Day: May 23, 2019

AMHERST — Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Claudia Pazmany announced the recent addition of John Page as full-time Membership & Marketing manager.

Page, who has been serving as an intern in this position for the last 10 months while completing his undergraduate studies, is already known to many, Pazmany said. “John has proven to be an invaluable resource to our chamber membership, and members know to turn to him for support and recognition. He is the best possible fit, and we are a better chamber for his commitment to the Amherst area.”

She added that, “with his marketing talents, John has already helped us double our engagement and exposure across web and social media over the last nine months. As he continues to develop engaging marketing campaigns, including maintaining our website, social media, and communications, he also strives to help members see the value in the chamber through its programing to promote business and professional development in our community.”

Page is a 2019 earned a BBA in operation and information management from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, where he also studied political science and was a member of the Commonwealth Honors College. He received the Amherst Area Chamber and Cooley Dickinson Health Care Scholarship in 2015. He had been working for UMass Dining for five years, rising through the ranks, before joining the chamber in 2018. He has a passion for civic engagement and politics and serves on a number of local committees.

HOLYOKE — On Tuesday, June 4 from 5 to 8:30 p.m., dozens of local leaders will take an expanded collective view of the trends and forces affecting the business, social, and economic environment of the region at the Pioneer Valley Leadership Summit.

Using the World Café method of small-group conversations, participants will create a context map of how current forces are changing how they develop and steer their organizations into the future. Ideas, concerns, and best practices will be exchanged in this highly interactive process.

“We’re hosting this summit to celebrate our 25 years of providing a learning community for our business members,” said Ira Bryck, president of the Family Business Center of the Pioneer Valley (FBC). “Now we want to give back to the community that has been part of our success. We’re currently going through our own leadership transition and strategic planning to prepare a roadmap that my successor and board can use to evolve the organization. Conducting an environmental scan to better understand the landscape that our members and stakeholders are navigating is part of the planning process.”

Jessi Kirley, strategic planning lead and incoming FBC executive director, added that “conducting educational and networking events for our members is what we do. The Leadership Summit is a unique opportunity for leaders to contribute to and benefit from the collective knowledge of experts from different business and community sectors.”

The World Café process of focused, small-group conversations provides a meaningful way to exchange critical information that is relevant to planning and organizational development, said Ingrid Bredenberg, strategic leadership coach and summit facilitator. “The event, and the compiled information, will help leadership teams and boards of directors understand the bigger picture so they can better steer their organizations in these dynamically changing times.”

The Leadership Summit will be held at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, an appropriate venue with an expansive view of the Pioneer Valley. During the highly interactive event, participants will sit at tables designated for topics such as social trends, economic climate, political forces, technology, etc. Graphic recorders will illustrate the group reports in real time. Information exchanged will be captured and compiled for participants’ use after the summit.

For more information, visit fambizpv.com/leadershipsummit.html.

EASTHAMPTON — Berkley Human Services, a leading provider of insurance and risk-management services for social services across the U.S., has selected Smith Brothers Insurance to represent it in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.

Smith Brothers, which has offices in Easthampton and West Springfield and is headquartered in Glastonbury, Conn., is an independently operated, top-100 broker in the U.S., withd has offices throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.

“For decades, we have had great relationships with many of the W.R. Berkley companies,” said Joe Smith, president and CEO of Smith Brothers. “The addition of Berkley Human Services in our social-services specialty will enhance our growth plans, and, with our home base in Hartford County and expansion in Massachusetts and New York, we look forward to helping these organizations help others.”

SPRINGFIELD — In the spring of 2017, BusinessWest and its sister publication, HCN, created a new and exciting recognition program called Healthcare Heroes.

It was launched with the theory that there are heroes working all across this region’s wide, deep, and all-important healthcare sector, and that there was no shortage of fascinating stories to tell and individuals and groups to honor. Two years later, that theory has been validated, and stories that needed to be told have been told.

But there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of heroes who stories we still need to tell. And that’s where you come in.

Nominations for the class of 2019 are due July 12, and we encourage you to get involved and help recognize someone you consider to be a hero in the community we call Western Mass. in one (or more) of these seven categories: Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider, Health/Wellness Administrator/Administration, Emerging Leader, Community Health, Innovation in Health/Wellness, Collaboration in Health/Wellness, and Lifetime Achievement.

Event sponsors include presenting sponsor American International College, partnering sponsors Development Associates and Comcast Business, and supporting sponsor Elms College. To nominate a Healthcare Hero, click here.