Day: March 15, 2019

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Lea Occhialini as its first ombudsperson and chief culture officer. 

Occhialini is the former faculty and staff ombudsperson at Hampshire College and mediator/trainer in the Smith College Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity. Prior to that, she worked as a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court qualified mediator for the Mediation and Training Collaborative in Greenfield and helped oversee the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Face-to-Face mediation program in Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield small-claims courts. 

The ombudsperson/chief culture officer position is new at HCC.

“I’m excited about this,” said HCC president Christina Royal. “Although it’s very common at four-year institutions, to my understanding, this is the first time a community college in Massachusetts has had an ombudsperson.”

Occhialini has worked in the mediation field since 2013. She started at HCC on March 4.

“My job is to protect the interests of faculty and staff at all levels of the college and to promote fairness,” she said. “I assist in clarifying issues and determining options for resolving conflicts, and I also bring systemic concerns to the attention of the president, and I do this as a confidential, neutral, and independent resource.”

Occhialini holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College, a law degree from American University’s Washington College School of Law, and a certificate in the foundations of organizational ombudsman practice from the International Ombudsman Assoc.

HOLYOKE — Turning a simple box into an unusual ‘beauty and the beast’ packaging statement, Hazen Paper Co. was honored for the second year in a row with Product of the Year honors at the annual meeting of the Assoc. of International Metallizers, Coaters, and Laminators (AIMCAL), held recently in Palm Beach, Calif.

The winning entry was a folding carton titled “The Spirit of Innovation” for prestige luxury box maker Autajon Packaging USA, which featured a three-dimensional, jewel-toned snake and a female model whose face transformed from flawless to gorgeously reptilian when the box is tilted.

The folding carton was made with precisely registered custom color-motion holography that reflects and refracts light to bring the snake’s sinuous curves to life and allows the woman’s face and eye to blaze with unexpected snake-like gleam. The box is embossed with a snakeskin pattern and finished with a soft-touch coating. Inside, a sea-green coating contrasts with the rich black exterior.

“It’s a testament to the vision and talent of the Autajon designer that this package is so visually and tactilely stunning,” said Hazen President John Hazen. “In one package, she clearly demonstrated brand-identity and brand-protection benefits that can be achieved with holography. I’m proud that our holographic artists were able to deliver on the brilliance of her idea.”

The judges were impressed with the winner’s visual impact and expert combination of registered holograms, embossing, and matte and gloss finishes. “There’s a lot of complexity,” observed one judge. “The result is a highly premium appearance,” concluded another. 

Hazen also received a “Product Excellence” award for Benefit Cosmetics’ Hoola Quickie Contour Stick packaging, created with silver Ultracure acrylic-coated metallized polyester laminated to paperboard, offset-printed in transparent and opaque colors, and embossed. Judges rewarded the package for its extensive use of embossing, halftone reproduction, tight registration, and vivid green interior. “This is a complete integration of design, metallizing, and other elements,” one noted. 

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College announced two new grants that assist with funding for Army and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets enrolled full-time and participating in the ROTC program at Springfield College.

The Springfield College Room and Board Grant covers on-campus housing and basic meal-plan expenses for any Springfield College Army or Air Force ROTC cadet who has earned a national or local full-tuition ROTC scholarship. Additionally, the college will offer an annual undergraduate ROTC grant of $2,500 to any cadet entering Springfield College as a first-year student who does not qualify for an ROTC scholarship. This grant is renewable for up to eight semesters at Springfield College, as long as the cadet continues in the Springfield College ROTC program. 

In a recent ceremony on campus recognizing the ROTC grants, Springfield College junior and ROTC scholarship recipient Madelyn Reppucci was recognized at an official ROTC signing and swearing-in ceremony in the Marsh Memorial Chapel. 

“This is a very special opportunity, to be able to take my oath at such a special place with so many special people here watching,” said Reppucci, who majors in elementary and special education and American studies. “Being a part of the ROTC program has been a blessing. I have enjoyed my time at Springfield College so much. I have met so many wonderful people, made so many lifetime friends already; it’s just a great place to go to college.”

Through the Army ROTC program, students have the chance to work towards a career with the Army for up to four years, where they are taking courses for college credit alongside their academic major. The first two years are voluntary basic courses with no military obligation. These courses provide students with a background on the military’s role in society and the missions of the Army, focusing on leadership, land navigation, marksmanship, military history, and basic military skills. The final two years are advanced courses with military obligation, including a five-week camp prior to the final year. These courses include leadership skills, training, personnel management, ethics, military justice, and military tactics.

Through the Air Force ROTC program, students complete a program designed to train and commission officers into the U.S. Air Force. The first two years allow students to complete the general military courses. The second two years begin with field training, leading to time as Professional Officer Corps, where students will be contracted with the Air Force.

HOLYOKE — BusinessWest launched its Difference Makers program in 2009 to celebrate individuals, groups, organizations, and families that are positively impacting the Pioneer Valley and are, as the name suggests, making a difference in this region. Tickets are still available to celebrate the class of 2019 at the Log Cabin on Thursday, March 28.

This year’s honorees are Carla Cosenzi, co-president of TommyCar Auto Group; the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Peter Gagliardi, president and CEO of Way Finders; Frederick and Marjorie Hurst, publisher and editor of An African American Point of View; Joe Peters, vice chairman and former president of Universal Plastics; and the Springfield Museums. They were profiled in the Feb. 4 issue.

The Difference Makers Gala begins at 5 p.m., and limited tickets are still available for $75. To reserve a spot, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or e-mail [email protected]. The presenting sponsor is Baystate Health/Health New England, and other event sponsors include Royal, P.C., Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C., Development Associates, TommyCar Auto Group, and Viability Inc.