Day: October 5, 2018

EASTHAMPTON — Girls on the Run of Western Massachusetts will host a FUNdraiser at Mill 180 Park in Easthampton this Saturday, Oct. 6, from 7 to 10 p.m. Attendees will enjoy a fun night with appetizers, silent auction, and cash bar while supporting the work of Girls on the Run.

The organization’s mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. All proceeds from Saturday’s go toward scholarships so more girls can participate in this life-changing program. Last year, Girls on the Run served 1,200 girls in Western Mass., and 54% received financial assistance. This year, the organization expects to serve more than 1,500 girls. 

Tickets cost $30 per person or $50 for two. Tickets can be purchased at www.girlsontherunwesternma.org or at the door.

AMHERST — On Tuesday, Oct. 16, at the Delaney House in Holyoke, the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley will host Sheila Heen, best-selling author of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well. Heen teaches at Harvard Law School and in the Harvard Negotiation Project. Also, Ross Giombetti of Giombetti Associates will explain why and how companies would benefit from a “users manual of YOU.”

The Family Business Center will also present a morning event on Friday, Oct. 19 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the MassMutual Learning and Conference Center in Chicopee. This spirited conversation between Delcie Bean of Paragus IT and Charlie Epstein of Epstein Financial Services will delve into how future technologies will be disruptive in a way that cannot be ignored, now or then.

To register for either event, contact Ira Bryck at [email protected] or (413) 835-0810.

SPRINGFIELD — NAI Plotkin, an office of NAI Global, a leading commercial real-estate brokerage firm, announced it has sold 1492 Boston Road, which consists of a 9,697-square-foot commercial building, formerly the Smokey Bones Restaurant, and an adjacent 20,585-square-foot commercial building, currently occupied by Namco.

The asset was sold to Restoration Worship Center/Centro de Restauracion Adoracion for $2.2 million and includes a total of 6.1 acres of land next to the Lowe’s shopping plaza. Bill Low and Stephen Picard teamed up to sell the property, which was on the market for years with several real-estate companies.

“We are excited to have had the opportunity to get the former Smokey Bones property sold within a six-month timeframe to Restoration Worship Center, Low said. “The Boston Road area is a prime retail location and has seen quite a lot of changes over the last decade. While the retail market in this area has changed with the closing of stores like Macy’s and now Sears, we still have had a successful track record of sales and lease transaction in this area. With the opening of the new MGM Springfield, we have seen a spike of energy in commercial real estate, and we are excited to be part of bringing new business and opportunities into the Western Massachusetts market.”

CHICOPEE — Elms College now offers two new educational grants to help incoming first-year students offset tuition costs. The Urban Education Grant and the Catholic Education Grant each award new students $2,000.

Students attending Springfield, Chicopee, or Holyoke public schools in Massachusetts are eligible for the Urban Education Grant, which is open to students attending a Catholic high school anywhere in the country. To qualify for either grant, students must be currently enrolled at their respective public or Catholic schools at the time of their application to Elms College. All qualifying students will be automatically considered for these grants when applying to Elms; no separate application is needed for this funding.

These new awards can be paired with other merit-based scholarships and financial aid offered by the college, but not with each other.

“Elms is proud to expand its financial-aid options for students from local urban school districts and Catholic high schools nationwide,” said Walter Breau, vice president for Academic Affairs. “These grants show our continuing commitment to make an Elms education accessible and affordable to students.”

SPRINGFIELD — The second annual class of Healthcare Heroes will be honored at the Starting Gate at GreatHorse in Hampden on Thursday, Oct. 25 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Healthcare Heroes, a recognition program involving the Western Mass. healthcare sector, was launched last spring by HCN and BusinessWest. The program was created to shed a bright light on the outstanding work being done across the broad spectrum of health and wellness services, and the institutions and people providing that care.

This year’s honorees include Mary Paquette, director of Health Services and nurse practitioner, American International College; Celeste Surreira, assistant director of Nursing, the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke; Peter DePergola II, director of Clinical Ethics, Baystate Health; Dr. Matthew Sadof, pediatrician, Baystate Children’s Hospital; TechSpring; the Consortium and the Opioid Task Force; and Robert Fazzi, founder, Fazzi Associates. The seven winners were profiled in the Sept. 4 issue of BusinessWest and the September issue of HCN, and will be feted at the Oct. 25 gala.

Tickets cost $90, and tables of 10 are available. To order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or visit www.businesswest.com. Healthcare Heroes sponsors include American International College (presenting sponsor), Baystate Health/Health New England (presenting sponsor), National Grid (partner), and supporting sponsors Renew.Calm, the Elms College MBA program, Bay Path University, and Mercy Medical Center/Trinity Health Of New England.