Day: September 10, 2018

SPRINGFIELD — Emily Crafts has joined brand-development firm Six-Point Creative, where she assumes the newly created role of traffic manager/administrator. As such, she will be accountable for all workflow within the agency and will provide an information hub for agency projects. Her responsibilities include the scheduling of projects and allocation of resources, and she will also facilitate the internal communication of priorities, project details, and deadlines.

Crafts worked most recently as a development, marketing, and communications coordinator for the Center for Human Development in Springfield. She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Roger Williams University and is pursuing an MBA from Western New England University.

CHICOPEE — The Greater Chicopee, Greater Holyoke, South Hadley & Granby, Springfield Regional, and Quaboag Hills chambers of commerce will collaborate to host their annual Table Top Expo on Tuesday, Oct. 2. The event will be held at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee, from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

The Expo features 120 vendor tables, which sell out each year. These include members of all five chambers and represent a broad cross-section of area businesses. From banks and event venues to specialty retailers and marketing specialists, any business that an individual or company could have a need for will be represented.

“We’re proud to be able to offer this event to our members and the public,” said Greater Chicopee Chamber President Jessica Roncarati-Howe. “It allows us to work with like-minded friends at other area chambers to extend the reach of each of our memberships. It’s exciting to see a business from Springfield connect with one from Quaboag Hills that might not otherwise have had the chance to meet.”

For the first time, the Table Top Expo will be free to the public. All are welcome to connect with businesses, interact with their representatives, and network while enjoying light refreshments and a cash bar.

Vendor tables are already selling. Participation, including one eight-foot table with a black tablecloth and inclusion in the event brochure, costs $125. Limited access to electricity is $25. Sponsorships are still available.

This event is sponsored for the Greater Chicopee Chamber by platinum sponsors Holyoke Medical Center and La Quinta Inn and Suites; gold sponsors BusinessWest, Polish National Credit Union, Holyoke Gas & Electric, and Westfield Bank; and silver sponsors Mountain View Landscaping and Reminder Publications.

To participate as a vendor, call Program Director Bobbi Mabb at (413) 594-2101, ext. 102, or visit www.chicopeechamber.org and click on the ‘events’ tab.

HOLYOKE — Jeffery Still, a registered investment advisor and licensed fiduciary based in Hadley, will teach two classes this fall at Holyoke Community College, with sessions for each topic offered both on the Holyoke campus and at the Ware location.

“Index Funds & Classic Concepts of Investing” will be offered on the Ware campus Mondays, Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., and on the Holyoke campus Mondays, Nov. 19 and 26, also from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

This course will look at strategies for managing stock-market volatility and expand participants’ knowledge of index funds and comprehensive investment strategies. In addition to discussing how to manage the volatile market, Still will discuss concepts of investing, investment fundamentals, implementation, and guarantees.

Still will also offer “Achieving a Financially Secure Future” on Mondays, Oct. 15 and 22, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on the Ware campus, and Mondays, Dec. 3 and 10, at the same time on the Holyoke campus.

Participants will learn how to build a strong financial foundation and create and set goals for retirement using time-tested principals of sound investing — whether or not they have started planning for the future. Still will discuss risks and options to mitigate them, what impact taxes can have on retirement savings, and what makes a tax-efficient strategy.

The cost is $49 per class. To register for one of Still’s courses, visit www.hcc.edu/courses-and-programs/personal-enrichment.

Still is a registered investment advisor, offering services through Eagle Strategies LLC of Hadley. He is also a registered representative offering securities through NYLIFE Securities LLC.

A financial planner, Still operates in the capacity of a fiduciary. He has built a successful practice in Western Mass. that focuses on working with individuals and small-business owners. For individuals, he offers investment planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and life insurance. Services for small businesses include succession planning, key-person insurance, and buy-sell agreements.

Since 2013, Still has been a member of New York Life’s Executive Council, members of which are among the most successful of its 12,000 licensed agents. He belongs to the Northampton Chamber of Commerce.

SPRINGFIELD — The third installment of the BusinessWest lecture series Future Tense, titled “Change Considerations: An Examination of Lean Process, Market Disruption, and the Future of Your Business,” will take place on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Tech Foundry, 1391 Main St., ninth floor, Springfield.

The lecture, open exclusively to CEOs and business owners, will be delivered by Mark Borsari, president of Sanderson MacLeod. The cost is a $25 donation to Tech Foundry. Event sponsors include Paragus IT, the Jamrog Group, and Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

With increasingly automated business processes, AI, and machine manufacturing, lean concepts are becoming more important than ever in terms of staying competitive. Borsari will discuss change and innovation through lean concepts and focus on resulting cultural considerations. The presentation will also address already-active market disrupters that will affect business processes in various industries.

Metered street parking is available near the venue, and there are several parking-garage options nearby as well. To register, visit businesswest.com/lecture-series-2.