Month: January 2017

HOLYOKE — Loyalty360, the professional association for customer loyalty, tapped PeoplesBank Senior Vice President of Retail Sheila King-Goodwin to present on the bank’s approach to customer engagement at the 2016 Engagement & Experience Expo in Denver. Her presentation was titled “Branch of the Future: It’s Not Just About the Building, It’s Your Brand.”

King-Goodwin touched on a number of aspects of customer engagement, including service, innovation, and authenticity. “When they come in a branch, we really have to nail that customer experience,” she said. “We create differentiation through authenticity.”

Greater Springfield 13th-least-dangerous Metro Area for Pedestrians

SPRINGFIELD — In light of Smart Growth America naming Greater Springfield the 13th-least dangerous metro area in the country for pedestrians, as well as Massachusetts ranking in the top 10 least-dangerous states for pedestrians, as part of its 2016 edition of “Dangerous by Design,” the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) is highlighting some of its collaborative efforts to make the streets of the Pioneer Valley safer for automobiles, bikers, and pedestrians.

“While we are obviously happy to see Greater Springfield named the 13th-least-dangerous metro area in the United States, there is clearly much more work to be done, especially on behalf of older residents, residents of color, and low-income families, who are disproportionately vulnerable as pedestrians, according to this recent report,” said Gary Roux, PVPC principal transportation planner and traffic manager. “Our regional efforts to implement complete street design into our communities will ensure our future roadways will be safe for all forms of travel.”

In the pursuit of safer roadways in the Pioneer Valley, the PVPC has been actively:

• Working in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, WalkBoston, and the state Department of Public Health on Vision Zero Planning, an approach to transportation safety planning that sets a target of eliminating all serious injuries and deaths due to road traffic crashes;

• Collaborating with member communities to apply Complete Streets design into local roads, implementing the state Department of Transportation Complete Streets funding program that promotes roadway planning that considers the safety of drivers, bikers, and pedestrians;

• Contributing $2 million in planning and public-engagement efforts for Live Well Springfield, a community movement to support healthy and active living; and

• Partnering with the communities of Holyoke, Springfield, Northampton, and South Hadley on bike-pedestrian visioning and planning efforts.

Additionally, the PVPC has released a draft update report of the “Top 100 High-crash Intersections in the Pioneer Valley,” to help the region’s urban communities target their roadway safety-improvement efforts. A community-by-community listing of dangerous intersections is also currently being prepared to allow all 43 PVPC member communities to address their most pressing transportation-design needs.

Berkshire Bank Awards $7,500 in Exciting Home Equity Sweepstakes

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Bank announced the three winners of its Exciting Home Equity Sweepstakes, which ran from Sept. 12 through Nov. 25. The three winners of this giveaway were notified last month. They are Craig Walton of Hinsdale, Deborah Robbins of Westfield, and Christine Robie of Pittsfield.

New and existing Berkshire Bank home-equity line of credit or home-equity loan customers as of Nov. 25 were entered automatically in the sweepstakes, and individuals were also encouraged to enter the sweepstakes by mail.

Three winners were chosen to each receive a prize amount of $2,500. The winners then had the option to receive the funds by check, apply the money to their existing home-equity balance, or a deposit it into an account.

When asked what her plans are for the prize winnings, Robbins said, “I have no idea. You know, it could pay for the new water heater I just had put in last week. I just can’t believe it.”

Tami Gunsch, the bank’s executive vice president, Retail Banking, said that “Berkshire Bank is pleased to give this award to Deborah, Craig, and Christine. We are committed to our communities by providing exceptional service to our customers, assisting in their financial goals to find, fund, and save for life’s exciting moments.”

Springfield Science Museum Explores the Human Microbiome

SPRINGFIELD — Trillions of microbes make their homes inside our bodies, and the Springfield Museums will introduce visitors to them. Visitors of all ages can explore the fascinating and complex world that is the human microbiome in “Zoo in You,” a new exhibition on view Jan. 21 through April 30 at the Springfield Science Museum.

At “Zoo in You,” visitors can learn who our constant microbial companions are, where they live, how diverse they are, and in what ways scientists are discovering just how important they are to our personal health. Visitors are invited to explore this vibrant world of our inner micro-organisms through engaging, interactive, and bilingual exhibits and programs.

“‘Zoo in You’ is a hoot,” said David Stier, director of the Science Museum. “You find out you are never alone — you have lots of very little companions. Most are good, some are bad, and many are just weird-looking. It’s fun for the whole family.”

To celebrate the exhibit opening on January 21, the museums will offer a variety of family programs. Highlights include Science in Motion, a mesmerizing blend of comedy and science by Robert Rivest, and a live animal demonstration, plus hands-on art and science. All activities are free with museum admission and supported by the TD Charitable Foundation.

“Zoo in You” was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. This exhibit was made possible by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The exhibition is sponsored locally by United Bank. The MassMutual Foundation is the season supporter of the Springfield Museums.

Top Entrepreneur 2016

Cover Story Sections Top Entrepreneur

Paul Kozub Tackles the Hard Stuff to Take V-One National

Proof Positive

When he launched the V-One brand more than 11 years ago, Paul Kozub had a good product and a great story — the one about a commercial lender who quit banking to make vodka in his basement. As he prepares to take the brand national, he knows the great story isn’t nearly enough. The good product is the foundation of his efforts, but getting to the next level will be a daunting task. So he’s leaving no stone unturned, and these efforts have earned him BusinessWest’s Top Entrepreneur award for 2016.

He calls it ‘V-One Vodka Corporate Headquarters.’ Except when he opts to simply to say ‘the Church.’

Those are Paul Kozub’s chosen methods for referencing the former St. John’s Church on bustling Route 9 in Hadley, the 114-year-old structure he acquired in 2014 after some prolonged negotiations with the Diocese of Springfield and then spent months rehabbing, mostly by himself.

On the outside, it still looks like … a church, except for the huge slab of Goshen stone on the front lawn with the V-One logo placed on it, signage approved after months of hard talks with the town fathers.

On the inside, though, it looks a little like a bar and a lot like a banquet hall. Which it isn’t. Kozub doesn’t actually have a liquor license, but he can — and does — host a number of ‘tastings’ each year to promote his growing line of vodka flavors, as well as weekly sales meetings and a host of special events, including one on Christmas Eve for his family and his wife’s as well.

One fixture of V-One HQ is a large collection of vodkas, maybe 100 of them, kept on racks just off what used to be the altar long ago. You won’t find every brand here — there are more than 1,000 of them — but certainly all the recognizable names and then another few dozen recognizable only to those certainly in the know. Which he is, as will become quite clear.

Indeed, Kozub says he’s amassed this collection — and keeps adding to it — so he will know about the competition. Everything about the competition, that is — from the new flavors they’re putting out to the design of their bottles to the ingredients printed on the label.

Paul Kozub stands beside his new signage, placed on a huge slab of Goshen stone, outside V-One Corporate Headquarters, a.k.a. ‘the Church.’

Take grapefruit-flavored vodka, which all the major brands now have, for example. Kozub did.

“What I did was buy every grapefruit vodka I could find,” he said, while reaching for a few. “When I come up with an idea, like this one, I try every grapefruit offering I can get my hands on, with the goal of making mine unique.”

It is only through such research and legwork, said Kozub, that he will be able to take V-One from status as a ‘local’ flavor and make it a regional and then national and perhaps international brand.

Actually, V-One is already international, as Kozub explained while digging for his phone and scrolling to a photo of him next to a poster for his vodka at Frederick Chopin Airport in Warsaw (his vodkas are made in Poland and available in duty-free shops at several airports in that country), right next to similar posters for Rolex watches and high-end perfumes.

But, while obviously proud of that product placement, Kozub knows he is facing a long, winding, extremely difficult road just to take his vodkas beyond most of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, the places where they are now available.

However, with the help of some new investors to whom he is selling a small equity stake in the company, Kozub is poised for territorial expansion. The first target is New Hampshire, where Kozub is currently gaining the necessary approvals to secure shelf space in the state-operated stores that feature low prices that often entice people to cross borders.

After that, other New England states are being eyed, as well as the potentially lucrative but tough-to-crack Boston and New York City markets.

To get to the next level, though, Kozub knows he needs something beyond the proverbial ‘good story’ that helped him get off the ground and then well-established within the 413 area code. Most people in this region know it by now: it’s about how an intrepid commercial lender rising in the ranks at TD Bank put that career on permanent hold after deciding to take a small inheritance from his grandfather, as well as some inspiration from his entrepreneurial father, and create a new vodka label in his home.

“As I go into Miami, San Francisco, and other major cities, the story about the guy who started making vodka in his basement is great, but we’ll need much more,” he explained. “So I want to lead with the product itself, and how we tell our story.”

Efforts to move beyond his Hollywood-script saga and create a product that will appeal nationally essentially sum up what Kozub has been doing for the past 12 to 18 months or so. This is a multi-faceted assignment involving everything from lining up investors to initiating marketing pushes in some major cities, to months of hard work designing a new bottle for his vodkas.

Paul Kozub stands next to a sign for his vodka at Frederick Chopin Airport in Warsaw. While V-One is technically international, the next real challenge is to make it a national brand.

The sum of these efforts has earned Kozub BusinessWest’s Top Entrepreneur award for 2016. Established two decades ago, the award recognizes a centuries-old tradition of entrepreneurship in this region and honors those who are continuing that legacy, something Kozub summed up simply by saying, “I feel like I haven’t worked a day in 11 years.”

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Beyond those racks loaded with vodka bottles, Kozub has a number of other items, or props, lurking behind what resembles a bar counter (complete with bar stools) installed at the front of the old church’s nave.

One of them is a 50-pound bag of corn, bought at a nearby Tractor Supply Co. location, very effectively labeled (at least for this exercise) with the words ‘feed for cattle, sheep, and horses.’

Paul Kozub says he has a patent on his so-called ‘bottle jacket,’ one of many examples of how he’s leaving no stone unturned as he takes the brand national.

“This is what you feed cows — a lot of popular vodkas today are made from corn,” said Kozub, as he began a well-rehearsed presentation he gives to various audiences while not-so-delicately lowering the bag onto the counter so its weight can resonate. “It’s the cheapest ingredient you can find; it costs about six cents a pound, and it takes about three pounds to make a bottle of corn vodka.

“This is spelt,” he went on, holding up a small box of the hulled wheat that is his not-so-secret ingredient. “If you buy this at the store, it’s about eight dollars a pound; so you’re talking six to eight cents versus eight dollars.”

That bag of corn is one of many selling points used by Kozub as he goes about introducing his product and differentiating it from all those competitors. Others include the fake-fur-lined ‘bottle jackets’ and soon-to-arrive summer ‘bottle life vests’ (made in Poland) that he says are unique and patented.

“They’re something cool — no one can else can make a bottle winter coat like this,” he noted while holding one aloft. “Almost everyone has a box with two glasses in it. This is my equivalent, but I like to stand out.

“Over the past few years, I’ve been prepping for a national launch,” he went on while putting most of what is now on display at the church in perspective. “I’m trying to get the whole brand tightened and leave no stone unturned, because it’s going to take a lot to get from where we are to where I want to be.”

Those sentiments, and the aggressive, confident manner in which he backs them up, speak volumes about the passion and commitment Kozub has for all aspects of this endeavor, qualities that Shaun Dwyer recognized long ago.

Now the first vice president of Commercial Banking for Holyoke-based PeoplesBank, which is now financing aspects of the V-One venture, Dwyer says he’s known Kozub for 15 years now, or back to when they were both young lenders at TD Bank trying to earn their stripes. He’s followed Kozub’s adventures throughout his career, and summons most of the same adjectives and adverbs used by others to describe how the entrepreneur goes about his work.

“Paul is a driven, highly motivated guy who’s very focused on what he does,” Dwyer explained. “He’s passionate about V-One, which contributes significantly to its success. And he’s involved in every aspect of the business, from creating and testing new products and flavors to the marketing, to the distribution, to customer relations.

Shaun Dwyer, a commercial lender with PeoplesBank, says Paul Kozub’s passion for his vodka brand has been a key ingredient in its success.

“And he knows how to earn money, which is the most important thing,” Dwyer went on, adding that his client definitely used his years in banking to his advantage. “He’s done well. He hasn’t gone in over his head during the time he’s been in business, he’s taken smart steps, he knows his markets, and he knows he’s got a good product.”

While those comments neatly and concisely sum up Kozub’s first 11 or so years in business, marked by strong success — growth has averaged 20% per year, by Dwyer’s estimates — one really needs to go back to 2005 for a more detailed look at how things got started and, hopefully, a deeper appreciation for the chapters to the story now being written.

It was in October of that year that Kozub first graced the cover of BusinessWest. Actually, it was one of those smaller pictures at the bottom of the page that alert readers to the stories inside.

That piece revealed that Kozub entered banking with no real intention of making it a career. Instead, he was focused on following the lead of his father, Edward, who took Janlynn Corp. from a mom-and-pop operation to a business that employed more than 100 people, but tragically died while Paul was still in high school. He was, as he put it, working in financial services to learn the mechanics of small-business management from the “other side.”

While his father inspired him, it was his grandfather, Stanley, who is actually credited with giving him the proverbial push he needed. Family legend has it that he was a moonshiner during Prohibition, and young Paul, upon seeing a truck laden with potatoes pass his Hadley home, began conceptualizing a plan to make vodka with that vegetable as its base.

Using $6,000 his grandfather left him, he started in his basement, and, after a number of fits and starts, eventually brought V-One to the marketplace.

Over the ensuing years, Kozub and V-One would regularly grace the pages of BusinessWest, with everything from an actual cover story to a host of news briefs detailing everything from new flavors (there are now four) to awards (there have been many of those); from his purchase of St. John’s Church to his 10th anniversary in business, celebrated, as only they can in this business, 18 or so months ago.

Slicing through all those articles and updates, Kozub said the message they send is that there isn’t nearly as much glamour in this business as one might think, and far more challenges and high hurdles than one can imagine.

“It’s a difficult, incredibly competitive business,” he said, adding that each step in the process of growing V-One and bringing its brand to prominence has been carefully choreographed, with the goal of achieving marked — but controlled — growth.

And so it is with the next, very ambitious steps now on the drawing board and in the process of becoming reality.

Taking His Shot

Kozub told BusinessWest that, by his conservative estimates, it takes at least $500,000 to enter a new market — a state or major city, for example — and do the job right, which is the only way he knows.

“I’ve been thinking about how we’re going to grow and how we’re going to get bigger, and of course everything comes down to money,” he explained with a heavy sigh. “You need money to enter each state because you need salespeople, you need marketing, you need brand awareness … there’s a lot that goes into this.”

This simple math and sobering dose of reality made it clear that, for him to grow, he needed capital, probably in the form of investors willing to gamble on his brand in exchange for a piece of it.

New vans like this one, detailed with the V-One logo, are one of many ways Paul Kozub is building his brand.

Since he started V-One, Kozub has been largely resistant to the idea of taking on investors, not wanting to relinquish even a small percentage of his venture. But having gone about as far as he thought he could in the markets he’s in, and with a strong desire to continue growing, he understood he was at a crossroads.

So he started talking to some money people — in the careful, studious manner that has marked all of his activities to date.

“About 18 months or so ago, I was approached by a very influential person in the business who had started a similar company and eventually sold it for millions, and he wanted to invest in V-One,” he explained. “After months of negotiations, I found out that he really wanted to take over my company and not simply invest, so we cut off talks.”

Roughly a month later, he was approached by another group, based in Texas, he went on, adding that his research, and the negotiations, eventually led to a deal that will generate a few million dollars in capital that will enable him to expand the V-One footprint, if you will, in a few directions.

One is north, to New Hampshire and the other New England states, and then west and south, to New York and New Jersey.

It’s a bold step, and Kozub acknowledged there are risks. But the alternative, merely standing pat, does not reflect the established growth formula. And he will continue to move in a measured, controlled manner.

“When I quit my job at TD Bank, I went for it, and I knew that if I could sell 500 cases in a year I’d be able to make a nice living,” he said, adding that he long ago recalibrated his goals and aspirations. “So with this next stage, I’m going for it again, but we’re going to be very calculated moving forward, and we’re definitely going to test each market before we enter it.”

Elaborating, he said the financing from his new investors will essentially come in three rounds, which will facilitate and essentially drive this controlled pace of growth he described. And the first goal, as mentioned earlier, is basically the rest of New England, meaning New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.

That includes Boston, he went on, where the company has really just put a toe in the water, with the understanding that penetrating that market will be extremely difficult, due to some well-established heavyweights in the industry.

“I just hired a PR firm in Boston to help me get established there,” he explained. “It’s a great market, but it’s also very tight-knit; getting into some of Boston’s famous restaurants is … next to impossible.

“The competition in these big cities is just unbelievable, because everyone wants to be there,” he went on. “For example, Russian Standard Vodka went to Boston seven or eight years ago, and I know they spent half a million dollars to get their brand going there, and it really didn’t do much.”

BusinessWest Associate Publisher Kate Campiti presents Paul Kozub with the plaque marking his selection as Top Entrepreneur for 2016.

This outcome helps explain that, while capital is obviously critical to the process of penetrating new markets, the product, or products, will ultimately determine how successful those efforts are.

Thus, he returned to that notion of leaving no stone unturned as he prepares to take V-One national.

Fifth Dimension

With that, Kozub went behind the bar again, this time to collect a thick file folder detailing his work to create a new bottle for his vodkas; his current model is a futura style, essentially something off the shelf, as they say in this business, and fairly common, with several brands using it.

He wasn’t about to reveal anything too specific about what he had in mind for this redesign, but did get into great detail about how this is a very serious — and expensive — exercise, worthy of as much attention as what goes inside the bottle.

“It’s always been my dream to have my own bottle because I have my own vodka that’s the only vodka in the world made from spelt, and we feel it’s the cleanest vodka in the world,” he explained. “We want our bottle to reflect that. As I roll out nationally and get on the shelves in Miami and San Francisco, I really want the bottle to stand out.”

Elaborating, he said that, through his contacts in Poland, he was introduced to what he called the “best bottle designers in the world,” based in Cognac, France. These designers gave him 13 options, all different in some way, and he has whittled that field down to two, and essentially one that he says he’s leaning toward.

Why is the bottle so important? In the vodka world, image is an important consideration, he said, and the ornate, decorative bottles one sees on the shelf — often doubling as works of art — play a big role in image-projection efforts. But practicality is also an issue.

“You think about everything, including how it’s going to fit in the bartender’s hand and how it’s going to pour,” he explained. “Some of these bottles that brands come out with … they’ll never be used in bars because bartenders don’t like to hold them and they’re very awkward to pour. We do very well in bars and restaurants, and the new bottle will fit very well in bartenders’ hands.”

Kozub’s intense focus on creating a new bottle is an example of how he’s still fully involved with every aspect of this operation, but also how his role is changing in some ways.

He no longer makes deliveries himself, and he lets his sales staff handle most of the roughly 100 tastings the company will schedule a year — although he still presides over several of them. Instead, he’s content to wear what he called his ‘CFO hat’ and the ‘strategic planning hat.’

He has the latter on all the time, as one might imagine, and there are many elements to it, from the bottle to the bottle jackets; from the marketing strategies for entering new regions to lining up investors; from ongoing renovations of ‘the Church’ (there is still a lot of work to be done) to determining when and if to add more flavors to the portfolio.

And there will likely be at least one flavor to join grapefruit, triple berry, lime, hazelnut, and vanilla, he told BusinessWest, adding that he doesn’t know what it will be yet, and there are several possible contenders for the light blue bottle he’s already picked out to give him a full rainbow.

The need to keep adding flavors, the need to keep undertaking strategic planning, is very necessary, he said, because this is a fast-moving, constantly changing industry, where trends change quickly and often.

Indeed, while vodkas — and, specifically, flavored vodkas — were all the rage just a few years ago, bourbons and other ‘brown whiskeys’ are now hot, and vodka is essentially flat, Kozub explained.

Meanwhile, tastes among all demographic groups, and especially the younger generations, are shifting away from mainstream offerings and more toward designer products, such as the myriad craft beers now populating the market.

Which means he is likely in the right places at the right time with the right products.

“As time goes on, I think there will be more people seeking out niche vodkas, or ‘craft vodkas,’ as I like to call them,” he explained. “If you have a bar, and you have Bud, Miller, and Coors on tap, your bar probably won’t be in business for long. You need to have those craft beers, and it’s the same with whisky, rum, gin, and vodka — that’s the trend.”

As he goes about tackling life in this constantly changing landscape and the myriad challenges still ahead of him, Kozub displays the same entrepreneurial spirit and not-so-quiet confidence that have defined his efforts from the beginning.

And while the stage is set to get exponentially bigger, he’s saying essentially the same thing he was when he was delivering cases to area liquor stores and restaurants himself.

“We have one of the best vodkas in the world — I just have to let people try it,” he said. “If I can do that …”

Glass Act

He didn’t actually finish that thought, but he didn’t really have to.

From the start, he’s always thought, and always known, that if he could make a good introduction, then people would buy his product.

In other words, he’s always had more than a good story about making vodka in his basement — a lot more. And as he prepares to take his portfolio of flavors national, he plans to add even more.

That’s what he means by “leaving no stone unturned” — even the one in front of V-One Corporate Headquarters.

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

Previous Top Entrepreneurs

• 2015: The D’Amour Family, founders of Big Y
• 2014: Delcie Bean, president of Paragus Strategic IT
• 2013: Tim Van Epps, president and CEO of Sandri LLC
• 2012: Rick Crews and Jim Brennan, franchisees of Doctors Express
• 2011: Heriberto Flores, director of the New England Farm Workers’ Council and Partners for Community
• 2010: Bob Bolduc, founder and CEO of Pride
• 2009: Holyoke Gas & Electric
• 2008: Arlene Kelly and Kim Sanborn, founders of Human Resource Solutions and Convergent Solutions Inc.
• 2007: John Maybury, president of Maybury Material Handling
• 2006: Rocco, Jim, and Jayson Falcone, principals of Rocky’s Hardware Stores and Falcone Retail Properties
• 2005: James (Jeb) Balise, president of Balise Motor Sales
• 2004: Craig Melin, then-president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital
• 2003: Tony Dolphin, president of Springboard Technologies
• 2002: Timm Tobin, then-president of Tobin Systems Inc.
• 2001: Dan Kelley, then-president of Equal Access Partners
• 2000: Jim Ross, Doug Brown, and Richard DiGeronimo, then-principals of Concourse Communications
• 1999: Andrew Scibelli, then-president of Springfield Technical Community College
• 1998: Eric Suher, president of E.S. Sports
• 1997: Peter Rosskothen and Larry Perreault, then-co-owners of the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House
• 1996: David Epstein, president and co-founder of JavaNet and the JavaNet Café

Area Hospitality Venues Prepare for the Arrival of MGM

Meetings & Conventions Sections

Betting on Opportunity

MGM Springfield, seen above in a rendering and below in its current state of early construction on Main Street, promises to attract new visitors to the region, which may benefit other hospitality venues.

casinoconstructionmainst-0117

As the most significant development in Springfield’s recent history, the MGM casino set to open in 2018 is sure to be a tantalizing attraction for meeting and convention planners. That poses a new competitive threat for the region’s many established hospitality facilities, but some of the larger players don’t see it that way. Instead, they believe the additional traffic MGM brings to Springfield will raise all boats, bringing opportunity to venues that are prepared to leverage it by doubling down on what makes them unique.

John Doleva has heard the projections of MGM Springfield drawing between 600,000 and 800,000 people to the city annually.

“I’ve often joked that if 5% of those guests get lost coming out of the parking garage, that’s 40,000 people that could end up in our parking lot instead,” said Doleva, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which sits just a few blocks from where MGM Springfield will open in 2018.

He was joking, of course, but was serious about the rush of expected casino-goers. “I can’t imagine an instance where it won’t be seen as a positive when that many people flock to our region,” he told BusinessWest.

“Maybe the profile of the casino customer doesn’t match up with the basketball fan or someone visiting the Hall of Fame, but there would certainly be some crossover,” he went on. “MGM will want people to stay an extra night, and maybe the Hall of Fame, as an asset in the community, would be a good reason to stay a second night. You could bring the whole family to an MGM event, and the second day come to the Hall of Fame.”

That’s how some of the big players in the region’s meeting and hospitality business choose to view the $900 million MGM project taking shape in downtown Springfield — one which, technically speaking, will compete with them for events and ohetr forms of business, but may bring opportunities as well.

One way to look at the casino is that it will be employing some 3,000 people, and many might be new to the area, and looking to take advantage of Valley attractions, said Peter Rosskothen, owner of the Log Cabin, Delaney House, and D. Hotel & Suites in Holyoke, among other properties.

“I’m hoping some of those employees leave Springfield and visit other venues around us,” he said. “There’s something to be said for the casino giving everyone a proverbial lift, and that’s what we’re hoping for — that everyone gains something.”

Mary Kay Wydra says MGM will be a strong competitor for meeting and convention business, but overall a net asset to the region’s entire hospitality and tourism industry.

The MassMutual Center — the closest hospitality-sector player, geographically, to MGM Springfield — is in a different position than other entities, having recently announced a partnership with the casino. MGM Springfield and Comcast Spectacor jointly bid last spring on a five-year contract to operate the MassMutual Center, with MGM serving as the venue management company and Spectra providing food and beverage services.

The partnership creates cross-marketing opportunities for events, the coordination of job and customer-service training, more efficient purchasing of goods and services, and a broader, more coordinated presence at trade shows and conventions, the partners noted in a statement. Additionally, MGM Springfield will manage the long-term event calendar, with an eye toward leveraging its entertainment-programming experience to attract even more visitors to the MassMutual Center.

“This market has unique offerings for convention-goers and local residents alike, and the MassMutual Center should continue to be an integral part of what attracts visitors to downtown,” Michael Mathis, president and chief operating officer for MGM Springfield, said when the bid was announced.

How, exactly, that will play out — for both the MassMutual Center and other facilities that will compete directly with MGM — is still to be seen, said Nate Harris, director of Marketing at the MassMutual Center.

“But in terms of how people are feeling,” he noted, “it’s definitely a benefit to have an attraction like this. It’s another element of what Springfield can offer, in addition to the Hall of Fame, the museums, and other entities. People feel like this will bring more people to the city and bring significant economic impact to Springfield. They see it as a benefit.”

One that area meeting and banquet facility owners are keeping a keen eye on, hoping a rising tide of attention on MGM Springfield will allow them to shine as well.

List of area Meeting & Convention Facilities

Selling Uniqueness

Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), is pleased to hear venue operators looking at the benefits MGM will bring to the city in terms of awareness and new business.

“From the get-go, ever since the subject of gaming was raised, we felt it was something that could benefit our industry,” she told BusinessWest. “It’s always scary when new competition comes into the marketplace, but what our members — and members of the regional tourism industry — see is a powerful brand, and what it will do in terms of bringing people here. And our hope is that they come for MGM but stay for other things, experience other attractions.”

Wydra said any convention business MGM attracts will be a net positive for the region’s hospitality industry as a whole.

“From a convention standpoint, we’re super excited about what the development will do to downtown in terms of adding to the inventory we have — 250 brand-new hotel rooms; retail, which is lacking downtown; entertainment options like bowling and movies, all right on Main Street and walkable,” she said. “That’s very exciting for us, and it enhances the package we sell as a city. These are things other areas are eager for.”

Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John Doleva says MGM, which lies right across the highway, has been a “terrific neighbor” so far, and promises to boost business for many Springfield-area venues.

Doleva said the Hall of Fame is well-suited — as are the CVB and MGM itself — to attract conventions and large groups to the city, and it can be an asset to large groups that come in for special events, even for those that come specifically for the casino.

“The Hall of Fame is a unique venue, something special. It’s not just four walls, not the same old place, but a place to be inspired, to come out and have a nice dinner in a unique venue and be able to partake in the many activities in the museum,” he explained. “I don’t see that we’ll be in heavy competition with MGM for the kinds of things we do now. As for the new business coming to the community, we’ll compete for that with great food and great service.”

Rosskothen told BusinessWest that it’s difficult to predict MGM’s impact on hospitality businesses outside Springfield, noting that his company provides catering services for the Barney Estate in Forest Park but its signature facilities are located in Holyoke.

“It’s hard to know what will happen,” he went on. “I do know we’re stronger now than we’ve ever been, so the challenge for us is, how do we continue to distinguish ourselves as a unique, locally owned product? The word ‘unique’ is pretty important to us; we’re always trying to find ways to keep our product relevant.”

That said, he went on, competition drives the Log Cabin, with its sweeping, scenic views, and the Delaney House, with its attached hotel, to be better, casino or no casino.

“There’s no arguing that. To me, it’s all about the qualities we offer — the amazing locations, the incredible views, how we use those assets and continue to be as unique as we can to attract people.”

Another asset Rosskothen, and other well-established venues, can lean on is their deep roots in Western Mass., which counts for something, he said.

“I think one of the strengths of the Valley is that people are pretty passionate about local businesses, and the fact that we’re locally owned and locally operated gives us a competitive advantage against that casino,” he noted. “There’s something to be said for that in this day and age, and it’s a strength of ours.”

Mike McKenna, director of Dining & Event Services Hampshire College, had the same take regarding business at the college’s Red Barn banquet facility (see story, page 34).

“I don’t believe the casino will be a competitor for us,” he said. “We provide a uniquely different experience for our clients, and I do not see that changing after the casino opens.”

Game On

Wydra reiterated that, while attractions like Six Flags, the Hall of Fame, and Springfield Museums stand to benefit more obviously from convention bookings at MGM Springfield, other area meeting facilities should still see the development as a net positive.

“We’re very bullish on MGM and excited for them to be added to the mix here,” she said. “Those who will do well are those who are embracing it, finding ways to work with them and get the word out.”

So, while he probably can’t count on 40,000 motorists arriving at the Hall of Fame by accident, Doleva is on board with the feeling that venues that have something different to offer will continue to stand out even after MGM opens its doors in Springfield’s South End.

“Any place that has something very unique — that breaks out of the mainstream four walls, that promises a special experience — is going to do very well,” he said. “We certainly look forward to working with MGM; they’ve been terrific neighbors so far, very communicative and very supportive of the Hall of Fame. I can only see business increasing with more people coming to the city and discovering what the region has to offer.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Old Meets New at the Red Barn at Hampshire College

Meetings & Conventions Sections

Rustic Retreat

The Red Barn’s outdoor deck, overlooking the scenic grounds, is a draw for events of all kinds.

The first thing guests of the Red Barn at Hampshire College notice is that, well, they’re in a barn.

It’s what the college has done with that barn that sets the facility apart, said Mike McKenna, director of Dining & Event Services at Hampshire College.

The Red Barn has existed in some form for almost 200 years, but for most of that time, it was a simple post-and-beam structure designed to house livestock and farm equipment, with hay storage in the loft. The barn was originally built in 1820 in conjunction with Stiles House, which is now the college’s Alumni House.

The transformation from that space to what exists today began as a student project in the spring of 1971, the first year Hampshire College was open, when a group of students in the Humanities and Arts course, along with their professor, Norton Juster, undertook a design for the barn’s renovation.

“They surveyed the site and existing structure, conducted a survey of the Hampshire community to determine its preferences for use of the building, and made plans for its renovation,” McKenna said. “The students decided that the college needed a community center, and proposed to use this building to create one.”

The students found that the basic structure was sound, he explained, and the space within it appealing. “The plans attempted to maintain the character of the space, while opening it up with many large windows. In addition, plans were made for plumbing, heating, insulation, and electricity, as well as ensuring compliance with building codes.”

Several trustees, impressed with the project concept, funded its construction, McKenna noted. A professional construction supervisor was hired to work with student labor, mostly during the summers, and outside subcontractors were brought on for the utility work. The project was finally completed in 1974, establishing a multi-purpose space that has been in use by the Hampshire community ever since.

Since the renovation, the Red Barn has hosted a variety of college-sponsored meetings, events, and banquets throughout each academic year. Students frequently hold dances and concerts there, and a number of big-name acts have performed in the space. But the Red Barn is open to any group, not just Hampshire students and alumni.

What draws party and meeting planners, McKenna said, is the facility’s unique blend of old and new, rustic and high-tech. While the space has become widely known as a destination for weddings and receptions, the most recent growth has been in the realm of corporate meetings, trainings, conferences, and special events throughout the year.

“This end of our business has increased considerably since the installation of high-end audio/video equipment in 2014,” McKenna noted, adding that the Red Barn now offers full-service audio-visual support with equipment and services including wi-fi, a video projector with a drop-down screen, a built-in sound system, and videoconferencing capabilities.

For this issue’s focus on meetings and conventions, BusinessWest takes a look inside the Red Barn and explores why this building with a long, rural past is looking toward a promising future.

Business and Pleasure

It’s not all business at the Red Barn, which hosts events ranging from showers and bar and bat mitzvahs to memorials, anniversaries, and birthday parties. The facility also hosts annual events for local nonprofits, including the Amherst Ballet, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the United Way.

Still, weddings (typically 65 to 70 annually) remain the Red Barn’s bread and butter, and one look around the expansive grounds — particularly a massive oak tree under which many couples have been hitched — shows why.

“We’ve seen significant growth in our wedding business in the past three years, increasing bookings by 170%,” McKenna said, before reeling off a raft of accolades: Best of Amherst Small Business 2016, Best of Weddings three years running from the Knot, Couple’s Choice 2016 and Editor’s Pick 2015 from Wedding Wire, and Best Farm-to-Table Catering 2015 from Unique Venues.

Those plaudits are no accident, McKenna said, but the result of long-term planning to create a spacious, versatile facility that draws on the past while taking advantage of technologically modern amenities.

The renovation of the early-19th-century barn, completed in 1974, maintained its original post-and-beam structure and floors.

The physical space features the original wide-panel flooring inside the original post-and-beam structure, with the large windows, a highlight of the 1970s remodel, offering scenic views of the Mount Holyoke Range. The back deck provides similar vistas and is ideal for barbecues, picnics, and group outings. Meanwhile, McKenna added, proximity to major highways, hotels, and bus lines offer ease of accessibility.

McKenna said the food service is another draw to the Red Barn, adopting a farm-to-table philosophy centered around local ingredients whenever possible. “We proudly support the Hampshire College Farm Center and local farmers to provide guests with the freshest products available from the Pioneer Valley.”

Notable entrees include pan-seared beef tenderloin with zinfandel balsamic or red wine demi-glaze, chicken roulade stuffed with spinach and fontina cheese, local striped bass with a fennel and apple slaw, and butternut squash ravioli. Favorite appetizers range from risotto arrancini to mini crabcakes with remoulade; from an herbed cheese, prosciutto, and asparagus roll to a Mediterranean display, featuring tabbouleh, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, assorted olives, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms, pita chips, and rosemary focaccia triangles.

And don’t forget the Red Barn’s signature drink, McKenna noted, known as the Barn Brew: a spiced apple cocktail with fresh pressed cider, apple liquor, and vodka, garnished with a cinnamon stick. Meanwhile, party planners can choose from several open- and cash-bar beverage options.

“Our staff works with our clients to customize menus that meet the specific needs of their guests,” he added. “Our culinary team is well-versed with preparing vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free menu items. Menus can be as elegant or as informal as a client wishes, with plated service or buffet options for guests.”

Contemporary Touches

Whatever the event, McKenna said, the staff assists clients with the coordination of all details and on-site event management. Aiming to be a one-stop shop for event coordination, services include room setups, AV, catering, equipment rentals, linens, floral arrangements, signage, and parking. The full-service AV equipment includes complimentary wi-fi.

He noted that many of the Red Barn’s offerings reflect elements that today’s party and meeting planners are looking for — particularly versatility and flexibility in room setups and décor; a variety of table and chair options to suit the style of the event; fresh, innovative, and sustainable catering options; menu customization and dietary accommodations; easy-to-use ‘plug-and-play’ AV equipment; and attractive surroundings to provide both indoor and outdoor amenities to guests — and sets these modern trends inside a decidedly 19th-century aesthetic framework.

The result, he added, has been significant growth in not only wedding business, but in corporate bookings over the past couple of years — growth that has been enhanced by increasing corporate-meeting business across the industry over the past several years as the economy has improved.

“I believe companies are increasing the number of meetings and events they are hosting off-site, but are mindful of the overall cost of such events,” McKenna told BusinessWest. “Our staff works with the client to ensure meetings and events come within budget at the greatest value to the client.”

And it all starts with booking an event in a barn.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Pioneer Training Makes Clients’ Lives Easier

Sections Technology

Data Delivery

Pioneer Training President Don Lesser

Don Lesser wasn’t planning on a career in computers, but the field found him through a series of opportunities that arose during the 1980s. Those became the basis for Pioneer Training, which, for more than a quarter-century, has helped companies in myriad fields navigate the ever-changing world of technology and make their operations more efficient.

The computer field was an accidental career for many people back in the 1980s, Don Lesser says, because it was so new. He counts himself as one of those who stumbled into it, and he’s grateful he did.

In 1977, Lesser earned a master of fine arts degree in fiction writing. While in the MFA course, he learned word processing, which was a boon to novel writers, who would previously edit their work and then spend two weeks retyping it. An interest in computing soon followed.

In the 1980s, he started doing corporate training and technical writing as part of the Pioneer Valley PC User Group, which he chaired for several years. As part of the group, he started teaching classes on how to use DOS word processors and other equipment. That led him to Valley Data, then a large tech company in the region, which asked him to teach computer classes.

That led to even broader opportunities, which he recognized, creating the company known today as Pioneer Training.

“Other companies weren’t happy about sending people to Valley Data for training, so we broke off and became a separate company,” Lesser said. “Everyone needed training back in those days; it was new to everyone. People didn’t even know not to press ‘enter’ at the end of every line.”

“Throughout the ’80s,” he went on, “I was using word processing, but I also got interested in programming. I asked the fateful question, ‘how does this all work?’ The answer was ‘zeroes and ones.’ But I needed to know more than that.”

In 1990, Lesser forged a partnership with two others and started offering computer classes in the Hampshire Mall in Hadley. In 1995, with a need to expand, the business moved to a suite of offices on Bobala Road in Holyoke. During these years, the company grew to seven employees and 20 consultants, and the outfit was conducting 12 to 16 classes a week.

“Once you do training for somebody, they tend to trust you,” he said, and companies began approaching Pioneer for other services, including database programming and automation. In fact, those areas of the business began to grow until, around 2003, they were outpacing the training aspect of the company. “By 2006, training had really fallen off, and programming had taken off. So we followed the market.”

The company no longer needed the large classroom space in Holyoke, so in 2008, Lesser and a smaller, core group of team members moved to their current, smaller space in Northampton, where they still conduct classes in Microsoft Access, Excel, Google Apps, PowerPoint, Windows 10, Word, and other software — but focus mainly on other services to clients.

List of Computer Network/IT Services in Western Mass.

These days, training is 30% of the business, and the rest is programming, he explained. “To be honest, most public classes don’t run frequently. But we do private classes; for example, a law firm will call us and say, ‘we need some training,’ and either we’ll go down there and set up computers in their conference room, or they’ll send people here.”

Today, Lesser, as company president works with three others — Mannie White, director of training; Graham Ridley, consultant and director of programming; and Deb Napier, consultant and programmer — to meet the ever-changing computer needs of a loyal client base. Although training is still in the name, the company does much more than that.

Breaking It Down

Take programming, for instance. “A lot of programming consists of automating tasks for departments … turning a two-day process into a 20-minute process, most of which is watching the computer work,” Lesser told BusinessWest.

“We’re smaller now, so we don’t need a lot of companies to keep going,” he said. “New clients come in, we figure out what they need, provide it, and add them to the fold. Most of our new opportunities are smaller companies in this area. And a lot of small companies are quite behind what the MassMutuals are doing. We’re bringing them up to speed; that’s where our bread and butter is.”

Some need more help than others, he added — even if they don’t think so. “A couple of companies are still in Word Perfect, and they prefer not to leave Word Perfect, and we have to accommodate them.”

Many small and medium-size companies, he explained, start out by tracking company data on Excel spreadsheets. As they grow and their operations become more complex, working with a web of spreadsheets can become unwieldy and time-consuming. So Pioneer Training helps clients move to Microsoft Access, which is a more robust data-management tool that also saves employees time.

Other services Pioneer provides might include designing a database from scratch that meets a company’s current needs; automating complicated tasks so they can be performed by non-technical users; creating custom forms for inputting data; creating standardized, yet flexible, custom reports for the most effective data display; updating an existing database to meet a company’s changing needs; creating processes for regular data imports and exports; and consolidating data for better data mining.

Clients include companies from a wide range of industries. Pioneer’s database projects, for example, include developing a process-router database for a national metals testing and finishing company, which tracks and organizes processing steps required for complex metal-plating work; and work for a local transport firm to consolidate several processes that manage its day-to-day operations into one Access database.

Meanwhile, examples of Pioneer’s office-automation clients include a regional bank in Western Mass., for which it automated the creation and printing of a certified letter form for bank letters; developed a set of macros to automate printing of letters from the bank to customers; and created a set of 42 separate charts to track loan categories. Meanwhile, for an international bioscience and lab reporting firm, Pioneer developed an automated process to extract data from lab reports, create charts based on the extracted data, and insert charts and data into a Word template for use in court proceedings. It also simplified the company’s billing by analyzing data and producing a number of reports summarizing data in various categories.

The team at Pioneer Training, from left: Don Lesser, Deb Napier, Mannie White, and Graham Ridley.

As for its training arm, Pioneer maintains many repeat clients in a number of fields, from colleges to law firms to nonprofits. As one example, Western New England University wanted to offer staff the opportunity to upgrade their Word, Excel, and Outlook skills beyond the basics, so Lesser and his team designed a training program to meet the university’s goals, running a well-attended series of classes in all three applications.

On a national scale, Pioneer also developed online training courses for Pearson Education and reviewed the manuals for Microsoft Office 2000 and 2003, which involved testing every step in the book and flagging errors. “I feel like I’m one of four people in America who has written a formula for every function built into Excel,” Lesser said.

Lesser feels there’s more opportunity out there — “people still need training,” he said, “but fewer companies want to pay for it” — but the volume of work coming in keeps the four team members plenty busy, and he’s happy with the size of the business and the level of trust he has in White, Ridley, and Napier.

“We’ll tell you what works best for your company,” he said. “If people don’t feel like you’re holding them hostage, they’ll call when they need you, and they’ll be happy.”

Looking Back

Lately, Lesser has been producing training materials for Sanderson MacLeod, a brush manufacturer in Palmer.

“I started out doing corporate training, and now it’s coming full circle,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s technical, teaching someone how to use the machines to create the brushes. It’s not computers, not Microsoft Office-based, but they still need the training. I like to think of what I do as a spectrum, with pure training on one end and pure consulting on the other end, and I’m really happy to be anywhere along that line.”

Of the 50 people in that MFA program he took back in 1977, he said, maybe 20 are still writing fiction. Most of the others, like Lesser, wound up in far different fields, although he has continued to write, including a stint as a food columnist for the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

“That was the beauty of the computer industry in the ’80s. You didn’t set out to be a computer person,” he said. “I think a lot of artists — musicians, writers — fell into it. There was a lot of overlap. I’ve noticed that programming is a lot like writing. The output is different, but it comes from the same place inside me. I’ll see a problem and envision the solution fully developed. The work is getting the pieces down to make sure they work.”

When they do, that’s his personal reward.

“I think of it as moral work, in that we’re doing good for people, and we’re making their lives easier and better. I don’t want to put down any other occupation, but it’s not a matter of figuring out how to get money from someone who doesn’t want to give it to you; it’s a matter of figuring out how to solve somebody’s problem. It’s satisfying.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Amherst Charts Growth, Retains Small-town Feel

Community Spotlight Features

Community Spotlight

Sarah LaCour says the Business Improvement District and Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce have moved into a storefront to form the Amherst Visitor Information Center downtown.

When Jerry Guidera decided to join Barry Roberts, Dave Williams, and Kyle Wilson to create a new co-working space in Amherst, their objective was clear.

“We wanted to entice young entrepreneurs to stay in Amherst,” he said.

Roberts owned the historic First National Bank building in the heart of downtown on 11 Amity St. which the trio identified as an ideal spot, and after an extensive, four-month, $500,000 renovation that resulted in a state-of-the-art workspace with a kitchen, the doors opened late last fall.

It addition to areas with shared desks and tables, there are 10 individual offices, and seven were rented long before work on the structure was finished.

“What makes this unique is that it is a 1928 building with a gigabyte of wi-fi, which is 100 times faster than standard wi-fi service,” Guidera said.

People who want to use the co-working space become members on a month-to-month basis. They can opt for a flex space for $225 a month that allows them to sit anywhere, a dedicated desk for $425 a month, or an office space that starts at $600.

The trio of investors made it a point to involve local businesses in their venture: coffee from Amherst Coffee is brought to the site daily in large containers, the artwork on the walls comes from local artists, and the copy machines are leased from Amherst Copy. They also partnered with WorkBar, a co-working space in Boston with 15 locations, that members have access to when they are in different parts of the state.

The second-floor mezzanine area will also house a new venture when the Kayon Accelerator at AmherstWorks opens later this month.

It is run by Kayon Partners, a Boston- and New York City-based group that invests in seed- and early-growth-stage companies and provides them with services designed to help them progress rapidly into viable, venture-based businesses.

Benefits include accounting and corporate services, pitch practice, capital introductions, mentors who range from technologists to product specialists, sales executives, expert investors, customer-acquisition specialists, and more.

The accelerator will run two programs each year with entrepreneurs from UMass Amherst. Members of Kayon Partners include Steve Garrow, David Vogel, and Tim Mitrovich; Garrow is an Amherst College graduate who was a former entrepreneur in residence at the university.

“UMass has grown into an advanced graduate institution, and we hope the Kayon Accelerator will provide a landing spot for local entrepreneurs’ energy and enthusiasm,” Guidera said, noting that the next step will be to keep them in town when they finish the program.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman added that Amherst has become especially popular for tech companies because UMass generates many ideas that could be incubated.

“We are a magnet for the development of new businesses,” he said, adding that MassMutual opened a data lab in the fall of 2015 to attract the talent that is concentrated there.

For this first installment in the 2017 Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest looks at other new projects as well as measures Amherst is taking to fulfill the need for economic development while retaining the historical characteristics of the town that is home to more than 33,000 students when Hampshire College, UMass Amherst, and Amherst College are in session.

Growing Attractions

Last month, the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and Amherst Business Improvement District (BID) moved into a shared space on 35 South Pleasant St. that they turned into a Visitor Information Center.

“It’s really exciting, and our goals include welcoming parents of college students; we reach out to them through UMass, but they often stay on Route 9 or come through Belchertown, and although they are within a quarter-mile of downtown, they don’t know we are here or what we have to offer,” said Sarah LaCour, executive director of the BID. “The new information center gives us a face on the street, and we hope to have it open evenings and weekends.”

Bockelman is equally enthusiastic about the new center. “We haven’t had a central location for visitors to learn about our cultural attractions and restaurants for more than a decade,” said the Hampshire College graduate, adding that, last year, Amherst was designated a cultural district by the state due to attractions that include the Emily Dickinson Museum, Jones Library, the Town Common, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, and the Yiddish Book Museum at Hampshire College. Other attractions include the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, galleries at UMass, and the Amherst Cinema Arts Center, which is one of the few theaters in the region to offer first-run independent films.

“Over the past few years, our downtown has changed from being a retail area for college students into a place focused on culture and restaurants,” noted Economic Development Director Geoff Kravitz, who grew up in Amherst, explaining that Amazon has a new center on the UMass campus and most students shop online.

Geoff Kravitz and Paul Bockelman say the new AmherstWorks co-working space, which will also house Kayon Accelerator, will help attract and retain young professionals and entrepreneurs.

The town is also home to two buildings that have met the standards of the Living Building Challenge: the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, which offers a variety of programs and professional-development opportunities, and the R. W. Kern Center at Hampshire College, which serves as a living laboratory where students and the public study its systems and performance that are tied to measures for sustainability.

In addition, the town offers recreation in the form of 80 miles of hiking trails that include the K.C. Trail, the Robert Frost Trail, and the Norwottuck Rail Trail. Before he was named town manager last August, Bockelman said, he and his wife came to Amherst for a wedding, and arrived early with other guests to take advantage of the hiking.

“I can walk out my back door and get on a trail that goes throughout Western Mass. or walk 20 minutes and be at the cinema or dine at our many restaurants,” he told BusinessWest. “There aren’t many places in the world that have both types of offerings literally at your door.”

Kravitz noted that he has seen an increase in people who telecommute who have moved to the town due to these recreational and cultural offerings.

“Amherst has put a lot of effort into maintaining its hiking trails, and the number of people who live here or come just to use them is significant,” he said. “We still have the feel of a rural community due to the farmland and amount of open space that has been preserved, which many communities have lost to housing developments. But our town officials are very purposeful: they want to develop certain areas but create a balance and preserve the small-town feeling that exists here.”

Balanced Growth

Several new development projects throughout the town have been proposed or are underway.

Archipelago Investments LLC of Amherst is building a new, five-story structure at One East Pleasant St. that will have 7,500 square feet of commercial space on the first floor, and 135 apartments on the upper levels that will range from studios to one- and two-bedroom units.

The building that stood on the site and housed the former Amherst Carriage Shops has been demolished to make way for the new structure. But the mural that detailed the town’s history on the back of the Carriage Shops will be recreated, and Archipelago has contracted with artist David Fichter, who painted the original mural, to document and replicate it on the new structure.

“The new building is in our downtown and will allow for a lot more density,” Kravitz said, explaining that the project is in line with the town’s 2010 master plan that showed a need for additional housing and commercial space in the business district.

“We want new development to occur downtown, in the North Amherst Village Center, in South Amherst, and East Amherst so we can preserve our existing neighborhoods and open space,” he continued.

In addition to One East Pleasant St., the first office building to be permitted in 30 years will be built across the street at 236 Pleasant St.

“It will create 20,000 additional square feet of commercial space,” Kravitz said, explaining that two buildings were demolished and the land they were on was combined to make room for the project, which was delayed until recently as the Historical Commission had put it on hold for a year.

The new structure was designed by Kuhn Riddle Architects and is being built by developers Barry Roberts and J. Curtis Shumway on land where North Pleasant, East Pleasant, and Hallock streets merge, across from the southern tip of Kendrick Park.

A second mixed-use development called North Square in the Mill District has been proposed for the Mill District of North Amherst by W.D. Cowls Inc. and the Boston-based company Beacon Communities.

It will contain 22,000 square feet of commercial space that will be built to surround what will seem like a typical New England square and have 130 residential units on its upper floors, with 30 affordable units for people at 50% or below the median income in the area.

“Our housing studies have shown that there is a lack of affordable housing here, so it would certainly make a difference,” Kravitz said, adding that the plan is to build on a site that housed a former sawmill but hasn’t been used for a decade, and that structure will be demolished to make way for the new development.

He told BusinessWest that the town purposefully located all of its permitting boards on the second floor of Town Hall to make it easier for developers. He also explained that his position is fairly new; he was hired about a year ago as a full-time employee.

Amherst’s restaurant culture is also growing, and at least seven new eateries have opened over the past year, offering a wide variety of cuisine. They include Fratelli’s Restaurant, which opened last month; Balance Amherst, which offers food that can be consumed on site as well as delivery of up to a week’s worth of meals; Himalaya Friends Corner, which serves cuisine from Nepal, India, and Bhutan; Taste of Persia; Malek Shawarma Mediterranean Café; along with two new restaurants, Lili’s and Ichiban, that recently signed leases but hadn’t opened when BusinessWest went to press.

Bockelman said there are numerous other well-known places to eat and drink, such as Cushman’s Market in North Amherst, which is tucked alongside railroad tracks; the Moan and Dove in South Amherst, an iconic bar that was voted one of the best beer bars in the country; Mission Cantina, also in South Amherst. which serves Mexican food; and the Hangar Pub & Grill on University Drive, which was named one of the Best College Bars by BuzzFeed last October.

This summer, six new bike-share stations will be built and paid for by a federal grant from the Department of Transportation that was given to Amherst, Northampton, Springfield, Holyoke, and South Hadley. The stations will be located beside bus stops, and the first hour of use will be free.

Measured Progress

Officials are happy with the progress that is taking place. “Demand for development can create tension within a community when people want to preserve its historic nature, so we’ll be doing a balancing act as we move into the future. It’s a tension point to figure out where the line is, but the town works really hard to do that; our volunteer boards grapple with many difficult decisions,” Bockelman said.

So far, they have met with success: Amherst has continued to grow in a way that attracts developers and new businesses while maintaining its identity as a college town with a plethora of recreational and cultural opportunities.

Amherst at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1759
Population: 39,482 (2015)
Area: 27.8 square miles
County: Hampshire
Residential Tax Rate: $21.22
Commercial Tax Rate: $21.22
Median Household Income: $48,059
Median Family Income: $96,005
Type of Government: Select Board, Town Meeting
Largest Employers: UMass Amherst; Amherst College; Delivery Express; Hampshire College
* Latest information available

2016 Was Many Things, but Not Surreal

Opinion

Editorial

Surreal.

In case you missed it — and that would have been hard to do, although the news broke over the holidays — this was Merriam-Webster’s ‘word of the year.’

An intriguing honor, it is bestowed by the Springfield-based company on a word that is simply looked up significantly more frequently by users than the year before, as tracked by the reference-book publisher. “There were multiple occasions on which this word was the one clearly driving people to their dictionary,” said the company.

That’s definitely true: the word was put to use by the media and countless others in reference to everything from terrorist attacks and the scenes they generated to the deaths of icons like the musical artist Prince; from Britain’s exit from the European Union (a.k.a. Brexit), to the attempted coup in Turkey; from the sky-high murder rate in Chicago to that city’s Cubs winning the World Series (OK, that’s another story); from repeated shootings of minorities by police (and shootings of police in retaliation) to Donald Trump’s victory in the November election, alternatively described using the word ‘stunning.’

That term and ‘surreal’ are not technically synonyms, but most people believe they are, so they are used interchangeably. Actually, it seems that, since a lot of people were looking up ‘surreal,’ they must not have known what it means. Good for them. When in doubt, look it up.

Actually, Webster defines surreal as “marked by the intense, irrational reality of a dream,” whatever that means, and offers up synonyms such as ‘unbelievable,’ ‘fantastic,’ ‘bizarre,’ ‘weird,’ ‘odd,’ and even ‘unreal.’

While on some levels we can understand the popular use of ‘surreal,’ considering those synonyms, it was probably not the word that should have been chosen.

‘Upsetting,’ ‘distressing,’ and ‘horrible’ would apply to most, if not all, of the above-mentioned events, depending on your leaning, but they were not, or should not have been, unbelievable given what was happening here and around the world — or not happening, as the case may be.

In that respect, 2016 was quite a bit like another extremely turbulent year in national and world history. That would be 1968, of course.

Those unforgettable 12 months were rocked by, chronologically: North Korea’s capture of the USS Pueblo; the Tet Offensive, which turned the tide of the Vietnam War — at least in the minds of most Americans who watched it unfold on TV; the student strike at Columbia University, which mirrored protests on campuses and in cities around the globe; the assassination of Martin Luther King; the assassination of Bobby Kennedy; two black U.S. athletes raising their fists in protest during the playing of the National Anthem at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City; the riotous Democratic National Convention in Chicago; and the election of Richard Nixon, who, sounding quite a bit like the man voted into office last November, would coin the phrase ‘silent majority’ to describe those who supported his policies, including a decision in late 1969 not to seek a quick end to the war.

The similarities are, well, surreal. Only they’re not.

And it’s safe to say that ‘surreal’ was probably looked up quite a number of times in 1968, and was probably used interchangeably with ‘unreal,’ which was coming into its own by that time.

Only everything that was happening was very real, and reflective of a time of deep divides, personal suffering, and a strong desire for real change. Sound familiar?

As 2017 begins, we can only hope that people won’t be using ‘surreal’ as much, not because they actually understand what it means, but because there won’t be cause to.

Actually, what we hope for is a return to a time when the many things that happened over the course of an utterly forgettable 2016 could truly be called ‘unbelievable.’

Women’s Fund Leaders Attend White House Forum

Sections Women in Businesss

Opening Doors

Elizabeth Barajas-Román visits the White House during her recent foray to D.C. for a forum on cultivating economic opportunities for women of color.

Expanding opportunities for women is not just a regional issue.

As an example, Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román and Program Officer Ellen Moorhouse recently joined stakeholders from the academic, private, government, and philanthropic sectors at the White House for a forum hosted by senior administration officials.

The forum, “Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color: Continuing Progress and Building Toward Change,” focused on developing strategies that break down barriers to success and create more opportunity for all Americans, including women and girls of color.

“This forum focused on women of color and how to be successful economically, education-wise, and in their daily lives,” Barajas-Román said. “The Women’s Fund has been working closely with the White House Council on Women and Girls in regard to our work here in the region with young women of color.”

She explained that the Women’s Fund has focused on economic security and prosperity for women of color, and the White House Council has been a strong resource for gathering data and unveiling some of the trends at play on a region-by-region level.

“We’ve been able to take a deeper look at our region, and one of the trends that stands out is how many young people are leaving the region right after high school; they’re going away to college and not returning — so much that the Census indicates Springfield and Holyoke have a statistical shortage of young people,” she told BusinessWest. “We know this means these people are not buying homes, not investing in the community. So much happens when we lose these people right when they’re starting to make a life for themselves.”

As part of the forum, Barajas-Román took part in a roundtable discussion with several national figures, including Tina Tchen, assistant to President Obama, chief of staff to First Lady Michelle Obama, and executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls; Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Obama, who oversees the White House offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and chairs the White House Council on Women and Girls; and Melissa Harris-Perry, editor-at-large for Elle magazine.

As one of about 20 women’s foundation leaders from across the U.S. who participated, she was able to talk about how organizations like the Women’s Fund are trying to make Springfield a model for raising the economic status of young women.

“It was a tremendous opportunity to be invited among organizations from New York City, California, these large areas — and interesting to hear their feedback,” Barajas-Román said. “Springfield really does look like the rest of the country, and they’re watching to see if we’re successful and it’s a model that can be taken to other areas that look like us. There were national funders in the room, national organizations that work with young people. It was a great opportunity to talk about all the ways Springfield is innovating, and we were hoping to not only bring back some additional ideas and partners, but to attract more attention to what’s happening here.”

The forum built on Obama’s efforts on behalf of women and girls, like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, expanding fair pay and paid-leave protections, and convening the first-ever White House summit focused on building workplaces that support working families and business.

The White House Council on Women and Girls has identified five data-driven issue areas where interventions can promote opportunities for success at school, at work, and in the community. Continuing research in these areas and exploration of new efforts can help advance equality for women and girls of color.

Under Obama’s leadership, the Council on Women and Girls has worked to ensure government policies appropriately consider these kinds of challenges and persistent opportunity gaps faced by many disadvantaged, marginalized, or underrepresented girls. The council also aims to inspire the private sector to do the same, to ensure that everyone who aspires to get ahead has a chance to succeed.

“By representing Western Massachusetts at the White House, we can ensure that our collective voice is heard on important policy matters,” Moorhouse said. “Only by having a seat at the table can we work to safeguard the progress we’ve made, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for future policy and social change.”

—Joseph Bednar

Continuing a Legacy of Entrepreneurship

Opinion

Editorial

Milton Bradley. Horace Smith. Daniel Wesson. Curtis and Prestley Blake. Paul and Gerry D’Amour. Everett Barney. Theodor Geisel. Paul Kozub?

OK, maybe it’s too soon to place the founder of V-One Vodka in the same paragraph as the founders of Friendly Ice Cream, Dr. Seuss, the inventor of the clip-on ice skate, iconic gunmakers, and some of the other entrepreneurs who have shaped the local landscape.

But, then again, maybe not. While Kozub doesn’t have anything from his company on display at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History (the unofficial litmus test for being one of the region’s truly historic entrepreneurs), he shares many traits with those (and that’s everyone else listed above) who do.

These include a thirst for risk taking, a fervent imagination, a large dose of determination, and a willingness to confront — and tackle — the innumerable and constant challenges standing in the way of a successful business.

For these reasons, Kozub has been named BusinessWest’s Top Entrepreneur for 2016 (see story, page 20). Those others mentioned above came decades, if not a century and a half, before the award was established in 1996 (the D’Amours started Big Y too early to be recognized, but successive generations were honored just last year for their efforts to grow and diversify the corporation), but Kozub is in the right place at the right time.

Not to simply win our award, but to capitalize on the growing popularity of what he called ‘craft vodkas,’ a phrase that certainly sums up V-One.

The Top Entrepreneur award honors those who possess entrepreneurial spirit, but, more specifically, those who have been able to harness it effectively and fashion a success story.

V-One is already what most people would consider a success — a brand that is now available in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and, yes, some airports in Europe, and hundreds of specific locations, generating a few million dollars in sales annually.

But Kozub wants to make it more of a success, naturally, by taking the brand national, a move that will require capital, patience, determination, and above all else, a solid battle plan and the tools necessary to carry it out.

For putting that plan together, and for leaving no stone unturned, as he put it, in preparation for this national launch, Kozub has been recognized as the Top Entrepreneur for 2016.

He’s in good company, as the chart on page 28 reveals. Indeed, in addition to the D’Amour family, previous winners include Peter Rosskothen, who co-founded the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House; Jeb Balise, president of Balise Motor Sales; Timm Van Epps, president and CEO of Sandri LLC; Holyoke Gas & Electric; Bob Bolduc, founder and CEO of Pride; former STCC President Andrew Scibelli; and many others.

And we hope Kozub creates more company for the years to come.

Indeed, as we’ve said on many occasions, there are many effective economic-development strategies for this region, and one of them is to encourage entrepreneurship and mentor those who choose that route.

While most think of economic development as filling industrial parks and attracting large employers such as CRRC and MGM, this is only one component of a larger strategy, and a small one, given the immense competition for such major employers today and the geographic disadvantages hindering this region.

Spurring entrepreneurship and mentoring small-business owners is a strategy that requires considerable time and patience; there is no instant gratification here. But it often yields lasting results, and it can put a region — as in the cases of Silicon Valley and the city of Cambridge — on the map.

Encouraging more would-be entrepreneurs to join Smith, Wesson, Bradley, Geisel, Barney, and, yes, Kozub is one of the reasons we launched the Top Entrepreneur award 20 years ago.

The larger reason was to recognize those who are taking risks, building companies, and creating jobs. And we look forward to adding more names to an already-impressive list of winners.

Nominations Sought for the 40 Under Forty Class of 2017

40 Under 40 Nomination Form

The Search Is On

It was a decade ago — if not to the day, then pretty darn close — when the leaders at BusinessWest conceptualized a new recognition program.

It would be called 40 Under Forty, and while that name — and the program itself — were not exactly new from a national perspective, they were to the Western Mass. region. And what’s happened in the 10 years since BusinessWest issued its first call for nominations of rising stars across the four counties of Western Mass. has, in a huge bit of understatement, exceeded all expectations — in many ways.

“I think we knew we had a great idea — to recognize young leaders who were standing out in their field, and in the community,” said Kate Campiti, BusinessWest’s associate publisher. “But I don’t think we knew just how big this would become.”

Big, as in a now-coveted award which has come to symbolize both accomplishment and leadership. Big, as in a brand which has adorned everything from plaques to beer mugs. Big, as in the party. Staged each June, the gala at which the class in question is introduced and given its moment in the spotlight has become a quickly sold-out, yet not-to-be-missed event.

Members of the class of 2016 pose for their group shot at the gala last June at the Log Cabin. Readers can help decide who will be in the shot five months from now.

And this year, well, it will get even bigger — at least in terms of the number of people who have a 40 Under Forty plaque on their desk and their photo and profile in a frame on their wall. There are 400 such individuals, and come the fourth Thursday in June (the 22nd), there will be 440.

That’s where you come in.

Indeed, while nominations are accepted all year, this is an official call for help in determining the composition of the class of 2017.

Nominations, which can be submitted HERE, will be accepted until Feb. 17. Those nominations will then be turned over to a panel of judges (to be introduced in an upcoming issue of BusinessWest), who will score them.

When nominating an individual, keep a few things in mind. First, said individual must be under age 40 as of April 1, 2017, and he or she must live or work within the four western counties of Massachusetts.

After that, actually, there really aren’t any rules, just some good advice, and that is to take the nomination process very seriously.

That’s because, in most cases, this information is what the judges will have at their disposal as they go about scoring the nominees — and there have been roughly 150 of them for each of the past several years. (If you’re wondering if someone is already a 40 Under Forty winner, please check the lists of previous winners HERE)

The goal, said Campiti, is make your candidate stand out and definitively answer the question, ‘why is this person worthy of being a part of this year’s class of 40 Under Forty winners?’

“Nominations need to be thorough in every respect,” she explained. “They need to list someone’s accomplishments and detail their work in their profession and within the community. But they also need to explain why the individual in question can be considered a leader.”

As noted earlier, the gala for the class of 2017 will be held on June 22 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House. Tickets for the event will go on sale soon after the winners have been notified in early March. The gala has been sold out — quickly — in each of the previous several years.

Fast Facts:

What: A call for nominations for the 40 Under Forty class of 2107

The Deadline: Feb. 17 (no exceptions)

How do I Nominate Someone?: Go HERE

When’s the Gala?: June 22 at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke

Dennis Duquette Rejoins MassMutual in Corporate Responsibility Role

Features

Making a Solid Return

Dennis Duquette left MassMutual nearly 30 years ago for what would become a variety of roles at Fidelity Investments in Boston, most all of them in the realms of community relations and corporate responsibility. He says he’s passionate about such work — passionate enough to quickly put aside any thought of retirement last year and agree to lead the team handling those assignments at MassMutual.

When Dennis Duquette returned to his hometown of Springfield last May after a nearly 30-year stint with Fidelity Investments in Boston, he was, at age 57, retired. Sort of.

He was retired from Fidelity, at least, and determined to “recharge a bit,” as he put it. The plan was to take the summer off, rest, travel around the region, and reconnect with some people here, and he did all of the above, while also trying to determine just how well retirement was sitting with him.

As it turned out, it wasn’t sitting well at all.

“Toward the end of the summer, I started thinking, ‘I have to start doing something; I have to start thinking about going back to work,” he told BusinessWest. “I figured out that I was too young to retire … I wasn’t there yet.”

With that question answered, there was now another one facing him. It didn’t concern where he would return to the world of work (he was back in Springfield, and he was going to stay here), but in what capacity; his first thoughts tended toward project work and consulting.

Instead, something much different came into his field of vision.

To make a fairly long story short, there were a few conversations with some colleagues in the financial-services industry that eventually led Duquette to interview for and then accept the position of director of Corporate Responsibility at MassMutual and president of the recently established MassMutual Foundation, succeeding Nick Fyntrilakis, who held that post for several years.

And in every respect, this was a logical move and proverbial perfect match — for both Duquette and the company. That’s because he’s certainly not a stranger to Springfield, the company, or the many duties involved with corporate responsibility.

Indeed, he started his career in financial services at MassMutual’s State Street headquarters in 1981 as a compensation analyst, eventually moving on to community relations specialist and associate director of Group L&H (life and health) Marketing during a stay that lasted more than eight years. And at Fidelity, he would hold a number of titles related to marketing, community relations, and related work, including his last one, vice president of Corporate Sponsorships, a role we’ll hear more about later.

In an interview soon after arriving back on State Street just before Christmas — his order of business cards had been placed, but they had yet to arrive — Duquette told BusinessWest that the phrase (and title) ‘corporate responsibility’ is somewhat new, but the concept certainly isn’t.

Dennis Duquette says the paradigm regarding corporate social responsibility has changed, and MassMutual is on the cutting edge of current trends.

He said major corporations like MassMutual, which employs roughly 7,000 people in Springfield — and even much smaller companies, for that matter — have always had a responsibility to serve the ‘community’ they call home, however that term is defined. In MassMutual’s case, such work within the community dates back to its earliest years in the 1850s.

However, he went on, what has changed, in some respects, is the manner in which these responsibilities are met.

“The model 30 or 40 years ago was … you write a check, and you get your name in support of something; that paradigm has changed, and I think for the better,” he explained, adding quickly that MassMutual does still write some checks. But in most all cases, money is accompanied by programming and direct involvement with the cause or program in question, usually in collaboration with other groups and agencies.

And the initiatives undertaken are part of a broad strategy to improve quality of life within the community, build financial security for families, and create opportunities for people of all ages, but especially young people, he said.

There are myriad examples of this, he said, before citing a few to get his points across, including MassMutual’s involvement with Valley Venture Mentors and the project to create an innovation center in downtown Springfield; the MassMutual Foundation’s awarding of $15 million to UMass Amherst over 10 years to further strengthen its world-class data-science and cybersecurity research and education programs; and the foundation’s launch just last October of free digital financial-education curriculum — part of its FutureSmart program — for middle-school students nationwide.

There are many other examples, he went on, all of which reflect a broad strategy with stated goals and clear objectives for meeting them.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Duquette about his decision to unretire, but especially about his new role — in which he serves as the unofficial face of MassMutual within the community — and the many ways MassMutual’s corporate responsibility is manifesting itself, in Western Mass. and beyond.

At Home with the Idea

While Duquette left Springfield and MassMutual in 1989 for Fidelity and the Boston area, he didn’t exactly leave his hometown completely behind him.

He still had family and friends in this area, and stayed in touch as best he could. “I read MassLive a lot,” he said with a laugh, adding that various media outlets (including BusinessWest) and contact with acquaintances kept him abreast of everything from the 2011 tornado and its aftermath — he’s a Cathedral graduate and donated money to the rebuilding of that school, which was destroyed by the twister — to the difficult financial times that visited the city over the past few decades, to some of the many recent forms of progress, including the arrival of MGM.

Taking stock of the city and what’s happening within it — something he’s been doing all along, but especially since returning home eight months ago — he said there are many signs that the city is truly on the right track.

“I drive around Springfield, and I walk around Springfield, and I see potential,” he explained. “I know the city has fallen on tough times in the past and has worked to dig itself out. There was a natural disaster that blew through the town, literally, but I think the mayor has done an outstanding job of leading the city back, obviously with the help of a lot of people.

“When you consider this city’s history, its location, the resources that it has — material and intellectual — there is a lot of potential here,” he went on. “It’s really just a matter of having the right leadership and vision, and I believe the mayor, the City Council, and city officials are super diligent about that. And I think we have a governor and lieutenant governor now who are very focused on helping the gateway cities, and Springfield is one of them. Overall, I’m very hopeful.”

Dennis Duquette says involvement in entrepreneurship initiatives, such as the innovation center on Bridge Street now under construction, fit into MassMutual’s broad CSR strategy.

He acknowledged that Springfield, and Western Mass. as a whole, haven’t seen anything approaching the explosive growth that Boston and the areas surrounding it did over the past few decades, but told BusinessWest that efforts to compare and contrast the two regions are neither warranted nor particularly fruitful.

“I don’t think Springfield has to be like Boston to be a successful city,” he explained. “There are some great things that Springfield can do that are unique to Springfield that don’t necessarily have to replicate Boston.”

With that, he acknowledged that he will now have a much better view of what’s happening across Greater Springfield and, through the many aspects of his new role, will be taking a direct role in helping to see that the region’s potential is realized.

And, as noted, he brings a good deal of experience to that role.

Indeed, at Fidelity he led a number of initiatives involving corporate sponsorships, education, employee volunteerism, and employee giving.

As one example, he cited development of a digital financial-literacy game in cooperation with New York-based Dopamine Inc. for middle- and high-school students, an initiative launched in support of Fidelity’s broader financial-literacy programs, in partnership with FidelityCares, the firm’s community-relations apparatus.

Another example is The Alzheimer’s Project. That was the name attached to a HBO series on the crippling disease, for which Fidelity Investments took a key sponsorship role.

In many respects, Duquette explained, Fidelity’s broad corporate-responsibility strategy, if you will, mirrors MassMutual’s in that many initiatives focus on young people, education, financial literacy, and overall quality of life.

And these initiatives involve partnerships, not simply check writing, he went on, adding that this same philosophy reigns at MassMutual, which has a 165-year history of giving back to the community and status as Springfield’s largest corporate citizen.

“MassMutual is an important community partner in Greater Springfield, not only by virtue of its size, but also by virtue of its legacy,” he explained. “I don’t see that changing, but what will change, potentially, is the way we do our partnerships; we have a great opportunity to continue our partnerships and build new ones, and I’m very excited about that.”

Paying Dividends

As he noted earlier, Duquette, upon deciding to ‘unretire,’ approached a number of people to solicit possible leads on landing spots, again, with the thought that consulting or project work were the most likely contenders for what would come next.

One of those people was Jennifer Halloran, MassMutual’s head of Brand and Advertising — only Duquette needed to be told this was what it said on her business card. He had worked with her at Fidelity for years, but was unaware that she had come to MassMutual. It was Halloran who alerted him to an opening at the company at the top of its Corporate Responsibility team.

Duquette was somewhat surprised by this news — he had recently been a spectator for the groundbreaking, or “wall-smashing,” as he called it, for the innovation center on Bridge Street and heard Fyntrilakis speak on behalf of MassMutual, a partner in the project. But he was also quite intrigued, because such work had come to define his career in recent years.

“I got really excited about this role,” he explained. “And I got excited for a few reasons. For starters, this is something I’m passionate about. I think the role of corporations in this country and around the world is changing — the impact corporations can have on the communities in which they’re based, and society in general, is immense.

“Secondly, and I think more importantly, my view had always been that MassMutual was really exemplary in this space,” he went on. “I say that as someone who left MassMutual in 1989, never thinking or intending that I would be back here, but over the years, I was taking note of things that MassMutual was doing when it came to corporate responsibility.”

Elaborating, he would summon the words ‘bold’ and ‘innovative’ to describe some of those initiatives, adding that, as he watched them unfold while working for a competitor, he would nod his head in approval.

“For me, as someone who cares about this work, to come into an environment that really supports it and champions it — and that goes right to the top of the house — this was a no-brainer for me to pursue this opportunity,” he said, adding that, just a few weeks in, he’s “pumped.”

He’s spent those few weeks doing more of that connecting he described earlier — he’s met with the leadership team at the Community Foundation of Western Mass., for example — but also on the road. Indeed, he spent his second week on the job in Phoenix, where the corporation also has a huge presence, becoming acquainted with various initiatives taking place there and on a national level.

There will be much more of all that in the months and years to come, he said, adding that creation of the MassMutual Foundation in 2015 is an important development when it comes to the shape and scope of corporate-responsibility initiatives at the company.

“It gives us guardrails and parameters through which we can do our corporate giving,” he said of the foundation, “and it also gives us a platform from which we can launch ideas and partnerships — that I think are deeper and smarter — with some of our critical nonprofit partners.”

Elaborating, he said the foundation provides a vehicle with which the corporation can work with a host of partners — locally, in other communities where it has a presence, and in markets important to the business — to “amplify the things we care about.”

With that, he returned to the FutureSmart program as one solid example. To make it happen, MassMutual partners with education-technology leader EverFi, which is building a network of relationships with school districts around the country to introduce financial-literacy curriculum.

“We work with them as a partner to get us into some of the markets we’re interested in, and build those local programs,” he said, adding that the broad goal is to reach 2 million students by 2020.

There are many other examples, he went on, adding that, to slice through his multi-faceted job description, the primary goal is to create more of these partnerships and continue to develop new and fruitful ways to invest in the community — literally and figuratively.

The work with VVM and other economic-development-related groups to encourage entrepreneurship and fund startup companies certainly falls into that category, he said. The various initiatives are in some ways unique for a financial-services company, he noted, but overall, such efforts dovetail with the major goals of the company’s broad corporate-responsibility strategy.

“If you look at that strategy, it’s all about securing and enabling economic security for families,” he explained. “We help people secure their futures through financial means, so as a community partner, we’re about getting in and supporting initiatives, ideas, and programs that will help build and sustain economic viability for communities that we care about.”

Elaborating, he said that, by providing various types of support to startups and the groups that mentor them — everything from capital for startups to technical support in an investment that totals $5 million — MassMutual is investing not only in those ventures, but in Greater Springfield itself.

“I’ve had prior experience with an incubator in Boston with MassChallenge,” he said, referring to the entity that describes itself as ‘the most startup-friendly incubator on the planet.’ “And I was excited to see that there was a vibrant incubator/entrepreneur community that was bubbling up here in Springfield.

“When you think of this particular region, where we’re located, the access to higher education in the Pioneer Valley and the surrounding areas, it’s a logical place,” he went on. “And it’s also a great place for people to come, young people in particular, and kick the tires on some new ideas and try their wares.”

Investments in the Community

Talk of the partnership with VVM brings Duquette back to his comments about how corporate social responsibility, or CSR, as it’s called, now goes well beyond simply writing checks.

“My approach to CSR is this — if we’re going to be working together and providing financial support to a nonprofit, that’s great, but I also want to understand what that group’s objectives are as a nonprofit,” he explained. “And then say, ‘here are my objectives as a representative of MassMutual. Let’s talk about how we can work together to build something that goes beyond the money. Let’s build something that’s really meaningful.’”

Working toward such ends is something Duquette is passionate about, and something that certainly propelled him out of retirement.

You might say he’s at home with his latest, and perhaps last, career stop — in every sense of that phrase.

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

WBOA Offers Support, Help, and Inspiration

Sections Women in Businesss

Invaluable Connections

Members of the Women Business Owners Alliance of Pioneer Valley say the organization has proven beneficial on many levels, offering inspiration and knowledge from other women’s experiences in a supportive and non-competitive atmosphere. There’s a comfort level in the WBOA many say they haven’t found elsewhere, and it’s helping them gain the confidence and connections to succeed at business and in life.

The organization’s tagline is “It’s Your Business; Don’t Grow it Alone,” and that axiom and related support made a significant difference to Amy Woolf of Amy Woolf Color Consulting in Northampton when she relocated to Western Mass. from Florida in 2009.

“I was a stay-at-home mom, and being in a business-oriented environment has helped me perceive myself as a professional,” she said, noting that many companies start at women’s kitchen tables, and connecting with a warm and welcoming group of professionals can help them establish a business persona.

Woolf was talking about the Women Business Owners Alliance of Pioneer Valley (WBOA), and stressed that there was nothing like it in the Sunshine State.

She went on to say the group has provided her with invaluable benefits that include support, inspiration, connections, and knowledge gleaned from other women’s experiences.

“When you work as a solo entrepreneur, you are often very isolated. But belonging to this group is like having several dozen mentors,” she explained. “You develop relationships over time: everyone has a different area of expertise, so you have people you can call when you need to figure out how to handle different situations.”

Dee Emery-Ferraro, the WBOA’s current president, agreed, and called the organization a real sisterhood.

Indeed, the group is different than many other business and professional organizations that focus almost entirely on networking and generating new business, she said.

To begin with, this group completely avoids the word ‘networking,’ and concentrates instead on providing a warm, supportive atmosphere that fosters what they refer to as ‘connections’ that allow and encourage women to share information about their business as well as their personal lives. As a result, most members get to know each other in a way that has little to do with their professional goals, although that certainly isn’t ignored.

“In addition to being business professionals, we are homemakers, wives, mothers, sisters, and aunts,” said Emery-Ferrero. “What we do professionally is only one facet of our lives.”

Beverly Astley agrees, and says the camaraderie in the group inspires women to help their peers succeed. She attended chamber of commerce meetings before she was introduced to WBOA, but found they didn’t offer what she was seeking.

However, WBOA filled that gap and has provided her with the type of support she had hoped to find in a group.

“Women think very differently than men; when you have conversations with members of WBOA, they want to get to know you as a person, not just find out about your business,” she said, adding that the group is very nurturing; women share photos of their family and talk about their children, grandchildren, home-improvement projects, and other issues affecting their lives.

Which is not to say they don’t discuss business. Indeed, those conversations definitely take place, and a combination of programs, sage advice, and even technical assistance has allowed many women to grow their companies and become successful.

Members interviewed by BusinessWest noted that competitiveness does not exist within the group, even between women who offer similar services or products.

Amy Woolf says membership in WBOA has provided her with a number of benefits, including support, inspiration, and connections.

“It’s a great first stop for anyone contemplating a business, but it’s not just for women starting out,” said Woolf. “Over the years, WBOA begins to feel like a family, and today my closest friends are women I met in the group.”

When she leaves a meeting, she noted, she always goes home with a kernel of wisdom or an actionable item — a great idea that is easy to implement. A conference can be overwhelming, but meetings allow women to make changes and “put wisdom to work” in a manageable, sustainable way, she told BusinessWest.

“The group has been very, very meaningful to me and very helpful. I don’t know that my business would be what it is today without WBOA,” she said.

Debra Sorcinelli concurred. “A lot of our members are sole entrepreneurs and want to do business on their own terms. But it brings you up a notch to be around other professionals,” said the serial entrepreneur, reiterating the fact that many women have families and other important priorities, and it doesn’t matter to members whether someone is working part-time or full-time.

For this issue and its focus on women in business, we look at the programs WBOA offers and how they have helped women grow as professionals and entrepreneurs.

Meetings of the Minds

WBOA has 110 members ranging from women employed by companies of all sizes, to solo entrepreneurs, small-business owners who employ others, and females who work only part-time. As long as a woman is working in any capacity, she is eligible to join the group.

Membership dues are $95 annually, although the first meeting is free. Meanwhile, those we spoke with said the group is open to adding males to their roster, although so far none have expressed interest in the nonprofit, founded in 1982 by Renate Oliver.

Its initial purpose was to provide women with business referrals, but today it has evolved into what its members call a true sisterhood. Connections are made formally and informally, and many members use services and products offered by their peers.

The group’s main fund-raiser is its annual Women’s Night of Comedy, which features three professional female comedians. The event typically raises $5,000 to $10,000, and the majority of the profits are donated to charities that change from year to year. The next comedy event will be staged March 23 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, and chosen charities include the SMART Girls program at the Westfield Boys and Girls Club and Safe Passage, a nonprofit dedicated to helping survivors of domestic violence and relationship abuse.

WBOA also holds monthly breakfast events on the third Thursday of the month at the Summit View Restaurant in Holyoke featuring guest speakers, as well as After-5 gatherings scheduled bimonthly on the first Tuesday of the month at the Delaney House.

Guests are invited to most events, and great care is taken to ensure they feel welcome and comfortable. A greeter is stationed at the door, and potential members are given the option of being assigned an ambassador who sits with them, answers questions, and follows up with a call to make sure they felt comfortable and welcomed.

During events, WBOA members participate in power connections, a program that gives them a 15-second opportunity to speak about their business. Shout-outs are also held, during which members praise a service or product from a peer that has helped them.

In addition, every June the organization has a Woman of the Year Celebration in which a member chosen by a committee is recognized for her contributions to WBOA as well as her community.

Over the past 18 months, the WBOA has started two new initiatives. The first is a mentor-mentee collaboration with Springfield Technical College Community created with help from STCC Associate Business Professor Diane Sabato and WBOA chairperson Lori Fortuna.

Business students from STCC are matched with members twice a year and take part in a six-week program that includes guest speakers, seminars, and information on topics ranging from self-esteem to job interviews. At the final meeting, mentees are given outfits donated by WBOA member Linda Ligsukis, who owns Designer Consigner in Southwick. Seventeen graduates were recently honored at a monthly breakfast meeting and received a certificate of achievement, gift bag, and flowers donated by member Jackie Griswold.

The second new program focuses on education and was coordinated by Debra Sorcinelli and Anita Eliason, co-chairs of the education committee. They launched the program with classes on how to use Facebook and social media to promote a business, and additional programs are being planned for the coming year.

Valuable Gains

Sorcinelli went into business in 1982 under the moniker It’s A Girl’s Thing. The Agawam entrepreneur began selling handcrafted silver jewelry, then switched to fashion jewelry, before she joined WBOA four years ago.

The timing was perfect; her jewelry business was successful, but she wanted to make a change and needed inspiration, which she found in the group.

“I have gone to other groups that are all about networking, where everyone wants to sell you something; but WBOA isn’t like that,” she said.

Sorcinelli became a member of the board of directors soon after she joined, and last year she closed her jewelry business and launched a new venture called Social Sorc. Today, she specializes in teaching individuals and small-business owners how to use Facebook and social media, and although WBOA has not added to her customer base, it has put her in touch with women who have business skills she wanted to learn.

“I have heard wonderful stories that were really inspiring, and the group allowed me to meet women who were more than willing to share their business secrets and contacts,” she noted. “We have all grown together.”

Sorcinelli also initiated change, and with help from co-chairs Kim Chagnon and Eileen Jerome, the After-5 events were born.

She told Business West that members have opportunities to speak about their businesses at these gatherings, which is ideal, as many have not done this in public, and the group is always supportive.

Sorcinelli has continued to be active in WBOA, and in 2015 she was feted with its Spirit Award at the annual Business Woman of the Year Celebration, in part for her work in helping women build connections with each other.

She says the old axiom that states “the people you surround yourself with determine your success” has been proven true with this group. Other women have supported her, and she has shared her own knowledge, which has included collaborating with members who wanted to use social media to promote their events.

Woolf told BusinessWest she was intimidated by social media before she joined WBOA, especially since it was a new marketing platform when she first heard about it. But after a member shared her own experiences with LinkedIn, Woolf gained the confidence to go home and set up a profile on the site.

“I have received a lot of free advice,” she said.

But she has also given back during annual roundtable events in which members give 10-minute presentations in their field of expertise.

Astley has also found WBOA highly beneficial. The sole proprietor does voiceovers via her business, Beverly Ann’s Voice, spends many hours alone in her studio, and finds the meetings inspirational both personally and professionally.

“You feel comfortable talking about personal things while you discuss your business in this group,” Astley said. “WBOA hasn’t enhanced my business directly, but it has given me a lot more confidence.”

Worthwhile Endeavor

Astley says every female entrepreneur should attend at least one WBOA meeting. “It’s a really good place to land,” she said.

Woolf agrees and says membership has provided her with priceless benefits.

“It’s an extraordinary organization, and my business has gone gangbusters. I am experiencing steady growth and wrapping up the best year I ever had, and WBOA has been a big part of that,” she said.

That’s a testimonial — one you hear often — that speaks highly of this group that caters to female professionals and provides them with a level of comfort they have not been able to find anywhere else.

Building Permits

Building Permits Departments

The following business permits were issued during the month of December 2016.

Chicopee

East Elm Corp.
551 East St.
$6,500 — Replace broken glass, doors, block, brick due to car damage

St. Stanislaw Society
21 Chestnut St.
$31,000 — Remodel bathrooms

East Longmeadow

Lenox American Saw
301 Chestnut St.
$1,116,871 — Solar

Reminder Publications
280 North Main St.
$39,600 — Carport with solar array

Greenfield

278-302 Main St. LLC
278 Main St.
$11,250 — Roofing

Sander Greenfield LLC
367 Federal St.
$35,000 — Construct two new accessible bathrooms, doors, and windows

Hadley

GNC
344 Russell St.
$83,000 — Interior ‘vanilla box’ construction to prepare for GNC fit-out

Town of Hadley
15 East St.
$237,894 — Roof replacement at public-safety complex

Ludlow

ALM Group
109-121 State St.
$11,500 — Roofing

Black Diamond Development
485 Holyoke St.
$39,000 — Commercial alterations

Edgar Minnie
4-8 White St.
$40,000 — Commercial alterations

Northampton

St. Mary’s Church
3 Elm St.
$10,246 — Chimney repair

Thornes Marketplace LLC
150 Main St.
$5,215 — Soundproof walls, build wood ceiling

Palmer

Baystate Wing Hospital
40 Wright St.
$5,000 — Demolish stairs and gazebo

Springfield

ARCP MT Springfield MA LLC
800 Boston Road
$503,568 — Alter retail tenant space for 5 Star Supermarket

Basser-Kaufman
510 Parker St.
$575,000 — Alter tenant space for Planet Fitness

City of Springfield
60 Alton St.
$963,321 — Walls, roofing, and HVAC for STEM Middle Academy

City of Springfield
90 Berkshire St.
$1,105,221 — Window and exterior door replacement, install ADA-accessible ramp and walkway, make bathroom unisex and ADA-compliant at Springfield Public Day High School

Dwight Station LLP
95 Frank B. Murray St.
$350,000 — Alter tenant space for Sunrise Behavioral Health Center

Augusto Garcia
624 Boston Road
$200,000 — Create accessible bathroom and new walk-in cooler at Domino’s Pizza

Mercy Medical Center
299 Carew St.
$651,101 — Interior renovations for a medical office

Orange Park Management LLC
13 Oak St.
$12,500 — Construction of foundation for proposed additions

Polman Realty LLC
2001 Roosevelt Ave.
$304,670 — Alter space for phase 3 at Baystate Charter School

Ware

Country Bank
15 South St.
$152,000 — Phase 2 of renovation project

Wilbraham

Wilbraham & Monson Academy
423-451 Main St.
$1,500 — Renovate storage area to laundry room and bathroom

Amy Zander
2424 Boston Road
$739,598 — Construct new veterinary hospital

Amy Zander
2424 Boston Road
$5,000 — Demolish and remove existing structure

AIC Professor Jill McCarthy Payne Receives Statewide Appointment

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) Professor of Criminal Justice Jill McCarthy Payne has been appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker to a two-year term on the Gaming Policy Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

The committee advises the Gaming Commission on matters including annual resource agenda, public safety, addiction as it relates to gambling, mitigation, and other issues. Along with Payne, committee members include two senators, two legislators, representatives from public health and labor, and Gaming Commission Chair Stephen Crosby.

Payne, who resides in Springfield and represents Region B as a Springfield member, was selected by Baker because of her previous involvement with the casino project in Springfield. Appointed by Mayor Domenic Sarno, Payne served on his five-member committee that helped select MGM as the casino of choice for Springfield. In addition, and prior to her recent appointment by the governor, Payne was tapped to be a member and chair of the local Community Mitigation Committee, thereby serving dual roles at the state and local level.

“I’m excited to be part of this opportunity for Springfield. Although streets are narrowed currently due to construction, upon its completion, the casino will bring a new vibrancy to downtown,” Payne said. “The MGM project itself is unique in the gaming industry because it is considered an ‘inside-out’ model, meaning that patrons will be able to visit all amenities, including restaurants and entertainment venues, without ever entering the casino itself. In addition, the casino is being built within an urban area, using the MassMutual Center, Symphony Hall, and CityStage, to become part of the fabric of the community. It is really a first of its kind.”

While initial meetings have already begun in Boston, the work of the Gaming Policy Advisory Committee will begin in earnest once all facilities are open.

Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas Elects Christopher Visser Partner

SPRINGFIELD — Christopher Visser, formerly an associate attorney with the firm, was elected partner at Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP effective Jan. 1. He joined Bulkley Richardson in 2011 and works principally in its Springfield office, where he is a member of the firm’s Litigation/ADR Department and Health Law Practice Group.

Visser’s practice consists primarily of handling complex litigation with a focus in professional malpractice defense. He has represented physicians, mid-levels, nurses, and healthcare organizations in all types of medical-malpractice cases, ranging from labor and delivery cases to cancer cases. He has also successfully represented physicians before the Board of Registration in Medicine, and other healthcare providers before their licensing boards.

He also has experience representing clients in insurance-coverage litigation, insurance subrogation, products liability, personal injury, trust litigation, and other civil-litigation matters. He has handled all aspects of prosecuting and defending civil-litigation actions and has represented clients in housing, district, and superior courts, as well as in federal and appellate courts. He has also represented clients in administrative proceedings, arbitrations, and mediations.

Visser is a 2003 graduate of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. He attended Western New England University School of Law, where he was a member of the National Moot Court team, and earned his juris doctor in 2009, cum laude. He returns annually to Western New England University School of Law to mentor first-year students in the Introduction to the Legal Profession course. After graduating, he worked for an immigration firm in Hartford and a civil-litigation firm in Springfield prior to joining Bulkley Richardson. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and New York.

Gaudreau Group Welcomes Back Kate Roy as Director of Marketing

WILBRAHAM — The Gaudreau Group Insurance and Financial Services Agency recently welcomed back to its team Kate Roy, director of Marketing. In her new role, Roy helps communicate the firm’s mission: “we help our clients discover, protect, and enhance the people, places, and things that are important to them.”

Working closely with the Gaudreau Group’s strategy advisors, account managers, and President Jules Gaudreau, Roy delivers communications that help current and prospective clients understand the benefits of working with the Gaudreau Group. As a certified insurance counselor, she has a deep understanding of the insurance industry and worked for several years in the personal-insurance business, both for a large national carrier and for several agencies.

“We’re excited to have Kate back on our team. Her combination of marketing expertise and in-depth insurance experience is rare, resulting in a greater ability to communicate the Gaudreau Group’s mission to a broad audience in a unique and effective way,” Gaudreau said.

A graduate of Springfield Technical Community College’s teleproduction technology program, Roy has experience in several different media channels. She was featured on roughnotes.com, the online presence of Rough Notes magazine, for her expertise on digital marketing in the insurance-agency world. She is also a graduate of the Springfield Leadership Institute, has volunteered with the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce (ERC5) and Minnechaug Regional High School’s Career Readiness collaboration, and is a current contributor to the Westfield Education to Business Alliance.

Roy was with the Gaudreau Group previously from 2008 to 2014 in customer-service and administrative roles. Prior to her years in the insurance industry, she was a videographer and editor for a local NBC TV affiliate.

Lisa Wills Named Partner at Whittlesey & Hadley

HARTFORD, Conn. — Whittlesey & Hadley announced Lisa Wills, CPA has been elected to partner, effective Jan. 1. Wills has been working primarily with nonprofits over her 25-year career, growing her practice and navigating ever-changing regulation. Her progressive approach to complex audits has helped her build a reputation as an industry thought leader. Lisa is an active member of the AICPA as well as the CTCPA.

“Lisa is a talented auditor and trusted advisor to nonprofits throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts,” said Managing Partner Drew Andrews. “Nonprofits are one of Whittlesey & Hadley’s largest practice areas, so expanding our leadership team with a professional of Lisa’s caliber demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing exceptional service to the nonprofit community.”

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.

Franklin Superior Court

Joan Connors and Sean Connors v. Claude Borowsky, Pioneer Spine & Sports Physicians, Erik S. Rhodes, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Michael DeBusk, Baystate Medical Center, Christopher J. Ladner, Greenfield Radiology Associates, Stephen H. Fox, and Baystate Medical Practices
Allegation: Medical malpractice: $2,082,250
Filed: 12/9/16

Hampden District Court

Cheryl Roda v. Staples Inc.
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $24,999
Filed: 11/30/16

Hampden Superior Court

Arlene Lizak v. Aspen Dental and Patrick Dermesropian, DDS
Allegation: Medical malpractice, wrongful death: $75,000
Filed: 12/1/16

Timothy J. Jansen Jr., personal representative of the estate of Patricia Ann DiCarlo v. Richard B. Wait, MD
Allegation: Medical malpractice, wrongful death
Filed: 12/5/16

Renia Copeland v. Alert Ambulance Service Inc.
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $200,000
Filed: 12/7/16

Olga Rodriguez v. Mount Holyoke Management, LLC and Cathedral Hill Housing Corp.
Allegation: Personal injury: $43,299.03
Filed: 12/7/16

Mary D’Amato v. Beacon Communities, LLC and Treehouse Easthampton Housing, LLC
Allegation: Slip and fall causing personal injury: $57,886
Filed: 12/8/16

David Larivee v. Suffield Agawam CVS Inc.; Agawam CVS Realty, LLC; CVS Pharmacy Inc.; Caremark PHC, LLC; and Massachsetts CVS Pharmacy, LLC
Allegation: Negligence causing slip and fall resulting in personal injury: $300,000
Filed: 12/12/16

Hampshire Superior Court

Christian Donovan v. University of Massachusetts
Allegation: Plaintiff sustained serious injuries after falling from a ladder at UMass: $522,500
Filed: 12/2/16

Walter Otten a/k/a Walter Twohorses v. J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc., and Phil Estevez
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $790,000
Filed: 12/8/12

David Brewer v. National Nonwoven Inc.
Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $13,240
Filed: 12/9/12

Chamber Corners

Chamber Corners Departments

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

• Jan. 19: Celebrate Success, 5-8 p.m., at the Delaney House, 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke. Join us for the annual meeting and business awards dinner at the Delaney House. The chamber will celebrate successes of the past year and outline plans for the New Year. Awards will be given to Business Person of the Year, Genevieve Brough; Business of the Year, Silver Spoon Restaurant; and Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year, Dandelions. For more information, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org or call the Chamber of Greater Easthampton at (413) 527-9414.

• Feb. 9: Networking by Night, 5-7 p.m., at Northampton Country Club, 135 Main St., Leeds. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members, which includes food, networking, and a cash bar. Register online at www.easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holyokechamber.com
(413) 534-3376

• Jan. 11: The Chamber Coffee Buzz Morning Networking 2017,7:30-9 a.m., at CareerPoint, 850 High St., Holyoke. The Coffee Buzz is a great way to jump-start your day with the opportunity to meet business and community leaders while enjoying coffee and a light breakfast. Sponsored by Northeast IT Systems Inc. and United Personnel. Coffee sponsored by Spradley Deluxe Coffee. Cost: free to the business community. Sign up online at holyokechamber.com or call (413) 534-3376.

• Jan. 18: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at the Children’s Museum at Holyoke, 444 Dwight St. Join us for a casual networking experience at the Children’s Museum of Holyoke. The Chamber Ambassadors are hosting a book drive; bring three new or gently used children’s books and get in for free. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Sign up online at holyokechamber.com.

• Jan. 25: Candidate & Elected Officials Reception, 5-7 p.m. Check the chamber’s website for location. An enjoyable evening where we honor our local and state elected officials. Cost: $25, which includes a light supper. Sign up online at holyokechamber.com.

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

• Jan. 11: Arrive at 5, 5-7 p.m., at Linda Manor Assisted Living, Leeds. Arrive when you can, stay as long as you can. A casual mix and mingle with colleagues and friends. Cost: $10 for members.

• Jan. 12: Workshop: “Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts in Microsoft Excel,” 9-11 a.m. Presented by Pioneer Training and hosted by the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. This workshop will present our favorite tips, tricks, and shortcuts that we have collected and developed over 15 years of teaching and using Microsoft Excel. Topics will include shortcuts for selecting ranges, using autofill to create a series of dates or numbers, setting the print area, using page-break preview, adding headers and footers, and using page-layout view. Participants are encouraged to bring laptops and follow along with the instructor, but this is not required. Cost: $35 for members, $45 for non-members. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. To register, e-mail [email protected].

• Feb. 1: February Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Lia Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, 55 Damon Road, Northampton. Arrive when you can, stay as long as you can. A casual mix and mingle with colleagues and friends. Cost: $10 for members.

• Feb. 10: Workshop: “Introduction to Small Business Accounting on Excel,” 9-11 a.m. Presented by Pioneer Training and hosted by the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. This two-hour workshop is an introduction to small-business accounting with Microsoft Excel. We’ll start by introducing accounting concepts such as income and expense tracking, maintaining a balance sheet and profit and loss statement, and forecasting income and expenses. You’ll learn how to load and use pre-built Excel templates for financial projections, startup expenses, and a break-even analysis. Cost: $35 for members, $45 for non-members. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. To register, e-mail [email protected].

• March 8: March Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Delap Real Estate, 158 North King St., Northampton. Arrive when you can, stay as long as you can. A casual mix and mingle with colleagues and friends. Cost: $10 for members.

• March 9: Workshop: “Introduction to Google Apps Docs, Sheets & Forms, 2017,” 9-11 a.m. Presented by Pioneer Training and hosted by the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. The class is an introduction to Google Apps and Google Drive, the online storage location for Google Docs. In this two-hour workshop, you’ll learn how to set up a local Google Drive folder, which automatically synchronizes with Google Drive on the web. You’ll learn to create new documents in the Google Docs format, as well as how to work with Word documents in Google Docs. You’ll learn basic editing and formatting techniques in both Docs and Sheets, and also how to work with Excel files in Sheets. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for non-members. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. To register, e-mail [email protected].

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Jan. 18: PWC Tabletop Expo and Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 pm., at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. An opportunity to showcase your products and services to the female professional. Reservations for exhibitors are $75 for PWC members, $105 for general admission, which includes a draped display table and complimentary attendee lunch. Reservations for lunch only are $25 for PWC members, $35 general admission. Reservation deadline is Jan. 11. Reservations may be made online by visiting www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

SOUTH HADLEY & GRANBY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.shgchamber.com
(413) 532-6451

• Jan. 24: 2017 Annual Meeting, 5:30 p.m., at Willits-Hallowell, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley. Cocktails will be served at 5:30 p.m., followed by a buffet dinner at 6 p.m. Check the chamber’s website at www.shgchamber.com for more details as they become available.

SPRINGFIELD REGIONAL CHAMBER
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Jan. 24: Springfield Regional Chamber Pastries, Politics and Policy, 8-9 a.m., at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. State Senate President Stan Rosenberg will give an update on happenings in the Senate with an eye toward the upcoming legislative session. Cost: $15 for members in advance ($20 at the door), $25 for general admission in advance ($30 at the door). Reservations may be made online by visiting www.springfieldregionalchamber.com.

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

• Jan. 12: Google Workshop, noon to 1 p.m., at the West Springfield Public Library, 200 Park Ave., West Springfield. Hosted by WRC and SCORE. Learn how to effectively utilize Google Analytics and AdWords to better your company’s online exposure. Light lunch will be served. This workshop is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected], or register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

• Feb. 9: Multi-chamber Lunch ‘n’ Learn Seminar, “Robert’s Rules of Order,” noon to 1:30 p.m. at Storrowton Tavern, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Enjoy lunch while learning about Robert’s Rules of Order with guest speaker Robert MacDonald. Cost: $35. Sponsorship opportunities are available for this event. Register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com. For more information, call the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

• Feb. 22: Legislative Breakfast, 7-9 a.m., at Springfield Country Club, 1375 Elm St., West Springfield. The breakfast will feature a panel of legislators, including state Sen. James Welch, state Sen. Donald Humason, state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga, state Rep. Michael Finn, Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen, and West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Cost: $30 for members, $35 for non-members. Register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com. For more information on ticket sales, call the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

People on the Move

Departments People on the Move

PeoplesBank announced the promotions and appointments of several key associates:

Matthew Bannister

• Matthew Bannister was promoted to First Vice President of Marketing and Innovation. He previously served as vice president of Corporate Responsibility. He possesses more than 30 years of brand management and corporate social-responsibility experience. Bannister holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from UMass Amherst;

David Thibault

• David Thibault was promoted to First Vice President, Cash Management Sales and Support Manager. He previously served as vice president, Cash Management Sales and support manager. Thibault possesses 17 years of banking experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Norwich University and an MBA from Western New England University;

Steve Parastatidis

• Steve Parastatidis was promoted to Vice President, Commercial Lending. He previously served as assistant vice president and commercial loan officer. Parastatidis has more than 10 years of financial and banking experience focusing on commercial and industrial and investment real-estate transactions, with concentrations in the credit analyst, portfolio, and commercial-lending areas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in finance from Western New England University;

Tammy Bordeaux

• Tammy Bordeaux was promoted to Assistant Vice President and Regional Manager, Retail. She previously served as assistant vice president and Business Banking Center manager. Bordeaux has more than 19 years of banking experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western New England University and an associate’s degree in business administration from Springfield Technical Community College;

Michelle Chase

• Michelle Chase was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Consumer and Business Banking Center manager. She previously served as Consumer and Business Banking Center manager. Chase has more than 15 years of banking experience. She holds an MBA in entrepreneurial thinking and innovation design from Bay Path University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts;

Joseph Dias

• Joseph Dias was appointed to Assistant Vice President, Assistant Controller. Dias possesses more than 10 years of accounting experience. He holds bachelor’s degrees in business administration and accounting from Elms College;

Meghan Parnell-Gregoire

• Meghan Parnell-Gregoire was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Business Lending Center manager. Parnell-Gregoire previously served as assistant vice president, Business Banking. She has more than 14 years of banking experience. She holds an associate’s degree in mathematics from Holyoke Community College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the UMass Amherst;

Robert Raynor

• Robert Raynor was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Compliance, Risk Oversight. Raynor previously served as internal audit officer. He possesses eight years of banking experience. Raynor holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Springfield College;

Cassandra Pierce

• Cassandra Pierce was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Business Intelligence Manager. Pierce formerly served as Business Intelligence manager. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Westfield State University, and a master’s degree in communication and information management from Bay Path University;

Erinn Young

• Erinn Young was promoted to Deposit Operations Officer. Young formerly served as assistant vice president, branch manager of the Longmeadow office. She possesses 20 years of banking experience. Young holds a bachelor’s degree in executive management from Bay Path University;

• Christina Bordeau was appointed branch manager, Sixteen Acres. She possesses 20 years of banking experience. She is currently pursuing an associate’s degree in business administration and management from Springfield Technical Community College;

• Alisa Feliberty was appointed to Call Center Manager, Customer Relations. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and is currently pursuing an MBA in entrepreneurial thinking and innovative practices from Bay Path University;

Malissa Naylor

• Malissa Naylor was promoted to Branch Manager, East Longmeadow. Naylor previously served as assistant branch manager. She possesses more than 11 years of banking experience. Naylor holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western New England University.

Lori Stickles

• Lori Stickles was appointed to Branch Manager, Longmeadow. She possesses more than 18 years of banking experience.

•••••

Adina Edgett

Bailey Eastman

Adina Edgett and Bailey Eastman of Webber & Grinnell Insurance Agency have both passed their Massachusetts property and casualty licensing examinations given by the state Division of Insurance, bringing the agency’s total number of licensed employees up to 23. Edgett and Eastman work in the commercial insurance division at Webber & Grinnell, serving more than 900 businesses throughout Western Mass.

•••••

Paul DiGrigoli

Paul DiGrigoli, owner of DiGrigoli Salon and DiGrigoli School of Cosmetology, was inducted into the prestigious Intercoiffure America/Canada organization on Oct. 9. Intercoiffure America/Canada, an international hairdressing organization, was founded in 1933 as the North American branch of Intercoiffure Mondial, originally founded in 1925 in Paris. The organization is widely known as the most powerful and influential in the hairdressing industry, DiGrigoli said, and only leading hair salons are eligible for membership — just 3,000 in over 50 countries. “I am so honored to be a part of Intercoiffure. It’s the most respected organization in our industry,” DiGrigoli said of his newly appointed A-List membership. “I’m humbled to be among the best of the best, the highest quality of salons and salon owners in the world.” The induction and pinning ceremony took place at the end of the Fall Atelier conference, an annual event held in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The DiGrigoli Salon artistic team, along with the other guests, enjoyed three days of education, hair demonstrations, product launches, galas, and more. On the final day, DiGrigoli was officially pinned as an A-List member by Frank Gambuzza, Intercoiffure president, and Candy Shaw, the new member representative for the organization.

•••••

Gov. Charlie Baker named Mary Burns, Imari Paris Jeffries, Michael O’Brien, Elizabeth Scheibel, and Charles Wu to the board of trustees for the University of Massachusetts, and reappointed Robert Manning to the board. Manning, who previously chaired the board from 2008 to 2010, will also assume the chairmanship of the board that oversees the UMass system. Baker also announced several other appointments, including longtime UMass trustee Victor Woolridge as well as O’Brien to seats on the UMass Building Authority (UMBA), serving as representatives of the UMass board. Baker supports Woolridge, a commercial real-estate professional, for chairman of the Building Authority, which oversees the planning, financing, and construction of university facilities. The governor also supports Philip Johnston for vice chair. In a separate announcement, the UMass Foundation announced that Johnston will join its board of directors at the end of the year, where he is also expected to be named vice chair. “UMass continues to be a global leader in education,” Baker said, “and these leaders will help the university continue to think creatively and boldly about the future of public education in order to grow our economy, strengthen our communities, and create opportunity for future generations of students.”

•••••

Nico Santaniello, a financial advisor with the Zuzolo Group of Northwestern Mutual, has qualified for membership in the Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT), an international, independent association of nearly 19,000 leading life-insurance producers. MDRT is a coveted career milestone that indicates sales and service achievement and is a recognized mark of excellence for life underwriters. Members must meet strict ethical and production requirements to qualify. Santaniello has been associated with Northwestern Mutual since 2012. As a financial advisor, he provides expert guidance and innovative solutions for a variety of financial needs and goals. He also led the agency in new clients for 2016. Santaniello received a bachelor’s degree from Western New England University. He is currently an active member of Suit Up Springfield and T.G.L.

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.

BELCHERTOWN

Shivering Shamrocks Inc., 58 Walnut St., Belchertown, MA 01007. Richard Bixby, 9 Jaeger Drive, Westfield, MA 01085. Non-profit organization whose purpose is to engage in fundraising events and activities to benefit local Children’s Shriners Hospital, and assist other local non-profit organizations, youth groups and school clubs with their fundraising.

Treat Yo Self Inc., 500 North Liberty St., Belchertown, MA 01007. Joyce Leitl, same. Food concession.

CHICOPEE

Templo Cristiano Agua Viva, 450 Gratton St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Merida Maisonette, 276 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, MA 01109. Church.

EASTHAMPTON

VK Designs Inc., 51 A1 Holyoke St., Easthampton, MA 01027. Kevin A. Brigham, 24 Pleasant View Drive, Hatfield, MA 01038. Kitchen and bath designs.

LEE

Souza Pro Services Inc., 105 Laurel St., Apt. 10A, Lee, MA 01238. Antonio Marcos Souza, same. Cleaning.

NORTHAMPTON

The Medical Staff of Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc., 30 Locus St., Northampton, MA 01060. Raymond F. Conway M.D., 79 Spadina Parkway, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Non-profit membership organization for the staff of Cooley Dickinson Hospital with the purpose to participate in quality improvement activities and educate parents and families and to offer opportunities to engage in such activities.

Valley Therapy Services Inc., 13 Old South St., Suite 2E, Northampton, MA 01060. Kimberly C. Girard, same. Billing and other services for medical providers.

SPRINGFIELD

Springfield Abatement Inc., 47 Warehouse St., Springfield, MA 01118. Charles G. Arment, Jr., 7 Angel St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Environmental remediation services and general contracting.

Thunderbird Construction Inc., 510 Cottage St., Springfield, MA 01104. David P. Fontaine, Jr., 572 Hall Hill Road, Somers, CT 06071. Construction.

United Floor Covering Inc., 46 Leslie St., Springfield, MA 01104. Dwayne Kelly, same. Flooring contractor.

WILBRAHAM

Timeless Homes Inc., 934 Glendale Road, Wilbraham, MA 01095. Benjamin S. Hemingway, same. Residential home building and remodeling.

Wilbraham Peach Blossom Festival Association Inc., 40 Post Office Park, Suite 782, Wilbraham, MA 01095. Amy Smith, 1 Winterberry Lane, Wilbraham, MA 01095. Non-profit organized to promote and sponsor festivals and public events, which will raise funds and awareness of Wilbraham community associations, organizations and non-profits in order to foster a sense of community and civic pride among the people of the town of Wilbraham.

Doing Business As Certificates

DBA Certificates Departments

The following business certificates and trade names were issued or renewed during the month of December 2016.

Amherst

Alpine Commons
133 Belchertown Road
Mass Alpine Commons, LP

Amherst Family Chiropractic
228 Triangle St.
Robert Kane

Amherst Mediation Services
417 West St.
Oran Kaufman

Aspen Chased
615 Main St.
Aspen Chase Woodbridge LP

Big Y World Class Market
175 University Dr.
Big Y Foods Inc.

David Hillerby Photography Inc.
314 Amity St.
David Hillerby

Hair East
103 North Pleasant St.
Dawn Eichhorn

Law Office of Patricia A. McChesney
22 Lessey St., #320
Patricia A. McChesney

O’Carroll Associates International Consulting
1000 Bay Road
Joe O’Carroll, Annie Rogers

Santos Property Group
434 East Pleasant St.
Mark Santos

Zoen Resources
26 Woodlot Road
Irma Gonzalez

Belchertown

Blue Meadow Creations
43 Ware Road
Lori O’Connell

Boyko Landscaping
19 South Liberty St.
Gregory Boyko

Brian Anderson Builders
41 West St.
Brian Anderson

Greg Moss Photography
27 Shaw St.
Gregory Moss

Quabbin Art Assoc.
40 South Main St.
Denis Fontaine-Pincince

Uncommon Cuts
7 Brandywine Dr.
Grete Graves

Chicopee

Abram’s Masonry
1120 Montgomery St.
Dayna Whitten

Mi Isla Bakery
738 Chicopee St.
Luis Fontanez

Obsessive Couponing Disorder
419 Montcalm St.
Enrique Rosario

Pellegrini Tub and Tile Refinishing
29 Lark Dr.
Bortolo Pellegrini

Sam’s Food Store
810 Meadow St.
Amjad Butt

Spa Nails
104 Lauzier Terrace
Diana Lovett

Teddy & Me
20 Donlyn Dr.
Renata Talmont

Easthampton

Corsello Butcheria
130 Cottage St.
Vincent Corsello, Kasey Corsello

Shawna Stern Massage Therapy
5 Truehart Dr.
Shawna Stern

East Longmeadow

A Beautiful You
10 Center Square
Heidi Partyka-Green

Frank Oglesby Jr. Voiceover Communications LLC
169 Elm St.
Frank Oglesby

JMR Construction
20 Lori Lane
John Rathbun

Greenfield

Call’s Corner Store
122 Conway St.
Jaffar Syed, Yasin Kitan

Decker Machine Works Inc.
201 Munson St.
Scott Decker

JC’s Market
259 Conway St.
Fruitland Inc. of Greenfield

Mattress Firm
240 Mohawk Trail
Sleepy’s, LLC

Owl Tree Games
136 Lovers Lane
William Miller

Snows Ice Cream Co.
80 School St.
Snows Acquisition LLC

SPD Tool LLC
88 Lovers Lane
Scott Conti

Holyoke

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar
241 Whiting Farms Road
Apple New England LLC

Classy Comfy Clothing
1820 Northampton St.
Manohar Lalchandani

Ludlow

Treasures of the World
309 East St.
David Pastore

Northampton

Buy Rite Auctions
80 Damon Road
Eliezer Garcia

Cher Willems Pottery
75 Lyman Road
Cheryl Willems

Knowledge Corridor Services
20 Hampton Ave., #409
Zane Lumelsky, Leith Colen

McGannon Fitness & Nutrition
7 Ladyslipper Lane
Wendy McGannon

Stan-the-Fixit-Man
1 Bardwell St.
Stan Pollack

Valley Performance Playground
264 Riverside Dr.
Sarah Marcus, Felicia Sloin

Palmer

Arrow Precision Co.
1319 Main St.
Kenneth Boyer

Belmont Driving School
1409 Main St.
Michael O’Rourke

Edward Jones
1448 Main St.
EDJ Holding Co. Inc., the Jones Financial Cos., LLLP

J.E.M. Services
58 Quaboag Valley Co-op St.
Jerry Mange Jr.

Jonas Cain
2064 Main St.
Jonas Cain

Peaceful Paths Massage Therapy & Wellness Center
1479 North Main St.
Jessica Kondrat

TMS Paper, LLC
29 Elizabeth St.
Teresa Snyder

Southwick

New England Vettes
49 Sam West Road
Wyatt Tyler

Dollar Tree #07029
515 College Highway
Dollar Tree Inc.

Springfield

1st Call Real Estate
1179 State St.
Kenny Nguyen

All About You Hair Salon
27 Archie St.
Shawna Edmonds

Borinquen Convenience Store
2398 Dwight St. Ext.
Aleandro Mirabal

Cali Nail Care
2460 Main St.
Kelly Huang

Euro Coiffure Salon Day Spa
1910-1912 Wilbraham Road
Barbara Bocwinski

Get Rite Services
183 Patricia Circle
Gregory Brown

Godmothers Catering
201 Chapin Terrace
Olivia Tavares

Jiffy Lube #177
1130 Boston Road
Atlantic Coast

Leidy Educational Services
36 Lynebrook Road
Sheree Nolley

Lebel/Lavigne & Deady Insurance Agency Inc.
612 Page Blvd.
Mark Osgood

M.W. Services
556 St. James Ave.
Corinna Marie

Mr. Fix It Handyman
34 Front St.
Lorenzo Gardner

Ora Care LLC
878 Sumner Ave.
Violet Hall

Saltbox Seasonings
168 Pineywoods Ave.
Christina Bozza

Serem Inc.
27-29 Saint James Blvd.
Muharrem Gunaydin

The Law Offices of Nikos Berkowitz
115 State St.
Nikos Berkowitz

Torres Insurance Group
2660 Main St.
Daniel Torres

Windrose Mena
1795 Main St.
Imadeddine Awkal

Zenty North
54 Crystal Ave.
Tim Mercer

Westfield

Blended Vintage Market Place
48 Elm St.
Blended Vintage Market Place

Bright Sail Dry Cleaners and Alterations
43 Southwick Road
Alla Bazukin

Moir & Ross
45 Broad St., Suite 2
Bradford Moir

Livingstone HVAC
6 Livingstone Ave.
Sergey Kulyak

Paul’s Pet Sitting Service
1430 Russell Road
Paul Burt

Weathervane Sculpture
Edwin Waskiewicz
132 Wild Flower Circle

West Springfield

Dustworth Cleaning Service
869 Dewey St.
Kyle Pratson

Fastsigns Inc.
1102 Riverdale St.
Corp Multi Signs Inc.

Greenough Packaging & Maintenance Supplies
54 Heywood Ave.
Sandy Cassanelli

Horsman Painting
697 Elm St.
Jeffrey Horsman

Mass Gardener
916 Piper Road
Pavel Zhuk

Tactical556.com
93 Van Deene Ave.
Steve Duga

Team Rehab & Wellness
753 Union St.
Adnan Dhadul, MD

Wilbraham

Concord Electric Supply
2701 Boston Road
David Rosso

Core Construction Products
524 Main St.
Marty Baron

Edward Jones
2141 Boston Road
EDJ Holding Co. Inc., the Jones Financial Cos., LLLP

Kayla Talmadge
2812 Boston Road
Kayla Talmadge

Preco Power Equipment Supply
2460 Boston Road
Gregory Wurszt, Carla Wurszt, Christopher Wurszt, Dalia Wurszt

Ridgeview Kitchens and Contracting
42 Brainard Road
Nathan Eckhoff, Mario Scibelli

Wilbraham Wine & Spirits
2771 Boston Road
Alan Fettes

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies Departments

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

Amaya, Maritza D.
31 John St.
Chelsea, MA 02150
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/15/16

Barona, Jorge S.
Barona, Kristine
a/k/a Rolley, Kristine E.
45 Ramblewood Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/08/16

Benoit, Michael P.
Benoit, Breanna E.
27 High St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/02/16

Bombardier, Wilfrid R.
212 Notch Road
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/07/16

Boudreau, Marciano Talula
123 East St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/08/16

Bourdeau, William R.
Moineau, Katharine S.
PO Box 27
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/02/16

Carson, Kevin David
Carson, Sarah Lorajean
34 Monska Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/07/16

Culbertson, David C.
63 McKinley Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/05/16

Delgado, Luis
70 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/13/16

Dueno Zambrana, Maribel
483 Kings Highway
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/02/16

Family Roasters Inc.
Vargas, Benjamin
71 Cochran St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/05/16

fotopete.com
Catellier, Pierre Andre
17 Grandview St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/05/16

Gargano, Jason
Gargano, Michelle M.
177 Berkshire Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/07/16

Gero, William T.
268 Highland Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/08/16

Gonzalez, Aida
a/k/a Rosado, Aida Gonzalez
306 Oakland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/13/16

Gutermann, Holly V.
97 Winsor St. #7
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/07/16

Hogan, Michael W.
Menard-Hogan, Joanne R.
157 Main St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/10/16

Hoyt, Robert E.
3180 Foster St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/01/16

Hutchinson, Michele M.
119 Cote Road
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/14/16

John C. Marcus Contracting
Marcus, John C.
Marcus, Toni R.
a/k/a Francisco-Marcus, Toni R.
123 Shawinigan Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/07/16

KWJ Mechanical Services
Johnson, Kris W.
Johnson, Kathleen
a/k/a Francisco-Johnson, Kathleen
193 Marion Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/15/16

Leatherman, James
90 Hall Road, #71
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/05/16

Mace, Linnea L.
182 Division St.
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/15/16

Maruca, Pamela
a/k/a Lando-Maruca, Pamela
81 South Maple St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/13/16

Medina, Marcos A.
483 Kings Highway
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/02/16

Moretti, Frances E.
379 East St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/07/16

Morrison, Christine M.
786 Wheelwright Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/14/16

MP Mechanical
Potter, Michael C.
38 Whitman St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/03/16

Murray, Annmary
86 Oxford Place, Apt. D
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/13/16

Music Studio Direct Inc.
Music Technology Learning
Schachere, Arnold M.
78 Emerson Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/05/16

Mustafa, Firas Robert
12 Bullens St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/09/16

Nannen, Angela C.
143 East Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/07/16

Newton-Irelan, Paul Thomas
204 Housatonic St.
Lenox, MA 01240
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/01/16

Parro, Jayme A.
6 Overlook Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/08/16

Puzyn, Anthony
90 Hall Road, #71
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/05/16

Ray, Shane
18 Siara St.
Adams, MA 01220
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/09/16

Renaud, Robert P.
545 North Washington St.
Washington, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/15/16

Savoie, Scott A.
111 Myrtle St., #2
Springfield, MA 01151
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 12/08/16

Schelb, Justin M.
140 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/13/16

Sears, Gregory Albert
33 Falvey St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/01/16

Simply Computing
Dugan, Deborah R.
a/k/a Dugan, Debbe
a/k/a Dugan-Birk, Deborah R.
29 Walnut St.
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/15/16

Smith, Albert T.
PO Box 486
West Warren, MA 01092
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/13/16

Tallman, Grant S.
218 Shaker Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/05/16

White, Jane E.
150 Ashland St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 12/09/16

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

BERNARDSTON

48 Hillcrest Dr.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $191,100
Buyer: Paul C. Skiathitis
Seller: Edward W. Banach
Date: 11/30/16

BUCKLAND

188 Lower St.
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $124,500
Buyer: Cheyenne A. Dufresne
Seller: Matthew S. Thompson
Date: 11/29/16

CHARLEMONT

34 Johnson Road
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Christopher E. Geier
Seller: Ruth E. Werner
Date: 11/29/16

8 Mountain Road
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $174,900
Buyer: Edward D. Hazel
Seller: FNMA
Date: 11/30/16

280 Zoar Road
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $1,100,000
Buyer: Woodland MHP LLC
Seller: Woodland Park Inc.
Date: 12/09/16

COLRAIN

11 Church St.
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Amanda S. Haney
Seller: Tim A. Dusenberry
Date: 12/02/16

149 Old Cricket Hill Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Troy R. Lucier
Seller: Russell TR
Date: 12/07/16

25 Phillips Hill Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Walter H. Keintzel
Seller: Christina D. Bell
Date: 12/02/16

DEERFIELD

40 Sugarloaf St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Joseph E. Charnley
Seller: John F. Sobieski
Date: 12/09/16

GREENFIELD

25 Cedar St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $165,900
Buyer: Lindsi Chail
Seller: Jane A. Brady
Date: 11/28/16

410 Davis St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $175,500
Buyer: William K. Bettencourt
Seller: Sean P. Pierce
Date: 11/28/16

31 Gold St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Elizabeth J. Perry
Seller: Perry, Raymond G. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 12/05/16

78 Lincoln St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $179,500
Buyer: Helen L. Murphy
Seller: Kathryn K. Roszko
Date: 11/30/16

35 Meadow Lane
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Richard Alexander
Seller: Susan N. Lemeshow
Date: 12/02/16

36 Phillips St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Alex R. Cowley
Seller: Edward R. Desmaisons
Date: 12/08/16

30-D Phyllis Lane
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Nicholas B. Langlois
Seller: Aaron A. McCloud
Date: 12/09/16

412 Plain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Yogesh Malik
Seller: Therese M. Root
Date: 11/30/16

260 Silver St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Van Bro Co. LLC
Seller: Fox Brook RT
Date: 11/30/16

40 Plantation Circle
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Timothy J. Currier
Date: 12/08/16

31 Stetson Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Sean P. Pierce
Seller: Anne D. Connington RET
Date: 11/28/16

270 Turners Falls Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Mathew D. Smith
Seller: Susanne Lacosse
Date: 11/28/16

53 Washburn Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Monkeith E. Arnold
Seller: First United Methodist Church
Date: 12/09/16

LEVERETT

43 Long Plain Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Brian A. Goodridge
Seller: Robert E. Hatt
Date: 12/07/16

LEYDEN

71 Glen Road
Leyden, MA 01301
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Patricia J. West
Seller: Scott C. West
Date: 12/05/16

443 West Leyden Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Matthew Donahue
Seller: William R. Travis
Date: 12/09/16

MONTAGUE

58 High St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $145,500
Buyer: Joseph F. Sulda
Seller: Sicley, Carol D., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/16

85 K St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Hunter G. Swanson
Seller: Mary A. Greene
Date: 12/02/16

4 Main St.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Lynn A. Abraham
Seller: Susan F. Conger
Date: 11/28/16

148 Montague City Road
Montague, MA 01301
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: J. Lucinda Kidder
Seller: Elizabeth A. Fitz
Date: 11/29/16

34 Park St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: William R. Travis
Seller: Matthew Donahue
Date: 12/09/16

2 Wrightson Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $199,500
Buyer: Kevin F. Manion
Seller: Gerald A. Thayer
Date: 12/09/16

NORTHFIELD

546 South Mountain Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Joshua C. Roman
Seller: Eric Smith-Kaeppel
Date: 12/09/16

16 Warwick Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Marie J. Ndiaye
Seller: Congdon INT
Date: 11/30/16

ORANGE

150 Drew Blvd.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $209,900
Buyer: Christine Ghidoni
Seller: Erik J. Rousseau
Date: 12/05/16

181 East Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Kyle Higgins
Seller: Macur Enterprises Inc.
Date: 12/06/16

56 Perry Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Ross Archambault
Seller: Christopher A. Dodge
Date: 11/28/16

502 South Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Robert J. Farrow
Seller: Bryan Gates
Date: 12/09/16

419 Tully Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $213,000
Buyer: Mark A. Sprague
Seller: Gregory R. McIntyre
Date: 12/02/16

230 West River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $165,500
Buyer: Roxanne P. Kakitis
Seller: Robert L. Holst
Date: 12/01/16

123 Wheeler Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Robert E. Wright
Seller: Joan D. Raughtigan
Date: 11/29/16

SHUTESBURY

85 Locks Pond Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $332,114
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Moore, Stephen L., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/16

SUNDERLAND

2 Hubbard Hill Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Chia-Yu H. Lo
Seller: MCM Capital Partners LLC
Date: 12/01/16

WHATELY

191 Christian Lane
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Jamie H. Scott
Seller: Gromaski IRT
Date: 11/30/16

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

50 Albert St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Michael Quinlan
Seller: Jessica Nuzzolilli
Date: 12/02/16

43 Alhambra Circle North
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $236,500
Buyer: Victor Ostas
Seller: Mark A. Graveline
Date: 11/30/16

248 Barry St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Conrad J. Lariviere
Seller: John L. Franco
Date: 12/02/16

8 Carmen Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: David E. Borowski
Seller: Craig A. Luczynski
Date: 12/08/16

45 Cedar Knoll Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Hiep Le
Seller: Anatoliy Belozerov
Date: 11/28/16

32 Colonial Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $194,500
Buyer: Jason Rheaume
Seller: Paul R. Gauthier
Date: 12/02/16

88 Jennie Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Tarkan Topcuoglu
Seller: Rachel F. Moura
Date: 11/29/16

198 North Westfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $181,000
Buyer: Andrei Shyshla
Seller: Cheryl A. Weber
Date: 12/05/16

21 Parker St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $212,500
Buyer: Anthony S. Bohn
Seller: Tony W. Nascembeni
Date: 12/06/16

57 Perry Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $185,650
Buyer: Brandon Kubik
Seller: Althea A. Cowles
Date: 12/02/16

99 Pleasant Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Joshua W. Gehring
Seller: Edward Smaha
Date: 11/28/16

6 Ridgeway Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Thomas M. Hamilton
Seller: Renee Hamilton
Date: 12/01/16

109 Shoemaker Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Ruslan Yusenko
Seller: Haskins, Grace E., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/16

468 Southwick St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Timothy L. Seidl
Seller: Sherrill A. Montessi
Date: 12/02/16

121 Westview Lane
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $422,538
Buyer: Jeffrey T. Robb
Seller: Poplar Development LLC
Date: 12/09/16

94 White Fox Road
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Angelica Ochoa-Mayo
Seller: Citizens Bank
Date: 11/29/16

BLANDFORD

74 Main St.
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Brenton R. Keefe
Seller: Robbin L. Conde
Date: 12/08/16

BRIMFIELD

73 Brookfield Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Jonathan R. Balderelli
Seller: R&K Int
Date: 12/09/16

67 Marsh Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $399,999
Buyer: Annett Farrington-Kramer
Seller: David M. Kornacki
Date: 12/09/16

25 Tower Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Cohen
Seller: Jean M. Frazier
Date: 12/09/16

19 Paige Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Uriah T. Smith
Seller: John H. Degnan
Date: 12/02/16

CHICOPEE

105 5th Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Thomas D. Knightly
Seller: June R. Knightly
Date: 12/09/16

21 Adams St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $187,500
Buyer: Jesus Guzman
Seller: Michael Donskoy
Date: 11/29/16

5 Arcade St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $151,900
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Christina Corey
Date: 12/02/16

127 Beauchamp Terrace
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Heather M. Longley
Seller: Thomas F. Hurley
Date: 12/02/16

53 Beverly St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Anthony M. Lee
Seller: Joel Rodriguez
Date: 12/09/16

96 Beverly St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Christian J. Serrano
Seller: Moises Pagan
Date: 11/30/16

143 Blanan Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Melissa L. Kolek
Date: 12/08/16

117 Caddyshack Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Dennis L. Pelletier
Seller: Thomas J. Jendrysik
Date: 12/07/16

17 Charbonneau Terrace
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Inga Foksha
Seller: Delia Cendeno
Date: 12/09/16

33 Cortland St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: David N. Sevostyanov
Seller: Kellie M. Aldrich
Date: 11/30/16

50 Deroy Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $237,500
Buyer: Joseph M. Parente
Seller: Joanna U. Boutin
Date: 12/09/16

525 East Main St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $119,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: William E. Mitchell
Date: 12/02/16

466 Front St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Dominic A. Iannuzzi
Seller: Eric Poirier
Date: 11/28/16

199 Jacob St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $189,900
Buyer: Ozkan Yagan
Seller: Audrey Laroche
Date: 12/09/16

44 Juliette St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Robert A. Cramer
Date: 11/29/16

Lombard Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $2,170,604
Buyer: GR Realty 2 LLC
Seller: Blue Bird MHS LLC
Date: 12/08/16

69 Main St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Veden LLC
Seller: Roofers & Slaters Local 248
Date: 12/09/16

23 Marguerite St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Chonvee Heng
Seller: Kim M. Schmidt
Date: 12/09/16

N/A
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $2,170,604
Buyer: GR Realty 2 LLC
Seller: Blue Bird MHS LLC
Date: 12/08/16

44 Parenteau Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $287,500
Buyer: Jacek Wanat
Seller: David M. Pise
Date: 11/30/16

70 Pine St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Samantha J. Soli
Seller: Lemay, Roland A., (Estate)
Date: 12/02/16

40 Rita St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: German L. Santiago
Seller: Margaret A. Chartier
Date: 11/30/16

84 Rochester St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Justin M. Edington
Seller: N. Riley Realty LLC
Date: 12/08/16

896 Sheridan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $901,000
Buyer: JJN Realty LLC
Seller: TJK Realty LLC
Date: 12/06/16

6 Sunset Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Collette Paro
Seller: Stefanie C. Adkison
Date: 11/28/16

133 Syrek St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Maria Delcarmen-Calderon
Seller: Melinda Couture
Date: 12/05/16

25 Thomas St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Jesus M. Garcia
Seller: N. Riley Realty LLC
Date: 11/28/16

43 Thornwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Joseph M. Skawinski
Seller: Nancy A. Misialek
Date: 11/28/16

88 Vadnais St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $168,900
Buyer: George Landry
Seller: John P. Howard
Date: 12/02/16

24 Walnut St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $125,500
Buyer: Hussein Hamadi
Seller: Juliette R. Buchanan
Date: 12/09/16

125 Walter St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Monicah N. Mwangi-Maguta
Seller: Sergey Dikan
Date: 12/05/16

EAST LONGMEADOW

303 Allen St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: Paul E. Romanko
Seller: Edward J. Linehan
Date: 12/02/16

34 Anne St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $126,400
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Kimberly J. Bousquet
Date: 12/01/16

175 Braeburn Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Roman Catholic Bishop Of Springfield
Seller: Roland D. Gelinas
Date: 12/06/16

39 Day Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Bolduc
Seller: Richard A. Kroll
Date: 11/30/16

90 Hanward Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Joseph T. Chisholm
Seller: Lynda Glenn-Healey
Date: 12/08/16

39 Pondview Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $606,830
Buyer: James R. Channing
Seller: Joseph Chapdelaine & Sons
Date: 12/05/16

46 Putting Green Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01108
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Vincent G. Laduke
Seller: Mary A. Laduke
Date: 12/05/16

30 John St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Caitlin Leone
Seller: Frank Iovine
Date: 12/02/16

12 Knollwood Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Karen L. Merrill
Seller: Archie H. Plante
Date: 11/29/16

15 Lombard Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Heather R. Magnus
Seller: Brian Baker
Date: 11/30/16

2 Lull St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $138,000
Buyer: John R. Carney
Seller: Krista L. Proctor-Traynor
Date: 11/28/16

167 Millbrook Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Erin N. Duchesne
Seller: Henry H. Kuok
Date: 12/02/16

Overlook Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Peppino Maruca
Seller: Pamela L. Hood
Date: 11/29/16

49 Saint Joseph Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Lancelot V. Watson
Seller: Caswell Boreland
Date: 12/01/16

19 Silver Fox Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Joshua Labarre
Seller: C&M Builders LLC
Date: 12/02/16

2 Winterberry Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Mark P. Denver
Seller: Douglas R. Bessette
Date: 12/08/16

HAMPDEN

36 Raymond Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Erica S. Kimball
Seller: James E. Clarke
Date: 11/28/16

HOLLAND

65 East Brimfield Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Zachary J. Gendreau
Seller: Leonard A. Hess
Date: 12/09/16

11 Island Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Lynn L. Croteau TR
Seller: Richard M. Silverman
Date: 12/08/16

HOLYOKE

39-41 Belvidere Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Margaret M. Magri
Seller: William R. Klopfer
Date: 11/30/16

85-87 Calumet Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Michael B. Miseph
Seller: Gator LLC
Date: 12/05/16

10 Columbia St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Jaysleen Gonzalez
Seller: Robert W. Chipman
Date: 11/28/16

369 Jarvis Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $214,000
Buyer: Luis A. Rivera
Seller: Anthony R. Lavigne
Date: 12/06/16

25 Orchard St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Sakare Anderson
Seller: Sofia Lemons
Date: 12/09/16

84 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Jackson Canal LLC
Seller: Holyoke Redevelopment Authority
Date: 12/09/16

8 Sheehan Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $161,500
Buyer: Miguel A. Rivera
Seller: Caitlin E. Bonafilia
Date: 11/30/16

31 Steiger Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $377,500
Buyer: Marianne G. O’Leary
Seller: Frank D. Jimerson
Date: 11/30/16

114 Vermont St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $206,000
Buyer: Richard W. Gauthier
Seller: Elizabeth Breen-Sardella
Date: 12/02/16

LONGMEADOW

23 Belleclaire Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Jordan Montoya
Seller: Geoffrey E. Rosenblat
Date: 12/01/16

34 Colony Acres Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $354,000
Buyer: Jennifer Sklar
Seller: Richard X. Butera
Date: 12/09/16

36 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $221,000
Buyer: Joseph Santaniello
Seller: Toby K. Simonoff
Date: 11/29/16

273 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: James L. Marvel
Seller: Mark D. Cress
Date: 11/30/16

90 Dartmouth Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $530,520
Buyer: David M. Decandio
Seller: Bruce H. Leshine
Date: 12/06/16

34 Drury Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $317,500
Buyer: Eric Haviland
Seller: Joslyn Banas
Date: 12/09/16

50 Hilltop Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Richard W. Purrington
Seller: Vinodray R. Shah
Date: 11/28/16

86 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: John Brock
Seller: Seth A. Marshall
Date: 11/29/16

97 Maple Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $262,900
Buyer: Dawn M. Nay
Seller: Adrian Phaneuf
Date: 12/09/16

41 Roseland Terrace
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Etavab RT
Seller: Mary E. Gray
Date: 11/30/16

69 Sheffield Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $255,500
Buyer: Shawn Cummings
Seller: Kmetz, Richard, (Estate)
Date: 12/09/16

LUDLOW

18 Bowles Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Shirley C. St.John
Seller: Richard A. Andre
Date: 12/09/16

84 Cardinal Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Richard Andre
Seller: Kenneth Valentine
Date: 12/09/16

1212 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: William G. Leblanc
Seller: Machado, Richard, (Estate)
Date: 12/08/16

292 Howard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Shawn M. Qualls
Seller: Patricia A. Swiderski
Date: 11/30/16

16-18 Munsing Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Nelson R. Rodrigues
Seller: Michael Chapdelaine
Date: 12/01/16

165 Prospect St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Lisa A. Knowles-Warren
Seller: Mya Realty LLC
Date: 11/29/16

64 Prospect St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Minerva Santana
Date: 11/30/16

300 Winsor St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $163,500
Buyer: Philip S. Tomkiel
Seller: Deidra M. Thompson
Date: 11/28/16

MONSON

127 Town Farm Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $379,000
Buyer: Ross T. Pelletier
Seller: Stephen W. Roy
Date: 12/09/16

126 Upper Hampden Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $314,900
Buyer: Raymond J. Downey
Seller: Martin R. Bolduc
Date: 12/09/16

51 Wales Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Nicholas L. Flebotte
Seller: Andrew P. Beaulieu
Date: 11/28/16

4 Zuell Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $215,040
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: David J. Kane
Date: 11/29/16

PALMER

324 Burlingame Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $329,900
Buyer: Martin R. Bolduc
Seller: Michael E. Lacoste
Date: 12/09/16

27 Fox St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Ra Tim
Seller: Scott D. Wolf
Date: 11/30/16

85 Jim Ash Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: Luke E. Venneri
Seller: Gordon R. Fettes
Date: 11/28/16

1019-1021 Maple St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $169,500
Buyer: Noria A. Gomez
Seller: Lawrence J. Ochs
Date: 12/05/16

77 North St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Daniel M. Darling
Seller: Edward H. Smola
Date: 11/30/16

55 Olney Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $252,500
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Philip J. Burns
Date: 12/01/16

1428 Park St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $161,000
Buyer: Kathleen Allan-Gadbois
Seller: Gabriel B. Mansfield
Date: 12/06/16

3 Silvia St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Gareth E. Desautels
Seller: Donald J. Allain
Date: 11/28/16

RUSSELL

1172 Huntington Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: Michael G. Lyman
Seller: Anthony D. Maloni
Date: 12/01/16

SPRINGFIELD

974 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Alanna Williams
Seller: Shannon M. Maliqi
Date: 12/08/16

76 Alwin Place
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Thomas D. Moore
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 12/06/16

797 Armory St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $131,900
Buyer: Anthony Torres
Seller: Luis A. Rivera
Date: 12/06/16

62-64 Avon Place
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $1,255,000
Buyer: MNBC LLC
Seller: Monaco-Western Mass. Properties
Date: 12/05/16

69 Alwin Place
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Hamid Hussain
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 12/02/16

75 Avon Place
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $695,000
Buyer: MNBC LLC
Seller: Avon Place Real Estate Assoc.
Date: 12/05/16

38 Bacon Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $144,000
Buyer: Ann F. Baj
Seller: Eleanore A. Messier
Date: 11/28/16

28 Barton St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Jeffrie Bodon
Seller: Erica I. Capeles
Date: 11/30/16

720 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Hann Realty Berkshire Inc.
Seller: Keith Archambault
Date: 11/30/16

61 Bircham St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Luis A. Rodriguez
Seller: Lynne McDonough
Date: 11/30/16

76 Birchland Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Angela M. Richards
Seller: Andrew R. Dacruz
Date: 11/30/16

160 Bolton St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $219,900
Buyer: Mental Health Association
Seller: Joseph E. Lyons
Date: 12/09/16

744 Bradley Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Diane H. Stone
Seller: Daphne M. Reid
Date: 11/28/16

38 Cara Lane
Springfield, MA 01028
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Carlos E. Restrepo
Seller: Sandra H. Starczewski
Date: 11/30/16

72 Cara Lane
Springfield, MA 01028
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Fontaine
Seller: Heather R. Magnus
Date: 11/30/16

31-33 Carver St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $161,738
Buyer: USA HUD
Seller: Donna Lessard
Date: 12/09/16

213 Corona St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $159,900
Buyer: Miguel A. Campos
Seller: John V. Nadeau
Date: 11/30/16

25 County St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Tishana Gomez
Seller: Sergey Savonin
Date: 12/02/16

30 Craig St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Christopher K. Frey
Seller: Lisa Santaniello
Date: 12/01/16

129 Croyden Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Angel O. Rivera-Alvez
Seller: Couch, Mary Ann, (Estate)
Date: 11/28/16

48 Dayton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Richard Guirand
Seller: Llewelyn S. Dunwell
Date: 11/29/16

28 Doyle Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: 114 Wellington Street TR
Seller: Elaine R. Radwanski
Date: 12/02/16

90 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Cintia Rivera
Seller: Raul Gonzalez
Date: 12/09/16

19 Emmet St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Timothy Maynard
Seller: Andrzej Lipski
Date: 12/09/16

98 Ferncliff Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Ryan C. Shewchuk
Seller: Blueline Management LLC
Date: 12/01/16

209 Forest Hills Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Gerard Szymczyk
Seller: Gary Wright
Date: 12/07/16

53 Geneva St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Ileana Castillo
Seller: PAS Development Inc.
Date: 11/30/16

365 Grand Valley Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: David P. Robillard
Seller: David Robillard
Date: 12/02/16

152 Grayson Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $214,900
Buyer: Ryan W. Kalriess
Seller: Green Fields Inc.
Date: 12/07/16

814 Grayson Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Yamaira Gonzalez
Seller: Candis A. Rose
Date: 11/30/16

38 Greaney St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: James Rooney
Seller: Labrecque, Rita F., (Estate)
Date: 12/08/16

96 Hermitage Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Alicea-Torres
Seller: Annmarie Alexander
Date: 11/29/16

208 Jeffrey Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Clarence Boateng
Seller: Thomas D. Moore
Date: 12/06/16

47 Judith St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Walter L. Hoskins
Seller: Kathleen M. Cahill
Date: 12/02/16

199 Keddy St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $174,900
Buyer: Julissa Ramirez
Seller: Alyssa L. Stebbins
Date: 12/02/16

391 Kent Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $214,564
Buyer: Bayview Loan Servicing
Seller: Derek J. Kilmurray
Date: 12/05/16

30 Kirk Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Joseph M. Ortiz
Seller: Home Equity Assets Realty
Date: 11/28/16

34-36 Leete St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $134,059
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Anna S. Matos
Date: 11/28/16

49 Mallowhill Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Carla M. Sylla
Seller: Constance C. Mandeville
Date: 11/30/16

95 Maplewood Terrace
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $146,600
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Stephanie L. Ehiwele
Date: 12/06/16

41 Margaret St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Rinh Kim
Seller: Dennis J. Bertelli
Date: 11/29/16

48 Marmon St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Matthew W. Gladu
Seller: Propcity LLC
Date: 12/09/16

631 Newbury St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Brian E. Figueroa-Solis
Seller: Richard W. Owen
Date: 11/29/16

34 Normandy Road
Springfield, MA 01106
Amount: $341,000
Buyer: Jeffrey L. Cebula
Seller: Adelaide Firestone
Date: 11/30/16

64 Oak Hollow Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Roland J. Murdock
Seller: Benjamin F. Turnberg
Date: 12/07/16

149 Oakland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Lan Oak Realty LLC
Seller: Maria Decesare
Date: 12/02/16

1465 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Migdalia Montalvo
Seller: Brian J. McNally
Date: 11/28/16

1939 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: V. S. Provencio-Mendoza
Seller: Steven W. Hastings
Date: 12/09/16

580 Plainfield St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Kerim D. Senkal
Seller: Yevgeniy Norkin
Date: 12/05/16

1408 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $226,900
Buyer: Christopher C. Pickford
Seller: Richard P. Muise
Date: 12/02/16

385 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Maria Lyon
Date: 12/02/16

108 Prouty St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $183,700
Buyer: Margaret G. Lynch
Seller: Carlos E. Restrepo
Date: 11/30/16

75 Rochelle St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $144,900
Buyer: Coloni Brown
Seller: MDDO LLC
Date: 12/02/16

14 Savoy Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Shadera D. Lewis
Seller: Bretta Construction LLC
Date: 11/30/16

155 Senator St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Corwin C. Waddell
Seller: Bao H. Nguyen
Date: 12/09/16

144 Spring St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $1,255,000
Buyer: MNBC LLC
Seller: Monaco-Western Mass Properties
Date: 12/05/16

Stuart St. (ES) #11
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $232,200
Buyer: Donald Coleman
Seller: East Coast Contracting
Date: 12/09/16

39 Tamarack Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $206,500
Buyer: Efrain Bermeo
Seller: Catherine A. Gulluni
Date: 12/02/16

49 Tamarack Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Ronald E. Russell
Seller: Michael A. Woytowicz
Date: 12/06/16

5 Teakwood Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $130,900
Buyer: Citimortgage Inc.
Seller: Laura A. Cox
Date: 12/08/16

86 Temby St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $189,900
Buyer: Cassandra F. Smith-Denson
Seller: Josh C. Haygood
Date: 12/02/16

131 Undine Circle
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $145,900
Buyer: Willmary Vega
Seller: Miguel A. Acevedo
Date: 12/05/16

97 Wachusett St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $242,500
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Joann Johnson
Date: 11/29/16

83 Warrenton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Ingrid M. Serrano
Seller: Global Homes Properties
Date: 11/30/16

98 Washburn St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Amedee Ortiz
Seller: Brian P. St.Amand
Date: 12/02/16

68-70 Watling St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $167,500
Buyer: Joao M. Pereira TR
Seller: Michael J. Hanifan
Date: 11/29/16

181 West Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $165,500
Buyer: Jodi-Ann Williams
Seller: Patricia A. Manzi
Date: 11/30/16

8 White Birch Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $184,000
Buyer: Jason Kleps
Seller: Jose Serrano
Date: 12/01/16

411 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Jeremy Rodriguez
Seller: Christopher E. Wurszt
Date: 12/05/16

83 Winter St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $1,255,000
Buyer: MNBC LLC
Seller: Monaco-Western Mass Properties
Date: 12/05/16

14-16 Woodmont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: Jaime Vazquez
Seller: Elvin Blanco
Date: 12/01/16

211-213 Worthington St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Edale Realty LLC
Seller: Laberty Properties Inc.
Date: 11/29/16

49 Yamaska Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $171,000
Buyer: Robert L. Hernandez
Seller: Edna T. Hansen
Date: 11/28/16

29 Zephyr Lane
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $153,000
Buyer: Jillian M. Chiaro
Seller: Frank J. Chiaro
Date: 12/01/16

SOUTHWICK

16 Bonnie View Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Tasos FT
Seller: Leigh M. Stellato
Date: 12/01/16

1 Gillette Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Nicole K. McKona
Seller: Donald Nooney
Date: 12/05/16

14 Granaudo Circle
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Michael A. Morris
Seller: Amber L. Bach
Date: 12/08/16

131 Granville Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Guy Lariviere
Seller: Nancy L. Lane
Date: 12/02/16

151 Mort Vining Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $233,000
Buyer: David R. O’Brien
Seller: Thomas J. Dussault
Date: 12/02/16

10 Pine Knoll
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Amber L. Bach
Seller: Robert A. Silverstein
Date: 12/08/16

274 South Longyard Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Tedd C. Cecchetelli
Seller: Eric Payette
Date: 11/30/16

TOLLAND

207 Lakeside Dr.
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Edwin J. Hudson
Seller: Joan P. Maxson
Date: 11/30/16

WALES

12 Reed Hill Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $276,650
Buyer: Douglas Ritchie
Seller: Ross Tylor-Pelletier
Date: 12/02/16

2 Shaw Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $268,900
Buyer: Scott Valcourt
Seller: Denise L. Ard
Date: 12/07/16

26 Woodland Heights
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $187,096
Buyer: Sean C. Madura
Seller: Gary M. Pilon
Date: 11/30/16

WESTFIELD

17 Big Wood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Benjamin T. Taglieri
Seller: Patricia E. Sullivan
Date: 11/30/16

89 Crescent Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $308,000
Buyer: Michael J. O’Neil
Seller: Laurette T. Bishop
Date: 11/30/16

542 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Jacob C. Danek
Seller: Arthur B. Bovino
Date: 12/09/16

167 Elizabeth Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Joseph D. Binan
Seller: Kimberly Sulek
Date: 12/09/16

164 Falley Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Nicholas J. Gezotis
Seller: Michael J. O’Neil
Date: 11/30/16

16 Glen Ridge Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Justin P. White
Seller: Nikolaus J. Schmitter
Date: 12/05/16

13 Jefferson St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $192,804
Buyer: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Seller: Joshua Vincent
Date: 12/05/16

173 Main St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Laura C. Smithies
Seller: Rebecca A. Cekala
Date: 11/28/16

94 North Elm St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $3,800,000
Buyer: North Elm LLC
Seller: Ronald E. Schortmann
Date: 11/30/16

10 Parker Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Karl S. Menard
Seller: Michael Buckley
Date: 12/08/16

107 Pinehurst St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Trista M. Perrea
Seller: Benjamin Taglieri
Date: 11/30/16

71 Pochassic St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Christine Bussolari
Seller: Ba T. Pho
Date: 11/30/16

125 Ridgecrest Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Vanoudenhove
Seller: Joel E. Schwartz
Date: 12/09/16

399 Springdale Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Matthew A. Bonafilia
Seller: Kevin M. White
Date: 12/01/16

84 Susan Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $261,000
Buyer: Joshua M. Krassler
Seller: Stephan A. Warren
Date: 11/29/16

52 Woodbridge Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Nicholas D. Fitzgerald
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 11/28/16

WILBRAHAM

35 Burleigh Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $273,000
Buyer: Jennifer A. Grono
Seller: Kerry A. Tarpey
Date: 12/01/16

20 Eastwood Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Andrew Rostek
Seller: Lawrence G. Jenkins
Date: 11/30/16

19 Forest St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $136,000
Buyer: Kevin Woodard
Seller: John J. Manning
Date: 12/05/16

1158 Glendale Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Raymond Arroyo
Seller: DF Development & Construction Management
Date: 12/05/16

10 Herrick Place
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: William M. Falzone
Seller: Frances K. Mell
Date: 11/30/16

16 McIntosh Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: William C. Nolan
Seller: Gary M. Hochheiser
Date: 12/09/16

26 Merrill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $139,200
Buyer: Freedom Mortgage Corp.
Seller: Harry J. Tarzian
Date: 11/29/16

50 Oakland St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Matthew S. Barkyoumb
Seller: FSV RET
Date: 12/01/16

8 Old Orchard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Darell Mitchell
Seller: John W. Stearns
Date: 11/30/16

16 Porter Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $294,900
Buyer: Kevin Q. Corridan
Seller: Richard A. Coffey
Date: 11/30/16

160 Soule Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $352,500
Buyer: Michael E. Lacoste
Seller: Vincent Cardillo
Date: 12/09/16

32 Stonegate Circle
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Minhaj Moushum
Seller: John P. Sherbow
Date: 12/02/16

108 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Jeanna Stewart
Seller: Jeffrey C. Allard
Date: 12/09/16

690 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Sherwin Road RT
Seller: 911 Stony Hill Road LLC
Date: 12/05/16

1047 Tinkham Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: James J. Mell
Seller: William Falzone
Date: 11/30/16

23 West Colonial Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $377,300
Buyer: Sydney L. Guevin
Seller: William F. Petrone
Date: 12/02/16

WEST SPRINGFIELD

82 Althea St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Donald C. Wood
Seller: Alexey Rudenko
Date: 12/05/16

1085 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Cecelia Laporte
Seller: Anthony M. Cruz
Date: 11/28/16

17-19 Armstrong St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Jamie Piangerelli
Seller: Stacey D. Thomas
Date: 12/02/16

67 Armstrong St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Ceciley M. Fenno
Seller: Jeremy W. McPherson
Date: 11/28/16

25 Boulevard Place
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Shruti B. Oza
Seller: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Date: 12/09/16

73 Craiwell Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Tara C. Garstka
Seller: Mary L. McCormick
Date: 11/30/16

340 Dewey St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: James F. Lane
Seller: Nora M. Johnson
Date: 11/30/16

18 Elm Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Olivia R. Saxer
Seller: Daniel W. Green
Date: 11/30/16

80-82 Irving St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Nariman Z. Askarov
Seller: Jason G. Martineau
Date: 11/30/16

72 Lennys Way
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $392,900
Buyer: Kevin M. White
Seller: William F. Messner
Date: 12/09/16

158 Lower Beverly Hills
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $182,900
Buyer: Carol A. Cote
Seller: John M. Clark
Date: 11/30/16

715 Main St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $184,000
Buyer: 715 Main Street Realty
Seller: Iqbal Murtaza
Date: 12/07/16

567 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Bryan Castor
Seller: Raymond A. Callahan
Date: 11/28/16

218 Morton St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $219,900
Buyer: Kathleen P. Hamada
Seller: Joanne L. Bigelow
Date: 12/06/16

9 Norman St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Dominic Pompi
Seller: Antonio P. Argiro
Date: 12/08/16

264 Poplar Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $128,500
Buyer: Jeffrey R. Mitchell
Seller: Shirley M. Coyne
Date: 12/09/16

615 Rogers Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Angel R. Villar
Seller: Sheileen M. Goodman
Date: 12/08/16

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

107 Alpine Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $336,900
Buyer: Richard Graham-Maclean
Seller: Paul Dubin
Date: 12/08/16

87 Columbia Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Columbia Realty Income
Seller: Aaron M. Dulles
Date: 12/09/16

989 East Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Xian G. Dole
Seller: Hettie C. Thompson
Date: 12/07/16

2 Edge Hill Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: Kuo H. Lee
Seller: Venanzio Carbone
Date: 12/01/16

Pelham Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Amethyst Farm LLC
Seller: Joshua S. Goldstein
Date: 12/02/16

466 S. Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Hang Z. Huang
Seller: Justin T. Serpone
Date: 12/01/16

BELCHERTOWN

28 Cloverhill Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $439,900
Buyer: Avelino S. Casimiro
Seller: Mark C. Pedro
Date: 12/01/16

453 Franklin St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Doug J. Cameron
Seller: Dahlia Development Ltd
Date: 11/29/16

25 Fuller St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Tabitha J. Baceski
Seller: Joan W. Hutchinson
Date: 11/30/16

31 Lamson Ave.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $317,500
Buyer: Kristen E. Carlson
Seller: Deep Woods Real Estate Development
Date: 12/02/16

14 Laurel Ridge Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Slawomir Liminski
Seller: John V. Lombardi
Date: 12/01/16

471 Michael Sears Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: Mathis Sherwood
Seller: Sandra M. Riley
Date: 12/09/16

140 Old Bay Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Julie D. Daigle
Seller: Antonio Jorge
Date: 12/09/16

15 Sherwood Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: James R. Strong
Seller: Yih-Ming Hsiao
Date: 11/30/16

South Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $274,716
Buyer: LJ Development LLC
Seller: Catherine L. Gaouette
Date: 12/09/16

3 Westwood Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $235,950
Buyer: Leslie R. Dougherty
Seller: Joel Brown
Date: 11/30/16

CUMMINGTON

395 West Cummington Road
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $128,000
Buyer: Dalton T. Noel
Seller: Benjamin K. Baumann
Date: 11/30/16

EASTHAMPTON

1-3 Clinton St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Jonathan N. Kelley
Seller: Brendan R. Flaherty
Date: 12/09/16

25 Colonial Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Emerald City Rentals LLC
Seller: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Date: 12/08/16

17 Golden Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Paul Barry
Seller: Richard W. Gauthier
Date: 12/02/16

9 Gross Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $294,800
Buyer: Erin M. Szalankiewicz
Seller: Westley Desotle
Date: 11/30/16

180 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $256,000
Buyer: Elizabeth A. Rist
Seller: Glaskowsky, F. N., (Estate)
Date: 11/29/16

18 McKinley Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Rachel Tapley
Seller: Thomas S. Cameron
Date: 12/01/16

44 Oliver St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $326,500
Buyer: Ann E. Favorite-Lynch
Seller: Deborah L. Barr
Date: 12/09/16

9 Reservation Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $314,000
Buyer: Mark S. Maulucci
Seller: Shirley Gamble-Cordes
Date: 11/30/16

74 South St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $230,500
Buyer: Barry Decarli
Seller: Jill P. Burlingame
Date: 11/28/16

GOSHEN

41 Dresser Hill Road
Goshen, MA 01096
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Kurt R. Finch
Seller: Lucia M. Kielbasa
Date: 11/28/16

GRANBY

175 East St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Westover Metropolitan Development Corp.
Seller: Robert R. Fimbel
Date: 11/29/16

HATFIELD

26 Bridge St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $379,900
Buyer: Christina Sekaer
Seller: Kathleen Z. Zeamer
Date: 12/02/16

462 Main St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Paul C. Roud
Seller: Debra L. Overstreet
Date: 11/29/16

228 Straits Road
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $289,000
Buyer: Rips LLC
Seller: Loretta C. Stevens TR
Date: 12/06/16

HUNTINGTON

8 Bromley Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Richard D. Sherwood
Seller: Denise M. Petersen
Date: 11/28/16

68 Littleville Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $308,000
Buyer: Steven V. Cormier
Seller: D&B Fortin RET
Date: 12/02/16

MIDDLEFIELD

117 Clark Wright Road
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Keith A. Albee
Seller: Thomas Slipski
Date: 11/30/16

88 Town Hill Road
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Michael W. Romanowski
Seller: Donald J. Savery
Date: 12/02/16

NORTHAMPTON

189 Bridge St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Louise W. Corbett
Seller: Peter P. Paniczko
Date: 12/09/16

32 Bright St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Thea N. Calkins
Seller: Kira A. Wojtech
Date: 12/08/16

8 Edgewood Terrace
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $281,500
Buyer: Nicole A. Long
Seller: Joann W. Aalfs LT
Date: 11/29/16

496 Elm St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Jonathan Dubinsky
Seller: Ryan M. Quinn
Date: 12/09/16

40 Garfield Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $361,000
Buyer: Brad C. Timm
Seller: Marceline Ayres
Date: 12/02/16

37 Holyoke St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $322,500
Buyer: Eric N. Wolpin
Seller: John J. Boucher
Date: 12/08/16

48 Lake St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Cristen A. Nagle
Seller: Scott A. Morin
Date: 11/28/16

25 Madison Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Alina T. Gross
Seller: Barbara B. Edwards
Date: 12/08/16

273 Main St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $910,000
Buyer: Safe Journeys LLC
Seller: Francis A. Johnson
Date: 12/01/16

57 Redford Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Kelli M. Steele
Seller: Paul M. Barry
Date: 12/01/16

552 Ryan Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Saharra Pensivy
Seller: James M. Brushway
Date: 12/08/16

101 Straw Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Jessica L. Laclair
Seller: Bak, Helen C., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/16

15 Swan St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: David K. Marshall
Seller: Hollingsworth, Susan I., (Estate)
Date: 12/08/16

97 Vernon St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $972,446
Buyer: Sundeep M. Shukla
Seller: Bercume Construction LLC
Date: 11/30/16

PLAINFIELD

36 Bow St.
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Keith M. Patenaude
Seller: Birch Hollow LLC
Date: 12/09/16

98 North St.
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Frances Vilbon
Seller: FNMA
Date: 12/08/16

75 North Central St.
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Barbara M. Taylor
Seller: Keith M. Patenaude
Date: 12/09/16

SOUTH HADLEY

25 Carriage Lane
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Phylicia M. Lavigne
Seller: Peter E. Shea
Date: 12/07/16

112 College St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Christopher B. Day
Seller: Nancy L. Gardiner
Date: 11/30/16

10 Dale St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Bruce Barrett
Seller: Rolanda J. Rattelle
Date: 12/02/16

200 East St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $304,000
Buyer: Asherah B. Allen
Seller: Rene S. Beauchemin
Date: 12/05/16

10 Enterprise St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $192,500
Buyer: Casey L. Miner
Seller: Robert Desrochers
Date: 11/30/16

140 Main St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Aaron Stark
Seller: Stark, David M., (Estate)
Date: 12/02/16

9 Marcel St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $222,000
Buyer: Marcie Whitman
Seller: Jennifer M. Vannoy
Date: 12/09/16

7 Overlook Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $282,500
Buyer: Samuel I. McArthur
Seller: Daniel W. Goble
Date: 11/29/16

275 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $227,500
Buyer: Cara E. Sheedy
Seller: Christine Tropp-Orlen
Date: 12/08/16

41 River Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: David G. Klingener
Seller: J. Lucinda Kidder
Date: 11/28/16

13 West Cornell St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Luke Trahan
Seller: Helen T. Deshaies IRT
Date: 11/29/16

95 Willimansett St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Jaidan Realty Property Management
Seller: Carolanne Bright
Date: 11/30/16

SOUTHAMPTON

Woodmar Lane #F
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: G&F Custom Built Homes
Seller: Chester J. Kellogg
Date: 12/08/16

WARE

17 Lee Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Cory N. Stoner
Seller: Richard R. Tumolo
Date: 11/29/16

66 Pleasant St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $148,806
Buyer: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Seller: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Date: 11/30/16

5 Wildflower Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Catharine M. Armentrout
Seller: Belco Construction Co. Inc.
Date: 11/29/16

WESTHAMPTON

71 Montague Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Ryder J. Henderson
Seller: Strayer, Anne L., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/16

WILLIAMSBURG

32 Main St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Dennis F. Crommett
Seller: Alan J. Bernhardt
Date: 12/09/16

WORTHINGTON

24 Old Main Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Drew A. Hornickel
Seller: Ashley L. Tompkins
Date: 12/09/16

187 Ridge Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $312,500
Buyer: Michael J. Marich
Seller: Kent S. Hicks

Multi-chamber Event to Explore Robert’s Rules of Order

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The West of the River Chamber of Commerce has slated a Lunch and Learn event for Thursday, Feb. 9. This multi-chamber event will include members from the Greater Westfield and East of the River Five Town chambers of commerce.

The event will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Storrowton Tavern Carriage House in West Springfield. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn how to utilize common rules and procedures for deliberation and debate in order to place the whole room on the same footing. Robert’s Rules of Order is the standard for facilitating discussions and group decision making. These processes are designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to participate and to share ideas in an orderly manner.

The event includes lunch and an informative presentation by Robert MacDonald, who has moderated many political debates and several meetings on governmental issues, has been parliamentarian for numerous meetings, and has lectured on Robert’s Rules of Order.

The event cost is $35. For more information, call the West of the River Chamber of Commerce at (413) 426-3880 or register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

Community Foundation Granting $1,306,600 to Local Nonprofits

SPRINGFIELD — The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts is awarding $1,306,600 to 78 local nonprofit organizations in the Pioneer Valley, with awards ranging from $3,700 to $30,000. The Community Foundation awards competitive grants each year, with funds targeting projects addressing community needs in arts and culture, education, the environment, health, housing, and human services for residents of Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties.

Over 40 of the projects funded were supported by trusts administered by Bank of America. The Community Foundation receives and reviews grant applications on behalf of Bank of America for four charitable trusts for which the bank serves as a trustee.

One award was made as part of the Community Foundation’s Challenge Program to support capital campaigns taking place in the Pioneer Valley region. The $30,000 award requires a one-to-one match. Berkshire Hills Music Academy is the 2017 Challenge Grant recipient.

Other grants include $20,000 to the Center for New Americans to support the training of staff and volunteers who work annually with immigrants living in the Pioneer Valley on immigration legal issues; $25,000 to Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society Inc. for masonry repairs to the exterior of the organization’s Springfield location; $25,000 to Community Music School of Springfield Inc. for its children’s chorus music program; and $25,000 to Baystate Health Foundation Inc. for its new surgical center at Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

“These grants are a tremendous investment in our community and in the nonprofits that under take this important work. We are fortunate to have generous donors and committed volunteers to make this investment possible,” said Community Foundation Senior Program Officer Sheila Toto.

Grant funding comes from distributions from 38 funds established by various individuals and groups committed to supporting local nonprofits. These donors rely on the Community Foundation’s volunteers and staff to focus their funds for effective use by nonprofit agencies in the Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin county communities. Thirteen volunteer members of the Community Foundation’s Distribution Committee and 12 project reviewers carefully evaluated 109 applications for funding requests totaling more than $2.1 million.

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital Welcomes Susan Barone

LUDLOW — HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts recently welcomed Susan Barone to its senior leadership team as director of Marketing Operations. She brings extensive healthcare experience to HealthSouth, as she has worked in the Western Mass. community for 25 years as a registered nurse and has held roles in hospital operations and medical practice leadership.

Barone’s area of expertise includes healthcare business development and marketing, with a vast knowledge of the area’s healthcare community. She received her nursing education from Baystate Medical Center School of Nursing, a bachelor’s degree from Bay Path University, and an MBA in healthcare leadership from Elms College.

Springfield Leadership Institute to Begin 2017 Session Feb. 9

SPRINGFIELD — The 2017 Springfield Leadership Institute will emphasize strategies and techniques designed to create high-energy and high-involvement leadership for middle and upper mangers who have potential to make an impact on their organization and the community, and who serve in key roles in volunteer organizations.

The Institute, which begins on Feb. 9 and runs for seven consecutive Thursdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m., is directed by Robert Kleine III, dean of the Western New England University College of Business, and Jack Greeley, executive-in-residence at the university. Greeley has a strong background in management, strategic planning, and consulting to a variety of organizations.

Sessions will focus on problem solving, learning to ask the right questions, and implementing creative and innovative solutions for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Participants will actively explore best practices of leaders; analyze their own leadership, learning, and problem solving styles; and experience the synergies that result from high-performing teams. The emphasis will be on experiential activities that provide opportunities to identify, develop, and refine skill sets for effective leadership. All sessions will be held at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. Upon successful completion of Leadership 2017, participants will be eligible to enroll in a free graduate course offered through the College of Business at Western New England University (subject to certain requirements).

Applications must be received by Wednesday, Feb. 1. Tuition is $885 per participant. For questions about the program or the application process, e-mail Jessica Hill at [email protected].

Baystate to Announce Recipients of Better Together Grants

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Medical Center, in conjunction with its Community Benefits Advisory Council, will hold a media event today, Jan. 6, beginning at 1:30 p.m. to announce the recipients whose requests for proposals last year were accepted as part is Baystate’s new Better Together Grants program.

Better Together unites healthcare and community-based nonprofit organizations across Baystate Health’s service areas to shape future healthcare and human services. The aim is to develop approaches that, by targeting the social determinants of health, will improve people’s overall well-being and make area communities healthier places to live.

Grant funding was made possible through the state Department of Public Health’s netermination-of-need requirements to address community health needs. Eligible nonprofit organizations have projects that directly benefit residents of Hampden County, with a focus on underserved and vulnerable populations in Greater Springfield.

Projects receiving funds include HAPHousing/Healthy Hill Initiative, Project Coach, Revitalize Community Development Corp./Revitalize Healthy Homes, Men of Color Health Awareness/Ludlow County Jail Project, Prison Birth Project/Doula Training Program, Mass. Public Health Assoc./Stronger Together Hampden County, River Valley Counseling Center/Transgender Conference, and Springfield Food Policy Council/What is Policy?

Berkshire Bank Expands Scholarship Awards Program

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Bank announced it will honor a record 35 high-school seniors across Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for their volunteer service through the Berkshire Bank Foundation’s annual Scholarship Awards Program. The program will award $52,500 in total scholarship dollars to students who have exemplified community service through their volunteer efforts. Additionally, students must attend a high school that is located in a county with a Berkshire Bank office.

Through the program, 35 $1,500 scholarships will be awarded to high-school seniors who will be attending a two-year or four-year college in the fall. Applications are evaluated based on the student’s record of volunteerism in the community, academic standing, and financial need. Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and a family household income under $75,000 to be eligible to apply. A team of more than 200 bank employee volunteers will review the applications and select this year’s recipients.

Scholarships will be awarded in the geographic regions where Berkshire Bank offices or its subsidiaries are located, with 14 available in Massachusetts, 10 in New York, three in Connecticut, three in Vermont, three in New Jersey, and two in Pennsylvania. Students may apply online though the bank’s website at www.berkshirebank.com/scholarships. To be considered, all applications must be submitted online by Wednesday, March 22 at 4 p.m.

Western New England University Unveils New Scholarship

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University announced a new Business Impact Scholarship to support the recent surge of economic development in the Greater Springfield area. The scholarship is available to Massachusetts residents from Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester counties who are enrolled in the university’s College of Business starting in the fall of 2017.

“For nearly a century, the College of Business at Western New England has educated and prepared local residents to become successful business leaders, and our alumni lead many Springfield area businesses and nonprofit organizations,” said Robert Kleine, dean of the College of Business. “This scholarship is an investment in preparing the next generation to provide leadership in the local economy.”

The $2,000 award will be in addition to an incoming student’s Academic Merit Scholarship, which may range up to $20,000 per year. The Business Impact Scholarship and the Academic Merit scholarship are renewable for all years of full-time undergraduate study in the university’s College of Business, to students in good academic standing.

“I have already received positive feedback from members of the local community regarding this important scholarship opportunity,” said Bryan Gross, vice president for Enrollment Management. “There is good reason to be optimistic about all the recent business development in our region, and I know that Western New England University will continue to provide highly motivated business leaders and pioneering entrepreneurs to our community in the years to come.”

Western New England University is still accepting applications for fall 2017. For more information about the Business Impact Scholarship or the College of Business program, visit the Admissions website at wne.edu/cost-and-aid/undergraduate.

Grinspoon Foundation, Big Y Announce Local Farmer Awards

AGAWAM — In partnership with Big Y, the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation (HGCF) announced the third year of the Local Farmer Awards, a program to support local farmers with projects that will help them compete in the marketplace. The awards are for equipment and physical farm improvements.

“Big Y has been partnering with and supporting local farmers since we began over 80 years ago,” President and Chief Operating Officer Charles D’Amour said. “Through our partnership with the Grinspoon Foundation, we are providing one more way to help the local growers to thrive in our community.”

In an effort to have the widest impact, individual award recipients will be given up to $2,500 per award for a total of over $110,000 in awards. Realizing the importance of local farms in our region, Grinspoon launched these awards in 2015. The 2016 awards were distributed to 47 of the 128 applicants.

The two regional Buy Local farm advocates, Berkshire Grown and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), will continue to provide insight and assistance. Philip Korman, executive director of CISA, noted that “we are so pleased to continue to work with everyone involved in this unique farm awards program to support the vital role family farms play in our communities.”

Added Barbara Zheutlin, executive director of Berkshire Grown, “we’re thrilled about the continuation of these financial awards for farmers in Western Massachusetts to strengthen their farm businesses. This helps build the local food economy in our region.”

The deadline for applying is Tuesday, Jan. 31. Interested applicants are encouraged to visit www.farmerawards.org for more information.

Federal Funding Helps Massachusetts Farms Save Energy

NORTHAMPTON — Farms and rural small businesses in Massachusetts seeking to reduce energy costs or install clean energy technologies have long relied on the state Department of Agricultural Resources’ (MDAR) Mass. Farm Energy Program (MFEP) for funding and technical assistance.

New funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) will support the work of the MFEP. The USDA has awarded a $33,000 Rural Business Development Grant to the Center for EcoTechnology (CET), a nonprofit based in Northampton, which manages MFEP. CET will use the grant to provide timely information, funding request assistance, and technical assistance to rural farms that wish to improve their energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.

MDAR Commissioner John Lebeaux will join Massachusetts elected officials, USDA RD Southern New England Director Scott Soares, and Lorenzo Macaluso of CET on Friday, Jan. 6 at 10 a.m. at Smith’s Farmstead, 20 Otter River Road, Winchendon. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the farm’s renewable and efficiency projects.

USDA funding adds to funding sources the MFEP draws on to provide help to farms, including funding from public utilities, the USDA, MDAR, municipal utilities, the Mass. Clean Energy Center, and a variety of energy-efficiency and clean-energy rebates.

FIT Staffing to Host Job Fair for IT Professionals Jan. 26

SPRINGFIELD — Are you an experienced IT professional seeking your next career move? FIT Staffing will host a job fair from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26 at the UMass Center at Tower Square, 1500 Main St., in downtown Springfield.

Job Fair 2.0 will provide attendees with the opportunity to connect with employers in the Western Mass. and Hartford County areas who are seeking talented IT professionals for their organizations. Participating companies in the healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and insurance industries will be looking for qualified candidates for their mid- to senior-level IT roles.

FIT Staffing will provide light refreshments, and no registration is required for job seekers. For more information, contact [email protected].

FIT Staffing is a Springfield-based, women-owned staffing company that connects qualified information-technology professionals with local businesses looking to hire top technical talent.

West of the River Chamber to Welcome Fred Astaire Dance Studio

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The West of the River Chamber of Commerce will welcome Fred Astaire Dance Studio of West Springfield to the chamber and the community during a grand reopening ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at the studio’s location, 54 Wayside Ave., West Springfield.

The studio has been under new ownership since Jan. 23, 2016, offering ballroom and Latin dance instruction for all ages and ability levels, with or without a partner. Fred Astaire Dance Studio also offers private and group instruction to learn social dancing and prepare for special events such as weddings, cruises, and black-tie events, in addition to hosting dance parties every Friday evening.

Champagne and hors d’oeuvres will be served at the reopening event, along with an introductory group dance lesson (starting at 7:15 p.m.), general dancing, and professional demonstrations on site. Attire is dressy casual.

Munich Haus Announces Upcoming Game Feast Dates