Day: September 19, 2018

HOLYOKE — PeoplesBank has promoted Aleda Amistadi to the position of senior vice president of Retail and Operations. She formerly served as first vice pesident of Operations and has 22 years of banking experience.

“While I have led Operations here at PeoplesBank, I actually started my banking career in retail, so I am very familiar with that aspect of the industry,” Amistadi said. “I believe that combining retail and Ooperations leadership into one position will create better communications and decision making internally, which will lead to an improved customer experience.”

Amistadi earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Westfield State University and an MBA from Western New England University. She also earned a Wharton leadership certificate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Six Sigma green belt certification from Duke University Continuing Studies MindEdge Online Learning. She is also a graduate of the ABA Stonier School of Banking.

Amistadi serves on the board of directors and the finance committee for Dress for Success of Western Massachusetts.

SPRINGFIELD — Emily Harman, director of the Office of Small Business Programs for the Department of the Navy, in partnership with the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts Assistance Center, will conduct a small-business workshop titled “Doing Business with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps” on Thursday, Sept. 20 as part of Springfield Navy Week, Sept. 17-23.

In 2017, the Department of the Navy awarded $3.2 billion in contracts to businesses in Massachusetts, with more than $66.8 million going to small businesses within 50 miles of Springfield. Industries awarded contracts include engineering services, aircraft manufacturing, commercial and institutional building construction, commercial and institutional building construction, radio and television broadcasting, wireless communications equipment manufacturing, and more.

The small-business workshop, slated for 10 a.m. to noon at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield, is designed to educate small businesses on how to do business with the Navy and Marine Corps. The workshop will also cover how to find out about upcoming contracting opportunities and how small businesses can contribute to the warfighter mission.

There is no cost to attend. Parking is available behind the conference center at a rate of $1 per half-hour. Reservations are required to attend. To register, click here or e-mail Karen Tetreault at [email protected].

HADLEY — Associated Industries of Massachusetts and UMass Amherst University Without Walls will host a panel discussion on the workforce skills gap and tuition-reimbursement benefits on Thursday, Sept. 27 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Hadley Farms Meeting House, 41 Russell St., Hadley.

Industry and workforce-development leaders will detail the current skills gaps facing Western Mass. industries and the impact that employee-friendly educational programs and tuition-reimbursement benefits can have in closing those gaps. University Without Walls (UWW) staff and student panelists will detail how non-traditional higher-education programs can benefit both employees and their employers, helping working adults increase their level of education while balancing work, life, and family.

Keynote speaker Cheryl Scott is the executive director of the MassHire State Workforce Board, which serves as an advisory board to Gov. Charlie Baker on building a strong workforce-development system that is aligned with economic-development goals and education policies. Scott has worked in workforce-development policy and programming for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 2009, and helped to spearhead the Massachusetts Career Readiness Initiative, a statewide effort to enhance basic skill development and work-readiness credentialing across the workforce-development, adult-education, and community-college systems.

Panelists include Joanne Berwald, vice president of Human Resources at Mestek Inc.; Jason Randall, director of Human Resources at MGM Springfield; Jesse Lederman and Myles Sanders, pre-admissions advisors and recruitment coordinators for UWW; and Joan Iwanicki, UWW student.

“For over four decades, UWW has been working to provide an option for non-traditional adult students to take the next step in their careers by earning a bachelor’s degree,” said Ingrid Bracey, director of UMass Amherst University Without Walls. “The skills gaps that exists today support the need for programs like ours that help working adults develop the knowledge, skills, and credentials they need to move up in their careers, as well as meet the growing needs of industry.”

Dawn Creighton, Western Mass. director of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, added that her organization has identified the skills gap as a major concern, and believes a discussion about tuition reimbursement is important for retention, recruiting, and job development.”

The cost of the event is $25, and includes coffee and a continental breakfast. To register, click here. For more information, e-mail Creighton at [email protected].

SOUTH HADLEY — Local businesses and individuals took a swing — or many — at changing the lives of children and families living with disabilities in Western Mass. through their participation in a day of golf at the Orchards Golf Club earlier this month, benefiting the WillPower Foundation.

Tournament sponsors included Orthotics & Prosthetics Laboratories, LePage Financial Group, JP’s Restaurant, Alekman & DiTusa Attorneys at Law, Pride Stores, and McCarthy’s Pub.

Chicopee was well-represented, as a team from Rubner Oil won the tournament, with O’Neil Insurance placing second. Players from Northampton, West Springfield, Holyoke, South Hadley, Monson, Amherst, Springfield, and other communities also joined in the event.

“I love this tournament — it’s the best of all I play in,” said attorney John Connor. “The players are always fun, the mood is special, and we know that our playing and bidding on auction items is helping people right here in our community. We all know someone with a disability, and WillPower gives our neighbors an easy way to get a bit of help when no one else does. I appreciate that my donation is staying in Western Mass. and making a real difference to people.”

The proceeds from this tournament are passed directly to families through small grants of up to $500 for therapy-based items or inclusion-focused services that give relief to parents and the right supports to their children.

WillPower Foundation serves individuals and families living with disabilities in Western Mass. by providing financial assistance when insurance and other programs do not. Recognized this year as a BusinessWest Difference Maker in time for its tenth anniversary, the organization plans to expand services to the community through its easy-to-access grant application for items not covered by insurance. Five grant cycles annually are managed by a volunteer committee who thoroughly review each application with caring and compassion, as well as by focusing on individual impact.

HOLYOKE — Attorney Karen Jackson of Jackson Law, an elder-law and estate-planning firm, will teach a series of classes highlighting the latest developments in elder law and estate planning at Holyoke Community College.

The six-hour course, called “Elder Law and Estate Planning: What You Need to Know,” will be presented in three two-hour sessions on Mondays, Oct. 15, 22, and 29, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Jackson will present comprehensive subject matter on what she calls “the core estate plan” and will explain key estate-planning documents as well as trusts, as well as providing stories and examples. She will also discuss the probate-court process and Medicare hot topics, as well as community care programs and MassHealth planning for nursing-home care.

“The course will explain the basic building blocks of an estate plan and a plan for home and nursing home care, if needed,” Jackson said. “From that foundation, we will also consider the various specialized trust documents that support this planning. I will clarify the probate-court process and what it means to probate a will. And, finally, we will explore current MassHealth issues that are affecting seniors.”

While participants may attend only one session of their choosing, they must still pay the full course cost of $89. To register, call Holyoke Community College at (413) 552-2500 or visit www.hcc.edu/bce.