Day: January 14, 2020

BOSTON — Massachusetts employers rang out 2019 on an optimistic note as business confidence rose to its highest level in 15 months.

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index gained 1.6 points to 62.2 last month, leaving it comfortably within optimistic territory and 3.6 points higher than a year ago. The strong year-end results were driven by brightening views of the U.S. economy and an increasingly bullish outlook among Bay State manufacturers.

The results came during a month when the U.S. economy created 145,000 jobs to cap a decade of payroll gains that marked the longest growth period in 80 years of record keeping. December also saw an easing of the international trade tensions that had disquieted employers for much of 2019.

“Business confidence remained steady and strong throughout 2019 as employers saw underlying strength in the economy through sometimes distracting political uncertainties,” said Raymond Torto, chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA).

The AIM Index, based on a survey of more than 100 Massachusetts employers, has appeared monthly since July 1991. It is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; a reading above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative.

The constituent indicators that make up the Business Confidence Index moved mostly higher in December. The U.S. Index assessing business conditions nationally surged 3.6 points during the month and 7.7 points for the year to 62.8. The Massachusetts Index lost 1.8 points in December but remained higher than the national reading at 65.2

The Future Index, measuring expectations for six months out, gained 2.1 points to 61.6, leaving it 4.3 points higher than a year ago. The Current Index, which assesses overall business conditions at the time of the survey, rose 1.1 points to 62.8, an increase of 2.8 points over 12 months.

The Employment Index was up 0.9 points in December and 1.0 points for all of 2019 amid a persistent shortage of workers that may become worse as large number of Baby Boomers retire.

Non-manufacturers (63.2) were slightly more confident than manufacturing companies (61.4). Large companies (65.2) were more optimistic than small (61.7) or medium-sized (60.5) companies. Companies in Eastern Mass. (62.7) remained more optimistic than those in Western Mass. (61.6).

AIM President and CEO John Regan, a BEA member, said employers face an eventful 2020 as state policymakers wrestle with major issues such as transportation financing, health reform, and the implementation of paid family and medical leave.

“The Baker administration and the Massachusetts Legislature have done a commendable job managing the state budget while maintaining an environment of economic growth,” he noted. “The decision to allow the MassHealth employer assessment to sunset indicates that lawmakers understand that overburdening business will ultimately constrict economic opportunity.”

HAMPDEN — The Starting Gate at GreatHorse was announced a winner of the 2020 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards, an accolade representing the top wedding professionals across the board in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism reviewed by couples on WeddingWire.

For its 12th annual Couples’ Choice Awards, WeddingWire analyzed reviews across more than 20 service categories, from venues and caterers to florists and photographers, to find the most highly rated vendors of the year. These winners exhibit superior professionalism, responsiveness, service, and quality when interacting with the millions of consumers who turn to WeddingWire each month to help ease their wedding-planning process.

Wedding professionals who win WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards are members of WeddingPro, the leading B2B wedding brand. As the largest marketplace and community for wedding professionals, WeddingPro connects businesses with more than 13 million visitors per month who are planning weddings on WeddingWire and the Knot, as well as with hundreds of thousands of industry pros.

AGAWAM — Meredith Wise, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast (EANE), recently announced the addition of four new members to the EANE board of directors for three-year terms.

Toni Hendrix is director of Human Resources and Compliance with Loomis Communities, where she is responsible for partnering with leadership to promote HR management practices to ensure fair, equitable, and consistent treatment of employees while minimizing the potential for legal liability. She also provides consultation and developmental support to leaders and team members relative to employee engagement, policy interpretation, change management, and performance management.

Mike Hyland, CEO of Venture Community Services in Sturbridge, brings more than 25 years of experience and a sound history of nonprofit leadership. At the helm of Venture, Hyland focuses on ways to improve services and enhance the lives of the people the agency supports, as well as the employees.

The EANE board represents a cross section of professionals throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island who provide certified expertise in the areas of business, human resources, and financial management. The other two new EANE board members are based in Providence, R.I.: Michelle Cunniff, director of Human Resource Services at AIPSO, and Gregory Tumolo, senior counsel and head of the employment-law team at Duffy & Sweeney, LTD.

“Our board members are leaders in their professions, and their experience guides our mission to help employers build engaged, well-managed, and low-risk workplaces throughout the Northeast,” Wise said. “Our newest additions to the board have been active members of EANE and have demonstrated a commitment to the best practices that develop employees and give organizations a competitive advantage.”

GILL — FM Kuzmeskus/TravelKuz, Hale Custom Signs, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County announced a call for entries for their first-ever collaborative bus-design contest.

“We’ve got a brand spanking new coach. It’s still white from the factory,” said Pam Reipold, executive vice president of Operations at FM Kuzmeskus. “It was our mechanics, or ‘shop gods,’ as we affectionately call them, that came up with this idea. It’s brilliant, really. TravelKuz is such a huge fan of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the important work that they do. We are very excited to be able to support such a great local agency.”

Hale Custom Signs of Gill, which has worked with FM Kuzmeskus for many years, has offered to subsidize the project, enabling it to have the greatest impact.

“We were overwhelmed by this offer,” said Jennifer Webster, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County (BBBS). “A project of this magnitude can help us raise awareness of the need for mentors, get our message out there in the world, and in turn change the lives of more Franklin County youth.”

The contest is open to all Pioneer Valley artists. Each entry but must incorporate the FM Kuzmeskus/TravelKuz logo and Big Brothers Big Sisters logo in its design. The contest will be adjudicated by the team at FM Kuzmeskus, a member of BBBS, and Dan Hale of Hale Custom Signs.

Entries are due by Friday, Feb. 7. Contest rules, guidelines, and templates can be found on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County website, www.bbbs-fc.org.