Month: September 2016

SPRINGFIELD — State Rep. Joseph Wagner, chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, will keynote the Springfield Regional Chamber’s Pastries, Politics and Policy event on Tuesday, Sept. 27. He will discuss the nearly $1 billion in economic-development investments recently signed into law.

In his role as chair, Wagner was instrumental in authoring the final bill that was signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. Among the investments included in the legislation are $500 million over five years in public infrastructure grants to support economic development and job creation, $45 million to support the revitalization of Springfield and other gateway cities, $45 million to support workforce development, training, and the creation of employment pipelines, and $15 million to support regionally significant commercial or industrial development.

The event begins with registration and continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m., with the program following from 8 to 9 a.m. at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. The cost is $15 for chamber members, $25 for general admission, which includes continental breakfast. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com or by e-mailing Kara Cavanaugh at [email protected].

ITD, FBC, Sanderson McLeod Host Salvadoran Students

PALMER — A joint effort between the Institute for Training and Development (ITD), the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley, and Sanderson MacLeod, a Palmer-based manufacturer of twisted wire brushes, has created a series of educational events for 20 students from the Salvadoran university Escuela de Comunicación Monica Herrera.

During a week-long visit to Western Mass. by the students and three teachers from the school, there will be various talks and business visits to introduce new and relevant knowledge on marketing, innovation, and other entrepreneurial themes. Included in the curriculum are a tour, panel discussion, and business exercise at Sanderson MacLeod known as Ohno Circles, a session of watching for improvement opportunities developed by Toyota, and also a practice in Lean business practices. Following the factory visit, students will give presentations about what they learned at Sanderson MacLeod, and also when attending a Family Business Center dinner forum, featuring a presentation of the concepts of Entrepreneurial Operating System from the business book Traction.

Sanderson MacLeod was chosen to participate because of its expertise incorporating innovation in business. The company’s commitment to innovation springs from its ongoing process of reducing inefficiency and finding problems to solve. The factory tour and panel discussion was arranged by Ira Bryck, president of the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley; he will also moderate the panel. Bryck said he approached Sanderson MacLeod “because of their dedication to quality improvement in all their processes, and their interest in telling their story as a way to inspire companies and entrepreneurs to continuously develop themselves.”

Country Bank Staff Participate in Habitat’s Operation Playhouse

WARE — A group of 14 Country Bank employees recently joined forces with Habitat for Humanity Metro West/Greater Worcester in a team-building exercise that ended with a local veteran family receiving a unique gift: a custom playhouse.

Habitat’s Operation Playhouse is a program designed to allow groups to come together to create and complete a custom playhouse in one day. The opportunity to work together and collaborate on design and construction of the house is wrapped up with the reward of seeing it turned over to a local veteran and their children.

“Working with the Habitat staff was seamless, and the day couldn’t have been more rewarding,” said Deb Gagnon, Corporate Relations officer, Country Bank. “Completing the playhouse gave us all a sense of accomplishment, and when the family arrived to receive their gift, there wasn’t a dry eye around.”

WNEU School of Law Presents ‘The Case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’

SPRINGFIELD — The Western New England University School of Law will hold a presentation titled “The Case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl: A Study in the Military Justice System,” presented by Capt. Brianna Tellado, U.S. Army judge advocate and former Army prosecutor. The event will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Blake Law Center, Room 3.

Robert Bowdrie “Bowe” Bergdahl is a U.S. Army soldier who was held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan from June 2009 until his release in May 2014, as part of a prisoner exchange for five Taliban members who were being held at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The circumstances under which Bergdahl went missing and how the Taliban captured him have since become subjects of intense media scrutiny.

The talk is an exploration of official Army legal documents from the Bergdahl case and recorded interviews with Bergdahl. Tellado will answer many questions, such as, is a court-martial a real trial? Why are there 10 (or more) attorneys involved in this case? What does Donald Trump have to do with this trial? Why is this case taking so long? What happens to Bergdahl if he is found guilty?

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Greater Easthampton Chamber to Roll Out Gift Card Guide

EASTHAMPTON — As part of its effort to shift the focus of its member directory from member-to-member to business-to-consumer, the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce plans to provide a pull-out section featuring its gift card (much like a restaurant guide).

The new gift-card guide will feature participating members, making it easy for consumers to identify where they can redeem the gift card. As a complimentary benefit of participation, each member will be featured though business name, category, logo, location, and contact information.

The chamber is is targeting the fall for the first printing of the gift-card guide, with a holiday theme. For more information on how to participate, or to share ideas that could add value to the new directory concept, chamber members may call (413) 527-9414.

Gove Law Office Adds Real-estate and Litigation Paralegal

LUDLOW — The Gove Law Office announced that Cynthia (Cindi) Shaw has joined the firm as a paralegal focused on civil and criminal litigation and real-estate transactions.

“Cindi Shaw will provide experienced and active support to our attorneys working in the diverse practice areas which Gove Law offers our clients,” said Michael Gove, founding partner of Gove Law Office.

Shaw has more than 20 years of experience as a paralegal, holds a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies from Elms College, and is a member of the Western Mass Paralegal Assoc. and the National Federation of Paralegals.

The Gove Law Office, with offices in Ludlow and Northampton, is a bilingual firm with attorneys who provide guidance to clients in the areas of business representation, criminal and civil litigation, personal-injury law, commercial lending, residential and commercial real estate, estate planning, immigration, and bankruptcy.

ILI Earns Highest Ranking from National Accreditation Authority

NORTHAMPTON — The Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET) has certified the International Language Institute (ILI) of Massachusetts through 2021.

This five-year accreditation is the highest level bestowed by ACCET, which since 1978 has been officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a reliable authority regarding the quality of education and training provided by the institutions that ACCET accredits. ACCET first accredited ILI in 1984, and has continued its recognition of the school’s excellence since then.

“We are proud to earn ACCET’s highest accreditation,” said Eric Wirth, ILI board president. “It underscores the extraordinary creativity and dedication of our teachers and administrative staff. And ACCET accreditation helps assure prospective students from around the world and right here in Western Massachusetts that they will receive top-notch service.”

Operating for 32 years, ILI is a nonprofit language school in Northampton that partners with 12 colleges and universities (locally, Bay Path University, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Springfield College, Western New England University, Westfield State University, and UMass Amherst graduate school) to teach academic English skills to international students planning on enrolling at these schools.

The school also trains instructors in effective ways to teach English to non-English speakers in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, ILI offers French, German, Italian, and Spanish courses for English speakers who travel for pleasure and business or “who simply want to learn another language,” said ILI Executive Director Caroline Gear.

“We are especially proud of our free English classes for refugees and immigrants,” she added. “For more than 30 years, these classes have helped change lives thanks to support from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the generosity of hundreds of local businesses and individual donors.”

ACCET personnel paid a site visit to ILI in July and completed extensive research as part of the accreditation process. Among the strengths pointed out in the ACCET assessment are ILI’s professional relationships within the Northampton community; the school’s short- and long-term business plans; the extensive tenure of ILI faculty and staff, which results in a collaborative environment that supports out-of-the-box thinking; student-centered classes, including free English classes for refugees and immigrants; the school’s exemplary teaching and the teachers’ qualifications that exceed ACCET requirements; and the fact that students enjoy their time at ILI and are making significant progress in language development.

Springfield Regional Chamber Debuts New Dental Benefit

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Regional Chamber has teamed up Altus Dental to offer to its chamber members a new employee benefit to enhance their employee-compensation package. Administered through American Benefits Group, dental insurance provided by Altus Dental is now available for companies with as few as one employee.

Altus Dental offers the state’s largest preferred-provider (PPO) dental network with more than 6,200 participating locations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Southern New Hampshire, and national access through CONNECTION Dental, with more than 108,000 dentist locations nationwide.

Three coverage options are available at competitive rates. Plus Plan 1 is basic coverage available to employers with one or more participating employees. Plus Plan 2 is an enhanced coverage option available to those with 10 or more participating employees, and Plus Plan 3 is an enhanced coverage option for companies with 20 or more participating employees. Each option includes 100% diagnostic and preventative services with no deductible, 80% for basic restorative care with a $50 single or $150 family deductible, and a low benefit maximum per year. Plus Plan 2 and Plus Plan 3 include major restorative care such as crowns and dentures. Plus Plan 3 includes orthodontic services.

To be eligible, a business must be a member of the Springfield Regional Chamber and contribute at least 50% of the monthly premium. Coverage is open to active, full-time employees.

PeoplesBank Again Named a Top Corporate Charitable Contributor

HOLYOKE — Eighty-five Massachusetts companies were honored at the Boston Business Journal’s 11th annual Corporate Citizenship Summit on Sept. 8 at the EpiCenter at Artists for Humanity in Boston. For the ninth time, PeoplesBank was among the companies included, this year finishing 48th on the statewide list and third for companies headquartered in Western Mass.

“The contributions these companies make to Massachusetts are incredibly impressive and go a long way toward helping strengthen the communities we live in,” said Boston Business Journal Market President and Publisher Carolyn Jones.

Matthew Bannister, vice president, Corporate Responsibility at PeoplesBank, accepted the award at the summit on behalf of the bank’s associates. “Our mutual charter supports everything we do and why we are succeeding as a community bank,” he said. “Because of our mutual charter and related values, we have a unique ability to help the communities we serve through volunteer efforts and millions of dollars in donations to charitable and civic causes.”

The Boston Business Journal’s “Top Corporate Charitable Contributors” list is composed of companies that gave at least $100,000 to Massachusetts-based charities in 2015.

MassMutual Elects Karen Bechtel to Board of Directors

SPRINGFIELD — MassMutual announced the election of Karen Bechtel to its board of directors. Bechtel is managing director of global alternative asset manager the Carlyle Group.

“I am extremely pleased to welcome Karen Bechtel to MassMutual’s board of directors. She brings both a sterling reputation and keen business acumen built on more than 30 years of investment management and corporate development expertise, and we look forward to her contributions,” said Roger Crandall, chairman, president, and CEO. “Importantly, as part of MassMutual’s unwavering commitment to best-in-class corporate governance, we are focused on ensuring that our board reflects diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.”

Bechtel joined Carlyle in 2005 as the head of the Global Healthcare team and currently is focused on corporate buyout opportunities within the private equity market. Prior to her role at Carlyle, for 28 years, she held a variety of leadership roles within Morgan Stanley & Co., including as managing director of its Private Equity Group. During her career with Morgan Stanley, she was also co-head of the Financial Sponsors Group and head of the Corporate Restructuring Group, with a strong focus on healthcare investments as well as mergers and acquisitions. She was also a member of the firm’s Investment Banking Operating Committee.

In addition to her role as a new MassMutual director, Bechtel serves on the boards of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, HCR-ManorCare, and Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC. She is also a former board member of Healthscope Ltd., Grupo Qualicorp, Multiplan Inc., and LifeCare.

Mergers & Acquisitions magazine in 2015 named her one of the Most Influential Women in mid-market M&A. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and earned her MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

More Than 1,100 Volunteers to Make Impact on Annual Day of Caring

PIONEER VALLEY — On Friday Sept. 9, the United Way of Pioneer Valley will launch its annual fund-raising campaign with the Day of Caring, when more than 1,100 volunteers from more than 40 area businesses volunteer across the region to help local nonprofits.

Starting with a kickoff breakfast in Court Square in downtown Springfield at 7:30 a.m., participants will travel to towns across the Valley, contributing in myriad ways to support programs and organizations that support the community. Typical projects might include lawn work, painting projects, light construction, gardening, or trash removal. The day is ideal for team building, but it also is a chance for both nonprofits and area businesses to learn more about each other’s work. In its 23rd year, the philosophy behind the Day of Caring is simple: “Give thanks. Give back.”

“I participate in the Day of Caring because I believe that giving back to the community is a central part of promoting unity,” said Sharon Dorsey, an executive assistant from Health New England. “The past few years I participated in the Day of Caring, I loved seeing how appreciative and grateful the beneficiaries were.”

This year’s Day of Caring sponsors include Baystate Health, MassMutual, Health New England, Comcast, Excel Dryer, UTC Aerospace Systems, IAMAW Local 743, Harry Grodsky & Co., Mestek Inc., Monson Savings Bank, PeoplesBank, Peoples United Bank, Quabbin Wire & Cable Co., TD Bank, Gulf Stream, the Springfield Community Music School, and Sodexo.

Workshop to Discuss How to Conduct a Workplace Investigation

NORTHAMPTON — In your job, are you responsible for conducting investigations into employee conflicts? Allegations of harassment? Employee theft? If so, Royal, P.C.’s workshop on workplace investigations, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 13 from 8 to 9 a.m., is for you.

Recent state and federal court decisions underscore the importance of conducting thorough investigations. In this workshop, attendees will learn about such topics as selecting an investigator, conducting an effective interview, dealing with confidentiality issues, and taking interim actions. Among those who may be interested in attending are HR professionals, CFOs, CEOs, and anyone in a management position who is responsible for handling investigations. This workshop will apply to the first-time ‘investigator’ as well as the most seasoned ones.

The workshop will take place at Royal, P.C., 270 Pleasant St., Northampton. The cost is $30 per person. Mail your payment and make your check payable to Royal, P.C., 270 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA 01060. Advance registration is required, and seating is limited. E-mail Ann-Marie Marcil at [email protected] to register or with any questions about this workshop.

American International College Granted Reaffirmation of Accreditation

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) has been granted reaffirmation of accreditation of business and management programs offered through its schools of Business, Arts, and Sciences and the School of Graduate and Adult Education by the board of commissioners of the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).

The IACBE is nationally recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and is a leader in mission-driven and outcomes-based programmatic accreditation in business and management education for student-centered colleges, universities, and other higher-education institutions throughout the world, The IACBE has hundreds of member institutions and campuses worldwide and has accredited more than 1,300 business and business-related programs in the U.S., Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central America, and South America.

According to the IACBE, “the School of Business, Arts, and Sciences and the School of Graduate and Adult Education at American International College have undertaken a rigorous self-evaluation, have undergone a comprehensive independent peer review, and have demonstrated compliance with the following nine accreditation principals of the IACBE: outcome assessment, strategic planning, curriculum, faculty, scholarly and professional activities, resources, internal and external relationships, international business education, and educational innovation.”

In addition, the organization noted that AIC’s School of Business, Arts, and Sciences and the School of Graduate and Adult Education “have demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement, excellence in business education, and advancing academic quality in their business programs and operations.”

Shriners Slates Walk for Love Walkathon & Barbecue for Sept. 10

SPRINGFIELD — Shriners Hospitals for Children – Springfield will hold its seventh annual Walk for Love Walkathon and Barbecue on Saturday, Sept. 10, rain or shine.

This easy, three-mile walk begins at the hospital on Carew Street and continues through Van Horn Park and back to the hospital for a barbecue. Family fun will include Shrine clowns, Forest Park Zoo on the Go, face painting, music, a teddy-bear clinic, and more.

Registration begins at 9 a.m., the walk kicks off at 10 a.m., followed by the barbecue and entertainment from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Registration for both walkers and non-walkers is $25 per person, $5 for children 12 and under, or $40 per family. Credit-card payments are accepted. A waiver must be signed to participate in the walkathon. No pets are allowed, except for service animals. Free parking is available at the Boys and Girls Club located directly across from the hospital.

To register, visit www.walkforlove.org. Registration forms will also be available on the day of the walk. For more information, e-mail Lee Roberts at [email protected] or call (413) 755-2307.

October Mountain Financial Advisors to Hold Grand Opening Sept. 16

LEE — As a kickoff to Lee’s Founders Weekend festivities, October Mountain Financial Advisors, located at 103 West Park St., will hold a grand-opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m., followed by an open house.

The public is invited to attend the event, which will feature remarks by State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli; Colleen Henry, executive director of the Lee Chamber of Commerce; Chuck Leach, president of Lee Bank; and Michael Matty, president and director of St. Germain Investment Management.

October Mountain Financial Advisors, an alliance of Lee Bank and Springfield-based St. Germain Investment Management, provides asset-management, financial-planning, trust-administration, private-banking, and credit services to clients in Berkshire County and throughout New England, with a singular focus on the client and not on the demands of Wall Street or shareholders.

“I’m thrilled that, in a very short amount of time, October Mountain is up and running with a significant and growing client base,” said Leach. “The fact that the response has been so positive tells me there is a significant need in our backyard for this initiative. I’m immensely pleased to be working with St. Germain given their long and stable history and phenomenal record of community service. Our intention is to make a positive impact on people’s lives.”

As part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, October Mountain Managing Director Gary Schiff will present checks totaling $10,000 to benefit six nonprofit community organizations, including the Lee Food Pantry, the Lee Senior Center, the Lee Youth Assoc., the Literacy Network of South Berkshire, Berkshire South Regional Community Center, and the Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires.

“We place the highest value on our community, buying local and providing locally generated investment decisions,” said Schiff. “I welcome everyone to stop by our grand-opening celebration on Sept. 16 to take the opportunity to meet our investment team and learn more about the locally based financial services we provide.”

October Mountain Financial Advisors is wholly comprised of Berkshire-based professionals, including Schiff; Timothy Suffish, senior vice president and head of equities; Richard Bleser, vice president, portfolio manager; Matthew Farkas, vice president, portfolio manager; and Thaddeus Welch, portfolio manager, along with Marianne Fresia, Lee Bank’s assistant vice president, private banking and trust services.

Dakin to Present Mutts & Mimosas Fund-raiser Sept. 25

SPRINGFIELD — Dakin Humane Society will present its fourth annual Mutts & Mimosas fund-raising event on Sunday, Sept. 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Quonquont Farm & Orchard in Whately, rain or shine.

Guests are encouraged to bring their dogs to the brunch, which will feature a make-your-own-mimosa bar, live music, a raffle and silent auction, apple picking, dog-walking trails, and other fun activities. The food will be catered by Seth Mias, and an optional dog meal is available for $10. Event attendees are asked to bring dry or canned cat food to support Dakin’s pet food-bank program. Tickets are $50 per person and can be ordered online at www.dakinhumane.org or by calling Event Manager Gina Ciprari at (413) 781-4000, ext. 136.

“Mutts & Mimosas is such a fun and unusual gathering, and it’s become a tradition among Dakin supporters and dog enthusiasts,” said Dakin Executive Director Carmine DiCenso. “People really embrace this event because it gives them the chance to have fun with their dogs, and Quonquont Farm offers an ideal and relaxing setting. Mutts & Mimosas is a very important benefit for the homeless animals we care for, and each ticket sold helps us extend our services to more animals and their people.”

Finck and Perras Insurance Agency Inc. of Florence and Easthampton is the corporate sponsor for Mutts & Mimosas. Media sponsors include 94.7 WMAS, Bear Country 95.3, the Republican, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and the Recorder.

Ludlow Millfest to Be Held Sept. 8

LUDLOW — The East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce will hold its fifth annual Millfest on Thursday, Sept. 8 at Europa Black Rock Bar and Grill, 782 Center St., Ludlow. The festivities run from 5 to 7 p.m.

Millfest is a celebration of Ludlow, bringing together local citizens and the business community in a festival setting. This year’s Millfest offers a clambake dinner and a live music performance by Eric Gulbrandsen. Millfest will be held at Europa this year because of construction currently taking place at Ludlow Mills, the event’s usual location.

Millfest 2016 will honor members of the East of the River Chamber’s law-enforcement community. Officers from Ludlow, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Wilbraham, and Hampden will be on hand for the event, and Ludlow Police Chief Pablo Madera will speak.

This year’s presenting sponsor is Chicopee Savings Bank. Other businesses helping to sponsor this event include Go Graphix, the Republican/MassLive, Robert Charles Photography, the Gaudreau Group, BusinessWest, Winn Companies, Charter Spectrum, and HealthSouth.

Tickets for Millfest are $25 per person and can be purchased at Eventbrite. For more information on sponsoring Millfest or attending the event, call Carmina Fernandes at (413) 583-2060.

Patience, Technology Help People Conquer Fear of Dental Treatment

Health Care Sections

Overcoming the Phobia

Dr. James Dores says patients need to know their dentist will stop a treatment if they experience any pain.

The smell of freshly baked cookies wafts through the office at Dores Dental in Longmeadow, and a ‘comfort menu’ on the wall of the waiting room offers patients heated spa towels, movies, noise-canceling headphones, hot and cold drinks, and other items designed to help them relax before, during, and after a treatment.

The menu and idea of overcoming the smell associated with a dentist’s office by baking cookies all day are measures that Dr. James Dores and his staff use to help people overcome dental phobia, a severe, debilitating fear of having any type of dental work done.

And indeed, it’s a significant problem: the National Institute for Health reports the majority of people become anxious before getting dental treatment, and 10% to 20% have dental phobia. It tends to affect more women than men and can be detrimental to health as well as appearance.

People with dental phobia have fewer fillings and more decayed and missing teeth than their peers and typically contact a dentist only when they have pain that becomes unbearable, or when a major life event such as a divorce inspires them to do something about the condition of their mouth. However, waiting until that point often results in the need for complicated and traumatic procedures such as a root canal, which can further exacerbate and reinforce fear.

“About 75% of the population has some fear in regard to dental work. But there are definitely different tiers of it,” Dores said, adding that dental phobia can be resolved, but it takes caring and patience as it often stems from a traumatic, painful experience that occurred during childhood.

Health and Dental Plans in the region

Dr. Jane Martone has seen patients whose mouths are in terrible condition because of their fears regarding dentistry. “Some people are so afraid you will hurt them that just walking through the door is a major step,” said the founder of Westfield Dental Associates Inc., who teaches at the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry one week each month.

Dr. Vincent Mariano, a board-certified prosthodontist and co-founder of EMA Dental in Northampton and East Longmeadow, has seen patients who need work done on their entire mouth, and may need as many as a dozen crowns.

“If they have neglected their mouth for years, they can have problems with functionality. Some people have worn down their teeth so much that they can’t chew, or they have teeth that are so loose, they’re just moving around in their mouth,” he said.

As a result, people spend hours in his chair, so it is critical for him to develop a relationship with them and make sure they understand exactly what will be done before any work begins.

“I treat patients with very complicated dental needs, so the relationship is of the utmost importance for success,” he said, explaining that, in addition to fearing pain, many people with dental phobia are embarrassed about neglecting their oral health, but once a patient knows he is not judgmental, there is a much greater chance of success of rebuilding their mouth or treating their problem.

Martone concurs, and has talked to people at length on the phone to allay their anxiety before they work up the courage to visit the office. But since most are in pain, the first step is to eliminate it, although it’s equally important to reduce their overall fear, as preventive care can reduce the likelihood of future problems.

Dr. Vincent Mariano says establishing trust with a patient is key to alleviating fear.

“People have died from infections because they didn’t seek dental treatment at the appropriate time,” Dores said, adding that gum disease starts out as gingivitis (inflammation) which can easily be addressed in the early stages, but if it progresses into periodontal disease, it can destroy structures in the jawbone that support the teeth.

Researchers are also finding links between gum disease and heart disease, stroke, premature births, diabetes, and respiratory disease, and Martone has discovered medical problems during an office visit and referred people to their primary-care doctor to treat high blood pressure or other health issues they were not aware of.

In this issue, BusinessWest looks at what local dentists are doing to help people overcome dental phobia and how advances in technology help to alleviate pain.

Treatment Choices

Dentists take different approaches to treating patients with irrational fears. They all believe it’s critical to establish a solid, trusting relationship, but some prescribe drugs to relax patients before a visit, while others offer sedation during procedures.

Dores calls every new patient the night before their first visit to welcome them to the practice, allay any fears they might have, and answer questions, and since he caters to people with dental phobia, the conversations can be lengthy.

“Some people have told me they are terrified and really appreciate the call because it shows that someone cares,” he said, adding that many prospective patients read online reviews that help boost their confidence in his practice.

When they do arrive, they are greeted warmly, then given a tour of the office, and before a treatment plan is drawn up, Dores talks to them about their previous dental experiences, taking note of things they didn’t like.

Many report an instance when they tried to tell a dentist they were experiencing pain, but were ignored. “I have had people tell me they were in tears and the dentist kept going,” Dores said, adding that, since people like to talk about bad experiences, it’s easy to have negative experiences validated and reinforced by friends, family members, or co-workers.

Certified dental assistant Diane Harvey, who works with Dores, assesses each patient’s body language before and during treatments, and says talking about their family or pets and using humor helps alleviate anxiety.

“It only takes one bad experience for a person to become scarred for life, and I have seen people shaking and crying before the dentist even comes into the room,” she recalled, explaining that she tries not to leave phobic patients alone in the room and reassures them if they tell her the the work will result in pain.

“I tell them that dentistry has come a long way, and in this day and age there should be no discomfort,” she said.

Mariano says patients need to know that if they raise their hand, the dentist will stop working on their mouth, which is critical, as fear of loss of control is almost as great as the fear of pain. To that end, he not only explains procedures in advance, but gives patients all of their treatment options and lets them choose what they want to have done.

“If a patient is going to lose a tooth, treatment could be a removable replacement or extend to a dental implant. But the patient needs to help make the decision,” he said, adding that he tells people not to focus on the procedure, but to think about the outcome, and since he is doing restorative work, that often means a beautiful smile.

Dores and Mariano sometimes prescribe mild sedatives for patients with dental phobia, which can be taken the night before a procedure and an hour before they arrive at the office. It means they need someone to drive them to and from the appointment, but Dores said their visits are always booked early in the morning so they don’t have time to upset themselves.

Martone said she is the only general dentist in the area who is board-certified in implant surgery, and is also trained and certified in intravenous sedation. She told BusinessWest that many patients with dental phobia seek her services because they want to be sedated even for simple treatments, such as filling a cavity.

Surveys show that IV sedation eliminates embarrassment about the condition of teeth, as well as the fears of gagging, injections, not becoming numb when injected with a local anesthetic, pain, and drills.

However, before it can be administered, the person’s medical history is taken to make sure there are no contraindications, and while they are under sedation, their vital signs are tracked, and they are put on a cardiac monitor.

Since they are not under general anesthesia, Martone noted, people are able to talk and follow commands while they are sedated, but feel no pain and have no memory of what took place when the procedure is finished.

She believes IV sedation is safer than oral medications, as the onset is very rapid, and the dose and level of sedation can be tailored to meet individual needs.

“This is a huge advantage compared to oral sedation, where the effects can be very unreliable,” she told HCN.

Technological Advances

State-of-the-art equipment also helps eliminate pain or discomfort that might occur during a diagnosis or treatment.

Martone uses a DEXIS CariVu device that uses near infrared light to detect cavities. “It allows the dentist to see decay without having to take an X-ray,” she said, explaining that some people can’t tolerate having to hold film in their mouth, and the device eliminates that problem.

Martone and Mariano also have CT-scan machines in their office that allow them to take X-rays without having to put anything in the person’s mouth, and Martone adds that small things can make a difference. For example, she uses a numbing topical anesthetic before giving an injection so there is no pain from the needle. And since rapid injections can also be painful, she makes sure she administers local anesthetics slowly.

Dores employs a DentalVibe Oral Injection System to administer local anesthetics. The handheld device was created by a dentist and sends soothing vibrations to the brain that block any sensations of pain.

He also uses laser therapy to fill cavities and says he is the only dentist in the area with the machine to do so. The device he employs never touches the tooth and delivers anesthesia, eliminating the need for numbing injections, along with wavelengths of light that evaporate the tooth enamel. A drill still may be needed for refinements, but Dores said the majority of the work is done with the laser.

Still, dentists agree that one of the most critical factors in treating fearful patients is a good relationship. “Technology helps, but it is secondary to the main component,” Mariano said. “Pain control begins outside of the office.”

Things like sleep matter: if a patient does not get a good night’s sleep before a treatment, it has an enormous affect on their pain threshold.

Mariano recalled a patient he had worked on before without a problem, but during a visit where she had had three sleepless nights in a row, “she was such a wreck I couldn’t do the procedure. Many times the anxiety and pain patients feel in a dentist’s office is not related to the significance of the treatment,” he told BusinessWest. “The patient’s state of mind is of the utmost importance in successful treatment.”

Which means if the person is going through a divorce, has lost their job, or has another major problem in their personal life, the anxiety they feel will be exacerbated, so they need to be comfortable talking to their dentist about anything that is affecting their state of mind.

Slow but Steady Progress

Dentists say they do their best to have their staff go above and beyond and take extra time with people with dental phobia.

“You have to gain their confidence, as somewhere along the way someone has hurt them,” Martone said, recalling a time when a patient traveled from Orange to see her and started crying as soon as she walked into the office. Another came from Sunderland, and although they had a long discussion about her dental fears, she was afraid to even sit in the chair.

“It takes time to get a person to trust you, and sometimes all you can do is treat their emergency. My goal is to win them over, but it’s not always possible,” she continued. “Their fear never really leaves them, but it is reduced each time they come in.”

Still, the goal is to develop a relationship where the patient feels safe and secure.

“The relationship is a life-long investment,” Mariano said. “It’s all about changing the quality of their life.”

Women’s Chamber Helps Members Achieve Critical Balance

Cover Story Sections Women in Businesss

Bonding Agent

Liz Rappaport says the camaraderie and support she has received from other mothers in the PWC will make leaving her baby daughter Ellie easier when she returns to work.

The Women’s Professional Chamber of Commerce is like most of the organizations with those three words in their title. But it is different in one important respect — the membership shares common challenges, issues, and emotions as they go about trying to balance work and life. This makes the WPC not only unique in character and mission, but also quite effective in providing needed support to members.

Jenny MacKay has not forgotten the first Women’s Professional Chamber (WPC) meeting she attended three years ago in Springfield.

It was a luncheon with a moderator and panel of speakers that included top female executives from Smith & Wesson, Columbia Gas, and Health New England.

An employee-benefits consultant for the Gaudreau Group in Wilbraham, and also a 2016 BusinessWest 40 Under Forty honoree, MacKay had attended events sponsored by many other local chambers, but this one was decidedly different.

“It was interesting and so inspirational to hear how these women talk about how they learned to balance the same life challenges I was facing or will have to face in the future,” MacKay said, adding that today she is a member of the WPC board of directors. “They talked about their biggest issues, which were things other women could relate to, and it was inspiring to hear that having a family won’t hold you back, that you don’t have to choose between a job or children. I’m afraid of what having kids will do to my career, but being part of the group makes me realize I am not alone.”

Liz Rappaport has also found the personal support she needed in the PWC.

The manager of Century Investment Co. in West Springfield and a 2014 BusinessWest 40 Under Forty honoree, she joined the group three years ago and said it has taught her invaluable lessons.

“Other women have told me you can never be perfect in your family life or on the job, but if you do your best; you can balance things out,” she noted, adding that she gave birth three months ago to a daughter named Ellie, and the advice she received helped her understand the challenges that will confront her when she returns to work this month.

“I’m eager to return to the PWC and talk to working moms because I have different questions now for my fellow cohorts,” she said, noting that she is the secretary of the group. “It helps knowing that they are juggling multiple roles, and if they can do it, I can do it, too.”

It was interesting and so inspirational to hear how these women talk about how they learned to balance the same life challenges I was facing or will have to face in the future.”

The PWC is a division of the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, but is its own entity. Its 300 members are at different stages of life and career, and their jobs encompass a variety of professions in diverse fields. But they share a common theme: trying to balance their work with their personal life and obligations, a task most women struggle with on a daily basis.

Membership makes it easy for them to find other female professionals who can share stories and helpful hints about how to maintain a balance as they strive to fulfill their own expectations about being the best business professional, best mother, best wife, and best daughter, while playing an active role in their community and doing volunteer work.

It is this quality that sets it apart from other chambers. Women tend to network very differently when they are alone with their peers than they do in a mixed-gender group, and personal stories and situations are shared as readily as business cards. Although membership in the PWC can help them succeed in business through connections that are made, the ones they form usually result from bonding through intimate discussions.

For this issue and its focus on women in business, we take an inside look at the PWC and the ways in which women benefit from belonging to a group where dealing with personal and professional issues that intertwine is something they all relate to.

Appreciable Differences

The PWC was formed in 1953, and although its name changed from the Women’s Division of the Springfield Regional Chamber to the Women’s Partnership before it was given its current moniker in 2010, the group has always provided services to the community, local businesses, and its members.

Although Jenny MacKay belongs to many local chamber groups, the Professional Women’s Chamber is the place where she gets the most support.

Education has always been paramount, and scholarships have been granted annually to non-traditional women students since 1965. The recipients are often returning to the workforce after years of being at home, and three individuals have each been selected to receive at least $1,000 in recent years.

The calendar runs from September to June, and since the chamber’s officers and members of its board of directors know how difficult it can be for a woman to juggle multiple roles, two meetings feature speakers who share first-hand accounts of the personal struggles and roadblocks they hit along the road to success.

There are also evening events, which are usually held at local retail establishments that allow members to shop while they network in a relaxed setting.

The year begins with a kickoff luncheon in September, which features a compelling speaker, followed by an After Hours Ladies Night in October and a PWC-produced luncheon event at the Western Mass. Business Expo (slated for Nov. 3 this year). A second Ladies Night is held in December.

The new year is heralded with a Tabletop Luncheon; there is a third Ladies Night in February, and the second headline speaker luncheon is held in March. A fourth Ladies Night is scheduled in April, and the year culminates in late May with an event held to honor the Woman of the Year.

“The Ladies Nights are held at local shops; we’ve gone to Cooper’s Gifts in Agawam, Kate Gray in Longmeadow, and Added Attractions in East Longmeadow,” said MacKay, naming a few noteworthy outings and adding that the shops provide wine and hors d’oeurves.

“We try to schedule things that women like to do that can provide them with some stimulus as well a break from the stressors in their lives,” Rappaport said, noting that the evenings help women achieve an effective work/life balance. “Networking can be mundane, but these nights out are a nice distraction, and we realize that if a woman is going to carve out time to attend a meeting, we had better make it worth her while.”

But while networking does occur during the Ladies Nights, business introductions and connections that are formed are secondary to the personal relationships that evolve when women are in an atmosphere they find fun and enjoyable.

“What someone does for business is not as important as the fact that you have made a new friend; we talk to each other and find commonalities,” Rappaport explained.

MacKay concurred. “Our Ladies Nights don’t involve the commitment of a sit-down dinner for two hours every month. We don’t want to add more commitments to a woman’s to-do list because we understand how busy women’s lives are,” she said.

The PWC also has a six-session mentorship program called Reaching Goals, aimed at giving students from Springfield Technical Community College the professional and personal skills they need to succeed in their chosen careers.

Rappaport is a mentor and has worked with women ranging in age from 18 to 38. She has spent time with some outside of the meetings and says that, in some cases, the program has resulted in a student landing a job due to the connections she makes.

Gender Issues

The majority of the group’s members are over the age of 40, so Rappaport and MacKay plan to reach out this year to Millennials who may not know about the PWC and what it has to offer, while continuing to provide programs that interest women of different ages at different stages of their careers.

MacKay says this initiative is important because Millennials are trying to establish themselves in their chosen careers, and many are experiencing conflicting emotions as they struggle to create a healthy work/life balance.

“They’re working hard, planning important events such as weddings, and also trying to figure out if they can handle having a child without fearing that something will suffer,” she said, adding that the benefits of membership are priceless and the relationships women form with each other are much more intimate than those that result from other chamber groups.

MacKay works in a male-dominated occupation, and has gotten valuable advice from PWC members about how to deal with a variety of situations as well as strategies for communicating with male co-workers, since they relate to each other very differently than women.

In addition, the group teaches women that failure isn’t an end and can lead to a new beginning, which became apparent during a luncheon where Tracey Noonan was the keynote speaker.

The founder of Wicked Good Cupcakes, who successfully won her bid for a partnership on the popular TV series Shark Tank, shared her story of how her business evolved after she started baking cupcakes in Mason jars with her daughter Dani in their South Shore kitchen in 2011.

“She was a single mom who took a baking class in order to bond with her daughter,” MacKay said, recounting how Noonan shared the hardships of being a single mom, what is was like to start a business — who she got help from and who refused to help her — and how success has affected her life.

The story resonated with women on a variety of levels, as did the personal tale told by Lisa Ekus of the Lisa Ekus Group LLC. The Hatfield entrepreneur, who represents cookbook authors and food products, spoke to the PWC in March about the struggles of balancing her personal and family life.

Other speakers have addressed issues of equal pay and the lack of qualified candidates to fill jobs in precision manufacturing, and what women can do to help fill the gap, and Rappaport says she has learned many valuable lessons, including the fact that each woman is her own best advocate.

But feeling and projecting confidence is not easily accomplished, because many women are self-deprecating, and even getting a compliment on one’s clothing can lead to an embarrassed answer and insistence that it was purchased on sale.

“Women don’t want to be thought of as pushy or too assertive,” Rappaport noted, adding that, although she has never heard of a man with those traits being referred to in a condescending manner, it’s not uncommon for women to suffer from such labels.

MacKay agreed, and said if she doesn’t smile all the time, people tell her to do so and add, “everything will be all right,” which she finds very frustrating.

Valuable Setting

Rappaport is looking forward to returning to assuming a professional role in the family business when she returns to work following her maternity leave. She knows it won’t be easy and she will worry about her baby daily, but she finds strength in numbers and the knowledge that her peers have learned to effectively juggle responsibilities in different arenas of their life without feeling they have to be perfect in every role.

But women agree that the unrealistic belief is pervasive in society today.

“When did the message, ‘you can have it all’ change to ‘you have to do it all’?” MacKay said. “It used to be inspirational, but it has become exhausting because it’s an unrealistic and impossible goal.”

Which is where the PWC comes in. It helps women understand there are others who share the same feelings and concerns who can provide each other with reassurance that doing their best each day is truly good enough.

Keith G. Roy Construction Continues to Build Its Résumé

Construction Sections

Raising the Bar

From left to right, three generations of the Roy family: Keith, his son Josh, his wife Jamie, and their son Bentley.

The motto for the Keith G. Roy Construction Company is “When You Want It Done RIGHT.”

And those words are far more than a catchy phrase to Roy; they form the basis of a value system that pervades his company and leads to attention to detail that customers never know about because many of the things they do cannot be seen.

But the pride and satisfaction that Roy takes in “doing things the right way” has helped the company thrive during its 60-year history.

The business focuses on residential work that includes a handyman repair service; installing windows; installing and repairing roofing and siding; basement conversions; attic remodeling; home additions, remodels, and renovations; and other major projects.

“We work closely with each homeowner, and are willing to make changes at the drop of a hat,” Roy said, explaining that, after a project has started, people sometimes decide they want something different than they initially agreed upon or planned.

Such changes are not problematic, because one thing that sets the company apart from many of its competitors is that Roy does not use subcontractors, with the exception of licensed plumbers, electricians, and excavators.

His employees are paid by the hour, and since they remain at the job site until the project is done and meets his exacting standards, they don’t rush and never have to wait for a subcontractor to show up. Again, because Roy is focused on “doing it right,” his employees go above and beyond what is required or mandated by the building code.

For example, when they build a deck, which comprises a healthy share of their business, Roy insists on using ceramic-coated nails because he says new decking materials are corrosive to metal and the more-expensive nails prevent them from popping up later on. In addition, he uses copper flashing instead of using aluminum flashing where the deck meets the house because it doesn’t corrode.

“The building code doesn’t require it, but it’s the right thing to do,” Roy said, as he used the phrase that would occur repeatedly throughout the interview.

In addition, stainless-steel nails are used on cedar products instead of galvanized ones, as the latter can lead to black streaks as the wood weathers.

“The stainless-steel nails are four times more expensive, but we do things correctly with quality products while keeping the cost as reasonable as possible. It’s what people expect, but not what they always get, and it not only prevents future complaints, it satisfies the customer’s vision,” Roy told BusinessWest, adding that the company does a lot of repeat business and recently got a call from a customer he worked for 15 years ago who kept his contact information for more than a decade.

“You can’t please everyone, but I can’t sleep at night if I don’t do my best to make people happy,” he said. “I’ve stayed up many nights thinking about problem situations and the right thing to do to resolve them.”

Every employee must meet expectations, and although they must be qualified and experienced to be hired, Roy puts them through more training before they are sent to a job site.

His son, Josh Roy, is vice president of the company, and had to work his way up the ladder before he was put in charge of overseeing jobs. But he shares the same belief system.

“I like the satisfaction I get from making people happy,” Josh said. “We take pride in what we do, and many newly hired people have told me they are impressed by the quality of work we expect from them.

For this issue, BusinessWest takes a look at the history of this Westfield construction company, why it continues to grow, and how it has weathered several recessions and come out on top.

Changing Times

John L. Roy Construction was born in 1946 when Keith’s father returned home from the Navy after the end of World War II. He set up shop on Main Street in Springfield with his brother and began doing residential and commercial projects.

Keith’s mother, Elaine Roy, served as office manager, and although his uncle left the business after the first few years, his parents did well, and the construction firm thrived.

Keith began working at age 12, and already knew so much he was able to install a composite ceiling in his uncle’s home by himself.

The following summer, he built a treehouse that featured a Dutch door, paneling on the walls, and a linoleum floor, and continued helping his father with the business.

After graduating from high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting, became interested in marketing, and in 1980 was given the title of vice president of the company.

Three years later, John retired, and Keith changed the name of the business from John L. Roy Construction to Keith G. Roy Construction and took over for his father.

Keith G. Roy Construction created this three-season room with a 12-foot knotty-pine ceiling for a homeowner in Suffield, Conn.

When the recession of the late ’80s hit, Keith downsized in many respects, moved the office into his Southwick home, and began working as a sole proprietor.

Things improved considerably during the ’90s, and in 2008 Keith moved his business to its current location on Mainline Drive in Westfield. The Great Recession hit at about the same time, but he took the opposite strategy from most of his competitors and increased his advertising when others were cutting back, which not only worked but solidified his brand.

“We’ve been growing steadily since that time,” Roy said.

Josh Roy also began working in the family business at age 12 and joined the business in 2010.

“I take pride in the work that we do and the fact that we get it right the first time,” he said, echoing his father’s long-standing work ethic and adding that job sites are kept clean, and when a project is finished, the employees get on their hands and knees to make sure everything is immaculate so the homeowner has nothing to do but move their furniture into the space and enjoy it.

Part of the praise they frequently receive may be due to the fact that people understand what is taking place in their home, because sales manager Ken Faulker devotes time to educating each customer when he visits them to estimate a job or create a design plan.

“Our employees are motivated by quality, rather than speed, because they are paid by the hour,” Faulker noted, adding that, although this is a small company, it operates like a large one. All employees are certified in their trade and adhere to best practices, the company provides in-house training to supplement skill sets, it has its own warehouse, and is a distributor of the American-made Starmark cabinets, which it uses almost exclusively in its custom-designed kitchens and bathrooms.

Keith G. Roy Construction is also a dealer for Onyx countertops, which are made to order and look like marble or granite.

Additions are a big part of the firm’s business, and Keith takes pride in making them look like the rest of the house. The crew just finished a 22-by-22 addition with a breezeway-style area that will be used as an in-law suite. It includes a kitchenette, living room, full bathroom, bedroom, and deck.

However, the majority of the company’s recent work has been focused on remodeling kitchens and bathrooms and building decks.

Many of the decks are on local lakes with sweeping views and are multi-story structures with hidden or grand staircases that contain landings and seating.

For example, the company just finished a 700-square-foot deck over a walk-out basement that overlooks a lake and has a rain-removal system beneath it.

Josh Roy says that using their own crew rather than subcontractors allows them to address problems or concerns a homeowner may have immediately.

“They can talk directly to us instead of having to talk to a subcontractor who is only responsible for a specific part of the job,” he explained.

Continuing History

Keith G. Roy Construction was named “Best Contractor” and “Best Bathroom Remodeler” in the Republican’s 2015 Reader Raves, and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

The Roys are proud of these ratings, like the challenge of knowing every job will be different, and enjoy giving customers more than they expect.

“There are many little things they never know about because a lot of what we do can’t be seen, such as gluing down subflooring,” Keith said. “But it’s important to us; we do things the right way and try to exceed our customers’ expectations.”

To that end, the company offers the Keith Roy Guarantee, which ensures on-schedule completion, a cost-effective process from beginning to end, a final product that exceeds expectations, and honesty, integrity, and great value.

“We want to form good relationships and are proud that our business is in its third generation, which helps us guarantee our work long into the future,” Keith said.

Josh agrees and says the company plans to keep growing. “We’ve met or exceeded our goals for the last four years and will continue to increase them.”

STCC Project Is Historic on Many Levels

Construction Sections

Centuries in the Making

Rendering of the library in the renovated Building 19. (Ann Beha Architects)

As Springfield Technical Community College commences a year-long 50th-anniversary celebration, a landmark historic restoration project is taking shape — with the accent on ‘landmark.’ So-called Building 19, a 700-foot-long warehouse that predates the Civil War, is being converted into a campus center, a project that will enable the past and present to co-exist in a powerful fashion.

Tom Duszlak says he’s heard all the rumors.

Actually, they’re more like legends. And some of them are fact.

Like the story related to him about the construction crews that, while working to set oil tanks at what is known as Building 32 on the campus of the Springfield Armory more than a half-century ago, unearthed bones belonging to soldiers from the War of 1812.

“They were digging out the floors to put in these storage tanks when they came across some skeletons,” said Alex Mac-Kenzie, curator at the Armory, noting that, in the early 19th century, Building 32 was a barracks. An influenza outbreak swept the region, killing several soldiers, and they were buried right on site.

There are many other stories concerning people finding bones, uniform fragments, tools, and other items on the grounds during various building projects, and the validity of some tales is a matter of conjecture. But Duszlak says there is absolutely no debating the underlying (pun intended) sentiment regarding this historic site, chosen more than two centuries ago by George Washington: that one never really knows what might be found in the ground there.

Tom Duszlak says the Building 19 projects comes with a healthy list of challenges, including uncertainty about what crews may unearth at this historic site.

And that’s just one of the many challenges confronting Hartford, Conn.-based Consigli Construction, which Duszlak serves as project superintendent, as it takes the lead role in an ambitious, $50 million project to convert the cavernous structure known as Building 19 (right next door to Building 32) into a new campus center for Springfield Technical Community College.

Actually, crews have already unearthed some “artifacts” (Duszlak’s word) while undertaking some extensive infrastructure work at the site.

“We found some cow bones and a few pieces of metal that might be part of an old piece of manufacturing equipment,” he said, adding that the ‘we,’ in this case, is mostly a reference to the full-time archeologist — hired by the National Park Service, which manages the Armory site — who is on hand whenever crews dig deeper than four inches.

And there’s been a lot of digging to date, with most of it still to come — this building is 700 feet long, said Duszlak, adding quickly that, while a small part of him wants to unearth something intriguing — “I’d love to find an old cannonball or something like that” — the project superintendent in him is more pragmatic and fully understands that finding ordnance, let alone old soldiers’ bones, would mean potentially lengthy delays in an already-demanding project.

As mentioned, the fact that the Armory grounds could be described collectively as an archeological site is just one of the challenges facing Consigli, Ann Beha Architects, the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), and STCC administrators as they proceed with this project. Others include the reality that this mammoth initiative must play itself out on a crowded college campus populated by 8,000 students and another 1,000 faculty and staff; that the site’s infrastructure, complete with some brick water lines, is quite old and mostly in need of replacement; that the work is taking place, in part, on a road system designed for horses and buggies; and that, with every bit of digging or restoration work, unforeseen problems may arise.

But the challenges ever-present in this project to convert what amounts to a 19th-century warehouse for walnut gun stocks into a thoroughly wired, 21st-century community-college nerve center, are also what make it so intriguing, and so rewarding.

“There’s history all around you here,” Duszlak noted. “Working in an environment like this — a functioning college campus — is logistically difficult, and this is demanding work. But it’s fun to blend the past with the present.”

Architect George Faber stands in the center of historic Building 19 as a multi-faceted restoration effort takes place around him

George Faber, project designer with Boston-based Ann Beha working on the Building 19 project, agreed.

“One of the main design goals here is respecting the building as it is, and as it was, while making it modern for contemporary use,” he said. “We’re obviously not trying to replicate the old; we’re trying to complement it in a way that might even teach someone about the history of this campus.”

For this issue and its focus on construction, BusinessWest talked with Duszlak, Faber, and others involved with this project — which is historic in every sense of that word — to get a sense for all that’s involved with an endeavor that has been centuries in the making — quite literally.

History Lessons

As he and others gave BusinessWest a quick tour of the Building 19 construction site, Faber stopped to point out a few of the original wooden shutters, or louvers, that graced the dozens of arches and curved windows that give the structure its unique identity.

Crews will replicate those features, and be meticulous in their efforts to match the material, look, and original color — something that was difficult to determine, Faber explained, adding that some of the originals that are in good shape will be restored and put back in place.

Thus, there will be an effective blend, or co-existence, if you will, of old and new, which, in a nutshell, is what this project is all about.

In construction circles, this kind work is considered a specialty, both for the architects and the contractors. And both Consigli and Ann Beha Architects have deep portfolios of similar projects.

Consigli, for example, has handled a number of projects in the category it calls ‘landmark restoration,’ including one unfolding just a mile or so, as the crow flies, from the STCC campus. This would be work on the headquarters building of the former Westinghouse complex on Springfield’s east side, now the home of the massive assembly plant being built by Chinese rail car maker CRRC MA.

Other projects in the portfolio include an elaborate restoration of New York’s historic Capitol Building, which dates back to 1867; restoration of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s 19th-century Renwick Gallery; renovation of three historic buildings on the Trinity College campus in Hartford; and work to restore the exterior envelope of Maine Medical Center in Portland, opened in 1874.

Ann Beha Architects, meanwhile, has undertaken many historic preservation and restoration initiatives on college campuses, including MIT, the University of Chicago, Yale, Bates, and others.

“Ann Beha started her career doing historic-preservation work, so it’s always been a big focus for us,” said Faber, referring to the company’s founder. “We’ve done work in museums, colleges, and other institutions.”

This is the first project for both firms on the STCC campus, which means crews have undoubtedly absorbed a number of history lessons — and heard a number of stories, like the one about soldiers’ skeletons being unearthed — while taking on this ambitious undertaking.

They know, for example, that the buildings they’re using to stage and manage this project (as opposed to the traditional trailers that dot most construction sites) were once officers’ quarters dating back to the Civil War.

By then, of course, the Armory had accumulated almost a century of history, having opened its doors in 1777. Chosen by Washington in part because the site would be safe from naval bombardment — Springfield is located just north of a waterfall in Enfield that cannot be navigated by ocean-going vessels — the Armory did, nonetheless, come under attack. Sort of.

This was Shays’ Rebellion in 1787, a quickly crushed insurrection — one that nonetheless helped inspire the Federal Constitutional Convention — led by Pelham farmer Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary War solider who had gathered a number of rebels who, like him, were upset with their financial plight and thus the state’s government, and decided that seizing the arsenal in Springfield would certainly get someone’s attention.

Since arriving on site several months ago, crews might also have been learned about John Garand, the legendary Canadian-born firearms designer employed by the Armory who created the famous M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, which Gen. George Patton would call “the greatest battle implement ever devised.”

building-19

Above, Building 19, as seen in the early 1930s; below, a rendering of what will be called the Learning Commons. (Ann Beha Architects)

At its height, during World War II, the Armory would employ more than 14,000 people making M1s and a host of other weapons, but two decades after that conflict ended, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara — earning himself an ignominious place in Springfield history — determined that private defense contractors could manufacture the nation’s weapons. He ordered the decommissioning of the Armory, putting more than 2,000 people out of work, a decision that would damage the local economy but also pave the way for the site’s next life.

Indeed, a group of area leaders, including then- (and also future) Springfield Mayor Charlie Ryan; Edmund Garvey, then-director of the Springfield Technical Institute; state Rep. Anthony Scibelli; and Springfield industrialist Joseph Deliso Sr. pushed for legislation that would create a “two-year college of technology.” (Their efforts, and their legacy, will be celebrated at STCC’s Founders Day festivities on Sept. 9, the first in a year-long series of events to mark the college’s 50th anniversary.)

Blueprint for the Future

The Founders Day speeches will be delivered in the gym in Building 2 on the STCC campus (a.k.a. Scibelli Hall). Those taking them in will need to look only a few dozen yards to the north to see the beehive of activity at ‘19,’ as it’s known colloquially.

Unlike other Armory structures, especially its main administration building, now named after Garvey, 19 has not had any significant role with the college since it was formed, other than as a warehouse for equipment that was no longer needed but couldn’t be discarded.

All that is about to change, though, and in a big way.

Indeed, the renovated structure, due to open in the fall of 2018, will be home to a wide array of offices and facilities now scattered across the campus, including the library, admissions, registration, financial aid, the bookstore, the welcome center, student government, the parking office, health services, student activities, a café, the IT help desk, meeting and conference space, and much more.

This collection of facilities will be called the Learning Commons, and if that sounds like a lot to put under one roof, remember that the roof of 19 covers a building longer than two football fields, complete with the end zones, and there are two full floors and a loft third floor.

As noted, converting a structure that large, built a century and a half before the Internet was conceived, 40 years before the lightbulb, 35 years before the telephone, and 80 years before air conditioning (and thus not designed for any of the above) — all while maintaining its original architectural elements and being on the cutting edge of energy efficiency (LEED Silver designation) — will be a stern challenge.

This will require, as Faber noted earlier, coexistence of the old and the new, because they’re both vital, but for different reasons.

“From a design standpoint, it’s really about respecting the tradition of the building,” he explained, adding that this can and will be done, while also making the facility ‘green’ and state-of-the-art with regard to information technology.

Duszlak said there are a number of stages to the project, many of which will be carried out concurrently.

Late this spring, work began in earnest on infrastructure, what he called the “enabling phase,” including water, sewer, and electrical lines. He added that crews made the very most of the three months when the student population is greatly diminished, with the goal of minimizing disruption when they return this week.

Maureen Socha, director of Facilities for STCC, said the project represented an opportunity for the college and DCAMM to greatly improve an aging, and often failing, infrastructure system, one that has been seized.

“A lot of our infrastructure is original to the Armory — we still have brick pipes and clay pipes everywhere,” she explained. “This was a huge opportunity to upgrade that system.”

An architect’s rendering of the forum section of the renovated ‘19.’ (Ann Beha Architects)

While infrastructure work continues on a smaller scale, restoration work on both the exterior and interior of the building have commenced, with the goal of preparing the structure for the extensive build-out work that will follow to create offices, a library, a café, and gathering spaces out of what was a cavernous warehouse.

“The roof gets brought up to current code, the second floor gets brought up to code, a lot of the existing joists get reinforced with structural steel,” Duszlak said. “There’s new elevators to be put in, new mechanical shafts to get cut through the building … a lot of it is just upgrading the skeleton of the building to get it ready for the tradespeople to create the spaces.”

There are many elements to this blend of restoration and renovation work, ranging from cleaning and repointing the hundreds of thousands of bricks to matching (after first determining) the original color of those louvers.

And in a way, the louvers are a microcosm of the project’s many challenges and the huge amount of research and even lab work that goes into such preservation and restoration efforts.

“We had a consultant who took paint chips off the building, took them to a lab, and, through use of a high-powered microscope, was able to pick out the different layers that had been painted over time,” he said. “We found four or five different colors layered on top of one another.” (A darker brown has been declared ‘original.’)

Research has involved poring over hundreds of old photos from not only the Armory but the Library of Congress, he went on, adding, again, the goal is a modern, energy-efficient facility that nonetheless pays respect to the building’s historic look and role.

Soon, work will commence on a 3D coordination of the space, said Duszlak, adding that this will enable crews to make sure all the mechanicals — plumbing, electrical, and HVAC services — are properly coordinated and there are no conflicts.

“There are a number of architectural elements that Ann Beha is concerned about,” he explained. “They want to keep a lot of the timbers exposed to give it some of the old-feel look, but keeping that much square footage exposed, and the ceiling, it limits where you can put duct work and electrical, which adds to the challenges and emphasizes the importance of the 3D coordination.”

Past is Prologue

Looking ahead, Duszlak noted that there is considerable digging (maybe 75% of the total for the project) still to be undertaken at 19 and its larger footprint.

“We have new structural upgrades that we have to dig foundations for,” he explained, “and we have electrical utilities that run the complete 715-foot length of the foundation. There’s new under-slab plumbing and drainage that services new bathrooms … we’ll be doing a lot of digging four to seven feet down.

“So there’s the potential for finding a lot of really cool artifacts,” he went on, adding that, while he doesn’t want to encounter anything that might hinder progress, he wouldn’t mind creating some new stories — or legends.

That’s what can happen when the past, present, and future come together in such dramatic, and historic, fashion.

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

Arrha Credit Union Forges a Path of Smart Growth

Banking and Financial Services Sections

What’s in a Name?

Mike Ostrowski says Arrha’s new name and logo reflect the concepts of trust and strength, two qualities that appeal to its members.

When Springfield Teachers Credit Union, after almost 75 years of exclusively serving teachers, decided to extend membership to anyone who lives or works in Hampden, Hampshire, or Franklin county, the institution’s leaders, led by then-President and CEO Gary Fishlock, shortened the name to STCU Credit Union.

It wasn’t enough, Michael Ostrowski said.

When he took the reins from Fishlock as president and CEO in early 2011, STCU had been accepting non-teachers as members for almost a decade, and the move had proven to be a wise one, growing the institution’s assets. But the name still didn’t reflect the wider community, he told BusinessWest. So he pushed for a more dramatic rebranding.

“When I got here, the board of directors expected me to make this place grow and thrive, but I was still hearing from lenders and staff that people thought you had to be a teacher to be a member,” he said. “They understood we needed a name change to better reflect what was going on.”

So STCU enlisted Cardinale Design, a Ludlow-based creative marketing firm, to rebrand the company. After considering dozens of possibilities, the leadership decided on Arrha, one of the oldest English words, meaning “money or other valuable things given to evidence a contract; a pledge in earnest.”

“It’s absolutely perfect,” Ostrowski said of the name change, which became official last year. “It says exactly what we do. I’m surprised no one picked up this name sooner. It’s an odd name, edgy, but not over the edge, and that’s what we wanted — something memorable, describable, but not over the top.”

The new logo — a stylized pyramid — is intended to convey strength and power over time, while its purple color reflects wealth, leadership, and trustworthiness. “These were all words that came back on member surveys. And ‘trust’ is one of the biggest words in banking. You have to trust where your money is,” he said.

“We want to tell a story,” he added, “and this is a great way to tell the story.”

It’s a story that begins at the dawn of the Great Depression, when many sector-specific credit unions planted roots. In 1929, 31 teachers — perhaps sensing the rough economic waters ahead — pooled their resources in an attempt to ensure their financial security. They named their institution the Springfield Teachers Credit Union and incorporated in late 1929 with just $2,160 in total assets.

For many years, the credit union operated out of a Commerce High School classroom, then purchased property on State Street in downtown Springfield. Again outgrowing its space, it purchased property on Industry Avenue in 1988 and moved its operations there the following year.

“They started in a room in Commerce and combined their assets and petitioned the government,” Ostrowski said, pointing to the original state charter hanging on his office wall. “My job is to protect that charter.”

From those roots has risen one of the larger credit unions in the region, with $127 million in assets, more than 11,000 members, three branches — in Springfield, Hadley, and the just-opened office in West Springfield — and an eye toward further growth driven by an ever-increasing public awareness of the role of credit unions in an age of big-bank consolidation.

Fueling His Fire

Ostrowski is a veteran of the region’s financial scene, but his lengthy career in banking came about by accident. He was fresh out of Springfield College, pumping gas on the Mass Pike, when Bud Doble, then president of United Co-operative Bank, pulled up. They chatted a bit, and something in Ostrowski’s demeanor impressed Dobel, who handed the young man a business card and asked him to call him. Ostrowski did, and was offered a job as a management trainee.

The problem was, he was making more money at the pump than the bank initially offered. When he told his father, the elder Ostrowski explained the difference between a job and a career, and told him to take the plunge.

As careers in banking go, it’s been a wide-ranging one, including stints at Ludlow Savings Bank, Multibank, and Pioneer Financial Co-operative Bank. He also spent nine years as vice president and chief lending officer at Freedom Credit Union in Springfield, and, more recently, senior vice president of lending at Barre Savings Bank.

With that much experience in what could collectively be called community banks, he knows a thing or two about what draws customers to those institutions, as opposed to, say the Bank of America or Santander type of institution. And credit unions like Arrha, he said, fill a similar role, though they have historically been “the best-kept secret in the Pioneer Valley.”

Still, the benefits are obvious to Ostrowski. “Our motto is ‘people helping people’ so our rates for loans are typically lower than at a bank, and deposit rates are higher,” he explained, noting that not having to answer to stockholders gives Arrha more freedom in those areas. “But we have our own difficulties — banks can go out and sell more stock to raise capital; we have to earn it on the job, which is a lot more difficult.”

But their ability to balance robust lending power with a community atmosphere is becoming more evident as so many smaller banks in the Northeast continue to merge with larger institutions, most recently Westfield Savings Bank’s acquisition of Chicopee Savings Bank.

“So many small, mutual banks that started in Massachusetts — Chicopee Savings, Ludlow Savings, Barre Savings — are gone now,” he said. “They were all great, small hometown banks where people went and trusted. Now they’re being taken over. Hopefully, Arrha is filling that void.”

Room to Grow

Most of Arrha’s programs are targeted at retail consumers, but the credit union plans to hire someone in the next six months to oversee an expansion of what, up to now, has been a limited portfolio of commercial loans. Like many credit unions, it sees plenty of opportunity in the small to mid-sized business customers that the larger banks neglect in their pursuit of $4 million and $5 million accounts.

“That’s not who we are,” Ostrowski said. “That’s not our niche. We want to help the smaller person succeed, with car loans, personal loans, student loans … we do excellent at home mortgages, with the lowest closing costs and rates in the Greater Springfield area. We have checking accounts that are dirt-cheap and don’t rip anyone off with fees. We’ve built a good foundation on those things.”

The foundation is fertile soil, he said, to grow the commercial-lending side over the next few years.

“We’re doing really well. We want to expand, but in this day and age, that’s very difficult. Do you build branches or build software? We want to have a few branches, but we don’t want to be inundated with buildings. Everything is electronic, and that’s where the money is, but we still need a physical presence, a few locations. Overall, the bank is very healthy and thriving.”

That progress puts Arrha at a sort of crossroads, he went on, but one marked by opportunity.

“We want to fill the void of the small, mutual savings banks people loved to go to. I’m positive we are doing that, but whether we can sustain it over the next five or six years and keep up with the Bank of Americas, that’s to be determined. I think we can find our niche, though. We always do.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Telehealth: A New Way to Access Care After Hours

BusinessWest White Paper Sections

Presented by Health New England

By Dr. Laurie Gianturco

Dr. Laurie Gianturco

Telehealth is the use of telecommunications and information technologies to deliver clinical care, preventative services, wellness services, patient education, and other health care related services from a distance.

But what does that mean to health care members and why should they take notice?

Telehealth is transforming the way health care is delivered, expanding it beyond the traditional doctor’s office to virtual consultations over the phone and on smart devices. Members can request a phone or online video consultation with a telehealth physician to treat low-acuity medical issues such as a cold, the flu, rash, urinary tract infections, ear infections, and more.

Roughly 30% of family physicians in rural communities have embraced telehealth, according to research conducted by the Robert Graham Center. An aging population, increasing incidences of chronic disease, and rapid technology advancements are fueling growth in the market.

Health New England was the first Massachusetts health plan to offer telehealth services to its members through a company called Teladoc. Health New England began offering telehealth services to its members in August 2015 as a convenient, affordable alternative to costly emergency room visits for non-urgent care.

Teladoc providers are U.S. board-certified in internal medicine, family practice, emergency medicine, pediatrics, dermatology and behavioral health. They are U.S. residents and are licensed in Massachusetts, with an average of 20 years of practice experience. Since Teladoc was launched in 2002, they have provided 1.6 million tele-visits.

To ensure continuity of care, Teladoc providers share information from a member’s virtual visit with their Primary Care Provider (PCP) so he or she is aware of the visit and can follow up as needed. Another benefit is that a Teladoc visit typically costs a member around $40, significantly lower than the cost of visiting an urgent care center or Emergency Department.

Teladoc offers a convenient option for members who need care for occasional minor issues after hours as well as those on vacation, on a business trip or away from home. Teladoc is not intended to replace a member’s PCP for ongoing care and for managing chronic conditions.
If you have a non-urgent medical need after hours, and your health plan offers a telehealth program, it’s an option that could save you time and money while providing care coordination with your PCP.

Dr. Laurie Gianturco serves as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Health New England. Dr. Gianturco is board certified in radiology and nuclear medicine.

Region’s Competitive Commercial-loan Market Poses Plenty of Opportunity

Banking and Financial Services Sections

Lending Optimism

Glenn Welch (left) and Jeffrey Smith say Freedom Credit Union has built a name in local lending, but much more opportunity exists to expand the portfolio.

Banks and credit unions know all too well that the health of a commercial-loan portfolio is often dependent on the economic climate. Several years of improvement on that front has bolstered the portfolios of many regional lenders, some dramatically. But the added opportunity has brought little relief from fierce competition in the sector, both for loan business and the talent to procure it.

When asked about commercial lending, Matt Sosik doesn’t talk in terms of dollars and cents, but of relationships.

“Building long-term relationships brings value on both sides of the table,” said the president and CEO of Easthampton Savings Bank (ESB). “It allows us to transcend the pricing pressures and competitive pressures and focus on the relationship and the importance of it.”

Those relationships have become critical to banks trying to build their commercial-loan portfolio simply because, well, it’s a borrower’s market out there. A generally positive economy has businesses investing — perhaps not at pre-Great Recession levels, but close — yet the competition for those loans has only become more fierce.

“My back ground is in commercial lending, and it’s always been competitive,” said Glenn Welch, president and CEO of Freedom Credit Union. “Nobody wants to lose any deals in their portfolio. But every new loan out there … at least three institutions are looking at it. We’ve seen pricing get pretty skinny. We’ve walked away from some deals because we didn’t think they were appropriately priced for the risk in them.”

List of Banks in Western Mass.

But Freedom is making plenty of deals, too. Vice President and Chief Lending Officer Jeffrey Smith told BusinessWest the credit union’s gross volume in commercial loans is currently doubling from year to year. “We’d generally average $10 to $12 million in commercial lending each year, but in the 12 months that ended in July, we had more than $23 million.” Meanwhile, he added, the business-loan portfolio has grown from $30 million to $50 million.

Matt Sosik says a strong commercial-lending portfolio begins with strong relationships with area businesses.

“That’s still really small in a balance sheet of a half-billion,” Welch said, adding that he sees plenty of opportunity to ramp up business loans even further. “Also, commercial lending is the most profitable line of business. You can grow your balance sheet much quicker because generally the loans are larger. We service the small-business market, and we’re mostly comfortable in the $2-$3 million range, but we will go up to $5 million.”

Westfield Bank is another institution seeing significant lending growth, with higher ceilings for individual loans to boot. The bank was long known mainly as a residential lender before James Hagan’s tenure as president and CEO. But over the past two decades, the bank has significantly expanded its commercial-loan portfolio, said Allen Miles, executive vice president and senior lender — a process that will continue with the institution’s acquisition of Chicopee Savings Bank, which, once approved, will increase WB’s lending capacity from $20 million to $35 million.

“We have a small-business team, a middle-market team, and a commercial real-estate team,” Miles explained. “Our sweet spot is businesses with $5 to $10 million in revenues, but we’ve done loans for businesses with $80 to $100 million in revenue. We handle everyone differently.”

Ramping Up

While all banks were hit hard when companies pulled back on capital investments in the wake of the recession, smaller community banks were presented with opportunities as well. The nation’s larger institutions, awash in toxic debt, were having liquidity issues and pushed back on borrowers, many of whom took their business elsewhere, and community banks that had laid some groundwork and build relationships were able to take advantage.

Borrowers also appreciate locally based lenders who can make decisions quickly, Hagan explained, and Westfield became adept at turning credit applications around in 24 to 48 hours for loans up to $750,000, Miles noted. Larger loans are turned around in under a week.

“That has helped us grow,” Hagan said. “Potential borrowers appreciate that we can move things forward quickly.”

ESB, like many community banks in Western Mass., finds that lending to small to mid-size businesses is its bread and butter.

Jim Hagan says recruiting talent from area colleges has helped Westfield Bank build a formidable commercial-lending team.

“It’s a very important part of our balance sheet and, increasingly, on most community banks’ balance sheets,” Sosik said. “Commercial lending has become a priority we focus on, and we’ve grown the commercial portfolio over the past three years in particular. We’re trying to approach a level that gives us about a 50% loan mix — in other words, about 50% of the loans in the portfolio being commercially oriented.”

But he returned again to the importance of building long-term relationships with clients, rather than one-time transactions. “It’s easier for us to do that when we focus on medium to smaller businesses and geographically local businesses, for sure.”

Freedom Credit Union’s loan growth has been aided by its designation as a low-income credit union, which allows it to avoid the cap on commercial lending — 12.5% of assets — that most credit unions must adhere to. This, and an aggressive commercial-loan push in recent years, has seen the institution recognized as a top SBA lender in the region.

“The real growth has been over the last couple of years,” Welch said. “We’ve really matured into being more of a business lender than we originally started out. We do have a low-income designation, which does not put a cap on us, and that’s a big advantage to us in the market we’re in.”

Smith called the institution’s portfolio a “nice mix,” boasting clients ranging from IT companies, a construction firm, and commercial real-estate projects to social services and nonprofits. “We have a nice niche right now in the marketplace, with so many institutions in this market, headquartered in Springfield. Many times, we get phone calls based on the fact that we are a local player in this market.”

Valley’s Got Talent

Just because businesses are borrowing these days and plenty of opportunity seems to exist doesn’t mean growing a portfolio is easy, Sosik told BusinessWest.

“Commercial lending is a focus not just here at ESB, but across the community-bank sector, even on the credit-union side. There are a lot of players all vying for a finite group of customers, and that makes for a very competitive environment.”

Indeed, Welch noted that the local lending landscape has been rife with movement, with banks poaching talent from their competitors and even, in a few cases, entire teams moving from one bank to another.

Hagan said Westfield Bank has been fortunate to retain its top talent, and with the acquisition of Chicopee Savings will have three lending teams headquartered in Westfield, Springfield, and Chicopee.

“We have not lost lenders to our competitors,” he said. “But what we’ve also done is, we’ve actively recruited at colleges and universities. We interview folks and bring them on as credit trainees and groom them in-house. They get to know our culture and our customer base, and in so doing, we’ve created a way for them to grow in their career and for us to develop our own lending team. It’s been highly successful.”

It’s one way Westfield Bank has been able to continually grow its commercial-lending team and its book of loans, especially among small to mid-size, family-owned and closely held businesses that form the core of its portfolio.

As for Welch, he certainly thinks continued growth is sustainable. He noted that Springfield was recently named by CNBC as one of America’s “10 Most Overlooked Cities,” meaning cities where economic development — and, presumably, capital investments by companies — are on the rise, though not many people outside their regions are aware of it. And Springfield is only one part of a region currently booming with entrepreneurial life.

“There’s definitely more opportunity for growth, all the way up to Franklin County,” he said. “With our size and capital, we can compete pretty well. We’re trying to get our name out now, but I think there’s a lot of opportunity up and down the Valley.”

And that’s lending a measure of optimism to the region’s growing ranks of commercial lenders.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Marijuana Edibles Would Harm Children

Opinion

By Nick Bayer

A study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics Journal shows that reports of accidental marijuana poisoning by young children and toddlers has risen by 150% since commercial marijuana was legalized in Colorado in 2014. Half of the child-poisoning cases involved the accidental ingestion of marijuana edible products (including brownies, cookies, and candies) that are being marketed and sold in Colorado.

The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts urges the marijuana industry to explain why they would specifically authorize these products in Massachusetts under their 2016 ballot proposal (see story, page 36).

The report studied the number of marijuana poison-control cases for children aged 0-9, and showed a 150% increase since 2014. The average stay in the hospital for the children was about 11 hours. Marijuana edibles now account for approximately 50% of marijuana product sales in Colorado since legalization, and that number is growing.

Under the Massachusetts ballot question, written by the marijuana industry, edible pot products would be specifically authorized under the law. Edible products are such an essential part of the Massachusetts ballot question that the state’s Supreme Judicial Court, in a rare ruling, ordered that the ballot question summary be rewritten to include reference to edibles. In Colorado, the marijuana industry has vigorously fought against marketing restrictions once recreational marijuana was legalized.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the pot-edibles market is dangerous for our kids, and a huge part of the profit model for the marijuana industry. The marijuana industry chose to specifically authorize these dangerous edible products under their proposed law. The marijuana industry put their profits over the interests of Massachusetts families, and we believe the edibles issue alone is a reason to reject this ballot question in Massachusetts.

Among the facts about marijuana edibles:

• There is no limit on the potency of edible products in Colorado, nor are limits written into the proposed law in Massachusetts.

• Edible products have been known to have THC levels (the active ingredient in marijuana) reaching as high as 95%. That compares to the THC in current marijuana plants that average 17-18% THC, and marijuana THC levels of 3-4% that existed back in the 1980s.

• Marijuana-infused products such as gummy bears, candy bars, cookies, and ‘cannabis cola’ are often indistinguishable from traditional products and attractive to children.

• Doctors at Children’s Hospital Denver reported that, after legalization, the ER began treating one to two kids a month for accidental marijuana ingestion, mostly in the form of edibles. Prior to legalization, they reported none. For example, in 2014, a two-year old girl from Longmont, Colo. was sent to the hospital after accidentally eating a marijuana cookie she found in front of her apartment building.

The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts represents a growing coalition of healthcare and community leaders, anti-addiction advocates, educators, business groups, first responders, and families who are opposing this proposed legalization of the commercial marijuana industry in Massachusetts.

Among the groups that have already come out in opposition to this initiative include the Mass. Hospital Assoc., the Mass. Medical Society, the Mass. Municipal Assoc., Associated Industries of Mass., the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, the Retailers Assoc. of Mass., the Assoc. of School Superintendents, the Assoc. for Behavioral Healthcare, the National Assoc. of Mental Illness (Massachusetts chapter), Mass. Chiefs of Police, the Mass. Sheriffs Assoc., and all Massachusetts district attorneys. v

Nick Bayer is campaign manager of the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, which opposes a 2016 ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana for adults.

Partnerships Attract Business to Quaboag Region

Community Spotlight Features

Community Spotlight

Lenny Weake says the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce has partnered with QVCDC to promote resources available to startups and existing businesses in the region.

In 2006, Nelson Rivera opened the Sharpest Edge Barber Shop on Main Street in Ware.

A few years later, he wanted to purchase a building on Pulaski Street to house his expanding operation, but didn’t think he could qualify for a commercial bank loan due to his poor credit score.

However, he found help at the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corp. (QVCDC), where he was referred to a bank that granted the loan he needed to buy the property.

“The QVCDC opened the door for me,” Rivera said, adding that he also took a QuickBooks class from the organization and recently got a loan from them that allowed him to make needed building improvements.

“The help they offer is amazing and if you have a good idea for a business, this is definitely a great place to launch it,” Rivera continued, as he told BusinessWest that business owners and residents in the area are very supportive of new and existing enterprises.

Lenny Weake agrees, and says the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce has partnered with QVCDC to promote resources available to startups and existing businesses in the region. The chamber represents 15 towns: Belchertown, Brimfield, Brookfield, East Brookfield, Hardwick, Holland, Monson, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Palmer, Spencer, Wales, Ware, Warren, and West Brookfield.

“We want businesses to come to our area and stay here; we have a lot to offer and have established a cohesive network of resources to help them,” said the president of the chamber. “Anyone can open a new company, but it doesn’t mean they know the best way to market their product or service or have the financial knowledge they need to be successful.”

To that end, the chamber and QVCDC have coordinated their efforts and are working collectively to help new businesses as well as landlords with property to rent in the 400-square-mile rural region. “If a business in Ware does well, Palmer and Brimfield also benefit, and if we all work together, we can bring more businesses to the area, which will lead to more jobs,” Weake said, adding that, although some might question the desirability of setting up shop in this region roughly halfway between Springfield and Worcester, it is not as far away as people think. “Palmer is only 15 minutes from Springfield and has an exit on the Mass Pike,” he noted. “Spencer is 20 minutes from Worcester; Route 9 runs from Ware through West Brookfield, East Brookfield and Spencer; Route 20 runs from Palmer to Brimfield into Sturbridge; and the Quabbin Reservoir attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.”

The area contains many former mill buildings that have been converted into office or light-manufacturing space, including the Palmer Technology Center and the Wrights Mill complex in West Warren, which is in close proximity to highways and freight-rail transportation systems.

“We’re a very vibrant region with beautiful open spaces, a rich history and culture, and wonderful people,” said Sheila Cuddy, executive director of the QVCDC and the Quaboag Valley Business Assistance Corp.

Indeed, Weake says some business owners have found that the Quaboag region is an ideal location. “Mike’s Party Rentals moved into space on Route 32 in Palmer several months ago because of its access to the Mass Pike and main roads,” he noted.

For this edition, BusinessWest takes a look at how organizations are working cooperatively to provide invaluable assistance to businesses in the Quaboag region, which include a number of new programs, a workforce-training initiative, and education for landlords.

New Programs and Services

The QVCDC was formed in 1995, and it works in partnership with the Quaboag Valley Business Assistance Corp. and numerous community partners to provide a wide range of offerings. They include loans of $500 to $100,000 to businesses that are not bankable, job creation, and services designed to help businesses start, stabilize, and grow.

There is also help for outcome-driven projects, thanks to mini-grants of $300 to $750 and a network of professionals who offer their services at reduced rates to help business owners with legal issues, marketing, and more. For example, someone can get help with a logo or have an attorney review a contract or lease or provide assistance writing a contract for customers.

The QVCDC also offers classes on business topics not duplicated by other organizations, and Cuddy said a survey conducted in the region uncovered problems that the agencies are working collectively to address.

For example, many business owners reported they had trouble finding qualified employees, so a new program was designed to resolve that issue. QVCDC formed a partnership with Holyoke Community College, which led to the creation of the E2E (Education to Employment) program and the Quaboag Region Workforce Training and Community College Center in Ware.

The center contains two classrooms, private study areas, and office space, and has 10 computer workstations for people who want to enroll in HCC’s online credit classes.

Holyoke Community College President William Messner (far right), who recently retired, shakes hands with Tracy Opalinski during the opening ceremony for the new E2E (Education to Employment) program in Ware.

In addition, there are non-credit classes in hospitality and culinary arts, and plans to expand course offerings in the future. Classroom education will be supplemented by hands-on training at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer, and HCC will offer academic advising and career-counseling services on site beginning this month.

“This is the first installation of any education past high school in the Quaboag region,” Cuddy said, noting that it’s a public-private partnership that will provide critical help to low- to moderate-income residents and local employers.

Tracy Opalinski agrees. “Businesses in this area are starved for qualified employees, so we’re trying to create our own feeder program and build a base so people can live and work locally instead of having to move far away or commute to find employment,” said the trustee of the Edward and Barbara Urban Charitable Foundation, which provided support to the E2E program.

Other E2E community partners and supporters include Country Bank, Monson Savings Bank, the Donovan Foundation, Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, Quabbin Wire, Meredith Management, Otto Florists, and Carol Works for You.

In addition, QVCDC offers free computer-software training to incumbent employees and businesses in Worcester, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties. The training, which is funded by a state grant, takes place in Ware or at satellite training sites in Palmer or Brimfield. But if it is not feasible for employees to travel to those locations because of time, distance, or expense, the training sessions can be held at the businesses themselves.

“The program began last year and has been very popular; there are still slots available, but they are limited,” Cuddy noted.

She added that QVCDC’s most recent project is the Quaboag Connector, a regional initiative designed to transport people to and from work and the E2E program.

“One of the barriers to employment is the lack of affordable public transportation, and the creation of the E2E accelerated the need for it,” Cuddy told BusinessWest, adding that vans are being donated by the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, and funding was provided by the Mass Dept. of Transportation and Baystate Wing Hospital in the form a $30,000 grant.

Another local initiative is the TRACK (Three Rivers Art Community Knowledge) program, which is using art as a catalyst to revitalize the downtown area and has been quite successful. Artwork is being displayed in empty and filled storefronts, there have been waiting lists for events for children and adults, and Workshop 13 in Ware held a business-planning session for artists that was attended by 15 aspiring entrepreneurs.

“We’ve recognized that we’re stronger when we form partnerships and work together,” Cuddy said, adding that the Quaboag Hills and Three Rivers chambers of commerce, the Ware Civic and Business Assoc., the Ware and Palmer Community Development Authorities, and the Palmer Historical and Cultural Center are among the groups that have joined forces to promote economic growth.

Their combined efforts have been enhanced by generous support from donors, which increased substantially over the past year after the QVCDC was selected to participate in the state’s Community Investment Tax Credit Program, which provides a 50% tax credit for donations to selected community-development corporations.

“We went from $126,000 in donations in FY 2013 to more than $208,600 in FY 2016,” Cuddy said. “Substantial support from our community partners has funded innovative new programs, sustained vital existing programs, and helped us leverage significant funding from state and federal sources.”

Ongoing Efforts

Weake said the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce is also playing a vital role in economic-development efforts. For the past two years, its economic development committee has worked to match businesses that want to move to the region with available vacant space. It developed a form for them to fill out that provides information about their needs, and identifies suitable sites during monthly meetings.

“We have space available for $4.50 per square foot,” Weake noted, adding that this is very affordable compared to larger cities and towns.

The chamber’s efforts have extended to landlords; there are few commercial realtors in the area, and many property owners lack marketing experience and don’t know what to charge for available properties.

“We have landlords with space for rent who don’t put up signs, and we want to make people aware of what we have to offer,” Weake continued, noting that the chamber is working to become the central point for startups or businesses looking to relocate within the region.

Education is also being provided to landlords on a variety of topics, including the importance of forming and maintaining good relationships with tenants, because there has been a fair amount of turnover in the past.

Weake suggested that some landlords may want to consider measures such as graduated rents based on business profits or a number of other parameters. They are also being advised to provide new tenants with information about things such as rules and regulations regarding signage, and outline exactly what they are responsible for in a lease agreement.

Such education is critical, Weake said, citing the example of a business in Palmer that had to close when a leak in the roof caused damage it wasn’t prepared to fix because the owners hadn’t read the terms in their lease carefully enough.

“We’re doing all we can to work cohesively because we want small businesses to come here,” said Weake, referring to the sum of the many recent initiatives. “They’re the backbone of the community and give so much back to it, while adding life and energy to our towns.”

Friendly’s CEO Says the Company Has Achieved Needed Momentum

Features

Moving Beyond the Heavy Lifting

CEO John Maguire says Friendly’s has achieved its first real mission — to once again be competitive in the marketplace.

As he talked with BusinessWest roughly four years ago, soon after assuming the title of president and CEO, John Maguire said his assignment, while complex in nature, came down to two simple words: fixing Friendly’s.

There were, of course, many things that needed to be fixed, and Maguire, then, as now, summed them all up by reciting comments attributed to a woman from New Jersey who was part of a focus group assigned the task of gaining valuable input concerning the restaurant chain, its food, and service. Yes, he knows the passage by heart, because he’s lost track of how many times he’s quoted it.

“She said very eloquently, ‘the problem with Friendly’s is … your people aren’t friendly, your food is mediocre, your restaurants are dirty, and you don’t fix things when they break,’” he noted. “And that was all you needed to know to sum up what had happened to the brand.”

To make a long, four-year story much shorter, the menu has been simplified, the food has been upgraded from mediocre, the restaurants have been cleaned and renovated, and perhaps, most importantly, the people are, indeed, friendly. (If they’re not, they don’t work there for long, if at all.)

Despite all this, Maguire isn’t remotely ready to retire the present tense as he talks about what is still his assignment. Indeed, he is most definitely still fixing Friendly’s. But sufficient progress has been made now for him to summon the phrase “we’re competitive now,” and he did so quite often. The implication was clear; for years, this chain that was started in Springfield in 1935 and has been a part of the landscape ever since, wasn’t competitive.

“You never say that work is done — that’s not how it is with brands; fixing and improving is a continuum,” he explained. “But we are competitive in the marketplace once again, and we’re taking market share from other restaurants.”

The work to achieve competitiveness was described as the “heavy lifting” by Maguire, who was quick to add, however, that there is still plenty of that to do.

And the company will use the capital gained from the sale several months ago of its large and quite successful manufacturing division to Dean Foods to continue to move the needle in the right direction.

Initiatives include everything from new restaurants to continued renovations of existing venues, to the installation of drive-thru facilities at some locations where infrastructure permits it.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Maguire about the progress that’s been recorded at Friendly’s and the considerable work still to do to return the chain to the prominence it once enjoyed.

Recipe for Success

Retracing the steps that led to the sale of the manufacturing division, what he called a “powerful transaction,” Maguire said that in some ways it was a difficult decision to make. After all, the unit had been enjoying steady growth, and was, in some respects, the top-performing business within the company.

But this strong track record is also what made it quite attractive to the many large companies that dominate that realm and have been searching for additional, and potential-laden, growth opportunities.

So, with a need for additional capital, Friendly’s leaders eventually saw the sale of that division as a means to an end.

“As I looked at the total business, we had this gem called the retail and manufacturing business,” he told BusinessWest. “The first year I was there, we grew the business maybe 45% and launched our novelty business as well. What became evident to us fairly quickly was that we could use the growth from that business to give us the capital, but also the time and the space, to do the things we needed to do on the restaurant side.

Giving restaurants a new look and feel and has been one of the primary missions at Friendly’s.

“So we put a full focus on that division, and as a result of those efforts, four years later, we ended up with a business that had grown more than 105% over that time,” he went on. “We were in more than 9,000 grocery stores, we were in 49 states, and had really a national footprint.”

The question then became what to do with this tremendous asset, he went on, adding that one option was to expand it, perhaps by opening one or more new plants in different parts of the country. The other was, as they say in business, to ‘sell high.’

It was decided to canvas the market to see if there was any interest in it. The response was overwhelming, to say the least.

“We were blown away by the response we got, both from private-equity companies and the ‘strategics,’ the people who were in the ice-cream business,” he explained. “We got back such a response that we believed that what made the best sense was exiting that retail and manufacturing business.”

John Maguire said one of the needed steps is his efforts to ‘fix Friendly’s’ was to revise and simplify the menu.

The company will buy all its products from Dean, which acquired the division for $165 million, while continuing to own the recipes and setting the standards for quality, said Maguire, adding that Dean has made it clear it has no intention of moving the operation from Wilbraham or downsizing that workforce. In fact, it has plans to grow the division and expand those facilities.

Meanwhile, the transaction allowed the company to retire debt on the restaurant side and continue to gain momentum in the drive to make the restaurant side not only competitive, but a sector leader, and, in the process of doing all that, change the narrative from people like that woman from New Jersey.

“We went to work on solving those issues she cited,” he said. “We made improvements with our people, for example; if you weren’t friendly, you couldn’t stay; if you didn’t want to take care of kids and families, you couldn’t stay; if you didn’t really want to be in the service business, you couldn’t stay; if you were a manager and you couldn’t be accountable for the results and deliver on the things we needed to deliver on, you couldn’t stay.”

But weeding out those who couldn’t provide the desired experience was just part of the equation, he went on, adding that a bigger piece was making the necessary investments in training so they could provide it.

If people were part 1 of the broad assignment to fix Friendly’s, then food, or improving it, to be more precise, was part 2.

“The food was mediocre,” said Maguire. “Over the years, Friendly’s had cut costs and stopped investing in food. We reduced portion sizes and cut back on the quality of the ingredients.”

So the company went back to fresh beef in its burgers, real ice cream in its shakes, haddock in the fish sandwiches, and extra large eggs and better bacon at breakfast. Just as importantly, it removed from the menu items that didn’t sell or that Friendly’s had no “credibility in serving,” as he put it — the ‘chicken-and-shrimp stir frys’ of this world.

Just Desserts

Such improvements were both needed and quite timely, said Maguire, a food-industry veteran who has a turn-around effort at Panera Bread at the top of his résumé’s list of accomplishments, adding that the burger and ice-cream business is flourishing, despite what amounts to rumors to the contrary.

“I know everyone talks about eating healthy, but there’s not much real evidence of that,” he said, adding that this assessment is buffeted by the strong performance recently of chains such as Five Guys, Steak ’n Shake, Dairy Queen and its ‘Grill & Chill’ concept, and relative newcomers such as Shake Shack. “The truth of the matter is, if you have a compelling product in the burger and ice-cream segment, you can be pretty darn successful.”

In most ways, Friendly’s is qualified to use that word ‘compelling,’ he went on, adding, again, that food is just part of the equation, and this brings him to what would be considered the third leg of the stool regarding the company’s return to competitiveness — the restaurants themselves.

Looking back only a few years, he said that woman from New Jersey was right on the money with her assessment.

“Our restaurants were, quite frankly, in deplorable shape; they hadn’t been remodeled in 12 to 15 years on average, and when things broke, we didn’t fix them,” he explained, adding that the company has made needed improvements and has remodeled 95% of the 130 company-owned locations, with the rest slated for work over the next 12 months. There are 130 more restaurants that are franchised; 60% of those have been remodeled, and the company has received commitments for the rest to be done by the end of 2017.

Add all that up, and the result is that measure of competiveness Maguire mentioned. And now that Friendly’s is competitive, it can do the things it needs to do to grow the brand, he told BusinessWest.

“Now that we’re competitive, the real work begins,” he explained. “Now, it’s about showing not only that Friendly’s can be viable — which I would say it can be — but that it can be a growth vehicle. And there’s a big difference between the two.”

Growth will come from improving the average unit volume of each location, or simply bringing more people to those sites, he said, adding that, while all the initiatives taken above are part of that equation, additional steps are being taken.

These include the addition of drive-thru windows, he said, adding that this additional convenience has proven its worth for countless other brands. And while Friendly’s doesn’t exactly fit the description of fast food, Maguire noted that it gets food to the drive-thru customer within four or five minutes on average.

“We’ve begun to retrofit some of our locations for drive-thrus,” he said, noting that the location in Westfield was the first to be done over, and six have been completed to date. “And those drive-thrus are seeing a 25% lift in sales volume.”

The company plans to be aggressive in this realm and add another 25 to 50 such retrofits in the coming years, with the goal of having one-third of the locations equipped with them.

Meanwhile, the company continues to expand with new locations, including one at Logan Airport, another in Merrimack, N.H., and two more in Southern New Jersey, with more planned for next year.

Shaking Things Up

If you visit a Friendly’s location, you won’t see a picture of that focus-group participant from New Jersey on the wall.

Still, Maguire gives her ample credit for the company’s turnaround efforts and return to competitiveness. In fact, he even called her “wise” as he relayed her sentiments, or previous sentiments, to be more accurate.

Making those observations dated constituted the ‘heavy lifting,’ as Maguire called it, in his efforts to change the company’s fortunes, and now the real work has commenced to become into an instrument of growth.

As happened in individual locations, Friendly’s has fixed what became broken — its brand. Actually, it’s still fixing it, because, as Maguire noted, such work is a continuum, and it’s never really done.

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

Briefcase

Briefcase Departments

Springfield Wins Grant from
U.S. Department of Justice

SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno recently announced that the city of Springfield has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the amount of $147,456 to expand communications and technology at the Springfield Police Department, and to increase officer safety and efficiency. The funds were awarded through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, the primary provider of federal criminal justice assistance to state and local governments. The JAG funds support for a range of program areas, including law enforcement, drug treatment, victim and witness initiatives, and technology-improvement programs. “This important crime-prevention assistance for the city is timely and needed,” Neal said. “I have always said the men and women of the Springfield Police Department deserve the appropriate amount of local, state, and federal resources they need to do their jobs effectively. Each day, they put their lives at risk to protect families and keep our community safe. With these additional funds, they will be able to continue to do their vital and courageous work on the streets of Springfield. In my opinion, Mayor Sarno and Commissioner Barbieri deserve great credit for their efforts to secure this highly competitive grant.” Added Sarno, “Police Commissioner John Barbieri is always looking to do cutting-edge innovative technology initiatives which in turn will continue to enhance the public safety of each and every one of our residents in the city of Springfield. These funds will assist with improving the technology needed to make the Springfield Police Department more efficient and effective in serving the residents of our fine city.” According to the DOJ, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program allows states and units of local government to prevent and control crime based on their own state and local needs and conditions. Grant funds can used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice, including for any one or more of the following areas: law-enforcement programs; prosecution and court programs; prevention and education programs; corrections and community-corrections programs; drug-treatment and enforcement programs; planning, evaluation, and technology-improvement programs; and crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation). The Springfield Police Department will use the award funds to support information-technology upgrades and purchase protective equipment. The use of this federal assistance meets unfunded needs and expands communications and technology capacity and increases officer safety and efficiency.

Employer Confidence Falls
for Second Straight Month

BOSTON — A resurgent U.S. stock market, better-than-expected job growth, and growing labor-force participation failed to make believers of Massachusetts employers during July as business confidence fell for a second consecutive month. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index declined one point to 55.1 last month, leaving it more than four full points lower than in July 2015. The confidence reading remained above the 50 mark that denotes an overall positive economic outlook, but optimism dimmed across the board on employment, the Massachusetts economy, and employers’ outlook on their own companies. The index has now declined in three of the past four months. Economists suggest that employers may be caught between the expectation of an expanding U.S. economy and concern about anemic growth and instability overseas. It’s a paradox that has resulted in the stock and bond markets, which usually move in opposite directions, rising in tandem this year. “We see a familiar pattern in what is now the fourth-longest economic expansion since World War II — employers remain optimistic about the state of the economy, but it is an optimism marked by fits and starts and reactions to all sorts of political and economic events,” said Raymond Torto, chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) and lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Design. The AIM Business Confidence Index, based on a survey of Massachusetts employers, has appeared monthly since July 1991. It is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; a reading above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative. 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. Most of the sub-indices based on selected questions or categories of employer declined during July. The Massachusetts Index, assessing business conditions within the Commonwealth, dropped 1.3 points during July and 0.3 points over the year to 57.2. The U.S. Index of national business conditions, in contrast, bucked the downward trend of the past year (in which it dropped 3.0 points) by gaining 1.5 points. Even so, employers have been more optimistic about the Massachusetts economy than about the national economy for 75 consecutive months. The Current Index, which assesses overall business conditions at the time of the survey, fell 0.2 points to 55.3, while the Future Index, measuring expectations for six months out, slid 1.8 points to 54.8. “July marked the first time since September 2015 that employers were more positive about current conditions than those six months from now. It’s something to watch, since confidence drives employer decisions on hiring and investment moving forward,” said Elliot Winer, chief economist for Northeast Economic Analysis Group LLC. “It’s also worth noting that employer confidence in their own companies has declined by 5.8 points, albeit from a high level, during the past 12 months.” Indeed, the three sub-indices bearing on survey respondents’ own operations all weakened. The Company Index, reflecting overall business conditions, fell 1.8 points to 55.9, while the Sales Index lost 1.4 points to 55.6, and the Employment Index dropped 2.0 points to 52.5. The AIM survey found that nearly 39% of respondents reported adding staff during the past six months, while 19% reduced employment. Expectations for the next six months were stable, with 37% expecting to hire and only 10% downsizing. “A tightening labor market is finally beginning to put upward pressure on wage growth as employers compete for skilled workers,” said Michael Goodman, executive director of the Public Policy Center (PPC) at UMass Dartmouth. “Wages rose 2.6% for the 12 months ended in June, the fastest annual growth rate since 2009. While this is welcome news for the state’s working families, whose wages have been stagnant for an extended period, it represents a challenge for those employers with limited pricing power who can expect it to be increasingly difficult and expensive to obtain the labor they need to support expected growth in coming months.” Confidence levels in July were higher in Greater Boston (56.8) than in the rest of the Commonwealth (52.2). Non-manufacturing companies enjoyed a significantly brighter outlook at 58.0 than manufacturing employers, who posted an overall confidence level of 52.6. AIM President and CEO Richard Lord, a BEA member, said employers should take encouragement from the moderate approach to business issues taken by state lawmakers during the two-year legislative session that ended Sunday night. Beacon Hill balanced a difficult budget with no tax increases, passed economic-development and energy legislation, and developed a consensus pay-equity measure that balances the needs of employers and workers. “The Legislature and the Baker administration again showed an understanding of the factors that contribute to business growth and job creation,” Lord said.

Pioneer Valley Home Sales
Down 11.3% in July

SPRINGFIELD — The Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley reported that single-family home sales in July were down by 11.3% in the Pioneer Valley, compared to the same time last year. The median price was up 8.2% to $224,000. In Franklin County, sales were down 26%, and the median price was up 24.7%. Hampden County saw a 7.5% sales decrease, with the median price rising 0.1%. In Hampshire County, sales were down down 15.6%, while the median price rose 8.1%.

Study Shows Peanut-allergy Prevention Strategy Is Nutritionally Safe

Health Care Sections

Getting to the Nut of the Problem

Introducing peanut-containing foods during infancy as a peanut-allergy prevention strategy does not compromise the duration of breastfeeding or affect children’s growth and nutritional intakes, new findings show. The work, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the June 10 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

These findings are a secondary result from the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) clinical trial, which was conducted by the NIAID-funded Immune Tolerance Network and led by researchers at King’s College London.

Primary results from the LEAP trial, published in 2015, showed that introducing peanut products into the diets of infants deemed at high risk for peanut allergy led to an 81% relative reduction in subsequent development of the allergy compared to avoiding peanuts altogether. The goal of the current analysis was to determine whether eating high doses of peanut products beginning in infancy would have any adverse effects on infant and child growth and nutrition.

“The striking finding that early inclusion of peanut products in the diet reduces later development of allergy already is beginning to transform how clinicians approach peanut-allergy prevention,” said NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci. “The new results provide reassurance that early-life peanut consumption has no negative effect on children’s growth and nutrition.”

At the beginning of the LEAP trial, investigators randomly assigned 640 infants aged 4 to 11 months living in the United Kingdom to regularly consume at least two grams of peanut protein three times per week or to avoid peanut entirely. These regimens were continued until the children were 5 years old. The researchers monitored the children at recurring healthcare visits and asked their parents and caregivers to complete dietary questionnaires and food diaries.

In the current analysis, investigators compared the growth, nutrition, and diets of the LEAP peanut consumers and avoiders. Many of the participants were breastfeeding at the beginning of LEAP.

“An important and reassuring finding was that peanut consumption did not affect the duration of breastfeeding, thus countering concerns that introduction of solid foods before six months of age could reduce breastfeeding duration,” said lead author Mary Feeney, a registered dietitian with King’s College London.

In addition, the researchers did not observe differences in height, weight, or body-mass index — a measure of healthy weight status — between the peanut consumers and avoiders at any point during the study. This was true even when the researchers compared the subgroup of children who consumed the greatest amount of peanut protein with those who avoided peanut entirely.

In general, the peanut consumers easily achieved the recommended level of six grams of peanut protein per week, consuming seven and a half grams weekly on average. They made some different food choices than the avoiders, investigators noted. For example, consumers ate fewer chips and savory snacks. Both groups had similar total energy intakes from food and comparable protein intakes, although the peanut consumers had higher fat intakes and avoiders had higher carbohydrate intakes.

“Overall, these findings indicate that early-life introduction of peanut-containing foods as a strategy to prevent the subsequent development of peanut allergy is both feasible and nutritionally safe, even at high levels of peanut consumption,” said Dr. Marshall Plaut, chief of the Food Allergy, Atopic Dermatitis and Allergic Mechanisms Section in NIAID’s Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, and a co-author of the paper.

This work was supported by NIAID with additional support from Food Allergy Research & Education, the Medical Research Council & Asthma UK Centre, and the UK Department of Health.

This article was prepared by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which conducts and supports research — at the National Institutes of Health, throughout the U.S., and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing, and treating these illnesses.

Company Notebook

Company Notebook Departments

Big E Taps White Lion to
Brew Its Centennial Ale

SPRINGFIELD — White Lion Brewing Co., in collaboration with Williams Distributing and the Student Prince and the Fort, will commemorate the Eastern States Exposition’s 100th anniversary with an exclusive centennial ale. This limited-quantity Kolsch ale will be featured at one of the newest Big E venues from Sept. 16 through Oct. 2: the Wurst Haus, located near the New England Center and the Coliseum, where the Student Prince and the Fort will feature its German menu. “We are happy to share our appetite for delivering quality food and beverage to festival goers that have been supporting the Eastern States Exposition for 100 years,” said Andy Yee, the restaurant’s managing partner. “In our inaugural year, it made sense for us to partner with community-committed companies such as White Lion Brewing and Williams Distributing as a way to further enhance the overall experience.” Heather Gawron, operations and sales manager at White Lion Brewing Co., added that “White Lion is very excited to be part of the centennial celebration and be showcased at New England’s largest fair. To stand with a regional pioneer, the Eastern States Exposition, and two great community partners, Williams Distributing and the Student Prince and Fort restaurant, is a historical moment for our brand. Our brewer, Mike Yates, worked with the Student Prince and Fort restaurant to determine what style would complement the German-themed venue. Fittingly, the beer will be called Eastern States Exposition Centennial Ale: Kolsch. The beer will be a light-bodied and crisp golden ale, brewed with German hops and malts.”

WNEU Named a
College of Distinction

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University (WNEU) is featured in the 2016-17 edition of the Colleges of Distinction guidebook. Based on the opinions of guidance counselors, educators, and admissions professionals, the guidebook honors colleges that excel in key areas of educational quality and appeal to students’ unique and varied interests. “We place high value on innovation and excellence in order to provide the best possible experience for our students. We challenge students to dream big, take risks, and surprise themselves with all they can accomplish,” said Bryan Gross, vice president for Enrollment. Western New England University serves approximately 4,000 students, including 2,575 undergraduate students, on its main campus in Springfield. In order to qualify for inclusion in the guidebook, Western New England University was evaluated for its performance in four distinct categories: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities, and successful outcomes. Guidance counselors and admissions professionals around the country recommended WNEU highly in all four categories. The university was particularly noted for providing an innovative, engaged experience that prepares students for successful careers, active citizenship, and lifelong learning. Western New England University is accredited by the Assoc. to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. Fewer than 5% of business programs worldwide are accredited by AACSB International.

Elms College President Announces Retirement

CHICOPEE — Mary Reap, president of the College of Our Lady of the Elms, has announced she will retire in the summer of 2017, according to Cynthia Lyons, chair of the Elms College board of trustees. In accepting Reap’s retirement, Lyons said, “on behalf of the board of trustees, I wish to express our sincere gratitude for all Sr. Mary has given to the College of Our Lady of the Elms during her tenure. Her accomplishments will serve as the firm foundation upon which the future of the college will be built. This year will provide us with the opportunity to celebrate Sr. Mary and her many contributions to our college and our community. Sr. Mary’s guidance, dedication, and vision will leave a lasting legacy on the Elms campus and in the hearts of all who love this college.”
Since arriving at Elms College in 2009, Reap has made a profound impact on both the academic programs and the campus itself. It was her vision, for example, that instituted a successful fund-raising effort for the new Center for Natural and Health Sciences building, which now serves as the crown jewel of the campus.
Reap has also been instrumental in the creation of articulation agreements between Elms College and every community college in Western Mass. and into Worcester County to develop completion programs for adult students. During her tenure, the college also added to its graduate offerings by developing DNP (doctor of nursing practice) and MBA (master of business administration) programs. “We are committed by our mission to carry on the legacy of the Sisters of St. Joseph in as many ways as possible through our thoughts and actions,” Reap explained. “The very fabric of the college is to serve the spiritual, social, and healthcare needs of our dear neighbors as the sisters have done throughout the diocese over so many years.” Reap will remain as president through the academic year, and will assist the trustees in the college’s search for a new president, in addition to other projects related to the development of a Master Campus Plan and strategic refinement of programs and services to meet the needs of the college over the next year and beyond. The board of trustees will form a search committee, and national search firm R.H. Perry and Associates will lead the search for a successor.

People on the Move

Departments People on the Move

Robinson Donovan, P.C., a full-service law firm based in Springfield, announced that seven attorneys were honored by The Best Lawyers in America© for 2017. They are:

• Attorney Jeffrey Roberts, Managing Partner at the firm, in the practice area of corporate law and trust and estates. Roberts graduated from Colgate University (Bachelor of Arts, 1968) and Georgetown University (Juris Doctor, 1974).

• Attorney Jeffrey L. McCormick, a Partner at the firm, in the practice areas of personal injury litigation — defendants and personal injury litigation — plaintiffs. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts (Bachelor of Arts, 1970 and Master of Education, 1971) and Seton Hall University (Juris Doctor, 1975).

• Attorney James F. Martin, a Partner at the firm, in the practice areas of franchise law and real estate law. Martin attended Georgetown University (Bachelor of Arts, 1975 and Juris Doctor, 1978).

• Attorney Nancy Frankel Pelletier, a Partner at the firm, in the practice area of personal injury litigation — defendants. Notably, she was named a 2017 Best Lawyers in America© Lawyer of the Year, for her practice of personal injury litigation in Springfield. Pelletier is a graduate of Boston College (Bachelor of Arts, 1981) and George Washington University (Juris Doctor, 1984).

• Attorney Patricia M. Rapinchuk, a Partner at the firm, for her practice in employment law and management in Springfield. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College (Bachelor of Arts, 1979) and the University of Connecticut (Juris Doctor, 1989).

• Attorney Carla W. Newton, a Partner at the firm, in the practice area of family law. Newton is a graduate of Lesley College (Bachelor of Arts, 1972), Suffolk University (Juris Doctor, 1980) and Boston University (Master of Laws, 1990).

• Attorney Richard M. Gaberman, of Counsel for Robinson Donovan, P.C., in the practice areas of corporate law, real estate law, tax law and trusts and estates. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts (Bachelor of Business Administration, 1960), Boston College (Bachelor of Laws, 1963) and Boston University (Master of Laws in Taxation, 1968).

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey. Over 79,000 leading attorneys are eligible to vote and more than 12 million votes have been received to date on the legal abilities of lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

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The Gaudreau Group Insurance and Financial Services Agency announced that Judy Davis has joined its Employee Benefits team. Davis has more than 25 years of experience in the corporate employee benefits industry, with a focus on designing and implementing benefits plans and services for organizations large and small.

She joins The Gaudreau Group after having spent 11 years as Vice President of Sales in the Employee Benefits Division at Insurance Center of New England in Agawam. Prior to her time at Insurance Center, Davis was Vice President of Employee Benefits at Banknorth (now USI) Insurance Agency in Springfield.

“I’m very proud to have joined an organization that exemplifies the same high standards of exceptional customer service and integrity that I have provided my clients for over 25 years,” says Davis.

Jules Gaudreau, President of The Gaudreau Group added, “Judy is a great addition to our industry-leading Employee Benefits division. With the largest staff in the region, robust compliance programs, and high-tech employer and employee software solutions on her side, Judy will deliver real, impactful results to our clients.”

Davis is the recipient of several accolades and awards, including the 2013-2014 Top Woman in Insurance in the “Top 25 Women to Watch” in Western Mass., as well as the 2015 “Friend of Stavros” award from Stavros Center for Independent Living in Amherst, MA. She has served on several Chamber of Commerce boards and committees in the Western Mass. area.

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Spherion Staffing Services, a local recruiting, staffing, and workforce-solutions provider, recently honored West Springfield franchise owner Brian Houle with the company’s 2016 Excellence in Safety Award. The annual award recognizes the Spherion owner who maintains the lowest workplace-injury rate among placed employees during the previous year and consistently demonstrates a safety-first mentality. Through an emphasis on safety protocols and a commitment to ensuring employees understand and adhere to workplace regulations, Houle and his team improved their year-over-year injury frequency rate by nearly 20%. Houle frequently participates in panels and calls to relay new safety-improvement best practices, and implements new strategies to ensure compliance with changing legislative regulations. “Ensuring the safety of our employees is of paramount importance to Spherion, and Brian Houle epitomizes our commitment to providing a secure a comfortable work environment,” said Sandy Mazur, division president of Spherion. “Brian and his team go above and beyond to identify opportunities to drive even greater workplace efficiency through safety. We are thrilled to honor their accomplishments and willingness to lead by example in achieving exceptional customer service.” Houle joined Spherion in 2013, and has since grown the West Springfield branch to include a team of four dedicated staffing and recruiting experts.

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Jeffrey Lomma

The Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce announced that Jeffrey Lomma has joined the chamber team as member services director. He will be responsible for ensuring the continuous and steady growth of the chamber’s membership by building and maintaining a comprehensive and aggressive membership recruitment, retention, and service program. He will also develop and manage programs and services that grow member businesses, service member needs, and increase the overall value offered to members. Lomma comes to the chamber with nearly 10 years of experience in sales, business development, and customer service. As a former Springfield Regional Chamber ambassador and past treasurer for the North Central Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, he is well-versed in chamber management and member services. Lomma has been with Westfield Bank since 2007, most recently serving as a branch manager. Among his many client relationship responsibilities, he worked with local community members and nonprofits to support community-reinvestment initiatives and played a pivotal role in growing the location’s portfolio. Lomma also served as a business specialist for the bank, where he helped lead the small-business sales-training program, managed customer relationships, and assisted in opening a banking center in a new market in Enfield, Conn. A former board member with the Springfield Performing Arts Development Corp. and the Springfield Hockey Heritage Society, and committee member with the Young Professionals Society of Greater Springfield, Lomma currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts and on the Greater Springfield Senior Services Money Management Program Advisory Council. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western New England University.

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Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a labor and employment law firm serving employers in the greater Springfield area, today announced that four attorneys were honored by The Best Lawyers in America© for 2017:

• Ralph F. Abbott Jr. was listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of Arbitration, Employment Law — Management, Labor Law — Management, and Mediation. A partner since 1975, Abbott is known throughout the legal community for his work representing management in labor relations and employment-related matters, providing employment-related advice to employers, assisting clients in remaining union-free, and representing employers before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Abbott also has numerous credits as an author, editor, and teacher, and a record of civic and community involvement. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers consecutively, since 1989.

• Jay Presser, was listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of Employment Law — Management, Labor Law — Management, and Litigation — Labor and Employment law. Presser has more than 35 years of experience litigating employment cases. He has successfully defended employers in civil actions and jury trials and handled cases in all areas of employment law, including discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, wage hour, FMLA, ERISA and defamation. He has won appeals before the Supreme Judicial Court and the First and Second Circuit Courts of Appeals and represented employers in hundreds of arbitration cases arising under collective bargaining agreements. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers every year since 1991.

• John Glenn was listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of Arbitration, Employment Law — Management, and Labor Law — Management. He has been a partner of the firm since 1979 and spent his career representing management in labor relations and employment-related matters. In addition to providing employment-related advice to employers, he assists clients in remaining union-free and represents employers before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He has extensive experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements, representing employers at arbitration hearings and before state and federal agencies. Prior to joining Skoler, Abbott & Presser, Glenn was employed by the National Labor Relations Board in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has served as an adjunct professor of labor law at Western New England University School of Law and is a member of the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers repeatedly, since 1995.

• Timothy Murphy was listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of Employment Law — Management, Labor Law — Management, and Litigation — Labor and Employment. A partner in the firm, Murphy joined Skoler, Abbott & Presser after serving as general counsel to an area labor union and serving as an assistant district attorney for the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office. His practice includes labor relations and employment litigation, as well as employment counseling. A native of the Springfield area, Murphy is a graduate of the Western New England University School of Law. He is a frequent contributor to business and human resource publications and a contributing author to the Massachusetts Employment Law Letter. He has been selected by his peers and listed by Best Lawyers every year since 2013, and was named the Best Lawyers 2015 labor and employment law “Lawyer of the Year” in Springfield.

•••••

Two Sullivan Hayes & Quinn, LLC attorneys have been named Lawyer of the Year for 2017 by The Best Lawyers In America. Selection, which is based on professional evaluations by other attorneys, honors only one attorney in each professional practice area and community. Meghan Sullivan is Lawyer of the Year for Labor Law – Management, the fifth year in the past six years that she has been selected for that honor. Gordon Quinn was honored for Litigation – Labor and Employment. Additionally, Sullivan’s accomplishments for clients resulted in her being named to The Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law – Management and Labor Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment. Quinn was selected by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Employment Law – Management and Labor Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor and Employment. Again named to The Best Lawyers In America was Fred Sullivan, who has now been included for more than 20 consecutive years. He was named for his work in Employment Law – Management and for Labor Law – Management. Sullivan Hayes & Quinn represents employers in a variety of Western Mass. industries and throughout the Northeast in employment- and labor-law issues.

•••••

Stephan Chase, president of Fuel Services Inc. in South Hadley, was recently re-elected to serve a second two-year term as Massachusetts state director of the National Propane Gas Assoc. (NPGA) board. Chase has been President of Fuel Services for more than 25 years. The company has evolved over the years, adding additional service areas and new fuels to the mix. His commitment to the propane industry extends to educating consumers on the benefits of this type of energy. He is also an active board member and the incoming secretary for the New England Propane Gas Assoc., a board member of the BBB of Central and Western MA, and a Navy veteran, having served on the USS Little Rock. “As the leader in the fuel industry in Western Massachusetts, I am honored to be re-elected as the Massachusetts state director for the NPGA. It is a position I accept with great pride,” Chase said. Richard Roldan, president and CEO of NPGA, addeed that Chase’s re-election is evidence of his support and desire to continue to actively participate in the work of the NPGA. “His service to the association is greatly appreciated,” Roldan said. The National Propane Gas Assoc. is the national trade association representing the U.S. propane industry. Its memberships include small businesses and large corporations engaged in retail marketing of propane gas and appliances. Currently, the NPGA consists of approximately 2,800 memberships from companies in all 50 states.

•••••

Fourteen lawyers from area law firm Bulkley Richardson were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017.

Bulkley Richardson had the most honorees of any law firm in Springfield, with 12 of its 14 selected lawyers based in its Springfield office.

Three of the firm’s honorees were also named Springfield “Lawyer of the Year” in specific practice areas:

• William Hart was named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Springfield Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year”;

• John Pucci was named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Springfield Criminal Defense (White-Collar) “Lawyer of the Year.” Pucci was also recognized in the area of Criminal Defense (General Practice); and

• Ellen Randle was named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Springfield Family Law “Lawyer of the Year.”

The following Bulkley Richardson lawyers were also selected for the 2017 edition of Best Lawyers®:

• Peter Barry — Construction Law;

• Michael Burke — Medical Malpractice Law (Defendants); Personal Injury Litigation (Defendants);

• Mark Cress — Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Corporate Law;

• Francis Dibble Jr. — Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense (White-Collar); Litigation (Antitrust, Labor and Employment, Securities);

• Daniel Finnegan — Administrative/Regulatory Law; Litigation (Construction);

• Robert Gelinas — Personal Injury Litigation (Defendants);

• Kevin Maynard — Commercial Litigation; Litigation (Banking and Finance, Construction);

• David Parke — Corporate Law;

• Melinda Phelps — Medical Malpractice Law (Defendants); Personal Injury Litigation (Defendants);

• Donn Randall — Commercial Litigation;

• Ronald Weiss — Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Tax Law

•••••

Keith Minoff was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2017 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of commercial litigation and corporate law. Minoff represents businesses and individuals throughout Western Massachusetts in the areas of business litigation and employment law.

He received his law degree with honors from George Washington University in 1983 and has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years. Minoff maintains a law office in downtown Springfield.

•••••

Michael Katz was selected for bankruptcy and reorganization, Paul Rothschild for plaintiff’s litigation, Jeffrey Fialky for commercial and finance, and Stephen Krevalin received the honor for family law for the fifth consecutive year.

Founded in 1895, Bacon Wilson, P.C. is one of the largest firms in the Pioneer Valley, with 42 lawyers, and approximately 60 paralegals, administrative assistants, and support staff. The firm’s offices are located in Springfield, Amherst, Northampton, and Westfield.

•••••

The board of directors of the Professional Women‘s Chamber (PWC), a division of the Springfield Regional Chamber, has elected its officers to lead the division: Laurie Cassidy as President; Tracy Sicbaldi as Acting Vice President; Caron LaCour as Treasurer; Jeannie Filomeno as Assistant Treasurer; and Liz Rappaport as secretary. Janet Casey serves as Past President.

Cassidy is the executive director of the West Springfield Council on Aging/Senior Center and has served in that position since 2010. Prior, she served with the Greater Springfield Senior Services as its area agency on aging director and its regional ombudsman director. She has extensive volunteer experience, currently serving as a member of the Sisters of Providence Health System Board of Trustees, Mary’s Meadow Board of Trustees, West Springfield commission on Disabilities, and West Springfield Garden Club. She is also the secretary and treasurer of the West Springfield Emergency Planning Committee and Medical Reserve Corps and associate member of the West Springfield Veterans Council. She has been a member of the PWC since 2011.

Sicbaldi is an accountant with Overland Solutions Inc. and has more than 30 years of banking experience and six years as a municipal treasurer. She joined the PWC in 2006 and has served as its treasurer, vice president, and president.

LaCour is a Certified Public Accountant working with Burkhart Pizzanelli P.C. She focuses on taxation of individuals, businesses and nonprofit corporations. This is LaCour’s first term on the PWC board and is active on its scholarship, woman of the year and program committees. She is also actively involved with Rays of Hope and the Red Thread Network.

Filomeno is the human resource manager at Marcotte Ford Sales, Inc., her family business where she has worked since graduating college. She has served on the PWC board for three terms, served as the co-chair of its mentoring program and is a member of its scholarship committee.

Rappaport is a third-generation property manager at Century Investment Company. Prior to joining the family business, she served in a marketing and brand management role at WF Young. In addition to the PWC, Rappaport is actively involved with the Jimmy Fund taking a leadership role in several fund-raising activities each year.

Casey, principal and founder of Marketing Doctor, served as the PWC president for the past two years.

Board members Jacquelyn Bangs, senior account manager for EMC; Marikate Murren, director, training and workforce development for MGM Springfield; and Gillian Palmer, business development and group sales coordinator for the Eastern States Exposition, will round out the executive committee.

The PWC supports the female professional through networking opportunities, provides scholarships for nontraditional students returning to the workforce and mentors students through a partnership with Springfield Technical Community College.

•••••

VertitechIT, a nationally known healthcare leader in the design and implementation of hyper-converged network architecture, has promoted Gerry Gosselin to the position of Vice President, Engineering. Having formerly served as the company’s Director of Technical Operations, Gosselin brings with him more than eighteen years of programming and network engineering experience.

“Gerry’s wealth of early experience as a programmer shines through in his infrastructure design skills,” said VertitechIT Chief Operations Officer Gregory Pellerin. “As health system IT departments across the country adopt a software-defined approach to networking and storage, we’re confident that Gerry will further our leadership position in the industry.”

Gosselin will oversee VertitechIT’s team of senior engineers and architects in determining technology, scope, and level of effort for all company projects. He joined the company in 2013 and has developed high-level IT experience in network engineering, monitoring and management, virtualization, system administration, and systems integration.

•••••

Link to Libraries Inc. announced the addition of new members to its executive board:

• Gail Baquis is a graduate of the University of Maine with a degree in journalism. She has been a volunteer with Link to Libraries since its inception in 2008 and has been the project director for the LTL Read Aloud programs and the RAP – Reading Any Place for Homeless Youth program.

• Tammy Trudeau is a graduate of University of Massachusetts. She has been involved with numerous fund raising events for Link to Libraries and other local organizations.

• Kelly Dawson, CPA, Audit Manager for Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P. C. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Her professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants.

• Amy Scott is the Founder of the marketing firm Wild Apple Design Group in Wilbraham and is best know for website design success in non-profit, education and for profit sectors. She is a BusinessWest Forty Under 40 Alum.

• Laura McCarthy, Attorney is an associate at Bacon Wilson, P. C. where she practices bankruptcy, corporate law, commercial and residential real estate and other transactional matters. She is a graduate of Boston University School of Law.

• Dr. Jennifer Stratton has been teaching students from the kindergarten to graduate level for more than 15 years. She is certified as a reading specialist and holds a doctoral degree from AIC in education. In addition to teaching, Jen hosts a blog (JenStratton.com) where she shares the sports stories of athletes who play adaptive sports and authors children’s books about Paralympians.

Chamber Corners

Chamber Corners Departments

AMHERST AREA
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• Sept. 14: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. at Applewood Retirement Community, 1 Spencer Dr., Amherst. Sponsored by Hospice of the Fisher Home. Join us for an evening of fun, music, and food surrounded by long stretches of beautiful New England countryside.
Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Register online at www.amherstarea.com.

• Oct. 6: 2016 Annual A+ Awards Dinner, 5-9 p.m., at the UMass Student Union Ballroom, 280 Hicks Way, Amherst. Sponsored by PeoplesBank. The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce Annual A+ Awards Dinner is the social event of the year. This year we will be honoring five awardees for their contributions to life and commerce in the Amherst Area. The MVP Award, Legacy Awards, Lifetime Achievement in Business, Community Service, and Young Professionals will all be given. In addition, we seek to honor our two Cooley Dickinson Scholarship winners. Music sponsored by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Register online at www.amherstarea.com. Cost: $80 per ticket, $750 per table of 10.

EAST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.erc5.com
(413) 575-7230

• Sept. 8: 2016 Mill Fest, 4-7:30 p.m., at Europa Black Rock Bar & Grill, 782 Center St., Ludlow. With heartfelt respect and honor to the events happening in our country, the ERC5 would like to use this event as a small way to thank law enforcement for its service to our businesses and protecting our communities. Come and thank one of your local men and women in blue, and take advantage of the opportunity to network and experience the economic business development happening in Ludlow. This fun-filled event will feature delicious food, live music, beers to taste from the Mill’s favorite brewery, Iron Dukes, a signature blue drink recognizing law enforcement, and a fun-filled Ludlow Fun Fact Contest. Register online at www.erc5.com. Cost: $25.

• Sept. 30: Annual Golf Tournament, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Country Club of Wilbraham, 859 Stony Hill Road, Wilbraham. Proceeds will go to the ERC5 Scholarship Fund. The fund to date has raised more than $100,000 for local student scholarships. Registration will begin at 11 a.m., lunch is at 11:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. is the shotgun start. Don’t golf? Join us after the tournament for the cocktail party and buffet. The reception will be a great opportunity to network and congratulate the winners. Cost: $125 for an individual golfer, $500 for a foursome. For registration information, contact Nancy Connor at [email protected] or (413) 575-7230.

FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

• Sept. 15: Google Marketing Workshop Series: “Set Goals with Google Analytics,” 11 a.m to 1 p.m., hosted by Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, 395 Main St., Greenfield. Google Analytics is a free, powerful analytics tool that provides reports showing how visitors found your website and what they did when they got there. This workshop will explain how you can use Analytics to improve your marketing. Cost: $5, including lunch. To sign up, call the chamber at (413) 773-5463 or visit franklincc.org/whats-new-at-the-chamber.

• Sept. 29: Google Marketing Workshop Series: “Create Your Free Website with Google,” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., hosted by Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, 395 Main St., Greenfield. Learn how to create, customize and publish your site. Free hosting and domain name for a year. Cost: $5, including lunch. To sign up, call the chamber at (413) 773-5463 or visit franklincc.org/whats-new-at-the-chamber.

GREATER CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• Sept. 9-10: 2016 Chicopee Downtown Getdown. Food, vendors, live entertainment, and more. Free event. For details, visit chicopee.wix.com/downtowngetdown.

• Sept. 14: Business After Hours with the West of the River Chamber, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Cal’s, 1068 Riverdale St. West Springfield. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

• Sept. 21: Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., hosted by MassMutual Learning & Conference Center, 350 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Cost: $23 for members, $28 for non-members.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.holyokechamber.com
(413) 534-3376

• Sept. 8: Chamber Coffee Buzz, 7:30-8:30 a.m., hosted by Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, 301 Kelly Way, Holyoke. Sponsor is Whittlesey & Hadley, P.C. Coffee sponsored by Spradley Deluxe Coffee. A morning networking program that provides chamber members and guests the opportunity to make new contacts and exchange business information over a lig ht breakfast. Cost: free.

• Sept. 14: Chamber Oktoberfest 2016, 5-7:30 p.m., at Munich Haus Restaurant, 13 Center St., Chicopee. Sponsored by Suez Environment/United Water, Resnic Bearuregard Waite & Driscoll, and Marcotte Ford. Dig out your lederhosen and join your friends and colleagues at the Bier Garten at the Munich Haus for a night of German beer, a buffet of authentic German food, and networking. Each ticket also includes a stein of bier. Door prizes and 50/50 raffle. Cost: $30 for members, $35 for non-member guests and walk-ins. Register online at www.holyokechamber.com.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

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

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Sept. 12: Mayor’s Coffee Hour with Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan, 8-9 a.m., at McDonald’s, 182 North Elm St., Westfield. Call Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618 to register for this event so we may give our host a head count. Cost: free.

• Sept. 14: After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Westfield YouthWorks East Mountain Transition Program, 128 East Mountain Road, Westfield. Refreshments will be served. Bring your business cards and make connections. Cost: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members. Register at www.westfieldbiz.org.

• Sept. 23: September Breakfast, 7-9 a.m., hosted by the 104th Fighter Wing ANG, 175 Falcon Dr., Westfield. Sponsored by Baystate Noble Hospital, United Bank, Tighe & Bond, and United Way of Pioneer Valley. 50/50 raffle to support two Citizen’s Scholarships. The 104th Fighter Wing ANG requires registration for this event and also requires a driver’s license number in advance and upon entering the base. You will be required to provide your driver’s license number when registering. For more information or to donate a door prize for the event, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Register online at www.westfieldbiz.org.

SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL CHAMBER

www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Sept. 7: Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place, Springfield. Sponsored by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and United Personnel. Business@Breakfast pays tribute to individuals, business firms, and organizations for major contributions to civic and economic growth and for actions which reflect honor on the region. In September, we will be saluting Nate Costa and the Springfield Thunderbirds and Zach Baru and the Springfield Sting. Cost: $22.50 for members in advance, $25 for members at the door, $30 general admission. Register online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

• Sept. 21-23: 2016 Washington Symposium, hosted by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal. An opportunity to meet with leaders in the Senate, Congress, and the Obama administration in its final months in office, as well as other top policy makers on the federal issues that matter to you. Plane departs Bradley International Airport at 12:35 p.m. on Sept. 21 and returns at 4:35 p.m. on Sept. 23. Contact Nancy Creed for cost and registration information at [email protected] or (413) 755-1309.

• Sept. 27: Pastries, Politics, and Policy, 8-9 a.m., at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. Cost: $15 for members; $25 general admission. Register online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

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

Agenda

Agenda Departments

‘Big Data: Unlocking the Mysteries’

Sept. 9: The Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast (EANE), in partnership with FIT Staffing, will present a seminar with Dennis Perlot, Microsoft evangelist, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. The topic will be “Big Data – Unlocking the Mysteries.” Perlot will discuss ways to protect data in the cloud, information on unstructured data searches, Microsoft’s Power BI products, and much more. This event is free to regional IT professionals and will be held at the EANE offices in Agawam. Registration is required. To register or for more information, contact Allison Ebner at [email protected] or (413) 355-5125.

STCC Founders Day

Sept. 9: Springfield Technical Community College will kick off its 50th-anniversary celebration with a Founders Day Convocation starting at 2 p.m. The event, which will honor the four founders and briefly trace the history of the college through today, will be held in the Scibelli Hall gymnasium on campus. All alumni of STCC are invited to the event, as well as students, current and former faculty and staff, current and former board members, and friends of the college. The year-long celebration will include a number of festivities and events, culminating in a birthday celebration on Sept. 11, 2017.

RVCC Golf Tournament

Sept. 16: River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC), an affiliate of Holyoke Medical Center and member of Valley Health Systems, will hold its first annual golf tournament fund-raiser starting at 10:30 a.m., scramble format. The event, hosted by East Mountain Country Club in Westfield, is presented by G. Greene Construction Co. Inc., and funds raised will enable RVCC to improve programming through staff education and technology enhancements. The cost per golfer is $100 and includes a golf cart, lunch, and dinner. There will be contests on the course which include prizes donated by Marcotte Ford and Teddy Bear Pools. There will also be a raffle and silent auction. For more information about the event, including registration, visit www.rvcc-inc.org.

Ubora, Ahadi Awards

Sept. 17: The African Hall subcommittee of the Springfield Museums will present the 25th annual Ubora Award and the seventh annual Ahadi Youth Award at a ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts. The Ubora Award, named for the Swahili word for ‘excellence,’ is presented to an African-American who has made a significant contribution to the greater Springfield area. The Ahadi Youth Award is presented to an African-American young person who demonstrates strong character, leadership, academic achievement, and future potential (Ahadi means ‘promise’ in Swahili). Ubora Award winner Helen Caulton-Harris is the currently the commissioner of the Division of Health and Human Services for the City of Springfield. In her many years of public service, she has played a prominent role in developing policy for the health and human-services needs of underserved populations on the local and national level. In recognition of those efforts, she has received numerous awards, including the AIDS Action Award from the Action Committee and the Rebecca Lee Award from the Harvard School of Public Health. Caulton-Harris was named Woman of the Year by the Springfield Postal Service and received the Paul Revere Award from the Massachusetts Public Health Assoc. In 2015, she selected as one of the 100 Outstanding of Women of Color from Western Mass. and Connecticut. Previously, Caulton-Harris was appointed by former Gov. Deval Patrick to both the Public Health and Food Policy Councils for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and was also appointed to the Region 1 Health Council by the Secretary of Minority Health in Washington, D.C. She is the immediate past chair of both AAA of Pioneer Valley and Holyoke Community College. She is also a past president of the Greater Springfield Chapter of the Links Inc., a life member of the Carl L. Talbot VFW Ladies Auxiliary, and a member of the Xi Xi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, as well as GirlFriends Inc. Ahadi Award winner David Bass is entering his junior year at Putnam Vocational High School, where he has distinguished himself as an outstanding student in both the classroom and the community. He has held perfect attendance and highest honors in his first two years of high school, and currently has a 3.9 GPA. A founder and active participant in Putnam’s Intellectuals Debate Club, Bass is an outstanding public speaker and communicator, and was elected president by the class of 2018. He assisted the Putnam’s Voice outreach group with its annual clothing, canned food, and toy drives as well as neighborhood cleanups. He is also part of the Project Purple volunteer group that seeks to curtail teen drug and alcohol abuse, and a member of Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni’s 2016 Youth Advisory Board. Bass is part of Putnam’s Marketing and Real Estate program, and plans to embark on a career in real estate following his graduation. The Ubora and Ahadi Award presentations will be followed by a reception at the Springfield Science Museum, with food and refreshments provided through support from Baystate Health. Admission to the event is $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12. For more information or advance reservations, call (413) 263-6800, ext. 325.

BerkshireSPEAKS

Sept. 18: The third annual BerkshireSPEAKS will take place at 1:30 p.m. at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire in Great Barrington. This year’s event will feature six Berkshire trailblazers and visionaries sharing their inspirational stories. BerkshireSPEAKS was established to create an opportunity for the entire community to hear from local residents who have had a significant impact on the Berkshires and beyond. This year’s speakers include John Downing, CEO of Soldier On, a national organization fighting veteran homelessness; Nancy Kalodner, Berkshire Realtor, teacher, and arts supporter; Gwendolyn Hampton-VanSant, CEO and Founder of Multicultural BRIDGE; Mary Pope Osborne, award-winning author of the Magic Tree House series (130 million copies sold worldwide); John Hockenberry, author, journalist, and award-winning public radio host; and state Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, who represents the 4th Berkshire District. A reception with the speakers will follow the presentations. Registration costs $15 online and $18 at the door. To register online, visit www.hevreh.org/berkshirespeaks.

Northeast Training Institute

Oct. 4-5: The International Business Innovation Assoc. (InBIA), in partnership with the Assoc. of Cleantech Incubators of New England (ACTION), will host a two-day Northeast Training Institute at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke. Four courses will be offered for the professional development of incubator managers or those exploring the development of an incubator or accelerator program in their community. Those who should consider attending include business incubation and acceleration professionals, university administrators and faculty in entrepreneurship, community influencers and chamber of commerce of leaders, and economic-development leaders. Join other participants from around the region for these world-recognized training programs and hear about development plans for the Holyoke Innovation District. Learn more at www.actionnewengland.org. E-mail Joan Popolo at [email protected] with any questions.

Western Mass. Business Expo

Nov. 3: Comcast Business will present the sixth annual Western Mass. Business Expo at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, produced by BusinessWest and the Healthcare News. The business-to-business show will feature more than 150 exhibitor booths, educational seminars, breakfast hosted by the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, lunch hosted by BusinessWest, and a day-capping Expo Social. Current sponsors include Comcast Business (presenting sponsor), Express Employment Professionals, Health New England, the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, MGM Springfield, and Wild Apple Design, and WMAS. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Exhibitor spaces are also available; booth prices start at $725. For more information on sponsorships or booth purchase, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100. For more Expo details as they emerge, visit www.wmbexpo.com.

Incorporations

Departments Incorporations

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

Steel Buildings NH Inc., 17 Old Nashua Road, Amherst, MA 03031. Peter Flynn, same. Construction and sale of structures.

CHICOPEE

ALI 2015 Inc., 457 Granby Road, Chicopee, MA 01013. Mohammad A. Shahid, 362 East State St. Granby, MA 01033. Own and operate convenience stores.

EASTHAMPTON

Corsello Crea Inc., 2 Torrey Way, Easthampton, MA 01027. Vincent Corsello, same. Food and well-being.

FLORENCE

Chatham Sub Shop Inc., 779 Westhampton Road, Florence, MA 01062. Charles G. Sakany, same. Retail food sales and sub shop.

GREAT BARRINGTON

Deodornut Inc., 489 Old Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Stephanie Graham, same. Product sales.

HOLYOKE

SR Carpet Installation Inc., 29 Cabot St., Apt 2F, Holyoke, MA 01040. Angel Silva, 171 Belvidere St., Springfield, MA 01108. Flooring contractor.

The Holyoke Bar Association Inc., 98 Lower Westfield Road, Holyoke, MA 01040. Lisa A. Ball-Russo, 272 Whitney Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040. Serves the Holyoke legal profession and the public by promoting the administration of justice, professional excellence, diversity and unity in the legal profession serving Holyoke, Mass.

MONSON

All Phases Flooring and More Inc., 54 Bumstead Road, Monson, MA 01057. Anthony Wilke, same. Flooring contractor.

PITTSFIELD

Sen Sushi Inc., 127 Oak Hill Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Hong Liang Shen, same. Restaurant.

SOUTHWICK

TG Home Improvement Inc., 86 Bungalow St., Southwick, MA 01077. Terrance Martin Gorenc, same. Roofing, siding, windows, doors, decks and addition.

SPRINGFIELD

Souper Sweet Shop Inc., 51 Forest St., Springfield, MA 01108. Sonya Yelder, same. Restaurant.

WILBRAHAM

Vapemasters Lounge Inc., 2141 Boston Road, Suite E, Wilbraham, MA 01095. Michael Grogan, 23 Adams St., Ludlow, MA 01056. Vape shop.

Doing Business As Certificates

DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of August 2016.

AMHERST

American Agro AGD
515 Sunderland Road
Ganisher D. Abbasov

Quantum Breakthroughs
401 Main St.
Deborah Maclin

Taylor Furniture Gallery
320 College St.
Allen Fitzsimmons

Voice Male Magazine
44 North Prospect St.
Rob Okun

CHICOPEE

Air Temp Solutions, LLC
259 Arcade St.
William F. Renaud

M and M Cleaning and Painting Services
302 Springfield Ave.
Mariana Acosta

Murray Automotive
102 Old Fuller Road
Michael Murray

Not Your Granny’s Crochet Co.
24 Ashmont St.
Olga Kravchenko

Pets Hear All Clear
55 Empire St., Unit 43
Jean C. Mattson

Senior Benefits
57 Sixth Ave.
Michael R. Perez

HADLEY

Alina’s Ristorante
96 Russell St.
Maritza Branch & Martin Barraza

Chili’s Grill & Bar
426 Russell St.
Pepper Dining Inc.

Hartsbrook School
193 Bay Road
Noah Smith

Midas Muffler
397 Russell St.
Felix Santana

Pet Hotel
155 Russell St.
Every Pets Dream

NORTHAMPTON

All Season Yard Maintenance
48 Bliss St.
Jonathan P. Mitchell

The Baker’s Pin Inc.
34 Bridge St.
Lisa Grecco & Dennis Grecco

Enterprise Rent-A-Car
24 North King St.
Camrac, LLC

Great Falls Ceremonies
52 Revell Ave.
Heather G. Richard

Nest Family Expo
117 Acrebrook Dr.
Kristin Smith-Pilorge & Lauren Gottschalk-Scher

Northampton IT Inc.
46 Oak St.
Lee Feldscher

Roger Sitterly & Son Inc.
391 Damon Road
Rod R Sitterly

SPRINGFIELD

A-1 Property Management
38 Phillips Ave.
Megan LaRose-Wallace

AKS Plumbing & Heating
127 Louis Road
Andrew Kevin

Beauty Creation LLC
1158 Parker St.
Lillian Lam

C&L Auto Transport
181 Massasoit St.
Juan C. Luna

Deb’s Jewelry Design’s 4
35 Chalfonte Dr.
Deborah Ann Morrissey

Elsie’s Thrift Shop
166 Main St.
Mercedes Porfirio

Enterprise Rent-A-Car
1045 Boston Road
Camrac, LLC

Great Masonry
87 Tyler St.
Windell Westbrook

Hampden Janitorial
72 Kent Road
Isaac Akrasi

Hanger Clinic
1985 Main St.
Hanger Prosthetics

J B Twisted Mobile Audio
445 Franklin St.
David Berrios Matos

Lynmar Greeting Card Comp
21 Ainsworth St.
Mary A. Woodard

Mark Jones Creative
8 Restone Dr.
Mark D. Jones

Roger Rewel Remodeling
617 Parker St.
Rogerio Vinicius

Stamps Williams Family
85 Melrose St.
Robin L. Jones

Susu Translation Service
293 Belmont Ave.
Xuan L. Nguyen

Sweet Treats
714 State St.
Arlington G

True Blue Home Solutions
128 Warrenton St.
Dmitry Oleksandrovich

Unholywood Apparel
77 Littleton St.
Marc Leroux

Whistling Oak Woodworking
72 Enfield St.
Matther John Geboskie

WEST SPRINGFIELD

B.A.D. Delivery
82 Garden St.
Brian Dandy

Enterprise Rent-A-Car
1053 Riverdale St.
Camrac, LLC

Grounds Guys of West Springfield
924 Memorial Ave.
Stephen R. Browning Jr.

Mayimbes Auto Repair
55 ExpositionTerrace
Luis Martinez

WESTFIELD

Carpet Wizard
37 South Meadow Road
Tyson James

Dawn’s Animal Connection
690 Montgomery Road
Dawn Allen

Mattress Firm, #181012
613 East Main St.
Mattress Firm Inc.

Sandy L Designs
39 MagnoliaTerrace
Sandra L. Fiedler

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies Departments

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

Avis, Michael W.
PO Box 328
Brimfield, MA 01010
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/01/2016

Bartley, Edward Wayne
Bartley, Shauna Rene
23 Stone Haven Dr.
Athol, MA 01331
Date: 07/29/2016

Cantor, Gail E.
93 Blythewood Dr.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/05/2016

Fairin’s Market
Woods, Fairin
63 Claremont Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/04/2016

Gingras, Michele Lynn
275 Munsing St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/02/2016

Gonzalez, Carla
62 Wolcott Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/04/2016

Gonzalez, Francisco
a/k/a Gonzalez, Frank
43 Denver St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Date: 07/31/2016

Goodale, Kathleen E.
16 Ahrend Circle
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Date: 07/29/2016

Kid Chicks Carpentry
Chekovsky, Robert D.
143 Point Grove Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/04/2016

LaBarre, Jeremy A.
312 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/02/2016

Mamuska, Christa A.
60 South West St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/03/2016

Maxfield, David J.
52 Old Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/04/2016

McElroy, Matthew T.
107 Anderson Road
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/03/2016

Mendoza, Christopher O.
135 St. Jerome Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Date: 07/30/2016

O’Kane, Stephen Michael
14 Clifford Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/02/2016

Perron, Jason M.
139 Springdale Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 07/30/2016

Pickford, Roger S. Sr.
7 Russell Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/04/2016

Pietrucci, Michelle S.
11 Barry Wills Place
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Date: 07/29/2016

Santoya, Philip
a/k/a Santoya Cruz, Philip
57 Gilbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/03/2016

Steinbock, Lisa Ann
P.O. Box 292
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/02/2016

Stewart, John, Robert
Stewart, Jill, Ellen
117 Town Farm Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Date: 07/31/2016

Sustache, Ruth D.
16 Beacon Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/01/2016

Torres, Miriam
27 Hanover St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/02/2016

Court Dockets

Court Dockets Departments

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

Hampden Superior Court
Mildred Gomez v. Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and Eugene J. Bernier Sr.
Allegation: Negligent operation of a motor vehicle resulting in injury: $4,718
Filed: 06/28/16

Red Technologies, LLC v. Safe Environment of America Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract, failure to pay for services: $48,567.54
Filed: 02/24/16

Lane M. Berton v. Constantinos Levanos, DDS, Inc. et al
Allegation: Wrongful discharge: $300,000 to $500,000
Filed: 08/12/16

Hampshire Superior Court
Patricia A. Murphy, VMC. and Kevin F. Murphy, as the guardians of Kathleen M. Murphy v. Janet Cremins, RN and Claire Kuhn, PhD
Allegation: Medical malpractice: $1,000,000+
Filed: 07/29/16

Nyrva Germain v. Winn Managed Properties LLC.
Allegation: Failure to maintain premises resulting in sip and fall injury: $54,401+
Filed: 08/08/16

Regina Shea-Sullivan v. Town of Southampton Select Board and Edward Cauley
Allegation: Discrimination: $801,000+
Filed: 08/18/16

Northampton District Court
Merrimack Mutual Fire Insurance Co., as subrogee of Albert and Janet Decker v. Boulanger’s Plumbing & Heating Inc.
Allegation: Water damage resulting from improper repair: $13,329.58
Filed: 08/04/16
Springfield District Court
Samuel D. Plotkin & Associates Inc., d.b.a NAI Plotkin, v. 80 Congress Street, LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract: $20,414.65
Filed: 08/01/16

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

ASHFIELD

562 Suburban Dr.
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Austin J. Snape
Seller: Lori G. Whiteman
Date: 08/01/16

BERNARDSTON

169 Bald Mountain Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $200,500
Buyer: Adam H. Barrett
Seller: Scott Digeorge
Date: 07/29/16

BUCKLAND

202 Lower St.
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Caroline Miklovich
Seller: Nikole L. Gilbert
Date: 07/26/16

COLRAIN

30 Wilson Hill Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Sheri L. Menard
Seller: Cheryl L. Yacovone
Date: 07/26/16

CONWAY

388 Hart Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Jason F. Silverman
Seller: Bryant E. Benson
Date: 07/29/16

776 Reeds Bridge Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Donald M. Scott
Seller: Joseph T. McGranaghan
Date: 08/02/16

DEERFIELD

216 Conway Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $224,500
Buyer: Julie A. Sencabaugh
Seller: Jared K. Libby
Date: 08/01/16

49 King Philip Ave.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Erik W. Wrisley
Seller: Richard B. Reeves
Date: 07/29/16

225 Lower Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: Michelle Rockett
Seller: Paul E. Gilroy
Date: 08/03/16

75 Stillwater Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Julia Rolin-Coffey
Seller: Sarah Carroll
Date: 08/04/16

24 Thayer St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Jeremy Wells
Seller: Joni Martino
Date: 07/28/16

321 Upper Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $293,000
Buyer: Christian Day
Seller: John F. Moriarty
Date: 08/01/16

GREENFIELD

38-40 Birch St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $132,132
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Alexandra T. Green
Date: 07/29/16

9 Cherry Lane
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Dorothy A. Arsenault
Seller: Ruth M. Gile
Date: 07/29/16

82 Cleveland St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $196,500
Buyer: Joshua P. Michal
Seller: Durand D. Lively
Date: 08/03/16

80 Devens St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Sara L. Acton
Seller: Mark Sirum
Date: 07/29/16

51 Garfield St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Aisha Russell
Seller: Christine N. Turner
Date: 08/01/16

165 High St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $214,900
Buyer: Joshua A. Moran
Seller: Keith D. Streeter
Date: 08/05/16

42 Highland Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: Rachel W. Lindsay
Seller: Rory A. Miskimen
Date: 07/29/16

23 Laurel St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Leigha M. Otto
Seller: Sydney I. Snow
Date: 07/29/16

28-A Old Albany Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Shaun D. Schofield
Seller: David T. Damery
Date: 07/28/16

14 Parkway St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Jennifer E. Antonellis
Seller: Doris C. Cowdrey
Date: 07/29/16

HAWLEY

20 Grout Road
Hawley, MA 01339
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Karen Hoffman
Seller: Duane Blakeslee
Date: 07/25/16

South River Road
Hawley, MA 01339
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Berkshire Highlands LLC
Seller: Thomas W. Shields
Date: 08/01/16

LEVERETT

14 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $427,500
Buyer: Stacey Temple
Seller: John W. Lemly
Date: 07/29/16

142-144 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Anthony Witman
Seller: Witman Properties Inc.
Date: 08/04/16

146-148 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Anthony Witman
Seller: Witman Properties Inc.
Date: 08/04/16

LEYDEN

162 Alexander Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: Kenneth C. Griswold
Seller: John B. Glabach
Date: 08/01/16

529 Brattleboro Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $329,900
Buyer: John P. Higgins
Seller: Fiske INT
Date: 07/29/16

MONTAGUE

99 4th St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Karen L. Dodd
Seller: Laura Wormell
Date: 07/28/16

81 High St.
Montague, MA 01344
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Durand D. Lively
Seller: Terrance J. Sicard
Date: 08/03/16

16 Meadow Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Brian M. Kellogg
Seller: Carol L. Rastallis
Date: 08/03/16

347 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: David E. Fisher
Seller: Melissa S. Hale-Doyle
Date: 08/01/16

454 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Joshua K. McComb
Seller: John A. Greene
Date: 07/29/16

511 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $274,500
Buyer: Jeannette Wicks-Lim
Seller: Jo-Anne Pach-Koirala
Date: 07/29/16

16 Willmark Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Nancy E. Kopec
Seller: Beverly J. Sibley
Date: 07/28/16

NEW SALEM

160 Neilson Road
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Phyllis R. Rogers
Seller: Sunday D. Lefebvre
Date: 07/26/16

NORTHFIELD

80 South Mountain Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Timothy Crowley
Seller: Anna Burniske
Date: 08/01/16

ORANGE

15 Burrill Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Ralph E. Cutter
Seller: John W. Griffiths
Date: 08/03/16

SHELBURNE

239 Colrain Shelburne Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $301,000
Buyer: George H. Kennedy
Seller: Nancy E. Kopec
Date: 07/28/16

94 Main St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $353,000
Buyer: Susan Berger
Seller: Donovan A. Stevens
Date: 08/01/16

48 Mechanic St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $368,000
Buyer: Eben D. Sorkin
Seller: Karen Hoffman
Date: 07/25/16

291 Patten Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Susan F. Durkee
Seller: Robert Jaros
Date: 08/03/16

17 Water St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: Nina E. Talayco
Seller: Roxanne B. Hamilton
Date: 07/28/16

SHUTESBURY

65 Schoolhouse Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $248,745
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Thomas E. Boynton
Date: 07/25/16

71 Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $182,500
Buyer: Roland S. Brock
Seller: William G. Labich
Date: 07/27/16

SUNDERLAND

35 North Plain Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Benjamin M. Barr
Seller: Lenore F. Bowen
Date: 07/29/16

WENDELL

75 Jennison Road
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Cailyn M. Reed
Seller: Helen R. Haddad TR
Date: 07/28/16

143 Locke Hill Road
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Michael A. Grillo
Seller: Thomas H. Manley
Date: 07/27/16

47 Stone Road
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $118,500
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Stephen Booth
Date: 07/25/16

49 Stone Road
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $118,500
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Stephen Booth
Date: 07/25/16

27 West St.
Wendell, MA 01380
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Mark W. Manselle
Seller: Judith Breier
Date: 07/28/16

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

48 Carmen Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: USA HUD
Seller: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Date: 08/03/16

102 Coronet Circle
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $219,900
Buyer: Scott R. Gates
Seller: Michael Osowski
Date: 07/28/16

84 Gold St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Stone Commercial Realty
Seller: JJS Realty LLP
Date: 08/04/16

42 Lawnwood St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $140,766
Buyer: Live Well Financial Inc.
Seller: Carol A. Gaynor
Date: 08/01/16

52 Liberty St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Kyle Gendron
Seller: Aaron F. Rickis
Date: 07/28/16

351 Meadow St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Richard M. Lewis
Seller: Diane M. Pedulla
Date: 08/04/16

47 Michele Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $408,000
Buyer: Kalpanaben Patel
Seller: C. Arslanian-Ginsberg
Date: 07/29/16

47 Mill St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $244,000
Buyer: Crystal M. Shea
Seller: Joseph W. Mikalson
Date: 08/01/16

35 North Westfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Robert Stabach
Seller: Barbara L. Murphy
Date: 08/05/16

125 North Westfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Robert H. Pettazzoni
Seller: Derek A. Myers
Date: 08/02/16

1139 North St. Ext.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Emanuel Diaz
Seller: Stephen H. Cassanelli
Date: 08/01/16

115 Spencer St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $222,000
Buyer: James F. Walsh
Seller: Patricia A. Reveruzzi
Date: 07/28/16

1661 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $710,000
Buyer: Calvin J. McFadden
Seller: Youness M. Bakr
Date: 07/29/16

BLANDFORD

1 Albano Dr.
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: James A. Slattery
Seller: Laurence M. Weinstein
Date: 07/29/16

BRIMFIELD

32 Champeaux Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Graham S. Maxfield
Seller: Maple Lane Development Corp.
Date: 08/02/16

5 Devils Lane
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Christopher Caplette
Seller: Michael J. Poulin
Date: 08/05/16

1164 Dunhamtown Brimfield Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Corey W. Gingras
Seller: Michael J. Wood
Date: 07/25/16

1196 Dunhamtown Brimfield Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Carl T. Ingling
Seller: Christopher P. King
Date: 08/02/16

118 East Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $219,900
Buyer: Brad Senckowski
Seller: Southbridge RE LLC
Date: 08/04/16

44 Little Alum Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $172,302
Buyer: USA VA
Seller: Jason R. Lamica
Date: 08/05/16

83 Marsh Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Michael Poulin
Seller: Angela B. Dunn
Date: 08/05/16

CHICOPEE

29 Anson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: David Wallace
Seller: Kenneth E. Lamy
Date: 08/03/16

39 Arlmont St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $150,500
Buyer: Ruth Santana
Seller: M. D. Leon Fils Real Estate
Date: 08/05/16

170 Basil Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: Brittany Lawrence
Seller: Christopher J. Ward
Date: 07/25/16

35 Beeler Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $229,900
Buyer: Ty A. Sherokow
Seller: Kimberly A. Stewart
Date: 07/29/16

43 Bonneville Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Alex N. Delvalle
Seller: Revampit LLC
Date: 07/29/16

11 Boutin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $124,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Bonnie A. Trombley
Date: 07/26/16

93 Clairmont Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $190,500
Buyer: Brianna L. Kring
Seller: Holly E. Williams
Date: 07/29/16

53 Davenport St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Kiersten N. Korona
Seller: Karen Morando-Paulo
Date: 07/29/16

132 East Main St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $11,700,000
Buyer: She’s Your Queen To Be LLC
Seller: Falls View Associates LP
Date: 08/02/16

1416 Granby Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Rattell Real Estate Holdings
Seller: Donald J. Roy
Date: 08/03/16

153 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Dean T. Sudyka
Seller: Avmax LLC
Date: 08/05/16

56 Grove St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $11,700,000
Buyer: Shes Your Queen To Be LLC
Seller: Falls View Associates LP
Date: 08/02/16

54 Hillman St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $173,500
Buyer: Edwin Coll
Seller: Derek S. Booth
Date: 07/29/16

716 James St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Emanuel Ortiz
Seller: Larry R. Harrison
Date: 07/28/16

Keddy Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Jick Realty LLC
Seller: Mark B. Cowles
Date: 07/25/16

48 Leo Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $213,500
Buyer: Randall L. Hoy
Seller: Susan T. Racine
Date: 08/05/16

51 Maple St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Valley Opportunity Councl
Seller: Edward P. MeGarry
Date: 07/29/16

116 Marten St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Nicholas P. Baruffaldi
Seller: Baruffaldi, Barbara A., (Estate)
Date: 08/02/16

173 Mayflower Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $309,900
Buyer: Jeremy M. Brown
Seller: CRA Holdings Inc.
Date: 07/29/16

732 McKinstry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Bank of America
Seller: Stephanie A. Corliss
Date: 08/01/16

43 Monroe St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Donnell G. Hart
Seller: O’Neil FT
Date: 08/01/16

160 Pendleton Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $182,000
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Theodore Larson
Date: 08/04/16

135 Polaski Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Christine V. Johnson
Seller: Catherine M. Lovett
Date: 07/29/16

219 Pondview Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $164,250
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Virginia Perosino
Date: 08/02/16

150 Rimmon Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $159,900
Buyer: Michelle M. Mcananama
Seller: Miriah Sherokow
Date: 07/29/16

10 Sampson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: Jason C. Surprise
Seller: Theodore P. Cote
Date: 07/29/16

17 Spring St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $153,850
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Mary E. Paine
Date: 08/01/16

43 Van Horn St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Mark T. Hnitecki
Seller: Thomas P. Hnitecki
Date: 08/03/16

179 Waite Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Brenden A. Boucher
Seller: Kevin M. Robbins
Date: 08/04/16

138 Wheatland Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Garrett J. Moulton
Seller: Deborah E. Miles
Date: 08/05/16

127 Woodcrest Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $163,000
Buyer: Vincent Spagnoli
Seller: John B. Masters
Date: 08/04/16

EAST LONGMEADOW

47 Dearborn St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Donald R. Moriarty
Seller: FNMA
Date: 08/05/16

16 Elizabeth St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Theresa M. Roy
Seller: Michael F. Leahy
Date: 07/29/16

173 Hampden Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Jessica L. Federici
Seller: Sylvia M. Caron
Date: 07/28/16

131 Meadow Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Donald J. Lambert
Seller: David J. Fontes
Date: 08/05/16

290 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $427,000
Buyer: Liam R. Jones
Seller: Donald A. Grindle
Date: 07/29/16

7 Peachtree Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Jonathan E. Robichaud
Seller: Paul Colantoni
Date: 07/29/16

36 Pondview Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01036
Amount: $584,000
Buyer: Kristen L. Cressotti
Seller: Custom Homes Development
Date: 08/03/16

30 South Bend Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Robert A. Gibowicz
Seller: John R. Ferrindino
Date: 07/29/16

Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: National Property Services
Seller: Nina M. Forbes
Date: 07/28/16

42 Vadnais St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Richard Dzierwinski
Seller: Joann R. Hough
Date: 07/29/16

52 Windsor Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $537,000
Buyer: Susan Kartiko
Seller: Brian D. Bell
Date: 07/28/16

GRANVILLE

32 Dickinson Dr.
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $283,000
Buyer: Stephen J. Fitzgerald
Seller: William J. Oleksak
Date: 08/01/16

432 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Lynne A. Thibault
Seller: Colleen M. Berndt
Date: 08/03/16

HAMPDEN

421 Glendale Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Tennessee Jed RT
Seller: Judith C. Gerrish
Date: 08/05/16

HOLLAND

122 Old County Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $117,000
Buyer: Patrick R. Doyle
Seller: Lawrence Torrey
Date: 07/25/16

HOLYOKE

90-92 Allyn St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $182,000
Buyer: Franklyn Suarez
Seller: Rivera, Ana L., (Estate)
Date: 07/29/16

3 Blaine Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Shaina M. Rogstad
Seller: Roland Leduc
Date: 08/01/16

8 Bray Park Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Sheryl L. Higgins
Date: 07/25/16

3 Brenan St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $227,500
Buyer: Ervin Santiago-Vega
Seller: Christopher Kulig
Date: 07/28/16

26 Edbert Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Robert E. Wojcik
Seller: Alicia Otero-Rodriguez
Date: 08/04/16

17 Laurel St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Yaritza Rivera
Seller: Matthew J. Beauchemin
Date: 07/29/16

67-69 Lincoln St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: JSLC Inc.
Seller: Lynchies LLC
Date: 08/03/16

71 Lincoln St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: JSLC Inc.
Seller: Lynchies LLC
Date: 08/03/16

40 Moss Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $144,400
Buyer: William J. Lotter
Seller: David Morrissey
Date: 08/05/16

50-52 Parker St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $124,800
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Cynthia Marquez
Date: 07/28/16

225 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Tracy E. Bergeron
Seller: Milton Craig

2-4 Saint James Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $222,500
Buyer: Patricia A. Reynolds
Seller: Sharon E. Bartlett
Date: 08/01/16

280-282 West Franklin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Jordan Doucette
Seller: Lorraine Carson
Date: 08/01/16

9 Washington Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Carlos M. Mantilla
Seller: Erick Vasquez
Date: 08/05/16

47 Wellesley Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Julie D. Corey
Seller: Melinda S. Thomas
Date: 08/02/16

LONGMEADOW

20 Ashford Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $256,000
Buyer: Vidya Bharathi-Ramasamy
Seller: Lisa I. Santurri
Date: 08/01/16

6 Chatham Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Scott H. McGowen
Seller: Randolf Kuerzel
Date: 07/29/16

114 Colton Place
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $304,000
Buyer: Eric D. Hunter
Seller: Kathleen Gibson
Date: 08/01/16

59 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $316,000
Buyer: Amy J. Megliola
Seller: Eric W. Bascom
Date: 08/01/16

771 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Lemkin
Seller: Richard S. Sheperd
Date: 08/02/16

85 Franklin Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $221,193
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Sean Hill
Date: 08/05/16

460 Laurel St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $354,900
Buyer: Jonathan W. Pinkston
Seller: Lee P. Shinoda
Date: 08/05/16

68 Lynnwood Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $364,900
Buyer: Linda VanOrden
Seller: Catherine A. Guardia
Date: 08/01/16

703 Maple Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Michael S. Markstein
Seller: Maple Road RT
Date: 07/29/16

33 Overbrook Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $730,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Liguori
Seller: Ann T. Keiser
Date: 08/04/16

LUDLOW

30 Americo St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $240,465
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Isabel Serpas
Date: 08/03/16

20 Bliss St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Thomas L. Canty
Seller: JNB Property Investment
Date: 08/05/16

1541 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Vrajeshkumar Patel
Seller: Jeanette D. Trudeau
Date: 08/01/16

317 Chapin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $216,500
Buyer: James Mannis
Seller: Jennifer Donais
Date: 08/02/16

46 Evergreen Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Norman A. Freniere
Seller: Donald J. Lake
Date: 07/25/16

25 Fox Hill Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Paul Sahd
Seller: Mark K. McCulloch
Date: 07/29/16

141 Holy Cross Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Augusto Coelho
Seller: Janice A. Sharpe
Date: 08/01/16

6 Marie St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Kay Loudon
Seller: Stacy L. Haluch
Date: 07/29/16

38 Michael St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $153,900
Buyer: Bank Of America
Seller: Michael Staback
Date: 08/01/16

29 Watt Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $163,500
Buyer: Amandio Ribeiro
Seller: Kristina M. Vitorino
Date: 07/29/16

MONSON

47 Moulton Hill Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Adam J. Dziewit
Seller: Normand H. Plante
Date: 07/28/16

18 Pinnacle Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Keith W. Richardson
Seller: Philip A. Brehart
Date: 08/01/16

3 Pleasant St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Richard Lentinello
Seller: Sandra W. Jurczyk
Date: 07/28/16

PALMER

156 3 Rivers Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Kayla A. Basile
Seller: Michael A. Ziemba
Date: 08/05/16

25 Breton St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $176,000
Buyer: Thomas A. Schultz
Seller: Nancy Granger
Date: 08/03/16

268 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Khailee E. Beach
Seller: Donna M. Pecenak
Date: 08/03/16

15 George St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Christopher W. Bartlett
Seller: Santucci, Zella T., (Estate)
Date: 07/29/16

2002-2004 Maple St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $141,450
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Timothy H. Allen
Date: 07/27/16

12 Norman St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $188,500
Buyer: Christine Tetreault
Seller: John M. Mancini
Date: 08/04/16

2010 Palmer Road
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: Francesca M. Rodriguez
Seller: Richard Anischik
Date: 07/28/16

2042 Pleasant St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $265,585
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Gregory S. Bryant
Date: 07/29/16

2 Ridge Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Gary P. Leecock
Seller: Constance J. Demers
Date: 07/29/16

24 Searle St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $284,500
Buyer: Kimberly L. Pouliot
Seller: Charles M. Callahan
Date: 08/05/16

RUSSELL

27 Highland Ave.
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $154,100
Buyer: Liza M. Farrelly
Seller: Leanne M. Barrett
Date: 07/29/16

70 Overlook Dr.
Russell, MA 01085
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Anna P. Hart
Seller: Betsy A. Braman
Date: 07/29/16

286 Woodland Way
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Dingman
Seller: Albert Grimaldi
Date: 08/05/16

SPRINGFIELD

114 Abbott St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $177,160
Buyer: Alyssa Sbalbi
Seller: Anthony P. Disantis
Date: 07/29/16

97 Alderman St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: AJN Rentals LLC
Seller: Hallerin Realty LLP
Date: 07/29/16

19 Annies Way
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $228,000
Buyer: Jean Tailleur
Seller: Christina M. Gloster
Date: 07/28/16

228 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: HSBC Bank
Seller: William A. Hanke
Date: 08/01/16

25 Berard Circle
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Jose Vargas
Seller: Shawn E. Martin
Date: 07/29/16

1354 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $137,900
Buyer: David M. Mojica
Seller: Maria V. Desteno
Date: 07/29/16

189 Bowles Park
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $165,900
Buyer: Benjamin R. Torres
Seller: Mary P. Moriarty
Date: 08/05/16

1205 Bradley Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Luis A. Colon
Seller: Cheryl A. Perrault
Date: 07/28/16

63 Bridle Path Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $221,000
Buyer: Gary Munn
Seller: Jess P. Wainscott
Date: 08/02/16

31 Brunswick St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Miguel A. Ramos
Seller: Emmanuel Almanzar
Date: 07/29/16

67 Clough St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $152,500
Buyer: Sheina Rodriguez
Seller: Jason S. Balut
Date: 08/04/16

33 Coleman St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Kenny A. Rodriguez
Seller: London Realty LLC
Date: 07/28/16

42 Dewey St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Adaliz Diaz
Seller: Emanuel Diaz
Date: 07/29/16

76 Dorset St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $118,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: William W. Randall
Date: 07/27/16

263 Dorset St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $154,900
Buyer: Tia A. Ingram
Seller: Brendan Curran
Date: 07/29/16

10 Flora St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $170,150
Buyer: Amanda E. Salvat
Seller: Sandra Botero
Date: 08/03/16

99-101 Granby St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $154,000
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Sean Reilly
Date: 08/05/16

90 Greaney St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $116,000
Buyer: Shareva Delgado
Seller: Sullivan, Elizabeth A., (Estate)
Date: 08/03/16

50 Herbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $156,750
Buyer: Shay J. Daniels
Seller: Aida Roman
Date: 08/03/16

46 Irvington St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Bank of America
Seller: Michelle Kulczyk-Jiles
Date: 08/03/16

200 Island Pond Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Miranda Ronghi
Seller: Rebecca C. Evans-Andrade

38 Judith St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Valerie A. Roulston
Seller: First Niagara Bank
Date: 08/05/16

38 Kingoke Lane
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Richard C. White
Seller: William M. Weaver
Date: 07/29/16

5 Lavender Lane
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Awilda Vazquez
Seller: Nicklaus Kalish
Date: 08/05/16

17 Mooreland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Eric D. Degray
Seller: Jeremiah P. Sullivan
Date: 07/29/16

155 Oak Grove Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Jennifer L. Morales
Seller: Campagnari Construction
Date: 07/29/16

41 Orlando St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Shameshia Holmes
Seller: Global Homes Properties
Date: 07/25/16

668 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $152,000
Buyer: Jessie M. Estrada
Seller: Jose F. Diaz
Date: 07/29/16

37 Parkwood St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Olga M. Mercado
Seller: Victor Roule
Date: 07/29/16

79 Perkins St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Sarah S. Gordon
Seller: Alex Demartin
Date: 07/29/16

97 Rockland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Elizabeth R. Norman
Seller: Catherine M. Taranto
Date: 07/29/16

1426 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Lucian Ortega
Seller: Viviana Council
Date: 08/05/16

465 South Branch Pkwy.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Aicha Yahyani
Seller: Dawn B. Fitzgerald
Date: 07/28/16

67 Thornton St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Sean Fitzgerald
Seller: Eugene J. Dean
Date: 08/01/16

70 Tiffany St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Ernest M. Toussaint
Seller: Mary J. Sheehan
Date: 07/28/16

283 West Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Joan M. Chmura
Seller: Timothy R. Payne
Date: 07/29/16

95 Whittier St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $146,280
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Judith A. Hanke
Date: 07/28/16

2338 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Eveliz Gonzalez
Date: 07/28/16

96 Whittum Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $187,500
Buyer: Meghan E. Quinn
Seller: Phillip D. Hale
Date: 08/05/16

6 Willowbrook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Brenda M. Ferry
Seller: Lila M. Harvey
Date: 08/01/16

1256-1258 Worcester St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $163,000
Buyer: Amadeu P. Pereira
Seller: Grace Dias
Date: 07/29/16

SOUTHWICK

43 Fred Jackson Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Sean N. Searles
Seller: Joanne E. Craig
Date: 08/05/16

6 2 States Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $266,000
Buyer: Bonnie J. Druschel
Seller: Lisa M. Hunter
Date: 07/29/16

6 Shaggbark Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Ryan J. Albee
Seller: Ryan J. Pieczarka
Date: 07/29/16

WALES

22 Holland Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Southbridge RE LLC
Seller: US Bank
Date: 08/05/16

159 Stafford Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Michael Walker
Seller: Bernard Collins
Date: 08/01/16

WEST SPRINGFIELD

478 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Kevin C. Huyghe
Seller: David B. Hebert
Date: 07/28/16

92-96 Armstrong St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Wayne V. Gosciminski
Seller: Michael A. Forrest
Date: 08/05/16

89 Baldwin St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $216,357
Buyer: Chesapeake Holdings East
Seller: Joe Cordis Wholesale Pizza
Date: 08/01/16

Bluejay Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $287,250
Buyer: Fevzi Ramazanov
Seller: Karen M. Palanjian
Date: 07/28/16

4 Chapin St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Mongal D. Tamang
Seller: Ravshan Agayev
Date: 08/04/16

146 Circle Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Charles E. Kelliher
Seller: Anita P. Bouchard
Date: 07/25/16

462 Dewey St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Krista Dicarlo
Seller: Michael A. Lynch
Date: 08/05/16

29 Garden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $132,900
Buyer: Russell F. Scalise
Seller: Paul Weinberg
Date: 07/29/16

46 Gaskill Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $161,000
Buyer: Cornelius P. Harold
Seller: Charles R. Lafleche
Date: 07/28/16

64 GayTerrace
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Robert M. Larkham
Seller: Martha Waldron
Date: 08/01/16

302 Greystone Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Brendan J. Curran
Seller: Jill M. Felix
Date: 07/29/16

32 Hampden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $126,400
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Tonya A. Stanko
Date: 07/28/16

419 Kings Hwy.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $212,500
Buyer: Jonathan A. McGrath
Seller: MAA Property LLC
Date: 07/28/16

105 Morton St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Sean Daniels
Seller: Ellen M. Parkin
Date: 07/28/16

92 Prospect Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Terrence Clark
Seller: Thomas F. Bozek
Date: 08/05/16

56 Robinson Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $220,450
Buyer: Christine Dorn
Seller: John P. Lafond
Date: 07/25/16

WESTFIELD

63 Birch Bluffs Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: LP4 LLC
Seller: Edgardo Sanchez
Date: 08/05/16

37 Cabot Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $138,985
Buyer: Nikolay Chepurin
Seller: Deutsche Bank
Date: 08/03/16

45 Cardinal Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $307,500
Buyer: Muhammad H. Chaudry
Seller: Jerome Nathanson
Date: 07/29/16

17 Claremont St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $159,000
Buyer: Mohammed B. Rajab
Seller: Daniel S. Chrzan
Date: 08/05/16

15 Dudley Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Orlando Roman-Rodriguez
Seller: Tara A. Magrone
Date: 08/04/16

30 Hagan Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $161,000
Buyer: Thomas Romani
Seller: Sean B. Harris
Date: 07/29/16

3 Logan Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Robert L. Bovat
Seller: David O. Burgess
Date: 07/29/16

28 Orange St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $116,500
Buyer: Thomas D. Campbell
Seller: Karen Pighetti
Date: 07/29/16

40 Parker Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $215,900
Buyer: Kevin R. Blake
Seller: Lori J. Puza
Date: 08/04/16

43 Putnam Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Jason M. Lanney
Seller: Jeffrey A. Dingman
Date: 08/05/16

14 Scenic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $319,900
Buyer: Ronaldo Alcantara
Seller: Deborah T. Kistner
Date: 07/29/16

91 Shaker Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Jeffrey F. Krol
Seller: John B. Ricardi
Date: 08/05/16

333 Steiger Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Joseph G. Thibault
Seller: Christine M. Magdycz
Date: 07/29/16

106 Woodcliff Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $434,900
Buyer: Ryan J. Pieczarka
Seller: Diane M. Bogdan
Date: 07/29/16

144 Wyben Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Paul C. Speckels
Seller: Robert A. Lapre
Date: 07/29/16

WILBRAHAM

37 Brainard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Anna Dyrkacz
Seller: Kevin C. Huyghe
Date: 07/28/16

26 Brentwood Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: David J. Lachappelle
Seller: Elizabeth A. Crawford
Date: 07/29/16

24 Brooklawn Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Kevin J. Biermann
Seller: Amber L. Riggs
Date: 07/27/16

80 Burleigh Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Sharon M. Casey RT
Seller: Eleanor G. Engel
Date: 07/29/16

2 Edson Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Casey A. Siok
Seller: Keith G. Tellier
Date: 08/02/16

638 Glendale Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $418,000
Buyer: Bank of New York Mellon
Seller: Aaron M. Porchelli
Date: 07/28/16

107 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $136,905
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Edward G. Rosner
Date: 07/28/16

266 Mountain Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Karen F. Brehart
Seller: Suzanne M. Hicks
Date: 08/01/16

159 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $251,062
Buyer: Bank of America
Seller: Michelle L. Iglesias
Date: 07/28/16

775 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: MW RT
Seller: John W. Sullivan
Date: 07/25/16

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

865 Belchertown Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $359,000
Buyer: Eoin B. O’Carroll
Seller: Ali Wicks-Lim
Date: 07/29/16

25 Bellview Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Geoffrey Kravitz
Seller: Sarah L. Mullins
Date: 07/27/16

259 East Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Jonathan F. Hulting-Cohen
Seller: Michael Torre-Nelson
Date: 07/29/16

143 Fearing St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Timothy W. Reardon
Seller: Linso Vanderburg
Date: 07/25/16

32 Goldenrod Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: William Kaizen
Seller: Jae Young-Lee
Date: 07/29/16

202 Harkness Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $312,500
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Jeffrey D. Kris
Date: 07/25/16

10 Laurel Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Ho-Sung Kim
Seller: 5m Properties LLC
Date: 07/25/16

4 Poets Corner Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Karla M. Reed-McNally
Seller: Nancy E. Speas
Date: 07/29/16

17 Sheerman Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Susan C. Conkey
Seller: Catherine H. Lodge
Date: 08/01/16

1427 South East St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $279,900
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: James A. Maloney
Date: 07/25/16

39 Tanglewood Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $565,000
Buyer: Eiman Mikhchi
Seller: Lisa Perlbinder
Date: 07/29/16

134 Tracy Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Brooks Caddell Barton TR
Seller: Daniel M. Marks
Date: 07/27/16

44 Valley View Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $270,126
Buyer: Claire E. Cocco
Seller: Susan A. Clark
Date: 07/26/16

BELCHERTOWN

11 Barton Ave.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Evelyn T. Melendez
Seller: Rochelle M. Gaumond
Date: 08/02/16

26 Brandywine Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $284,900
Buyer: Sarah L. Perry
Seller: Dennis P. Vandall
Date: 07/29/16

466 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Robert L. Stephens
Seller: Wayne Goodnow
Date: 07/29/16

644 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Edward Megarry
Seller: Catharine S. Seymour
Date: 08/02/16

20 Mountain View Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Eric D. Lebeau
Seller: Bruce A. Eggleston
Date: 08/04/16

119 Mountain View Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Christopher M. Browne
Seller: Susan C. Donahue
Date: 07/29/16

55 North St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Marylu J. Schneider
Seller: Robert P. Beaulieu
Date: 07/27/16

34 Rural Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Robert M. Cote
Seller: Donald D. Freeman
Date: 07/29/16

86 South Liberty St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $317,500
Buyer: Matthew T. Dibona
Seller: Lisa M. Desroches
Date: 08/03/16

22 Trillium Way
Belchertown, MA 01002
Amount: $411,000
Buyer: Matthew C. Boudreau
Seller: Mark G. Jackson
Date: 08/05/16

CHESTERFIELD

283 Main Road
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Chad J. Hoag
Seller: Peter K. Scully
Date: 07/27/16

209 Old Chesterfield Road
Chesterfield, MA 01096
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Zakary H. McCready
Seller: Randall S. Smith
Date: 07/29/16

EASTHAMPTON

53 Ashley Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Brian D. Donoghue
Seller: James E. Coughlin
Date: 07/28/16

4 Carillon Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $282,375
Buyer: Christopher M. Drozdal
Seller: Libby Kidess-Kanazi
Date: 08/05/16

46 Clapp St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Julie A. Copoulos
Seller: Amy C. Churchill
Date: 08/04/16

42 Clark St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Michael Wood
Seller: Matthew B. Geoghegan
Date: 07/26/16

11 Fox Run
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $393,300
Buyer: Stephanie B. Kelly
Seller: David A. Hardy Contractor
Date: 07/26/16

34 Glendale St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Kristina E. Smith
Seller: Andrea M. Lacasse
Date: 07/29/16

51 Knipfer Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Christine J. Harper
Seller: Gina B. Wyman
Date: 07/29/16

110 Maple St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: KM Properties LLC
Seller: Nancy C. Hill
Date: 07/29/16

90-92 Maple St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Elephant Shoes LLC
Seller: Alan Verson
Date: 07/28/16

25 Oliver St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Donald Tryon
Seller: Marcia S. M. Funk IRT
Date: 07/27/16

239 Park St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Jessica L. Andreu
Seller: Chris M. Drozdal
Date: 08/05/16

Parsons St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Penelope T. Evans
Seller: Cefriana A. Balo
Date: 07/29/16

23 Paul St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Ellen B. Tobiassen
Seller: David Garstka Builders
Date: 08/04/16

20 Peloquin Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Cefriana A. Balo
Seller: Ryan Bailey
Date: 07/29/16

110 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $214,000
Buyer: Martha G. Waldron
Seller: James S. Copen
Date: 08/01/16

22 Sterling Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Beaulieu
Seller: David B. Kinstle
Date: 07/25/16

132 West St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Mindy L. Cotherman
Seller: Deborah Hall-McNeil
Date: 08/02/16

9 Wilton Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $224,100
Buyer: Bank of New York Mellon
Seller: Punn Penn
Date: 08/03/16

GRANBY

62 Cold Hill
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $252,500
Buyer: Jennifer M. Matias
Seller: Jeffrey R. Kelliher
Date: 07/25/16

146 Porter St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $347,500
Buyer: Douglas R. Hamel
Seller: Steven Guyott
Date: 08/01/16

138 West St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $203,950
Buyer: Peter Deforge
Seller: FNMA
Date: 07/29/16

HADLEY

63 Comins Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: John H. Kokoski
Seller: Paul J. Kokoski
Date: 08/03/16

10 Frost Lane
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $359,900
Buyer: Cornelius Dutoit
Seller: Robert J. Reeves
Date: 08/04/16

10 Hawley Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Regina N. Payette
Seller: Diana Dindia
Date: 08/04/16

3 Maegans Way
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $799,000
Buyer: Paul Kozub
Seller: Thomas F. Quinlan
Date: 07/28/16

20 Maple Ave.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $359,000
Buyer: William B. Wright
Seller: Paul J. Kozub
Date: 07/27/16

45 North Maple St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: RGINK LLC
Seller: Ellen A. Morin RET
Date: 08/05/16

HATFIELD

102 Main St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $254,000
Buyer: Nicholas M. Hebert
Seller: Paula M. Mattson
Date: 08/05/16

HUNTINGTON

18 Crescent St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $116,000
Buyer: Justin R. Pinard
Seller: Christopher Maddock
Date: 08/03/16

MIDDLEFIELD

113 Skyline Trail
Middlefield, MA 01011
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: Kimberly E. Clark
Seller: Marie Lafayette
Date: 08/01/16

74 Town Hill Road
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $115,260
Buyer: Citifinancial Servicing
Seller: Joanne Rennert
Date: 07/29/16

NORTHAMPTON

83 Bancroft Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $1,350,000
Buyer: Frank G. Allen
Seller: Robert A. Jonas
Date: 08/02/16

98 Brierwood Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: An J. Hoeyberghs
Seller: Loretta K. Steiner
Date: 08/01/16

101 Chesterfield Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $844,000
Buyer: Katharine B. Cowperthwait
Seller: George F. Houck
Date: 07/29/16

349 Coles Meadow Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Leonard J. Larouche
Seller: Thomas A. Pascucci
Date: 08/05/16

105 Fern St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $234,000
Buyer: Betty L. Wolfson
Seller: Patricia A. Judice
Date: 07/29/16

50 Forbes Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $537,000
Buyer: Julie K. Lewis-Kulin
Seller: Christian Hawkins
Date: 07/29/16

43 Fox Farms Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Joanna D. Tillinghast
Seller: Bernyce B. Grant
Date: 08/01/16

109 Glendale Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Gary B. Kaskey
Seller: James E. O’Dell
Date: 07/25/16

26 Harold St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Steven E. Lacroix
Seller: Rebecca L. Gazzillo
Date: 08/03/16

423 Haydenville Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $435,868
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Lisa A. Cartagena
Date: 07/27/16

9 Hillcrest Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Sara R. Schieffelin
Seller: John J. Schieffelin
Date: 08/02/16

25 Indian Hill
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Marla S. Michel
Seller: Stephanie J. Billings
Date: 07/25/16

10 Laurel Park
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Mary Apikos
Seller: Amanda J. Crowley
Date: 08/05/16

68 Lyman Road
Northampton, MA 01063
Amount: $515,000
Buyer: Caitlyn S. Butler
Seller: 68 Lyman Road NT
Date: 08/01/16

535 North Farms Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Travis T. Norsen
Seller: Bobbe A. O’Brien
Date: 08/05/16

90 North Maple St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Kristoffer J. VanNaerssen
Seller: Linda A. Lococo
Date: 07/29/16

61 Overlook Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $234,900
Buyer: Regan M. Clover
Seller: Joseph T. Hudock
Date: 07/25/16

36 Pine St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: William M. Girard
Seller: Matthew J. Hale-Rattigan
Date: 08/01/16

541 Riverside Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Sik K. Ang
Seller: Robert A. Gibowicz
Date: 07/29/16

306 Rocky Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Paul Harvey-Cooke
Seller: Lynne M. Davis
Date: 08/03/16

824 Ryan Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Jill A. Apolinario
Seller: John C. Richi
Date: 08/04/16

8 Shepherds Hollow Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $599,000
Buyer: Fred H. Kim
Seller: Gary B. Kaskey
Date: 07/25/16

236 State St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Stephen Pelhan
Seller: Albert Y. Lim
Date: 08/05/16

22 Tara Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Bobbe A. O’Brien
Seller: Janet Ochner
Date: 08/05/16

57 Vernon St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Pamela Holabird-Lawrence
Seller: Karen E. Bercovici
Date: 08/01/16

4 Warfield Place
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Kathryne M. Young
Seller: Jill A. Apolinario
Date: 08/04/16

8 Washington Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $745,000
Buyer: Alana Kaczmarek
Seller: Denise Orenstein
Date: 08/04/16

50 Williams St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Kilerine Properties LLC
Seller: Ranney, Jeannie S. S., (Estate)
Date: 08/05/16

Willow St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Lepore
Seller: Michael D. Driscoll
Date: 08/02/16

PELHAM

54 Boyden Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $332,500
Buyer: Isaac J. Larsen
Seller: Steven L. Funderburk
Date: 08/03/16

60 Daniel Shays Hwy.
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: John Mancini
Seller: Marc W. Perreault
Date: 08/04/16

PLAINFIELD

82 North Union St.
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Paige E. Cerulli
Seller: Dennis W. Mimitz
Date: 07/29/16

SOUTH HADLEY

25 College View Hts.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $159,900
Buyer: Janice H. Byer
Seller: Douglas B. Merrill
Date: 07/29/16

15 Dartmouth St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $178,900
Buyer: Ryan C. Colligan
Seller: Barbara A. Dagarin
Date: 07/29/16

238 East St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $322,500
Buyer: Lisa Levheim
Seller: Douglas R. Hamel
Date: 08/01/16

3 Edison Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: James F. Dennis
Seller: Mark S. Kendall
Date: 07/29/16

59 LymanTerrace
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $135,660
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Henry M. Bader
Date: 07/28/16

20 Michael Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: Ronald F. Labarre
Seller: Roger Moreau
Date: 07/29/16

4 South Sycamore Knolls
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Mark Guerber
Seller: Nancy L. Beiermeister
Date: 07/28/16

12 Spring St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $221,000
Buyer: Adam M. Petit
Seller: Dean T. Sudyka
Date: 08/05/16

SOUTHAMPTON

34 Bissonnette Circle
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: John Cain
Seller: Florida Corp.
Date: 08/03/16

191 College Hwy.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Jessica A. Przybycien
Seller: Carla R. Mcavoy
Date: 07/29/16

88 College Hwy.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Heath B. Jones
Seller: Robert Golasinski
Date: 07/28/16

56 Line St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Roger Ball
Seller: Thomas M. Bacis
Date: 07/29/16

2 Mountain Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Robert W. Buckingham
Seller: Paul Kuzeja
Date: 08/05/16

91 Pequot Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Sergey Gokhgalter
Seller: Peter M. Steans
Date: 07/29/16

55 Valley Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Richard G. Labrie
Seller: Richard G. Labrie
Date: 08/05/16

20 Wolcott Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $319,543
Buyer: Teresa M. Adams
Seller: Linda K. Cooper
Date: 07/25/16

WARE

290 Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Sarah G. Perrott
Seller: Vincent R. Whitcomb
Date: 08/05/16

419 Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $363,141
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Donald Petry
Date: 07/27/16

23 Coldbrook Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $318,703
Buyer: Sherill J. Acevedo
Seller: Benchmark Custom Homes
Date: 08/05/16

29 Fisherdick Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $116,500
Buyer: Belspring RT
Seller: US Bank
Date: 07/28/16

176 Gilbertville Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Jason L. Shunaman
Seller: Sandra D. Adams
Date: 07/28/16

56 Old Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $167,800
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Debra Sears
Date: 07/29/16

5 Warebrook Village
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $116,900
Buyer: Karla Harder
Seller: Meghan K. Lagimoniere
Date: 07/28/16

WESTHAMPTON

5 Pine Island Lake
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Cohen Karis TR
Seller: John F. Hamel
Date: 08/05/16

WILLIAMSBURG

2 Round Hill Road
Williamsburg, MA 01060
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Joanne P. Lasker
Seller: Harry Whiting-Warner
Date: 07/28/16

120 South St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jonathan D. Hoyt
Seller: Robert C. McCutcheon RET
Date: 07/27/16

Building Permits