Year: 2019

Regional Philanthropic Opportunities

View the PDF flipbook

While philanthropy is a year-round activity, the holidays are a time when many of us think about those who are most in need, and how, in general, they can help make Western Mass. a better community for all who call this region home.

To help individuals, groups, and businesses make effective decisions when it comes to philanthropy, BusinessWest and the Healthcare News present the annual Giving Guide. Open the PDF flipbook to view profiles of several area nonprofit organizations, a sampling of this region’s thousands of nonprofits.

These profiles are intended to educate readers about what these groups are doing, and also to inspire them to provide the critical support (which comes in many different forms) that these organizations and so many others desperately need. Indeed, these profiles list not only giving opportunities — everything from online donations to corporate sponsorships — but also volunteer opportunities.

View the 2019 Giving Guide Flipbook HERE

And it is through volunteering, as much as with a cash donation, that individuals can help a nonprofit carry out its important mission within our community.

BusinessWest and HCN launched the Giving Guide in 2011 to essentially harness this region’s incredibly strong track record of philanthropy and support the organizations dedicated to helping those in need.

The publication is designed to inform, but also to encourage individuals and organizations to find new and imaginative ways to give back. We are confident that it will succeed with both of these assignments.

George O’Brien, Editor
John Gormally, Publisher
Kate Campiti, Associate Publisher

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Golden Years Creates an Intriguing Niche in Home-care Sector

Features

Feeling ‘the Magic’

Cesar Ruiz Jr. knew he was stating the obvious, but he wanted to make a point.

“This business is certainly not for the faint of heart,” he told BusinessWest, referring to the home-care industry and the fact that, by his count, there are close to 300 licensed companies in that sector within a 15-mile radius of the center of East Longmeadow, where he now operates his own venture, Golden Years.

He decided to join that very crowded field, when others might be put off by those numbers, for a number of reasons, but two in particular — a unique and highly successful model of care that Ruiz refers to simply as ‘the magic,’ and some real inspiration from three people who were very important to him — his parents and his grandmother.

As for the model, or the magic, it is a deep mix of services and programs, and three that are somewhat unique — music therapy, a ‘laughter program,’ and aromatherapy (more on all those later). As for those inspirations from his family … they were the real catalysts for Ruiz, who spent most of his career in the banking industry, to switch career gears in a profound way.

“We don’t look at ourselves as competitors — that’s a word that we don’t use here. We’re creators — we create our niche. And we do that by telling our story and emphasizing our services.”

His grandmother needed home care in Florida more than 15 years ago, and Ruiz recalls not only how poor that care was (family members generally provided the care for her), but how he resolved to create something better.

“We were asking the question — why isn’t there quality care?” he recalled. “And through that process, we began thinking that there has to be a better way.”

But the timing and other circumstances just weren’t right to launch a business.

It was after he relocated to this area — and the death of his father in late 2016 — that Ruiz found the needed inspiration to push on with providing that ‘better way’ on a commercial level and thus break into the ultra-competitive home-care industry.

As for his mother, well, she is the barometer for the hiring of all caregivers.

“My mom is the gold standard,” he explained. “Every person on our team needs to have the heart for caring that my mom has always demonstrated.”

And to say he has already made a mark in this sector would be a huge understatement.

Indeed, after starting slow — he can remember the phone in his office simply not ringing for several months while he was slowly building up relationships — he has been adding clients, and employees, at a torrid pace.

Indeed, by mid-October, when he sat down with BusinessWest, Ruiz said the company had roughly 350 clients and 374 caregivers, with both numbers expected to climb steadily in the months and years to come. That’s because Ruiz and partners Lisa and Vincent Santaniello are moving forward with plans to expand Golden Years into the Worcester and Boston markets as well as Connecticut. And after that, the plan would be expand nationally.

“We’re happy with our growth in this market, but we’re expanding to the east and to the south,” Ruiz explained, adding quickly that these are crowded markets as well when it comes to entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on an aging population, but a population that also wants to retain its independence — and thus remain in the home — as long as possible.

Cesar Ruiz, seen here with Brian Santaniello, director of Development for Golden Years, says the company is expanding its footprint to the east and the south, and will soon be looking to move into other states as well.

“The Boston area is quite saturated,” he acknowledged. “But we don’t look at ourselves as competitors — that’s a word that we don’t use here. We’re creators — we create our niche. And we do that by telling our story and emphasizing our services.”

While expanding geographically, the company is also broadening its base of services and diversifying. It recently launched Golden Years Staffing, which, as that name suggests, specializes in providing health professionals, and especially nurses, to area healthcare providers, and will soon launch Golden Years Adult Daycare.

At the moment, the company is changing the face of the center of East Longmeadow — the company has moved into the oldest commercial space in the town (once a general store of sorts) and adjacent property and has given it a dramatic facelift — while certainly shaking up the home-care industry at the same time.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Ruiz about Golden Years and where he wants to take this intriguing venture in the years to come.

At Home with the Idea

Turning the clock back to late 2016, when his father died and when he subsequently resolved to push ahead with a home-care venture, Ruiz said his research ultimately determined, as noted earlier, that this region was crowded with competition.

But when he drilled deeper into the numbers, he discovered that a large number of the players were small in size, “mom-and-pop” operations, as he called them, that were caring for perhaps a handful of clients, and some franchises “happy to have their 50 or 60 clients.” There were several larger operations, but he saw an opportunity to provide something different.

“We wanted to develop something very unique, something very large, that would have our signature stamp on it,” he explained, referring again to ‘the magic’ and its unique offerings.

“That’s what sets us apart — that’s what my mother came up with when she was caring for my grandmother,” he explained, adding that a similar approach was taken in the care of his father.

“When we were taking care of my father, we wanted laughter in the house every day,” he went on. “We wanted music in the house very day, and we wanted incense in the house every day. That’s my mom’s recipe.”

Elaborating, he offered more details on what would be the most unique of the three programs — laughter.

“That’s the most challenging for us, because we have to take people out of their comfort zones,” he explained. “The mind doesn’t make a distinction between a real laugh and a fake laugh — it still goes through that chemical change in your mind.”

The program — he doesn’t use the word ‘therapy’ in this case — involves exercises that do get people out of their comfort zones and get them laughing for real, an important ingredient in overall quality of life, he went on.

But there are several ingredients in this success formula, said Ruiz, adding that others include strong relationship-building efforts with area healthcare providers and senior-services organizations — strong sources for referrals — and a high level of quality that inspires him to eschew that word ‘competitor’ and instead use ‘creator.’

Golden Years has transformed the historic and formerly underutilized property in the center of East Longmeadow.

“We have a lot of hands in terms of the overall operations,” he explained. “We don’t just place a client with a caregiver and visit them once every quarter or once every six months; we visit them every month.

“We have supervisors that oversee that care,” he went on. “They’re responsible for the caregivers, they’re responsible for the client, and every month we have one of our staff people visiting the client to make sure they’re getting the delivery of their healthcare plan. That takes personnel, it takes time, and it takes extra expense, but we’re happy to do that because it ensures quality of service and care.”

This mindset also extends to the training of the caregivers, said Ruiz, adding that they are eventually evaluated on their ability to incorporate those three basic tenets — laughter, music, and aromatherapy — into the client’s care.

“We really want them to be engaged with our clients,” he told BusinessWest. “We encourage it, we demand it … we just don’t want to be transactional; we really want these caregivers to make a difference in overall quality of care.”

As for that relationship-building ability, Ruiz said he and his team started honing it in early 2017, just as the doors to the business opened, when the company visited as many senior centers, rehabilitation facilities, and other related facilities as possible to get its message across.

The visit that really got the ball rolling was one to Greater Springfield Senior Services, he recalled, adding that Golden Years was one of two companies invited to make a presentation to GSSS staff, including nurses, case managers, directors, and supervisors.

“We had a captive audience of about 85 people,” he recalled, adding this session took place in September 2017. “Up to that point, we had zero clients; we had just been planting seeds, planting seeds, and planting more seeds.

“After that presentation … three days later, the phone began to ring,” he went on. “And it hasn’t stopped since.”

Evidence for this can be found in the center in East Longmeadow, where the company has transformed a once-tired retail center that has seen a number of uses over the years, most recently as home to the Ski Haus. That signage is coming down, to be replaced with ‘Golden Years,’ two words that may be seen in many more places in the months and years to come.

“We plan to be multiple states — Connecticut is just the beginning of that,” he said, adding that franchising the company’s model is a distinct possibility. “We have a lot of growing still to do; we’ve only scratched the surface.”

Bottom Line

For now, the focus is on continuing with those relationship-building efforts, getting the message out, and building upon the very solid foundation that has been created over the past three years.

As noted at the very top, Ruiz knew the homecare field was already crowded when he decided to enter it. He wasn’t fazed by that reality and certainly not faint of heart.

That’s because he knew he had a good model and an even better mindset — one where he looked at every client and potential client as his own parents when it came to the level of care he wanted to provide.

That’s why he doesn’t see his surging company as a competitor — but, rather, as a creator.

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

Greenfield Savings Bank Marks 150 Years of Change, Continuity

Banking and Financial Services

Past Is Prologue

President and CEO John Howland stands by a display commemorating GSB’s first 150 years. I

Greenfield Savings Bank has marked its sesquicentennial in a number of ways this year — from a party with cupcakes in the spring to presenting elm trees to a number of area communities it serves in the summer, to displaying its proud history, something it’s done pretty much all year long. Overall, though, it has celebrated by doing what it has done since it was founded in 1869 — serving as a rock-solid corporate citizen. And a vital partner to its many types of customers.

John Howland jokingly refers to it as his “high-school history project.”

He was referring to the large display of photographs and other materials that trace the 150-year progression of Greenfield Savings Bank. And it’s quite an exhibition.

Indeed, across two walls just off the main lobby and outside the main conference room hang a number of photos, postcards, and framed advertisements and documents that collectively tell the story of an institution that has changed considerably since Ulysses S. Grant roamed the White House — but also hasn’t changed in many ways, as we’ll see.

There are photos of bank lobbies from several different decades, a host of board presidents, groups of employees, Howland himself, who became GSB president in 2015, and many images of the old Mansion House Hotel.

The bank was relocated within the hotel property roughly a decade after its launch — it was one of several ground-floor retail sites — and was still there when the Mansion House was destroyed in a massive fire in January 1959 (there are pictures of that historic moment as well). The bank built its new headquarters roughly where the front lobby of the hotel once stood.

The historic Mansion House Hotel and GSB’s location within that property.

“So we’ve basically operated in the same location since 1880, and that’s very significant to me,” said Howland, adding that this history project is important, for customers and employees alike, because there has been much to commemorate during what has been a year-long celebration, punctuated by a large party in the spring.

Starting with the name over the door. It was Greenfield Savings Bank all those years ago, said Howland, and it still is. This despite the fact that many banks, as they have expanded beyond their original home and added branches in other counties and sometimes another state, have dropped the city or town from their name, opting for something more global and seemingly less defining. Meanwhile, almost every other institution that had ‘Savings’ in its name has dropped that, too, on the theory that it’s anachronistic and doesn’t convey the full line of services.

GSB has done none of that.

“Why would you want to change a name you’ve had for 150 years?” he asked before answering the question himself. “The idea that we’re somehow different because we’ve changed our name and don’t have ‘Savings’ in it anymore is disingenuous to me.”

But the bank is celebrating more than continuity — although that’s certainly important. There has been growth and expansion into other areas, including Northampton, Amherst, and, most recently, the community in between them, Hadley. There has also been a commitment to remain at the forefront of technology, said Denise Coyne, executive vice president and COO (and 41-year employee of the bank), and as evidence, she pointed proudly to the new interactive teller machines, or ITMs, in the drive-through lane, an initiative GSB calls Teller Connect. Customers can speak with a teller based in Turners Falls who can handle a wide range of transactions from that location.

The bank is also celebrating its work within the community, a commitment that manifests itself in a number of ways and on many different levels, including multi-faceted support of Monte’s March, the trek undertaken by radio station WHMP DJ Monte Belmonte to raise money for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts (Howland himself was to be part of the second leg of the march, from Northampton to Greenfield).

Denise Coyne shows off one of the Teller Connect machines at GSB’s main branch in Greenfield.

But it also includes donating 30 elm trees in communities where the bank has a presence to replace just a few those lost to Dutch elm disease decades ago (these gifts, part of the 150th celebration, are resistant to the disease), and creating a foundation to support an ongoing project whereby students learning each of the trades at Franklin County Technical School collaborate to build a house from scratch (more on those initiatives later).

Mostly, though, the bank is celebrating what Howland called its “infinite horizon.” By that, he meant that this institution isn’t going anywhere, and it can act, and operate, accordingly.

“My job is to hand the keys over to someone else and have the company be better than it was when I got here,” he explained. “At the prior two organizations I worked for, and at many other banks, basically the mission was to figure out how to maximize the value for the shareholders in the shortest period of time and sell the organization; to that extent, our business plan is different than that of most other banks.”

For this issue’s focus on banking and financial services, BusinessWest talked at length with Howland and Coyne about GSB’s first 150 years and what will come next for this venerable institution.

Staying on Track

Hanging on a wall inside the conference room is a framed poster hyping the 20th Century Limited — the historic express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad that traveled between New York and Chicago — and its faster time for completing that run: 16 hours.

This might seem like an odd item to find in a bank headquarters building, but Howland offered an explanation that speaks volumes about how this institution celebrates its past but is by no means stuck in it.

“I put that poster up to remind us that we constantly have to be reinventing ourselves, constantly have to be figuring out how to do it better and faster,” Howland explained. “The poster represents the race between the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad to attract customers to this high-profile route. When one company dropped their time, the other matched or exceeded it. They conceived idea after idea to improve service, cut down travel time, and maintain schedules. Banking today is just like that — we are all providing the same products. That’s why we continue to provide our customers with exceptional service, the most up-to-date technology, and offer competitive rates.”

And throughout its long history, the bank certainly has operated with that mindset.

Students at Franklin County Technical School work on the framing for a house they constructed in Erving through a program financed by a foundation created by GSB.

Indeed, while the name over the door hasn’t changed and the street address of the main branch has changed by just a few digits, the bank has evolved with the times and advancing technology, all while remaining a hugely important corporate citizen in a region that never had many and has seen those ranks decline over the past several decades.

Coyne, the bank’s longest-serving employee, has certainly seen this blend of change and continuity in her time.

She recalls doing most tasks by hand when she started as a teller at the Turners Falls branch (the only branch at the time) in 1978, and, in fact, she helped lead the institution into the computer age and a succession of improvements, including Teller Connect.

“The technology is so great that we can extend our hours — from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, you can talk with a teller,” she noted, adding that there are extended hours on Saturday as well. “It’s no different than if you go to a drive-up and talk with someone who’s in the building; we can do almost everything you could if you came into the lobby.”

Over the past four decades, Coyne, who has held a number of titles over the years and handled pretty much every assignment other than commercial lending, has seen the bank greatly expand its footprint, first into other communities within Franklin County, then into neighboring Hampshire County.

There are now five branches in Franklin County — in Greenfield, Conway, Shelburne Falls, South Deerfield, and Turners Falls — and the same number in Hampshire County — two in Amherst, two in Northampton, and the latest addition, the branch on Route 9 in Hadley.

That addition to the portfolio wasn’t exactly planned, said Howland, noting that it came about by circumstance — the closing of a credit union — and was viewed as an opportunity to more conveniently serve customers in that area.

Looking ahead, Howland doesn’t see much, if any, additional expansion. But he does see continuous work to improve customer service, take full advantage of ever-improving technology, and, overall, take full advantage of the infinite horizon he mentioned.

“That’s the biggest challenge we face — the non-bank competitors coming in picking off pieces of our business. It’s kind of like Walmart being able to do an MRI for you; it’s large companies picking and choosing where they can make something work.”

And all those qualities will be needed, he said, because, while the pace of consolidation within the banking industry has slowed somewhat, especially in this region, other threats have emerged, especially from what he called “non-bank competition.”

By that, he referred to Apple, Google, Alibaba, PayPal, and a host of other major companies that are chipping away at traditional bank business by creating services of their own in realms ranging from lending to payments to credit cards.

“That’s the biggest challenge we face — the non-bank competitors coming in picking off pieces of our business,” he explained. “It’s kind of like Walmart being able to do an MRI for you; it’s large companies picking and choosing where they can make something work.

“And then we, as an organization, have to provide everything for everyone,” he went on. “And sometimes it can become expensive to provide some products. It’s just capitalism — it’s not a bad thing, necessarily, but it’s a challenge for us as an organization to maintain as much as we maintain and be able to provide an array of services for our customers.”

Saving Graces

To counteract these powerful forces, GSB has to focus on what differentiates it from those non-bank competitors and the larger regional banks so prevalent in this market, said Howland.

These differentiators include both a personalized brand of service and a deep portfolio of services, including a trust department, something most area banks no longer have, he went on.

As just one example, he cited the example of a customer entangled in a fraud situation.

“Unfortunately, the bank on the other side is a huge organization that really doesn’t care — they will not help at all, they won’t talk with us, they won’t do anything,” he noted. “I think the way we differentiate ourselves is the personalized service and the fact that our customers know they can count on us — they know they can call someone who cares and is going to do something about their problem.”

Beyond the brand and scope of services, another differentiator is the bank’s long history of involvement in the community and a commitment to continue that tradition, said Howland.

“As an organization, we’re very proud of our position in the community,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re dedicated to being the best corporate citizen we can be, and we’re involved in our community in many, many different ways.

“Obviously, we’re important in terms of the local economy, but it’s not just the economy that we focus on, it’s just the financial aspect of what we do,” he went on. “It’s striving to improve the conditions in our communities as best we can. We’re one of the larger philanthropic organizations in terms of straight dollar donations, but on top of that, our employees are involved in all kinds of stuff at all kinds of levels.”

And by ‘stuff,’ Howland meant much more than time and energy donated to the boards of dozens of nonprofits — although that’s a big part of it. There’s also volunteerism and the many forms it takes, he said, adding that the bank prides itself on backing up such efforts with dollars and other types of support.

“If an employee comes to me and says, ‘I think this is really important, and I have dedicated myself to volunteering time for it,’ more likely than not, we’ll make a fairly significant financial contribution to that charity on behalf of that employee.”

Overall, the bank is keenly aware of its role and its responsibilities within the largely rural areas it serves, particularly in Franklin County, he went on, adding that it is often asked to step up and, when possible, pitch in. Such was the case with the initiative involving Franklin County Tech and a proposal to have its students build houses.

The bank’s response was to go beyond writing a check and instead do something for the long term.

“I got a phone call from the tech school asking if we would make a donation to this program to build a house,” Howland recalled, adding that the bank eventually created the Franklin Technical School Building Society Inc., a foundation with its own board of directors that essentially finances the home-building project and is replenished when the house is sold.

“They earned a lot of money on the first house, and the second house will hopefully be sold in the spring of 2020, and another house will be started after that,” he went on. “The point of it is to create something that becomes self-sustaining, and ultimately, we hope this grows to the point where it can be a benefactor for other programs at the tech school.”

Long-term thinking was also the motivation for the bank’s decision two years ago to create the Greenfield Savings Bank Foundation. Funded with profits from the bank, it’s an initiative in keeping with GSB’s long-term horizon, said Howland.

“We funded it with $200,000, and our expectation is to continue funding it at some amount per year,” he explained. “My vision, and it will not be in the time that I’m president of the organization, is that, at some point, this foundation will be as large as, if not larger than, the bank, and I think we have the opportunity to do that.

“I’m most proud of where we are as a corporate citizen in our community, and my feelings are a reflection of our board of directors,” he added. “Our board is incredibly committed to making us the best business we can be in Franklin County and Hampshire County.”

Time Passages

There’s some additional 150th memorabilia in the main lobby of GSB’s headquarters.

On one wall, the very first passbook sits in a frame. And a glass display case in the center of the room holds everything from a photocopy of the first mortgage document (a loan issued in 1869 to one Jeremiah Eagan for a building on School Street) to news photos of the Mansion House fire, to a box of fountain pen nibs, a symbol of how things were done more than a half-century ago.

This collection speaks to the two qualities that are really being celebrated with this sesquicentennial — needed change and continuity.

There are plenty of other pieces of evidence outside the bank, from the house built by the technical-school students in Erving to elm trees growing in Look Park in Northampton, Montague center, and a host of other locations, to those branches in Hampshire County.

Together, they speak of a 150-year-old success story — and of many chapters still to come.

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

Red Sox, Hoop Hall Events Present a Huge Test — and a Massive Opportunity

Banking and Financial Services

Travel and Tourism

Coming Attractions

Mid-January is typically the slowest time for the region’s tourism sector. The holidays are over, and college graduations, summer, and the Big E are months away. But this January, and especially Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, will be different. Much different. Two massive happenings — the Red Sox Winter Weekend and the HoopHall Classic — will occur simultaneously, presenting an intriguing and hopefully lucrative mix of challenge and opportunity.

Mary Kay Wydra calls it the “perfect storm.” And she really hopes there isn’t an actual storm over those few days.

With those sentiments, Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, spoke for a good number of people when it comes to what is shaping up to be a memorable and perhaps historic weekend for this region next month.

So did John Doleva, executive director of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, when he said, “this is what we’ve all dreamed about — weekends that were so busy that we’d be bursting at the seams.”

John Doleva says the upcoming weekend in January is the kind of multi-event development the city should welcome, despite the logistical challenges.

They were both talking about Jan. 16-20. Those are the dates for the 2020 Spalding HoopHall Classic, presented by EastBay. And in the middle of that, on Jan. 17-18, the Boston Red Sox will stage their Winter Weekend at MGM Springfield and the MassMutual Center. The annual fan fest, launched in 2015, had been staged at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut, but moves to Springfield for 2020 thanks to a multi-faceted partnership agreement forged between the Red Sox and MGM back in the early spring.

While hard projections are difficult to come by, it’s estimated that, between the two events, more than 20,000 people could come to Springfield over those four days, with a good number of them — again, just how many isn’t known yet — staying a night or several nights.

“Every restaurant in downtown will be packed, and every hotel in the downtown will be packed. This will be one of the biggest parties the city has hosted in some time.”

This is that ‘bursting at the seams’ part.

Indeed, the two events occurring simultaneously will certainly test this region’s hospitality infrastructure and especially its inventory of hotel rooms — so much so that Doleva was candid and to the point when he told BusinessWest, “We’re thankful that we booked the hotel rooms first, because we wouldn’t want to be shut out.”

The Hall was able to do so because this is the 18th HoopHall Classic staged over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, if you will, meaning that there is an organizational machine in place for this event. That’s not the case with the Red Sox Winter Weekend, which, as noted, is new to Springfield.

Mike Mathis, president and COO of MGM Springfield, says Red Sox Winter Weekend will provide a unique opportunity to showcase the city and the casino.

Logistics for the event are being handled by both the Red Sox and the event’s official host, MGM Springfield. Mike Mathis, president and COO of the resort casino, said planning efforts are proceeding and accelerating as the event date approaches.

And what is emerging sounds like a dream weekend for ardent Red Sox fans — is there any other kind? — and area restaurant and hotel owners alike, especially with both events happening simultaneously.

“Every restaurant in downtown will be packed, and every hotel in the downtown will be packed,” he told BusinessWest. “This will be one of the biggest parties the city has hosted in some time.”

Like Doleva and Wydra, Mathis projects that this will be a very important weekend for the city, the region, the casino, the Hall, and countless hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality-related businesses. It will be a weekend to showcase the city and also what it can do when it comes to large events like these.

In short, it will be a real test, but also a very welcome test, especially since it comes at the very slowest of times for the region’s hospitality sector, said Wydra, adding that there are benefits on many levels.

“We’re experiencing compression — the downtown fills up, and it spills over into other communities,” she explained, referring not only to hotel rooms but related hospitality-related businesses as well. “We want to make sure, when people come for both of these events, that they see other things and we at least whet their appetite and try to get them back as a leisure visitor for another time.”

For this issue and its focus on travel and tourism, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at all that’s happening in mid-January and what it means for the region.

Staying Power

These certainly won’t be the first large-scale events to come to the Greater Springfield area.

Indeed, the region has played host to everything from enshrinement ceremonies at the Hall to the Women’s U.S. Open golf tournament back in 2004 (the Orchards in South Hadley was the venue); from the American Hockey League All-Star Classic roughly a year ago to a number of large conventions staged at the MassMutual Center, the Big E, or both.

And on an annual or semi-annual basis, it hosts EASTEC, the massive manufacturing trade show, as well as the Big E, which brings in more than 100,000 people on some of its weekend days, and college graduation ceremonies that are crammed into a few weekends in May, with the MassMutual Center often hosting a few such ceremonies a day.

All those gatherings have presented tests — and opportunities — for the region’s hospitality sector.

But the challenge coming in January may surpass all those in the past, in terms of everything from the sheer number of overnight guests to the logistics involved — for example, Main Street and a portion of State Street in Springfield will be shut down for roughly 48 hours to accommodate the Winter Weekend festivities.

But while that long weelend will test planners and hoteliers alike, all those involved with both events see as a tremendous opportunity to put Springfield and the region on the map and into the limelight.

That’s because there will be a good deal of media coverage — ESPN is coming to broadcast HoopHall Classic games, as it has for many years now, and NESN and radio giant WEEI are coming to provide blanket coverage of Red Sox Winter Weekend — as well as visitors who haven’t been to Springfield recently, if at all, especially Red Sox fans from the far corners of New England and beyond.

“We’ve seen the demographics from prior years, and we know that a large part of that population is coming from outside the region,” said Mathis, using ‘region’ to refer to Western Mass. “This is a great chance to expose new customers to the property and the downtown.”

Let’s break here to review just what’s on tap for those four days in January, starting with Winter Weekend.

This will be an intense two days of meet-and-greets, a town meeting with Red Sox brass holding court, autograph signings, a kids’ zone, and much more.

Fans of the team will get to see, meet, get an autograph from, and perhaps snap a picture with players from the present and past, well as executives (including recently hired Chaim Bloom, the team’s chief baseball officer), coaches, network broadcasters, and even the well-known mascots, Wally the Green Monster and Tessie. (Fans can even buy a package that includes breakfast or lunch with the mascots.)

At a recent press conference to announce Red Sox Winter Weekend festivities, Red Sox mascots Tessie (left) and Wally pose with, from left, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno; Cathy Judd-Stein, chairwoman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission; Sam Kennedy, president of the Boston Red Sox; and Mike Mathis, president and COO of MGM Springfield.

Players set to appear will cover every decade since the ’60s, a list including Jim Lonborg, Luis Tiant, Fred Lynn, Dennis Eckersley, David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and dozens more.

There will be events in MGM’s ballrooms and at the MassMutual Center (word has it that every square foot of the facility has been booked), and tents will connect the two venues, enabling patrons to move freely from one to the other, said Mathis.

As for the HoopHall Classic, it will bring its own brand of star power to the region, Doleva said.

He noted that a number of top college coaches, including John Calipari (Kentucky), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), and Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) will likely be on hand to scout many of the top young players from across the country. And that talent includes some famous last names — ‘Bronny’ James, son of NBA superstar Lebron James, and Zaire Wade, son of former NBA superstar Dwayne Wade, will play for the same team from California.

“Teams travel in from all around the country,” Doleva noted. “On Sunday and Monday, we have the top-ranked teams in the country; the top 10 or 15 prospects going D1 [Division 1] will be playing on the various teams. We have multiple TV events on Sunday and Monday, so if you can’t buy a ticket to Blake Arena at Springfield College, you can watch it on ESPN or ESPN2.”

Having a Ball

That’s what’s on tap. As for what it all means … those we spoke with said the simultaneous events could well set a new bar when it comes to bringing visitors, vibrancy, spending dollars, and, yes, challenges for the region’s hospitality sector.

Doleva noted that he expects the Hall’s event to consume 1,100 to 1,200 hotel-room nights when one factors in players, their parents, the college coaches coming to watch and recruit, and members of the media. And, as he noted, he’s happy he reserved hotel rooms early and managed to get large blocks of rooms in and around downtown Springfield and close to the Hall of Fame, where many of the HoopHall Classic events will take place.

Overall, though, hotels across the region will benefit, said Alicia Szenda, director of Sales for the GSCB.

“Patrons coming in for both events will be in Chicopee, Holyoke, and West Springfield properties, and into Connecticut as well,” she told BusinessWest. “I can’t remember a time when we’ve had two events of this magnitude happening at the same time; these are large fan bases that are coming to the area.”

Mathis told BusinessWest that the Red Sox players will be staying at MGM Springfield —most of the facility’s rooms have been reserved for weekend event — but he expects that attendees, media members, and others will be finding accommodations across the area, creating a sizable trickle-down effect.

Meanwhile, the twin events, and especially Winter Weekend, will present a huge opportunity to introduce the resort casino to new audiences, said Mathis, with the goal of making a very strong first impression and bringing them back for return visits.

“We always feel that, if we can get a new customer on the property to give us a trial, we have a very good chance of getting that customer back and start building loyalty,” he explained, adding, again, that the resort casino will be just one of many winners that long weekend.

“This goes well beyond the property and the city — the impact will be region-wide,” he went on, referring specifically to the Winter Weekend but the sum of the two events as well. “Springfield is hosting two major events on the same weekend; the compression and the energy that comes from that is testament to what we’re doing down here, that we’re starting to get double-booked on weekends.”

Doleva echoed those thoughts, and noted that there could be a good amount of crossover from the events.

“I think that many of the folks coming from out of town for our event might enjoy the Red Sox gathering,” he said. “And those here for the Red Sox will hopefully realize that they’re three minutes away from the Basketball Hall of Fame and come over and check it out. This is the perfect storm of good things.”

And, as noted earlier, this storm comes when it’s needed most for the tourism sector — the dead of winter.

Last year, the region and its hospitality sector got a boost from the AHL All-Star Classic, said Wydra, adding that, this January, there will be a much larger shot of adrenaline.

“We’re creating a reason to come here in the winter — and that’s always been a struggle not only for us, but for any New England city,” she noted, adding that perhaps the best news is that this will be the first of hopefully many Winter Weekends in Springfield, and the same goes for the HoopHall Classic.

Booked Solid

While almost all his time and energy are focused on the 2020 HoopHall Classic, Doleva has allowed himself to think a little about the 2021 edition as well.

It may well be staged at the same time as the Red Sox Winter Weekend again, which means there may be a more intense competition, if that’s what it is, for hotel rooms in the city.

“Next year, I’m hoping we all work together so everything happens in a cost-effective way,” he noted. “But, like I said, this is what we all hoped for and dreamed for — that the city would be on fire with tourism and events and people coming from out of town.

“We’ll find a way to coexist and celebrate the assets that we have in Springfield, and blow it out that weekend — and hopefully a number of other weekends as well,” he went on.

And with that, he once again spoke for a great number of people concerning a weekend destined to be a hot time — during the coldest month of the year.

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

Pump-station Project Brings Innovation to Springfield’s Riverfront

By Joseph Bednar December 10, 2019

Construction

Beneath the Surface

Jeff Weinman stands on the former York Street Jail site, where a new, state-of-the-art pump station is being built.

The wastewater pump station at Springfield’s riverfront has done its job for more than 80 years, but it’s nearing the end of its useful life and lacks the capacity to keep up with the region’s growth — which threatens the cleanliness of the Connecticut River itself. That’s why the Springfield Water & Commission has launched a $115 million project to build a new station and three new pipelines across the river — a project that comes with some intriguing challenges and equally innovative solutions, including something called microtunneling.

When the wastewater pump station on York Street in Springfield was built 81 years ago, the city’s infrastructure was much different — and so were its sewage-treatment needs.

“The existing pump station is pretty old, though it’s still functional,” said Jeff Weinman, senior project manager Daniel O’Connell’s Sons (DOC), the contractor overseeing the construction of a new, much larger pump station at the site. “The capacity is the issue. As the city has expanded over the years, it’s kind of at its capacity right now, so they need to create additional pumping capacity there. In order to that, they needed to build a bigger pump station with bigger pumps, bigger piping, bigger everything.”

The $115 million project will serve 70% of the region’s population by conveying wastewater from Springfield, Ludlow, Wilbraham, and East Longmeadow across the Connecticut River to the Springfield Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility on Bondi’s Island. A new, higher-capacity wastewater pump station will be constructed, as well as three new wastewater-conveyance pipes across the Connecticut River.

The project is a cornerstone of the Springfield Water & Sewer Commission’s efforts to comprehensively plan projects that will meet multiple pressing needs such as combined sewer overflow reduction, climate resiliency, system redundancy, and infrastructure renewal. Construction is expected to last well into 2022.

“It’s part of a capital investment on the part of the commission to both increase their infrastructure and enhance water quality in the Connecticut River,” Weinman told BusinessWest. “It can reduce the potential for severe storms to impact water quality in the Connecticut River by having storm runoff or having the city’s sewer system overflow.”

A rendering shows the future pump station’s footprint both above and well below the ground.

The innovative project, expected to create about 150 construction jobs over the next three years, is designed to address four key issues, including:

• Infrastructure renewal (the new, modern station will replace an aging station nearing the end of its useful life and accommodating future growth in the region);

• Environmental protection (increased pumping capacity will prevent an additional 100 million gallons of combined sewer overflows from entering the Connecticut River in a typical year);

• System redundancy (three new pipes under the Connecticut River will add redundancy and improve service reliability for customers in Springfield, Ludlow, East Longmeadow, and Wilbraham); and

• Climate resiliency (flood-control protection will be increased by repurposing the old pump station).

The project is a culmination of years of planning — specifically through the commission’s Integrated Wastewater Plan (IWP). Adopted in 2014, the IWP was one of the first such plans in the country to integrate project planning for regulatory compliance — specifically, projects that fulfill an unfunded federal mandate to eliminate combined sewer overflows — and for renewal of aging infrastructure.

A Question of Capacity

The new station is being built on the former site of the York Street Jail and will connect to the Springfield Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility on Bondi’s Island through three new, 1,200-foot river crossing pipes. The additional pipes will supplement the two 80- and 50-year-old pipes under the river now, allowing for more regular maintenance and alternatives during emergencies.

“It can reduce the potential for severe storms to impact water quality in the Connecticut River by having storm runoff or having the city’s sewer system overflow.”

A $100 million low-interest loan from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust State Revolving Fund (SRF) is the source of funding for the majority of the project. The SRF is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection with funding from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and from repayment of past loans.

The project also utilizes an innovative form of construction called ‘construction manager at risk’ (CMAR). Rather than designing a project and then sending it to bid for construction, CMAR incorporates the construction manager earlier in the process to help identify risks that may arise in the construction phase due to design. This garners more price certainty and minimizes project delays due to unforeseen circumstances.

“The delivery method is a little different,” Weinman said. “We did a technical proposal for the job, and based on that we were awarded the contract, then we worked with the design team during the final stages of development of construction documents, providing budgeting support and working with design team as they finalized documents and tailored them to the approach to the work that we thought best.”

The current, 81-year-old pump station is much smaller — and can thus handle much less wastewater — than the one coming online in 2022.

One of the interesting challenges of the project is where it’s sited, shoehorned between West Columbus Avenue and the flood-control wall and the infrastructure on York Street, including the main interceptor pipe for the city of Springfield.

“The pump station needs to be deep enough to work with the existing elevations of the infrastructure and also be able to have the capacity to handle the flow that it needs to handle,” Weinman said. “The bottom elevation of the pump station is 50 feet below existing grade. The site is so small, you have to go pretty much straight down with excavation to build the pump station.”

So, in a move uncommon in Western Mass., DOC will use a slurry wall for supportive excavation. “It’s a type of system usually used in downtown Boston and urban settings where you don’t have a lot of real estate. A concrete wall is built in the ground without using formwork,” he explained. “It’s kind of a unique process — the first time I’ve been involved with a project that employs that system.”

Another challenge involves running the new pipelines under the Amtrak tracks, Weinman noted. “So they’re going to be microtunneling under the tracks. We did a smaller supportive excavation for the launch pit for the microtunneling. That’ll be going on hopefully next summer — boring a hole beneath the flood wall and the railroad tracks out to the other side of the tracks down toward the river.”

Next summer will also see the start of the underwater pipe installation. That phase of the project should take about 12 months, as will DOC’s infrastructure upgrades at Bondi’s Island to expand the capacity of the sewage intake there. The construction of the pump station itself is the most involved part of the project; a groundbreaking took place in the spring, and it should be complete in May 2022.

Water Works

The river-spanning pipe installation — which DOC will subcontract to a firm that specializes in such work — is a relatively straightforward job, but the process of completing the work has become more difficult in terms of the regulatory aspects, Weinman told BusinessWest.

“There’s a lot more awareness now of the potential environmental impacts, so the planning of it becomes a lot more intensive. You work with regulators, MassDEP, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other regulatory agencies involved, making sure you’re tailoring your work in a way that complies with all the regulations and minimizes the impact,” he explained. “It’s an arduous process, and I understand why it’s there.”

Still, the entire project itself will have a major environmental benefit, and that’s keeping the Connecticut River cleaner while better meeting the region’s growing wastewater needs.

“The York Street Pump Station and Connecticut River Crossing Project is a sign of the commission’s smart and future-oriented approach to stewarding the region’s water and wastewater infrastructure,” Commission Executive Director Josh Schimmel said at the spring groundbreaking. “These types of projects may not always be the most glamourous, but they are critical to maintaining public health, service reliability, and environmental protection in the region for the 21st century. We are proud to initiate this project that will maximize ratepayer dollars by meeting multiple needs.”

To Weinman and his team at DOC, it’s another rewarding challenge, particularly in terms of innovative methods like the slurry wall and the trenchless tunneling under the railroad tracks, that promises to lead to a positive outcome.

“That’s the nature of construction,” he said. “There are so many different systems out there, and every job has different challenges and different solutions.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Ware Strives to Build Vibrancy — and a Brand

By Kayla Ebner December 10, 2019

Community Spotlight

From left, Rebekah DeCourcey, Stuart Beckley, Tracy Opalinski, and Anna Marques.

‘Somewhere worth seeing.’

This is the tagline that’s been attached to a visioning, branding, wayfinding, and business-development plan for the town of Ware, an ambitious document that has elements ranging from a community vision to a branding strategy to new signage that will direct locals and visitors alike to various civic, cultural, and recreational destinations within the community.

As for that vision, it states that this community in eastern Hampden County is “one where we meet at unique shops and businesses in our revitalized downtown, where a growing, diverse economy is being cultivated, where we respect the land and enjoy unrivaled outdoor recreation opportunities, and where our government and its partners work together to provide efficient and up-to-date services for all of our citizens.”

For town officials, said Selectman Tracy Opalinski, the tasks at hand are to make sure that these are not just taglines and words on a page, but instead constitute reality in this community of nearly 10,000 people — and to communicate this to people within and outside the town. And she and others believe some real progress is being made in this regard.

“Ware is really a center of commerce for a large region, and people come to Ware not just to go to Walmart, but also for their banking, their healthcare, their education. We are a regional hub to a rural area.”

She said there are many projects underway to help people realize how much Ware has to offer, and town officials are working hard to set the town up for a bright future.

“Ware is really a center of commerce for a large region, and people come to Ware not just to go to Walmart,” said Opalinski, referencing perhaps the town’s main drawing card, “but also for their banking, their healthcare, their education. We are a regional hub to a rural area.”

Stuart Beckley, town manager; Anna Marques, building inspector and zoning enforcement officer; and Rebekah DeCourcey, director of Planning and Community Development, all sat with BusinessWest recently and shared the many ongoing projects to help Ware accomplish its ambitious goals, and also several that have already been implemented.

Main Street is one area of town in which Ware officials are looking to create more vibrancy.

These activities include everything from restoring outdoor trails to bringing in new businesses to support a still-struggling Main Street — and officials say they are already seeing results, in the form of some new stores, healthcare-related businesses, arts-focused ventures, and the growing presence of Holyoke Community College.

“There has been a lot of growth on Main Street,” said Beckley. “It used to be rare that there was night parking and night traffic, and now, because of the arts and the restaurants, there has been more activity.”

With Ware being a distance — and roughly equidistant — from Worcester and Springfield, Beckley and others say said they recognize the importance of making services available in the town, and they believe Ware is well on its way to becoming more than just a drive-through community.

“I see the passion, and I see the forward momentum,” said DeCourcey. “I used to take Route 9 when I was out in the Amherst area. I feel like, 10 or 15 years ago, Ware wasn’t a place that I was going to stop for anything, I was just going to drive through. And now, all the storefronts that have been empty for 10 years are filling up.”

For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest looks at just how Ware is living up to its new tagline and becoming ‘somewhere worth seeing.’

Building a Brand

The 2015 vision plan for Ware, completed by Arnett Muldrow & Associates with funding from the Edward and Barbara Urban Foundation, recognized growing social issues in town related to low-income housing, lack of transportation, crime, drug use, and an aging population, and noted the general area along Main Street was declining, with continued disinvestment and vacancy.

Town officials recognized the importance of acting quickly and pointedly, and rallied to bring new businesses and projects to town to counter these forces and create a more vibrant community.

There is an ongoing effort to restore Main Street, with new arts-related stores opening, including Clayworks and ArtWorks Gallery by Workshop13, a nonprofit cultural arts and learning center in town. Also on Main Street, E2E, a Holyoke Community College satellite facility for ‘education to employment,’ opened in 2018, and offers services like college enrollment, job training and certificates, jobs lists, and English and math tutoring.

“For HCC to come here was really important to the town, and as it continues to grow, they’ve made a connection with our Ware public schools,” said Beckley. “The town is now offering EMT courses, certified nursing, and is about to start a criminal justice course.”

In addition, expansions have been completed at several businesses, including the Dollar Store and Cluett’s Appliance.

Ware at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1775
Population: 9,872
Area: 40.0 square miles
County: Hampshire
Residential Tax Rate: $20.21
Commercial Tax Rate: $20.21
Median Household Income: $36,875
Median Family Income: $45,505
Type of government: Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center; Kanzaki Specialty Papers Inc.; Quabbin Wire & Cable Co. Inc.; Walmart
*Latest information available

Within the healthcare sector, to support the growing elder population in Ware, Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center expanded its Cancer Care unit, added a new Healogics Wound and Hyperbaric Care unit, and added a new imaging center with 3D breast imaging, all in 2019.

Town officials say one of the main factors that has contributed to this growth and momentum during this time has been the commitment and dedication of business owners and residents alike.

“The business owners here are very committed,” said Marques. “They’re always asking how they can help in a way that goes above and beyond.”

Opalinski added that Ware, for various reasons, doesn’t have a great history of sharing information, and noted that town officials are working hard to open lines of communication both between town residents and department heads and also between the department heads themselves.

“We’ve broken that barrier over the past few years, and we’re really starting to reach out,” she said. “Ware is comprised of really caring people, and I feel that all these different people and entities are talking to each other and collaborating together — regionally, too, and I think that regional outreach is helping other communities grow. It’s connecting us to different entities we’ve never connected to before.”

As for future projects, there is no shortage of activity. Right down the street from Mary Lane, Cedarbrook Village, a $25 million, 119-bed senior center, is being constructed and is set to open in the summer of 2020. In keeping with new medical developments, a $1 million cancer pharmacy is slated to open in 2020.

Also on tap to open in the next year or so is B’Leaf Wellness Center, a local mother-and-daughter-owned cannabis company.

All Hands on Deck

These new developments are all part of an effort to be more business-friendly and attract more people to a community that town officials say has a lot more to offer than people realize. And they are already seeing the benefits of their efforts.

“The housing market in Ware is extraordinarily high right now,” said Beckley. “Single-family houses are selling really well. We’re approaching 100 units sold in a year, which, for Ware, is an amazing amount. The values are going up.”

He and other town officials know that this is the beginning of a long road for Ware and are prepared to continue working toward a brighter future for the tight-knit community.

With a collection of new developments happening, it’s safe to say Ware is a town on the rise, and one to keep on the radar.

“Ware has something good going on,” Marques said. “I think people are recognizing that and looking to move here.”

Kayla Ebner can be reached at [email protected]

New Valley Bank Raises Its Profile, and Its Assets, in First Six Months

By Joseph Bednar December 10, 2019

Local Approach

Jeff Sullivan says customers use branches in different ways than they used to, but that physical presence is still important.

Every morning, Jeff Sullivan signs new-account letters for the most recent depositors at New Valley Bank. “We like to send a thank-you note to people for opening an account,” he told BusinessWest.

But that task also allows Sullivan, the bank’s president and CEO, to gauge how New Valley is doing, at least by that one metric. “Week by week, the volume goes up. Every morning when I come in, there’s a stack of letters that kind of tells me how the day went yesterday. Sometimes it’s just a couple, sometimes eight or 10.”

The story those piles tell is of a bank — the first new Springfield-based bank to open in 11 years — that is indeed growing, and not just in deposits, but in commercial lending, the niche on which its founders want to focus considerable energy.

“In general, things are going well,” Sullivan said, noting that, at the end of the second quarter, just a month after opening, New Valley reported $34 million in assets. That number rose to $45 million at the end of September, is over $55 million now, and is expected to top $60 million by the end of the year. “So we’re starting to grow.”

While the last bank launched in Springfield, NUVO Bank (since acquired by Community Bank), focused on a mostly digital banking model, New Valley will have slightly more of a brick-and-mortar foundation, Sullivan explained. It currently has two branches — its headquarters on the ninth floor of Monarch Place in downtown Springfield, and a stand-alone branch on Wilbraham Road in Sixteen Acres. A third branch will follow in the second half of 2020, although the location hasn’t been determined.

“We’re a hybrid model, and people use branches in different ways now,” he said. “One of our customers, who opened his accounts here and doesn’t have a lot of need to go to a branch, went into a branch to have them help him figure out the online stuff. He wanted to download the mobile app and get everything enrolled and get bill pay set up, so our staff spent an hour with this gentleman, helping him set it up so he doesn’t have to come to the branch. But he was glad to know it was there so he could go and get some assistance when he needed it.”

On the commercial side, the bank will focus on smaller loans and quick turnaround times, said Sullivan, adding that the merger culture in recent years has created opportunities to serve small to medium-sized businesses in a high-touch way they don’t necessarily experience at large institutions.

“There’s definitely a big learning curve, of trying to educate the broader public about who we are and what we’re trying to do,” he noted. “We do have kind of a captive audience in the 300 shareholders who have invested in us. They know our story. As we convert those shareholders into customers, we want them to have a good experience because they’re very important to us. Then, if we provide good first impressions, they’ll become a sales force for the bank; they’ll tell their friends and business networking groups that we’re doing a good job.”

That’s the challenge for any new bank — to answer the question, ‘why this bank?’ when so many other institutions dot what many have called an overbanked landscape in Western Mass. But Sullivan hopes New Valley’s combination of local, quick-response lending and a retail model built on strong personal service will resonate with people looking for a change.

“We’ve looked at our shareholders and some people we’ve done business with before as our first wave of customers. And they’ve been patient with us because, as a new bank, not everything goes completely smoothly,” he added. “Our branch took a little bit longer than we thought to get open — it opened in September, and it’s doing great.”

New Valley is also in the final stages of testing and rolling out online account opening and other technology by the end of the year, as well as an online lending platform where people can apply for commercial loans up to $250,000 and get an answer quickly. “That’ll be up by the end of the first quarter of next year. We’re working hard on all those things while we’re trying to grow the balance sheet at the same time.”

Successful Connections

The founders of the bank — including Sullivan; Chairman Frank Fitzgerald; Jim Garvey, president of St. James Check Cashing; and Dennis Murphy of Ventry Associates — set several goals early on, first being a high level of engagement with customers, which Sullivan said has been missing at many banks. Second, they hope the bank will build off the recent successes in Springfield and connect the small-business community to that success.

Sullivan, who has spent more than 30 years working in and around the region’s banking community, most recently as chief operating officer for United Bank, told BusinessWest he’s come to understand that, just because there are branches on almost every corner in some cities and towns, that doesn’t mean the region’s population — and especially certain segments of it — are adequately served.

“We’ve got to make sure we make good first impressions with people. Our calling card’s going to be that we’re small, we’re nimble, we’re local, we can turn stuff around quickly. So we just have to live up to that, do a good job of it, and then the word will spread.”

In fact, research continues to show that the volume of business at check-cashing establishments has remained fairly stable — and comparatively high — in this region, despite considerable improvement in the economy over the past decade. Sullivan estimates there are some 20,000 households in Hampden County alone that use a bank sparingly, if at all.

“A lot of people are not well-served on the retail side. They need financial education, low-fee and no-fee accounts, and also a lot of financial-literacy tools,” he said.

“Several companies we’ve talked to say, ‘that profile is my employee base. I’ve got a lot of hourly employees, high-school kids getting their first job with us, people who are coming out of the military, or out of jail,’” he went on. “The employer is saying, ‘if I can cut down on the turnover, if I can make these people more stable, they’re going to be better employees, and that’s better for my business.’ They’re interested in working through their HR departments to make these kinds of accounts and tools available to people. It’s a win-win — lower turnover making for better employees, but they also recognize the challenges people are going through.”

But he also came back repeatedly to the commercial-lending focus New Valley wants to become known for during a time when many banks have been involved in mergers and acquisitions, and longtime community banks have grown significantly and put more emphasis on very large loans.

“As we come to the end of this long expansion cycle we’ve been in for 10 years and we’re seeing a lot of consolidation in the marketplace, banks and credit unions are readjusting their portfolios a little bit. We’re coming to the marketplace and saying, ‘hey, we’re turning stuff around quickly, and it doesn’t take us as long as it takes some of the other banks to go through the process.’ So I think delivering on quick decision making, local decision making, and just rapid service is what defines us at this point.”

One unexpected development has been strong demand for residential mortgages, which was not a big part of the initial business plan, Sullivan said. It’s just one way a new bank has to adjust to market demands — one of many challenges during that first year.

“By making sure all of our systems are in place, working with our regulators to make sure that we’re growing the right way, that our procedures and policies are right for the size of our bank, we’re building a good foundation for the future,” he told BusinessWest. “I’m champing at the bit to scale up and unveil some of these new products and new technologies we’re thinking about.”

To serve the public, he added, “you have to meet them where they want to meet you. Increasingly today, that’s having a good app, having some good social media, being able to reach people through online marketing.”

Spreading the Word

New Valley’s business plan calls opening one more branch in the second half of 2020. Sullivan knows it will be one of many local stories in an industry constantly defined by change.

“A lot of branches are available right now in Greater Springfield and Northern Connecticut. By this time next year, new banks will be coming into the marketplace, and we’ll see some expansion; I think some of the Hampshire County banks will push down, and some banks out of New York are making a lot of noise that they’re coming into Connecticut. So the landscape will continue to change.”

It’s been an exciting first six months, he added, and he and his team intend to keep up the momentum.

“We’ve got to make sure we make good first impressions with people. Our calling card’s going to be that we’re small, we’re nimble, we’re local, we can turn stuff around quickly. So we just have to live up to that, do a good job of it, and then the word will spread.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

As It Marks 25 Years, Bright Nights Displays Power of Collaboration

Travel and Tourism

Shining Example

The MGM lion is the latest addition to the portfolio of displays at Bright Nights.

Judy Matt had been tracking the results daily, almost hourly, and then … she couldn’t any longer.

So, she’ll have to wait, like everyone else, to see how Bright Nights at Forest Park fares in this year’s USA Today competition to determine the top 10 holiday lighting shows in the country.

When she was last able to check the tabulations before the magazine stopped running a count — presumably to build suspense for the Dec. 13 announcement regarding this and some other contests — Matt noted that Bright Nights was running fourth, behind such vaunted displays as the Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill in Ohio, the Bentleyville Tour of Lights in Duluth, Minn., and Christmas Town USA in McAdenville, N.C.

“We were doing very well in the polling, and I think that certainly says something about Bright Nights, how far we’ve come, and how it can help put Springfield on the map,” said Matt, president of Spirit of Springfield, which manages the display. “We’re now certainly among the top displays in the country.”

But regardless of how it fares in the final vote, Bright Nights, now marking its 25th year, will always having something more to celebrate — the manner in which it has become a holiday tradition in this region, now already touching a number of generations of area residents and visitors alike.

“When we started out, we certainly weren’t thinking about winning any awards or anything like that,” said Patrick Sullivan, executive director of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management in Springfield and one of the architects of Bright Nights, while acknowledging that he has voted online every day in the USA Today competition, as the rules allow. “We just wanted to create a lighting display, something for families to enjoy during the holidays.”

To say that those involved have succeeded in that mission would be a huge understatement. Bright Nights has become one of the leading tourist attractions in the region, visited by more than 300,000 people and some 30,000 cars and buses annually. Those visitors come from around the corner, across the region, and well outside it, as license-plate-tracking efforts show.

Judy Matt says Bright Nights has become a cherished holiday tradition in the region, one made possible by a collaborative effort involving a number of players.

But while Bright Nights is a success story as a lighting display — as its showing in the USA Today poll shows — it is also a shining example (figuratively and quite literally) of the power of collaboration, said Matt. She noted that launching Bright Lights, keeping the lights on for 25 years, and continually expanding and improving the portfolio of displays (a leaping MGM lion is the latest addition) have been possible because of a powerful partnership between the city, Spirit of Springfield, the business community, and the public, which continually supports it each year.

“It takes a lot of people working together to make this happen,” she explained. “All the contributions are important, and we need every one of them to make this work.”

While Bright Nights is certainly a success story, Matt said, keeping the lights on is certainly a challenge. Margins are slim, and a few days lost due to bad weather (many of the other displays on the USA Today list are in warm climes) can be a disaster in terms of the bottom line.

“In many ways, we make it look easy,” she said of the Bright Nights operation. “It’s certainly not easy; it’s a tremendous challenge, and it takes a great amount of support, on many levels, to make this possible.”

Watt’s Happening

By now, most people know the story of how Bright Nights came to be. And if not, it’s retold in a commemorative 25th anniversary book that is, for the most part, a collection of cherished memories offered by residents from across the region.

In most ways, the saga begins with a brochure from a North Carolina-based outfit called Carpenter Decorating, a company that designed and built holiday lighting displays, that found its way onto Sullivan’s desk.

But actually, we need to go back several more decades, to a time when Sullivan can recall visiting Forest Park during the holidays and seeing wooden displays on the baseball field, a nativity scene in the zoo, and bells hung on wires over the main road. Those simple displays created lifelong memories, and the brochure from Carpenter Decorating spurred thoughts of creating something similar for different generations of area residents.

“In many ways, we make it look easy. It’s certainly not easy; it’s a tremendous challenge, and it takes a great amount of support, on many levels, to make this possible.”

Fast-forwarding quite a bit, the brochure was shown to Matt and others. Someone from Carpenter Decorating came to Springfield, toured the park, and eventually created a plan, if you will, to fill a small portion of the park with relatively simple displays of Santas throwing snowballs and playing baseball.

Matt, Sullivan, and others were thinking bigger. Much bigger. They were thinking of creating displays that would be regional in nature and pay tribute to Dr. Seuss and the characters he made famous; incorporate some of the games created by Milton Bradley (now Hasbro), a company founded in the city and by then located in East Longmeadow; and honor other figures from the city’s history. Meanwhile, their plan would make far more extensive use of Forest Park, designed by Frederic Law Olmstead, who also designed Central Park in New York.

“I had just become parks superintendent maybe 18 months prior,” Sullivan recalled. “And I felt strongly that the parks could be an asset to the Springfield community; I wanted to ensure that our parks complemented not only the neighborhood community, but also the business community by bringing people to the area.”

But that much bigger dream came with a huge price tag and a long list of logistical concerns. And that’s a big part of this story — overcoming all of these hurdles, and in roughly six months’ time.

Such efforts created a number of Bright Nights heroes, if you will.

They include the late Peter Picknelly, then chairman of Peter Pan Bus Lines, who signed the note for the Bright Nights financing. In what has become a bit of Springfield lore and legend, he is said to have told a Spirit of Springfield board of directors wary about taking on such a gamble, “if you don’t want to take the risk, I will.”

But there were other hurdles as well — everything from bringing electricity to a park that had power in only a few areas to piecing the massive displays together (more legend has it that the boxes carrying the displays started arriving with no instructions inside). And, of course, the biggest challenge was raising the money needed to turn the lights on.

And this is where the business community has come to the forefront. Indeed, a number of area companies have stepped up as sponsors and consistent supporters of Bright Nights and Spirit of Springfield, including MassMutual, Baystate Health, MGM, Peter Pan, and many others.

The Springfield Thunderbirds display is one of the latest additions to Bright Nights, which is celebrating 25 years of creating memories.

And the business community continues to provide a strong foundation of support, said Matt, adding that this was clearly on display at the annual Bright Nights Ball, an event that celebrated the first 25 years and all those who made them possible.

“Without the business community, Bright Nights wouldn’t happen,” she noted, adding that support on many levels is needed to keep Bright Nights in the black.

“There are a lot of expenses that go with this — insurance, the crew from the city that sets up the displays and takes them down, police details, park rental, payroll for nearly 60, marketing, and more,” she explained, adding that it costs more than $1 million to stage the lighting display each year. “And all of our [Spirit of Springfield] operating income comes from Bright Nights. So if we don’t have a good Bright Nights, it follows us all year.

“That’s why every day is so crucial,” she went on. “And that’s why we’re so grateful when we get sponsors and when we get the state to give us some funding because we need all of that; if we lost a few weekends due to bad weather, we’d be in trouble.”

As the ambitious initiative marks 25 years, there is much to celebrate, said both Matt and Sullivan, who noted that, while it has become one of the nation’s top lighting displays, for Springfield and the region, it has become much more.

It is a popular tourist attraction, they said, and also a revenue generator for Spirit of Springfield. But it has also become a point of pride for the city and now one of many factors contributing to the city becoming a real destination.

“It’s a labor of love because of what the event does for our community,” said Sullivan. “When we started this, there wasn’t a lot of good happening for the city, and this became a bright spot. Now, it’s one of many bright spots — we have the Museums, MGM, and many other attractions.

“When we started, there wasn’t much going on in Springfield,” he went on. “I really believe Bright Nights was a catalyst for some of the other successes we’ve had.”

Shedding Light

Those involved with Bright Nights don’t have to wait for the results from the USA Today competition to come in to know this lighting display has already made a name for itself — and for Springfield.

Indeed, it has already been ranked — along with the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes show, the Rose Bowl, and others — among the top-10 ‘Holiday Happenings,’ according to People magazine.

And beyond cracking those top-10 and best-of lists, they know that Bright Nights has accomplished something far more important.

It has become a tradition, one that continues to grow in size, stature, and relevance.

And that’s certainly worth celebrating as a region marks this milestone year.

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

Community Works Helps Meet Needs in Construction Fields

By Joseph Bednar December 10, 2019

Construction

Training Ground

Jeff Napolitano says he hears from contractors weekly that they need more skilled workers to grow.

Every week, Jeff Napolitano hears from contractors, and the message is always the same: We need more help.

“Contractors are always looking for skilled labor,” said Napolitano, project director of Community Works, an innovative arm of the Worker Education Program at UMass Amherst funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

“With the building trades, you have an older, whiter, maler workforce that has been retiring because, really, the biggest push for the trades ended in the ’70s,” he explained. “Back then, the mantra was, ‘after you graduate high school, you go to college.’ Going into the trades has been less and less common. But we’re finding now that, whether it’s electricians to wire things or laborers to work on job sites or carpenters to construct things, there’s a need for skilled trades. That’s where our programs come in.”

Community Works is an adult pre-apprenticeship program for the construction trades and the transportation and highway industry, with a specific focus on women, people of color, and veterans, although people of all demographics may participate.

A six‐week course offered in Springfield and Holyoke to prepare qualified applicants for an apprenticeship in the building and transportation industry, Community Works uses classroom and hands‐on learning experiences to equip participants with the skills needed to be accepted into a state‐registered apprenticeship program or transportation-industry employment, from which they can build a career. Participants also receive case-management and placement services to help achieve their career goals.

Even though he works on a university campus, Napolitano admitted the program is, from a financial perspective, much different than the college pathway.

“There’s almost no debt that you really have to rack up,” he told BusinessWest from his office at UMass Amherst. “We call it the inverse four-year degree because apprenticeship programs generally take three to five years on average. And unlike going to college, where you need to take out a bundle of money in order to go, you get paid while you train, while you’re working, while you’re waiting to become a full plumber or full electrician or whatever. So people don’t have to take any debt; in fact, they get paid, with benefits, to train to become a journey-level tradesperson. That’s a lot better deal than college.”

The training — delivered by instructors experienced in the trades as well as guest presenters who have expertise in their field — replicates an actual work experience to increase the likelihood of successful placement into apprenticeship. Classes run Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., to mirror a typical construction workday.

“We’re a workforce-development program on steroids, Napolitano said. “A lot of programs have a very narrow niche — afternoon training for a week to do one particular technique in one part of the industry. Our program is six weeks, five days a week, eight hours a day.

“We call it the inverse four-year degree because apprenticeship programs generally take three to five years on average. And unlike going to college, where you need to take out a bundle of money in order to go, you get paid while you train, while you’re working, while you’re waiting to become a full plumber or full electrician or whatever.”

“So our program is way more intensive, and people graduate with OSHA 10 certification, first-aid/CPR certification, highway flagger certification, and other certifications that are, by themselves, extremely valuable,” he went on. “Over those six weeks, it isn’t just classroom training, things like blueprint reading and construction math, but also a lot of hands-on training.”

For instance, last year, 14 participants spent a day at a Habitat for Humanity site in Holyoke and insulated the whole house, he noted. “Folks also spend a whole week at the official carpenters’ apprenticeship training facility in Millbury, learning, as other carpenter apprentices learn, how to hang drywall and do flooring and that sort of thing. So they get exposed to a wide range of tools and equipment and techniques.”

And not just in carpentry, as they also visit electricians, sheet-metal workers, and others who can provide hands-on training experience.

“Instead of this being a program that just narrowly focuses on ‘you need to manufacture these widgets, and this is how you do it,’ we actually train folks in a wide variety of things. We bring in the folks from the ironworkers, the plumbers, the glaziers, the operating engineers, the elevator constructors, to basically explain these specific trades and what’s involved in getting into them. We have a very broad focus, and despite having that larger focus, it’s still a very intensive program in terms of amount of time and detail and exposure to the work.”

Immediate Success

Community Works began in 2009 as Springfield Works, a 20-member employer/union partnership to address a gap in the regional workforce-development system: too many Springfield residents were in need of additional skills training for entry into apprenticeship programs. Within a year, the program had the highest job-placement rate in the state among pre-apprenticeship graduates.

The program was rebranded in 2013 with an expansion into Holyoke, and continues to target underserved populations in the construction and transportation trades, including women, people of color, and veterans.

“Our focus is on closing the demographic gaps. These industries are heavily male, heavily white,” Napolitano said, noting that some public-works projects mandate 5% or higher percentages of women on the job.

Beyond that, Community Works applicants must be at least 18 years old; have a high-school degree or equivalent; be authorized to work in the U.S.; pass a drug test; pass a physical test, consisting of a ladder climb and other tasks; be a proficient (if not perfect) English speaker; and have a valid driver’s license and a registered, working vehicle.

“You don’t need to have any experience,” he said. “It can definitely be a plus, but you don’t need any. I’ve had people who weren’t even familiar with a measuring tape go on to construction careers. We presume that folks don’t have that experience. At the end of the class, everyone’s in roughly the same place, ready to go.”

After the six-week course (the next one runs from Feb. 24 to April 3) comes the apprenticeship placement phase, and that’s where Napolitano comes in.

“When they graduate, I help them figure out where they want to apply, what jobs they want to do,” he said. “Our partners commit to taking a look at people. After MGM was finalized, there was a dip in the labor market, but it’s coming back now. Contractors are calling me in a weekly basis looking for graduates to be put to work.”

The goal is to place graduates into apprenticeships in the building trades or into careers in the transportation industry, and sometimes both, he explained. The skills required for most trades take years to learn and are usually developed through apprenticeships, which combine classroom instruction and paid on-the-job training under the supervision of an experienced tradesperson. The sponsoring apprenticeship program pays the costs of apprenticeship training, and, upon successful completion of the apprenticeship, the participant is credentialed as a journey-level tradesperson.

In fact, all the training is free, starting with the six-week Community Works course, Napolitano added, and people receiving unemployment benefits are not required to search for a job during the program to maintain those benefits. Furthermore, all participants — there are between 20 and 25 slots in each annual class — also receive a basic set of tools and equipment.

It’s the kind of opportunity that has some college graduates rethinking that degree.

“Apprentice program directors are seeing more and more people with college degrees, who have a lot of debt and can’t get a good enough job with just a college degree,” he noted. “I had a couple of people with master’s degrees in my program last year. So it’s pretty remarkable.”

Do Your Job

After listing the requirements to apply for Community Works — things like English proficiency and the ability to drive — Napolitano remembered the most important one.

“The thing that’s required the most is the enthusiasm and initiative to want to get into the construction industry,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s a physical job, and it requires some hustle. That’s really what we’re looking for in people.”

That’s why participants are bounced from the program for multiple absences and tardies. “We’ve been told that 95% of the industry is showing up on time. The other 5% is having a good attitude and being willing to learn something.”

After all, the construction and transportation industries, in dire need of new blood to replace an aging workforce, are certainly willing to teach a few things.

“It’s definitely an issue, particularly for the larger companies that are trying to expand their base of work,” he said. “They need an expanding group of workers who can do the job.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Asphalt Academy at STCC Paves the Way to Construction Careers

Construction

Hot Opportunity

From left, Gloryvee Diaz, internship coordinator at STCC; Elliot Levy, senior director of Workforce Development; and Barbara Washburn, interim dean of the School of STEM, stand in front of the asphalt lab with industry partners.

Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) plans to open a mobile lab on campus to meet a demand in the construction industry for trained asphalt technicians and inspectors.

Students will train in the mobile lab as they pursue certification as hot-mix asphalt plant technicians and hot-mix asphalt paving inspectors. The jet-black lab, which resembles a boxcar without wheels, is located next to a civil engineering technology classroom on the STCC campus.

The college plans to offer courses in 2020. The program is designed for students without prior asphalt training.

STCC will be the only community college in the state with asphalt certification training, said Jim Reger, executive director of the Massachusetts Aggregate and Asphalt Paving Assoc. (MAAPA), which provided funding for the mobile lab. The training is made possible through collaborative efforts with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), MAAPA, and the NorthEast Transportation Technician Certification Program (NETTCP).

“There is a tremendous need for asphalt technicians,” Reger said. MAAPA represents owners and operators of hot-mix batching plants and quarries in Massachusetts.

Reger explained that new specifications from MassDOT will require more licensed technicians and inspectors who will be in demand for jobs working in the field or at asphalt-production facilities.

Janet Callahan, president of Palmer Paving Inc., initiated the idea of an Asphalt Academy while serving as chairwoman of MAAPA. She echoes Reger’s sentiments that the industry needs trained technicians and inspectors. Asphalt training has been available only in Eastern Mass.

“We really wanted to establish something for people in the western or central part of the state. This is critical for our industry,” Callahan said. “There are not enough inspectors in the market right now. As a business owner, I know how difficult it is to fill these positions.”

Students who enroll in the program will be able to choose between two courses, which will be taught by NETTCP instructors: hot-mix asphalt plant technician certification, which is for individuals responsible for the sampling and testing of hot-mix asphalt at a production facility, or hot-mix asphalt paving inspector, which is for those responsible for inspecting, sampling, and testing hot mix in the field.

Also in development is a 420-hour asphalt pre-apprenticeship program designed to introduce people to the asphalt industry. The program would align with MAAPA’s 2,000-hour asphalt apprenticeship program and would offer advanced certification.

For more information about the program, including prerequisites needed to enroll, visit www.stcc.edu/wdc/asphalt-academy or contact the Workforce Development Center at (413) 755-4225 or [email protected].

FIT Staffing Goes Well Beyond the Résumé to Make Matches

By Kayla Ebner December 10, 2019

Uncategorized

This Agency Gets IT

Anthony Ciak and Jackie Fallon say building relationships with clients and candidates is key to finding the right fit for both parties.

Finding the right candidate for a job can be a difficult task. In the tech industry, finding someone who not only has the technical skills, but also the right personality for the position, is especially challenging. That’s why FIT Staffing was established — to help companies find the right people to fill these positions, and keep them for the long haul.

Putting a square peg into a round hole just doesn’t work out.

Jackie Fallon says this goes for putting people in jobs as well. If a candidate is not the right fit for a position, things won’t work out in the long run.

Unfortunately, she says many large staffing companies habitually try to do just that — make people fit in positions where they aren’t meant to be in order to increase their numbers and help their bottom lines.

This is one of the reasons why Fallon started FIT Solutions, a technology-focused staffing company that digs deeper — much deeper — to find the right fit, for clients and candidates alike.

Fallon, president of the company, is a former engineer and employee at one of those larger staffing companies. She told BuisnessWest that she started FIT back in 2004 because she felt the Western Mass. area was underserved by the national staffing companies, and that smaller organizations that had IT needs were being overlooked.

So, she went into business for herself to change that.

“We don’t want to put people in positions that they’re not going to be successful at. We take a good, long time with our candidates and assessing what they want to do.”

The mission at FIT Solutions is to provide value to both candidates — those seeking jobs in technology, and the company’s commercial clients, those seeking employees for their open technology positions — and to do it in a thorough manner.

“We don’t want to put people in positions that they’re not going to be successful at,” said Fallon. “We take a good, long time with our candidates and assessing what they want to do.”

Division Manager Anthony Ciak emphasized the difference between FIT and larger staffing companies, adding that creating a solid fit requires more than simply looking at what’s on paper to figure out where a person might belong.

“I think that, with the larger staffing companies, maybe moreso in the IT space, it’s all about numbers,” he said. “They want to get quick placement to get numbers up, and, in the long run, that really doesn’t help anyone.”

He maintains that finding the perfect match always goes well beyond just the technical skills a candidate has. It comes down to finding the right culture and personality fit.

“Tech skills aside, sometimes it’s more about putting a hiring manager and a candidate in the same room and seeing how the sparks fly,” said Ciak, adding that good communication and chemistry are big parts of the process. “What a lot of people are looking for is a good teammate.”

One of the most common stereotypes surrounding those in the tech industry is that people are unsocial and unwilling to interact with others, but Ciak says the opposite is true, and clients look for someone who will work well with their teams.

That’s why FIT focuses on forming long-term relationships with candidates and clients so they can find the right fit for both parties.

Tech Talk

In fact, all this is spelled out loud and clear in the mission statement of the company: “to provide industry insight alongside quality staffing solutions delivered with sincerity, trust, and friendliness for our partners and candidates.”

“Our goal going into a chat with a candidate is to let them know that it’s not just about the job we might be talking about at that moment,” Ciak said. “It’s building a foundation for that opportunity and then anything else further down the line.”

In order to fill positions for clients, those at FIT often reach out to candidates they talked to months or maybe years ago. A suitable fit may not have been found back then, said Fallon, but candidates remember the service they received and are generally happy to come back for another try.

“I think that, with the larger staffing companies, maybe moreso in the IT space, it’s all about numbers. They want to get quick placement to get numbers up, and, in the long run, that really doesn’t help anyone.”

“We go back to the candidates we already have in the pipeline,” she said. “That’s our goal, to get people that we’ve already met, and we already understand what they’re looking for and make that match.”

She added that, frankly, the candidates who have résumés out on job sites like Monster or Dice are being pursued by everyone else in the industry, making it more difficult to reach them.

One thing Fallon hopes will help expand the company’s candidate pool is its recent merger with Marathon Staffing, a $70 million regional agency. Despite the reputation national staffing agencies have, she’s confident that it will help bring more more resources into the Western Mass. area.

“It gives us more bandwidth as far as options with our candidates,” she explained, adding that Marathon didn’t have an IT division, which is where FIT comes in.

Another attribute that helps FIT stand out from competition is its vetting process. Fallon said one of the best compliments the company has ever received came from a hiring manager who told her that, whenever they get a résumé from her, they know it’s a good candidate.

To explain the significance of this for the company, Ciak recalls the story of a client who was looking to fill a position at its location in Franklin County. Geographically, those at this firm knew they were going to have a harder time filling the position because of its location, and after a few months of frustration went by, they had to get creative and think outside the box.

They reached out to a female candidate who — on paper, anyway — had progressed into a few other roles that weren’t directly related to the job they needed to fill. But when FIT reached out to her, they found out that she wanted to get back into that kind of position.

When they presented her as a candidate, the decision maker for the client was reluctant to meet her. But FIT didn’t give up.

“We had a conversation with the hiring manager about trying to help them understand why we felt this person may be a good fit for the role,” said Ciak, adding that the decision maker agreed to a phone call with the candidate. As it turns out, they found she was a perfect match for what they were looking for.

“I think it was a good example of how it wasn’t about what was on the résumé … it was about a lot of the stuff in between the lines,” Ciak said. “Yes, they have to be able to do the job technically, but it’s so much more than that.”

Quality over Quantity

Using this operating mindset, the company has sustained a significant pool of candidates to reach out to, including a database of roughly 20,000 people. And it is constantly looking to make this pool even wider and deeper.

As just one example, the team recently visited Western New England University’s computer science club to talk to the seniors and other students about job opportunities in the area, how to go about looking for a job, interview preparation, salary information, and more. They also attend job summits, workshops, and other similar events to not only be a presence in the community, but also to ensure that they are constantly learning in an ever-changing industry.

“The more that we’re aware of how things are changing, the more we can impress on the candidate the importance of keeping up with technologies, too,” Ciak noted. “A lot of our clients expect the same. They expect folks to keep up with the latest and greatest and to stay educated and to challenge themselves with new technology.”

This, along with a mission to find the right fit for a candidate and client, is what makes FIT Solutions stand out from the competition. It’s what landed them on the ITS63 list as the only Western Mass. vendor, and it’s also what keeps clients and candidates in the area staffed and employed.

“It really comes back to providing value to our candidates and our clients,” Fallon said, “and being a trusted adviser to both of them.”

Kayla Ebner can be reached at [email protected]

TWO Offers ‘Team Building Through Culinary’ Program

Employment

Chop of Their Game

Members of Tru by Hilton’s ‘Team Awesome’ celebrate tying for the win in the cooking competition.

Eighteen employees from four different area hotels competed last month in a friendly, Chopped-style culinary competition at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute designed to enhance their professional development.

The participants, all management-level employees from the BK Investment Hotel Group, took part in a new one-day, four-hour program called “Team Building Through Culinary,” offered by Training and Workforce Options (TWO), a collaboration between Springfield Technical Community College and Holyoke Community College.

From the program’s customizable menu of options, the company chose “Sliced,” a culinary training exercise modeled after Chopped, one of the Food Network’s popular competitive-cooking shows. The training was led by chef and HCC Culinary Arts Instructor Tracy Carter, whose professional experience includes working at the Food Network, where she prepared the ingredient baskets for Chopped.

“The cooking sessions at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute are designed to help employees who work closely together improve their communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, while enhancing team cohesiveness and highlighting individual talents.”

“The cooking sessions at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute are designed to help employees who work closely together improve their communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, while enhancing team cohesiveness and highlighting individual talents,” said Tracye Whitfield, TWO’s director of Business Development. “TWO’s mission is to provide area companies customizable training progams for their employees’ professional growth.”

The Oct. 17 program included management teams from four of the BK group’s properties — Hampton Inn by Hilton, Residence Inn by Marriott, and Tru by Hilton, all in Chicopee, and Holiday Inn Express in Brattleboro, Vt. — who learned cooking techniques while competing against each other in one of the culinary institute’s teaching kitchens.

Under the direction of Carter, each of the four teams worked together to create a meal using a basket of pre-selected, mandatory ingredients, which in this case included chicken, brussels sprouts, mozzarella cheese, and guava paste, along with other items they could find in the kitchen’s pantries and refrigerators.

After the cooking was done, the participants sat down together to dine, sample each other’s creations, and vote for the team whose food they liked best. Two teams tied for the win: Hampton Inn by Hilton, wearing blue aprons and self-proclaimed “Team Awesome,” and Tru by Hilton, wearing yellow.

“We had a lot of fun,” said Sandra Reed Hofstetter, BK’s regional director of Operations. “Many thanks to Chef Tracy and the TWO team for the warm welcome and attention to detail.”

Progress for Hampshire College

By Editorial December 10, 2019

Opinion

Editorial

Ordinarily, a press release announcing that one of the region’s colleges or universities had maintained its accreditation with the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) would barely register as news.

But this was not the case with the recent announcement that NECHE voted to continue the accreditation of Hampshire College. Or ‘embattled Hampshire College,’ as the case may be, because it seems that this adjective has more or less became attached to the school as it has endured severe economic hardship over the past 18 months or so.

Indeed, maintaining accreditation was hardly a foregone conclusion for this school, which has seen enrollment drop dramatically, putting it in fiscal peril. In fact, for some, it seemed like a long shot.

So NECHE’s vote, which essentially buys Hampshire College two years to put itself on much more solid ground, is a milestone, and, hopefully, the first of many.

The vote is affirmation that the school — which has vowed to maintain its independence, launched a major fundraising campaign, hired a new president and several other administrators, and set ambitious goals for enrollment for 2020, its 50th-anniversary year — is on the right track.

Hampshire and its new leader, Ed Wingenbach, said they had a plan, or a path forward. They told NECHE that it is “ambitious, data-driven, and achievable.” And NECHE, apparently, is in agreement.

But this doesn’t mean Hampshire College is out of the woods. Not by a long shot.

While the school maintained its accreditation, there were some caveats, most of them involving what’s known as “institutional resources,’ or the bottom line. Hampshire’s still isn’t very good, and it needs to get much better.

To that end, the school has set about raising $60 million by 2024; an ambitious capital campaign called “Change in the Making: A Campaign for Hampshire” was kicked off at ceremonies on the campus last week. And while Hampshire is off to a great start — more than $11 million has been raised toward that goal, and the school has some good friends that can help it in this endeavor (alumnus Ken Burns is serving as co-chair of the campaign), that is a very big number.

And, as been noted several times over the past few years, demographics and other conditions are not working in Hampshire’s favor as it works to stabilize its future. High-school classes continue to get smaller, and this trend will continue. Meanwhile, the sky-high price of a college education is prompting many young people and their parents to put a premium on value and return on investment when they search for a school, a trend that further endangers small private schools with large price tags — like Hampshire.

Had the school not maintained accreditation, that would have been a virtual death knell. It’s hard enough to attract students considering the conditions listed above; it’s nearly impossible when a school has lost accreditation.

But the announcement from NECHE is merely the first of several milestones that Hampshire must reach. This will still be an uphill battle, but the school has in essence made it through base camp.

Hampshire College has been given an important lease on life. Now, it must make the very most of this opportunity.

Losing a Piece of the Past

By Editorial December 10, 2019

Opinion

Editorial

To walk into Wilson’s Department Store in Greenfield was to step back in time. And everyone loved to do it.

Wilson’s, a Main Street staple, was the last of the old-time downtown department stores in this region. For the younger generations, a trip there was just something different — as in different from going to the mall (what few are left) and different from shopping online and getting the item delivered.

For Baby Boomers, though, going there was like going into a time machine and back to their youth. Back to the day when the department stores were downtown and you had to go to one floor to find housewares and another to buy a tie. Back to the day when life — and retail — were seemingly much simpler.

Wilson’s, a Main Street staple, was the last of the old-time downtown department stores in this region.

Soon, you’ll actually need a time machine to enjoy such an experience, because Wilson’s, a store that opened nearly 140 years ago, will be closing its doors as soon as its remaining inventory is gone.

Kevin O’Neil, president of the store that has been operated by his wife’s family for roughly 90 years, announced late last month that will be retiring and closing the landmark. He told area media outlets that he could have kept the store going for a few more years, despite radical changes in retail that have made survival much more challenging, but he wanted to retire while he was still in good health.

The closing will leave a very large hole in Greenfield’s downtown — although there are a number of intriguing reuse alternatives in a city that is enjoying a resurgence of sorts — and a hole in the hearts of people who loved this landmark’s unique qualities and old-time charm.

But this closing was in almost all ways inevitable. Retail is changing, and bricks and mortar, especially in downtown settings, are becoming anachronistic.

Across the region and across the country, shopping malls are closing and being converted into what are known as ‘lifestyle centers’ that blend some retail with some residential and maybe some office space; one is being planned for the site of the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, this region’s first enclosed mall.

As for downtowns, they have long since ceased being a place where most people shop. In Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, Westfield, and other area communities, downtowns are still places to gather and maybe eat, enjoy a cocktail, see a show, or go to work in a co-working space. But not to shop.

At least not the way people did 50 or even 30 years ago. Those days are gone, and all evidence seems to indicate that they are not coming back.

Which brings us back to Wilson’s.

Yes, this is a sad day. It’s always sad when we lose something we cherish. But while we can and should mourn this loss, we could — and we should — celebrate what we had.

In Wilson’s, that was a trip back in time. And whether you did it every week or once every year, you loved the experience.

It will certainly be missed.

Picture This

Picture This

Email ‘Picture This’ photos with a caption and contact information to [email protected]

Cutting the Ribbon

EforAll Holyoke recently cut the ceremonial ribbon at its new headquarters on High Street. The well-attended event featured remarks from a number of those responsible for creating EforAll, now a key component of the region’s entrepreneurship infrastructure, and also building a home for it, one complete with co-working space, in the city’s downtown.

Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, executive director of EforAll Holyoke, offers some remarks

History Lessons

Fifth-grade students at Springfield’s DeBerry School visited the Springfield Armory on Nov. 26 on a field trip organized by BusinessWest as part of its sponsorship of the school through the Link to Libraries Community Book Link Program. The students were reading recently about creation of the National Parks, which prompted a visit to the Armory, a National Historic Site. The students learned about the Armory’s importance to Springfield’s development and its lead role in bringing mass-production processes to the forefront. Here, the students pose in front of the historic photo that greets Armory visitors.

Early Literacy Leadership Summit

More than 100 community and state education leaders gathered at Reading Success by 4th Grade’s first Early Literacy Leadership Summit on Nov. 14 at UMass Center at Springfield in Tower Square. The summit featured a presentation by Junlei Li, Saul Zaentz senior lecturer in Early Childhood Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education (top right), whose work is significantly influenced and inspired by the pioneering work of Fred Rogers. Pictured at left: from left, Chrissy Howard, manager of Reading Success by 4th Grade; Springfield City Councilor Jesse Lederman; Literacy Champion Award honorees Tyeshia Weir and Melissa Blissett; Springfield City Councilor Tim Allen; Sally Fuller, retired program manager of Reading Success by 4th Grade and Literacy Champion Award honoree; and Robert Bolduc, CEO of Pride Stores and Literacy Champion Award honoree. Top left: panelists in the Out of School Time breakout session at the summit.

The summit featured a presentation by Junlei Li, Saul Zaentz senior lecturer in Early Childhood Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education whose work is significantly influenced and inspired by the pioneering work of Fred Rogers

From left, Chrissy Howard, manager of Reading Success by 4th Grade; Springfield City Councilor Jesse Lederman; Literacy Champion Award honorees Tyeshia Weir and Melissa Blissett; Springfield City Councilor Tim Allen; Sally Fuller, retired program manager of Reading Success by 4th Grade and Literacy Champion Award honoree; and Robert Bolduc, CEO of Pride Stores and Literacy Champion Award honoree

Panelists in the Out of School Time breakout session at the summit.

President’s Platinum Award

Country Bank recently held its annual staff recognition, which recognized the recipient of the President’s Platinum Award, Matt Croft, IT solutions architect (left). “Matt embodies the bank’s values and its mission,” said Paul Scully (right), president and CEO of Country Bank. One nominee wrote that “Matt shares his knowledge and continually collaborates with teammates by asking for their opinions and different viewpoints to solve problems. He analyzes situations, and if he sees that someone has a heavy workload to meet a deadline, he pitches in to lend a hand to hit the target date. He follows up with appreciation and sincere gratitude toward others for their efforts.”

Rock-solid Performance

Granite State Development Corp. approved 21 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans totaling more than $8 million in its last fiscal year, making it the most active 504 lender in Western Mass. by both dollars and loan approvals. In addition, it ended the fiscal year ranked fourth in the country by approving 223 loans for $109,099,000.

Pictured, from left: Peter Kontakos, SBA deputy district director; Tracey Gaylord, vice president, Business Development, Granite State Development Corp.; Barbara Arena, vice president, Business Development, Granite State Development Corp.; Robert Nelson, SBA district director; and Ili Spahiu, SBA assistant district director for Lender Relations.

Stuff the Bus

The Springfield College campus community filled the Springfield College Athletics bus on Nov. 20 with more than 2,900 pounds of non-perishable food items as part of the annual Fill the Bus campaign, sponsored by the Springfield College Student Athlete Leadership Team, the Department of Public Safety, and the Division of Inclusion and Community Engagement. Fill the Bus is an annual tradition that allows students, faculty, staff, and community members to donate non-perishable food items to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, German Gerena Community School, and the Springfield College Food Pantry. Donations included canned fruit and vegetables, canned soup, cereal, crackers, granola bars, jelly, peanut butter, rice, and stuffing mix.

Agenda

Agenda

Starting Gate at GreatHorse Holiday Party

Dec. 14: The Starting Gate at GreatHorse will host a holiday party — including decorations, music, and menu — for any company or group that wants to take part. Attendees can enjoy dinner and dance the night away with staff, co-workers, family, and friends — an ideal option for small businesses. The Clark Eno Orchestra will be playing today’s hits and rock and pop songs from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and beyond, plus big band, swing, and Motown. The event is open to the public for $95 per person. A cash bar will be available. For reservations, call (413) 566-5158.

Micro-emerging Markets: Cannabis Certificate Program

Jan. 13 to May 5: American International College (AIC) is announcing a new undergraduate initiative in the School of Business, Arts and Sciences titled Micro-Emerging Markets: Cannabis Certificate Program. Three business courses are offered in rotation beginning with the spring 2020 semester. The first course of the series will run on Wednesdays, 3:50 p.m. to 6:20 p.m., starting Jan. 13, 2020 and continuing through May 5, 2020. There are no prerequisites to enroll other than a high-school diploma or GED equivalency. Non-matriculated students can enter the program at any time in the sequence. The first course, “Cannabis Entrepreneurship,” will examine customer groups, products, and services in the recreational market. The effect of price, quality, and competitors will be explored relative to competing effectively. This will involve key components of the industry, including legal aspects, business models, financing, and marketing. In “Cannabis Business Operations,” students will analyze the evolving cannabis marketplace and investigate the complexities and challenges of this sector. This course will conduct an in-depth look at the key components of different business types, how the sector is evolving, starting and operating a cannabis business, in addition to financial constraints, investments, and strategic marketing in the industry. The final course, “The Law and Ethics of Cannabis,” will examine the legalization of cannabis. Discussion around the legal and ethical implications of cannabis use, its legalization, criminal activity, and marketing will be explored in addition to perspectives of law enforcement, business owners, and recreational uses. For more information about the Micro-Emerging Market: Cannabis Certificate Program, visit aic.edu/mem.

Women’s Leadership Conference

March 27: Bay Path University’s division of Strategic Alliances announced that producer, author, entrepreneur, educator, and, of course, top model Tyra Banks will bring her bold attitude, unique style, and well-honed business acumen to Springfield as the keynote speaker at the 25th annual Women’s Leadership Conference (WLC). This year’s theme, “Own Your Now,” will encourage conference guests to examine the forces that have shaped their careers, relationships, and aspirations; recognize what drives them and what holds them back; and empower them to confidently move forward. Banks is the creator of America’s Next Top Model, the reality show and modeling competition that has been replicated in 47 international markets and viewed in 150 countries. A graduate of Harvard’s Executive Education program, she has taught graduate courses at Stanford University and is opening Modelland, an interactive attraction based in Los Angeles that will allow visitors to experience a fantasy version of the modeling world. This year’s conference also will feature breakout sessions focused on navigating the complicated relationships, personalities, and dynamics of the workplace and the impact those have on our careers and opportunities. Sessions will be led by bestselling authors and researchers including Laura Huang, Harvard Business School professor and author of Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage; Emily Esfahani Smith, author of The Power of Meaning; Dr. Ramani Durvasula, licensed clinical psychologist and author of Don’t You Know Who I Am: How to Stay Sane in the Era of Narcissism, Entitlement and Incivility; and Jennifer Romolini, author of Weird in a World That’s Not: A Career Guide for Misfits. For further information on the conference and to register, visit www.baypathconference.com.

Hooplandia

June 26-28: Hooplandia, the largest 3-on-3 basketball competition and celebration on the East Coast, will take place on June 26-28, 2020, hosted by Eastern States Exposition and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The event will feature hundreds of games for thousands of players of all ages and playing abilities, with divisions for young girls, boys, women, men, high-school elite, college elite, pro-am, ‘over the hill,’ wheelchair, wounded warrior, Special Olympians, veterans, first responders, and more. More than 100 outdoor blacktop courts will be placed throughout the roadway and parking-lot network of the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield. Slam-dunk, 3-point, free-throw, dribble-course, vertical-jump, and full-court-shot skills competitions will be spotlighted. Themed state courts will be mobilized along the Exposition’s famed Avenue of States. Featured ‘showcase games’ will be held on new court surfaces in the historic Eastern States Coliseum and on the Court of Dreams, the center court of the Basketball Hall of Fame. A year-long community outreach effort will begin immediately. Registration will open on March 1, 2020. Information and engagement is available now through www.hooplandia.com or on Instagram: @hooplandia.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

Chamber Corners

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• Through Dec. 11: First annual Red Ticket Month in Downtown Amherst. For every $25 spent at participating downtown businesses, receive a red ticket. Come to Kendrick Park on Dec. 21 to celebrate winter’s arrival with music, carriage rides, a hot-cocoa stroll, and a ticket drawing for $250 or $1,000. For more details, visit amherstdowntown.com.

• Dec. 11: Annual Chamber Holiday Party, 5-7 p.m., hosted by AmherstWorks, 11 Amity St., Amherst. An evening of merriment to celebrate the year. Reflections, networking, and an opportunity to deepen relationships with each other. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. For tickets and more information, visit amherstarea.com.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Dec. 13: December Holiday Breakfast, hosted by East Mountain Country Club, 1458 East Mountain Road, Westfield. Featuring the Westfield High School Show Choir. Join us in celebrating the holidays and support the chamber’s 2019 holiday spirit beneficiary. Attendees are encouraged to bring a donation for the 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes ANG, Airman & Family Readiness Program. Event Sponsor: Staples; silver sponsor: Easthampton Savings Bank; bronze sponsor: Shortstop Bar & Grill; coffee bar sponsor: Westfield Starfires. Tickets: $28 for members, $43 for non-members. For more information, to become a sponsor, or to register, visit westfieldbiz.org/events or call (413) 568-1618.

• Dec. 16: After 5 Connections, 5-7 p.m., hosted by the Arbors, 40 Court St., Westfield. Refreshments will be served, and a 50/50 raffle will benefit the chamber scholarship fund. Bring your business cards and make connections. Free for both chamber members and non-members. For more information and to register, visit westfieldbiz.org/events or call (413) 568-1618.

SOUTH HADLEY & GRANBY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.shgchamber.com
(413) 532-6451

• Dec. 11: Business After 5 with the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, 5 p.m., hosted by Summitview Banquet House, Holyoke. We will be collecting donations and toys for Toys for Tots. Summitview will be providing dinner and a cash bar. Cost: $15 with a new, unwrapped gift; $25 without gift (donation of $10 to be made to Toys for Tots in advance). Tickets and registration are available at shgchamber.com.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• Jan. 16: Networking Lunch, noon to 1:30 p.m., hosted by Crestview Country Club, Agawam. Enjoy a sit-down lunch while networking with fellow chamber members. Each attendee will get a chance to offer a brief introduction and company overview. You must be a member or guest of a member to attend. The only cost to attend for members is the cost of lunch. Non-members pay $10 plus lunch. Attendees will order off the menu and pay separately that day. Please note, we cannot invoice you for these events. Register online at www.westoftheriverchamber.com.

People on the Move

People on the Move

Deborah Bitsoli

Deborah Bitsoli has been named president of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates, effective Dec. 2. In this role, she will be responsible for the operational performance of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates; provide leadership in the execution, management, financial performance, and oversight of all operations; and explore opportunities for growth through strategic development initiatives. Bitsoli joins Mercy with over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has spent the last 18 years in leadership roles. Most recently, she served as president of Morton Hospital, a 110-bed facility in Taunton. Prior to her tenure there, she was chief operating officer and executive vice president at Saint Vincent Hospital, a 270-bed facility in Worcester. She holds an MBA from Babson College in Wellesley and a bachelor’s degree in accountancy with a management minor from Bentley University in Waltham. She is a certified public accountant in the state of Massachusetts and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

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Jean Deliso

Jean Deliso, CFP has been named a member of the 2019 Chairman’s Council of New York Life. Members of the Chairman’s Council rank in the top 3% of New York Life’s elite sales force of more than 12,000 licensed agents in sales achievement. She has accomplished this level of achievement for eight consecutive years. Deliso has been a New York Life agent since 1995 and is associated with New York Life’s Connecticut Valley General Office in Windsor, Conn. She is a Nautilus Group member, an exclusive, advanced planning resource for estate-conservation and business-continuation strategies. She is president and owner of Deliso Financial and Insurance Services, a firm focusing on comprehensive financial strategies that help position clients for a solid financial future. She has been working in the financial field for more than 30 years, her first seven in public accounting and the balance working in the financial-services industry. Deliso has developed an expertise in assisting business owners and individuals protecting and securing their and their family’s future. Her extensive experience has led to a focus in certain fields, such as cash and risk management, investment, retirement, and estate planning. She is committed to educating individuals regarding their finances and frequently conducts workshops advocating financial empowerment. Deliso currently serves on and has held chairman of the board positions at Baystate Health Foundation, the Community Music School of Springfield, and the YMCA of Greater Springfield. She is also a former board member of Pioneer Valley Refrigerated Warehouse, a former trustee of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, and a member of the Bay Path University advisory board.

•••••

Bacon Wilson announced that three attorneys have been named to the 2019 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list of top attorneys in the Commonwealth, and two have been named to the 2019 Massachusetts Rising Stars list of up-and-comers. They are: Michael Katz (selected to Super Lawyers from 2004 to 2019), bankruptcy; Hyman Darling (selected to Super Lawyers from 2005 to 2019), estate planning and probate; Paul Rothschild (selected to Super Lawyers from 2004 to 2019), general litigation; Thomas Reidy (selected to Rising Stars from 2015 to 2019), land use/zoning; and Meaghan Murphy (selected to Rising Stars from 2018 to 2019), employment and labor. Identified by a research team at Super Lawyers, the attorneys are selected for background, professional experience, achievement, and peer recognition. There is no opportunity to pay for a listing. Only 5% of New England’s lawyers are Super Lawyers. Rising Stars are under age 40 or have been practicing law for less than 10 years. Fewer than 2.5% of New England lawyers were named Rising Stars.

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Yvonne Cruz

Dietz & Co. Architects Inc. announced the addition of Yvonne Cruz, RA to its staff as a senior project architect. Cruz holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Pratt Institute, School of Architecture in Brooklyn, N.Y. and is a licensed architect in New York and Connecticut. She brings more than 20 years of experience to Dietz & Co., having worked for firms in New York City throughout her career. She has worked on an array of residential projects as well as many hotel and restaurant projects. She brings to the firm a commitment to high-quality design and a passion for mentoring junior staff members.

•••••

Three new members have been elected to serve three-year terms on the Bay Path University board of trustees: Pia Sareen Kumar, Rodger Metzger, and Jeanette Weldon. Kumar is co-owner and chief strategy officer for Universal Plastics Group. A graduate of Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA, she previously worked at JPMorgan Chase and American Express, leading business-development initiatives and managing strategic partnerships. Kumar serves on the boards of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, and the Springfield Technical Community College Foundation. She is also a member of the Women President’s Organization and is a reader and school sponsor with Link to Libraries. As president and chief investment officer of Hooker & Holcombe’s Investment Advisory Group in Bloomfield, Conn. Metzger serves as the client relationship consultant for the group’s largest and most sophisticated clients. He is also responsible for directing the asset-allocation and fund-research efforts and chairs the investment committee. Prior to joining the firm, he was with Hartford Investment Management Co., a subsidiary of Hartford Financial Services Corporation. Metzger earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Lawrence University and an MBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Hartford. He serves as an advisory council member for Legg Mason Client Solutions, in addition to memberships with the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Hartford. He devotes time as a consultant and board member for various organizations in Connecticut. Weldon, managing director for Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, is a public finance professional who has been involved as either issuer or financial advisor on more than $10 billion in transactions for state and local governments and their issuing authorities. She previously served as chief financial officer at Windham Hospital and as senior managing director for P.G. Corbin & Co. Weldon earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Columbia University. She currently serves on the boards of the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority and Northeast Women in Public Finance.

Company Notebook

Company Notebook

City, MGM Springfield Win Economic-development Award

SPRINGFIELD — MGM Springfield and the city of Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development (OPED) have received a 2019 Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for the MGM Springfield project. The award was presented by the IEDC last month at its annual conference in October in Indianapolis. The Gold Excellence in Public-Private Partnership Award was presented to Brian Connors, the city’s deputy director of Economic Development, and was the only award category highlighted during the conference keynote event. The award recognizes outstanding and innovative development projects that have significantly enhanced revitalizations. OPED’s team was led through the MGM Springfield project by now-retired Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy, and also included Phillip Dromey, deputy director of Planning, and Scott Hanson, principal planner. The MGM Springfield project represented a $960 million private investment, resulting in several new-to-market amenities, including a downtown movie theater, bowling alley, ice-skating rink, four-star hotel, and several new retail and restaurant offerings. In addition, MGM’s commitment to populate existing offsite entertainment facilities became another highlight to economic spinoff, as did the commitment to $50 million each year in spending with local vendors. The project has created several thousand construction and permanent jobs and greatly enhanced local revenues, which helped fund additional public-safety, early-education, and park improvements.

United Personnel Named Among Top 100 Women-led Businesses In Massachusetts

SPRINGFIELD — United Personnel announced it has been named one of the top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts by the Commonwealth Institute, a nonprofit that supports female business owners. The list, published in the Boston Globe, was developed based on revenue, number of full-time employees in the state, team diversity, and innovation. The rankings feature a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, business services, healthcare, education, human services, and retail. United Personnel was number 75 on the list, and was one of only two companies based in Western Mass. represented. Focused on helping to connect people with job openings at local companies, United Personnel has seen decades of success as a women-led organization. Founded by Mary Ellen Scott in 1984 with her late husband, Jay Canavan, United Personnel is now on its second generation of female leadership under President Tricia Canavan.

Hampshire College Maintains Accreditation, Advances Plans

AMHERST — Hampshire College remains in compliance and will continue its accreditation, according to a vote by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) at its meeting on Nov. 22. NECHE reviewed Hampshire’s progress report and five-year plans before acting to continue the college’s accreditation. The commissioners lifted their notation on Hampshire’s compliance with the standard of organization and governance, citing significant progress in this area. NECHE recognized such progress as the hiring of a new president, substantial achievements with respect to good practices for governing boards, and considerable progress in realistic planning with respect to enrollment, fundraising, and finances. The commissioners continued Hampshire’s notation on the standard of institutional resources and asked the college for a full progress report in two years, in December 2021. A team of Hampshire College administrators and trustees, led by Wingenbach and board chair Luis Hernandez, met with the NECHE commissioners on Nov. 21 and reported that Hampshire’s leadership is secure and its board of trustees governance is strong. The college is actively recruiting new students for 2020, its 50th-anniversary year, as it plans to rebuild to full enrollment by 2023-24. The college has also been conducting a rapid, community-wide process to reinvent its curriculum and student experience. In the coming months, Hampshire will draw on the continued support of its alumni, donors, friends, and community members to meet admissions and fundraising goals. Hampshire College also kicked off a major capital campaign, announcing it has already raised $11.2 million in gifts toward its campaign goal of $60 million by 2024. “Change in the Making: A Campaign for Hampshire” is currently led by four alumni co-chairs: Ken Burns (’71), award-winning documentary filmmaker; Gail Caulkins (’73), president of the Greenacre Foundation and former Hampshire College trustee; Lucy Ann McFadden (’70), retired astrophysicist, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, and a member of the Hampshire board of trustees and chair of its advancement committee; and Julie Schecter (’71), director and trustee of numerous organizations, including the SHIFT Foundation, co-founder of Hampshire’s Ethics and the Common Good program, vice chair of Hampshire’s board of trustees, and chair of its trusteeship and governance committee. The co-chairs are working actively to secure additional major gifts, supported by a campaign council, a diverse group of volunteers that represents the board of trustees, major donors, college leaders, faculty, staff, students, and parents. The campaign is administered by Chief Advancement Officer Jennifer Chrisler and the college’s Advancement Division staff.

People’s United Bank to Close Three Springfield-area Branches

SPRINGFIELD — Following its acquisition of United Bank, People’s United Bank plans to close three Springfield-area branches in April, all of them because they are near other People’s United locations. The closures include the former United branch at 1355 Boston Road in Springfield, the former United Branch at 1414 Main St. in Springfield, and a former Farmington Bank location at 85 Elm St. in West Springfield that People’s United acquired in 2018. All employees have been offered jobs at other People’s United offices. People’s United Financial announced in July it was purchasing United Financial Bancorp for $759 million.

Elms College Ranked in Top 15% of State’s Best Schools for Veterans

CHICOPEE — Elms College ranks in the top 15% of 2020 Best Colleges for Veterans in Massachusetts, according to data-analytics company College Factual. The college is also in the top 15% of colleges and universities in the company’s national rankings. In the list of Best Colleges for Veterans in Massachusetts, Elms College was rated ninth out of 70 higher-education institutions for veteran friendliness as reviewed by College Factual. Elms improved its standing five slots over last year’s 14th position. According to College Factual’s national list, Elms College moved from the top 25% to the top 15% with a rating of 214 out of 1,751 institutions, improving its position by 225 slots over last year’s standing at 439. This list highlights colleges and universities that are working hard to provide quality educational outcomes to veterans, active-duty military students, and their families, College Factual stated. Some of the factors taken into account by College Factual include affordability to veterans, support services, and resources specific to the needs of veterans, whether they are traditional or non-traditional students.

UMassFive Opens Branch at Northampton VA Medical Center

NORTHAMPTON — UMassFive College Federal Credit Union introduced its newest branch location at the Northampton VA Medical Center. As of October, the Northampton VAF Federal Credit Union has formally merged with UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, and former Northampton VAF members have transitioned to banking with UMassFive. With this merger, current employees of the Northampton VA Medical Center and their immediate family members are now eligible for UMassFive membership. Along with the merger, the existing credit-union branch located in Building 1, Room B204 of the Northampton VA Medical Center has been completely renovated. The new, open floor plan includes seated service areas where UMassFive representatives can provide members access to a range of credit-union products and services, including checking, auto loans, home-equity loans, solar loans, mortgages, credit cards, and investment guidance. The space also now features a video teller machine that can be accessed in the branch entryway, and allows members to perform video transactions with UMassFive tellers, even while the branch is closed. As with other UMassFive locations, members at the Northampton VA branch will have access to free financial workshops on topics like budgeting essentials, homebuying, identity theft, and planning for retirement. The hours for this new UMassFive branch are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Off-hours access to the lobby video teller machine are available when the building and basement are open, and during regular video-teller hours. Any credit or debit card may be swiped for after-hours entry.

Freedom Credit Union Launches Cherish the Children Campaign

SPRINGFIELD — To a child in need, one special gift can be a holiday wish come true. That’s the spirit behind Freedom Credit Union’s 12th annual Cherish the Children campaign, which provides presents to hundreds of local children in time for the holidays. Freedom Credit Union (FCU), headquartered on Main Street in Springfield and serving members throughout Western Mass. through 10 additional branches, will host this year’s endeavor through Dec. 23. Equipped with ‘wish lists’ of names, ages, and gift ideas from the local area offices of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), FCU aims to provide gifts for a total of 600 children in need. From the wish lists, FCU has produced a tag for each child, which they will place on holiday trees at all Freedom branches, excluding the Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy. Employees and members are encouraged to choose one or more tags from a tree, purchase the item the child has requested, bring it to the branch (unwrapped and with tag attached), and place it under the tree. Monetary donations are also welcome, as FCU’s own ‘elves’ will be going on a festive shopping spree at local stores that provide them a discount for this campaign.

Yankee Home Improvement Holds Annual Food Drive

CHICOPEE — For the second year in a row, Yankee Home is engaging customers in a pay-it-forward event to provide food for those in need this holiday season. For every non-perishable food item donated, Yankee Home will give customers 1% off the cost of their home-improvement service, up to 10%. All food items will be donated to Rachel’s Table, a program of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts that works to eliminate hunger and reduce food waste in the community. Through the end of December, Yankee Home will be accepting non-perishable food items Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at its 36 Justin Dr. headquarters in Chicopee. While the discount is capped at 10% of the total cost of the service, people are encouraged to donate as much as they can. The discount applies to installed, new work only. A Yankee Home specialist can provide complete details.

Florence Bank Receives Award From U.S. Small Business Administration

FLORENCE — Florence Bank was recently recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as the Western Massachusetts Third Party Lender of the Year for loans the bank administers to small businesses in the area. Michael Davey and Erin Couture, both vice presidents and commercial loan officers with the bank, accepted the award on Nov. 8 at an event held during SBA’s annual meeting at Clark University in Worcester. Davey explained that third-party loans, called SBA 504 loans, are offered by the bank in collaboration with certified development corporations such as Granite State Development Corp., Bay Colony Development Corp., and BDC Capital/CDC New England. He said the program allows small-business owners who might be lacking the traditional 20% down payment to purchase business property with only 10% down, while also reducing the bank’s exposure to risk.

Incorporations

Incorporations

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

Jai Umiya Ma Inc., 36 Yarmouth Dr., Agawam, MA 01001. Dinesh B. Patel, same. Convenience store and gas service station.

AMHERST

M & N Construction Ltd., 29 Mt. View Circle, Amherst, MA 01002. Ngawang Sherpa, same. Construction services.

CHICOPEE

Melissa St. Germain Realtor Inc., 585 Sheridan St., Unit 33, Chicopee, MA 01020. Melissa M. St. Germain Martel, same. Marketing and sale of real estate.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Logan’s Colors Unlimited Inc., 26 Ridge Road, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Timothy M. Logan, same. Painting and renovations of buildings.

EASTHAMPTON

Montgomery Labor Inc., 222 Park St., Easthampton, MA 01027. Molly Montgomery, same. Residential painting.

FLORENCE

Mark Lavalley & Sons Trucking Inc., 207 Sylvester Road, Florence, MA 01062. Mark J. Lavalley, same. Trucking.

Oxbow Tattoo Inc., 286 Spring St., Florence, MA 01062. Steven Sanderson, same. Tattoo services.

GILBERTVILLE

On the Track Inc., 264 Upper Church St., Gilbertville, MA 01031. Regina Sanderson, same. Provide education, therapeutic programming and assessment services in the community to create awareness regarding women’s issues and substance abuse needs.

HATFIELD

Lavallee Brothers Property Inc., 153 Pantry Road, Hatfield, MA 01038. Jeffrey Lavallee, same. Real estate.

HOLYOKE

Invisiblast Inc., 15 Mount Tom Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040. Karen Blanchard, same. Cleaning services using dry ice, under pressure, in a nonabrasive manner.

LONGMEADOW

Luigi’s Fine Food Inc., 249 Lynnwood Dr., Longmeadow, MA 01106. Louis J. Santos, same. Restaurant with dine and take out services.

SPRINGFIELD

Igl. De Dios No Es Lo Que Fuimos Sino Lo Que Somos En Cristo Jesus Inc., 192 Pine St., Springfield, MA 01105. Jesus David Santos, same. To open a church and preach the full gospel of our lord and to perform marriages ceremonies.

KMC App Inc., 90 Park Dr., Springfield, MA 01106. Jason B. Fenlason, same. Real estate appraisals.

Medina’s Supermarket Inc., 2705 Main St., Springfield, MA 01107. Jose Medina, 6 Cedar Ridge Road, South Hadley, MA 01075. To carry on the business of a food market/grocery.

Nuaz Inc., 17 Locust St., Springfield, MA 01108. Muhammad Tahla, same. Retail store.

Doing Business as Certificates

DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and trade names were issued or renewed during the month of November 2019.

AMHERST

Access Special Education
10 Stanley St.
Phyllis Keenan

Learn to Wrench
1040 North Pleasant St., Apt. 39
Benjamin Lincoln Schroeder

BELCHERTOWN

Best Dressed Cup
62 Dana Hill
Lori Chaffee

Bill G Mechanical Design
90 Shaw St.
William Gagnon

Exit Real Estate Executives
1 Main St.
Ron Gresty, Rhiannon Gresty, Michelle Terry

CHICOPEE

Committee to Elect James K. Tillotson
34 Harvey St.
James Tillotson, Joan Tillotson

Hold Fast Welding
825 Grattan St.
Brad Desmarais

Walgreens #07063
583 James St.
Walgreen Eastern Co. Inc.

DEERFIELD

Greg’s Wastewater Removal
239 Greenfield Road
Gregory Gardner

Sugarloaf Pool Store
239 Greenfield Road
Gregory Gardner

WoodWick Candle
16 Yankee Candle Way
Yankee Candle Co.

EASTHAMPTON

Clear Intentions Acne and Facial Skin Care
123 Union St., Suite 14
Abby Arnould

Golden China Pan
98 Union St.
Dan Ju Pan

Redline Motors
420 Main St.
Steven Fickert

Taylor Real Estate
87 Main St.
Charles Conner

EAST LONGMEADOW

Arnold’s Meats at the Barn
359 Shaker Road
Susan Katz, Lawrence Katz

Blanchard Drywall Services
70 Somers Road
James Blanchard

The Cashmere Sale
23 North Main St.
Janice Lattell

Community Education Centers of North America
6 North Main St.
Mark Danalis

Edward Jones & Co.
296 North Main St.
Edward Jones & Co.

Ernst Financial Group
180 Denslow Road
John Ernst

Fabrizia Calabrese Cleaning Services
254 Kibbe Road
Fabrizia Calabrese

Unity First Direct Inc.
189 Braeburn Road
Janine Fondon, Tom Fondon

GREENFIELD

Aliber’s Bridal
18 Federal St.
Cristen Rosinski

Family Chiropractic and Nutritional Health
19 Birch St.
Ronald Gordon

Pioneer Petagogy
342 Log Plain Road
Kristin Neal

Tasgal Music
39 Gold St.
Faith Kaufmann

Tito’s Taqueria, LLC
145 Federal St.
Carlos Garza

HOLYOKE

Barbieri Express
12 Crescent St.
Kevin Barbieri

Latinos Cuisine
50 Holyoke St., D351
Eduardo Castillo

The Vitamin Shoppe
239 Whiting Farms Road
Vitamin Shoppe Inc.

LONGMEADOW

Baseball Musings
28 Hawthorn St.
David Pinto

JKA, LLC
45 Mayfair Dr.
John Kim

Longmeadow Package Store
400 Longmeadow St.
Hai Cheng

McKee Fitness Education, LLC
791 Frank Smith Road
Lindsey McKee

Zen’s Toyland
44 Tania Dr.
Harshal Patel

LUDLOW

Christina Bode at Hair West Designs
322 West Ave.
Christina Bode

Robert A. Provost Cleaning Service
34 Aldo Dr.
Robert Provost

NORTHAMPTON

Academy of Music Theatre
274 Main St.
Debra J’Anthony

Clinic Alternative Medicines
98 Main St.
Jennifer Nery

ecoATM, LLC
180 North King St.
Hunter Bjorkman

Happy Hen House Designs
134 Cross Path Road
Kimberly Bastien

Northampton Lashes
16 Center St., Suite 511
Hannah Crowl

OK Industries
77 Hillcrest Dr.
Andrew Kesin

O’Rourke’s Auto School, LLC
122 Federal St.
Kurt Hoernig

SOUTHWICK

Country Cottage Construction
61 Granville Road
James Ayotte Jr.

Total Collision Center
445 College Highway
Wendy Gaunt

SPRINGFIELD

44 Records Co.
137 Undine Circle
Alex Nieves

All Service
519 Parker St.
Christopher Perreault

Construction Co-op
2201 Wilbraham Road
Ricardo Viruet

Cost Cutters #62457
370 Cooley St.
Regis Corp.

D & F Enterprises
30 Craig St.
Francis Santamaria

Executive Real Estate Group
1333 Boston Road
Amy Rio

Franchise Barbershop
388 Dickinson St.
Francisco Perez

Kelly Property Management
45 Jamestown Dr.
James Kelly

Legacy Vending Co.
205 Belmont Ave.
Legacy Vending Co.

Living Local
276 Bridge St.
WMLBS Inc.

Paint Tango
83 Manor Court
Erik Tumasyan

A Queen’s Narrative
52 Lebanon St.
Samantha Simone

Reeds Painting & Home Improvement
126 Harvard St.
Earl Reed

Sol Karibe Restaurant
1236 Main St.
Jacqueline Sanchez

Sunshine Floors Cleaning
80 Brookside Circle
Curtis Lewis

Taino Heritage, LLC
94 Edgewood St.
Anaida Ortiz

Tani’s Sweet & Tasty
24 Powell Ave.
Yanitza Saavedra

Travel Plus Save
89 Fernbank Road
Mary Worthy

Wingz and Wafflez
74 Island Pond Road
Phardah Smalls

Worthy Brew
89 Fernbank Road
Mary Worthy

WARE

Carol Works for You
156 Pleasant St., Unit 2
Carol Ann Zins

Ware Coin Laundry
142 West St.
Sean Madigan

WESTFIELD

Bill Sitler Recording Service
165 City View Road
William Sitler

Coggin Creek Stables
1008 Granville Road
Brenda Coggin

Crimson Lion
12 Joyce Dr.
Gregory Corcoran

Daddy Green Jeans Apparel
13 Dubois St.
Brandon Crochiere

Elliott Fire Sprinkler Systems, LLC
435 Southwick Road
Chris Elliott

Gadbois Repair
220 Paper Mill Road
Christopher Gadbois

Lucky Mart
286 Southampton Road
Abdulmannan Butt

North Star
19 Rachael Terrace
Andrew Knights

Royal Transportation
111 Hawks Circle
Irene Chetambe

Terra Americana
382 Southampton Road
Terra Americana

Tres Lounge
77 Mill St., #8
Jessica Shular

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Arrow Executive Car Services
203 Circuit Ave.
Syed Shah

Balise Kia
603 Riverdale St.
James Balise Jr.

Crayata, LLC
70 Windsor St.
Tammy Pierson

Joy Bowl Poke
935 Riverdale St.
Rujing Zhao

Olympia Ice Center
125 Capital Dr.
Barry Tabb

Pavel Water Filtration
70 Windsor St.
John Crean

WILBRAHAM

All Tech Solutions
2341 Boston Road, Unit D110
Allen White

CJ Procuring & Consulting
6 Pearl Dr.
Collin Robinson

Collin C. Robinson Drywall
6 Pearl Dr.
Collin Robinson

Elaine’s Nail Spa
2133 Boston Road, Unit 4
Loan Nquyen

N Neal Home Improvement
8 Highmoor Dr.
Michael O’Neal

Wilbraham Nails Spa
2133 Boston Road
Anderson Tai

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Aitken, Jessica Lynne
21 Charbonneau Terrace
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Alamo, Jonathan
60 Crestwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/07/19

Alves, Kenneth Brown
281 Chauncey Walker St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/14/19

Bahamundi, Israel
289 Fernbank Road, Apt. 27
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/06/19

Bean, Carl D.
42 Main St.
Russell, MA 01071
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Big Daddy’s Ice Cream
Smith, David J.
100 Brandon Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/08/19

Bouchard, Donald Robert
329 Allen St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/08/19

Bouchard, Shelby Rae
19 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Bridges, Stephen Campbell
Bridges, Tracy Lynn
19 Sherwood Dr.
Lenox, MA 01240
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/15/19

Bushey, Paul W.
567 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/06/19

Calkins, Sean L.
93 Mountainview St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/15/19

Chiclana, Angel L.
Chiclana, Sandra E.
50 William St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/05/19

Daigneault, Kathleen May
151 Gardens Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/07/19

Deacon, Jennifer Marie
42 Beaver Brook Road
Becket, MA 01223
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/07/19

DiRico, Philip J.
Dias, Debra A.
23 Rathburn St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/01/19

Egan, Christine Rae
43 Lang St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/13/19

Goldberg, David
70 Canterbury Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/06/19

Haughton, Ann M.
92 Buckingham St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/12/19

James, Steven
181 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/05/19

JJS, Ltd., A Nevada Limit
74 North St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/08/19

Kirouac, Melanie Jean
a/k/a Krupa, Melanie J.
PO Box 64
Russell, MA 01071
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/08/19

Lapierre, Gail M.
213 Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Lapierre, John M.
121 Wilder Terrace
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Leger, Gary Michael
74 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/04/19

Losito, Christine M.
181 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/31/19

Martin, Meri E.
a/k/a Fulchino, Meri E.
365 State Road
Phillipston, MA 01331
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/12/19

Mularski, Gregory
519 Broadway St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/05/19

O’Neil, Timothy
682 Colrain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/31/19

Poirier, Brian Francis
117 Lorraine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/15/19

Rheaume, Nancy J.
1089 Shaker Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/08/19

Richard, Erica F.
58 Empire St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/07/19

Rossignol, Sylvia Marie
68 Church St.
Apartment 201
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Sanders, Andrew M.
135 Bairdcrest Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/07/19

Sawan, Karen Jean
470 Memorial Dr. 233
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Smith, Ellis F.
P.O. Box 106
Lee, MA 01238
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/07/19

Tereshchuk, Vera A.
P.O. Box 484
Russell, MA 01071
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/08/19

Trempe, Kevin J.
238 Sprindale Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/30/19

Valle, Brenda S.
266 Grove St., Apt. 14
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/31/19

Yaffo, Gail A.
739 Daniel Shays Highway
Box A19
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/06/19

Real Estate Transactions

Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

BERNARDSTON

23 Harwood Dr.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $235,900
Buyer: Keith L. Gagnon
Seller: Donald J. Cormier
Date: 11/08/19

39 Keets Brook Bridge
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Jennifer L. Moore
Seller: Wiegand, John L., (Estate)
Date: 11/07/19

40 Keets Brook Br
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Jennifer L. Moore
Seller: Wiegand, John L., (Estate)
Date: 11/07/19

BUCKLAND

280 Colrain Shelburne Road
Buckland, MA 01370
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Thomas S. Fantini
Seller: Thomas S. Fantini
Date: 11/13/19

CHARLEMONT

99 East Hawley Road
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Christopher A. Jones
Seller: East Hawley Road Property
Date: 11/06/19

DEERFIELD

50 Eastern Ave.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Robert Greenspan
Seller: Jade R. King
Date: 11/15/19

GILL

277 French King Hwy.
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $260,500
Buyer: Namngis LLC
Seller: Robert L. Miller
Date: 11/15/19

32 River Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Brian D. Campbell
Seller: James R. Clark
Date: 11/12/19

231 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: James M. Elwell
Seller: Greenfield Coop Bank
Date: 11/14/19

GREENFIELD

385 Barton Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Garofalo
Seller: Edward M. Fleming
Date: 11/13/19

1001 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Garry M. Longe
Seller: Reed A. Baldwin
Date: 11/14/19

1417 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Pacifico Energy North America
Seller: Kittredge Industries LLC
Date: 11/06/19

717 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $272,500
Buyer: Suhua Chia
Seller: Paul F. Sirum
Date: 11/07/19

238 Davis St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Carol R. Robinson
Seller: Michael E. Ekblom
Date: 11/13/19

12 Eastern Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Brandon H. Poe
Seller: Sarsynski-Richardson INT
Date: 11/08/19

84 Ferrante Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $144,097
Buyer: Kelsey E. Wall
Seller: Prescott, Bernard F., (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

10 Francis St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: Robert T. Maslyn
Seller: Mark A. Weis
Date: 11/15/19

322 High St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Bobisfat LLC
Seller: Maryellen L. Perry
Date: 11/08/19

100 Maple St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Sean W. Thomas
Seller: Elizabeth A. Henry
Date: 11/08/19

50 Miles St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Baymark Health Services
Seller: NE Sustainable Energy
Date: 11/06/19

LEYDEN

63 North County Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $825,000
Buyer: Greenfield Center LLC
Seller: Jennifer A. Paris
Date: 11/13/19

MONTAGUE

7 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Pauline Dean
Seller: Golonka, Joseph T., (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

NORTHFIELD

12 Lyman Hill Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Kara J. Brown
Seller: Joshua D. Bolio
Date: 11/07/19

ORANGE

1 Prescott Lane
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Oliver C. Toupense
Seller: James E. Cornwell
Date: 11/07/19

SHELBURNE

80 Bardwells Ferry Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $692,500
Buyer: Paige L. Montague
Seller: Deangelis RT
Date: 11/06/19

226 Cooper Lane
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $495,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Boron
Seller: Catherine H. Smith
Date: 11/08/19

SHUTESBURY

404 Pelham Hill Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Josephine Ciepiela
Seller: Amanda W. Pizzollo
Date: 11/13/19

SUNDERLAND

398 Amherst Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: James A. Michaels
Seller: Todd A. Cromack
Date: 11/07/19

168 Plumtree Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Amanda E. Wygant
Seller: Kim E. Nickel-Dubin
Date: 11/08/19

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

84 Blairs Hill Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $361,000
Buyer: Andrey Shevchuk
Seller: Jon P. Honsinger
Date: 11/07/19

655 Cooper St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Laurie J. Littlefield
Seller: Vivian M. Lyons
Date: 11/12/19

26 Dartmouth St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $220,125
Buyer: Kimberly Panetta
Seller: Laurie L. Addoms
Date: 11/07/19

88 Elmar Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Saad A. Yasir
Seller: Anna M. Crean
Date: 11/08/19

39 Fordham Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Robert W. Perry
Seller: James M. Monteith
Date: 11/07/19

33 Hunters Greene Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $334,900
Buyer: Joseph A. Mascaro
Seller: McCutcheon, Lovena C., (Estate)
Date: 11/15/19

BRIMFIELD

98 Holland Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Jorge L. Pagan
Seller: Joanne E. Hoffey
Date: 11/08/19

275 Sturbridge Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $124,900
Buyer: Webber Road LLC
Seller: Ronald J. Cournoyer
Date: 11/12/19

CHESTER

Goss Hill Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $169,800
Buyer: Robert C. Broderick
Seller: Goss Road Estates LLC
Date: 11/08/19

40 Holcomb Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Matthew Burrell
Seller: David P. Ortona
Date: 11/15/19

366 Skyline Trail
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $177,300
Buyer: Jason E. Marcoulier
Seller: John A. Marcoulier
Date: 11/12/19

CHICOPEE

190 Asselin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $160,150
Buyer: Nathan Howell
Seller: FNMA
Date: 11/15/19

60 Beaumont Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Taija N. Newton
Seller: Anthony L. Couture
Date: 11/13/19

23 Beverly St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Jeffrey B. O’Connor
Seller: Joseph S. Veronikowski
Date: 11/12/19

1110 Burnett Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Ivette J. Tavarez
Seller: Graham, Janice M., (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

993 Burnett Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Elaine F. Trottier
Date: 11/12/19

44 Deane St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $277,001
Buyer: Jessica Czernich
Seller: Deane Street RT
Date: 11/15/19

71 Fairview Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $141,960
Buyer: Lachenauer LLC
Seller: JP Morgan Chase Bank
Date: 11/12/19

69 Hillcrest St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $127,800
Buyer: CIG 4 LLC
Seller: Christopher D. Bates
Date: 11/13/19

35 Irene St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Tyler J. Midura
Seller: Alexander P. Seymour
Date: 11/15/19

57 Jefferson Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Scott A. Herzig
Seller: Ross Halket
Date: 11/14/19

38 Maple St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $144,694
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Amanda Besaw
Date: 11/07/19

792 McKinstry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Alexis T. Elliott
Seller: Karen L. Watts
Date: 11/15/19

252 Nonotuck Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Resto
Seller: Kyle S. Henrich
Date: 11/07/19

45 Oakdale St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Richard W. Labonte
Seller: David M. Murphy
Date: 11/13/19

195 Royal St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $361,500
Buyer: Andrew P. Theberge
Seller: Donald D. Miele
Date: 11/08/19

11 Sherwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Krzysztof Laskowski
Seller: Anna Kruczek
Date: 11/12/19

89 Stedman St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Yamilee Garcia
Seller: Westside Housing Inc.
Date: 11/15/19

193 Wildermere St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $266,000
Buyer: Maen M. Alasmi
Seller: Bruce Mailhott
Date: 11/15/19

109 Woodstock St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $242,500
Buyer: Taitiana Rodriguez
Seller: Kimberly A. Morrissette
Date: 11/12/19

18 Worthington St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: Amanda N. Bonci
Seller: Richard Labonte
Date: 11/12/19

EAST LONGMEADOW

5 5th St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $284,000
Buyer: Kayla M. Delgado
Seller: Philip L. Abair
Date: 11/08/19

40 Alpine Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Michael J. Rowe
Seller: Ronald J. Cutler
Date: 11/12/19

6 Capri Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $539,000
Buyer: Antonietta G. Montefusco
Seller: Kent Pecoy & Sons Construction
Date: 11/12/19

375 Chestnut St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Richard H. Leopold
Seller: David E. Bolio
Date: 11/15/19

19 Juniper Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Kyle J. Mailman
Seller: Donald D. Fitzgerald
Date: 11/15/19

144 Mapleshade Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $300,100
Buyer: Michael R. Bednaz
Seller: Jessica M. Cusson
Date: 11/06/19

35 Melvin Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Katlyn Brodeur
Seller: Michele L. Brodeur
Date: 11/08/19

379 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Pioneer Housing LLC
Seller: George M. Quinlan
Date: 11/12/19

357 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Michelle Forbes
Seller: Brian M. Carey
Date: 11/08/19

11 Speight Arden
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: John H. Makara
Seller: Bretta, Ruth L., (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

HAMPDEN

21 Charles St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Brandon C. Lane
Seller: David E. Lloyd
Date: 11/08/19

130 Scantic Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Dana M. Rivard
Seller: Smith, Lawrence F., (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

HOLLAND

8 Allen Hill Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Shannon E. Fogwill
Seller: Cornerstone Homebuying
Date: 11/08/19

2 Linder Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $250,100
Buyer: Robert A. Eichmuller
Seller: Diane M. Rhodes-Gregoire
Date: 11/12/19

HOLYOKE

21 Arthur St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Brandon L. Magni
Seller: Jonathan M. Westbrooks
Date: 11/07/19

43 Ashley Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $273,000
Buyer: Damion R. Reid
Seller: Kimberly A. Santiago
Date: 11/15/19

47 Cherry Hill
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Sarah A. Fefer
Seller: Michael T. Bellingham
Date: 11/12/19

134 Chestnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Mass. International Festival Of Arts
Seller: DNLSH LLC
Date: 11/06/19

18 Clark St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Dalin D. Portes-Abreu
Seller: Tina M. Laflamme
Date: 11/07/19

214 Madison Ave. West
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Megan P. Anderson
Seller: John W. Anderson
Date: 11/14/19

16 Park Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Laura G. Curtis
Seller: Kevin M. Olszewski
Date: 11/07/19

160 Pearl St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Sara A. Bedford
Seller: Javiera Benavente
Date: 11/15/19

370-372 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Ryan M. Hellyar
Seller: Robert J. Dempsey
Date: 11/06/19

20 Princeton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Jaimie A. Fallon
Seller: Kelly J. Canniff
Date: 11/15/19

7 Radcliffe St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Marjorie J. Plummer
Seller: Jean M. Wenzel
Date: 11/12/19

99 Sheehan Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $233,500
Buyer: Kaitlin E. Kelly
Seller: Nicole Pagnoni
Date: 11/15/19

31 Valley Heights
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Estelle M. Stasz
Seller: Corbin A. Lavertu
Date: 11/15/19

114 Vermont St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Janexie Pagnoni
Seller: Richard W. Gauthier
Date: 11/15/19

LONGMEADOW

91 Birchwood Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Bank New York Mellon
Seller: Charles F. Carleton
Date: 11/15/19

141 Brooks Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Aruna Priya
Seller: Francis C. Niestemski
Date: 11/07/19

164 Burbank Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Edward M. Tremble
Seller: Pamela N. Grant
Date: 11/15/19

157 Captain Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Craig A. Super
Seller: David W. Sparks
Date: 11/07/19

106 Duxbury Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Anthony L. Couture
Seller: Ellen T. Johnson
Date: 11/13/19

96 Inverness Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Michael Gralia
Seller: Laura K. Corwin
Date: 11/15/19

120 Meadowlark Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $238,000
Buyer: Brenda Y. Carroll
Seller: Leah J. Schiavina
Date: 11/15/19

187 Westmoreland Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $246,500
Buyer: Henry M. Downey
Seller: Brenda L. Hannon
Date: 11/08/19

29 Wheel Meadow Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Ronald Rice
Seller: Linda A. Boborodea
Date: 11/07/19

387 Williams St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Jason Keck
Seller: Hamed Jalaeian
Date: 11/13/19

48 Willow Brook Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Meadows RE LLC
Seller: John Sherburne
Date: 11/12/19

LUDLOW

33 Haswell Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $215,500
Buyer: Andrew C. Natario
Seller: Michael J. Rowe
Date: 11/12/19

64 Kirkland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Eurico F. Ferreira
Seller: S&R Realty Properties LLC
Date: 11/06/19

130 Kirkland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $204,900
Buyer: Lindsay W. Forcum
Seller: Chocorua Realty Invests
Date: 11/13/19

63 Pond St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Matthew T. Lively
Seller: Alicia M. Moorhouse
Date: 11/12/19

306 Sewall St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Antoni Pietrzykowski
Seller: Domingos Goncalves
Date: 11/07/19

7 Ventura St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Dianne M. Easley
Seller: David A. Lord
Date: 11/15/19

MONSON

9 Bethany Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Dustin B. Raney
Seller: Warka, Douglas C., (Estate)
Date: 11/13/19

17 Bethany Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $223,500
Buyer: Amanda L. Delanski
Seller: Warka Associates LLC
Date: 11/08/19

180 Hovey Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Christopher N. Russell
Seller: Leonard S. Remaly
Date: 11/15/19

52 Paradise Lake Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Paul D. Meade
Seller: Ashley Fussell
Date: 11/06/19

PALMER

202 Burlingame Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Nicholas M. Falardeau
Seller: Jason K. Stutz
Date: 11/08/19

99-105 Lawrence St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $1,700,000
Buyer: Limantour 1 LLC
Seller: Tyrone Co. LLC
Date: 11/06/19

1682 North Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Laelia LLC
Seller: Kenneth D. Palmer
Date: 11/13/19

56 Olney Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $272,000
Buyer: Tara Tunney
Seller: Nicole C. Domnarski
Date: 11/15/19

SOUTHWICK

6 Ferrin Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Jonathan W. Weber
Seller: Barbara J. Rogers
Date: 11/14/19

7 Kimberly Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Anthony D. Cropanese
Seller: Leonard C. Faria
Date: 11/08/19

1 Overlook Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $655,000
Buyer: Joseph J. Narkawicz
Seller: Harley J. Dulude
Date: 11/15/19

21 Shaggbark Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Robin Goodsell
Seller: Kimberly L. Porter
Date: 11/12/19

254 Vining Hill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Eve Crampton
Seller: Catherine A. Connelly
Date: 11/15/19

SPRINGFIELD

510 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: GSS 510 LLC
Seller: William H. Gurney
Date: 11/15/19

98-100 Andrew St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Edith Aguilar
Seller: Springfield Homes LLC
Date: 11/08/19

15 Angelica Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Michael L. Wilson
Seller: Kevin George
Date: 11/15/19

35 Arcadia Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Ram Gurung
Seller: Carly Muniz
Date: 11/15/19

30 Beechwood Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $256,000
Buyer: Peggy A. Marchant
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 11/08/19

62-64 Berkshire St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Autumn E. Hines-Coombs
Seller: Onota Rental LLC
Date: 11/08/19

24 Bevier St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Waleed A. Abbas
Seller: Jose A. Pena
Date: 11/08/19

501 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Sonia Negron
Seller: Juan A. Santana
Date: 11/07/19

225 Breckwood Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $129,900
Buyer: George Blake
Seller: Lynn Minney
Date: 11/07/19

4 Brittany Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $124,300
Buyer: CIG 4 LLC
Seller: Della Ripa Real Estate
Date: 11/12/19

199 Cambria St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $118,000
Buyer: Angelo Deguglielmo
Seller: Wilmington Savings
Date: 11/13/19

80 Chapin Terrace
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Rosa I. Saldana
Seller: Tok Chang
Date: 11/13/19

21 Copeland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Benvenuto Cosentini
Seller: Stephen E. Cichonski
Date: 11/14/19

200 Dayton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Michele Brodeur
Seller: Kyle J. Mailman
Date: 11/15/19

32-34 Dearborn St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Sharon Luyando
Seller: Acles LLC
Date: 11/14/19

31 Delaware Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $309,900
Buyer: Jacqueline Holden
Seller: Adam P. Gauthier
Date: 11/08/19

109 Eddywood St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: John M. Foley
Seller: Matthew J. Foley
Date: 11/08/19

204 Eddywood St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: John M. Foley
Seller: Matthew J. Foley
Date: 11/08/19

52 Elaine Circle
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: Doris Osimwe-Johnson
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 11/15/19

101 Fenimore Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $182,500
Buyer: Tasheena M. Davis
Seller: Michael A. Mandella
Date: 11/08/19

136 Fieldston St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Bruce A. Lackey
Seller: Govoni, Lynne A., (Estate)
Date: 11/15/19

19 Fullerton St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $115,989
Buyer: Harborone Mortgage LLC
Seller: Richard R. Dubour
Date: 11/14/19

98 Gilman St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Tami Mach
Seller: Andrew D. Galaska
Date: 11/12/19

28 Griffin St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Rosario
Seller: Dianne Lemay
Date: 11/15/19

89 Haskin St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Catheline Maldonado
Seller: James W. Fiore
Date: 11/14/19

30 Hebron St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: James McKelvin
Seller: Catfish Properties LLC
Date: 11/15/19

190-192 Jasper St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Nelly N. Hernandez
Seller: Louise A. Young
Date: 11/08/19

64 Jean Dr.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Samuel S. Campbell
Seller: Wilmington Savings
Date: 11/07/19

124 Joan St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Gail M. Corliss
Seller: Carolyn A. Couture
Date: 11/15/19

41 Lancaster St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $207,500
Buyer: Justin Braica
Seller: Brital1987 LLC
Date: 11/15/19

44 Larchmont St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Jimarie Quinonez
Seller: Anthony Bourget
Date: 11/08/19

28 Laurence St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Jazlyn M. David
Seller: Sergey Savonin
Date: 11/15/19

17 Leland Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: Ashley N. Feliciano-Soto
Seller: Elizabeth Warner
Date: 11/08/19

161 Lloyd Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Robert Steinlage
Seller: Juan C. Navarro
Date: 11/06/19

13 Lorimer St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $234,700
Buyer: Ryan S. Carignan
Seller: Christian B. Wiernasz
Date: 11/15/19

1665 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: 1665 Main Street LLC
Seller: Realty Development Springfield
Date: 11/12/19

73 Mary Coburn Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Ronald L. Mitchell
Seller: Judith A. Henderson
Date: 11/15/19

231 Mary Coburn Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Andrew B. Sawyer
Seller: David J. Fontaine
Date: 11/08/19

22-24 Medford St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $151,571
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Michael F. Todd
Date: 11/15/19

47 Merwin St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Sandra Delcid
Seller: Leticia Rivas
Date: 11/08/19

24 Middlesex St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Shatequa T. Watkins
Seller: Goodman, Mildred, (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

119 Mildred Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Andres J. Rivera
Seller: Seth A. Cournoyer
Date: 11/08/19

275 Morton St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Vanessa Montero
Seller: Althea Carter
Date: 11/15/19

28-30 Mystic St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Vivette L. Kamgang
Seller: Roland A. Rivest TR
Date: 11/12/19

77-79 Pembroke St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $209,900
Buyer: Karen Vample
Seller: Prime Partners LLC
Date: 11/15/19

29 Pheasant Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $221,000
Buyer: Olivia Kynard
Seller: Christina M. Dooney
Date: 11/13/19

509 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Dominic Savio
Seller: Naples Property Group LLC
Date: 11/15/19

40 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $150,880
Buyer: Homepoint Financial Corp.
Seller: James Barr
Date: 11/12/19

56 Randall Place
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $123,500
Buyer: Liudmila Vasileva
Seller: AAD LLC
Date: 11/13/19

60 Ronald Dr.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Edmarie Parrilla
Seller: Donald J. Stark
Date: 11/07/19

200 Slater Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Tay Nguyen
Seller: James C. Durand
Date: 11/15/19

126 Suffolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Glenn Diefenderfer
Seller: Graduate Housing Services
Date: 11/07/19

232 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $238,000
Buyer: Eduardo Lozada
Seller: Howard F. Ceccarini
Date: 11/07/19

62 Sylvester St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: Christopher Casale
Seller: Santiago Garcia-Troche
Date: 11/08/19

249 Talmadge Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $202,000
Buyer: Scarlet Monterrey-Lopez
Seller: Travis A. Greeley
Date: 11/07/19

265 Tremont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $144,900
Buyer: Courtney Crowe
Seller: Tara A. Tunney
Date: 11/15/19

24 Venture Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Kaine Compton
Seller: Paul P. Nicolai
Date: 11/15/19

135 Victoria St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Racheal A. Williams
Seller: Betsy A. Cavanaugh
Date: 11/13/19

28 Virginia St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $164,500
Buyer: Scott Introvigne
Seller: Paula M. Quinn
Date: 11/15/19

1523 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Kristen A. Michaelian
Seller: Peter F. Ferony
Date: 11/08/19

158-160 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Noel Torres
Seller: Peter N. Tatro
Date: 11/14/19

TOLLAND

241 Owls Nest Lane
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Jonathan M. Massee
Seller: Patricia Pezzillo
Date: 11/06/19

WALES

69 Walker Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: David P. Mott
Seller: Ellen M. Rearick
Date: 11/15/19

WEST SPRINGFIELD

84 Cedar Woods Glen
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Michael C. Martone
Seller: Michael J. Sweeney
Date: 11/08/19

163 Falmouth Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: William Blake
Seller: Wilmington Savings
Date: 11/15/19

147 Grandview Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Kenneth A. Gazda
Seller: Koch Real Estate Corp.
Date: 11/14/19

440 Massachusetts Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Ebi Poudyel
Seller: Lois M. Wright
Date: 11/15/19

5 Penrose Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Abobaker A. Aljaddah
Seller: Raymond A. Yvon
Date: 11/08/19

501 Rogers Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Ahmed AlKhazraji
Seller: CIG 4 LLC
Date: 11/14/19

187 Sawmill Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Pavel Mashnitski
Seller: William J. Blake
Date: 11/15/19

39 Sunnyside St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jullisses A. Perales
Seller: Dwight S. Barrows
Date: 11/13/19

78 Verdugo St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $199,500
Buyer: Jeffrey Roberts
Seller: Judith P. Dacruz
Date: 11/07/19

WESTFIELD

48 Alexander Place
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: David C. Fraser
Seller: Ralph M. Sadowski
Date: 11/15/19

30 Chestnut St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $143,500
Buyer: Yuliya Zharkikh
Seller: Wilmington Savings
Date: 11/14/19

5 Day Lily Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Denise C. Remillard
Seller: Jennifer L. Exware
Date: 11/15/19

1761 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $422,764
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Pamela J. Passidakis
Date: 11/15/19

74 Elizabeth Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Kristopher N. Wilson
Seller: Pandora L. Hague
Date: 11/15/19

26 Hassler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: Gina M. Williamson
Seller: Heather Erwin
Date: 11/15/19

393 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: City Of Westfield
Seller: Catherine N. Zecca
Date: 11/08/19

34 Kensington Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $303,500
Buyer: Mary E. Stack
Seller: Jeremy J. Pease
Date: 11/15/19

42 Larchly Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Melissa A. Baldyga
Seller: John Tolden-Fabello
Date: 11/06/19

111 Lawton Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jose Morales
Seller: DPB Equinox LLC
Date: 11/15/19

133 Montgomery St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: James J. Smith
Seller: Mary E. Stack
Date: 11/15/19

253 Montgomery Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Donna M. Yerkes
Seller: Michelle C. Patterson
Date: 11/14/19

118 Rachael Terrace
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Steven F. Exware
Seller: Michael C. Serricchio
Date: 11/15/19

80 Susan Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $224,900
Buyer: Zachary Archambault
Seller: North Fund 6 LLC
Date: 11/14/19

WILBRAHAM

21 Bennett Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: William D. Simpson
Seller: Thomas A. Maccini
Date: 11/12/19

12 Blacksmith Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Custom Homes Dev Group
Seller: Higgins, Doris I., (Estate)
Date: 11/15/19

24 Carla Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Jonathan S. Weibel
Seller: David Mahan
Date: 11/13/19

41 Decorie Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Todd A. Malvoso
Seller: Marilyn M. Hughes
Date: 11/15/19

2 Gary Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $272,000
Buyer: Kofi N. Boateng
Seller: James P. Appleton
Date: 11/13/19

8 Pidgeon Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $349,000
Buyer: Patrick M. Dooney
Seller: Custom Homes Development Group
Date: 11/13/19

24 Red Bridge Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Gladys Ekong
Seller: Christopher N. Russell
Date: 11/15/19

508 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Kyle L. Page
Seller: Henryk I. Kiczko
Date: 11/14/19

736 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $257,000
Buyer: Donavan R. Reyes
Seller: Eugene R. Degrandpre
Date: 11/14/19

797 Tinkham Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Warner
Seller: Michael R. Lively
Date: 11/08/19

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

12 Frost Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Lisa M. Depiano
Seller: Vlach FT
Date: 11/15/19

29 Hedgerow Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $472,000
Buyer: Anuj K. Pradhan
Seller: Joan McCann
Date: 11/07/19

236 Middle St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Jonathan W. Plant
Seller: Julio A. Giarrusso
Date: 11/15/19

82 Stagecoach Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Allan Rantala
Seller: Mary C. Deangelis
Date: 11/07/19

36 Triangle St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: John Hosp
Seller: Nancy H. Brose RET
Date: 11/15/19

48 Van Meter Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Rui Wang
Seller: Sonya Bergquist
Date: 11/08/19

BELCHERTOWN

12 Barrett St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Eben P. Wood
Seller: Scott M. Bonafini
Date: 11/15/19

45 Brandywine Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Rebecka S. Mutti
Seller: Loring M. Caney
Date: 11/06/19

7 Eastview Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: UMassfive College FCU
Seller: Becki-Lyn Sharpe
Date: 11/15/19

27 Forest Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Joshua Fish
Seller: Raymond F. Webster
Date: 11/15/19

410 Franklin St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $326,000
Buyer: Bangkok Yang
Seller: Michael Withey
Date: 11/14/19

46 Front St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Joshua J. Kenney
Seller: Fabbo Properties Inc.
Date: 11/08/19

205 North St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Daniel W. Shelton
Seller: Henry E. Whitlock
Date: 11/13/19

Oasis Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Marcia E. Thomas
Seller: Mary J. Maffei
Date: 11/12/19

121 South Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: SNAB LLC
Seller: Wilmington Savings
Date: 11/14/19

39 Warner St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Michael Bellingham
Seller: William J. Stinson
Date: 11/13/19

EASTHAMPTON

6 David Richardson Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $346,500
Buyer: Christopher M. Amado
Seller: Laurels RT
Date: 11/13/19

11 Fort Hill Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $515,000
Buyer: Jonathan M. Conly
Seller: Bert & Jane Thurber LT
Date: 11/08/19

254 Loudville Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Carole L. Oyler
Seller: David Gilbert
Date: 11/08/19

GRANBY

Amherst St. #3
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $119,000
Buyer: David Graffum
Seller: Mountain Stream LLC
Date: 11/13/19

126 Batchelor St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: John C. Pierce
Seller: Elaine M. Bergeron
Date: 11/12/19

377 East State St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Charles E. Yon
Seller: Theresa A. Peltier RET
Date: 11/12/19

36 High St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Mark A. Rattelle
Seller: Sarah Lince
Date: 11/15/19

HADLEY

43 East St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $515,000
Buyer: Evelin Szymborn
Seller: J. Nigrini & T. Pascoe RET
Date: 11/15/19

31 East Commons Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $464,500
Buyer: John N. Hanks
Seller: East Street Commons LLC
Date: 11/06/19

16 Hawley Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Leigh S. Daniels
Seller: Joan G. O’Connell
Date: 11/13/19

24 Laurel Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $698,800
Buyer: Lauren Magri
Seller: Camella World-Peace
Date: 11/15/19

HUNTINGTON

Goss Hill Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $169,800
Buyer: Robert C. Broderick
Seller: Goss Road Estates LLC
Date: 11/08/19

MIDDLEFIELD

27 Reservoir Road
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $336,800
Buyer: Richard McKenna
Seller: Labriola, Elaine, (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

172 Skyline Trail
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Jonathan Freiermuth
Seller: Maryann Walsh
Date: 11/14/19

West Hill Road
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $336,800
Buyer: Richard Mckenna
Seller: Labriola, Elaine, (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

NORTHAMPTON

324 Bridge St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Kristen A. Schafenacker
Seller: Aaron B. Walker
Date: 11/13/19

199 Brookside Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Erin S. Stathis
Seller: Christopher J. Plewa
Date: 11/15/19

578 Elm St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Blake E. Doherty
Seller: Helen L. Blatz
Date: 11/08/19

196 Emerson Way
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $127,500
Buyer: Veronica Darmon
Seller: Emerson Way LLC
Date: 11/06/19

211 Emerson Way
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $127,500
Buyer: MRC Enterprises LLC
Seller: Emerson Way LLC
Date: 11/12/19

235 Florence Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Grant T. Martin
Seller: John C. Mazeski
Date: 11/15/19

88 Front St.
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: David C. Keehn
Seller: Katharine A. Wagner
Date: 11/08/19

129 Glendale Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Fenessa R. Hayde
Seller: Mineral Hills Realty LLC
Date: 11/13/19

133 Glendale Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Ruth A. Bonilla-Cuaresma
Seller: Mineral Hills Realty LLC
Date: 11/13/19

9 Hayward Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Brian Adams
Seller: George W. Kriebel
Date: 11/15/19

48 Murphy Terrace
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Emily M. Lopez
Seller: H. Harron TR
Date: 11/07/19

64 Nonotuck St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Pauline J. Ovens
Seller: Richard G. Guzowski
Date: 11/14/19

15 Upland Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: M. C. Patterson-Serrill
Seller: Michael T. Thurston
Date: 11/15/19

67 Vernon St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $379,000
Buyer: Justin T. Fermann
Seller: Matthew Roth-Katz
Date: 11/13/19

PELHAM

69 Arnold Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Isaiah Weiss
Seller: Jane G. Pemberton
Date: 11/15/19

SOUTH HADLEY

51 Bardwell St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Adam Reid
Seller: Emerald City Rentals LLC
Date: 11/12/19

9 Berwyn St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Bonnie M. Boornazian
Seller: Gina M. Lord
Date: 11/15/19

99 Charon Terrace
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $196,500
Buyer: Karl A. Hathaway
Seller: Griffin, Carol A., (Estate)
Date: 11/08/19

68 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Pamela J. Borgatti
Seller: Brant S. Lingle
Date: 11/15/19

1 Industrial Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Jags LLC
Seller: Pearl FT
Date: 11/07/19

259 Lathrop St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Michelle N. Theroux
Seller: Nicole S. Stetzer
Date: 11/15/19

8 Marcel St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $123,000
Buyer: Rosinski Realty Inc.
Seller: Mark Hilling
Date: 11/06/19

9 Misty Court
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Gina Lord
Seller: Michelle N. Theroux
Date: 11/15/19

353 North Main St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Drew T. Brzoska
Seller: Kelly A. Dwyer
Date: 11/15/19

145 Old Lyman Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Christine J. Walton
Seller: Pamela J. Tessier
Date: 11/13/19

Pine Grove Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $197,500
Buyer: Gene & Jean Whitcomb RET
Seller: Robbins, William, (Estate)
Date: 11/06/19

8 Virginia Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Dominic A. Desantis
Seller: Brian W. Summers
Date: 11/07/19

SOUTHAMPTON

30 Coleman Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Serkan Polatol
Seller: V&V RT
Date: 11/06/19

7 Donna Marie Way
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: Nielsson T. Arcibal
Seller: James K. Patenaude TR
Date: 11/12/19

WARE

52 Horseshoe Circle
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Zachary Sweetman
Seller: Jill A. Gravel-Combs
Date: 11/15/19

20 River Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $306,500
Buyer: Harley Davis-Brown
Seller: Brad M. Dimiero
Date: 11/06/19

32-34 South St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $151,297
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Gerald Jamilowski
Date: 11/12/19

110 South St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Yvette L. Dudek
Seller: Roger E. Morrissette
Date: 11/13/19

WILLIAMSBURG

97 Main St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Benjamin C. West
Seller: Lawrence E. West
Date: 11/13/19

82 Mountain St.
Williamsburg, MA 01062
Amount: $266,500
Buyer: Seth Berti
Seller: Kellogg, Walter E. 3rd, (Estate)
Date: 11/07/19

WESTHAMPTON

244 North Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Alexander Lippert
Seller: Suki Kramer
Date: 11/14/19

27 Stage Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Lindsey A. Clark-Ryan
Seller: M. Owen Bowman
Date: 11/06/19

Building Permits

Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of November 2019.

AMHERST

26 Spring Street, LLC
26 Spring St.
$5,300,000 — Mixed-use building featuring below-grade storage, ground-floor retail, and three stories of residential units; site improvement

55 University Drive, LLC
55 University Dr.
$250,000 — Combine two tenant spaces into single-use space; minor structural work, mainly finishes

Alpha Tau Gamma Inc.
118 Sunset Ave.
$194,000 — Exterior fire escape, rated doors and jambs, rated stair enclosure at basement, and egress corridor at second floor

Jeffery Brown
243 Triangle St.
$175,000 — Renovate building, including new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components

CHICOPEE

Emery Street, LLC
3 Emery St.
$15,320 — Install fire-alarm system and components

Holyoke Hospital Inc.
260 New Ludlow Road
$81,751 — Demolish interior walls, ACT ceiling, VCT floor; install new acoustical ceiling

Ryan Kane
4 Burton St.
$12,875 — Roofing

MEG Realty, LLC
22 Artisan St.
$16,000 — Remove and replace eight vinyl windows

EASTHAMPTON

Autumn Properties, LLC
184 Northampton St.
$7,000 — Renovate existing sprinkler system

Caskey Group
2 Industrial Parkway
$1,000 — New post and panel sign

Easthampton Savings Bank
18 Summer St.
$51,800 — Garage for storage

Norwich Properties
31 Rabideau Dr.
$10,000 — Roofing, replacement windows, and interior finishes

Riverside Industries Inc.
1 Cottage St.
$50,000 — Floor repairs, replace deteriorated floor framing

Town Crier Assoc.
41 South St.
$8,400 — Roofing

Williston Northampton School
30 Center St.
$20,000 — Remove and replace front porch

EAST LONGMEADOW

DR Chestnut, LLC
17 Broadleaf Circle
$329,000 — New condo

MyEyeDr.
426 North Main St.
$1,600 — Sign

Willow Barn Design
81 Maple St.
$592.25 — Two signs

GREENFIELD

33 Riddell St., LLC
33 Riddell St.
$18,000 — Repair water damage in basement

City of Greenfield
188 Main St.
Demolish structure

Montague City Road Terminals
34 Montague City Road
$47,800 — Pour concrete pad to support bulk propane tank

HADLEY

Building Grounds, LLC
97 Russell St.
$25,000 — Minor interior alterations, patching drywall, and painting

Pearson Hadley, LLC
380 Russell St.
$15,000 — Rework existing HVAC duct on second floor to accommodate new configuration

LENOX

Berrydale, LLC
7 Hubbard St.
$11,000 — Remodel third-floor bathroom

MRG CRW Holdings, LLC
Lee Road
$15,550 — Install fire-alarm system for horse barn and arena

MRG CRW Holdings, LLC
55 Lee Road
$14,561 — Replace existing conventional initiating devices with new addressable fire-alarm initiating devices

LONGMEADOW

Bay Path University
33 Emerson Road
$13,900 — Roof replacement

Glenmeadow Inc.
24 Tabor Crossing
$607,000 — Roof replacement

GPT Longmeadow, LLC
686 Bliss Road
$1,500 — New sign for Lululemon

Town of Longmeadow
73 Pondside Road
$20,000 — Remove and replace antennas and remote radio units

NORTHAMPTON

First Congregational Church of Northampton
129 Main St.
$3,000 — Repair reglet flashing

Northampton Montessori Society
51 Bates St.
$9,600 — Insulation and weatherization

Steibel Properties Inc.
273 Crescent St.
$4,000 — Replace deck boards and rail

VAEP, Ltd.
41 Strong Ave.
$4,000 — Illuminated wall sign

SPRINGFIELD

Breckwood Realty, LLC
479 Breckwood Blvd.
$96,000 — Alter interior commercial tenant space for VIP Nail Spa

Breckwood Realty, LLC
479 Breckwood Blvd.
$88,000 — Alter interior commercial tenant space for In a Flash

C & W Real Estate Co., LLP
1899 Wilbraham Road
$4,500 — Alter interior commercial tenant space for Stone Pizza

Five Town Station, LLC
300 Cooley St.
$97,622.50 — Alter existing sale area at Big Y, including removal of existing shelving and refrigerator cases, and install new shelving and refrigerator cases

Pioneer Valley Transit Authority
2840 Main St.
$1,596,900 — Alter interior of PVTA storage building for ventilation, gas-detection, and fire-protection upgrades; modify egress layout, signage, and hardware

Pioneer Valley Transit Authority
2840 Main St.
$1,596,900 — Alter interior of PVTA maintenance building for ventilation, gas-detection, and fire-protection upgrades

Springfield Investors, LLC
1105 Boston Road
$11,000 — Install asset-protection gates at Walmart

Wason Avenue Partners, LLC
100 Wason Ave.
$164,000 — Alter interior medical-office space on second floor at Baystate Health

WARE

Aldrich Management Co., LLC
124 West St.
$1,300 — Install new illuminated building sign and replace faces in existing pylon sign

W/S Ware Properties, LP
352 Palmer Road
$50,000 — Remove/install photo lab and merchandising racks at Walmart

W/S Ware Properties, LP
352 Palmer Road
$30,000 — Install asset-protection gates at Walmart

WEST SPRINGFIELD

William Huben
109 River St.
$3,000 — Replace existing standard basement window with full egress basement window

WILBRAHAM

Woodcrest Associates
2205 Boston Road
$29,888 — New vinyl siding over wood siding on building

Westmass Area Development Corp. Moves Corporate Offices to Downtown Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Westmass Area Development Corp. announced the opening of its new corporate offices in downtown Springfield. Located at One Monarch Place, Suite 1350, the new offices will host all corporate functions of Westmass with capacity to continue regional awareness and growth.

The new office location will enable Westmass to continue to brand itself as a regional development company focusing on opportunities in real estate and economic development in Western Mass.

“Our relocation to Monarch Place in Springfield will allow us continued development on our current properties, such as Ludlow Mills and Chicopee River Business Park, and allow us to grow our real-estate and economic-development consulting work,” said Carol Campbell, chair of the Westmass board of directors and president and CEO of Chicopee Industrial Contractors. “We participate in many projects throughout the region, and having our offices in downtown Springfield creates an opportunity to further our mission of supporting development in all of Western Mass. We are excited to continue to grow our business and assist communities and developers with their development needs.”

Jeff Daley, president and CEO of Westmass, added that “an opportunity to move into downtown Springfield is great for Westmass. We look to expand our market throughout Western Mass. for real-estate development opportunities as well as working with municipalities and private developers providing consulting services to assist with the technical details of real estate and economic-development projects in Western Mass.

He noted that Westmass also maintains offices at Ludlow Mills. “As a nationally recognized brownfield-redevelopment site and the marquee project in our portfolio, with hundreds of residents and employees living and working at the Mills, it is important to not only have our facilities management office there, but to house our expanding leasing and marketing departments as well.”

Westmass is a full-service, private, not-for-profit real-estate and economic-development corporation with more than 60 years of successful development projects, including industrial- and business-park developments.

Witman Properties Holds ‘Hope for the Holidays’ Christmas-tree Giveaway

HOLYOKE — Today is the final day to nominate a Holyoke resident who needs some extra cheer this holiday season in the ‘Hope for the Holidays’ tree giveaway by Witman Properties. The winning families or individuals will be delivered a fully decorated tree this week.

“The holidays should be a time when we all reflect on what we are truly grateful for,” owner Anthony Witman said. “Sometimes, life throws us all a curveball, and we want to make sure that someone, or some family’s Christmas, is stress-free and enjoyable. We feel that this is an exciting opportunity for all of us here to spread prosperity to our neighbors.”

Nominations should include why that person or family should be chosen. Nominations can be made in person at 121 Main St. in downtown Holyoke, or by e-mailing [email protected]. The announcement will be made tomorrow.

Local Businessman Appointed Chairman of New England Propane Assoc. Board

SOUTH HADLEY — Steve Chase, president and CEO of Fuel Services Inc. Oil and Propane (FSi), was recently sworn in as chairman of the Propane Gas Assoc. of New England (PGANE).

FSi Oil and Propane has been a leader in the fuel industry for almost 30 years. Over these three decades, many things have changed, including the company’s management, which now includes Chase’s son, daughter, son-in-law, and grandson; expanding its service areas; as well as adding in new fuels such as Bioheat, kerosene, and propane.

PGANE is a regional alternative-energy trade association representing more than 800 members of the propane industry by promoting safety, education, and public awareness of the uses of propane.

Chase said he is honored by this appointment because he has a passion and commitment to the propane industry and educating consumers on the benefits of this type of energy. “Propane is a clean, green fuel,” he noted. “It is American-produced and puts less contaminants in the air. It is a clean, safe energy when handled properly.”

Propane can be used for heating a house, water heating, cooking, clothes drying, fireplaces, standby generators, and as an alternative fuel as auto gas. Throughout New England, there are nearly 300,000 residential customers using this climate-friendly energy and more than 11,500 jobs in the propane industry.

Throughout his life, Chase has shown a devotion to both the community and country. He serves as the state director of the National Propane Gas Assoc. board, is a board member of the BBB of Central and Western Mass., devoted 25 years on the Oxford, Conn. Fire Department, and is a U.S. Navy veteran, having served on the USS Little Rock.

Steve Lewis Subaru to Support Cooley Dickinson Hospital Through Share the Love Event

NORTHAMPTON — Steve Lewis Subaru announced that Cooley Dickinson Hospital has been chosen as its Subaru Share the Love Hometown Charity. During the Share the Love Event, Subaru will donate $250 for every new or leased Subaru sold between now and Jan. 2. Steve Lewis Subaru will donate an additional $50 for every donation made to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Over the last 11 years, Subaru has donated more than $145 million through the Share the Love Event. The donation from Subaru will support the programs and services that provide care for Cooley Dickinson’s youngest patients, ranging from childbirth to pediatric services to urgent and emergency care.

The Cooley Cares for Kids program helps to provide compassionate, personalized care to more than 9,000 children and teens who are served by Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Elms College Names Deirdre Griffin Director of International Programs

CHICOPEE — Elms College announced the hiring of Deirdre Griffin, SSJ as director of International Programs. She will be responsible for supporting the college’s international students, growing traditional and faculty-led study-abroad programs, and developing a vibrant community of global learning that celebrates diverse cultures and explores current issues.

“I am very pleased to have Sr. Deirdre Griffin take the lead in International Programs,” said Joyce Hampton, associate vice president of Academic Affairs for Strategic and Global Initiatives. “She brings a wealth of experience to this position and is deeply committed to the core values and mission of Elms College.”

Griffin is a graduate of Boston College Law School and Bowdoin College. She has worked at Jewish Family Service and the Gray House in Springfield, providing a variety of transitional and support services to diverse, global populations.

She entered the community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield in 2017 and made her initial profession of vows in July. During her 20-year career as an immigration attorney, she has worked in private practice, managed interpreter services in Massachusetts courts, and coordinated refugee-resettlement services. In 2014, she spent three months on staff at the Centre Internationale of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Le Puy, France, and this summer lived with a family in Guatemala.

“I am grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with our international students and our globally minded students,” Griffin said. “I look forward to sharing the charism of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the mission of the college through a global lens. ‘Connecting neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God’ is a universal and a unifying stance toward life.”

Within the current student body, Elms College has enrolled students from 14 countries, representing five continents. The college also has a thriving International Club.

EforAll Berkshire County to Hold All Ideas Pitch Contest on Feb. 5

NORTH ADAMS — Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) Berkshire County is holding an All Ideas Pitch Contest on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The program will be held at the Green at 85 Main St., Suite 105, North Adams from 6 to 8 p.m.

EforAll’s first Pitch Contest at the Berkshire Museum in October created a lot of community buzz, with more than 100 attendees and 11 companies competing. The big winner that night was Kaitlyn Pierce of Binka Bear.

Described as “Shark Tank without the teeth,” EforAll’s friendly, free event features a business showcase and then pitches from six pre-selected contestants and two more that are added the night of the event.

Each participant is given two and a half minutes to pitch a business or nonprofit idea to a panel of judges and the audience. At the end of it, EforAll gives away seed money to help launch these ideas. The first-place finisher wins $1,000, second place gets $750, third place wins $500, and the audience favorite also wins $500. Applications and audience registration are both available online at www.eforall.org/berkshire-county.

Project Management Exam Prep Workshop to Be Held at Bay Path

LONGMEADOW — Are you ready to become a certified project-management professional (PMP)? Forbes.com lists a PMP certificate as the second-highest-paying IT certification for 2019, and the Project Management Institute (PMI) states that, through 2020, 1.57 million new project-management jobs will be created each year.

To help prepare community members to begin the certification process, Bay Path University’s Strategic Alliances division is hosting a three-day workshop on Jan. 6-8 that will prepare participants to take the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Exam.

The CAPM workshop, led by IT consultant and project manager Rick DeJohn from Camus Consulting Inc., combines lectures, discussions, case studies, and in-class practice testing with a review of test results. Project-management experience is not required, and anyone interested in demonstrating to employers that they have the skill set to become a project manager is encouraged to attend.

Participants who complete the program will be awarded a certificate of completion and will earn the required 23 education hours to sit for the CAPM examination. Per the Project Management Institute, a high-school diploma, associate degree, or global equivalent is required as an exam prerequisite.

This workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day on the Bay Path campus, 588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. To register, visit capm2020.eventbrite.com. For additional information, contact Briana Sitler at [email protected] or (413) 565-1066.

NBT Bank Welcomes New Senior Commercial Banking Relationship Manager

HARTFORD, Conn. — NBT Bank Connecticut Regional President Andreas Kapetanopoulos announced that M. Kate Van Valkenburg has joined NBT’s expanding team in Connecticut. Van Valkenburg will serve as senior vice president and senior commercial banking relationship manager.

“We’re rapidly building a respected local team and are excited to welcome Kate and her wealth of commercial-banking expertise,” Kapetanopoulos said.

Van Valkenburg has more than 18 years of commercial-banking experience, including underwriting, management, and lending. Most recently, she served as commercial loan officer for ION Bank in Farmington, Conn. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from UMass. She serves the community as a board member for Gifts of Love in Avon and Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain.

Last month, NBT Bank announced the addition of Regional Commercial Banking Manager Steve Angeletti and Senior Credit Analyst Elizabeth Hayden. The bank expects to reveal the location for its regional headquarters in the first quarter of 2020.

BusinessWest Honoring Women of Impact Today

SPRINGFIELD — BusinessWest will honor its second annual Women of Impact today, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place, Springfield. The event is sold out, and media coverage is welcome.

This year’s honorees are:

• Tricia Canavan, president of United Personnel, is a highly successful businesswoman, but she has an impact in many ways, especially in her various efforts to help ensure that individuals possess the skills they need to succeed in the workplace;

• Carol Moore Cutting, president, CEO, and general manager of Cutting Edge Broadcasting, is a successful businesswoman and a role model for women of color across the region. She also epitomizes the hard work, sacrifice, and ability to overcome adversity that is necessary to succeed in business — and in life;

• Jean Deliso, principal with Deliso Financial Services, is also a successful business owner and has spent her career helping individuals, and especially women, become empowered when it comes to financial planning and securing a solid future;

• Ellen Freyman is an accomplished business lawyer, but she would be the first to say the biggest impact she is making concerns helping others, especially women and minorities, get involved in their communities and make an impact themselves.

• Mary Hurley has been a life-long public servant and has made an impact at every stop in her career — as a lawyer, a Springfield city councilor, mayor of the city, District Court judge, and, most recently, as governor’s councilor. At each stop, she has impacted lives in countless ways;

• Lydia Martinez-Alvarez, assistant superintendent of schools in Springfield and the first Hispanic woman to hold that post, is being impactful in many ways, from helping to ensure students can succeed in the workplace after they accept their diplomas to serving as a role model for young women, and especially Hispanic women;

• Suzanne Parker, executive director of Girls Inc., has transformed that agency into a powerful force when it comes to empowering young women and enabling them to seize career opportunities. As a mother and master of the art of balancing life and work, she is also a role model to those girls across the region; and

• Kate Putnam, managing director of Golden Seeds and a successful businesswomen in her own right, is making an impact in several ways, but especially in her efforts to mentor entrepreneurs, and especially women entrepreneurs, helping them attain much-needed capital and grow this region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The Women of Impact Awards Luncheon welcomes Lisa Tanzer, president of Life is Good, as keynote speaker. The Women of Impact program is sponsored by TommyCar Auto Group and Country Bank (presenting sponsors), Comcast Business and Granite State Development (supporting sponsors), New Valley Bank & Trust (speaker sponsor), and WWLP 22 News/CW Springfield (exclusive media sponsor).

Florence Bank Promotes Cynthia Malinowski to VP, Branch Manager

FLORENCE — Florence Bank has promoted Cynthia Malinowski to the position of vice president and branch manager of the downtown Northampton office.

Malinowski brings extensive knowledge and skills to her new role. Prior to her recent promotion, she was the assistant vice president and branch manager at the downtown Northampton office. During her tenure at the bank, she has been the recipient of the President’s Club Award, which is awarded to employees who demonstrate superior levels of performance, customer service, and overall contribution to the bank. She has also completed various professional banking series course studies, including America’s Community Bankers Training Series.

Malinowski serves her community as an active member of Easthampton’s Helping Hand Society and is a member of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce.

“We are thrilled to see Cindy’s career progress with the bank as she begins her new role as vice president,” said John Heaps, Jr., bank president and CEO. “Her consistent performance, dependability, and expert knowledge have made her an integral asset. We look forward to watching her demonstrate her impeccable skills in the years to come.”

Arrha’s Michael Ostrowski Reappointed to World Affairs Committee of CUNA

SPRINGFIELD — Michael Ostrowski, president and CEO of Arrha Credit Union, has received the honor of a third reappointment to the World Affairs Committee of the Credit Union National Assoc. (CUNA). This committee reports to the CUNA board of directors with respect to matters related to the World Council of Credit Unions and international policy matters. The World Affairs Committee serves as a focal point for developing policies, strategies, leadership, education, and resources for credit unions throughout the world.

Ostrowski has been assisting in overcoming challenges and capitalizing on opportunities between and among the U.S. and international credit-union activities to expand credit-union access throughout the world. He traveled to Cuba to engage its government on establishing credit unions and to Poland to assist its credit unions in regulatory advocacy with the Polish government. He also serves as a connection between CUNA and the World Council of Credit Unions, where he provided financial education, assistance, and guidance to Puerto Rico’s credit unions in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

“It continues to be an honor to serve, identify issues, serve as a connection, develop plans, and make recommendations to help organize individuals towards development and functioning of credit unions worldwide,” Ostrowski said.

HCC to Wrap Up 20th Giving Tree Campaign on Dec. 12

HOLYOKE — Members of the Holyoke Community College (HCC) community will help spread some holiday cheer on Thursday, Dec. 12, as they deliver piles of wrapped, donated gifts to representatives from four local charities at the closing reception for the college’s 20th annual Giving Tree campaign.

This year, the HCC community will fulfill the holiday wishes of a nearly 400 clients from Homework House, WestMass ElderCare, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.

The Giving Tree closing reception will run from 10 a.m. until noon in the PeoplesBank Conference Center on the third floor of the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development on the main HCC campus, 303 Homestead Ave. Refreshments will be served.

Each year during the annual campaign, trees are set up in designated areas around campus. Participants choose colored-coded tags from one of the nonprofit agencies based on the age of the recipient and their wish for a gift. The wrapped gifts are then piled on tables for the closing celebration, when HCC faculty, staff, and students join with representatives from the agencies to distribute the gifts and share food, stories, and joy.

“This is an amazing tradition and always brings out the best of HCC,” college President Christina Royal said. “The need is so great, as evidenced by the number of gift tags on these trees. Every year, I am really blown away by the generosity of our community here at the college.”

Westfield Starfires Tap Hunter Golden as Director of Player Personnel

WESTFIELD — The Westfield Starfires of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) have named Hunter Golden director of Player Personnel.

“Hunter has a proven track record of building championship teams in summer collegiate baseball. He has tremendous relationships with college programs across the country, and I have given him carte blanche to construct the Starfires roster moving forward,” said Starfires owner and co-founder Chris Thompson.

Golden will be responsible for recruiting talent from colleges across the U.S. and Puerto Rico and transition them into summer baseball in New England. Players will live with host families in Western Mass. and become involved with many community initiatives each summer.

“I’m excited to be working with Chris and Donnie and helping to put together a winning ballclub that fans can be proud of and excited to see every summer,” Golden said. “Westfield is a great baseball community that deserves a winning team. We’re already focused on assembling a group of players who won’t just be successful this season, but that is the kind of team that sets the tone for a culture of sustained success that we hope to build on year after year.

“We’re in a fortunate position to have a lot of trust placed in us by ownership, and have been granted a lot of freedom and latitude in terms of using whatever resources we need in order to build a great roster and provide as good a player experience as we possibly can,” he went on. “The framework already exists here for a winning program, and we’re extremely optimistic that, with a little work, we’ll have a chance to be competitive right off the bat.”

The Starfires signed a 15-year lease with the city of Westfield for Bullens Field in 2019. The FCBL is a wood-bat, collegiate summer league. Each team plays a 56-game schedule from May through the beginning of August. The Futures League has added a new team to its league in 2020, with the New Britain Bees coming over from the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Starfires 2020 season memberships are now on sale at westfieldstarfires.com.

Hampshire College Kicks Off Major $60 Million Fundraising Campaign

AMHERST — Hampshire College kicked off a major capital campaign, announcing it has already raised $11.2 million in gifts toward its campaign goal of $60 million by 2024. The campaign will help launch Hampshire’s second half-century as an independent college, as Hampshire prepares to ring in its 50th anniversary year in 2020.

“Change in the Making: A Campaign for Hampshire” will harness the outpouring of alumni and community support for the college this year and couple it with a bold new framework for the Hampshire curriculum and student experience. Its accreditation maintained last month, Hampshire is now actively reinventing its academic program with innovations aimed at recruiting students, making its program more sustainable financially, and transforming higher education following the college’s mission.

The campaign is currently led by four alumni co-chairs: Ken Burns (’71), award-winning documentary filmmaker; Gail Caulkins (’73), president of the Greenacre Foundation and former Hampshire College trustee; Lucy Ann McFadden (’70), retired astrophysicist, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, and a member of the Hampshire board of trustees and chair of its advancement committee; and Julie Schecter (’71), director and trustee of numerous organizations, including the SHIFT Foundation, co-founder of Hampshire’s Ethics and the Common Good program, vice chair of Hampshire’s board of trustees, and chair of its trusteeship and governance committee.

The co-chairs are working actively to secure additional major gifts, supported by a campaign council, a diverse group of volunteers that represents the board of trustees, major donors, college leaders, faculty, staff, students, and parents. The campaign is administered by Chief Advancement Officer Jennifer Chrisler and the college’s Advancement Division staff.

Hampshire seeks to secure an additional $3 million in commitments before the end of 2019, toward the campaign goal of $60 million in unrestricted operating support by June 30, 2024.

“We are creating a big tent for multiple constituencies to participate, engage, and connect more deeply with Hampshire,” Chrisler said. “Our goal is to foster a genuine culture of philanthropy to secure a long future for Hampshire.”

YPS to Host Third Annual Santacon in Downtown Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) will hold its third annual Santacon in downtown Springfield on Friday, Dec. 6 from 4 to 11 p.m.

This year’s event will begin with a bar crawl down Worthington Street where guests can show off their holiday costume best before jingling and jangling down Main Street to catch a Springfield Thunderbirds game. Santacon will wrap up at Nadim’s Mediterranean Restaurant after the game.

“We are excited to kick off the holiday season with our Springfield Santacon,” YPS president Amie Miarecki said. “This event is unique in that it brings people together to celebrate local businesses, our hometown hockey team, and gives back to the community. There’s nothing like it.”

Tickets include entrance into the Springfield Thunderbirds game, a donation to charity, a swag bag, a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, and more. The ticket costs $20 for members and $25 for non-members.

The event will also feature a holiday costume contest. YPS Cares Foundation will make a donation to the charity of choice of the winner(s) to make an impact on nonprofits doing good work in the community.

The Dowd Agencies Welcomes Evan Dowd as Account Executive