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CHICOPEE — Elms College announced that all of its class of 2019 education licensure graduates — both undergraduate and graduate — have successfully landed jobs as teachers in their licensure fields or are pursuing advanced degrees. This is the sixth year in a row that the Elms College Education Division has reported a 100% hire rate for its graduates.

“This outcome demonstrates our students’ diligence and commitment to children,” said Mary Claffey Janeczek, chair of the Education Division at Elms College. “Local school districts seek out our licensure graduates, because they are taught not only to master their subject matter, but also to teach with great compassion.”

Elms College allows education majors to specialize in elementary, early childhood, English as a second language, moderate special needs, or secondary education. Graduate students can work toward a master of arts in teaching degree in a variety of fields, including reading specialist, a master of education degree, or a certificate of advanced graduate study (CAGS). The college’s programs offer real-world, student-centric, pedagogical training that prepares teachers to serve as leaders in the changing field of education.

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AMHERST — UMass Amherst will welcome the largest entering class in university history when students return to the Commonwealth’s flagship campus over Labor Day weekend.

“Our students arrive with a remarkable variety of experiences and perspectives, and their selection of UMass Amherst shows that our flagship campus is a destination of choice for academically high-achieving students,” said UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. “This year’s class again demonstrates our commitment to fostering a community of excellence, diversity, and accessibility that serves the Commonwealth and the wider world.”

The size of the entering class, approximately 5,800 students, represents an increase of 790 compared to last year. This includes 4,300 in-state students, an increase of 800 over last fall.

Massachusetts students represent 74% of the first-year class. Out-of-state enrollment remained strong at 1,500, including 470 international students. The university received a record 42,110 applications. Overall undergraduate enrollment this fall is projected to be 22,700.

The academic profile of the class of 2023 is impressive. The average SAT score is 1292, and the average GPA is 3.90. The class also represents an increase in the number of ALANA (African, Latino/Hispanic, Asian, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and Native American) students at 33%. The percentage of underrepresented minority students is 17%, matching last year’s number. Half of the incoming class is female.

Commonwealth Honors College will welcome 660 students, up 35 students over last year. Their average SAT score is 1400.

Along with the first-year class, nearly 1,050 transfer students will be arriving on campus this fall. The transfers include 380 community-college students enrolling through the MassTransfer program. MassTransfer guarantees admission to Massachusetts community-college students who complete a designated program with a GPA of 2.5 or above. The overall GPA for entering transfer students is 3.40.

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WESTFIELD — Each year, the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce solicits nominations from the membership for three awards. This year’s recipients are: Business of the Year: Westfield G&E and Whip City Fiber; Nonprofit of the Year: Westfield 350 Committee; and Lifetime Achievement Award: Sister Elizabeth “Betty” Oleksak of Genesis Spiritual Life and Conference Center.

“The chamber is very excited to announce this year’s recipients, as they are all so deserving of these recognitions,” said Kate Phelon, executive director. “It is never an easy decision, and I know the board governance committee made their recommendations to the full board with thoughtful consideration of all the nominees.”

Formed in 1860, the privately-owned Westfield Gas Co. manufactured and sold only gas. With electric light coming into favor with their customers, the Westfield Gas Light Co. purchased the Schuyler electric plant in 1887. Westfield later voted to acquire its own power plant, and the municipally owned and operated Westfield Gas & Electric Light Department was established in 1899. Fast-forward to 2015 when it began providing fiber-optic internet in Westfield with Whip City Fiber. To date, this municipally owned, gigabit-speed internet service is available to more than 70% of the community. Whip City Fiber offers cutting-edge global access which will support the future commercial and residential growth of Westfield.

The Westfield 350 Committee consists of 13 volunteer board members, including Harry Rock, Patrick Berry, Peggy Champagne, Amber Danahey, Cindy Gaylord, Peter Miller, Paul Nunez, Mary O’Connell, Ken Stomski, Jay Pagluica, Candy Pennington, Joyce Peregrin, and Vanessa Holford Diana, who started planning for Westfield’s 350th birthday in 2017. First Night on Dec. 31, 2018 kicked off the celebration, followed by a plethora of events up to the final weekend of celebration on May 18-19, 2019.

Oleksak is the founder of Genesis Spiritual Life and Conference Center. She served as the center’s administrator from 1976 until retirement in 2002, and continues her ministry at Genesis with service on the board of directors and as an experienced retreat director, spiritual director, biospiritual focusing facilitator, overseer of the Genesis gardens, and the Genesis historian. In the late 1970s and early ’80s, Oleksak supported the creative efforts of the Genesis plant manager to promote and orchestrate summer fairs on the Genesis grounds in order to welcome and educate the public as to the Sisters of Providence change in ministry in Westfield from that of caring for unwed mothers to Genesis Spiritual Life Center. Genesis welcomes individuals from all faiths and all walks of life.

The three award winners will be recognized at the Chamber’s annual meeting and awards banquet on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Shaker Farms Country Club. There will be a cocktail hour from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. followed by a fun-filled program and banquet. The event is hosted by Shaker Farms Country Club, 866 Shaker Road, Westfield. The event sponsor is Westfield Bank, the silver sponsor is Tighe & Bond, and the bronze sponsor is Meyers Brother Kalicka, P.C. For more information on tickets and sponsorships, call the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

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SPRINGFIELD — Jewish Family Services will host a presentation by author Lesléa Newman on Thursday, Sept. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. Newman will talk about her journey to become a children’s book writer and present and discuss some of her Jewish children’s books, including Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story. She will also show a short film titled We Are a Country of Immigrants in which she interviews Phyllis Rubin, her godmother and daughter of the real Gittel.

Newman’s other works include Here Is The World: A Year of Jewish Holidays; Ketzel, The Cat Who Composed (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award and the Assoc. of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award); A Sweet Passover; and Runaway Dreidel. She has received creative-writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation. From 2008 to 2010, she served as poet laureate of Northampton. Her newest children’s book, Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail, will be published in 2020.

The program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and books by the author will be available for purchase. Jewish Family Services’ Community Room is located at 1160 Dickinson St., Springfield (the parking lot is on the Converse Street side).

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NORTHAMPTON ­— Tickets are now on sale for the 2019 Northampton Jazz Festival Brunch on Sunday, Oct. 6, a fundraiser to benefit the Jazz Artists in the Schools Program at John F. Kennedy Middle School, which exposes Northampton’s student musicians to the valuable mentorship of professional jazz artists.

The DeChamplain Quartet, based out of Hartford, Conn., will perform their gypsy-style music from noon to 2 p.m. with Atla DeChamplain on vocals, Matt DeChamplain on piano, Chris Morrison on guitar, and Matt Dwonszyk on bass.

The Jazz Artists in the School Program “opens up a new realm of possibility for aspiring jazz musicians,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the Northampton Jazz Festival. “Expanding their exposure to jazz through direct one-on-ones with professional jazz musicians is a tremendous bonus for the students.”

Thanks to donations from the Davis Financial Group of Hadley, the program has been able to offer unique workshops with professional jazz artists to the jazz-band students at JFK and Northampton High School.

During the past school year, junior- and senior-high-school jazz-band students have worked with baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan, tenor saxophonist Don Braden, vocalist Samirah Evans, trumpeter Don Anderson, vocalist Camille Thurman, and the Green Street Trio. The Jazz Artists in the Schools Program will continue when school returns in the fall, with programs set for Nov. 18 and 19 with baritone saxaphonist Clare Daly at JFK, and Dec. 2 and 3 at NHS featuring trombonist and educator Steve Davis.

The jazz brunch will be held at the Delaney House, 3 Country Club Road in Holyoke, starting at 11 a.m. Tickets to the brunch cost $40, and $10 from each purchase will benefit the Davis Financial Group Jazz Artists in the Schools Program at JFK Middle School for the 2019-20 school year.

The brunch will wrap up the 2019 Northampton Jazz Festival, set for Friday, Oct. 4 through Sunday, Oct. 6. The event features three days of live music at various venues in downtown Northampton, including the main-stage act, the Kurt Elling Quintet, which will perform on Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Music.

For more information, to purchase tickets, or to donate to the Jazz Artists in the Schools Program, visit northamptonjazzfest.org.

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HOLYOKE — PeoplesBank joined Google, Facebook, BMW, Southwest Airlines, and more top companies on the 2019 WayUp Top 100 Internship Programs list. WayUp is a professional networking application that connects college students and recent graduates to career opportunities with reputable employers.

According to WayUp, the bank was selected because “PeoplesBank interns not only get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to operate a bank, they also get hands-on experience to work on passion projects like Habitat for Humanity’s Build Days.” The list is determined by a panel of industry experts who consider everything from public votes to internship-program highlights. More than 1,000 employers participated in this year’s assessment.

“PeoplesBank interns make an immediate and direct impact on the organization and the communities that the bank serves,” said Danielle St. Jean, HR Coordinator and Training Specialist. “Each intern is also assigned to a home department at the bank. In addition to day-to-day assignments and value-add projects completed within that department, the group of interns are involved in several hands-on activities.”

PeoplesBank interns participated in on-site professional development, a Habitat for Humanity Build Day, employee-engagement planning, banking-topic webinars, and job shadowing. They also were able to discuss their career paths with senior leadership in the bank’s finance, human resources, information technology, marketing, and retail operations. After spending the summer at PeoplesBank, the interns have returned to study at colleges throughout Massachusetts as well as Connecticut and Colorado.

“Our internship program instills that we can learn just as much from our interns as they can learn from us,” St. Jean said. “We ask for lots of feedback from our group of interns, and even have a private ‘PeoplesBank Internship Alumni’ group on LinkedIn so that we keep in touch with them at the conclusion of the program.”

Recruitment for the next PeoplesBank summer internship program kicks off during the winter. Interested students are encouraged to complete an application on the bank’s career page, www.bankatpeoples.com/careers.

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BOSTON — TD Bank named Steve Webb regional president for Southern New England. In this role, Webb will lead commercial and retail banking teams in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Upstate New York, and Connecticut.

“Steve’s leadership and strategic mindset are widely recognized at TD Bank and within the New England business community, making him a clear choice to lead this region,” said Chris Giamo, head of Commercial Bank. “We are confident that Steve, along with the entire Southern New England TD team, will continue to drive growth and market share in this important geography.”

Webb has more than 30 years of banking experience and has worked across several businesses at TD Bank. He most recently served as New Hampshire market president – Commercial, where he was responsible for the growth and expansion of commercial and small-business lending, cash management, and government banking in the state. Prior to assuming this role, Webb was responsible for the Commercial Division of TD Banknorth within New Hampshire, including credit risk management, cash management, commercial lending, commercial real estate, leasing, and healthcare. Webb also brings a wealth of retail experience to this role, having previously helped to optimize store operations.

“I am thrilled to fulfill this role and to help drive TD’s strategic direction in Southern New England,” said Webb. “There is tremendous opportunity in this region, and I’m truly humbled to be able to lead this charge.”

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SPRINGFIELD — In 2016, Trinity Health selected a new community health project at Mercy Medical Center as a recipient of a grant under its Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI), a program that has resulted in the creation of a successful partnership between Mercy and Live Well Springfield (LWS), a multi-sector, community-based coalition that includes over 26 organizations working in the city. This partnership has seen extraordinary results in several areas, such as school nutrition improvements, Complete Streets infrastructure, and tobacco-use prevention.

As a five-year initiative, Trinity Health’s TCI has enjoyed similar community health and well-being successes at seven additional Trinity Health ministries and surrounding communities by focusing on policy, system, and environmental change strategies.

This good work has not gone unnoticed, as the American Hospital Assoc. (AHA) honored Trinity Health’s TCI as one of five programs to receive the 2019 AHA Dick Davidson NOVA Award. The award recognizes outstanding collaboration by hospitals and health systems for building healthier communities.

“We are honored to be recognized by AHA as a national leader,” said Dr. Mouhanad Hammami, senior vice president, Safety Net Transformation, Community Health and Well-Being. “Trinity Health is looking beyond our acute-care environment and developing initiatives that address root causes and social influencers of health. We say social influencers of health, not determinants, because we believe communities are resilient and that change is possible.”

In Springfield, the TCI program has worked to provide services and improve policies that target low-income adults and children disproportionately impacted by health conditions related to poor diet, inactivity, tobacco use, and other social issues. Partners include Mercy Medical Center and LWS members Martin Luther King Jr. Center, Way Finders, Square One, the Springfield Food Policy Council, the Western Mass. Public Health Institute, and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

“The TCI program has not only been a strong, positive influence in the local community over the past three years, it has also helped us further the work of our founders, the Sisters of Providence, who brought hope and healing to the most vulnerable members of society,” said Mark Fulco, president of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates. “We look forward to working with our community partners to continue that legacy.”

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BOSTON — Eversource Energy has been recognized with the nation’s highest honor recognizing support of employees in the military. Eversource was one of 15 companies selected from 2,500 nominations to receive the 2019 Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

Eversource Chairman, President, and CEO Jim Judge and control-room supervisor Bill Gelinas accepted the Freedom Award at a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

“We’re honored to be recognized for our commitment to our veteran and military reserve employees,” Judge said. “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our guardsmen, reservists, and veterans. Whether it be a time of peace, crisis, or war, we will always recognize, thank, and support our service members.”

Eversource’s recruitment and military reserve policies make it one of the nation’s leading companies for veterans and other service members. Of Eversource’s 8,000 employees, more than 600 have served in the military. The energy company offers advancement programs that provide opportunities to apply military training in a supervisory level position. In addition, the Eversource Veterans Assoc., made up of employees who served their country, provides support and recognition to current veteran employees and raises funds to support military veterans throughout New England.

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SPRINGFIELD — Dress for Success Western Massachusetts will host a clothing tag sale, sponsored by MassMutual, at the Eastfield Mall to raise funds and awareness of its mission of helping women achieve their goal of creating a better life. Women may choose from an extensive array of clothing, shoes, accessories and more.

These new and gently used items include selections from name-brand fashion houses such as Anne Klein, Evan Picone, Ellen Tracy, and many more. Customers can fill a shopping bag for only $25.

There is an abundance of clothing, so items in the tag sale will be restocked throughout the three days. Dates are Friday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 8, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday are referring-agency days.

All proceeds will benefit Dress for Success Western Massachusetts and help fund programs such as Foot in the Door job training and Margaret R. Fitzgerald mentoring. Volunteers are needed for the event. Anyone interested should contact [email protected].

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SPRINGFIELD — The nation’s 24th Educare early-education center will be led by Springfield native Bernitta “Nikki” Burnett, who has been hired as Educare Springfield’s first executive director.

Burnett was raised in the nearby Mason Square neighborhood, attended neighborhood public schools, and earned her undergraduate degree in leadership and organizational science from Bay Path University. She will be completing her master’s degree in leadership and negotiation from Bay Path in 2020.

Most recently, Burnett served as regional vice president of Multicultural Initiatives for the American Heart Assoc., where she worked throughout the New England region to build capacity and support revenue generation around community health and education initiatives. She has more than a decade of leadership experience and, prior to her position with the American Heart Assoc., worked at Baystate Health as education coordinator of Cardiopulmonary Services. At Baystate, she managed three cardiology fellowship programs.

Burnett also has been actively involved in community organizations in Springfield and in the region, having served on the board of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, the Baystate Health community benefits advisory board, and Live Well Springfield, an organization that promotes a culture of health in Springfield.

Her duties as executive director of Educare Springfield will include oversight of strategic leadership, operational execution, and ensuring the effective implementation of the Educare model to the highest standards of excellence. Burnett will also be responsible for community engagement, fundraising, and resource development.

The school is scheduled to open in late fall. Students to be enrolled will come from the population of children and families served by Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start, which will manage the center. Educare offers a full-day, full-year program and will serve 141 children from birth to age 5.

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SPRINGFIELD — Officials from Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) and Bay Path University will sign two agreements today at 1 p.m. creating an affordable pathway for female students with an associate degree from STCC to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bay Path.

Under one articulation agreement, students who receive an associate degree in liberal arts/general studies (applied psychology option) can pursue a bachelor of arts in psychology from Bay Path.

Under the second agreement, students who receive an associate degree in liberal arts transfer (human services/social work option) can pursue a bachelor of arts in psychology.

Bay Path and STCC recognize that, for many students, the path to a bachelor’s degree may begin at a community college. Moreover, for STCC’s female students, diverse educational opportunities, including the advantages of enrolling in a women’s university to earn a bachelor’s degree, adds value to educational experiences.

These agreements acknowledge that significance and are formed to enable the smooth transfer of STCC graduates to either the traditional undergraduate program or the American Women’s College of Bay Path University.

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SPRINGFIELD — Robinson Donovan, P.C. announced seven attorneys were listed in Best Lawyers in America 2020, and one was also named Lawyer of the Year in her field.

Jeffrey Roberts, managing partner, practices corporate and business counseling and estate planning, and was named in the practice areas of Corporate Law and Trusts and Estates. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 28 consecutive years.

Jeffrey McCormick, partner, was listed in the fields of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs. A member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group, he practices complex litigation, arbitration, and mediation. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 20 consecutive years.

James Martin, partner, was listed in the practice areas of Franchise Law and Real Estate Law. He concentrates his practice on corporate and business counseling, litigation, and commercial real-estate law, and is a member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 20 consecutive years.

Nancy Frankel Pelletier, partner, was listed in the practice area of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. A member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group, she concentrates her practice in the areas of litigation and insurance defense. She has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 15 consecutive years.

Patricia Rapinchuk, partner, was listed in the fields of Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment. She was also named Lawyer of the Year in the field of Litigation – Labor and Employment. She practices employment law and litigation and has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 11 consecutive years.

Carla Newton, partner, was named in the field of Family Law. She focuses her practice on divorce and family law, litigation, corporate and business counseling, and commercial real estate, and is a member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group. She has received the Best Lawyers recognition for eight consecutive years.

Richard Gaberman was named in the fields of Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates. He focuses his practice on corporate and business counseling, commercial real estate, and estate and tax-planning law. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 28 consecutive years.

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WESTFIELD — An information session for Westfield State University’s master’s degrees in both counseling and applied behavior analysis will be held on Monday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Horace Mann Center lobby, 333 Western Ave., Westfield. Individuals interested in careers as behavior analysts, clinicians, family and marriage counselors, and guidance or adjustment counselors should consider attending to find out how a graduate degree can help them attain one of these positions.

The Department of Psychology offers a 60-credit graduate program designed to serve the student who plans to enter the applied fields of counseling or psychology after receiving the master of arts degree. The program offers four specialized tracks: school guidance counseling, school adjustment counseling, forensic mental-health counseling, and mental-health counseling.

Westfield State University also offers a 48-credit master of arts degree in applied behavior analysis to individuals who work, or aspire to work, in a number of different settings, such as schools, including regular and special-education classrooms, business and industry, healthcare, and other community-based settings.

“Westfield State’s graduate training in counseling meets all requirements for entry licensure in school counseling and all pre-masters content and field experience requirements for mental-health counselors,” said Robert Hayes, chair of graduate programs in psychology. “We particularly value small classes for technique-related courses, where graduate candidates receive outstanding individual attention, as well as group supervision during the development of their counseling skills. Counseling is both a science and an art, and our graduate training program attends to both.”

Information-session attendees will have an opportunity to speak with faculty and members of the outreach team about the program and its application process. The $50 application fee will be waived for all attendees. To RSVP, visit www.gobacknow.com. For more information, call (413) 572-8020 or e-mail [email protected].

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SPRINGFIELD — Mercy Medical Center’s Sister Caritas Cancer Center has been selected as a beneficiary of the Big Y Community Bag Program for the month of October.

The Big Y Community Bag Program, which launched in January 2019, is a reusable-bag program that facilitates community support with the goal to make a difference in the communities where shoppers live and work.

The Sister Caritas Cancer Center was selected as the October beneficiary of the program by store leadership at three Big Y locations — 300 Cooley St. in Springfield, 433 Center St. in Ludlow, and 1180 Thorndike St. in Palmer. The Sister Caritas Cancer Center will receive a $1 donation every time the $2.50 reusable community bag is purchased at one of these locations during October, unless otherwise directed by the customer through the giving tag attached to the bag.

“Mercy Medical Center has a longstanding partnership with Big Y, and we are thrilled that the Sister Caritas Cancer Center has been selected to participate in Big Y’s Community Bag Program,” said Carrie Fuller-McMahon, chief Development officer, Office of Philanthropy, Mercy Medical Center. “The funds raised during the program will support the Sister Caritas Cancer Center’s ongoing efforts to serve patients as a place of hope and healing.”

After October, Mercy supporters can continue to raise funds by purchasing the $2.50 community bag at any Big Y and following the instructions on the attached giving tag to direct the $1 donation to Mercy Medical Center anytime throughout the year.

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NORTHAMPTON — “This Is Me: Portraits of Pathlight” will debut at Northampton Arts Night Out on Friday, Sept. 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Northampton Center for the Arts, 33 Hawley St. Fourteen local photographers partnered with Pathlight to shoot portraits that convey the strength, beauty, complexity, and personality of people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism who are served by Pathlight.

“‘This Is Me’ is a visual representation of Pathlight’s person-centered mission,” Executive Director Ruth Banta said. “All too often, people with disabilities are blurred in the background. At Pathlight, the people we serve are our focus, as we support their self-directed dreams and goals. The people in the portraits represent the different locations, programs, and services Pathlight provides throughout Western Massachusetts — and, of course, the diversity of the people we serve.”

Some of the portrait photographers are seasoned professionals, some are starting their careers, and others take photos as an avocation. Each brings his or her own style to the project. They include Amherst photography professor Justin Kimball, whose work can be found in museums such as the National Gallery of Art and Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; Carol Lollis, Daily Hampshire Gazette photographer and photo editor; 2019 North Star graduate Kim Chin-Gibbons, and more.

When asked about the portraits he shot for the project, Bill Dwight, who is a Northampton city councilor and works at the Florence Pie Bar, said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to try and capture honest images of subjects who tend to be presented in a way that misses their character and individuality.”

For photographer Ellen Augarten, the project has personal significance. “Back in the 1970s, my husband and I were live-in house managers at a community residence in Northampton,” she recalled. “The 12 men living in the house were transitioning into the community from Belchertown State School and Northampton State Hospital. Living and working with them was a formative, challenging, and often wonderful experience for me. Though our group home was run by another organization, I know that Pathlight pioneered community residences in the state in 1971. I wanted to be one of the photographers involved with ‘Portraits of Pathlight,’ and was thrilled to be asked to participate.”

“This is Me” is being supported by sponsors, including Pivot Media in Florence, who did the fine-art printing of the portraits; Big Red Frame in Easthampton, which framed them for the exhibit; and Northampton Center for the Arts, who is hosting the opening at Arts Night Out and will exhibit the photographs through October.

Pathlight is a nonprofit serving children, teens and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities throughout Western Mass.

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SPRINGFIELD — Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that eight of its attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America 2020.

The firm’s managing partner, Kenneth Albano, was selected for business organizations including LLCs and partnerships; Michael Katz was selected for bankruptcy and reorganization; Stephen Krevalin for family law; Hyman Darling for elder law; Gary Breton for banking/finance law and business organizations; Jeffrey Fialky for commercial finance; Gina Barry for elder law; and Paul Rothschild for litigation.

Best Lawyers compiles data from confidential evaluations. More than 8 million attorneys participated in the peer-review survey for the 2020 edition. There is no opportunity to pay for a listing.

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LONGMEADOW — The African American Female Professors Award Assoc. (AAFPAA) will host its third annual awards ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at Bay Path University, 588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. The association will salute three professors, as well as present an Alumnae Award and Legacy Award.

The keynote speaker is Yves Salomon-Fernandez, president of Greenfield Community College and a staunch advocate for reinventing higher education in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. She has been recognized as a thought leader, writing and speaking on issues related to rural innovation, workforce development, and women’s leadership. With her passion for access and equity, she was named one of the “Top 25 Women in Higher Education” by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education in March 2018.

Tickets are $20 per person, with half the proceeds going toward the AAFPAA Scholarship Fund.

“As an African-American woman, a graduate from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies at Springfield College (master’s program), I have been inspired to pay tribute to African-American female faculty who teach at the college/university level,” said Traci Gaynor, AAFPAA chairperson. “I wanted to give special recognition to those African-American female professors who are barrier breakers, and are willing to be fully present in university settings which are in varying states of diversity and inclusion.”

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SPRINGFIELD — Country Bank recently presented the YMCA of Greater Springfield with a donation of $25,000 to help support the opening of the new YMCA at Tower Square. This donation will assist the new location with meeting the expanding needs of the community.

“The YMCA of Greater Springfield appreciates Country Bank’s generosity and willingness to partner with us and serve the Greater Springfield community,” said Dexter Johnson, president and CEO of the YMCA. “We look forward to the opening of the new YMCA at Tower Square and the Country Bank Group Exercise Room.  Thank you for being a great community partner.”

YMCA’s family centers, camps, and outreach centers serve 22,000 members and program participants each year. Throughout the 14 cities and towns in this region, members and participants are impacted by the YMCA’s core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.

“We are honored to support the YMCA and the essential services they provide to the Springfield community,” said Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank. “Their work aligns directly with Country Bank’s mission to help make a difference in the lives of others.”

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AMHERST — In an effort to find ways to improve long-term outcomes for people with opioid-use disorder, UMass Amherst epidemiology researcher Elizabeth Evans set out to study the obstacles to treating this chronic condition with an effective medication, buprenorphine-naloxone.

“Very few people with opioid use disorder ever get treatment for it — 10% or less,” said Evans, assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. “Of those who do, few remain in treatment long enough to really benefit from it.”

In a  newly published paper in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, lead author Evans, along with researchers at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, identify factors that inhibit the long-term use of buprenorphine, which was approved in 2002 by the FDA to treat opioid-use disorder.

“Patients and families still have that expectation that short-term treatment is what they should get and want,” Evans says. “But they need to have more realistic expectations and understand that long-term treatment is often necessary.”

In one of the few studies looking at a two-year period of buprenorphine treatment, the researchers analyzed data from a long-term, follow-up study of participants in a multi-site, randomized clinical trial, called START (Starting Treatment with Agonist Replacement Therapy), which was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Evans directed the study while doing research at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

Conducted from 2011 to 2014, the study included long-term, follow-up interviews with a cohort of 1,269 adults with opioid-use disorder in five states who had participated in a clinical trial comparing the effects of buprenorphine and methadone on liver health. Between 9.3% and 11.2% of study participants used buprenorphine treatment over the two-year follow-up period that Evans and colleagues studied. A key finding was that individuals who perceived buprenorphine to be unacceptable were least likely to use the medication during follow-up, regardless of the perceived access to the medication.

“This points to the need to address people’s experiences and perceptions of the medication — why they never tried it and, if they did, why they stopped taking the medication,” Evans said. “Increasing access is important, but we need to address why people find that medication to be unacceptable.”

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HOLYOKE — Amazon plans to open a distribution center in Holyoke this fall and hire hundreds of workers to staff it, Mayor Alex Morse announced Thursday. The site, at 161 Lower Westfield Road, is the former home of the Paolo Freire Social Justice Charter School and Atlas Copco.

Wages start at at $15 an hour for both full and part-time workers, Morse said. The city is working with Amazon to conduct a hiring event, but in the meantime, Amazon will have a booth at Celebrate Holyoke this weekend, and the mayor encouraged residents and prospective employees to stop by to learn more.

“As mayor, I am encouraged by Amazon’s commitment to hire locally, provide hundreds of living-wage jobs, and strengthen our tax base,” Morse said in a statement. “The distribution center will continue to help Holyoke grow and diversify our economy while providing job opportunities to residents.”

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SPRINGFIELD — The Gateway to College program at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received a Program Excellence Award in recognition of exceeding all four benchmarks used to assess the performance of Gateway to College programs nationwide.

Through Gateway to College, students who have dropped out of high school or who are significantly off track complete their high-school diplomas in college-based programs while simultaneously earning credits toward a post-secondary credential. STCC has hosted a Gateway to College program since 2013, and the program enrolled 67 students during the academic year when it received the award.

In 2017 and 2018, the STCC Gateway to College program was recognized with a Graduation Achievement Award. This marks its first Program Excellence Award and represents one of only 11 such awards given to Gateway to College programs nationally.

At the Gateway to College Directors Convening in New Haven, Conn. at the end of July, Achieving the Dream President Karen Stout and Executive Vice President Emily Froimson presented the award to STCC Gateway Program Director Katara Robinson.

“Gateway to College programs provide a critical second chance for vulnerable high-school students and a powerful testament to the importance of wraparound supports and creating a sense of belonging in college,” Froimson said. “Nearly 75% of program graduates nationwide continue their post-secondary education.”

Added Robinson, “this award reflects students’ achievements here at STCC’s Gateway to College program. Our staff is extremely happy we could be here to support them in their success. We are excited about supporting students and transforming lives.”

STCC Dean of Academic Initiatives Matt Gravel congratulated Robinson and her staff for their commitment to helping students succeed.

“Gateway to College at STCC is a phenomenal program that helps get students back on track and earn their high-school diploma,” he said. “The program also gives students a chance to experience a college environment and to appreciate the value of a college education.”

Daily News

SOUTHAMPTON — The Dowd Agencies, LLC opened the doors at its new Southampton office during an open house on Aug. 21. Having outgrown its previous space in town, the Dowd Agencies packed up at 170 College Highway and moved down the road to 124 College Highway, lured by the desire for expanded parking and office space.

“We enjoy being a part of the Southampton community, but we outgrew our old space,” said John Dowd Jr., president and CEO. “We were happy to be able to find a larger space, just down the road, that continues to allow us serve our clients in this area.”

The new Southampton location of the Dowd Agencies is full-service, providing personal insurance, commercial insurance and employee benefits, including life insurance and retirement plans.

“This relocation within Southampton is another step we’ve taken to improve access to our agents and services,” added David Griffin Sr., executive vice president and treasurer for the Dowd Agencies. “We love being part of the Southampton community and are happy that we found a larger location to accommodate our needs and the needs of our clients.”

Daily News

GREENFIELD — Tina Stevens, adjunct faculty at Greenfield Community College and principal of Stevens Design, will teaching a class on digital design tools on Tuesdays from Sept. 17 to Dec. 20, from 4:10 to 6:50 p.m.

This introduction to digital design is open to the public, as well as enrolled students. It focuses on the use of the Adobe Creative tools Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Topics include getting started using the Adobe interface, photo image preparation and manipulation, drawing artwork for logos and illustrations, and designing documents and marketing materials.

Tuition is $550, and fundamental computer skills are required. To register, click here or call (413) 775-1661.

Daily News

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Theatre Group announced the installation of a new modular ramp at the Fitzpatrick Main Stage to increase access for all patrons, replacing the chair lift previously there.

The modular ramp was designed and installed by the Albany Lift Co., and creates an accessible entrance into the Fitzpatrick Main Stage. The modular ramp was funded by a grant from the Stockbridge Community Preservation Act Program.

According to Lillian Lee, director of Grants and Campaigns and accessibility coordinator, “the installation of the ramp at our Fitzpatrick Main Stage is a wonderful addition to our existing accessibility features. This is a big step toward creating a more fully accessible organization for all of our patrons. Theater is universal, and we want to ensure that our programming is able to be enjoyed by everyone.”

Daily News

HADLEY — UMassFive College Federal Credit Union announced it is bringing student-loan repayment benefits to its employees via a new partnership between Student Choice and FutureFuel.io.

Student Choice teamed up with FutureFuel.io earlier this year to better help credit unions address the growing challenge of student-loan debt faced by the emerging workforce. Participating in this new perk allows credit unions to offer their employees and employees of select employee groups access to FutureFuel’s online portal of automated tools that can help reduce the impact of student debt.

“UMassFive got its start serving the students and staff of the Five Colleges in the Pioneer Valley,” said Lauren Duffy, the credit union’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “While our field of membership has expanded over time, our roots in higher education remain a driving force in helping both our members and our employees pay for college responsibly. We believe offering student-loan repayment benefits to our employees will help them achieve greater financial freedom as they move toward other important stages of their lives.”

Daily News

CHICOPEE — Nearly a dozen employee volunteers from NESCOR will be on the serving lines for dinner at Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen today, Aug. 22.

As part of an ongoing effort to provide community outreach, NESCOR General Manager Bob Tariff and his team will work with Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen to serve more than 100 meals.

“This is a great opportunity for us to give back to a community we love,” he said. “Western Massachusetts has been our home for decades, and our team appreciates this chance to provide well-deserved support.”

Lorraine’s serves more than 30,000 meals per year to 12% of Chicopee’s population. NESCOR employees will serve food, clean dishes and tables, and provide general support to Lorraine’s staff and clientele.

Daily News

WEST SPRINGFIELD — DiGrigoli Salon announced that Kayce Babinksi, who has been a member of the artistic team for just over a year, was promoted on Aug. 1 from a junior stylist to a senior stylist.

Babinski specializes in vivid colors, balayage, and braided updos. She earned this promotion by being a dedicated and loyal stylist, increasing her clientele, and continuously staying educated on the latest trends and techniques.

She is a graduate of DiGrigoli School of Cosmetology and has attended several national hair shows and classes in Orlando, Fla. and New York City to make sure her clients are getting the best possible service. She has also been integral in supporting and promoting DiGrigoli’s own hair-product line, Paul Joseph Professional.

Daily News

WESTFIELD — Holyoke Medical Center announced expanded healthcare services in Westfield, including family medicine, women’s services, gastroenterology, walk-in care, and more.

Holyoke Medical Group Family Medicine, an affiliate of Holyoke Medical Center, has relocated to 140 Southampton Road in Westfield. The office offers care for the entire family, including pediatrics, adult primary care, women’s health, and geriatric care.

Dr. Thomas Graziano and Deborah Pisciotta, MS, PA-C, are accepting new patients. The office is open weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. To make an appointment, call (413) 535-4800.

“Holyoke Medical Center is committed to continuously provide our patients with high-quality medical care and treatment that is more accessible and convenient to them through community-based locations,” said Spiros Hatiras, president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center.

In addition to Holyoke Medical Group Family Medicine, Holyoke Medical Center plans to offer walk-in care, lab draw, imaging services, and physical therapy at the 140 Southampton Road facility starting this fall.

Holyoke Medical Group Women’s Services also has an office in Westfield, located at 94 North Elm St., Suite 102, in Westfield. Holyoke Medical Center Gastroenterology will also open a new office at 94 North Elm St., Suite 206, in Westfield on Oct. 21.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. announced that one of its partners, Timothy Murphy, was recognized by his peers as a 2020 Lawyer of the Year in Springfield for his work in Labor Law – Management. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with this award.

In addition, Murphy is recognized in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers in America for his work in Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor and Employment.

“Tim has a depth of expertise in the field of employment law, including labor relations, union campaigns, collective bargaining and arbitration, and employment litigation and counseling,” said Marylou Fabbo, partner at Skoler Abbott. “His problem-solving skills, attitude, and experience benefit his clients, our firm, and his community.”

Focusing his practice on labor relations, union campaigns, collective bargaining and arbitration, employment litigation, and employment counseling, Murphy has been included in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013 and was also Lawyer of the Year in 2015 and 2019. In 2017, he was named Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout by the Girls Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts.

Murphy is also active within the local community, sitting on boards of directors for several area organizations, such as the Springfield Regional Chamber and Community Legal Aid. He is also a member of the World Affairs Council and the Finance Committee in Wilbraham.

Daily News

GREENFIELD — Registration is now open for the Connecticut River Conservancy’s (CRC) Source to Sea Cleanup. This annual event, now in its 23rd year, has grown into one of the largest river cleanups in the country. CRC invites volunteers to continue the tradition of getting dirty for cleaner rivers on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27 and 28.

There are three ways for volunteers to get involved in the Source to Sea Cleanup this year: report a trash site in need of cleaning, find a nearby cleanup group to join, or organize and register a local cleanup group. For more information or to register for the event, visit www.ctriver.org/cleanup.

“The Source to Sea Cleanup strengthens community while cleaning up our rivers and streams. It’s an opportunity for you to make a difference,” said CRC Executive Director Andrew Fisk. “When people help clean their rivers, they make lasting connections with each other and with their rivers.”

The annual Source to Sea Cleanup is a two-day river cleanup coordinated by CRC in all four states of the 410-mile Connecticut River basin. Each fall, thousands of volunteers of all ages and abilities clean the Connecticut River and its tributaries on foot or by boat. Volunteers remove trash along rivers, streams, parks, boat launches, trails, and more.

“Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers have worked hard to combat litter and illegally dumped trash,” said Stacey Lennard, CRC Cleanup Coordinator. “Their hard work and dedication makes a real difference for our rivers.”

In 2018, more than 2,800 volunteers hauled more than 46 tons of trash from river banks and waterways across the four river states. Volunteers typically remove everything from recyclable bottles and cans, fishing equipment, and food waste to tires, televisions, and refrigerators. To date, volunteers have removed more than 1,100 tons of trash from rivers.

If your group wants to get involved but needs a cleanup site, if you have questions, or if you know of a trash site in need of cleaning, e-mail Lennard at [email protected]. Learn more about the event at www.ctriver.org/cleanup.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College will welcome William Parham, the inaugural director of the National Basketball Players Assoc. Mental Health and Wellness Program and professor in the Counseling program at Loyola Marymount University, to the campus on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fuller Arts Center. Parham’s presentation, titled “The Ink Used to Indelibly Etch Lasting Impressions: Invisible Tattoos of Trauma within Athletic Communities,” is part of the 2019-20 Humanics Triathlon project led by Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics Judy Van Raalte.

Parham has consulted with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, United States Olympic Committee, United States Tennis Assoc., and Major League Soccer. He has worked with athletes across many sports (basketball, football, gymnastics, softball, baseball, track and field, tennis, golf, swimming, volleyball, and figure skating) and across all levels (professional, elite, amateur, collegiate, and youth).

Parham is a licensed psychologist, board-certified in counseling psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and past president of the Society of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Assoc., where he is also recognized as a fellow in divisions 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology), 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race) and 47 (Society of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology). He is widely known through his scholarship and conversations with domestic and international audiences for his work on the interplay between sport psychology, multiculturalism and diversity, and health psychology.

Daily News

MONSON — Monson High School graduate Cam Kratovil, sophomore Mason Dumas, and varsity golf coach Paul Nothe, in cooperation with Monson Savings Bank, teamed up to raise money for Shriners Hospitals for Children – Springfield.

Kratovil and Dumas collected pledges for a marathon golf round they recently played at Quaboag Country Club. They were escorted in golf carts around the course by Nothe and his wife, Nicole, as they completed their goal of playing 100 holes between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon. All the money pledged to them will be given to Shriners Hospitals for Children – Springfield. In addition, Monson Savings Bank sponsored the 2019 Pro-Am Golf Tournament at Quaboag Country Club on Aug. 17 and 18 to benefit the hospital

The Shriners mission is to provide the highest-quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries, and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered, and collaborative care environment. It also provides for the education of physicians and healthcare professionals and conducts research to uncover knowledge that improves quality of care and quality of life for children and families.

Daily News

CHICOPEE — Starting with the class entering in the fall of 2020, Elms College will no longer require scores from standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT for admission to most majors.

The move to a test-optional policy is intended to make higher education accessible to students from all backgrounds, including from underrepresented populations.

“Standardized tests measure one thing: how well a student can do on a single test on a single day,” said Jon Scully, vice president of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Elms College. “They don’t measure dreams or aspirations, or a student’s potential to land a job after graduation, contribute to society, or work for social justice.”

Elms admission counselors will review applicants’ essays, letters of recommendation, and transcripts. They also will talk with prospective students to get to know them as full people.

The college’s mission is to educate a diverse community of learners and empower them to change the world for the better, Scully said. “We’re here to help them discover their purpose. We’re also here to help them find ways to fulfill that purpose through their studies, their careers, and their personal and spiritual lives. We give students real-world experiences that will make them top candidates for jobs upon graduation.”

The test-optional policy will give all students, including those from underrepresented populations such as racial and ethnic minorities or those with economic disadvantages — groups who traditionally earn lower scores on standardized tests because of systemic social inequities — a greater chance to access the educational and experiential opportunities Elms offers.

The School of Nursing at Elms will still require test scores, however, because nursing majors are required, upon graduation, to take the NCLEX exam to become licensed as nurses. “The NCLEX is a standardized test, so we need to know that our nursing students can succeed on such exams,” Scully explained.

Students or families with questions about test-optional admission, academics at Elms, or the application process are encouraged to contact the Office of Admission at (413) 592-3189 or [email protected]. More information is also available online at elms.edu/testoptional.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Robinson Donovan, P.C. announced that attorney Patricia Rapinchuk, a partner at the firm, was recently selected as her region’s Lawyer of the Year for 2020 in the field of Litigation – Labor and Employment, by Best Lawyers in America.

“As head of Robinson Donovan’s employment law group, Patricia’s talent and expertise in this critical practice area are outstanding,” said Jeffrey Trapani, a partner at Robinson Donovan. “Employees and employers consistently praise her work in helping them achieve optimal outcomes on a range of labor, employment, and workplace-litigation issues. Patricia’s selection as Lawyer of the Year is a highly deserved honor.”

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as a definitive guide to legal excellence. It is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey. More than 79,000 leading attorneys are eligible to vote. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed.

Rapinchuk a successful track record as a trial lawyer and concentrates her practice in employment law and litigation. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Assoc., the Hampden County Bar Assoc., the Hampshire County Bar Assoc., and the Women’s Bar Assoc. of Massachusetts. She is regularly honored by Massachusetts Super Lawyers, being selected as a Top 50 Woman in Massachusetts in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Additionally, this is her fourth  Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year recognition in Litigation – Labor and Employment, being previously honored in 2016, 2018, and 2019.

Rapinchuk earned her bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and her juris doctor from the University of Connecticut.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Attorneys Michael Burke, John Pucci, and David Parke, partners at Bulkley Richardson, were each named 2020 Lawyer of the Year recipients in their respective practice areas by Best Lawyers in America, in partnership with U.S. News Media Group.

Burke was honored in the area of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Parke in Corporate Law, and Pucci in Criminal Defense – General Practice.

Lawyer of the Year rankings are awarded to one lawyer per practice area and region, making it a distinguished accolade. Honorees receive this award based on their extremely high overall peer feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions.

Daily News

EAST LONGMEADOW — EMA Dental recently welcomed two new doctors to the practice: Alissa Mariano, DMD, and Catherine Cagino, DDS, MS.

Mariano completed her doctorate at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 2016 and completed her post-graduate specialty residency in advanced prosthodontics at Tufts in 2019. As a prosthodontist, she has focused her education on comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction of complex dental needs and implant dentistry. She is currently working both in Western and Eastern Mass., limiting her practice to prosthodontics. She is board-eligible and will be completing the final part of the American Board of Prosthodontics National Exam to become a board-certified prosthodontist this fall.

Cagino graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine in 2013 and continued her education there in the Advanced Education in Prosthodontics residency program, earning her certificate in prosthodontics in 2016. During her residency, she also completed a master’s degree in Oral Sciences. Her master’s research thesis evaluated a new processing method for denture base acrylic resin.

After graduation from residency, Cagino pursued sub-specialty training, completing a one-year fellowship in maxillofacial prosthetics at UCLA. Maxillofacial prosthetics focuses on treatment of patients with defects of the head and neck region due to cancer, surgery, trauma, and birth defects. Cagino’s clinical interests include the dental management of pre- and post-radiation and chemotherapy patients as well as treatment of maxillectomy and mandibulectomy patients.

Cover Story

MGM Looks to Step Things Up in Year Two

It’s been nearly a full year since MGM Springfield opened its doors in Springfield’s South End. It’s been a year of learning — for both the casino’s team and the consuming public as well. As the headlines have announced, the casino has fallen well behind projections for gross gaming revenues (GGR), but in most all of the other ways to measure the success of the operation, it has not underperformed.

Mike Mathis started by stating what has become obvious — and also addressing the topic on the minds of most everyone in this region when it comes to MGM Springfield.

Gross gaming revenues (or GGR, an acronym that is increasingly becoming part of the local lexicon) are not what they were projected to be for the first year of operation, which will end August 23.

Those projections, made several years ago during the licensing process for the $960 million facility in Springfield’s South End, were for roughly $400 million this first year. Instead, the resort casino is on pace to record closer to $275 million, as the chart on page 8, which includes numbers through the end of July, makes clear.

“In the context of a three-year ramp, which is how we view it, we’re off to a slower ramp-up than we’d like,” Mathis, president and COO at MGM Springfield, admitted. “The gaming revenues are less than we hoped for, and the work is understanding where we are performing well and where we are underperforming.”

With that, Mathis hit upon ongoing work that began literally within days of the casino’s opening. And it continues in earnest today, with the expectation that those numbers can and will improve in year two.

Repeating what he said at the six-month mark for MGM Springfield, Mathis noted that new casinos generally go through a lengthy ramp-up period (three years is the timeframe he repeatedly mentioned) before fully hitting their stride. And that this ramping process involves some learning curves, especially when gaming is being introduced to a region, as is the case in Massachusetts.

And much was learned, said Mathis, referencing everything from Super Bowl watching habits — it became clear that most people would rather watch at home than go to the casino, although Mathis still hopes to change that — to the bands that people will come out to watch (it appears locals really like local groups rather than imports), to the casino games people like to play.

A promotion to give away a Mercedes Benz each week for a month is one of many strategic initiatives to drive visitation to MGM Springfield.

Looking ahead to year two, which will kick-off with four performances by Aerosmith and a host of other birthday-celebration events, Mathis said MGM Springfield will enter it with considerable acquired knowledge, as well as what appears to be some momentum.

Indeed, while June’s GGR numbers were the worst for any full month since the facility opened — Encore Boston opened that same month and probably had something to do with that performance — July’s numbers were better, said Mathis, and slots GGR has been generally higher over the past several months.

“There are many examples of facilities that have taken their first year to figure out what the customer is going to react to, what the competition is doing, and achieve real growth,” he said, adding that he firmly believes MGM Springfield will join that list.

He’s pinning those hopes on everything from changes and additions to the casino floor (more on those later) to the possible introduction of sports betting within the Commonwealth, an addition to the gaming landscape now being considered by the Legislature, to the ‘growing-the-pie’ impact of Encore Boston’s opening earlier this summer.

But while the focus has been on GGR, as it should be, said Mathis, there are many other means by which to measure success during MGM’s first year. And with most all of these, the casino has been on target.

These include overall visitation (more than 6 million by the end of the first year); non-gaming revenues (the restaurants and hotel, for example); impact locally in terms of providing a boost to other businesses, especially those in the broad realm of tourism and hospitality; bringing people to the region; boosting the business of meetings and conventions; and employment, especially with regard to hiring Springfield residents and promoting people through the ranks.

“We’re very excited about all the visitors and tourists and eyeballs we’ve brought to the downtown — I know I’ve met many customers who have said ‘this is my first time in Springfield,’ or that they’ve brought their families from other areas to the downtown to show it off,” Mathis told BusinessWest. “One of the emotions I have is a huge sense of pride in what we’ve done here; we’ve given the people of Springfield and Western Mass. a headquarters tourist destination that they can show off to friends and family.”

Rick Sullivan, president of the Western Mass. Economic Development Council, agreed. Using yardsticks as unscientific, but still effective, in his view, as waiting times for a table at restaurants in the downtown area, he said the Casino has brought more vibrancy to the central business district. Also, it has deeply broadened the region’s tourism portfolio, prompting not only greater visitation, but longer stays.

Mike Mathis says year one has been a learning experience on many levels for all those on the MGM team.

“The biggest impact MGM has had in the year it’s been open, and the biggest impact it will have going forward, is that you now have gaming and increasing entertainment opportunities to marry to the other tourist attractions that we can be more than just a one-day travel destination,” he said.

Raising the Stakes

Mathis calls it ‘keeping the floor fresh.’

That’s an industry phrase — one of many that are new to people in this region — and one that refers to the need to constantly change, or freshen, the casino floor to bring both more new business and more repeat customers, said Mathis.

“You can’t get complacent about continuing to earn customers’ loyalty in a highly competitive market,” he noted, adding that efforts to freshen the floor at MGM Springfield include the construction of a new bar just inside the Main Street entrance to the casino — what Mathis calls the ‘back corner,’ because most people enter from the parking garage side — as well as some new electronic table games, some ‘stadium gaming,’ described as a mix of table games and slot machines, and special promotions.

“There’s a whole new zone in that corner, where we’re trying to bring some energy to what would otherwise be the back of the building,” he explained. “We’re trying to drive more business to the back; it’s a heavy investment but part of our work to improve the product.”

These steps are part of the ongoing efforts to improve GGR, said Mathis, but also part of what would be considered normal ramp-up of a casino facility as it adjusts to customers’ wants and needs, and the ebb and flow of the competitive landscape.

“I’ve said this in the past, and our competitors have the same view, which is that you need three years to get to a normalized operation,” he said. “And we’re seeing that ourselves; there are holidays and certain events we think are going to be some of our busiest, and for whatever reason they’re quieter. And then we’ll have a random day in the middle of the week that exceeds a weekend day.

“It’s really about trying to understand the patterns and being nimble and reacting to the patterns,” he went on. “Obviously in a market like this, weather is a factor, and we’re learning what the impact of weather is — good and bad.”

Local sports teams are a factor as well, he said, adding that while they have huge followings, this support doesn’t necessarily extend to viewing at the casino, as was learned during the first Super Bowl of the casino era in Massachusetts.

“In this case, business was less than we would normally see in one of other operations — although it was still a really strong day,” he said, “I think there’s a tradition of going to a house party because of the success they’ve had; we’ve got to figure out how to make MGM Springfield the regional house party for the Super Bowl.

“We’ve got great relationships with all the franchises, and we have strategies on how to activate the space and make it fun and interesting, fun and familiar,” he went on. “It’s a fun challenge; it’s not what we expected, but it’s a good problem to have because there’s a huge opportunity there.”

This process of watching, listening, learning, and responding to trends that were not expected extends to every aspect of the operation, he said, including entertainment and that aforementioned affinity for local acts.

“There are some acts that we think that would traditionally do well as they route the country, that don’t perform as well here,” he explained, “And there were other acts where we were pleasantly surprised by the response; country is popular here, so we’re going to look at country a little more.

“Thematically, there are really great regional bands that have a following here that aren’t national and that we’ve had a lot of success with,” he went on, mentioning Trailer Trash, a ‘modern country band,’ as one example. “Anyone in a new market has to figure out what are those great local bands that drive big crowds, local crowds.”

GGReat Expectations

Of course, there are many other things to figure out as well, said Mathis, adding that the broad goal, obviously, is to bring more people to the casino and inspire them to do more (and spend more) while they’re there.

This explains the freshening of the floor, as well as the four Aerosmith shows (now nearly sold out) and a number of other initiatives designed to bring people to the casino — and bring them back repeatedly.

These are the simple forces that drive GGR, said Mathis, who returned to that ongoing work to identify areas where the casino is underperforming, and addressing them.

Overall, he said the broad assignment is to build loyalty, not merely a visit or two to the resort and its casino floor.

“Part of the first year is gaining new visitors and customers who are seeing it for the first time and building loyalty,” he explained. “And in this market, because of the existence of some pretty strong competitors, there’s already strong loyalty and traditions and gaming habits that, quite frankly, we have to disrupt, and that takes some time.”

Meanwhile, there are some lingering patterns when it comes to where customers are coming from — or not coming from — that still need to be addressed.

Indeed, while MGM Springfield is overperforming, in Mathis’s view, when it comes to drawing customers from along the I-91 corridor, “north-south,” as he put it, things are different when it comes to east-west flow.

“It’s been a challenge to get folks to go west within the Commonwealth and give the facility a chance,” said Mathis adding that bookings like Aerosmith are designed to address that specific problem, and he believes there have been some inroads.

As for those efforts to disrupt current gaming patterns and loyalty with other casinos, Mathis noted that there are several arrows in that quiver, including everything from some new games to be introduced in the coming weeks, to a new promotion that involves giving away a Mercedes each week for several weeks, to a recently concluded program called MGM Millions, a lottery-like game that enabled players to win a wide variety of prizes including bonuses and loyalty privileges.

“That was very successful,” said Mathis, “and what we learned is that people like the lottery, and they’d rather have a smaller chance of winning a larger giveaway than a higher chance at smaller gifts — and that’s part of the learning curve.”

It also includes the addition of Symphony Hall to MGM’s portfolio of performance venues (the casino recently assumed management of that facility), which enables the team to book acts such as Steve Martin & Martin Short, coming Sept. 12, Boyz II Men (Sept. 22), and Smokey Robinson (Oct. 18).

“It’s another great venue that fills a niche we didn’t have previously,” he said, noting the hall’s 2,500 seating capacity. “That’s something in the tool shed we didn’t have our first year, especially since we can program into it, so we’re excited.”

He’s excited also by the prospects of sports betting.

“We’ve seen in our other markets that it can provide as much as a 10% lift to the overall business, not just the sports-betting component,” he said. “People will tend to stay longer, they’ll eat in the restaurants, they’ll place a bet, and spend some time on the casino floor on the machines or on the tables. So it’s an important initiative for us, especially in a market like Springfield and New England where people are passionate about their sports; we think it’s a manner of when, not if, this will happen.”

And, moving forward, Mathis said that while Encore Boston might impact MGM negatively in some ways, overall it will grow the pie when it comes to gaming, as evidenced, he believes, by the Springfield casino’s improved numbers for July.

“That demonstrates what we’ve always said — that there’s an ability to grow this market; there’s different customers for different experiences,” he said. “I like to think that the people in Boston will grow the market.”

Beyond the Floor

While much of the focus has been on the casino floor and GGR, Mathis said there are many other facets to this business, and he’s pleased with, and somewhat surprised by, the performance of some of these operations.

“I’m pleasantly surprised by how well-received our non-gaming amenities have been,” Mathis told BusinessWest. “The hotel is far above our projected occupancy rates, and the rate we’ve been able to charge is above what we project as well.”

He said the hotel has been generating a wide mix of business, from casino guests, to families visiting the area, to convention and meeting groups.

“We’ve done entire hotel blocks for different corporate groups that have come in and let us host their annual meetings or their incentive meetings for top salespeople,” he noted. “On every given day there are different types of customers in the hotel. We’ve been really pleasantly surprised by the amount of cash business we’re driving, the occupancy; that’s translating into the restaurants, exceeding our expectations on the amount of business overall.”

So much so that the MGM team is looking at perhaps adding more offerings, on top of the Wahlburger’s restaurant due to open next spring according to the latest estimates (groundbreaking will be within the next few weeks).

Meanwhile, business at the casino’s many bars has also exceeded expectations.

“We’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the amount of night life and bar business we’ve been doing,” said Mathis. “New Englanders enjoy their local IPAs and enjoy our nightlife lounges, so we’ve built some extra bars, such as the plaza bar to support our outdoor entertainment, and it’s been very successful.”

While generally pleased with what’s been happening within the casino complex itself, Mathis said the first year has shown that MGM Springfield’s impact extends beyond those four walls — and also that block in the South End.

As an example he points to the Red Rose restaurant abutting the property. Already a mainstay and hugely popular eatery, the restaurant has clearly received a tremendous boost from the casino.

“I was talking to the owner, Tony Caputo, on a Friday night recently,” Mathis recalled. “And he talked about business being up considerably since our opening, and how it actually started before we opened, during the construction process.

“Anecdotally, I’ve heard that many of the restaurants are up 20%, based on the overflow visitation we’re bringing — there’s more people than we can lodge and more people than we can feed,” he went on. “That was part of the strategy intentionally, and it’s bearing out.”

Rick Sullivan agreed.

“There’s more activity downtown now, there’s more people walking around,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s not like you can’t get a seat at a lunch place, but it is busier and that’s good; I never mind waiting a little longer to get a table — that’s a good thing.”

An even better thing, he went on, is MGM’s apparent ability to ‘extend the stay,’ as those in the tourism business say. Elaborating, he said there is some anecdotal evidence building that the addition of the casino is prompting more people to look to the region as something more than a day trip.

“People are looking to match a day at the casino and the Seuss Museum, or the Basketball Hall of Fame, or Six Flags, or the Big E,” he said. “People will do the Big E for the day and the casino for a day; we’re starting to see that.”

Likewise, he and others are seeing people visiting the region for special events and happenings make a point of also visiting the casino and, therefore, downtown Springfield.

He said he witnessed this first-hand when it came to teams that came from out of town for a sled hockey tournament at Amelia Park ice rink in Westfield, and he expects the same for the Babe Ruth World Series, also to take place in that city.

“It’s a place to take people,” he said, adding that as more of this happens, the overall impact of the casino will only grow.

Toward Year Two

As he talked about what’s coming up for the casino’s first birthday party — Aerosmith, a huge cake, the Patriots cheerleaders, and more, Mathis flashed back 350 days or so to when he and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno rode down Main Street in a Rolls Royce manufactured in Springfield during a parade that preceded the formal ribbon cutting.

The year that followed that triumphant moment has been one of intrigue and learning, for many constituencies, and one where expectations have mostly been met.

In year two, the focus will be on maintaining the current course, but also achieving progress with those expectations that haven’t been met. u

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Company Milestones

Something to Celebrate

There’s a reason why chambers of commerce, throughout their history, have taken a minute or two at their regular breakfast meetings to recognize their members celebrating important birthdays or key developments in their history.

And that reason is … milestones are certainly worth celebrating.

Indeed, as anyone in business will tell you — and they undoubtedly have — while launching a new venture is anything but easy, staying in business is much, much more difficult.

Especially when we’re talking about staying in business for 100 years or 50 or even 20. All one really needs for perspective is to think about all the businesses and nonprofits that cannot make such claims.
Staying in business for even a decade or two almost always requires perseverance, imagination, some daring, some sacrifice, the ability to look around the proverbial corner, and, yes, luck.

All of the above, and especially that last ingredient can and usually are required because there are myriad things that can keep a company or an institution from reaching some of the milestones being marked on the pages that follow.

Just a partial list includes a serious recession — or two, or three, or four; the lack of a ‘next generation’ to carry things on; developments that seem to come from nowhere — everything from digital photography to the automobile itself (yes, the car destroyed a good number of buggy-whip-manufacturing businesses in Westfield); from those red boxes dispensing videos in the supermarket or pharmacy, to the chain pharmacy itself.
Yes, staying in business is extremely difficult, and that’s why milestones are celebrated.

And while celebrating years and significant developments, companies use such occasions to reflect not only on what has happened, but what can happen moving forward. It is the same reason why the country is stopping to celebrate everything from the moon landing to Woodstock this year.

People are stopping not just to note that 50 years has gone by since those events, but to ponder how those developments have changed the landscape since.
And so it is with milestones being celebrated by companies in this region and on the pages that follow. These institutions are marking not just the passage of time, but how a company like Balise Motor Sales or a ground-breaking development like the Bay Path University Women’s Leadership Conference can change the landscape, literally and also figuratively.

And in many cases, as you’ll see, what allows companies and institutions to survive and thrive for years and decades is not only a willingness to adapt and the ability to adapt, but also a resolve to remain true to the mission and the principles that were there in the beginning.
So it is with BusinessWest magazine, which is celebrating its own milestone — 35 years since it was launched by John Gormally, a man who has become a serial entrepreneur.

There has been considerable change, but what hasn’t changed is the mission of providing comprehensive, reliable, sometimes entertaining business news.
The stories below have similar threads. Many things have changed over the years, but what’s really important is what hasn’t changed.
And that’s a big part of celebrating a milestone.

Northampton Survival Center
Springfield Partners for Community Action
Balise Motor Sales
BFAIR Berkshire Family & Individual Resources
BusinessWest
WestMass ElderCare Inc.
Women’s Leadership Conference
Lexington Group
Peter Pan and Bridgestone
Whalley Computer Associates
bankESB

Autos

Ben Sullivan, COO of Balise Motor Sales, says pick-up truck sales, especially those involving small trucks, have been moving steadily higher in recent years.

As Pick-ups Evolve and Offer Consumers More, Sales Spiral

While most of the focus in the auto-sales market has been on the meteoric rise of the SUV, pick-up truck sales have also been climbing, and for the same reasons. Like SUVs, the trucks now offer many of the features and amenities of a car — from leather seats to solid gas mileage.

Ben Sullivan notes that while SUVs and cars seem to be making all the news these days — the former because of how well they’re selling, and the latter because how they’re not selling — there is that third segment of the market that is making a lot of noise in its own right; trucks.
This is not a recent phenomenon, noted Sullivan, chief operating officer for Balise Motor Sales, adding that truck sales have been solid for some time and especially since the end of the recession and during the recent, and prolonged period of relatively low gas prices. But the number of truck sales continues to be move higher, and for several reasons, one in particular.

“What we’ve seen over the past decade is a significant investment by the manufacturers in not only styling, but ride comfort, quietness, electronics, safety equipment, and especially fuel economy,” said Sullivan. “To the point where they’ve made the pick-up truck probably the primary choice for people; they can drive it to the country club on the weekend and to a work site during the week. It gives people a lot of flexibility.”

He noted that while the sales of mid-sized, half-ton trucks (think Ford 150, Chevy Silverado, and Dodge Ram, the three most popular sellers, and in that order) have been relatively flat, there is considerable movement in the smaller-truck market, featuring brands like the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, and Chevy Colorado.

He called this development a “resurgence,” because small trucks were popular in the ’80s, then things cooled off considerably, and now, they’re picking up again (pun intended), and in rather dramatic fashion.

“For years, the small-pick-up-truck market fell dormant behind the explosive growth of the half-ton-pick-up-truck market,” he explained. “Been there’s been a real resurgence in the small pick-up.”

But while the smaller trucks are selling, there is solid movement across the board, especially when there are incentives available.
Indeed, Jeff Sarat, owner of Sarat Ford Lincoln in Agawam, said he normally sells about 20 to 25 super-duty trucks — that would be the F-250 through F-550 and up — each July. Last month, he sold 54, more than a 100% increase.

Jeff Sarat says pick-ups now offer almost everything cars and SUVs do, including solid gas mileage.

“Ford came out with some really aggressive programs — 0% for 72 months – so they created a market, which was phenomenal for business,” he said. “I had multiple customers buy more than one, because businesses — and that’s really who’s buying those type of trucks — they haven’t had that deal for three years.”

The response was quick, too, he added, as Ford didn’t even start the promotion until mid-July. “My guys just got on the phone and started calling people: “hey, we can lower your payment 100 bucks and put you in a brand-new truck.’ And people were flocking in. It was awesome.”
Ford agrees, extending what was supposed to be a two-week promotion through Labor Day, creating worries that Sarat might actually run out of trucks before the October-through-December season, which is traditionally a good time for truck sales — he usually sells about 100 super-duties over those three months — as businesses make year-end purchases for tax purposes.

Looking ahead, those we spoke with said truck sales, like SUVs, will continue to move higher at the expense of the car, because, again like SUVs, the product continues to evolve, improve, and provide more of what consumers are demanding.

Work in Progress

Sullivan recently relocated to Western Mass. from Texas, specifically the Dallas area. The Lone Star State is known for many things — from oil to cattle to Friday night football — but it might just be the pick-up truck capital of the world.

“They really like their pick-ups in Texas,” he said with a smile, noting that while nationally, one auto purchase in five is a pick-up, in Texas, it’s at least one in four. And in keeping with the state’s character, bigger — and better-appointed — is better.

“You’re not a gentleman cowboy unless you’re driving an F-250, which is a diesel engine, with King Ranch leather interior,” he said referring to the expensive brand of leather from that ranch in Texas. “And that thing is probably an $80,000 truck by the time everything is said and done.”
Western Massachusetts, and the Northeast as a whole, is a long way from Texas, geographically and also with regard to the popularity of pick-ups, but this region is gaining some ground in that regard, if you will, and numbers supplied by Sullivan bear this out.

He said that since the start of the year in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, roughly 300,000 vehicles have been sold. Of those, 31,000 would be considered mid-sized, half-ton trucks; 20,000 are larger work trucks, and 13,000 are smaller, quarter-ton trucks, leaving a total of 54,000 pickups sold to date, not quite 20% of the total volume of vehicles.

And, as noted, while the biggest surge has been with the smaller trucks, sales are steady across the board, thanks to a still-solid economy that is fueling sales to consumers and businesses alike, and especially the former.

“Those guys are having good years, and they’re adding people,” said Sarat, referring to the builders, contractors, landscapers, and others that rely on larger trucks and work them hard. “When the economy is up, it’s good for everybody, and that especially helps us because we specialize in trucks.”

And the numbers are only expected to climb higher for those reasons cited earlier by those we spoke with. Where once people had to sacrifice things like comfort, luxury, room, technological bells and whistles, and especially gas mileage when they bought a pickup, now, they don’t have to.

Indeed, Sarat used the Ford F-150 to get his points home. This model remains popular among non-commercial drivers, although some businesses use them in their fleets as well. ‘I drive one,” Sarat said. “If you have a family of five, you can all hop in it and go somewhere — and put something in the bed if you need to.”

And, as noted, the trucks are becoming more car-like in terms of comfort and features which each passing model year.

“Every year, the technology gets better, and the safety features get better,” Sarat said. “I have an app on my phone that I can use to start my truck anywhere in the world. If a check-engine light goes on, from that app on my phone, I can see, ‘OK it’s an oxygen sensor, I’ve got to get it in for service,’ or maybe it’s nothing major, and it’s on because this is something I can fix.”

Safety features like self-parking and anti-collision assist are common in today’s trucks as well, and self-driving vehicles aren’t far away, he added. Plug-in hybrid options are creeping into the truck market as well, for people who crave fuel efficiency – or just want to use less fossil fuels. Even traditional, gas-powered trucks are being built with fuel economy in mind.

“I just drove to Ohio last week with my son, 580 miles. And I got out there on one tank of gas,” he said. “My fuel economy was better than I’ve ever had in any truck. Once I got out there, I still had about 100 miles left. That, to me, was impressive.”

Whether it’s efficiency, safety, or other technology, “it’s slowly getting better,” Sarat said. “It’s ever-changing. They’re definitely not stagnant, that’s for sure.”

Sullivan agreed, adding that all these amenities obviously come with a cost, but it is one that consumers seem ready and willing to pay.

“Manufacturers still have to make the affordable work trucks,” he explained, adding that there’s a work-truck grade, a grade above that, and maybe a few above that. “But by the time you’re done with the leather interiors, the technology and the touch-screen displays, the heated and cooled leather seats, you can drive the price of those trucks up quite a bit.”

By that he meant north of $60,000 or $70,000 — and even higher if one wants a fully loaded F-150 King Ranch. And what’s interesting, he noted, is that the manufacturers haven’t yet determined just what the ceiling is for these vehicles in terms of luxury and appointments — and what people might be willing to pay for all that.

“What the manufacturers have been playing with at the top is … ‘how much truck is too much so that no one will buy it?’” he told BusinessWest. “I don’t think they’ve found that yet.”

The Ride Stuff

While Texas and the rest of the pick-up-truck buying world awaits an answer to that question, dealers here and seemingly everywhere continue to record healthy sales of the vehicles.

It’s a movement that seems destined to continue and probably accelerate, because today’s trucks are not yesterday’s trucks.
As Sarat noted, they are anything but stagnant. They are moving — in every sense of that word.

George O’Brien can be reached at
[email protected]