Daily News

WESTFIELD — John Pember has joined Westfield Bank as vice president and commercial loan officer. He will be based in the West Hartford, Conn., office and will help lead the Bank’s commercial lending efforts in the greater Hartford area.

Pember has been in the financial services industry since 2006. After holding various positions in retail and credit risk, he transitioned to commercial lending in 2014 at Farmington Bank and then held a similar role at United Bank.

Pember graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Business in 2006 and was a Michael J. Piette Honors recipient from the Connecticut School of Finance & Management. In addition to his professional accomplishments, he is co-chair of the Real Estate Finance Association’s Young Professionals Committee and is a member of the Hartford Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs, the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce, and the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce.

“We are very pleased to have John join the commercial lending team,” said James Hagan, Westfield Bank’s president and CEO. “He knows the economic landscape of the greater Hartford area and his commercial lending expertise will enhance our ongoing efforts to meet the borrowing needs of businesses in the Capital Region.”

Daily News

BOSTON – Online programs at the University of Massachusetts received high marks again in this year’s Best Online Programs rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

Two UMass programs ranked within the top 30 in the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs category, with UMass Amherst at No. 23, and UMass Lowell at No. 29. Amherst and Lowell were also the top two online bachelor’s programs in New England for the second consecutive year. In the same category, UMass Dartmouth ranked No. 113, rising ten spots over last year’s rankings, and UMass Boston ranked No. 93.

“UMass is, and will continue to be, a national leader in online higher education,” said UMass President Marty Meehan. “These rankings validate the hard work of our dedicated faculty, staff and students and emphasize the opportunity that we have at UMass to continue building on a winning high-quality online model.”

UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell were also highly ranked in the new Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans category, coming in at No. 18 and No. 22 in the nation, respectively.

Three UMass online MBA programs rank in the top 100 nationally, with UMass Lowell at No. 22, UMass Amherst at No. 28 and UMass Dartmouth at No. 95. In the Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans category, the same campuses perform even better, with UMass Lowell ranking No. 16, UMass Amherst ranking No. 22 and UMass Dartmouth ranking No. 53.

“These high rankings again underscore the excellence UMass Online provides in delivering academic programs that address the needs of adult students and employers seeking to advance skills of its workforce,” said UMass Online CEO Don Kilburn. “It’s one of many reasons students continue to choose UMass when they want a quality, affordable and relevant education.”

Online programs at UMass have been steadily growing in recent years, with total revenues reaching a record-high $116 million in Fiscal Year 2019.

The full list of rankings are available on U.S. News & World Report’s website at www.usnews.com/education/online-education/.

Daily News

FLORENCE – Florence Bank has promoted Kurt Shouse to the position of vice president, information and cybersecurity officer. 

Shouse brings extensive knowledge and skills to his new role. Prior to his recent promotion, he was the assistant vice president, information and cybersecurity officer. Shouse studied at UMass Amherst, where he received his bachelor of Business Administration in management studies. Additionally, he studied at Utica College where he received his master of Science in Cyber Operations and Computer Forensics. Shouse has his certification from the SANS Institute Global Security Essentials (GSEC) which demonstrates a high-level skillset of hands-on information technology with respect to security tasks.

Shouse serves his community as a board member of Northampton’s Dollars for Scholars.

“We are thrilled to see Kurt’s career progress with the bank,” said John F. Heaps, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Florence Bank. “His skills and expertise are invaluable, and I look forward to watching him grow in his new role as vice president.”

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD The Springfield Business Improvement District is again bringing more than a dozen ice sculptures to downtown Springfield for the 3rdAnnual Ice Invasion beginning today.

This ice invasion coincides with the Winter Weekend being staged by the Boston Red Sox, making an exciting time for the city and its downtown.

From the MassMutual Center and MGM Springfield up to the Springfield Museums and down to Union Station, visitors will be able to find an ice sculpture at almost every street corner. This year’s ‘invasion’ will feature a diverse lineup of sculptures, including Wally the Green Monster, baseball players, pineapples and many more.

The SBID is encouraging everyone to walk around and check out all 18 ice sculptures, take photos, and share them on Instagram using #BeDowntownSpringfield for a chance to win Springfield Thunderbird tickets or gift cards to downtown restaurants. The more photos you take with the different ice sculptures, the more likely you’ll win.

For locations of the ice sculptures and information on all things downtown visit, springfielddowntown.com.

 The 3rd Annual Downtown Springfield Ice Invasion is presented by EBS – Employee Benefit Solutions