building permits, and was responsible for project budgets and grant applications. According to John Maybury, Westmass board chair, “Westmass has been fortunate to have someone of Kenn Delude’s unique skills at the helm of the organization. We are equally fortunate to have Eric Nelson, who worked alongside Kenn for the past five years, making for a smooth transition. Eric has worked closely with Kenn and is intimately involved with all of Westmass’ industrial land resources in the region and in particular the Ludlow Mills preservation and redevelopment, an exciting project which is quickly approaching $100 million in investment and represents significant economic development for the region.” Maybury said Delude would continue to provide support to Westmass and the Ludlow Mills project through the transition in a consulting role as needed. Nelson is a registered professional landscape architect and holds U.S. Green Building Council LEED AP certification. He earned his master’s degree in landscape architecture from UMass Amherst.

•••••

Madeline Presz

JGS Lifecare has named Madeline Presz executive director of Spectrum Home Health & Hospice Care. Presz is responsible for overseeing the daily operation of the home health and hospice program, including supervision of the team, financial performance, and delivery of quality care, as well as providing direct care. Presz brings 22 years of clinical experience in healthcare to this position. She is a registered nurse, certified in hospice and palliative care, gerontological nursing; and IV therapy, central line and TPN therapy. Before joining Spectrum, Presz served as executive director of the Loving Care Agency in Springfield. In this role, she was responsible for the clinical and operational programming for two pediatric and three adult home-care offices/teams. Prior to that, she served as regional director of Clinical Operations for Life Choice Hospice in Auburn. She was also a clinical director/administrator at Solamor Hospice in Auburn and a clinical director of Allegiance Hospice in Shrewsbury. Presz has also served as director of Nursing at Wingate in East Longmeadow, and she started her career as assistant director of Nursing at Chestnut Hill Rehab in East Longmeadow. Presz has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Elms College, graduating summa cum laude, and an associate degree in nursing from Springfield Technical Community College. She is also a member of the Sigma Theta Tau National Honor Society for nurses.

•••••

Mary-Beth Cooper

Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper has been appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker to serve on one of three special commissions created under the landmark opioid legislation signed into law earlier this year. Cooper and the other appointees to the commission were sworn in by the governor recently at the State House. Cooper will serve on the special commission to study the incorporation of safe and effective pain treatment and prescribing practices into the professional training of students that may prescribe controlled substances. This special commission is tasked with developing recommendations to ensure future prescribers have an understanding of certain fundamental issues relative to the opioid epidemic, including pain treatment, pain-treatment planning, safe prescribing practices, and prescription monitoring. The appointed commission will submit recommendations on or before Dec. 1. “I’m honored to serve on this commission, representing our outstanding healthcare-preparation programs at Springfield College,” said Cooper. “I’m excited about the diversity of the commission, which includes family members of those who have struggled with opioid use, current healthcare providers, other educators, and committed community members all wanting to be a part of solutions to the opioid crisis.” Joining Cooper as appointees to the special commission are Todd Brown, vice chairman of the School of Pharmacy at Northeastern University; Dr. Nitigna Desai, director of Addiction Psychiatry at Bedford Veteran Affairs Medical Center and director of the Substance Abuse Service Line at New England Healthcare; Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, president and CEO of the Dimock Community Health Center; Brad Ulrich, regional vice president for Walgreens; and Joan Vitello-Cicciu, dean of the UMass Graduate School of Nursing.

•••••

Brian Risler, Farmington Bank’s assistant vice president and mortgage sales manager for the Western Mass. region, has been named 2016 Affiliate of the Year by the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley (RAPV). The announcement was made during the association’s recent annual awards banquet on June 8. The award is the highest form of recognition given by the RAPV to an affiliate member who has shown outstanding service and devotion to the organization during the past 17 months in the areas of affiliate-related association activity, community service, and business activity. Risler has served in many capacities for the RAPV, including co-chair of its Education Fair & Trade Show, which was the association’s largest and most heavily attended event of the year. Risler also served on the Government Affairs Committee of the Mass. Assoc. of Realtors (MAR), advocating for private property rights and promoting MAR’s legislative agenda and positions on key issues. As affiliate of the year, Risler was also recognized for his involvement in the community. For instance, he has been a guest speaker for HAPHousing, the largest nonprofit developer of affordable housing in Western Mass., educating first-time homebuyers on the fundamentals of residential financing and how best to advocate for themselves as consumers. At Farmington Bank, Risler has more than 16 years of experience in residential mortgage banking in Massachusetts. Risler received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from Stonehill College in Massachusetts.

•••••

Elias Acuna, a real estate agent with Maria Acuna Real Estate in Springfield, has been named the 2016 Realtor of the Year by the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley (RAPV). The announcement was made during the association’s annual awards banquet held recently at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. As the highest honor given to a member, the Realtor of the Year award is bestowed upon one person who has shown outstanding service and devotion to the 1,650-member organization during the past 17 months in the areas of Realtor activity, community service, and business activity. A Realtor since 2004, Acuna serves on the association’s board of directors, finance committee, strategic planning committee, and young professional’s network committee, where he was chairman in 2015. He is a co-presenter at the bimonthly new-member orientation promoting involvement and member benefits. Acuna is a frequent technology instructor, teaching topics such as real-estate apps and social-media practices. At the state level, he is a member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Assoc. of Realtors (MAR). He is the chairman of the Mass. Assoc. of Realtors young professional’s network committee and a member the MAR diversity committee. He participated along with 400 Massachusetts Realtors in the 2015 and 2016 Realtors Day on Beacon Hill to lobby on behalf of home ownership and private property rights. He attended the 2015 Massachusetts Assoc. of Realtors Convention and Trade Show.

•••••
Berkshire Bank announced that Kathryn Dube, first vice president, wealth business development leader, was honored by the United Way of Pioneer Valley as Volunteer of the Year for the 2015-16 season. Dube joined the United Way of Pioneer Valley board of directors in 2007 and committed to this position until 2017. As an affiliate of the United Way, she has also held other titles, such as chairperson of the allocations and impact committee, chairman of the board, and founding member of the Women’s Leadership Council in Western Mass. in 2013. The award is based upon leadership, community engagement, and core values, among other essential qualities. The United Way of Pioneer Valley granted the award to Dube on June 22 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke.

•••••

Greenfield Cooperative Bank and its parent company, Greenfield Bancorp, announced that the following seven directors were re-elected to three-year terms as directors of the bank and Greenfield Bancorp, MHC:
•Attorney Robert Carey, a principal in the Greenfield law firm of Curtiss, Carey, Gates &  Goodridge, LLP, re-elected as clerk of the bank;
• Kevin O’Neil, president of Wilson’s Department Store in Greenfield, re- elected chairman of the board;
• Keith Finan, chief financial officer of Deerfield Academy;
• Attorney Daniel Graves, owner of the Law Offices of Daniel Graves in Greenfield;
• Attorney Peter MacConnell, principal in the law firm of Bacon Wilson, P.C., re-elected as a corporator for a 10-year term;
• John Kuhn, principal in the firm of Kuhn-Riddle Architects in Amherst, re-elected as a corporator for a 10-year term; and
• Robb Morton, CPA, principal in the accounting firm of Boisselle, Morton & Associates, LLP located in Hadley, also re-elected as a  corporator for a 10-year term. Re-elected to 10-year terms as corporators of Greenfield Bancorp, MHC were Barry Roberts, president of Roberts Builders Inc.; Margarita O’Byrne Curtis, head of school at Deerfield Academy; and Douglas Clarke, retired after many years with Western Massachusetts Electric Co., now Eversource.

Chamber Corners

www.explorenorthampton.com

Chamber Corners Departments

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.amherstarea.com

• July 18: 13th annual Golf Tournament at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Schedule: 10 a.m.: full-swing pro clinic; 10:30: registration, putting contest, light lunch; noon: shotgun start, scramble format; 5 p.m.: social hour, cash bar;  6 p.m.: dinner, awards ceremony, live auction. Cost: $135 per player; $540 per foursome. Hole-in-one, longest drive, closest-to-the-pin contests.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• July 14: Networking By Night, 5-7 p.m., at the Oxbow Marina Sports Center, Old Springfield Road, Northampton. Cost: $10 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Register online at easthamptonchamber.org or call the chamber at (413) 572-9414.

• July 29: 32nd annual Golf Tournament, 9 a.m. shotgun start, at Southampton Country Club, 329 College Highway. Cost: $125 per person, includes cart, gift, lunch, dinner. Register online at business.easthamptonchamber.org/events/details/32-annual-golf-tournament-july-2016-195 or call the chamber office at (413) 527-9414.

• August 13: 2nd annual Beach Ball, 5-10 p.m. Dance and dine under the stars at chamber’s annual Beach Ball, where a beach party and gala collide. Barbecue feasting by Outlook Farm, music by DJ Jay Pacluiga, full cash bar by Meyers Catering, bonfire on the beach, performance by the Oxbow waterski show team. Register online at business.easthamptonchamber.org/events/details/2nd-annual-easthampton-chamber-beach-ball-august-2016-196, or call the chamber office at (413) 527-9414.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

• July 13: Chamber Coffee Buzz Morning Networking, 7:30-8:30 a.m., at Ruwac Inc., 54 Winter St., Holyoke. Jump-start the day with this opportunity to meet business and community leaders while enjoying coffee and a light breakfast at this world leader in industrial vacuum systems. If your schedule demands morning meetings or if you’re interested in maximizing your exposure, the Coffee Buzz is for you. This event is free to members of the business community and is sponsored by Lyon & Fitzpatrick, LLP.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

• July 13: July Arrive @ 5 with NAYP, 5-7 p.m., at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Sponsors: Brain Analysis & Neurodevelopment Center, Highview of Northampton, and the Healing ZONE Therapeutic Massage. Cost: $10 for members.

• July 14: Google Workshop: “Set Goals with Google Analytics,” 9-11 a.m., at the chamber office, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by SCORE. No cost. What is Google Analytics? A free powerful analytics tool provides reports showing how visitors found your website and what they did when they got there. Measure the effectiveness of your online and offline marketing campaigns. To register, visit [email protected].

• July 21: Google Workshop: “Build Your Free Website with Google,” 9-11 a.m., at the chamber office, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by SCORE. Learn how to create, customize, and publish your site, get a free domain name or use one you already own, and access and edit your site anytime. No cost, but pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register, visit [email protected].

• Sept. 7: September Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Spoleto Restaurant. Sponsors: Webber & Grinnell Insurance, Applied Mortgage, BusinessWest, and Lia Honda. Cost: $10 for members.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• July 14: Pancake Breakfast, 7-11a.m., at South Middle School, Westfield. Cost: $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $3 for children under 12. Vendor tables available: $75 for members, $100 for non-members. You must bring your own table and chairs. For more information, to volunteer, or reserve a table top and/or sponsorship, call the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

• July 18: After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at Papps Bar & Grill, 110 Airport Road, Westfield. Network with the chamber this summer. Scholarship fund raffle: win an aerial, scenic view of Westfield. Cost: $5 for chamber members, $10 general admission. Includes refreshments and cash bar.

SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL CHAMBER

www.myonlinechamber.com

• July 28: Chamber Golf Tournament at the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. Schedule: 11 a.m. to noon: registration/courseside lunch; 12:30 p.m.: shotgun start; dinner immediately following. Sponsored by MassMutual Center, VHB, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, Florence Bank, and Chicopee Savings Bank. Cost: $600 per foursome, $160 per individual golfer. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• August 15: Annual Golf Tournament at the Ranch Golf Club, Southwick. Schedule: 11:30 a.m. registration; noon: lunch; 1 p.m.: shotgun start/scramble format. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. Register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com. For more information or for tickets to this event, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 14: Multi-chamber Night of Networking, 5-7 p.m., at Cal’s Wood Fired Grill, Riverdale St., West Springfield. Cost: $10. Register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com. For more information or for tickets to this event, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 22: Business Breakfast with Howie Carr, 7-9 a.m., Chez Josef, Agawam. Cost: $35 for chamber members, $40 for non-members. Register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

Briefcase

Briefcase Departments

PVPC Releases Economic-development Strategy

SPRINGFIELD — The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) recently released its 2016 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) annual update, as part of its larger Plan for Progress, a 10-year blueprint for economic development in the region. The CEDS features a description of regional economic-development conditions and sets forth goals and objectives for the future, as well as a list of projects seeking the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) public-works funding in the next year. The report highlights the region’s continued decrease in unemployment, an improved workforce-talent pipeline, and increased early-education enrollment and high-school and community-college graduation rates, among others, as metrics illustrating the overall progress being made. The CEDS also lists many major committed projects of regional significance, such as the Center for Hospitality and Culinary Excellence at Holyoke Community College, the Springfield Innovation Center, the CRRC MA subway-car manufacturing plant, and the Aviation Research and Training Center, a collaboration between UMass Amherst and Westover Air Reserve Base. A full digital copy of the 2016 CEDS is available on the PVPC website, www.pvpc.org. Hard copies are also available upon request. The PVPC, which administers this process, has been the EDA-designated regional planning agency for the Pioneer Valley region since 1999, which includes 43 cities and towns in Hampshire and Hampden counties.

Home Sales Rise in Pioneer Valley

SPRINGFIELD — The REALTOR Association of Pioneer Valley reported that single-family home sales in May were up 19.4% compared to the same time last year. The median price was up 2.0% to $205,000. County reports vary. In Franklin County, sales were up 90.3% and prices up 5.6%; in Hampden County, sales were up 16.8% and prices up 1.5%; in Hampshire County, sales were up 10.6% and prices down 3.7%.

Passenger Rail Platform Delayed at Union Station

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) Director Christopher Moskal announced recently that required design modifications will delay the opening of a new boarding platform at Springfield Union Station. He said progress at the Union Station Regional Intermodal Transportation Center project continues to advance, and he “expects that the Union Station terminal project itself will open on schedule in January 2017, albeit without the new boarding platform in operation.” He said this “includes the terminal building, the bus terminal, the parking garage, and the passenger tunnel up to the current Amtrak lobby on Lyman Street.” As a separate component of the overall project, MassDOT is committed to delivering a new boarding platform for Amtrak trains. This high-level platform, which will provide ‘level-entry boarding’ for Amtrak passengers, was scheduled to be in operation when Union Station opened. However, in reviewing the new platform’s design, Amtrak indicated that a waiver of two Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) design requirements would be needed. This waiver relating to the width of the new platform was necessitated by the unique configuration of the existing Union Station tracks. The SRA submitted the waiver request on March 10. After discussions between FRA and MassDOT, FRA issued a letter on May 23 requiring full compliance with its design regulations. This FRA decision requires major modifications to the initial design of both the platform and the underground passenger tunnel. Accordingly, the project’s architect has been directed to prepare necessary changes to the project’s plans and specifications. The project team is currently working to finalize a revised schedule and budget. Moskal indicated that MassDOT remains committed to funding related design and construction costs. In the interim, he indicated that Amtrak passengers will access trains from the new terminal by passing through the renovated portion of the tunnel into the current Amtrak lobby and using the existing boarding platform on the Lyman Street side as they do today. After the new boarding platform is completed, the Lyman Street end of the tunnel — the current Amtrak lobby — will be renovated and will reopen. This will result in a fully renovated passenger tunnel between the terminal and Lyman Street.

Ashe Explores Starting Foundation

Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe Jr., honored by BusinessWest as one of its Difference Makers for 2016, issued a statement to the press recently announcing that he is exploring the possibility of staring a foundation to continue his life’s work. “Like most anyone else facing retirement, I find myself contemplating what I want to do with the rest of my life,” he said. “I know that, despite being in my mid-70s, I still have great intensity and energy. The fire still burns in me for my life’s work of 42 years — assuring that offenders have the best possible likelihood of re-entering the community as law-abiding, productive, positive citizens, giving to, rather than taking from, the lives of others. That life’s work would be hard for me to completely walk away from when I still feel vital and useful and passionate about its value to others. One of the scenarios that I’ve contemplated is to continue that life’s calling in a new framework, to create a local foundation, with myself as its unpaid chief administrator, to enhance our community’s effort to successfully re-enter offenders.” Ashe said he’s far from having an exact blueprint regarding specific ways that such a nonprofit might help, and he’s not yet completely certain that starting and heading up such a philanthropic foundation is where he can be of best service in retirement. But he did say it’s an idea worth exploring. “Although I am not far enough along to have detailed the specifics of the structures of such a possible foundation, I would want any such foundation to be marked by simplicity and integrity,” he explained. “One model that I would use is the local charity Griffin’s Friends, which was founded to bring moments of joy to courageous kids at Baystate Medical Center, and which minimizes administrative costs and maximizes direct service to those it seeks to help.” Ashe said one reason he’s thinking aloud and publicly about this is to put the word out to others who might be likewise interested in founding such a new nonprofit, to let him know of their interest in helping to build what could be “an inspired addition to the edifice that we’ve labored so tirelessly to build during these last 42 years — a community corrections system driven by a vision of social justice, integrity, and public safety.”

Employer Confidence Weakens in June

BOSTON — A month of economic uncertainty punctuated by weak U.S. job growth and the United Kingdom’s impending exit from the European Union drove Massachusetts employer confidence lower during June. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index fell 1.6 points to 56.1 as employers took an increasingly bearish view of the U.S. economy. At the same time, the confidence reading remained comfortably above the 50 mark that denotes an overall positive economic outlook. Taken quarterly, confidence rose from 55.8 during the first three months of the year to 56.7 during April, May, and June. The June survey of employers overlapped by a few days the landmark vote in Great Britain to leave the European Union, an outcome that caused financial gyrations and concern about U.S. exports in the face of a rising dollar. The confidence readings also came in the wake of the slowest pace of job creation in the U.S. since 2010. “Massachusetts employers are trying to balance a range of economic and political distractions that pull them in different directions month to month,” said Raymond Torto, Chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) and lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Design. “The good news is that employers remain highly confident in the Massachusetts economy and in the prospects for their own companies.” Added AIM President and CEO Richard Lord, a BEA member, “the sustained optimism that Massachusetts employers have shown toward the state economy reflects the ability of the Legislature and several administrations to maintain disciplined fiscal policy while creating an environment that allows employers to grow. We look forward to working with policymakers to continue that record as the two-year legislative session ends next month.” The index reached its historic high of 68.5 on two occasions in 1997-98, and its all-time low of 33.3 in February 2009. It has remained above 50 since October 2013.

Incorporations

Departments Incorporations

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

AGAWAM

Build with Us Properties Inc., 232 Walnut St., Agawam, MA 01001. Jennifer Illouz, same. Residential redevelopment.

Discount Mattress Outlet Inc., 88 Raymond Circle, Agawam, MA 01001. Jeffrey Clarke, same. Retail sales of bedding, mattresses, and related products.

AMHERST

Caring Professionals Inc., 10 Gatehouse Road, Second Floor, Amherst, MA 01002. Elisabel Sheehan, 65 Corey Street, Agawam, MA 01001. Non-medical home-care services.

CHICOPEE

Everfresh Packaging Inc. 185 Front St., Building #2, Chicopee, MA 01013. Oded Edan, 136 Denslow Road, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Importing flexible plastic packaging.

FLORENCE

Convention Medical Response Team Corp., 69 Woodland Dr., Florence, MA 01062. Paige Murray, 27 Plantation St., #3, Worcester, MA 01604. Non profit organization that provides free first aid and medical care to convention attendees, staff, and the general public.

GREENFIELD

Eartsaers, 172 Highland St., Greenfield, MA 01301. John Guy Bailey, same.

LEE

Clark’s Nursery Inc., 1210 Pleasant St., Lee, MA 01238. Rodney Clark, 8 Stonebridge Ways, Tyringham, MA 01264. To purchase, acquire, hold, sell, exchange, raise, propagate, cultivate or otherwise deal with or dispense of plants, trees, shrubs and other nursery products.

LONGMEADOW

Camden Row Designs Inc., 8 Rosemore St., Longmeadow, MA 01106. Lindsay Daviau, same. Event design creating custom goods.

LUDLOW

D & P Morais Construction Inc., 117 Woodland Circle, Ludlow, MA 01056. David Morais, same. Construction services.

NORTHAMPTON

Chambers Advisory Group Inc., 88 King St., Northampton, MA 01060. Robert Chambers, same. Consulting and advising services.

PALMER

Continuum Healthcare Solutions Inc., 52 Olney Road, Palmer, MA 01069. Candice Sousa, same. Healthcare services.

SPRINGFIELD

Elghani Sons Inc., 1072 State St., Springfield, MA 01109. Alaa Abdelghani, 47 Warren St., West Springfield, MA 01089. Real estate holdings.

Forever Dunbar Inc., 1441 Min St., Suite 1100, Springfield, MA 01103. Tracye Whitfield, 122 Cuff Ave., Springfield, MA 01104. Nonprofit organization established to provide financial support to help sustain the viability of the community center located in Springfield Massachusetts known as the Dunbar Center.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

D & A Home Construction Inc., 83 South Blvd., West Springfield, MA 01089. Dmitry Ivanov, same. Home construction services.

Doing Business As Certificates

DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of June 2016.

AGAWAM

Lek’s @ Abella’s skin/lash/nail
159 Main St.
Somchai Daniels

Nails Shine & Spa
1325 Springfield St.
Giang Thai

S D Business Services
26 Franklin St.
Said Mandour

S & M Landscape/Garden Design
27 Kirkland St.
S. Clay & M. Ogden

Sweet Serendipity
16 Lealand Ave.
Angela Johnson

T & R Dining Service
67 Hunt St.
Ronald/Tiffany Perry

CHICOPEE

Becker Services
46 Arlington St., Floor 3
Timothy Becker

Brian Hebert Electrician
8 Carew St.
Brian Robert Hebert

Elite Mobile Technology
50 Angela Dr.
Robert Nadeau

Memories of Life & Celebration lamps
527 Grattan St.
Debra Teal, Janis Foraker

Seibold Building/Remodeling
75 Marble Ave.
Brian Seibold

Wicked Clean Professional Cleaning Services
111 D Colonial Circle
Dean R. Mastorakis

HOLYOKE

International Center for Unity Healing and Exploration
2 Laurel St.
Brendan Walsh

Jay’s Bed and Breakfast
1109 Dwight St.
Jesus Candelaro

My Daughters Grocery
301 High St.
Jesus Hernandez

Tastee Freeze
915 Main St.
Sagheer Nawaz

NORTHAMPTON

A & E Landscaping
612 Bridge Road
Anthony Reardon, Eric Cooper

Alyssa Black Design
26 Dewey Court
Alyssandra Black

Auntie M’s Bakeshoppe
3 Hampton Ave., Apt. 32
Amanda Wasseman

Clay of Dough
107 North St.
Lily Fariborz

Inner Networks
50 Center St.
Sheryl Waxler

KM Operations, LLC, d/b/a Subway
91 Main St.
Kimberly McCarthy

North Kinut Motel
504 North King St.
Shwere Patel

SPRINGFIELD

66 DKR LLC, d/b/a Hampton Inc.
851 East Columbus Ave.
Dinesh Patel

Ayalas Handyman Services
111 School St.
Santos Ayala

Benovations
43 Rockland St.
Benjamin Lynch

Bettermen Construction Inc.
1 Federal St.
Mark P. Failey

Boost Mobile Wireless
385 Belmont Ave.
Angel O Alban

C and C Grocery and Restaurant
546 Worthington St.
Candida Caraballo

Carrier Northeast
467 Cottage St.
Carrier Enterprise

Diva’s Hair and Nail Salon
136 Oakland St.
Phuong Thai

E & M Construction Service
19 Eddy St.
Egidio Robinson

Eldred Enterprises
205 Norfolk St.
Eric Carl Eldred

Exclusive Autos
152 Sumner Ave.
Eduard Shvetsov

Fan Yin Li and Zhou Lin D
907B Carew St.
Fan Yin Lin

GS Trucking
175 Brittany Road
George Samuels

Honeycomb Target Supply
154 Garnet St.
Ronald Claire Behnk

Isaiah Dyer Photos
92 Alderman St.
Isaiah Xavier Dyer

Just B
900 Allen St.
Bianca Gall Jackson

Ladycparkle Cleaning Service
98 Brandon Ave.
Chalonda Jaunee

Lucky Me 33
2 Gunn Square
Maria Matos

Mark M. Murray
56 Garland St.
Mark M. Murray

Mercy Women’s Health
1777 Dwight St.
Kevin A Jourdain

Mr. B’s Vending Services
17 Sumner Ave. #3
Kiyen Ky-Lee Boyd

Near Photography
747 South Branch Pky.
Eli Matthew Schwartz

Northeast Distribution
467 Cottage St.
Carrier Enterprise

Punto Market LLC
2760 Main St.
Claudio Canela

Reef Dimensions
97 Somerset St.
Richard Steven

Rodriguez Restaurant
17-A Rutland St.
Isidro Rodriguez

Santiago’s Restaurant
2 Chestnut St.
Orlando Santiago

Shrub Man
153 Plainfield St.
Thomas Mauer

Street Entertainment
90 Cherrelyn St.
Gregory Lamont Thomas

Swagger Apparel Line
54 Herbert Ave.
Teressa Doris

Valuer Advertising
105 Princeton St.
Andre Yarns Jr.

Weed Man
0153 Plainfield St.
Thomas Mauer

Wheelers Market
21 Locust St.
Faiz Rabbani

WEST SPRINGFIELD

98 Front St. LLC
98 Front St.
Suzanne Halpin

Boxing Northeast
654 Elm St.
Patricia Makowski

Cosmo Prof #6097
464 Riverdale St.
Debra Cox

G and G Interiors
302 Circuit Ave.
Juan J. Goitia

Guitar Center #556
935 Riverdale St.
John W. Unger Jr.

Janna Juice Bar Grill & C
751 Union St.
Ibrahim A. Babetti

M.C.L. Mechanical Services
26 Kelso Ave.
Paul Lichwan

Sewer Drain and Cleaning
60 Colony Road
Svad Disdarevic

Throwbacks
450 Main St.
Sharroya M. Charles

W R B Auto Sales
194 Baldwin St.
William R. Bayton

WESTFIELD

DB Tractor Works
177 Bates Road
Daniel S. Bienvenue

Glamorous Creations
34 School St.
Jennifer Suarez

Governor’s Center Re LLC
66 Broad Street
Northeast Health Group, Inc.

Hair Cuttery
459 East Main St.
Creative Hairdressers Inc.

Igor’s Construction & Remodel
134 Little River Road
Igor Kravchuk

Lularoe – Guy Gautreau
7 Stuart Place
Guy Gautreau

Pillar to Post Home Inspections
181/2 Malone Ave.
Joseph F. Beaton

Whip City Pitbike
253 East Main St.
Christopher P. Kasperek

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies Departments

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

Bedore, Daniel J.
262 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/16

Bennett, Mark
109 Denver St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/10/16

Bernatchez, Diane R.
a/k/a Dos Santos, Diane R.
183 Reynolds St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/01/16

Brotherhood on the Move
Asra Group/Renaissance
Moss, Darryl Edwin
157 Jamaica St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/16

Bruland, Lorraine V.
11 Mulberry St.
P.O. Box 202
Leeds, MA 01053
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/14/16

Carr, Jerry
145 Harvard St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/16

Carter, Robert E.
Carter, Nancy M.
60 Elizabeth St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/13/16

Cavanaugh, Holly L.
75 Bunce Road
Ashley Falls, MA 01222
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/16

Cowan, Jennifer Lynn
PO Box 123
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/16

E&V Automotive
Dion, Vance O.
760 Memorial Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/16

Engelke, Nicholas Charles
150 Union Road
Wales, MA 01081
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/16

Ester, AnnMarie
110 Sierra Vista St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/02/16

Gaudino, Charles P.
15 Cataumet Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/15/16

Gustafson, Kristen Lynne
420 Queen Lake Road
Phillipston, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/05/16

Hudson, Tammie A.
29 Kane Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/16

JD’s Transmission Auto
Dejesus, Julio
39 Vernon St
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/16

Kvitina, Nuriya
1521 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/16

Lander-Harrell, Christie Lynn
41 Oakman St.
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/16

LeBreton, Catina L.
1058 James St.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/16

Macey, Michelle H.
15 Gilmore St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/16

Macik, Nancy Ellen
160 Newell St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/07/16

Marchand, Lynn-Anne
13 Ashley St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/16

McGrath, Laura Lee
PO Box 494
Hatfield, MA 01038
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/16

Menard, Michael J.
639 Grattan St., 2nd Fl.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/16

Morano, Cara Lynn
726 Colrain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/16

Muzzey, Christopher Wells Daniel
483 Pleasant St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/16

Neddeau, Matthew S.
117 North Elm St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/16

Palazzi, Aldo L.
64 Barry St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/15/16

Perez, Robert
10 Bruce St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/14/16

Philbrick, Todd William
Philbrick, April Ann
a/k/a Montemagni, April Ann
58 Lafayette St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/16

Picard, Deborah Jean
Picard, John Gary
44 Pineview Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/16

Picard, Jennifer A.
246 Murphy Lane
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/10/16

Recor, Cynthia M.
a/k/a Recor, Cindy
37 Waid Road
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/16

Redmond, Lawrence William
37 Mosher St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/16

Richter, David J.
44 Nelson St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/16

Roncarati, Lynndia
309 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/06/16

Salgado, Juan C.
a/k/a Figueroa, Juan Carlos Salgado
104 Spring St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/16

Sfakios, Amy V.
236 Vining Hill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/16

Silk’s Auto Service
Haras Limited Partnership
Silk, Kevin J.
Silk, Patricia W.
10 James Circle
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/16

Smith, Elizabeth
133 Jabish St., Apt. F5
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/16

Soares, JoAnne Teresa
56 Raymond Soares
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/14/16

Torres, Julio E.
46 Erline St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/07/16

Wallace, William J.
29 West Alvord St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/09/16

Wysocki, Anna C.
24 Howes St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/16

Yath, Bunthoeun
248 Amherst Road, Apt. S6
Sunderland, MA 01375
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/02/16

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Summer Grants Top $2M

SHEFFIELD — The board of directors of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced the recipients of the second round of grantmaking for 2016. The foundation distributed a total of $430,378 in grants to individuals and nonprofits in the four-county region it serves, $496,786 in scholarships to graduating high-school seniors, and grants totaling over $1.1 million from donors with charitable funds at the foundation.

In Berkshire County, the foundation awarded grants from Fund for Williamstown, James and Robert Hardman Fund, New World Fund, Simple Gifts Fund, five education-enrichment funds, and 41 scholarship funds.

Education and enrichment grants to regional schools, school districts, and education programs in Berkshire County totaled $45,247. Select grant recipients include Berkshire County Head Start ($7,000) for a “Lunch and Learn” summer program for students in the Pittsfield Public School District, Flying Cloud Institute ($3,000) to enhance STEM programming at Undermountain School and Mount Everett High School in Sheffield, and Williamstown Elementary School ($4,000) for its math club.

A total of $303,986 in scholarships was awarded to Berkshire County students. Of that total, $86,750 was awarded by the Zenas and Winthrop Crane Scholarship Funds, which support graduates of Wahconah Regional High School, $72,500 by the McLaughlin-Wilson Scholarship Fund for residents of Monterey, and $17,000 by the Hon. James P. Dohoney Scholarship Fund for high-school seniors in southern Berkshire County. To view a full list of 2016 scholarship recipients, visit www.berkshiretaconic.org/scholarships.

Grants to arts organizations and programs in Berkshire County totaled $45,610. Select grant recipients include Berkshire Pulse Inc. ($1,000) for an after-school dance program at Undermountain Elementary School, Community Access to the Arts ($2,000) to exhibit paintings and artwork by artists with disabilities at the Clark Art Institute, and WilliNet ($2,500) for a website project.

Nonprofits and individuals providing social and human services across the county received $45,706 in grants. Select grant recipients include Volunteers in Medicine ($5,000) to provide care and interpretation services to immigrant patients; Berkshire Food Project ($3,000) to serve free, hot meals during the week and provide emergency food assistance on weekends; and yoga instructor Connie Wilson ($400) to teach basic skills to elementary-school students at New Marlborough Central School.

Finally, grants to environmental organizations and programs totaled $20,855. Select grant recipients include Hoosac Harvest ($2,500) for its Subsidized Shares program, which connects lower-income community members with farms, farmers, and locally grown food; Mass Audubon ($1,200) to offer an earth-science program at Morris Elementary School; Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation ($800) to provide transportation to its Sheep Hill conservation property; and Greenagers ($3,000) for its environmental-education projects.

A full list of regional grants can be found at www.berkshiretaconic.org/summergrants.

Nick Tokman of ‘Deadliest Catch’ Brings Fish Tales to Student Prince

SPRINGFIELD — On Thursday, July 14, Nick Tokman of the Discovery Channel’s popular Deadliest Catch will deliver a talk and video presentation at the Student Prince. The demonstration will be followed by a question-and-answer session and opportunities for fans to meet and take pictures with Tokman.

A West Springfield native, Tokman will talk about how he went from being a kid in Western Mass. to landing his dream job fishing for king crab in Alaska with the Deadliest Catch crew. He’ll share wild stories, personal anecdotes, videos, and photos. The Student Prince has also prepared a special menu featuring Alaskan king crab for the night’s festivities.

“I’m honored to be back in Western Massachusetts and to be able to tell my story in my hometown,” Tokman said. “My roots are here, and my family is all here, so this really means a lot to me.”

Doors open at 6 p.m., and Tokman’s presentation begins at 7:15 p.m. Tickets to the event cost $25, not including dinner, and can be purchased in advance at the Student Prince. A $50 VIP package is also being offered, featuring a personal meet-and-greet event prior to the presentation and prime seating for the event.

Baker Signs Transgender Anti-discrimination Law

BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law an anti-discrimination bill, passed by the state House and Senate last week, that gives transgender people the right to use public restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identities, regardless of their sex at birth. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination will adopt policies to enforce its provisions, a statement from the governor’s office said.

“No one should be discriminated against in Massachusetts because of their gender identity,” Baker said, according to CNN. “This compromise legislation extends additional protections to the Commonwealth’s transgender community, and includes language to address the public-safety concerns expressed by some by requiring the attorney general to issue regulations to protect against people abusing the law.”

OMG Roofing Promotes Two to Drive International Growth

AGAWAM — With the goal of accelerating growth in international markets, OMG Roofing Products has created market manager positions for both Asia and Europe and promoted two executives into these roles. Kingbill Zhao, Asia market manager, is based in China and will support the Greater Asian market. Lennard Spirig, Europe market manager, is based in Switzerland, servicing the European market. Both are responsible for all OMG sales and marketing activities in their regions, including developing products and services tailored to local market needs.

Zhao joined OMG in 2009 as a roofing specialist and was promoted to China sales manager in 2011, where he was responsible for launching the OMG Roofing Products line in China. Since then, he has built a sales and customer-service organization in China to support the company’s rapidly growing business. Prior to joining OMG, he was the international department manager for the China Waterproofing Assoc., where he worked with other international counterparts like National Roofing Contractors Assoc. and the Germany Roofing Contractors Assoc. to market the China Roofing & Waterproofing Show internationally. In addition, he organized Chinese company visits to the U.S. and Europe, and worked with organizations like FM Global and FLL to introduce approvals and standards to China.

Spirig joined OMG in 2014 as Europe product marketing manager, responsible for marketing OMG products throughout Europe. Since then, he has been a great resource for helping to expand OMG’s footprint in Europe by assisting system manufacturer partners and developing new distribution in various European countries. Prior to joining OMG, he spent 10 years as product manager for mechanical attachment with SFS Intec. Earlier, he had been an international key account manager based in Mexico.

“OMG’s products are designed to enhance rooftop productivity and improve roof-system performance,” said Web Shaffer, vice president of Marketing. “Lennard and Kingbill will be highly focused on developing value-added products and services that meet local market needs in order to accelerate our growth in Europe and Asia respectively, and I look forward to continuing to work with these two outstanding individuals.”

Springfield Regional Chamber Business Leaders to Head to Capitol Hill

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Regional Chamber will hold its biannual Washington Symposium on September 21-23 hosted by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal.

This popular event brings the region’s business leaders to Washington, D.C. to listen to and question some of the country’s most influential leaders, including members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, top federal policy makers, and members of the Obama Administration in its last months in office.

Past speakers have included political strategist Stan Greenberg, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, House Ways and Means Chair David Camp, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors Jason Furman, and Ireland’s Ambassador to the U.S. Anne Anderson.

Registrations are limited and include air transportation, airport parking, hotel transfers, hotel accommodations at the Phoenix Park Hotel within walking distance to the Capitol, breakfast and lunch each day, and welcome and closing evening receptions.

The reservation deadline is Friday, Aug. 5, and no refunds will be granted after that date. The all-inclusive cost is $1,395 (single) or $1,270 (per person, double occupancy) if made by Friday, July 15. Reservations made after July 15 will increase to $1,495 (single) or $1,370 (per person, double occupancy).

Sponsorship opportunities are also available and include complimentary attendance. For reservations or more information, visit www.springfieldregionalchamber.com or e-mail Nancy Creed at [email protected].

Greater Holyoke Chamber Coffee Buzz Slated for July 13

HOLYOKE — The Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce’s next Coffee Buzz morning networking event, sponsored by Lyon and Fitzpatrick, LLP, is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13 at 7:30 a.m. The morning event is designed to help business professionals connect before starting the work day and includes short introductions by attendees and a brief business presentation by the host, with the remainder of time devoted to exchanging business leads and information.

The Coffee Buzz series is wrapping up the 2015-16 season with Ruwac Industrial Vacuums, a Holyoke manufacturer located at 54 Winter St., Holyoke. Ruwac has been manufacturing portable, explosion-proof, central, silo, and specialty industrial vacuum-cleaner systems since 1985. A tour of the manufacturing facility will be offered to attendees.

The event is free with advance notice and is open to all business professionals. A continental breakfast is complimentary for all who attend. To sign up for the Coffee Buzz, call Wanda Zabawa at (413) 534-3376 or visit holyokechamber.com.

The Coffee Buzz is an ideal way to jump-start the day by meeting business and community leaders while enjoying coffee and a light breakfast. Chamber President Kathleen Anderson announced that 2016-17 Coffee Buzz events will be increased from quarterly to bimonthly, occurring six times per year.

Zweig Group Names Tighe & Bond a ‘Best Firm to Work For’

WESTFIELD — Based on the survey results of its 2016 “Best Firms to Work For” ranking, Zweig Group recently named Tighe & Bond one of the best civil-engineering firms to work for in the nation. This annual awards competition is based on business-practice data collected from numerous participating firms across the country, including feedback solicited through an employee survey.

Zweig Group — a provider of management information and expertise to engineering, architecture, and environmental-consulting firms worldwide — sponsors the program that recognizes the top firms leading the way in creating a work place that inspires, motivates, and rewards employees.

The competitive ranking that results is based on comprehensive evaluations of factors such as firm culture and workplace practices, employee benefits, career development and growth opportunities, compensation, performance and recognition, as well as recruiting and retention rates. All firms that apply for this prestigious ranking and recognition are evaluated against each other, not a set standard.

“Zweig Group has recognized Tighe & Bond several times as one of the best engineering firms to work for in the nation, and it is always a significant honor. It also exemplifies our ongoing commitment to create a working environment where all of our employees feel valued, and where they can see their contribution to the overall mission and success of the firm and our clients,” said Tighe & Bond President and CEO David Pinsky. “Our ability to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented staff is crucial to providing the high-quality, responsive services that our clients have come to expect and deserve.”

Zweig Group will recognize Tighe & Bond, along with the other winners, during the 2016 Zweig Group Hot Firm + A/E Industry Awards Conference in September. This is the industry’s largest and most comprehensive business conference for leaders and aspiring leaders of architectural, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.

HZ Electric Supply Promotes Chris Jablonski, Mark Melikian

SPRINGFIELD — HZ Electric Supply (formerly Hampden Zimmerman Electric), a New England electrical distributor, announced the promotion of Chris Jablonski and Mark Melikian to branch managers. Jablonski (in the Northampton branch), and Melikian (Pittsfield) will manage the selling and warehousing of company products, as well as planning, administering, and controlling day-to-day operations.

“HZ Electric Supply is committed to providing its clients with the best customer service. Part of that commitment is employing talented individuals who have demonstrated their value through hard work and dedication,” said Regional President Mark Lauria. “Both Chris and Mark have been instrumental in the growth of business, and we are proud to recognize their contributions with these promotions.”

Jablonski graduated from UMass Dartmouth and John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in international business. He is also a member of Enactus and the National Assoc. of Electrical Distributors. Upon completion of his degree, Jablonski worked for two years as marketing manager of Hampden Zimmerman before entering the USESI 18-month management-trainee program.

Melikian is a graduate of Salve Regina University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English communications. After being employed in the real-estate and retail industries, he interned at HZ in the marketing department the summer after his junior year at Salve Regina. After graduation the following year, he completed the USESI 18-month management-trainee program.

Jon Lumbra Named Chief Financial Officer at Dowd Insurance Agencies

HOLYOKE — The Dowd Insurance Agencies announced the appointment of Chief Financial Officer Jon Lumbra. He will be responsible for directing the fiscal operations of the business and supervising the accounting department. In addition, he will assist in the planning, establishing, and maintaining of current systems and procedures.

“We are pleased to welcome Jon to the team,” said David Griffin Sr., executive vice president and treasurer of the Dowd Insurance Agencies. “He is an excellent strategic and cultural fit whose breadth and depth of knowledge will help strengthen our brand and provide the best service to our customers and employees.”

Lumbra brings nearly two decades of experience in financial services to the Dowd Insurance Agencies. His past experience includes working for Loomis Communities, the city of Holyoke, and Spectrum Analytical. He is a graduate of Southern Vermont College with a degree in criminal justice and minor in corporate espionage. He is currently working toward his MBA at the University of Southern New Hampshire.

“The Dowd Insurance Agencies is one of the oldest insurance agencies in Massachusetts, and its headquarters remain in the city of Holyoke, where the business was started 118 years ago,” said John Dowd Jr., president and CEO of the Dowd Agencies. “Making positive contributions to the success of our community has always been important to us, which is why Jon is a great addition to our business. He has demonstrated these shared values by volunteering his time to support many organizations — many of which are based in Holyoke, Jon’s hometown.”

Lumbra is president of the Knights of Columbus Council #90 board of directors, former executive board member of the Massachusetts Government Finance Officers Assoc., a member of the Holyoke Taxpayers Assoc., and a member of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Federal Advisory Committee. He is also immediate past chairman of the Holyoke Visiting Nurse Assoc. & Community Health Foundation, immediate past president of the Holyoke Rotary Club, and member of the Holyoke Medical Center board of directors.

Newman’s Own Foundation Donates $15,000 to Link to Libraries

“For all of us at Big Y, we are proud to continue to link the Newman’s Own Foundation with Link to Libraries in order to further the language and literacy skills of students within our marketing area,” said Claire D’Amour-Daley, Big Y’s vice president of Corporate Communications. “Our customers have also enjoyed being part of this yearly initiative.”

An all-volunteer nonprofit with no paid staff, Link to Libraries serves 25,000 children in 400 sites in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Newman’s Own Foundation grant will fund the purchase and distribution of thousands of books in the coming months.

“Over 92 cents per dollar is used to buy books,” said Susan Jaye-Kaplan, president and co-founder of Link to Libraries, which is based in East Longmeadow. “Thanks to this generous grant from Newman’s Own Foundation and our network of 209 volunteers, ranging in age from 5 to 81 years old, we’re well-positioned to deliver on our mission to to enhance the language and literacy skills of children of all cultural backgrounds.”

Newman’s Own Foundation turns all net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman’s Own food and beverage products into charitable donations. To date, Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation have given more than $470 million to thousands of charities around the world.

Since its inception in 2008, Link to Libraries has donated nearly 500,000 new books, including more than 75,000 this fiscal year, said Jaye-Kaplan.

West of the River Chamber Golf Tournament Set for Aug. 15

SOUTHWICK — The West of the River Chamber of Commerce will host its 13th annual golf tournament at the Ranch in Southwick on Monday, Aug. 15. The cost to golf is $125 per player. Fees include 18 holes with cart, lunch, and dinner. The cost to attend dinner only is $35.

Tournament Sponsors include OMG Inc., United Bank, Hampton Inn of West Springfield, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Spherion Staffing Services, and Doctors Express. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the tournament. For details on sponsorship packages, visit www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

During the tournament’s reception and dinner, the West of the River Chamber of Commerce will award scholarships to one student each from Agawam High School, West Springfield High School, and Lower Pioneer Valley Education Collaborative.

To register, visit www.westoftheriverchamber.com. For more information, call the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

bankESB Donates $75,000 to Sister Caritas Cancer Center Campaign

SPRINGFIELD — bankESB recently donated $75,000 to Transforming Cancer Care – the Capital Campaign for the Sister Caritas Cancer Center. The gift will support the recently completed $15 million dollar expansion of the Cancer Center that added 26,000 square feet of clinical space on two floors.

“The Sister Caritas Cancer Center has a strong reputation for providing high-quality cancer care with a compassionate touch. We are pleased to support this important project for the local community,” said Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of bankESB.

The Sister Caritas Cancer Center is accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and the American College of Radiology. The recent expansion of the center brings radiation-oncology and medical-oncology services together under one roof, creates the ability to conduct 30,000 treatments per year, increases patient privacy, and provides added convenience for patients undergoing treatment.

Dr. Scott Wolf, president of Mercy Medical Center and the Sisters of Providence Health System, called bankESB “a longtime supporter of Mercy Medical Center and our efforts to meet the healthcare needs of the local community. We are grateful for this generous contribution that underscores the vital role of the cancer center as one element of our mission to serve as a transforming, healing presence.”

To make a gift to the campaign, call (413) 748-9920 or visit www.mercycares.com.

Employer Confidence Weakens in June

By BusinessWest Staff July 6, 2016