Month: September 2020

WARE — The Boston Business Journal has once again named Country Bank an honoree in its annual 2020 Corporate Citizenship Awards, recognizing the region’s top corporate charitable contributors.

The publication annually publishes this list to highlight companies that promote and prioritize giving back to their communities. During this year’s virtual celebration held on Sept. 10, 107 companies — a record number — qualified for the distinction by reporting at least $100,000 in cash contributions to Massachusetts-based charities and social-service nonprofits last year. This year’s honorees include companies from healthcare, technology, financial and professional services, retail, professional sports, and more.

Country Bank, which ranked 60th, employs 209 staff members within Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester counties. In 2019, staff members actively promoted the bank’s mission of giving back to the communities they serve by volunteering more than 1,100 hours of community service.

“During a year filled with unprecedented events and change, it’s incredible to think that the Boston Business Journal’s Corporate Charitable Contributors list is the largest we have ever compiled. These companies give back at least $100,000 to the local community, and now we are in a time when giving back and helping one another is more important than ever,” Market President and Publisher Carolyn Jones said. “These philanthropic companies prioritize the welfare of our communities, and we are excited to be able to honor them.”

Paul Scully, president and CEO at Country Bank, added that “we are honored to be recognized by the Boston Business Journal for our charitable giving. Country Bank’s mission is to help make a difference in the lives of others, and now more than ever, we are committed to this mission as we continue through such a historic time in our history.”

AIC Receives High Marks for Teaching and Education Degrees

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) is ranked 17th among the top 50 colleges and universities for teaching and education degrees, as ranked by learn.org for academic year 2020-21.

Established in 2003, learn.org provides free resources for students and working professionals to research potential schools and degrees by providing information on career opportunities and institutions of higher education that help individuals reach their goals, including school connections, scholarships, and online college planning for quality and affordable education.

Citing AIC, learn.org highlights the college’s master’s programs, including its master of education in early childhood education and a master of education in middle or secondary education. The organization additionally notes that AIC offers a doctoral program with multiple tracks, the doctor of education in teaching and learning, and called attention to students’ ability to take part in a practicum or field-based research to ensure preparedness for future careers. The organization also credits the School of Education with employing “top-notch staff and faculty members, many of whom hold terminal degrees in their field.”

“AIC has, for over 130 years, invested in the value of access to education and understands the relevancy of giving back to community,” said Sheila Stamm, dean of AIC’s School of Education (SOE). “Our model in the SOE embraces the agency of teachers, leaders, and counselors as scholar practitioners supporting the currency of needs supporting all learners in PK-12. This focus is embodied in our mission, our values, and promise to the citizens of Massachusetts to provide capable, caring, and committed professionals deeply invested in the collective success of communities served.”

STCC Observes Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October

SPRINGFIELD — In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) has scheduled virtual events open to students and the public.

On Thursday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m., Rosalia Rivera of the “AboutCONSENT” podcast will speak in a Zoom webinar titled “Telling Our Stories to Create Change.” Rivera is an internationally recognized consent educator who will offer insight into the connections between childhood sexual abuse and young-adult dating violence. Her talk also will address how students can play a role in supporting safe and healthy relationships in the ‘new normal’ of the COVID-19 college experience.

On Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m., Rivera will give a talk titled “Breaking Barriers, Breaking the Silence / Rompiendo Barreras, Rompiendo el Silencio, a Café Con Leche Conversation.” This event is part of STCC’s recognition of Latinx Heritage Month.

Rivera has turned past traumatic experiences into a powerful voice and platform for healing and social change. Based on her personal story, Rivera will discuss breaking the silence around childhood sexual abuse and interpersonal violence, and dig into the roots of gender stereotypes that impact healthy sexuality, family culture, and healthy relationships within the Latinx community.

Both events are co-sponsored by #STCCWeCan (formerly the Be Empowered Project), the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Hispanic Assoc. of Higher Education, and Title IX. E-mail [email protected] with questions. To register for the Zoom events or for more information, visit stcc.edu/resources/stccwecan.

BusinessTalk with Waleska Lugo-DeJesus

Business Talk Podcast

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest, in partnership with Living Local, has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Episode 31: Sept. 30, 2020

Thom Fox interviews Waleska Lugo-DeJesus, CEO of Inclusive Strategies

Thom Fox interviews Waleska Lugo-DeJesus. Waleska Lugo-DeJesus is the CEO of Inclusive Strategies, LLC and during COVID-19 she has been putting her 18-years of diversity consulting to good use as many companies tackle workplace inequities. Waleska shares why diversity and inclusion is growing in importance, and how organizations are evolving to include more voices in the conversation on equality.

Also Available On

Bacon Wilson Announces Michael Locke as New Associate

SPRINGFIELD — Bacon Wilson announced that attorney Michael Locke has joined the firm as an associate and a member of the real-estate team, focusing on matters of land use, planning, and zoning.

Prior to joining Bacon Wilson, Locke served as a clerk in both the Massachusetts Superior Court and the Massachusetts Court of Appeals. He earned his juris doctor magna cum laude from New England Law School in 2018, and his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from UMass Amherst in 2015. He will be practicing primarily from Bacon Wilson’s Amherst location, working with real-estate and business clients throughout the Commonwealth.

Elms College Names Three New Board of Trustees Members

CHICOPEE — The board of trustees at Elms College has appointed three prominent figures — Kristin Ferriter Hagan, Carolyn Jacobs, and Paul Marchese — to serve on the board.

Hagan graduated from Elms College in 1996, earning her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in psychology. Most recently, she served as director of Development for St. Mary’s Parish School in Westfield. In that position, she was responsible for all major-gift fundraising, grant writing, event planning, and community outreach.

Jacobs is a social-work professor, spiritual director, and was Elms College’s 2017 commencement speaker. She is a dean emerita of the Smith College School of Social Work, where she taught for 35 years. She received her bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State University, her master’s degree in social work from San Diego State University, and her doctorate from the Heller School of Brandeis University, and also received training as a spiritual director from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Mind & Life Institute in Charlottesville, Va. Jacobs previously served on the Elms board of trustees from 2009 to 2018.

Marchese is executive vice president of Business Development and Relationship Management at St. Germain Investment Management and has more than 35 years of experience in private banking, investment management, and financial planning. Prior to his tenure at St. Germain, he was vice president of Business Development for private banking at FleetBoston Financial Corp. He currently serves as vice chair of the board of trustees for both Mercy Medical Center and Mason Wright Foundation. He is a board member of Stanley Park of Westfield, Glenmeadow, and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. He also serves on the finance committees of Trinity Health Of New England and Pathlight. Marchese holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University and an MBA in marketing from the Boston College Carroll School of Management.

“The new members bring a wide range of perspectives to the board and have experience in higher education, institutional advancement, and financial services,” said Harry Dumay, president of Elms College. “I am pleased to welcome Kristin, Carolyn, and Paul, and I look forward to working with each of them as we advance the mission and vision of the college.”

Unify Against Bullying to Present Sixth Annual Fashion Show as Hybrid Event

HOLYOKE — On Monday, Oct. 26, high-school students of all shapes, sizes, styles, ethnicity, and physical abilities from schools in Western Mass. and Northern Conn. will strut their stuff at a fashion show celebrating true diversity. In this unprecedented time, the Unify Against Bullying team has decided to stream the event free on Facebook Live for all to enjoy.

One addition this year is an online auction where individuals can bid on prizes from the comfort of their home. The organization will also accept donations during the event to support their mission and the youth they serve. Delaney’s Market is offering a Unify meal package to order, pay for, and pick up curbside at one of four locations to make the event a party with family and friends.

“The event this year is especially poignant for all as Christine Maiwald, one of the founding board members and the executive director for the past three years, will be retiring on October 30,” said Sarah Goff, president of Unify Against Bullying. “Chris will be missed by everyone, especially the students she has worked with through the years. She plans to spend more time with her grandchildren and travel to visit with friends in South Carolina and Florida. The board of directors, students, and families that we serve wish Chris all the best in her retirement. We thank her profusely for her tireless pursuit of working with students to create respect and kindness toward one another.”

Maiwald added that “we are grateful to the countless businesses who step up to support the kids of Unify. It’s through their generous donations that we are able to help families struggling with this pervasive issue throughout our region and beyond.”

For information on streaming, sponsorship, and program advertising, visit www.unifyagainstbullying.org or call (413) 304-0668.

STCC Medical Assistant Program Top-ranked for Affordability, Quality

Cover Story Special Coverage

SPRINGFIELD — Two websites have ranked Springfield Technical Community College’s medical assistant program first in Massachusetts for quality and value.

One site, medicalassistantadvice.com, listed STCC as having the best medical assistant program in Massachusetts, beating out other community-college and training programs in the state, while another site, medassistantedu.org, rated the program as the most affordable in the Commonwealth.

“One of the top medical assistant schools in Massachusetts, Springfield Technical Community College prepares you for a rewarding career in the allied healthcare field by combining practical learning with didactic classes,” medicalassistantadvice.com wrote about STCC.

The medical assistant program at STCC offers a ‘one-plus-one’ option, which means students in the program obtain a certificate after one year of successful coursework. They can either enter the workforce or continue another year in the program to pursue an associate degree.

In naming STCC among the most affordable medical assistant associate-degree programs of 2020-21, medassistantedu.org noted that the program costs more than $1,800 less than the state average for public medical assistant associate degrees and praised its comprehensive curriculum, which includes hands-on learning through laboratory and simulation experiences. “Becoming a medical assistant is one of the quickest routes to a career that offers a big return on a relatively small investment of time and money.”

Professional medical assistants perform administrative duties such as word processing, record keeping, billing, electronic medical records, and scheduling procedures. Clinical responsibilities include assisting the physician with patient care, performing electrocardiograms, assisting with physical examinations, performing phlebotomy, and obtaining and processing specimens. Graduates are qualified to accept positions in medical offices, clinics, health-maintenance organizations, insurance companies, hospitals, ambulatory-care centers, or any other area where their broad basic skills are needed.

Karolyn Ryan, program director and associate professor in the Medical Assisting department, said she was delighted to find out the program made two separate lists of top schools. “Our program offers value and quality for our students who are well-prepared to sit for the national certification exam offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants. We’re proud of the work we do to train students and help fill the demand for skilled workers in the healthcare field.”

For more information about the medical assistant program and to apply, visit stcc.edu/explore/programs/mast.as or call STCC Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

Ecosystem Helps Entrepreneurs Navigate the Pandemic

By George O'Brien September 29, 2020

The Business of Pivoting

Nicole Ortiz, founder and president of Crave Food Truck

Nicole Ortiz remembers a lot of people having some serious doubts about whether she should go forward with her plans to put a food truck into operation late last spring.

After all, it was the middle of a pandemic, people were staying home, the economy was tanking, and the restaurant business, perhaps more than any other, was suffering mightily.

But Ortiz, a graduate of the Culinary Arts program at Holyoke Community College, was determined to make her dream, which she would call Crave, become reality — pandemic or not.

She had already acquired the vehicle itself, and her experience in the accelerator program operated by EforAll Holyoke had given her the confidence (and technical know-how) to get her show — a food truck specializing in Puerto Rican cuisine — on the road … literally.

Problem was, it was not business as usual when it came to securing the needed approvals and permits from city officials.

“It was even difficult to speak with officials from cities because people weren’t working as much, and you couldn’t even get into city halls,” she said. “Everything has to be mailed in, which takes … as long as that takes. Meanwhile, a lot of cities don’t have ways to do this online; you can’t e-mail them or submit a form online. You have to mail it in, and that took a while.”

But Ortiz persevered, and opened for business just over a month ago. Her truck, usually parked on Race Street, not far from the Cubit Building and just a few blocks from the computing center, is actually exceeding goals set higher than most everyone she knows thought were reasonable.

Successful launches in the middle of COVID-19 are certainly rare, and for most area entrepreneurs, especially those trying to get a concept off the ground or to the next level, these are challenging times, when the focus is on pivoting and adjusting to meet changing needs and changing ways of doing things.

Juan and Elsie Vasquez, owners of 413 Family Fitness, are like many small-business owners in that they have had to pivot during the pandemic and create new revenue streams.

In most all ways, the same can be said of the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem itself, which specializes mostly on programs focused on people gathering in large numbers or sitting across a table from one another — things that can’t be done during a pandemic. Agencies within the ecosystem have been pivoting and adjusting as well.

This is especially true of Valley Venture Mentors (VVM), the nonprofit based in Springfield’s Innovation Center, which is in the midst of what interim Director Chris Bignelli, a partner with the Alchemy Fund, calls a ‘reset.’

That’s the word he chose to describe a retrenching after most of the agency’s staff members left within a week of each other last spring, and after COVID prevented it from staging any of the large gatherings for which it became known — not only here, but across the state and beyond.

“Our mentors advise entrepreneurs about the importance of pivoting and changing directions when needed, and we’re doing the same,” he said, adding that the pandemic and other forces are compelling the agency to look inward and find new and perhaps different ways to provide value to entrepreneurs while also providing support to other agencies and initiatives within the ecosystem.

“For a while there, it really felt like we were kind of providing therapy to small-business owners.”

As VVM resets and reinvents, though, work within the ecosystem goes on during these trying times — despite COVID, and in many cases in an effort to help business owners survive it.

People like Juan and Elsie Vasquez. They operate 413 Family Fitness in Holyoke, a business that, like most all gyms, was devastated by the pandemic. With help from those at EforAll Holyoke, the couple has pivoted to everything from outdoor classes to staging quinceañeras, or sweet-15 birthdays (a tradition among Hispanics), and leasing out their space to third parties (more on that later).

Meanwhile, another initiative within the ecosystem, WIT — Women Innovators and Trailblazers — is continuing its mentoring program despite COVID, and is preparing to embark on its third cohort of matches.

Leah Kent says the mentor she’s been matched with through the WIT program, Melissa Paciulli, has helped her set firm goals for her business and move out of her comfort zone.

The second cohort, featuring 45 teams, up from 20 in the first, was started just before the pandemic shut things down, noted Ann Burke, vice president of the the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts and one of the architects of the program, adding that she had some concerns about whether those matches could withstand COVID and its highly disruptive nature.

But for the most part, the partnerships persevered, and many have the legs to continue even after the formal program is over.

“We were really trying to see what would happen with the cohort and how they would respond with all that was happening,” said Burke. “I thought most of them would just throw up their hands and say, ‘we can’t do this’ amid all the business issues, personal issues, and issues at home. But for the most part, that’s not what happened.”

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the local entrepreneurship ecosystem and how it is carrying on through the pandemic, providing more evidence of its importance to the region.

Keep on Trucking

Flashing back several months and then fast-forwarding to today, Ortiz described the process of opening with a single word — ‘crazy.’

That sentiment applied to everything from getting her truck outfitted for the road — meaning wrapped with her logo and fully equipped — to buying all the supplies she needed (which meant going to the grocery store a number of times), to getting those aforementioned permits and approvals. Work started later than she wanted, and everything was made more difficult by the pandemic.

“Most of March and half of April, I called a halt to everything,” she said, noting that she bought the truck in February, but, because of the pandemic — and also the fact that she was still in school, which was also more complicated — she wasn’t able to advance her plans. “And then I started to feel more comfortable, and by the end of the April, I was going full speed.”

Or at least the speed at which City Hall would allow her to travel.

Now that she’s open, all that craziness seems like a distant memory, and business is, as she noted, exceeding expectations.

“We’ve been busy every day, and we usually sell out by the end of the day,” she said, noting that Craze features tacos, rice bowls, vegetarian and vegan dishes, and more, and uses social media to connect with potential customers. “COVID might actually be helping because people don’t want to go to restaurants.”

She credits EforAll — she was the first-place winner in its recent winter accelerator — with helping her get the doors open, especially with such matters as insurance and accounting, but also focusing on the model she wanted and the service she wanted to provide.

And such work is carrying on in the COVID-19 era, although it’s somewhat different and also in some ways more challenging, said Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, executive director of EforAll.

“We’ve been really fortunate that we can continue to offer a lot of the services that we provided before the pandemic in a virtual format,” she explained. “And we made that pivot very quickly, out of necessity.”

Elaborating, she said the agency was in the final stages of its winter cohort when the pandemic hit, and quickly shifted to not only a virtual platform, but a somewhat different purpose as it helped both those cohort members and other small businesses cope with everything that was happening.

“For a while there, it really felt like we were kind of providing therapy to small-business owners,” she explained. “We felt like there were a lot of things out of our control, but what we did want to do was support them, whether it was with help navigating PPP loans or even just applying for unemployment. We were doing a lot of one-on-one support and just helping people however we could.”

“It gives people a place to come and brainstorm as a group and impose that accountability that can sometimes be missing when you’re running your own venture.”

And such help was certainly needed, she said, adding that, in the case of PPP, many small businesses didn’t know if they were eligible, and if they were, they certainly needed assistance with paperwork that most established businesses turned over to a seasoned accountant. Meanwhile, a number of local, state, and federal grant programs emerged, and small businesses needed help identifying which ones might be appropriate and then navigating the application process.

Beyond that, EforAll also helped some businesses identify ways to pivot and find new revenue streams in the middle of a pandemic, Murphy-Romboletti said, adding that such assistance was provided to restaurants — helping them move beyond takeout and Grubhub, for example — and to other kinds of ventures, like 413 Family Fitness, which is one of those businesses that just ‘graduated’ from the most recent accelerator.

Like all fitness centers across the state, this operation had to shut down back in the spring, said Elsie Vasquez, forcing the company to pivot. It did so by offering classes online, then a shift to outdoor classes, more one-on-one personal training, and finally a reopening of the studio in July, with a host of restrictions.

“We’ve even done some space rental to bring in some revenue,” she told BusinessWest, adding that EforAll has been invaluable in helping to not only identify ways to generate business, but make them reality.

“The biggest thing we learned is that we have to pivot our business,” she explained. “We came in with an idea of what we wanted to do, and it’s been working out OK, but EforAll really opened our eyes to the fact that we have to think differently, and that your beginning result may not be your end result.”

In Good Company

While companies are pivoting, so too are some of the agencies within the ecosystem that serves them. And VVM is probably the best example.

Hope Gibaldi, who was serving the agency in a part-time role when the pandemic hit and is now full-time, serving as engagement manager, told BusinessWest that the agency has had to readjust as a result of the pandemic and its inability to stage the large gatherings it became known for.

Meanwhile, is doing what its mentors advise entrepreneurs to do — assess needs within the community and go about meeting them.

“There were listening sessions prior to the pandemic,” she noted, “and we’ve been taking the priorities identified during those sessions with an eye toward addressing them, while also trying to figure out how we can continue to provide value to entrepreneurs during COVID and what programming might look like when we come out of COVID.”

Elaborating, she said hybrid models blending in-person and remote programming are being considered, while, in the meantime, the agency is creating ways to bring people together on a remote basis to share ideas and work through common problems.

One such program is the introduction — or reintroduction, to be more precise — of ‘Entrepreneurial Roundtables,’ a peer-led “accountability group,” as she called it, that meets via Zoom.

“It’s a place where mentors and entrepreneurs can come and address their challenges,” Gibaldi explained. “It gives people a place to come and brainstorm as a group and impose that accountability that can sometimes be missing when you’re running your own venture.”

Other initiatives already in place or in the planning stages, she said, include everything from the agency’s once-thriving Community Nights (now handled remotely) to expert-in-industry mentorship, to a book club, to be launched in January, focusing on offerings in entrepreneurship, marketing, personal and professional growth, and more.

Overall, VVM looks a little different, but its mission hasn’t changed, Gibaldi said, adding that it is working to partner with other agencies and initiatives within the ecosystem to help them succeed.

One example is WIT, and helping to recruit mentors for that program, which has thus far created dozens of effective matches.

Leah Kent and Melissa Paciulli comprise one such match. The former is a writer and book designer who also helps other writers with the process of getting published, while the latter is director of the STEM Starter Academy at Holyoke Community College. Kent described the relationship as an intriguing, and effective, collision of science and creativity.

“We can understand each other quite well, but we bring different strengths,” she explained. “That complementary pairing has been so fantastic. In my work, she’s really honed in on the way that I help readers finish their manuscripts and get their work published.”

The two were part of the cohort that launched last March; the kickoff gathering was on March 12, and the next day, schools were shut down, and much of the business world ground to a halt. Kent’s original mentor was not able to continue participating because of the pandemic, so she was reassigned, if that’s the right word, to Paciulli, whom she credits with taking her outside her comfort zone and helping her set the bar higher professionally and personally.

Paciulli said Kent is her second match through WIT, and one of many business owners and students she has mentored over the years. She finds the work invigorating and rewarding, especially when the mentee is coachable and open-minded — like Kent.

“When you’re working with entrepreneurs and they’re coachable, and they take action on your direction, because it’s an iterative process of finding your product, getting it to market, and pivoting when you need to … it’s a super-cool experience to be part of one’s journey in that way,” she said. “When they’re coachable and they’re action-oriented — and she is — it’s awesome.”

Where There’s a Will…

Summing up what the past seven months or so have been like for entrepreneurs and small businesses, Murphy-Romboletti said it’s been a continuous run of challenges that have tested them — and her agency — in every way imaginable.

In many ways, COVID-19 and everything it has thrown at these businesses only reinforces what she pretty much already knew.

“What always inspires me about entrepreneurs is that, if you tell them ‘no,’ they just say, ‘OK, let me find out a way to make this work,’” she said.

Many have been doing just that, providing more evidence of their resiliency and more reminders of the importance of the entrepreneurship ecosystem to this region and its future.

The pandemic has slowed some things down and added to the already-long list of hurdles entrepreneurs have to clear, but it certainly hasn’t stopped people like Nicole Ortiz — and countless others — from getting down to business.

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

Celebrating the Difference Makers Class of 2020

Class of 2020 Event Galleries Special Coverage

It was a different kind of event, to be sure, but BusinessWest’s Difference Makers class of 2020 was celebrated in style on Sept. 24 at the Upper Vista at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. Honorees, their guests, and sponsors were in attendance at an event where safety and social distancing were paramount, while hundreds more took in the ceremonies remotely. Download the Program Guide HERE

Difference Makers is sponsored by Burkhart Pizzanelli, Mercy Medical Center, The Royal Law Firm, and TommyCar Auto Group, while the Tom Cosenzi Driving for the Cure Charity Golf Tournament, MHA, and United Way of Pioneer Valley are partners.

The 2020 Virtual Event

Scenes from the 2020 Event

The class of 2020, from left: Ken Furst, a board member with Rick’s Place; Monte Belmonte, morning-show host for WRSI & the River and creator of Monte’s March; Dianne Fuller Doherty, retired director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center; Steve Lowell, president and CEO of Monson Savings Bank; Ronn Johnson, president and CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services; and Sandy Cassanelli, CEO of Greeno Supply. Ira Bryck, business consultant and former executive director of the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley, could not be present for the event

2020 Difference Makers

Christopher ‘Monte’ Belmonte

DJ at WRSI the River Radio

His March is Changing
The Conversation
on Food Insecurity

Ira Bryck

Consultant and Former Executive Director of the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley

He’s Helped Create
Fun, Imaginative
Learning Experiences

Sandy Cassanelli

CEO of Greeno Supply

She’s Fighting to Find a Cure for Metastatic Breast Cancer

Dianne
Fuller Doherty

Retired Director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center

She’s Retired … but Not from Her Role as a Difference Maker

Ronn Johnson

President and CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services Inc.

This Community Leader
Has Tackled Many Roles
With a Sense of Purpose

Steve Lowell

President and CEO of
Monson Savings Bank

Giving Back Has Always Been a Big Part of His Life — and His Work

Rick’s Place

This Unique Nonprofit Provides Support, Light in the Darkest of Times

2020 Sponsor Videos

2020 Sponsors

Pay it Forward Non-Profit Partners

Photography for this special section by Leah Martin Photography

Carla Consenzi, Peter DePergola Take Home Coveted Prize for 2020

Alumni Achievement Award Special Coverage

Class Acts

As they came together via Zoom to decide who would take home the coveted Alumni Achievement Award for 2020, the three judges who scored the nominations kept talking about how hard their final assignment was. Indeed, they admitted that all five finalists — Carla Cosenzi, president of TommyCar Auto Group, Peter DePergola, director of Clinical Ethics at Baystate Health; Mike Fenton, attorney with Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin and a Springfield city councilor; Paul Kozub, founder of V-One Vodka; and James Leahy, assistant director of Business Development and Promotion Sales for the Massachusetts State Lottery and a Holyoke city councilor — were more than worthy of the honor, formerly known as the Continued Excellence Award. As they debated the merits of each finalist, the judges had a difficult time settling on one winner of this award, sponsored again this year by Health New England. So they instead decided to honor two.

Carla Cosenzi, president of TommyCar Auto Group, with her children, Niko and Talia.

• Cosenzi, who adds this honor to two others from BusinessWest (40 Under Forty in 2012 and Women of Impact in 2019), was chosen both for what she’s done in business — expanding the auto group started by her father with several new dealerships — and for what’s she’s done in the community. Chief among her accomplishments in that latter category has been the creation of the Tom Cosenzi Driving for the Cure Charity Golf Tournament, staged each year to raise funds to battle brain cancer, which claimed her father when he was just 52 years old.

Peter DePergola, director of Clinical Ethics at Baystate Health.

• DePergola, who has emerged as not only a regional, but national and even international leader in the emerging field of bioethics, also now has three plaques from BusinessWest on his desk. Indeed, in addition to 40 Under Forty (class of 2015), he was also named a Healthcare Hero in the Emerging Leader category in 2018. The first, and still the only, bioethicist in this region, he recently wrote a white paper titled “Ethical Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Novel Coronovirus Disease,” published in the Online Journal of Health Ethics, and also served on the state’s Crisis Standards of Care Advisory Committee. BusinessWest congratulates these two deserving winners, who continue to raise the bar for professional and personal achievement in Western Mass.

Health Insurers Navigate — Sometimes Profitably — an Unusual Year

By Joseph Bednar September 29, 2020

Coronavirus Insurance Special Coverage

At a Premium

The story is a familiar one by now: hospitals across the U.S., hammered by COVID-19, began directing resources toward fighting the pandemic last spring and curtailed elective and non-emergency procedures. Meanwhile, patients, even when sick, stayed away from medical practices out of fear of infection.

As a result, health insurers continued to reap premiums while paying out millions of dollars less in medical claims. Some of the largest companies reported second-quarter earnings about double what they were a year ago. Anthem’s net income soared to $2.3 billion for the second quarter, up from $1.1 billion in 2019, while UnitedHealth reported net income of $6.7 billion, compared to $3.4 billion last year. Humana’s second-quarter net income rose from $940 million in 2019 to $1.8 billion in 2020.

But the issue is a complex one, especially in Massachusetts, where laws governing insurance are different, said Keith Ledoux, vice president of Commercial Line of Business, Sales, Marketing, and Business Development for Health New England, a 166,000-member health plan based in Springfield.

For example, HNE did see lower utilization for medical services among its members in the early months of the pandemic; however, at the same time, it saw an increase in prescription-drug fills as members made sure they had their medications during stay-at-home orders.

“On the pharmaceutical side, we saw a small spike in claims and overall costs starting at the end of March and the beginning of April because we had relaxed our rules on allowing folks to fill prescriptions early, or to get a greater supply,” Ledoux told BusinessWest.

Meanwhile, “after April, on the medical side, we saw a significant reduction in claims, but starting in probably June, we started to see that pick back up — almost back to what we would consider to be somewhat normal.”

At the same time, the pandemic brought about a significant increase in telehealth utilization; through April, HNE had processed 114,000 telehealth visits for its members versus 900 in all of 2019, accounting for $12 million in costs for Health New England.

“One reason that’s so costly for us is that we’re mandated by the government to pay the same rate for telehealth as we would for an in-person visit, and typically telehealth is cheaper than in person,” Ledoux said, adding that future state negotiations will likely alter that formula as telemedicine continues to gain traction in healthcare.

“The silver lining is not the cost, but the behavior shift of so many members embracing the idea of telemedicine, which does broaden your ability to access non-invasive care. There’s definitely an opening for systems to adopt a new approach and potentially increase their revenue stream using telemedicine.”

Massachusetts-based Tufts Health Plan reported that COVID-19 treatment costs were one factor in actually recording a drop in net income between the first six months of 2019 to and the six months of June 2020.

Keith Ledoux

“After April, on the medical side, we saw a significant reduction in claims, but starting in probably June, we started to see that pick back up — almost back to what we would consider to be somewhat normal.”

“Tufts Health Plan proudly serves all segments of the market, regardless of a person’s age or life circumstance,” Chief Financial Officer Umesh Kurpad noted in a statement. “This diversity in our business translates into different financial pressures, such as significantly higher COVID-19 infection rates and treatment costs for our members, particularly those who rely on both Medicare and Medicaid.

“Year-to-date, our earnings were challenging, with the increased costs of COVID-19-related expenses across virtually all of our businesses,” he went on, projecting COVID-19 expenses to reach $220 million for the full year. “The pandemic cost tail is anticipated to be long with the lingering impact of COVID-19 survivors and increased morbidity from deferred care.”

In short, there’s no one trend common among health insurers in a year where they, like all industries, have learned to expect the unexpected.

Appointment Viewing

Another Massachusetts-based insurer, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, reported little change in second-quarter net income from 2019 ($36.2 million) to 2020 ($40.9 million). It also encouraged members not to avoid medical services they need.

“Now more than ever, our focus remains on the health and well-being of our members and the communities we serve,” President and CEO Michael Carson said. “Many people have deferred care over the past several months, and it is incredibly important that they not neglect their health. Healthcare providers have implemented stringent safety precautions, and we encourage our members to seek routine and preventive care, including checkups, health screenings, and vaccinations.”

Ledoux told BusinessWest that HNE typically doesn’t know the performance of a year until probably three or four months after the year has closed.

In its planning for 2021, he explained, the company must consider uncertainties with expenses, which include utilization continuing to pre-COVID levels; increased use of high-cost technology; and costs of new pharmaceuticals, vaccines and testing, as well as increased costs for certain behavioral healthcare for children and adolescents.

Consumers are protected to an extent by state and federal laws that require health plans to rebate customers annually if the percent of premiums spent on medical expenses falls below a certain threshold.

Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers are required to use a fixed percentage of the money they take in from premiums for their customers’ medical expenses — at least 80 cents of every dollar they collect in premiums from small businesses and individuals, and 85 cents per dollar for large employers. The remaining 15% to 20% percent is what they are allowed under the ACA to spend on administrative costs like overhead and marketing, and to keep as profit. Excess revenues are to be returned to consumers in the form of rebates.

“If we perform even 0.1% better than 88%, we have to rebate that excess margin back to the market. In a regular year, our target margin is around 1.9%, which we hardly ever achieve. All these variables make it difficult to make a profit.”

Under Massachusetts’ health-insurance law, that number rises to 88 cents on the dollar. “If we perform even 0.1% better than 88%, we have to rebate that excess margin back to the market,” Ledoux said, adding that, “in a regular year, our target margin is around 1.9%, which we hardly ever achieve. All these variables make it difficult to make a profit.”

Some of those variables emerged this year in the form of concessions to the pandemic and the stress it has placed on families, he noted. “We relaxed a lot of rules on how we collect premiums. Normally it’s a 30-day grace period, and we expanded that another 30 days.” HNE also allowed furloughed employees to stay on their companies’ health plans.

“We continue to evaluate our position in the market,” he added. “There are already protections in place, profits above what would be considered reasonable, and a mandate to rebate that back to the market. We already know it self-corrects on its own.”

Meredith Wise, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, told BusinessWest that health-insurance premiums haven’t been a big topic among EANE’s members. “We’ve heard from some employers who are getting refunds, but it hasn’t been a major thing that anyone is focusing on at the moment.”

Nationally, insurers are spending a far lower portion of premium revenue on their customers’ healthcare costs. For example, CVS said its medical-benefits ratio was 70% for the second quarter, compared to 84% over the same period in 2019.

According to a report in the New York Times, the ACA gives companies a three-year window to calculate how much to return, so members probably shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon, especially because it’s hard to tell what the rest of the year will bring, with COVID-19 numbers still fluctuating dramatically from state to state, as well as the impact of potentially expensive new vaccines or treatments around the corner. At the same time, many people who postponed getting medical attention could surge back into doctors’ offices and submit more bills for coverage.

“The second half of the year could see a lot more care, and higher costs, than the first half of 2020,” according to a statement by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). “However, if these costs never materialize and remain below certain levels, American consumers, businesses, and taxpayers are protected by provisions in federal and state laws that require health-insurance providers to deliver premium rebates and put money back into their pockets.”

Community Focus

In addition to changes in patient volume and the bottom line, the pandemic shifted the priorities of Health New England in other ways, Ledoux said.

For instance, it contributed $300,000 in grants for COVID-19 relief efforts throughout Western Mass. to help residents with access to food, mental healthcare, child care, housing, and basic needs.

The company has also made benefit adjustments that make it easier for members to get the care they need, such as eliminating out-of-pocket costs for all telehealth services and for COVID-19 diagnostic testing ordered by a medical professional, no prior authorizations for members receiving medical care for COVID-19, and flexibility with payment plans and adjusted underwriting guidelines to ease the burden for employer-group customers and members.

Meanwhile, as it approaches Medicare’s annual enrollment season, Health New England is holding online Zoom sessions and drive-up events, and has added staff to its call center, to help educate people about their Medicare options.

“The second half of the year could see a lot more care, and higher costs, than the first half of 2020.”

Tufts has implemented a number of changes as well, including compensating providers 100% of an in-office rate for telehealth, working with providers on a case-by-case basis to address their concerns regarding payment stability, extending premium payment periods for employers who need more time to make payments, and contributing $2 million to support those affected by the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

Certainly, reports of soaring profits may persuade some lawmakers to revive proposals to cap insurers’ profits even more, but insurers say they are using their financial strength to help customers, hospitals, and doctors. In the New York Times report, AHIP also cited trends like waiving co-payments for COVID testing and treatment and paying for telemedicine visits, some of which the government has mandated be covered.

“From the very beginning,” AHIP CEO Matt Eyles said, “health-insurance providers have focused on being part of the solution.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Senior-living Communities Stay Strong Against Coronavirus

By Contributor September 29, 2020

Business of Aging Special Coverage

Safe at Home

By Mark Morris

Cheryl Moran says she increased staffers’ hours and pay to make sure they worked only at the Atrium during the pandemic.

Beth Cardillo said the arrival of COVID-19 caused a “wildfire effect.”

As executive director of Armbrook Village, a senior-living community in Westfield that offers independent and assisted living, as well as memory care, Cardillo said the first days of the pandemic created huge challenges for healthcare professionals who faced major decisions while working with limited information.

For example, hospitals were only admitting COVID-positive patients if they had a fever and showed respiratory symptoms. Some seniors at Armbrook, however, were testing positive but manifesting different symptoms.

“We had someone who tested COVID-positive, but he didn’t have a fever or a respiratory problem,” she said. “He felt weak, fatigued, and he almost passed out.”

Cardillo’s call for an EMT to transport the positive-testing resident to the hospital was met with disappointment when she was told the hospital would not admit anyone for the coronavirus unless they had a fever or respiratory symptoms.

“At that time, no one knew there were a host of other symptoms,” she said. “It’s nobody’s fault because nobody knew.”

Cardillo informed Baystate Medical Center about residents who showed different symptoms for the coronavirus, and the hospital quickly sent a team of specialists in infectious disease and emergency medicine to Armbrook to further examine these cases.

“Incidents like this were happening all over the country,” Cardillo said. “It’s how we learned that people can manifest other symptoms but still have the coronavirus.”

Similarly, at the beginning of the pandemic, health officials were not encouraging everyone to wear masks; later, with better information, they shifted course. As information on all aspects of COVID-19 improved and safety guidelines were implemented across the U.S., senior-living facilities that already had sanitizing and infection protocols in place increased their efforts to battle the spread of coronavirus.

Emily Tamilio, Corporate Marketing director for Rockridge Retirement Community in Northampton, said her complex revamped its already-strong infection-control policies before the state went into lockdown. “We’ve redoubled our protocols and to make sure all our staff is up to date on proper infection control, hand washing, and strict sanitization procedures.”

Beth Cardillo

“We had someone who tested COVID-positive, but he didn’t have a fever or a respiratory problem. He felt weak, fatigued, and he almost passed out.”

Meanwhile, at Atrium at Cardinal Drive in Agawam — an assisted-living facility exclusively for people with memory loss — Executive Director Cheryl Moran imposed strict screening procedures to keep residents and staff safe, such as requiring all outside agencies to get her approval before they could enter the facility.

In the caregiving community, it’s not unusual for workers at one assisted-living facility to take a second part-time job at a similar site or earn additional income by providing care at a person’s home. Moran knew she had to address this vulnerability to keep the virus away. “I met with all our associates and offered more money, more hours, and different hours to encourage them to work only for the Atrium.”

Tamilio said Rockridge also offered additional pay and hours to keep staff working only at that facility. “Having our people just work for Rockridge was key to preventing transmission.”

Both Moran and Tamilio said encouraging staff to work only at one community is one of the main reasons neither campus has had any COVID-19 cases to date. It’s an example of how senior-living communities across Western Mass. had to be creative and aggressive — and continue to do so — to protect the most vulnerable population from a pandemic that’s far from over.

Visitation Consternation

In mid-March, the state issued guidelines for senior-living facilities to allow visitors only after they’ve had a health screening prior to their entry. When the pandemic first hit, all three communities BusinessWest spoke with said they restricted all outsiders except health providers and other essential personnel. Unfortunately, that meant families were not able to visit their loved ones in assisted living.

“As disappointing as that was, we had a solid communication process in place, and we were transparent about any changes, so it was much easier to get the families, residents, and staff on board,” Tamilio said.

Cardillo also stressed that communication was key, and personally checked in with every family member. “We were honest with people and let them know what was going on, and they appreciated that.”

As a further precaution for those in assisted living, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs mandated that everyone be quarantined in their apartments. No communal dining or walking around the halls was allowed.

Emily Tamilio

“We’ve redoubled our protocols and to make sure all our staff is up to date on proper infection control, hand washing, and strict sanitization procedures.”

Cardillo noted that many residents in assisted living have cognitive impairments that make processing and retaining information difficult, so structure and constant communication are very important. Still, cognitively impaired residents who had been making progress before the quarantine began to backslide.

“They were confused again, depression was setting in, and their anxiety increased,” she recalled. “In some ways, the social isolation was almost worse than the virus.”

Staff dressed in full personal protective equipment (PPE) began meeting one-on-one with each resident in their apartment. Cardillo said reaching out and having conversations with the residents began to make them feel better.

Moran said the configuration of the Atrium made it possible to allow residents out of their apartments and still keep them safe. “Because we have the space, we were able to socially distance our residents while still allowing them to take part in modified programs and activities.”

As late spring arrived and the weather improved, residents in most communities were able to go outside more often and socialize with others. Cardillo said positive changes began to happen the minute residents were able to enjoy some fresh air. “Whether it was having a conversation or taking a walk or simply looking at the birds, we saw their depression and anxiety lessen once they could spend time outside.”

The warmer weather also enabled the facilities to resume family visits. Moran said the Atrium has a designated area for outdoor visits where families can schedule time with their loved ones either after breakfast or after lunch.

“We can only allow two family members at a time, and they have to wear masks,” she explained. “Unfortunately, they can’t hug or kiss their loved ones, so they do air hugs and things like that.”

Videoconferencing through platforms like Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime have been effective ways for families to stay connected — and send air hugs to their loved ones — when a physical visit is not possible. Tamilio said Rockridge staff will often work with families to coordinate a videoconference or even a phone call to help them feel connected during the pandemic.

“There are many times when our staff are the eyes and ears for the families of our residents, so we work very hard to stay in contact with them,” she told BusinessWest.

Using videoconferencing tools is one more way to be reassuring and transparent with families and staff, Moran added. “It’s important for families to know about the place where their mom and dad are living.”

Cardillo talked about a recent Zoom conference conducted like a town-hall meeting that included 80 resident family members, as well as Armbrook department heads. The purpose was to let everyone know what’s been done so far to keep residents healthy and engaged, and their plans going forward.

“Many family members had no idea about everything we’d gone through to keep their loved ones safe,” she said. “They want to do this type of meeting again.”

Meeting with potential new residents and their families is an important part of any senior-living community. The arrival of COVID-19 has moved much of that activity from in-person meetings to videoconferences. For families who want a tour of the facilities, Tamilio said virtual tours have been an effective alternative to an actual visit.

“We can connect them to our community and help them feel engaged,” she said. “Videoconferencing also allows us to bring together multiple family members from different locations to answer all their questions in one meeting.”

Cardillo is still able to meet with families in-person in Armbrook’s private dining area by using social distancing and requiring masks for everyone. Before the meeting, she will have a phone conversation and send information so that, when a family arrives for the meeting, they have some idea about the community.

“I will show them apartments, but we can’t wander around the building anymore,” she noted. “That’s the only thing that’s really changed.”

While Moran is not yet meeting in person, she depends on virtual tours and has identified a number of families willing to serve in an ambassador-type role.

“There are several family members of current and past residents who are willing to speak with new families about their experience here,” she said. “They are able to give their perspective on how things have been going for their loved ones.”

Winter Is Coming

Seven months into the pandemic, and with fall and winter coming, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs is allowing senior-living facilities to permit indoor visitation to specific areas of the building.

Moran said the Atrium will use office space in its main building to screen visitors and supply full PPE. She plans to limit visits to 30 minutes and restrict visitors to meeting in the front areas of the building.

A similar visitor policy will be in effect at Rockridge, which is about to install an air-purification system to use in common areas. The idea is to monitor air quality to make sure those areas are safe, especially as they begin to open the dining area and allow more visitors

“We are trying to find the right balance between mitigating risk and enhancing the quality of life for everyone here,” Tamilio said.

As the weather gets cooler, Cardillo is looking forward to bringing activities such as exercise classes indoors. There will be limits on the number of people who can participate at any one time, but that’s just part of life in these times.

She reflected on the challenges facilities like hers faced with the sudden arrival of the pandemic back in March, and how far they’ve come. “At the beginning, we were all learning together at the same time. With all that we’ve learned since then, we have a much better handle on things now.”

She said residents are in a much better frame of mind these days, with no COVID-19 cases reported in months.

All the administrators we spoke with said a spirit of cooperation — with everyone pitching in and constantly doing more than expected — has been a true highlight of these last six months. To acknowledge that spirit, Cardillo is planning a series of recognition ceremonies for her staff in the coming weeks.

“We had people who got very sick, and our staff did some beautiful things,” she said. “Sometimes it was just sitting with a resident and holding their hand. Their families were really touched by it.”

With the pandemic still a daily reality, Cardillo said she and her colleagues are better prepared if there is another flare-up of the virus.

“We hope it doesn’t happen, but we’re ready if it does.”

Questions Cloud Future of Commercial Real-estate Market

By George O'Brien September 29, 2020

Commercial Real Estate Coronavirus Special Coverage

A Matter of Speculation

Ned Barowsky is transforming 14,000 square feet of what was retail space into Venture X, a co-working concept, one of many signs of change within the region’s commercial real-estate market.

It was time to face facts, Ned Barowsky recalled.

For six months, two brokers assigned by a large, national real-estate firm had been trying to fill the vacancies left at Barowsky’s property at 98 Lower Westfield Road by the departure of Pier One Imports and Kaoud Oriental Rugs. And they had gotten … nowhere.

“I met with them on the phone weekly, and they sent me a sheet of everyone they talked to and e-mailed, and all the responses they got,” he said. “For six months prior to COVID, not one bite. And they worked it. I felt bad for them; I wanted to pay them, but they didn’t get me anybody.”

Faced with this handwriting on the wall and an uncertain future for the Holyoke property he has owned for nearly 35 years, Barowsky is doing what so many are doing in the midst of COVID-19, and in general. He’s pivoting — big time.

Indeed, he intends to remake those vacated storefronts, and some additional space at the complex, into a franchise for the emerging co-work concept known as Venture X, which bills itself as “the future of workspace” (more on that later).

This intriguing pivot is just one indication that the local commercial real-estate market is in a state of flux, if you will, with perhaps profound changes to come as the pandemic continues and its impact on this sector grows.

Indeed, there is already significant movement in the market when it comes to additional vacancies and properties becoming available. Meanwhile, there is widespread speculation that the office market in particular may see considerable disruption as businesses with some or most of their employees working remotely consider making such arrangements permanent.

“A remote work hub is basically converging living space with working space; you’re allowing people to get out of their house and into a work place that’s safe — and in close proximity to where they live.”

And even if they don’t swing that far when it comes to working arrangements, there are questions about how much of their present space they’ll retain when their lease is up.

“We have lost a few tenants, mostly due to non-renewals as companies look for ways to be more efficient and perhaps consolidate if they had multiple locations,” said Evan Plotkin, president of NAI Plotkin and co-owner of 1350 Main St. in Springfield, noting that Bay Path University, which occupies roughly 12,000 square feet, is one of these tenants.

But as some are downsizing or not renewing, others are actually taking more space to accommodate pandemic-era guidelines on social distancing and keep employees safe, said Plotkin, noting that he’s already seen such upsizing from a few tenants and expects more in the months to come.

In the meantime, new leases are being signed, and properties are being acquired, said Demetrios Panteleakis, a principal with MacMillan Group LLC, which has authored what could certainly be called a stunning turnaround at Tower Square in downtown Springfield.

Over the past 24 months or so, Panteleakis said, MacMillan has successfully backfilled roughly 80% of the 150,000 square feet of office space in the complex that MassMutual vacated, with about a third of that coming in just the past few months.

The latest additions in the office tower include Wellfleet and Farm Credit Financial Partners, which moved into 37,500 square feet on the sixth floor, but also a few law firms and a civil-engineering firm. Meanwhile, on the retail side, the Greater Springfield YMCA moved several of its operations last winter, White Lion Brewery is completing work on its brewery and eatery in the former Spaghetti Freddy’s space, and a nail salon has moved in. And all this is on top of a massive renovation of the hotel on the property into a new Marriott.

“Tower Square is absolutely on fire,” he said, adding that he believes the success at that address has been a function of providing an attractive product in a good location, in this case an urban area in the midst of what has been called a renaissance.

Demetrios Panteleakis says activity has been strong at Tower Square in recent months, with new leases signed for both retail and office space.

Mitch Bolotin, a principal with Springfield-based Colebrook Realty Services, agreed that there has been activity within the market despite the pandemic, noting that his firm has completed a number of transactions, including the sale of the property at 95 Elm St. in West Springfield formerly occupied by United Bank, the Newman Center on the UMass Amherst campus, and lease of the former Chandler’s restaurant space at the Yankee Candle complex in South Deerfield, among others.

The $64,000 question is … what happens now?

No one really knows the answer. Many brokers are encouraged by numerous stories in recent weeks about both productivity being down as a result of remote working and pent-up desire to return to the office. But these sentiments are juxtaposed against others indicating that remote work has been a success and, as a result, less office space will be leased in the future.

Speaking for others, Panteleakis said there will likely be a lull or pause in the action until perhaps the end of the first quarter of next year as business owners sort some things out.

Work in Progress

Plotkin calls it a “remote work hub.”

That’s a term he borrowed from a request for proposals he’s likely to respond to, and it describes … well, a place where people can both live and work. But not like the current work-from-home environment many are now experiencing.

“A remote work hub is basically converging living space with working space; you’re allowing people to get out of their house and into a work place that’s safe — and in close proximity to where they live,” said Plotkin, adding quickly that he’s thinking hard about whether 1350 Main St. can be shaped into one of these remote work hubs. He thinks it can.

“I have a design here that works great,” he told BusinessWest. “We have some empty floors, and if we created maybe 20 units per floor and used the three floors that are empty, that would be 60 market-rate housing units. And if you had another floor that was a COVID-19 pandemic remote work space, which has yet to be designed, I think you’d have something very attractive.

“The idea is to make people feel that they can go someplace to work and not be in their kitchen, not be in their living room, and actually have some socialization and see other people,” he went on, adding that such a facility would help attract people of all ages, but especially young people, to downtown Springfield.

The fact that Plotkin is thinking about such a dramatic pivot provides more evidence that the commercial real-estate market is changing and there are certainly question marks about how — and how profoundly — the landscape may change.

The remote-work phenomenon, if it can be called that, is certainly at the heart of much of this speculation. Indeed, as more workers toil from home for longer periods — some of the massive tech companies have told employees they won’t be coming back for a year, at least — questions are raised about whether such arrangements will become permanent, and what this means for major urban centers and individual office facilities.

Barowsky, for one, believes that companies will be less likely to want to tie themselves down with long-term leases for large amounts of space. And that’s one of the reasons why he’s moving forward with Venture X.

A Holyoke native who has seen a number of economic cycles and an ongoing evolution of the area’s retail scene, Barowsky believes this co-work space is certainly the right concept at the right time — and especially the right place.

“I don’t think you get this energy that you have when people are working together in one office, and you don’t see the productivity.”

Indeed, the site, just a few hundred yards from the Holyoke Mall, is right off I-91 exit 15 and only minutes off exit 4 of the Mass Pike.

“This is literally the crossroads of New England,” said Barowsky, adding that this address makes the Venture X facility attractive for businesses across a number of sectors.

Add all these factors up, and Barowsky doesn’t see this dramatic pivot — away from retail and into co-working space — as much of a gamble. And if it is a gamble, it’s one he believes will pay off eventually, perhaps sooner than later.

Indeed, he said the current timeline doesn’t have him opening the doors for another six months, but he’s already received a number of inquiries about his concept.

Questions and Answers

While Barowsky doesn’t have any doubts about his new development, there is a growing amount of uncertainty when it comes to the larger commercial real-estate market.

And it crosses many of the sectors within that realm, including retail — which was already under considerable stress before COVID-19 due to online buying and now is under even more — and especially the office market because of questions about the future of work.

“At this point, I think the jury is still out — the verdict is not in yet,” Plotkin said. “There’s been an abrupt change in how we work, and it has required us to work remotely. It’s been a complete lifestyle change, and it’s created a fair amount of fear. And those converging factors may prevail over a long period of time; we just don’t know.”

Panteleakis agreed to some extent, but said he concurs with JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon, who recently told American Banker that he sees economic and social damage from a longer stretch of working from home.

“Between 2002 and 2005, there was a big movement happening — commercial real estate had become so expensive that everyone was trying remote working,” he recalled. “Jamie Dimon is saying the same thing that everyone was saying back then — that they see a decrease in productivity. So I think real estate is coming back; I don’t think you get this energy that you have when people are working together in one office, and you don’t see the productivity.”

Plotkin concurred. “Today, people can work from anywhere, and it’s appealing to people to work from anywhere. But the reality is that working from home is isolating, and I don’t think that’s a long-term solution.”

Added Bolotin, “there is a lot of speculation on both sides of that fence. I believe that the office market will still have a future — there will still be demand. Working from home is fine on a limited basis, but people will eventually migrate back to an office setting.

“Needs might change,” he went on. “They may need to consolidate, or they may wish to add more space for social-distancing purposes. But what the net effect of this will be … time will tell.”

Returning to the present, those we spoke with said there are certainly some deals getting done, and the market remains active. Panteleakis cited not only Tower Square, but also neighboring 1550 Main St., which he also handles, and which is fully occupied.

Bolotin, citing those recent transactions in West Springfield, Amherst, South Deerfield, and other communities his firm was involved with, said they provide evidence of a resilient economy and an equally resilient commercial real-estate market, one that has seen a number of downturns — and recoveries.

“We’re very active, we’re busy, there are transactions happening,” he said of his firm but also the market overall. “Over the past few months, we’ve had deals close across a number of categories — office, retail, industrial, land, investments. We’ve had activity in all segments.”

Some of these transactions bode well for the region and some of its individual communities, he noted, such as the sale of 95 Elm St. in West Springfield. Considered a key to development of the downtown area, the property is being targeted for a mix of office and retail, said Bolotin, and his firm is currently negotiating several potential leases in that building.

Meanwhile, other deals have been closed involving retail (two Family Dollar stores), industrial (more than 500,000 square feet in total), and even a few church properties.

“It is certainly a challenging time, and there are people who have been negatively impacted,” he stressed. “But there is still activity within the marketplace.”

Bottom Line

As for the immediate future … Panteleakis said a pause, or lull, is common just before presidential elections. And this year, COVID-19 has given business owners and managers more reason to be cautious.

“People are in a wait-and-see mode,” he explained. “Most of the executives that I’ve spoken with are waiting to see what happens in the first quarter of 2021. So I think the jury will be out until that first quarter of next year.”

After that … no one really knows when the jury will actually be back and what the verdict will be.

But some are already anticipating long-term changes to the landscape. That’s why Venture X is taking shape in Holyoke and why Evan Plotkin is drafting plans for a remote work hub.

Plenty of questions remain about the future, and the answers won’t come easily.

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

Progress Continues in Wilbraham’s Business Districts

By Joseph Bednar September 29, 2020

Community Spotlight

Jeff Smith says getting town business done during COVID-19 has been more challenging than usual, but projects continue to be approved.

Wilbraham is a mostly residential town with two main business districts — the town center, as it’s known, on Main Street, and along a lengthy stretch of Route 20, or Boston Road.

The fact that both have seen development activity during the ongoing pandemic is good news indeed, said Jeffrey Smith, chairman of the Planning Board.

Take, for example, a couple of vacant buildings next to Home Depot that have been vacant for about a decade. They will soon become a 7,000-square-foot O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store and a 2,340-square-foot Valvoline instant oil-change facility.

“It’s great,” Smith said. “Being on the Planning Board and being a resident in town, I hear from people all the time, in casual converations, ‘what’s going on with that place?’ This is one of those vacant and seemingly abandoned properties that is getting a great redo, and I think it’s going to be a welcome addition. The site has been an eyesore for some time.”

Then there’s the former Papa Gino’s restaurant near the Springfield line that’s been vacant several years, but will soon be home to an expansion of Springfield-based Vanguard Dental. Meanwhile, Excel Therapy and Conditioning, a physical-therapy practice that’s expanding to sports rehabilitation and personal training, will set up shop on Boston Road as well.

“We had to work fast to fast-track this during the height of the pandemic, with Town Hall closed,” recalled John Pearsall, director of Planning. “They were in a situation where their lease was running out and they had a chance to purchase this building and move and expand their practice. That’s been a good success story, saving a local business during these difficult times.”

Doing due diligence on development projects hasn’t been easy with offices closed, Smith noted.

“Just like every other town, we’re dealing with COVID, and all Planning and Zoning board meetings have to be done remotely. John and I used to meet quite a bit more in person during the week and outside our regularly scheduled meetings, and we do a little less of that right now. Everything has become more cumbersome, with a lot of extra steps.”

“For a long time, residents in the center of town have complained that it’s a little sleepy, and they want to have more activity there. We’re finally getting some actual development and change. The project will be a real catalyst for the center of town.”

Yet, important work continues, including efforts by the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Health, and licensing authorities to get restaurants reopened in recent months.

“We’re trying to do the best we can to help our businesses stay afloat during these difficult times,” Pearsall said. “And they seem to be very active. I think people are happy to have that option, whether it’s curbside pickup or being able to go out and have a meal outside the home. That’s a big thing for people these days.”

As the town continues to develop a Route 20 renovation plan — including widening driving lanes, adding sidewalks and bike lanes, and more — business continue to see it as an attractive destination, Smith and Pearsall said. That bodes well for 2021, when the process of getting anything permitted in town — and, let’s be honest, life in general — promises to be slightly easier.

Center of Activity

Most schools throughout Western Mass. are currently teaching students remotely. But not Wilbraham & Monson Academy, which launched an ambitious plan earlier this year — including everything from reconfiguring buildings to implementing strict safety guidelines — to bring students back to campus.

“We worked extensively as a town with WMA to reopen and allow students back,” Smith said, recalling Head of School Brian Easler working the Planning Board, Board of Health, and Board of Selectmen to produce a comprehensive plan to get students back safely for in-person learning. “I was surprised at the lengths they went and the protocols they put in place to get reopened.”

The town had a stake in the plan that went beyond what was best for students and their families, Pearsall said. “We were happy to see them open because they provide a real anchor to the town center.”

It’s a center that has long been the subject of speculation. Two years ago, an effort to allow a mixed-use development in the area of Main and Springfield streets failed to garner the necessary two-thirds approval at a town meeting, falling short by about a dozen votes. Since then, town officials have struggled to balance the need to fill vacant buildings with general pushback when it comes to change.

Currently, two vacant buildings at the corner of Main Street and Burt Lane have been slated for demolition and development, Smith said.

“We’ve been working at least the last two years with the owner of the property and getting something viable in place for those buildings,” he told BusinessWest. “If everything goes as planned, that will be a major change in the way the town center looks. The owner of the property has worked extensively with us and other committees and boards in town to come up with a design concept that would fit in with the town center.

“It’s a very sensitive area; it’s looked the way it has for quite some time,” he added. “This is a new use on this spot — mixed-use development, with retail on the ground floor and apartments on the second floor. Actually, it’s bringing in an old use. At one point, a hotel stood on this spot. So we’re bringing residential use back, and resurrecting something that was done years ago.”

Wilbraham at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1763
Population: 14,868
Area: 22.4 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $22.38
Commercial Tax Rate: $22.38
Median Household Income: $65,014
Median Family Income: $73,825
Type of government: Board of Selectmen, Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Baystate Wing Wilbraham Medical Center; Friendly Ice Cream Corp.; Big Y; Home Depot; Wilbraham & Monson Academy
*Latest information available

Some folks in the neighborhood are open to change, Pearsall said. “For a long time, residents in the center of town have complained that it’s a little sleepy, and they want to have more activity there. We’re finally getting some actual development and change. The project will be a real catalyst for the center of town.”

The former post office on Crane Park Drive recently changed ownership and could be repurposed as commercial office space, he added, while a new cosmetology business, Inner Glow Skin Studio, is moving in. Meanwhile, the old Masonic Hall on Woodland Dell Road was purchased by a local resident who is converting it to office space for his dental-management business.

“We’re taking a property that was tax-exempt and putting it back on the tax rolls,” Smith added.

Also along Main Street, Rice’s Fruit Farm and adjoining Fern Valley Farms have been enjoying a strong year, with pick-your-own-apples business boosted by cooperative weather and families looking for something to do. In fact, Rice’s has been working with town Planning and Zoning officials on parking expansions to accommodate the enterprise’s growth.

“It’s been very successful,” Smith said, adding that a parking crunch is, in one sense, a good problem to have. “They’re kind of taking the next step.”

Developing Stories

Wilbraham also has two solar farms under construction, a 1.4-MW project on Tinkham Road and a 3.4-MW project on Beebe Road; the latter development straddles the Hampden town line, with another 2 MW available for that community.

Another development in the works is part of a ‘community compact’ to identify and explore the potential for expanding municipal fiber along Boston Road to determine how that might impact business opportunities.

“There’s a need for fiber and high-speed internet,” Smith said. “We moved some time ago to be a municipal light plant, which means we can essentially be a supplier of high-speed internet.”

“There’s a broadband committee, being coordinated by our IT director, to move that project forward,” Pearsall added.

Residential growth advances slowly in a small town, but some trends have emerged. Even before COVID-19 struck, Pearsall noted, more people were starting to work from home.

“We’ve seen a lot more interest and activity from people trying to do home-based businesses,” he said. “We’ve also seen a lot of interest in so-called in-law apartments in town, and we have zoning for that, where elderly parents own a home and want their children to live with them, or the children own the home and create an apartment for their parents. That seems very popular right now.”

It’s another way times are changing and town leaders must adapt — in a year when they’ve certainly had plenty of practice.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Area Insurance Agencies Adjust to New Norms

By Contributor September 29, 2020

Insurance

Covering All the Bases

By Mark Morris

When COVID-19 became a daily reality in March and working from home became the default for many businesses, Trish Vassallo had to scramble. Of the 26 employees at Encharter Insurance, where Vassallo is director of Operations, only three were set up to work from home.

“Thanks to our tech provider, we were all up and running within a week,” Vassallo said, noting that the system at her office is advanced to the point where calls to the Encharter switchboard are fed through to employee laptops. “When customers call us, they have no idea whether we are in the office or at home. It’s seamless.”

Bill Trudeau, executive vice president and partner at HUB International New England, recalled that, when workimg from home became the norm, his business was about 95% ready to serve clients remotely.

“While our people certainly didn’t plan for a pandemic,” he said, “we were fortunate that our business was designed for our staff to effectively serve clients remotely from home.”

Both Encharter and HUB International have since limited interactions in their offices to only necessary functions and are not yet open to the public. It’s a different situation at Axia Insurance, which offers Registry of Motor Vehicles services in its office.

Michael Long, president and CEO of Axia, explained that, to safely accommodate people using the registry services, a dedicated area at the building entrance was set up to screen people before they come in. While Axia has offered RMV services for several years, it’s seeing an increase in the number of people using it since the pandemic.

“The RMV requires everyone to make an appointment, which can often be scheduled up to two weeks out,” Long said. “At our location, we can take care of people the same day.” Before COVID-19, he added, 30 to 40 people a month would use Axia’s registry service. Long said it now serves that many every week.

Trish Vassallo

“Thanks to our tech provider, we were all up and running within a week. When customers call us, they have no idea whether we are in the office or at home. It’s seamless.”

Because of the registry service, most of Axia’s staff are working in the office. Long said shifts are staggered so that a typical five-day work week means working from home two or three days and in the office for the balance of the week.

For years, staff have been able to work from home when necessary, but Long admits the pandemic adds a layer of difficulty. “Working out schedules that will adapt to everyone’s needs at home and taking care of their families has been a harder challenge than actually maintaining business.”

For this issue’s focus on insurance, BusinessWest spoke with area agencies about how they’re managing to keep the customer experience consistent even as they change how they do business, thanks to a pandemic that continues to challenge all sectors of the economy.

Adjusting Expectations

The agencies BusinessWest spoke with all said their business was steady — if, some cases, only slightly lower due to the pandemic, which has hurt a number of their commercial insurance clients.

For example, several of Encharter’s restaurant customers reduced their insurance coverage because so many of them closed in the early days of the pandemic. With most offering only limited service even now, Vassallo said her agency tried to help its restaurant clients in their time of need.

“When stay-at-home first happened, we went to all of our local restaurateurs and purchased a large amount of gift certificates to try to help them keep going,” she recalled. To get the gift certificates out into the community, Vassallo used them as prizes in weekly and monthly contests Encharter ran on its social-media platforms.

Long said insurance companies are offering deferred billing and special payment plans to help companies that have lost business during the pandemic. One creative approach involves companies that need to take a vehicle off the road. They can now temporarily suspend the vehicle’s insurance coverage instead of ending it.

“In the past, insurance companies would not have agreed to do that,” Long said. “The business would have had to turn in the license plate, and if they suddenly needed the vehicle, they’d have to go through the insurance and registry process all over again.”

Trudeau added that, while some of his clients have been under pressure to reduce staff and sales estimates, others are doing more business. “We have a few businesses that are growing because of changing demands during the pandemic and people shifting their buying habits.”

Not surprisingly, all three agency managers said videoconferencing on Zoom, Skype, and other popular platforms has allowed them to keep in touch with staff and customers.

Because HUB International has 28 locations in New England, Trudeau and his counterparts have been using conference calls and videochats in ways they hadn’t before — a trend he predicts could have a lasting impact.

“Instead of asking people to travel to a central New England location every quarter, they might choose to do that only once a year and have the other three quarterly meetings by videoconference,” he said.

Bill Trudeau says the increased adoption of videoconferencing platforms in his industry could have a lasting impact.

When the pandemic ended the walk-in traffic at Encharter, Vassallo and her staff started to make wellness calls to keep in touch with clients.

“The calls had nothing to do with insurance,” she said. “They were simply a way to contact our customers during the early months of the pandemic to say, ‘we’re just checking in; how are you doing?’” So far, she and her staff have made more than 2,000 calls, and the effort has been well-received. They’ve continued the calls to check in and to remind clients about policy renewals.

As valuable as modern tools are to keeping in touch, certain personal dynamics get lost during a pandemic. In the past, Long would often get together with other managers in Axia’s offices across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and he has missed doing so since the pandemic.

“We have a culture of being a close-knit organization, and when you are not in contact with people on a regular basis, some of that culture seems to dissipate,” he said. “We use videoconferencing, but it’s not quite the same.”

Trudeau cited another culture challenge resulting from the pandemic: bringing a new employee on board.

“You want to invite someone into the culture of your company, but they can’t be there to experience it,” he said. “Part of a new job is the work, and part of it is walking around, meeting people, and creating the feeling of a social connection with your co-workers.”

Gradual Return

Calling it a “soft approach,” Vassallo is talking with her staff about re-entry to the office. She acknowledges some families need at least one parent at home for schooling reasons, but her greatest concern is that everyone becomes too comfortable staying home.

“Right now we have a re-entry date of mid-November, so we are not rushing this,” she said. “When the time comes, we need to get back because we still need to have a presence in our office.”

As staff from all three agencies return to their respective offices, the spaces are all being reconfigured to follow the current pandemic safety guidelines. Temperature checks, hand sanitizer, and other precautions are all part of the new normal.

Still, according to Long, one thing that doesn’t change is the role of the insurance agent.

“Our job is to protect your potential financial loss as best as we can,” he said, while cautioning against looking at insurance protection as a commodity. “It’s not about getting the cheapest insurance; it’s about getting the most value out of your insurance.”

Helping customers achieve that goal hasn’t been easy this year, but it’s a task that continues at all area insurance agencies — if sometimes a bit differently than before.

Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate

For Sale, for Lease

A listing of available commercial properties HERE

Commercial Real Estate

Supporting Entrepreneurs Is Critical

By Editorial September 29, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Over the years, we’ve written a number of times about the importance of promoting entrepreneurship and mentoring those trying to start and grow their own businesses.

This component of economic development, one that is often overlooked amid efforts to attract large businesses, open new industrial parks, and grow new business sectors like biotech, is vital because small businesses have always been the key to the growth and vitality of individual communities and regions like Western Mass.

Just as important, these small businesses — everything from restaurants to dry-cleaning establishments; from dance studios to clothing stores — help give these communities their identity and make them more livable.

And that’s why we’ve been a strong supporter of what has become a movement of sorts in this region to encourage entrepreneurship and help those who have made the decision to put their name over the door — figuratively if not, in many cases, literally. Within this movement has been the creation and development of what’s been called the entrepreneurship ecosystem, which has many moving parts, from agencies that support entrepreneurs to colleges with programs in this subject, to venture-capital firms that provide the vital fuel to help businesses get to the next stage.

This ecosystem has always been important, but it’s perhaps even more important now in the middle of this pandemic. That’s because — and you know this already, but we need to remind you — a large number of small businesses are imperiled by this crisis. Their survival is not assured by any means, and as the calendar turns to fall — with winter not far behind and no relief in sight from this pandemic — uncertainty about the fate of many businesses only grows.

As the story on page 6 reveals, agencies and individuals that are part of the ecosystem have been working to help businesses navigate their way through this whitewater, be it with help securing a grant from the local chamber of commerce or a Paycheck Protection Program loan, or making a successful pivot to a different kind of service or a new twist on an old one that would help with all-important cash flow.

Meanwhile, the work of mentoring those in business or trying to get into business goes on, often with powerful results, as that same story recounts. Initiatives such as WIT (Women Innovators and Trailblazers) creates matches that provide rewards to both parties, but especially the young (and, in some cases, not so young) women working to turn ideas into businesses and smaller businesses into larger, more established ventures.

It would have been easy to put such initiatives on the shelf for several months until the pandemic passes, but we don’t know when it’s going to pass, and the business, if we want to call it that, of supporting people like Nicole Ortiz, who recently put her food truck on the road in Holyoke, and Leah Kent, who wants to grow her business that supports writers and helps them get works published, must go on.

And it does, because, as we said, the creation and development of small businesses isn’t just one component of economic-development activity in this region; it is perhaps the most important component of all. v

Protect Yourself from the Flu

By Editorial September 29, 2020

Opinion

By Dr. Armando Paez

While experts cannot predict the severity of one flu season from another, this upcoming season will be unprecedented and can pose a severe threat due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The very protection advice we have been stressing for COVID-19 — wearing a mask, frequent hand washing, social distancing — is what is going to protect many people from the flu this year. But the best protection of all is to get your flu shot each year.

Flu season usually begins in the fall around October, but doesn’t peak until December through February. It can sometimes last until May. Because there could be a possible second wave of COVID-19 coinciding with the flu, getting your flu shot this year is more important than ever before.

For the 2020-21 season, the flu vaccines were updated to better match viruses expected to be circulating in the U.S.

Already in advance of the onset of the 2020-21 flu season, the CDC is reminding people to get vaccinated sooner than later, with October being a good time to get vaccinated. It’s important to realize it can take up to two weeks for the vaccine to build up antibodies to protect you from the flu.

Once again, the CDC recommends all people be vaccinated against the flu, especially pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions. For the 2020-21 season, the flu vaccines were updated to better match viruses expected to be circulating in the U.S. The CDC has stated that providers may administer any licensed, age-appropriate flu vaccine with no preference for any one vaccine over another, including the shot or nasal spray.

People who should not get the flu vaccine include children younger than 6 months and those with severe, life-threatening allergies to flu vaccine and any of its ingredients.

In addition to the elderly, vaccination is particularly important for younger children who are also at high risk for serious flu complications, as well as those with heart disease, and pregnant women. The most important complication that can affect both high-risk adults and children is pneumonia. The flu can also aggravate and worsen chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and asthma.

Also, if you have a weakened immune system after contracting COVID-19, it can leave you at risk for getting a more severe case of the flu, or vice versa.

I’m always asked by those skeptical about getting vaccinated, “can the flu shot give you the flu?” The answer is no. This year, I’m also being asked, “can the flu shot protect you from COVID-19?” Unfortunately, the answer is also no, but we’re hopeful for a vaccine against COVID-19 early next year or sooner.

While the flu vaccine is not 100% effective, the CDC noted that recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.

Remember, it’s never too late to get your flu shot, preferably before flu viruses begin spreading in the community around the end of October.

Dr. Armando Paez is chief of Infectious Diseases at Baystate Medical Center.

Pic This

Picture This

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

First Responders Luncheon

The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted its annual First Responders Luncheon. Pictured below, from top to bottom: chamber board members and event organizers (from left) Hannah Rechtschaffen of the Mill District, Beth Pearson of Pearson Wallace Insurance, and Heidi Flanders of Integrity Development and Construction, gather outside Pasta E Basta to receive fresh lunches to deliver to first responders in seven communities the chamber serves; Amherst firefighters and EMTs gather for lunch at North Station, flanked by Rechtschaffen and Claudia Pazmany, executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber; Pearson (left) delivers meals to the Leverett Police and Fire departments.

Strike Out Hunger

KFC was the presenting sponsor of the Westfield Starfires Strike Out Hunger Campaign, donating $10 for every strikeout at Bullens Field during the 2020 season. $1,500 was presented at the Starfires season finale to benefit the Westfield Boys & Girls Club summer meals program. Pictured: Starfires Manager Tony Deshler, Director of Baseball Operations Evan Moorhouse, Westfield Boys and Girls Club Chief Advancement Officer Bo Sullivan, Starfires co-owner Christopher Thompson, Westfield Boys & Girls Club CEO Bill Parks, and Starfires pitcher of the year and strikeout leader Chase Jeter.

Agenda

Agenda

Women’s Leadership Luncheon Series

Sept. 30, Oct. 28: Tanisha Arena, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Arise for Social Justice, and Pam Victor, owner of Happier Valley Comedy, will be the featured presenters on Wednesday, Sept. 30, during the third session of the 2020 Virtual Women’s Leadership Luncheon Series. Arena and Victor will present “Comfortable in Your Own Skin, Finding Your Voice” from noon to 1 p.m. over Zoom. The series, postponed from spring because of COVID-19, is sponsored by Holyoke Community College and Training and Workforce Options, a collaboration between HCC and Springfield Technical Community College. Each of four lunchtime events features two presenters leading discussions on different topics. For the final session on Oct. 28, Colleen Loveless, president and CEO of Revitalize Community Development Corp., and Nicole Palange, vice president of V&F Auto, will lead a discussion titled “Women Leaders in Non-traditional Businesses.” Each session costs $20, and advance registration is required. To register, visit hcc.edu/womens-leadership.

Virtual Info Session for WSU Master of Social Work Program

Oct. 7: Westfield State University’s (WSU) College of Graduate and Continuing Education (CGCE) will host a virtual information session for the master of social work program at 6 p.m. on Zoom. The program, one of only four located in Western Mass., is also offered at the YWCA at Salem Square in Worcester. The master of social work (MSW) program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and prepares students to become licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) and to work in a variety of positions in the human-services field. The program aims to prepare advanced-level social-work practitioners who have specialized knowledge and skills for clinical practice, based on a firm generalist foundation. “The MSW program at Westfield State University provides students with a competitive, accessible, and affordable social-work education,” program Director Maria del Mar Farinam said. “As future social-work professionals, students will be exceptionally well-prepared to meet the increasingly complex needs of the diverse communities served by our profession.” With full- or part-time options — and the consistency of having all of one’s classes on Monday and Thursday evenings — the MSW program offers flexibility and affordability. Information-session attendees will have an opportunity to speak with faculty and members of the outreach team about the program and its application process. The $50 application fee will be waived for all attendees. To RSVP, visit www.gobacknow.com. For more information, call (413) 572-8020 or e-mail [email protected].

40 Under Forty

Oct. 7-8: BusinessWest’s celebration of the 40 Under Forty class of 2020, rescheduled from June, will be held at the upper vista at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. This two-day event will include two sessions each day, ‘mini-events’ where we will celebrate 10 honorees at a time, with their guests and event sponsors in attendance, and ‘virtual guests’ able to access a live stream as the class of 2020 — and this year’s Alumni Achievement Award winners, Carla Cosenzi and Peter DePergola — take to the stage to accept their awards. For a list of this year’s honorees, visit businesswest.com/40-under-forty/40-under-forty. The 40 Under Forty program is sponsored by Health New England and PeoplesBank (presenting sponsors), and Comcast Business, the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, and Mercedes-Benz of Springfield, with event partners WWLP 22 News/CW Springfield and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield.

STCC Virtual Open House

Oct. 14-15: Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) will hold its annual fall open house on two dates: Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 15 from 1 to 3:30 p.m., in a virtual format. High-school students, adult learners, and their family members can log into Zoom and meet virtually with representatives from the college’s degree and certificate programs and departments. For information about registering to attend the virtual event, visit stcc.edu/apply/open-house. Open to the public, STCC’s open house is an opportunity for anyone thinking about becoming a student to learn more about what the college has to offer, including associate-degree and certificate programs, transfer opportunities, financial aid, athletics and student life, online learning, workforce-training options, high-school equivalency exam (HiSET), and classes for English language learners. Representatives from specific programs and departments will hold breakout sessions to speak with anyone who joins. For more information, contact the STCC Admissions Office at (413) 755-3333 or [email protected]. To apply to STCC, visit stcc.edu/apply. STCC is accepting applications for Fall Flex Term 2, which starts Oct. 28, and for the spring term, which begins in January.

People on the Move

People on the Move

Elms College announced the promotion of Teresa Kuta Reske to the position of associate dean of Graduate and Doctoral Studies for the School of Nursing. Reske was on the leadership team that developed the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program and has served as director since its inception in the fall of 2014. She will continue to lead the program in this new role. Among her accomplishments, Reske co-authored a chapter in DNP Education, Practice, and Policy: Redesigning Advanced Practice Roles for the 21st Century (2012) and is a journal reviewer for the Journal of Professional Nursing. In addition, she has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on DNP practice-related topics, patient-experience-related topics, nurse telephone triage, and nursing informatics. Reske holds a BS in nursing from Saint Anselm College, a MPA from the University of New Haven, an MSN in health systems from Vanderbilt University, and a DNP degree in executive nurse leadership from the MGH Institute of Health Professions.

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Jessica Wales

Florence Bank hired Jessica Wales to the position of vice president and branch manager of the Granby and Belchertown offices. Wales studied at Ashworth College, where she received her bachelor’s degree in management, and is currently pursuing an MBA in marketing there. She is also a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. She is a recipient of Florence Bank’s Community Support Award, an annual tradition established by the bank in 1997 that formally recognizes employees who are active participants in community events and donate their personal and professional time to local not-for-profit organizations. She was also recognized by BusinessWest in 2014 as a member of the 40 Under Forty, which celebrates young business and civic leaders in Western Mass. Wales serves her community as a board member of the United Way of Hampshire County and is an active member of its finance and investment committee. She also serves as a committee member of both the Western Massachusetts Women’s Business Network and Cooley Dickinson’s Golf FORE Health.

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Bianca Walker

Nikai Fondon

Anastasia Dildin

Sophie Kanetani

The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) announced four new staff members, filling philanthropic and program support roles at the organization. Bianca Walker has been hired as philanthropic officer, Nikai Fondon has been hired as donor engagement coordinator, Anastasia Dildin has been hired as grants assistant, and Sophie Kanetani has been hired as scholarship program associate. Walker and Fondon will help deepen and broaden the organization’s fundraising and connection with donors. Walker has worked in the nonprofit field for the past 15 years, most recently as senior Development officer at the regional Alzheimer’s Assoc. office. She developed a strong sense of devotion to, and appreciation for, the nonprofit field through her experiences as an annual youth employee with a summer work program at Data Institute. She is currently attending Bay Path University, pursuing a degree in nonprofit management. Fondon previously served the Community Foundation for three years in the role of scholarship associate, and is bringing her knowledge of the younger community to her new role. A recent graduate of the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, Fondon has a strong passion for women’s empowerment, leadership, and education. Dildin will support the foundation’s programs team with database management and other administrative support. After graduating in 2018 from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in statistics, she served one year with AmeriCorps as a data analyst and mentor program manager at Grace Academy, a Hartford school dedicated to fighting poverty through education. She is currently enrolled in Central Connecticut State University’s geography graduate program. Kanetani, who will support CFWM’s scholarship program in her new role, is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.

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Bulkley Richardson partners Liz Sillin and John Pucci were named 2021 Lawyer of the Year recipients in their respective practice areas by Best Lawyers, in partnership with U.S. News Media Group. Sillin was recognized for trusts and estates, and Pucci was recognized for criminal defense (general practice), an honor he has held for the past 11 years. Lawyer of the Year rankings are awarded to one lawyer per practice area and region, making it a distinguished accolade. Honorees receive this award based on their high overall peer feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions.

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Amelia Holstrom

Attorney Amelia Holstrom, a partner at Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., has joined the board of directors for the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce (ERC5). Holstrom has been with Skoler Abbott since 2012 and was named a partner last year. She focuses her practice on labor law and employment litigation, including representing employers before state and federal agencies and in state and federal courts, providing counsel to management regarding litigation-avoidance strategies, reviewing and revising personnel policies and practices, wage-and-hour compliance, and separation and severance agreements. A seasoned employment-law attorney, Holstrom brings a unique perspective to the ERC5’s board. The mission of the ERC5 is to promote an environment that fosters the economic growth of the towns of East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, and Wilbraham through the creation and expansion of businesses and jobs. Holstrom’s skills and community involvement have been recognized many times by outside organizations. She was selected to the Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list in 2018 and 2019, and was a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly “Up & Coming” honoree in 2017. In addition, she received the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. Community Service Award in 2016, and was selected by BusinessWest as a 40 Under Forty honoree in 2015. In addition to the ERC5, Holstrom is also on the boards of directors for Clinical & Support Options and Girls Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, and is an ad hoc member of the personnel committee for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. She previously served as clerk of the board of directors for Friends of the Homeless. She frequently speaks about employment-related legal topics for a wide variety of associations and organizations and is a regular contributor to the Massachusetts Employment Law Letter.

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Greenfield Community College recently welcomed Judith Roberts, executive drector of the Literacy Project, to serve its board of trustees. Elected by her peers as the alumni representative, she was officially appointed to the board by Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this month. A single mother, Roberts came to GCC in her early 30s, when her youngest child was just 1 year old. After graduating from GCC in 1995, she went to Smith College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree with honors. From there she went on to Harvard University, where she received her master’s degree in community-based education and a certificate in nonprofit management. She later returned to Franklin County to become executive director of the Literacy Project, a Greenfield-based nonprofit offering free classes to adults across Western Mass. in basic skills, high-school equivalency, and college and career readiness.

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Josie Brown has been named interim dean of the Western New England University (WNEU) College of Arts & Sciences. Brown joined the College of Arts & Sciences faculty in 2003, most recently serving as assistant dean for Arts and Sciences; professor of African-American, Caribbean, and Black Literatures; and student advisor, as well as the Study Abroad assistant director. As an undergraduate, Brown double-majored in English and African-American Studies at Bates College. She then went on to pursue a master’s degree in English at Queens College in New York. Brown earned her Ph.D. in English from Stony Brook University with a concentration in African-American, Caribbean, and Post-colonial Literatures. In September 2019, she was honored by the African American Female Professors Award Assoc.

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Dr. John Rousou

Dr. John Rousou has joined the board of trustees at American International College (AIC). In a career dedicated to cardiothoracic surgery, Rousou was chief of the Cardiac Surgery division at Baystate Medical Center until his retirement in 2018. Graduating with an undergraduate degree in biology from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, Rousou received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut Medical School in 1970. Following an internship at the university, he relocated to the U.S., completing a residency in general surgery at the University of Rochester in New York, and a residency in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, where he was also an instructor. Rousou and his associate, Dr. Richard Engelman, initiated the Cardiac Surgery program at Baystate Medical Center in 1978. He served as chief of the division from 2001 until his retirement. Combined with his responsibilities at Baystate Medical Center, Rousou served as assistant professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine and assistant clinical professor of Surgery at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. In addition to the boards of Surgery and Thoracic Surgery, Rousou was a member of the American Heart Assoc., the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Hampden County Medical Society, and the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery. He is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American Assoc. for Thoracic Surgery, and is a fellow with the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Surgeons. He had multi-year affiliations with the International Cardiovascular Society, the International Society for Artificial Organs, and the International Society for Heart Transplantation.

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Amy Scribner

River East School-to-Career Inc. (RESTC) announced the appointment of Amy Scribner as its new partnership director. She replaces Loretta Dansereau, who retired in August after more than 16 years of service to the organization. River East School-to-Career is a business and education partnership under the MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The organization’s mission is to help students gain work experience, build employability skills, and explore career options to prepare them for their future careers. Throughout her career, Scribner has worked in banking, marketing, and education, and has served in various roles at RESTC since 2010, volunteering, serving on the executive committee, and taking on the role of business development. Scribner holds a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from UMass Amherst and a master’s degree in leadership and negotiation from Bay Path University.

•••••

Katharine Shove

Bacon Wilson announced that attorney Katharine Shove has joined the firm as an associate and a member of the firm’s litigation team. She will practice primarily from Bacon Wilson’s offices in Springfield and Northampton. Prior to joining Bacon Wilson, Shove served as a clerk for the Massachusetts Appeals Court. She attended Western New England University School of Law, where she served as the senior articles editor for the Western New England Law Review. She earned her juris doctor degree magna cum laude in 2019, and earned her bachelor’s degree from Utica College in 2015.

•••••

John Nordell, assistant professor of Visual and Digital Arts at American International College (AIC), is receiving acclaim for photographs he took at the beginning of the 1980s hip-hop scene in Boston. On Sept. 15, the prestigious Sotheby’s hosted its first-ever hip-hop auction, where the professor’s photos were featured. Among the auctioned items were two lots of previously unseen photographs, 42 images in all, taken by Nordell. His images are a peek into the beginnings of hip-hop with Hollywood Talent Night events with young artists including New Kids on the Block, the Almighty RSO, and DJ Rusty the Toe Jammer in the early years of what would become a cultural revolution. Growing up in Cambridge, Nordell said photography was always his calling, and he began honing his craft as a teenager. Returning to Boston after college, he persevered, ultimately finding work as a photojournalist for Time and other prominent publications.

•••••

Norcom Mortgage announced the addition of one of Franklin County’s top mortgage originators, April Healey. Healey has consistently been ranked in the top three of Banker & Tradesman’s monthly list of mortgage originators in Franklin County. “We are excited to add Ms. Healey to our mortgage-lending team,” Executive Vice President James Morin said. “Her vast knowledge of the various mortgage products allows her to provide more options to customers.” Miranda Ronke-Czarniecki, loan manager, added that “April has a reputation for finding solutions for her customers. She is an invaluable resource for consumers.” Prior to becoming a mortgage officer in 2012, Healey was a real-estate agent for 12 years. Her experience as a real-estate agent and understanding of the process from beginning to end has helped to make her a better mortgage officer.

Company Notebook

Company Notebook

Big Y Expands Legacy of Helping Farmers and Small Businesses

SPRINGFIELD — In 1936, Paul and Gerry D’Amour were passionate about providing fresh local food to their customers at the Y Cash Market in Chicopee. Today, close to 85 years after its founding, Big Y World Class Markets have more than 500 partnerships with local farmers like Meadowbrook Farms and local food producers like Millie’s Pierogi. The passion of its founders continues with Big Y announcing the Fresh & Local Distribution Center, which provides local farmers and food producers with an efficient, one-stop location that saves them the time and cost of delivering to individual stores. It also features state-of-the-art technology and temperature controls to help Big Y maintain and deliver food at the peak of freshness to customers. Currently, through Big Y’s Fresh & Local Distribution Center, 70 farmers — accounting for more than 9,000 acres of farmland in the region — supply Big Y’s stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut with 1,200 types of native fruits and vegetables each year. For many farmers, this partnership helps them grow their business and preserve farmland and open space in area communities. More that 3,000 different products from local food producers can be found at a typical Big Y supermarket. Big Y actively searches for new craft-food artisans to bring into their stores and can provide them with support for marketing and packaging, help with barcodes, or even advice on business matters like insurance. The new Fresh & Local Distribution center has close to 425,000 square feet of space and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is located adjacent to Big Y headquarters at 2145 Roosevelt Ave. in Springfield.

Elms College Climbs U.S. News List of ‘Top Performers on Social Mobility’

CHICOPEE — Elms College improved its ranking by 30 spots on U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 list of “Top Performers on Social Mobility” in the northern U.S. region. The list ranks schools for enrolling and graduating large proportions of students who have received federal Pell Grants. Elms College improved its ranking dramatically, moving to seventh among 89 regional universities in the region, up from 37th in 2020. On U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 list of “Best Regional Universities,” Elms College retains its ranking in the top 55% among 176 other colleges and universities in the northern U.S. region. U.S. News ranks Elms College as a university because of changes to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s basic classification system and the number of graduate programs Elms offers. The Carnegie categories are the accepted standard in U.S. higher education. The U.S. News “Best Colleges” rankings are designed to help students and their families find colleges that offer the best academic value for their money. The list provides at-a-glance breakdowns of each institution and ranks them based on such indicators of excellence including value and first-year student retention rate. The full rankings are viewable at www.usnews.com/colleges.

MCLA Ranked a Top Ten Collegeby U.S. News & World Report

NORTH ADAMS — For the third consecutive year, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) is ranked as a Top Ten College by U.S. News & World Report. MCLA ranks ninth on the organization’s list of top public colleges and also appears on U.S. News’ list of Top National Liberal Arts Colleges. The college also is ranked among the top 50 public and private schools on U.S. News’ Top Performers on Social Mobility list, which measures how well schools graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants, typically awarded to students whose families make less than $50,000. Only eight other public colleges are ranked higher than MCLA on this list. The college has appeared on U.S. News’ list of top public colleges for eight of the last 10 years. This year, during the pandemic, MCLA was also able to distribute more than $257,000 to students who found themselves dire economic circumstances due to COVID-19 through the MCLA Resiliency Fund. MCLA was also awarded a federal TRIO grant, which will provide $1.3 million to enhance our support for under-resourced students for the next five years. U.S. News and World Report ranks colleges based on indicators that reflect a school’s student body, faculty, and financial resources, along with outcome measures that signal how well the institution achieves its mission of educating students.

WSU Among Top Public Universities in U.S. News & World Report Rankings

WESTFIELD — Westfield State University (WSU) is again one of Massachusetts’ top public universities among its peers, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2021 list. The rankings underscore the university’s commitment to accessibility, affordability, and intentional outcomes. In this year’s release, Westfield State is ranked 90th among 170 institutions in “Regional Universities – North.” It is ranked ahead of its peer Massachusetts state universities in both that category and U.S. News’ Best Public Schools, where it placed 26th. Rankings were determined by a number of factors, including a peer assessment, retention and graduation rates, faculty resources, class sizes, student/faculty ratio, student selectivity, and alumni-giving rate.

HCC Awarded Grants to Support Childcare Professionals

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) has been awarded two grants worth more than $1 million to continue educating and training early-childhood educators and supporting the programs they work for in Western Mass. Both the Career Pathways Grant, for $680,000, and the Strong Start Training and Technical Assistance Grant, for $360,000, come from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), which licenses public and private childcare programs in the state. HCC is the lead agent on a six-month Career Pathways Grant that will allow the college to continue its free Childhood Development Associate Plus (CDA-Plus) certificate program. The program was created to help early-childhood educators already working in the field attain their national CDA credential or enhance their certification level, and is offered at no cost to participants. Greenfield Community College and Berkshire Community College are HCC’s partners in the Western Mass. consortium. The three colleges each have their own CDA-Plus programs and collaborate on implementation and support. HCC launched its CDA-Plus program in 2019 after an initial, year-long grant of $2 million to the consortium from the EEC. Students who complete the program are awarded a CDA-Plus certificate and can apply the credits they earn toward an associate degree in early childhood education from HCC. The grant covers all tuition, fees, books, and a $425 CDA credentialing fee, and includes a stipend of about $500 for unexpected costs. HCC graduated its first class of CDA-Plus students in June. A second group started in January 2020 and will complete their program in November. The new funding will pay for a third class set to begin their studies this month. The $360,000 Strong Start Training and Technical Assistance Grant follows an initial award in 2019, establishing HCC as the EEC’s professional-development center for Western Mass.

Local Bus Company First to Use New Disinfectant System

GILL — F.M. Kuzmeskus Inc., a family-owned school transportation provider since 1925, is the first and only transportation company in the country to use a new system designed specifically for disinfecting buses. At the height of the COVID-19 crisis in early 2020, the bus company approached Bete Fog Nozzle Inc. in Greenfield about developing a system which would quickly, consistently, and accurately apply an EPA- and CDC-approved disinfecting agent to the interior environment of each of its more than 100 school buses. Working closely with Ted Toothaker, systems engineer at Bete Fog Nozzle, testing and development began in early May. The system, dubbed Bete FastPASS (public area spray system), ends the need for manual spraying and was specifically designed to eliminate human error. Using high-pressure nozzles and air compressors, two buses are treated in just three minutes. Each bus is treated twice a day.

Collaboration Between UMass, IntelliVen Supports Lifelong Learning

AMHERST — UMass Amherst announced a new collaboration with IntelliVen, a leading executive-team-development organization, to provide interactive remote-learning programs designed to raise the performance and effectiveness of leadership teams. IntelliVen offers immersive programs designed to help an organization’s core leadership team tackle the unique challenges of managing a growing organization, especially in today’s turbulent markets. IntelliVen’s proprietary set of course modules enables an interactive, remote learning experience that leaders take along with their teams to unlock their true potential to perform and grow. “IntelliVen teaches leaders, teams, and organizations to set direction, achieve team alignment, implement strategy, and make the change they want to grow faster and perform better,” said Peter DiGiammarino, managing partner. Members of the university community will receive a discount on the standard price of IntelliVen’s leadership-development immersion programs.

JetBlue Adds Four New Non-stop Routes at Bradley

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) announced non-stop service to four new destinations from Bradley International Airport on JetBlue, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Cancún, Mexico. The new service to Cancún is slated to commence on Nov. 19, while service to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are all slated to begin on Dec. 18. This new service will compliment JetBlue’s existing non-stop routes from Bradley to numerous Florida destinations as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico. “JetBlue is an important partner for us, and we are very pleased to see that the airline recognizes the potential of the Bradley Airport market,” said Kevin Dillon, executive director of the CAA.

Incorporations

Incorporations

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

ASHFIELD

Springhouse Foundation Inc., 245 Main St., Ashfield, MA 01330. Sally G. Sasso, same. Support of causes such as feminism, anti-racism, arts, literature, education, social justice, LGBT rights, animal welfare.

CHICOPEE

Pledge 2 Patriots Inc., 1628 Westover Road, Chicopee, MA 01020. Carlos L. Nunez, 307 Chicopee St., Granby, MA 01033. Maintaining an active non-profit board of trustees interested in furthering the development of the activities and offerings of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.

EASTHAMPTON

Oxbow Design Build Co-Operative Inc., 122 Pleasant St., Suite 109, Easthampton, MA 01027. Carl Woodruff, 30 Pine St., Easthampton, MA 01027. Full-service design, construction, and fabrication company.

HADLEY

SGNA Corp., 8 Lawrence Plain Road, Hadley, MA 01035. Trang D. Le, same. Restaurant development, marketing and training.

HOLYOKE

Sparkling Crowns Pageant Inc., 21 Barrett Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040. Carlos Enrique Batlle, same. Community service organization that promotes community service, leadership skills and strong academic performance.

MONSON

The Dorcas Society Leonora Stiles Thomas Education Trust Inc., 5 High St., The First Church of Monson Inc., Monson, MA 01057. Crystal L. Kofke, 121 Silver St., Monson, MA 01057. A trust that contributes financially to the continuing education of any current high school graduate or the equivalent who has been affiliated with and has provided some type of meaningful assistance to the program of The First Church of Monson Inc.

NEW MARLBOROUGH

Schmeizl Strategic Services Inc., 69 Corser Hill Road, New Marlborough, MA 01230. Mark A. Schmeizl, same. Executive search and recruitment.

PITTSFIELD

Portco Partners Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Ste 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Brian McDonald, same. Financial and operational consulting services.

Rabco Inc., 137 North St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Lucas Marion, 54 Oxford St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Restaurant and delicatessen.

RDR Funeral Homes Inc., 220 East St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Robert E. Dwyer, same. Funeral home.

Sparkboro Corp., 180 Elm St., Suite I #340, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Stephen Pennisi, 7 Birchbrook Road, Ossining, NY 10562. Seek final license as a marijuana establishment.

SPRINGFIELD

Seven Thirty-Two Cottage Street Inc., 732 Cottage St., Springfield, MA 01104. Steven Mrowzinski, 1 James Way, Middle Island, NY11953. Property management.

Square Deal Inc., 29 Groover, Springfield, MA 01104. Pauline Ekajulo, same. Transportation.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Outdoor Amusement Business Association Inc., 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield, MA 01089. Gregory B. Chiecko, 884 East Main St., Chicopee, MA 01020. To promote and encourage the development of the carnival industry, consisting of persons and firms engaged in providing family entertainment and outdoor recreation.

WESTFIELD

Stufam Inc., 53 Old Quarry Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Mykola Stuzhuk, same. Financial management.

WILBRAHAM

Palmer Pro Bike Corp., 11 Pineywoods Ave., Wilbraham, MA 01095. Jeffrey J. Soja, same. Sales, rentals, and services of bicycles, and all things related.

Doing Business as Certificates

DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of September 2020. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

GREENFIELD

Arctic Refrigeration Co.
10 North Circle
James Renaud, Jolene Renaud

Brierwood Property Services
124 Meadow Lane
Jeffrey Pelinsky

Brookside Animal Hospital
279 Plain Road
Edward Funk, DVM

Emagine That
169 Davis St.
Deborah Ambo, Emmeline Ambo

Goly’s Garage
286 Federal St.
Benjamin Byrne

Greenfield Valley Inc.
49 Main St.
Muhammad Hamayun

Hair Loft Salon
91 Main St.
Peter Bartini

Happy Cats Happy Dogs
220 Davis St.
Adriene Tilton

Pizazz Dance Studio
6 Pierce St.
Caitlin Vautour

Victoria Diner
4 Chapman St.
Robert Grazick

The Wine Rack
70 Main St.
Melissa Winters

NORTHAMPTON

Amy Marie Photography
68 Bradford St.
Amy Hathaway

Barton’s Angels Inc.
144 Riverbank Road
Nancy Whitley

Cans 4 Cancer 2.0
234 Easthampton Road
Duane Ranney

Halcyon Coaching and Consulting
80 Forbes Ave.
Katharine Halsey

Pioneer Strategic Consulting
719 Park Hill Road
Daniel Touhey

SOUTHWICK

A & Z Autos
797 College Highway
Farzaan Mufeed

T. Baker Painting
3 South Longyard Road
Timothy Baker Jr.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

ADT Security Services
76 Capital Dr.
Daniel McGrath

B & S Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Bay State Fuel Oil Inc. of Agawam
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Bay State/Vickers Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Belmont Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Best Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Bon Bini Motors
2405 Westfield Street
Ibrahim Babetti

Brazee Fuel Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Bunn’s Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Cash & Carry Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Chavez Construction
43 Roanoke Ave.
Andres Chavez

Corbett Energy
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Economy Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Enterprise Rent-A-Car
1053 Riverdale St.
Stephen Ranieri

Granger Heating and Cooling
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

National Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Ortolani Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

R & S Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Rosy Design Studio
75 Baldwin St.
Rosy Howard

Save Way Oil
20 Roanoke Ave.
Leonard Bruso III

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies

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

Belanger, Tracy L.
24 North St.
Three Rivers, MA 01080
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/21/2020

Borlen, Marlene A.
14 Linwood Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/21/2020

Chaverri, Pablo
251 Ventura St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/21/2020

Cramm, Karen Jean
155 Riverview Ave.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/17/2020

Eagan, Richard H.
37 Senator Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/17/2020

Fitzgerald, Siobhan L.
48 Factory Hollow Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/21/2020

Greeno, Raymond Scott
4008 South Athol Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/97/2020

Kline, Martin H.
72 Ferry St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/27/2020

Laamanen, Charles M.
598 Hampden St. 2L
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/17/2020

Martin, Tracy L.
14 Park Place
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/28/2020

Olmo, Conchita
23 Lawndale, 2nd Fl.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/31/2020

Pelletier, Raymond Rene
17 Sterling Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/28/2020

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

ASHFIELD

305 Main St.
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Ariel B. Brooks
Seller: Nancy Hoff
Date: 08/10/20

349 March Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: William M. Chagnon
Seller: Lorraine C. Zamojski
Date: 09/02/20

BERNARDSTON

228 River St.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Maria E. Farrington
Seller: Jeremy C. Tozloski
Date: 08/11/20

136 West Mountain Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Benjamin R. John
Seller: Carolyn Whithed-Johnson
Date: 08/10/20

COLRAIN

30 Jacksonville Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Jocelyn R. Demuth
Seller: Bradley B. Brigham
Date: 09/03/20

CONWAY

Roaring Brook Road #1
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Scot Millay
Seller: Jane R. Recore
Date: 08/14/20

DEERFIELD

33 Mountain Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Yangchen Sithir
Seller: Zdanowicz, Bertha M., (Estate)
Date: 08/10/20

ERVING

93 High St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Glenn D. Hine
Seller: Linda J. Haselton
Date: 09/02/20

GREENFIELD

162 Chapman St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Parker Street LLC
Seller: George R. Marchacos
Date: 08/14/20

38 Haywood St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Green & Green LLC
Seller: Green, Lloyd C., (Estate)
Date: 09/02/20

40 High St.
Greenfield, MA 01376
Amount: $411,956
Buyer: Yanis S. Chibani
Seller: Ricky A. Parker
Date: 09/04/20

55 Silver St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Gregory A. Smith
Seller: Sharon E. Abbott
Date: 08/11/20

HEATH

478 Route 8A
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Paul J. Hartwig
Seller: David Whalen
Date: 09/04/20

LEVERETT

11 Drummer Hill Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: John Ozereko
Seller: John Drabinski
Date: 08/12/20

53 Richardson Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $342,500
Buyer: Rosemary K. Tarcza
Seller: FNMA
Date: 08/14/20

Shutesbury Road (rear)
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Craig A. Cohen
Seller: Smolin, Barbara M., (Estate)
Date: 08/13/20

LEYDEN

411 West Leyden Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $495,000
Buyer: Philip M. Juliani
Seller: Robert E. Ryan
Date: 08/12/20

MONTAGUE

2 Emond Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $221,000
Buyer: Ave A. Hutcheson
Seller: Beverly J. Dubreuil
Date: 09/04/20

97 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $279,900
Buyer: Eric T. Thayer
Seller: Sergey V. Lange
Date: 08/14/20

227 Turnpike Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $226,000
Buyer: Scott C. Conant
Seller: Kim M. Wickline
Date: 09/04/20

NEW SALEM

16 Ellis Dr.
New Salem, MA 01364
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Jennifer Berry
Seller: Joshua L. Dodge
Date: 09/04/20

Lovers Lane
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Christopher E. Salem
Seller: Blast-Tech Inc.
Date: 09/03/20

NORTHFIELD

92 East St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Ryan D. Hoar
Seller: Miriam E. Henderson
Date: 08/12/20

17 Holton St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $139,900
Buyer: David J. Mazzola
Seller: Gloria L. Powell
Date: 08/12/20

10 Myrtle St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Nicholas D. Castine
Seller: Keri Gauvin
Date: 09/02/20

ORANGE

1 Cottage St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $138,000
Buyer: Dyllon Heald
Seller: Brent R. Salvetti
Date: 08/10/20

91 Harrison Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Daniel Grubbs
Seller: Colin R. Hutt
Date: 09/02/20

180 Hayden St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Philip E. Lowder
Seller: Ruie L. Hall
Date: 09/04/20

119 New Athol Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $1,500,000
Buyer: Community Health Center Franklin
Seller: Aubuchon Realty Co. Inc.
Date: 08/10/20

313 South Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Annie Kingsley
Seller: Michael J. Sabourin
Date: 08/14/20

ROWE

11 Hazelton Road
Rowe, MA 01367
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Darlene E. Barbeau
Seller: Stephen Cadarette
Date: 09/04/20

SHELBURNE

455 Colrain Shelburne Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $389,000
Buyer: Laura A. Stevens
Seller: Bruno D. Ierulli
Date: 08/10/20

259 Main St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Fred Bezio
Seller: Chester Rogers
Date: 09/03/20

55 Shelburne Center Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Jillian A. Haas
Seller: Jeffrey B. Barden
Date: 09/04/20

SHUTESBURY

45 Pratt Corner Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $189,200
Buyer: Debra S. Gora
Seller: John J. Gurman-Wangh
Date: 09/03/20

SUNDERLAND

91 North Plain Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Colin P. VanAlstine
Seller: Paul M. Sullivan
Date: 08/13/20

WENDELL

10 Posk Place Road
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $151,900
Buyer: Christopher S. Tero
Seller: Susan Gordon
Date: 09/02/20

66 West St.
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $412,500
Buyer: Sarah S. Pugh
Seller: Kristina A. Stinson
Date: 09/04/20

WHATELY

Eastwood Lane #39
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Jean W. Relation-Spinner
Seller: Jawk Inc.
Date: 08/13/20

3 Francis Way
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Elizabeth L. Rose
Seller: Jawk Inc.
Date: 08/14/20

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

95 Bridge St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $187,000
Buyer: Michel R. Lefebvre
Seller: Daniel J. Laporte
Date: 09/01/20

56 Brien St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $274,200
Buyer: Gerald T. Adams
Seller: Raymond C. Burke
Date: 09/01/20

75 Candlewood Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: William Marganti
Seller: Daniel R. Caroleo
Date: 09/01/20

51 Chapin St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Mark J. Gormley
Seller: Shawne D. White
Date: 08/12/20

24 Forge St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $273,000
Buyer: Michael A. Uzar
Seller: Charles R. Gaynor
Date: 08/14/20

26 Harvey Johnson Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Kathleen S. Werner
Seller: Sarajane Rossi
Date: 08/13/20

23 Morningside Circle
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $346,000
Buyer: Christopher Benjamin
Seller: Ethan R. Thomas
Date: 09/02/20

35 Princeton Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $294,000
Buyer: Rolando A. Vasquez-Rosa
Seller: Brian P. Long
Date: 08/14/20

188 Rowley St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Daniel O’Grady
Seller: Andrey Korchevskiy
Date: 08/13/20

10 Royal Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: Emily Grenon-Soucy
Seller: Irina Baranov
Date: 08/11/20

18 School St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Joshua Khalil
Seller: Michael H. Woods
Date: 09/02/20

South West St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Ralph Depalma
Seller: John Depalma
Date: 09/02/20

34 Washington Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Nicholas Korniyenko
Seller: Smith, Christine M., (Estate)
Date: 08/14/20

BRIMFIELD

51 West Old Sturbridge Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Jason Ehrets
Seller: Jean M. Sullivan
Date: 08/14/20

CHESTER

13 William St.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $143,000
Buyer: Sarah James
Seller: Wendy Monahan
Date: 08/14/20

CHICOPEE

88 Artisan St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Maria M. Colon
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 08/13/20

87 Asselin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Timothy T. Tadeo
Seller: Tadeo, Helene B., (Estate)
Date: 08/14/20

11 Christopher St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Zaki-Jabbar Robinson
Seller: Diane L. Demers
Date: 08/10/20

90 Dayton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Ricky J. Thomas
Seller: Daniel J. Salvador
Date: 09/03/20

187 East Main St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Ireneusz Legowski
Seller: Hoda M. Hamdan
Date: 08/10/20

241 East Main St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $211,000
Buyer: Jacqueline A. Loranger
Seller: Adam Saleem
Date: 09/01/20

72 Florence St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: Angel L. Huertas
Seller: Gary M. Bisiniere
Date: 08/13/20

34 Goodhue Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Myles Dacunha
Seller: Michael Landry
Date: 09/03/20

251 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Monserrate Martinez
Seller: Robert J. Guyette
Date: 08/14/20

178 Montcalm St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Sean M. Thompson
Seller: Larry R. Nareau
Date: 08/14/20

125 New Ludlow Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Andre R. Campbell
Seller: Garrett A. Fortin
Date: 08/13/20

18 Old Farm Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Ashley N. Clark
Seller: Sang Choe
Date: 09/04/20

187 Pondview Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Maureen Kontrovitz
Seller: Crystal Conroy
Date: 08/14/20

746 Prospect St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Jose L. Millan
Seller: US Bank
Date: 08/14/20

25 Ravine St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Tyler Schofield
Seller: Mathew L. Saltus
Date: 08/14/20

53 Sanford St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jonael Ruiz
Seller: Patrick N. Perez
Date: 09/04/20

168 Sunnymeade Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $301,000
Buyer: Rafael Arias
Seller: Raymond A. Piquette
Date: 09/01/20

169 Waite Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Randy J. Mejias
Seller: Bethanie L. Sawyer
Date: 08/14/20

65 Woodlawn St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Crystal Conroy
Seller: Daniel V. Dupre
Date: 08/14/20

EAST LONGMEADOW

15 Anna Marie Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: David Mantoni
Seller: John L. Maloney
Date: 08/14/20

20 Corning St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01108
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Bryan Acosta
Seller: Guihan, Kathleen M., (Estate)
Date: 08/10/20

4 Day Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Courtney Quinlan
Seller: Colleen C. Champagne
Date: 09/01/20

39 Fairhaven Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Jeffrey A. Shaw
Seller: Valerie J. Fritz
Date: 08/14/20

74 Hanward Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Heather C. Lecompte
Seller: Michael Sacristan
Date: 09/01/20

Hidden Ponds Dr. #13
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $159,000
Buyer: Truong Tai
Seller: Lost Sailor RT
Date: 09/04/20

26 Kingman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Megan M. Orzino
Seller: James Farrell
Date: 08/12/20

85 Lee St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Yanghuang Lu
Seller: Geraldine T. Martin
Date: 08/12/20

30 Lenox Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $411,000
Buyer: Colm P. Lynch
Seller: David J. Mantoni
Date: 08/14/20

75 Millbrook Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: James M. Farrell
Seller: McDyer, Thelma W., (Estate)
Date: 08/12/20

294 North Main St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $3,000,000
Buyer: Longmeadow Office TRS LLC
Seller: 294 North Main Street LLC
Date: 09/01/20

53 Old Farm Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $645,000
Buyer: Alicia Gamelli
Seller: Paul Kanev
Date: 08/10/20

97 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Zachary Dean
Seller: Mark J. Daponte
Date: 09/01/20

240 Pease Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $387,500
Buyer: Kathryn A. Janikas
Seller: Stefania Raschilla
Date: 09/03/20

61 Pioneer Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Heather Friedrich
Seller: Ryan J. Quimby
Date: 08/12/20

461 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: John R. Crowley
Seller: Gennaro Ferrentino
Date: 09/04/20

322 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Stephen F. Power
Seller: Alicia Gamelli
Date: 08/10/20

507 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $274,000
Buyer: Anthony Restivo
Seller: Dolores Hazel-Nicoli
Date: 08/14/20

3 Ribbon Grass Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $667,000
Buyer: Richard M. Gaberman
Seller: DR Chestnut LLC
Date: 08/11/20

88 Ridge Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: John D. Connor
Seller: Goss, Lucille, (Estate)
Date: 09/02/20

16 Spring Valley Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Maher M. El-Kobersi
Seller: Niloufar H. Shoushtari
Date: 09/02/20

9 Waterman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Tina M. Bianchi
Seller: Crystal L. Carter
Date: 08/14/20

9 Wisteria Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Li Quan
Seller: Sarah E. Liebel LT
Date: 08/14/20

GRANVILLE

530 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Michael S. Ligenza
Seller: Jason P. Leitner
Date: 09/04/20

HAMPDEN

Hillside Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $499,900
Buyer: Ethan Thomas
Seller: David J. Obuchowski
Date: 09/02/20

85 North Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Christina Rivest
Seller: R. A. & K. B. Smith-Spaul RET
Date: 08/10/20

243 South Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Randall Rivest
Seller: Bruce M. Stewart
Date: 08/13/20

41 Thresher Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: Lily Zhong
Seller: Eric R. Devine
Date: 08/10/20

15 Woodland Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $238,000
Buyer: Nicholas C. Lobik
Seller: Craig A. Rivest
Date: 08/10/20

HOLLAND

32 Over The Top Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Kevin Salmon
Seller: Elizabeth A. Hicken
Date: 08/12/20

HOLYOKE

8 Bray Park Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: Jenny E. Pichado
Seller: Andrew I. Cote
Date: 09/04/20

62-64 Commercial St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $656,123
Buyer: East Side Holyoke LLC
Seller: Appleton Exchange LLC
Date: 09/03/20

1 Deer Run
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: David L. Alger
Seller: Mieczyslaw A. Sroka
Date: 08/14/20

91 Franklin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: William G. Labich
Seller: Felipe Morales
Date: 09/01/20

64 Harvard St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $309,900
Buyer: Alyssa Clarke
Seller: Scott S. Benton
Date: 08/14/20

278 Hillside Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Joseph J. Czarnik
Seller: Alyssa M. Clarke
Date: 08/14/20

6 Longfellow Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Rashad Collins
Seller: Jack J. Collins
Date: 09/03/20

173-177 Madison Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $238,000
Buyer: Max C. Hebert
Seller: Krzelest, Patricia A., (Estate)
Date: 09/04/20

145 Mountain View Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $304,500
Buyer: Gina Fasoli-Figueroa
Seller: Joyce E. Everett
Date: 09/03/20

8 Park Slope
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Yeisie Mateo
Seller: Beau Desmond
Date: 09/03/20

2 Sylvia Lane
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $205,100
Buyer: Elizabeth M. Persch
Seller: Barbara Kruszewski
Date: 09/01/20

LONGMEADOW

15 Arcadia St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Carolyn Niedzwiecki
Seller: Doris A. Duafala
Date: 08/14/20

266 Ardsley Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $1,150,000
Buyer: Eric Shapiro
Seller: Craig A. Saltzman
Date: 08/10/20

80 Ashford Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $824,000
Buyer: Matthew Grodd
Seller: Garrett J. Ulrich
Date: 09/04/20

38 Berwick Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $332,500
Buyer: Marco Gagliardi
Seller: William E. Fountain
Date: 08/14/20

57 Cobblestone Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $203,000
Buyer: Charles I. Soper
Seller: Baer, Diane, (Estate)
Date: 08/13/20

130 Crestview Circle
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Benjamin Tansky
Seller: John Kole
Date: 08/11/20

76 Duxbury Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: 76 Duxbury Lane LLC
Seller: Eric J. Thor
Date: 08/14/20

76 Greenacre Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Michael A. Drish
Seller: Ann L. Tabb
Date: 08/10/20

143 Inverness Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $402,000
Buyer: Shaun Carpenter
Seller: Steven R. Schiffman
Date: 09/01/20

217 Inverness Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Samuel B. Bath
Seller: Jane Toebes
Date: 08/14/20

205 Kenmore Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Andrea S. Martin
Seller: Alsberg, Susan D., (Estate)
Date: 08/11/20

19 Kimberly Circle
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Todd H. Wheeler
Seller: Charles Bonatakis
Date: 08/14/20

141 Lincoln Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $270,900
Buyer: Victoria Ellis
Seller: Peter Grace
Date: 09/01/20

133 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Seller: CIG 5 LLC
Date: 09/01/20

59 Lynnwood Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $512,500
Buyer: Anthony D. Osterman-Pla
Seller: Lori Goldsmith
Date: 08/14/20

197 Maple Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Renee Germaine-Tetrault
Seller: Lisandro Lenardon
Date: 08/14/20

11 Nevins Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: DNEPRO Properties LLC
Seller: Hubbard, Ann M., (Estate)
Date: 09/02/20

203 Primrose Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Frank Amato
Seller: Jeffrey T. Chanin
Date: 08/14/20

35 Roseland Ter.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Patrick McCarthy
Seller: Rita Mance
Date: 08/13/20

80 Roseland Ter.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Stephanie J. Kaplan
Seller: Lisa A. Patterson
Date: 08/14/20

56 Sylvan Place
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Samuel J. Brown
Seller: Emtay Inc.
Date: 09/04/20

186 Viscount Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Wesley A. Bryon
Seller: Robert L. Fitzpatrick
Date: 09/04/20

72 Wilkin Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Anna Bidyuk
Seller: Sumner D. Gilman
Date: 08/11/20

236 Williamsburg Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Alfred Z. Liu
Seller: Marian Stefan
Date: 08/10/20

114 Woolworth St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Noel D. Petrolati
Seller: Victor F. Degray
Date: 09/04/20

LUDLOW

78 Bridle Path Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Cristobal Malave
Seller: Fowler, Mary Ann, (Estate)
Date: 08/11/20

58 Cady St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $276,930
Buyer: Ludlow Housing Authority
Seller: Irena Kubel
Date: 09/01/20

305 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Chad Lynch
Seller: NND LLC
Date: 08/11/20

19 Grant St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Tiago A. Boacas-Martins
Seller: US Bank
Date: 08/12/20

31 May Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Nicholas J. Lafromboise
Seller: Chevalier, Maureen A., (Estate)
Date: 09/04/20

21 Nora Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $337,000
Buyer: Andrew M. Soucie
Seller: Thomas Lafleur
Date: 09/02/20

45 Pleasant St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Nicholas A. Langone
Seller: Maria G. Ferreira
Date: 08/14/20

126 Southwood Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Matthew Iwasinski
Seller: Eugene L. Martins
Date: 09/01/20

453 Ventura St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Shannon Belton
Seller: Connor, Edna E., (Estate)
Date: 08/14/20

73 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Lisa Barlick
Seller: Branco Construction LLC
Date: 09/04/20

504 Winsor St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Nikolas A. Serrazina
Seller: Maria F. Santos
Date: 08/13/20

MONSON

52 Munn Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Aaron A. Russo
Seller: David Isabelle
Date: 09/02/20

47 Thayer Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Hannah L. Norris
Seller: Preferred Property Management Inc.
Date: 08/13/20

PALMER

1 Beech St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Stratton Renovation LLC
Seller: Miller, Irene, (Estate)
Date: 09/03/20

49 Commercial St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $137,000
Buyer: Loren M. Bates
Seller: John M. Diamond
Date: 09/02/20

332 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Nicholas Sulda
Seller: Christie Rivest
Date: 08/13/20

2033 High St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Karrie-Anne Whitney
Seller: Richard W. Rollet
Date: 09/04/20

95 State St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Matthew M. Tempesta
Seller: Gary D. Emmershy
Date: 09/04/20

185 Stimson St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $304,124
Buyer: Caleb Mankin
Seller: Richard Wahlers
Date: 09/02/20

RUSSELL

66 Cedar Ter.
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Aaron R. Connor
Seller: Christopher S. Hirtle
Date: 08/12/20

530 General Knox Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $145,500
Buyer: Dan W. Gordner
Seller: Christie Howland-Smith
Date: 08/11/20

340 Westfield Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $374,900
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Williams
Seller: Kelly A. Salls
Date: 08/11/20

SPRINGFIELD

76 Acushnet Ave.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Christopher C. Diaz
Seller: Aracelis Burgos
Date: 08/14/20

26-28 Alderman St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Aguasvivas Realty LLC
Seller: Gregory Rougellis
Date: 08/11/20

79 Amos Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Kelsey Ainsworth
Seller: Daniel E. Mangan
Date: 09/04/20

25 Andrew St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $179,999
Buyer: Ciriaco Cedeno-Carpio
Seller: Chad Lynch
Date: 08/14/20

27 Anthony St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $196,500
Buyer: Kenneth Fernandez
Seller: John L. Moylan
Date: 08/10/20

616 Armory St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Pedro Diaz-Lopez
Seller: Hanati Lubega
Date: 09/04/20

85 Ashley St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: Yorfry Jaquez
Seller: Good Homes LLC
Date: 09/04/20

168 Barrington Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Daryl Cogswell
Seller: Bretta Construction LLC
Date: 08/12/20

149 Bellevue Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Yabela RT
Seller: Ronald W. Belcher
Date: 09/03/20

70-72 Berkshire St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Revampit Holdings LLC
Seller: Steven Setian
Date: 09/01/20

14 Bernard St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Raul Robles
Seller: Matthew R. Bienia
Date: 08/13/20

111 Blaine St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Alex Elerky-Dominguez
Seller: Robert Schroeter
Date: 09/02/20

22 Boyer St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $224,500
Buyer: Ravinder Arora
Seller: Angelo A. Gomez
Date: 09/04/20

121 Breckwood Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Stefan Serrano-Hernandez
Seller: 11 RRE LLC
Date: 08/10/20

70 Brentwood St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Phurba Tamang
Seller: Anatoly Ovdiychuk
Date: 08/14/20

100 Briggs St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Mary Dejesus-Polanco
Seller: Euphrasia E. Ihesiaba
Date: 09/01/20

63 Bristol St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $153,000
Buyer: Lisa A. Fountaine
Seller: David J. Carter
Date: 09/02/20

15-21 Caldwell Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Warren L. Barnett
Seller: Rosemary A. Thomas
Date: 08/12/20

151 Canterbury Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Keyla Y. Rosa
Seller: Dylan R. Fontaine
Date: 08/14/20

247 Carver St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $186,500
Buyer: Veronica R. Garcia
Seller: Leonard J. Lapon
Date: 08/12/20

42 Catalina Dr.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $206,000
Buyer: James Hillmann
Seller: Linda S. Zolendziewski
Date: 09/01/20

36 Cleveland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Jamal Porter
Seller: JJS Capital Inv. LLC
Date: 09/01/20

44 Connolly St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Meghan Dumas
Seller: Kyle Gauthier
Date: 08/12/20

381 Cooley St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $4,900,500
Buyer: Sree Babu LLC
Seller: Jefferson Investors LLC
Date: 09/03/20

60 Dawes St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $124,900
Buyer: Celines Calderon
Seller: Alice D. Scott
Date: 08/14/20

23 Delaware Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Tonika M. Feliciano
Seller: Michelle M. Baillargeon
Date: 09/02/20

166 Drexel St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Fernando D. Dos-Santos
Seller: Cheryl A. Tofuri
Date: 09/04/20

262-264 Eastern Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $118,500
Buyer: JAD Properties Inc.
Seller: M. Glushien Electrical Contractors
Date: 09/02/20

200 Ellendale Circle
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $284,900
Buyer: Anthony J. Gentile
Seller: Moriarty, Stephen M., (Estate)
Date: 09/04/20

33 Goodwin St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Nicholas Mazzarella
Seller: Rafael Bones
Date: 09/01/20

25 Grove St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $141,750
Buyer: Hector Travieso-Diaz
Seller: Samuel Carrasquillo
Date: 09/02/20

53 Hall St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Alba J. Figueroa
Seller: Round 2 LLC
Date: 09/04/20

35 Harkness Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Ariel J. Cruz
Seller: Paul Alvarado-Santos
Date: 09/02/20

50 Hazen St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Heather Castro
Seller: Stephanie A. Pooler
Date: 08/14/20

3 Hillside Place
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Christal J. Vaz
Seller: H. P. Rum LLC
Date: 08/10/20

11-15 Howes St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Alexander Crivelli
Seller: Linda L. Raschi
Date: 09/03/20

31 Knox St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Wilfredo J. Semidey
Seller: JJJ 17 LLC
Date: 09/04/20

156 Lancashire Road
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Brunilda Andino
Seller: Tania Olmo
Date: 08/10/20

92 Louis Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $222,750
Buyer: Danny Colon
Seller: Victoria E. Ellis
Date: 09/01/20

182 Merrimac Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: John D. Moreau
Seller: George K. Patrickson
Date: 09/03/20

11 Metzger Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Humberto Cruz
Seller: CME Properties LLC
Date: 08/11/20

128 Millbrook Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $220,500
Buyer: Angie N. Granger
Seller: Denise Kennedy
Date: 08/11/20

34 Newport St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: William Santiago
Seller: Gloria Garcia
Date: 09/04/20

33 Newton Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $215,850
Buyer: Kurt Bordas
Seller: Daniel C. Alfano
Date: 09/04/20

13-15 Noel St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Kelnate Realty LLC
Seller: William P. Callahan
Date: 09/02/20

7 Nordica St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Anne Richmond
Seller: Matthew Fletcher
Date: 09/01/20

59 North Branch Pkwy.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Rachael J. Simmons
Seller: Marlyn Santiago-Millan
Date: 08/10/20

389 Nottingham St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $158,500
Buyer: Jasmine Amegan-Rosario
Seller: Kavanagh, Noreen, (Estate)
Date: 08/14/20

27-29 Palm St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Osmerlyn E. Santos
Seller: Mark Daviau
Date: 09/04/20

32 Palo Alto Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Keith L. Bass
Seller: Shaun H. Carpenter
Date: 09/01/20

207 Pine St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Ayala Properties LLC
Seller: Lachenauer LLC
Date: 08/14/20

655 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Carlos L. Mateo
Seller: Robert M. Theberge
Date: 09/04/20

66 Pine Hill Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Omar Jimenez-Miranda
Seller: James J. Vadnais
Date: 09/01/20

33-35 Rittenhouse Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Viettrung T. Dang
Seller: Wells Fargo Bank
Date: 09/01/20

14 Riverview Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $238,000
Buyer: Deviegene H. Reid
Seller: Gerald T. Adams
Date: 09/01/20

64 Roosevelt Ter.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Ramona Ramirez
Seller: Aida D. Rodriguez
Date: 09/01/20

24 Sumner Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Alex P. Marotte
Seller: Maureen A. Marotte
Date: 09/02/20

905-909 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $268,000
Buyer: Anthony Patalano
Seller: Christopher J. MacPherson
Date: 08/13/20

416 Tiffany St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $211,000
Buyer: Jane-Francis N. Carreras
Seller: Le & Associates LLC
Date: 09/03/20

102 Tinkham Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Michael M. Rivest
Seller: Abraham M. Velasquez
Date: 09/03/20

22 Trillium St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Roberto A. Perez
Seller: Martha H. VonMering
Date: 09/04/20

47 Van Buren Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Riccardo Albano
Seller: Kareem Streeter
Date: 09/03/20

14 Welcome Place
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Reina M. Landa
Seller: BHR Properties LLC
Date: 08/14/20

99 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Nishawn Jones
Seller: TL Bretta Realty LLC
Date: 08/10/20

208 Wollaston St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Kadian P. James
Seller: Wilmot Asumeng
Date: 09/01/20

SOUTHWICK

7 Gargon Ter.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Andrew J. Solek
Seller: Judith M. Woodard
Date: 08/11/20

12 Tammy Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: James Balesky
Seller: Cheryl L. McCarthy
Date: 08/13/20

TOLLAND

47 Upper Otter Road
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $349,088
Buyer: Tammy L. Rynn
Seller: Donna Janazzo
Date: 08/14/20

WALES

37 Lake George Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $222,000
Buyer: Shannon M. Roddy
Seller: Lawrence W. Hammare
Date: 09/04/20

61 Monson Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $161,000
Buyer: Brian McMahon
Seller: Deutsche Bank
Date: 09/04/20

WEST SPRINGFIELD

1198 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $276,276
Buyer: Monica Borgatti
Seller: Mark A. Wood
Date: 08/11/20

21 Chester St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Kenny Chairez
Seller: Dreamscape Homes LLC
Date: 09/04/20

30 Chestnut St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Cynthia Eheander
Seller: Michael G. Piccin
Date: 09/01/20

735 Dewey St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $278,000
Buyer: Maamoun Altinawi
Seller: Petee H. Thomson
Date: 08/13/20

45 Greystone Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Brittany P. Theroux
Seller: Joseph R. Bourassa
Date: 09/04/20

60 Havenhurst Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Nicholas Gumlaw
Seller: Grosvenor Heacock
Date: 08/10/20

122 Heywood Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: L&A Property LLC
Seller: Snyder, Robert S., (Estate)
Date: 09/04/20

367 Hillcrest Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Zachary D. Breton
Seller: Richard A. Austin
Date: 09/01/20

395 Kings Hwy.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $243,400
Buyer: Jean P. Brown
Seller: Michael M. Nelson
Date: 08/10/20

112 Lewis Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: William Tourville
Seller: Oleksandr Demyanchuk
Date: 09/02/20

575 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: World Mission Society Church
Seller: Bible Baptist Church Of West Springfield
Date: 08/10/20

459 Riverdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Angelica Properties LLC
Seller: John P. Bartolucci
Date: 09/04/20

530 Rogers Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Ivan Carapunarli
Seller: Community Developers Inc.
Date: 08/13/20

67 Silver St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Depray
Seller: Adam Jaber
Date: 09/04/20

83 South Blvd.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Czarghami W. Whittaker
Seller: Mirella McDonough
Date: 08/12/20

22 Southworth St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Robert J. Rosario
Seller: Elizabeth A. Carpenter
Date: 08/13/20

95 Woodmont St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Jacob N. Ferreira
Seller: Shawn M. Schellenger
Date: 09/04/20

WESTFIELD

19 Adams St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Brian M. Barlow
Seller: Robert W. Schwaber
Date: 08/10/20

248 Birch Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $200,449
Buyer: Bank Of America
Seller: Jacquelyn M. Kenney
Date: 08/13/20

Breighley Way
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Petro Boyko
Seller: DDLP Development LLC
Date: 08/14/20

60 Brookline Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Katelyn Bigelow
Seller: Stacy M. Waite
Date: 09/04/20

12 Congress St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: David H. Dressel
Seller: Kristin J. Martin
Date: 08/10/20

25 Crescent Ridge Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $374,900
Buyer: David L. Richter
Seller: Lillian D. Beauchemin
Date: 08/12/20

21 Foss St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $244,000
Buyer: Ryan J. Snide
Seller: Erica M. Bosse
Date: 08/13/20

54 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Tiffany M. King
Seller: Sarah J. Gallagher
Date: 09/04/20

161 Highland Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Salim Abdoo
Seller: Deutsche Bank
Date: 08/14/20

82 Kane Brothers Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Eva Fuller
Seller: Sandra M. Kozciak
Date: 09/03/20

22 Kellogg St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Dario Williams
Seller: Agnese Proietti
Date: 08/11/20

32 Knollwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $229,900
Buyer: Samuel C. Thresher
Seller: Eva Fuller
Date: 09/03/20

7 Lewis St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Joseph Houle
Seller: Leo E. Carmody
Date: 08/13/20

80 Lewis Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Zbigniew J. Kosior
Seller: Kevin B. O’Brien
Date: 08/10/20

180 Loomis Ridge
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Peter L. Holden
Seller: Daniel H. Estee
Date: 09/04/20

64 Overlook Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Shawn M. Schellenger
Seller: Ellen S. Fenton
Date: 09/04/20

41 Pequot Point Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Julie Donohue
Seller: Jonathan Rivera
Date: 08/14/20

335 Prospect St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jamie K. Patrick
Seller: Stephen J. Patrick
Date: 09/01/20

27 Robinson Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Yvette Estee
Seller: Zaide Soufane
Date: 09/04/20

20 Shepard St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $222,300
Buyer: Kevin T. Bengle
Seller: Eric D. Grazia
Date: 09/02/20

8 Shepard St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Brian Burke
Seller: Barbara Desabrais
Date: 09/04/20

40 Susan Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Matthew McEwan
Seller: Daniel R. Prescott
Date: 09/01/20

126 Union St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $11,406,713
Buyer: Powdermill Village
Seller: Peabody-Westfield LP
Date: 08/14/20

14 Valley View Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Kathryn V. Roberts
Seller: Antonio C. Bruno
Date: 08/11/20

WILBRAHAM

6 Cadwell Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Christian Barthelette
Seller: Bianca G. Jackson
Date: 08/13/20

47 Decorie Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $398,000
Buyer: Edward Gorham Ruth NT
Seller: Joseph M. Jolicoeur
Date: 09/02/20

8 Hickory Hill Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: James Rudolph
Seller: Joseph E. Nowak
Date: 08/13/20

1-3 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $141,888
Buyer: Pioneer Properties LLC
Seller: Christopher J. King
Date: 09/01/20

61-63 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Juan D. Aviles
Seller: Mark A. Dowd
Date: 08/13/20

1051 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $229,900
Buyer: Sawkat Wally
Seller: Theresa I. Kszaszcz
Date: 08/11/20

1179 Tinkham Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Karoline Syner
Seller: DNEPRO Properties LLC
Date: 08/13/20

1183 Tinkham Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Jadwiga Dronski
Seller: DNEPRO Properties LLC
Date: 09/02/20

1 Whisper Walk
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Frederick MacDonald
Seller: Patrick J. McCarthy
Date: 08/12/20

5 Whitford Place
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $690,000
Buyer: Ryan Nelson
Seller: Peter E. Bell
Date: 08/10/20

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

70 Blossom Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $705,000
Buyer: Neal C. Crago
Seller: J. Mark Peterman
Date: 08/14/20

121 Glendale Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $358,000
Buyer: Josue Martinez
Seller: Catherine A. Lee
Date: 09/01/20

64 Hop Brook Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $890,000
Buyer: Jesse Ferris
Seller: Mark A. Hankowski
Date: 08/11/20

148 Lincoln Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $545,000
Buyer: Thomas B. Sleeper
Seller: Michael L. Campbell
Date: 08/13/20

21 Sacco Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Kevin M. Verni
Seller: Nathaniel B. Budington
Date: 09/02/20

340 South Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Amherst College
Seller: Wendy Woodson
Date: 08/10/20

27 Spaulding St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Bruce Edwards
Seller: Sharon S. Carty
Date: 09/01/20

120 Tracy Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Maya Tal-Baker
Seller: Mohamed Good
Date: 09/03/20

6 Wildflower Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Lauren P. Xaba
Seller: Jesse Ferris
Date: 08/11/20

BELCHERTOWN

2 Barrett St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Stephanie Bonafini
Seller: Timothy J. Consolini
Date: 09/03/20

22 Crestview Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Richard A. Salvarezza
Seller: Chris O. Larson
Date: 08/10/20

124 Gold St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Amanda P. Lavalle
Seller: Jeremy S. Redmond
Date: 08/14/20

260 Granby Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Bryan S. Linderme
Seller: John M. Lopes
Date: 08/10/20

5 North Liberty St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Matthew Kotowski
Seller: JHP Builders LLC
Date: 09/03/20

50 Oasis Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $645,000
Buyer: Jeremy Redmond
Seller: Richard C. Poissant
Date: 08/14/20

320 Springfield Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Jun Yan
Seller: David R. Harris
Date: 08/10/20

24 West St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Yuk S. Chan
Seller: 1996 Binney FT
Date: 08/12/20

CHESTERFIELD

6 Antin Road
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Kathleen M. Dugas LT
Seller: Moguma LLC
Date: 08/11/20

East St.
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $1,120,000
Buyer: Anne St. Goar TR
Seller: Patricia L. Lewis
Date: 09/01/20

CUMMINGTON

Luther Shaw Road
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Roderick D. Rose
Seller: Bryant Farm RT
Date: 09/03/20

Trouble St.
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: William R. Millington
Seller: Charles P. Forino
Date: 08/12/20

EASTHAMPTON

34 Bayberry Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Jeremy J. Guinipero
Seller: Morgan G. Mitchell
Date: 08/12/20

21-23 Clinton St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $169,500
Buyer: Aristide S. Daniele
Seller: FNMA
Date: 09/01/20

10 East Green St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Christopher M. Ferry
Seller: Etabav RT
Date: 08/10/20

17 Liberty St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $427,500
Buyer: David A. Premo
Seller: Elsa C. Lincoln
Date: 08/14/20

16 Monska Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Elizabeth A. Ryan
Seller: Elizabeth C. Ouimette
Date: 08/13/20

8 Morin Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Holly B. Laws
Seller: Ryan Clark
Date: 09/04/20

42 Mutter St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: New City Properties LLC
Seller: Jeremy J. Guinipero
Date: 08/12/20

63 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $351,000
Buyer: Naresh K. Patel
Seller: Maureen L. Johnson
Date: 09/01/20

Reservation Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $152,500
Buyer: Michael R. Chunyk
Seller: Brian M. Greenwood
Date: 09/04/20

14 River Valley Way
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $361,500
Buyer: Priyank Arora
Seller: Zaka LLC
Date: 09/01/20

52 Westview Ter.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Scott Tundermann
Seller: Corliss, Virginia L., (Estate)
Date: 09/02/20

11 Wilton Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Susan Sensemann
Seller: Shirley A. Plowucha
Date: 09/03/20

GRANBY

9 Circle Dr.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Robert E. Lepage
Seller: Susan A. Lariviere
Date: 09/01/20

48 East St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Alan J. Anischik
Seller: Annette M. Kumiega
Date: 08/14/20

143 Kendall St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Bryce Hollinsworth
Seller: Andrew Mailloux
Date: 09/04/20

11 McDonald Ave.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: Brennan P. Smith
Seller: Ivan J. Fabricius
Date: 08/13/20

HADLEY

16 Grand Oak Farm Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Ronen Shoham
Seller: Adam S. Ginsburg
Date: 08/10/20

11 Wampanoag Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Lisa Giddens
Seller: Aldrich, Barbara A., (Estate)
Date: 09/04/20

29 West St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $604,000
Buyer: Jonathan Lewis
Seller: Peter A. Pacosa
Date: 08/14/20

HUNTINGTON

14 Barr Hill Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $212,750
Buyer: Daniel O. Schott
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 08/11/20

236 Norwich Lake
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $497,900
Buyer: Michael Long
Seller: Trisha A. Barrett
Date: 09/03/20

MIDDLEFIELD

16 Skyline Trail
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $348,000
Buyer: Jeffrey P. Neterval
Seller: Melissa A. Bressette
Date: 09/03/20

NORTHAMPTON

1181 Burts Pit Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Wendy Decou
Seller: Cynthia A. Zeitler
Date: 09/04/20

136 Chesterfield Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jaasco LLC
Seller: Joanne Lucey
Date: 09/01/20

320 Elm St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $655,000
Buyer: 75 Canal LLC
Seller: Maiewski Real Estate Investments LLC
Date: 08/12/20

82 Forest Glen Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Dana R. Lococo
Seller: Ian T. Bigda
Date: 09/02/20

92 Glendale Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Joseph Claybaugh
Seller: David S. Powers
Date: 09/03/20

125 Glendale Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Bonni Greenwood-Menendez
Seller: Mineral Hills Realty LLC
Date: 08/13/20

25 Ice Pond Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $555,000
Buyer: Hannah M. Goodwin
Seller: Veronica L. Darmon
Date: 08/14/20

372 North Farms Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Laura Keays-Minsky
Seller: Pamela L. Hannon
Date: 09/01/20

Olander Dr.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $1,730,000
Buyer: North Commons At Village Hill LLC
Seller: Hospital Hill Development LLC
Date: 09/03/20

Park Hill Road #3R
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Alice Heller
Seller: Marc Sternick
Date: 09/01/20

3 Prospect Court
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Mary Connor
Seller: Joseph G. McVeigh
Date: 08/11/20

120 West Farms Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $347,000
Buyer: Vesit Keo
Seller: Daniel R. Martinez
Date: 08/12/20

SOUTH HADLEY

31 Lathrop St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Tyler J. Fritz
Seller: Alan J. Anischik
Date: 08/14/20

30 Lawn St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Brian K. Heady
Seller: Leal, Joseph R., (Estate)
Date: 08/14/20

144 Main St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $136,000
Buyer: Brett M. Merrill
Seller: Fiona M. Ryan
Date: 08/14/20

11 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $248,500
Buyer: Sharon S. Carty
Seller: Bradley C. Gill
Date: 09/02/20

6 Plainville Circle
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $413,500
Buyer: Donna M. Shea
Seller: Michael Campbell
Date: 09/01/20

23 Tampa St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Nickolas P. Campbell
Seller: Kyle E. Rodrigues
Date: 08/14/20

SOUTHAMPTON

46 Cottage Ave.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Karen A. Moussette
Seller: R. J. & Lura S. Bieda IRT
Date: 08/14/20

Fitch Farm Way #5
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Thomas Quinlan
Seller: RGB Industries Inc.
Date: 08/14/20

76 Line St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $384,000
Buyer: Megan Davis
Seller: Joanne M. Spath
Date: 09/03/20

56 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: David A. Latour
Seller: John A. Gwosch
Date: 08/14/20

7 Sophie Circle
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Douglas M. Hamel
Seller: Robert W. Everson
Date: 08/14/20

WARE

8 Bel Air Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Eric Stone
Seller: Trevor Gordon
Date: 08/14/20

14 Campbell Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Michael R. Devlin
Seller: Deborah Evans
Date: 08/14/20

401 Palmer Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Michael Platanitis
Seller: John J. Aliengena
Date: 08/11/20

11 Walnut St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $176,000
Buyer: Kayley L. Jones
Seller: Todd J. Lemoine
Date: 09/01/20

58 Warebrook Village
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Dominick T. Mascitis
Seller: Michael R. Devlin
Date: 08/14/20

139 West St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $2,125,000
Buyer: Net Acquisitions LLC
Seller: Ware Equity Partners LLC
Date: 09/04/20

2 Williston Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Richard R. Goyette
Seller: Carole A. Capobianco
Date: 09/01/20

WESTHAMPTON

292 Chesterfield Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $1,120,000
Buyer: Anne St.Goar TR
Seller: Patricia L. Lewis
Date: 09/01/20

44 Pine Island Lake
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Janna V. Ugone
Seller: Benjamin W. Coggins
Date: 09/03/20

WILLIAMSBURG

24 Hyde Hill Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $364,000
Buyer: Scott A. Noring
Seller: Koczela NT
Date: 08/10/20

WESTHAMPTON

64 Reservoir Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Stephanie Faas
Seller: Richard E. Matteson
Date: 08/13/20

WORTHINGTON

388 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Michael E. Holt
Seller: US Bank
Date: 09/04/20

440 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: James P. Hayes
Seller: David M. Clark
Date: 09/02/20

493 West St.
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $238,000
Buyer: Allison Helems
Seller: Susannah T. Brown
Date: 09/03/20

Building Permits

Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of September 2020. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

AMHERST

422 Amity, LLC
422 Amity St.
$1,535,036 — Renovate building for use as cannabis dispensary

462 Main, LLC
462 Main St.
$2,654,850 — Construct three-story, mixed-use building with one office and 24 dwelling units, including site work, parking areas, and utilities

Amherst Shopping Center Associates, LLC
165 University Dr.
$140,000 — Interior remodel of existing space at CVS

CHICOPEE

672 Fuller, LLC
672 Fuller Road
$192,000 — Modify interior space to create storage area and new offices

CJK Realty, LLC
206 Fairview Ave.
$30,800 — Remove and replace porch decking and railing, replace some floor joists and posts if needed, replace two outside doors

GREENFIELD

Liberty Tax Service
106-108 Federal St.
Erect three signs attached to building

LEE

Lee Bank
75 West Park St.
$9,000 — Replace rotting wood on cupola

LENOX

Town of Lenox
6 Walker St.
$8,600 — Repair lower entrance wall, new windows and door

NORTHAMPTON

Masonic Street Trust
32 Masonic St.
Interior renovations, fire damage

Starbucks Coffee Co.
303 King St.
$6,000 — Canopy sign

Starbucks Coffee Co.
303 King St.
$3,500 — East wall sign

Starbucks Coffee Co.
303 King St.
$560 — Menu sign

PALMER

Baystate Wing Hospital
40 Wright St.
$33,000 — Create new reception area and workspace in existing space

Double R Enterprises
8 First St.
$8,000 — Install new fire-alarm system

Double R Enterprises
13 Second St.
$228,000 — Reconfigure space to accommodate manufacturing operations

Manchem, LLC
1 Third St.
$14,896.88 — Install prefabricated office in building

PITTSFIELD

Broad South Corp.
241 South St.
$18,800 — Shingles

Eighteen Sixty Three Mill Realty, LLC
125 Pecks Road
$70,000 — Roofing

M and I Realty Co.
203 West St.
$138,500 — Roofing

Peru Properties, LLC
741 Tyler St.
$40,000 — Remove existing ceiling assembly to inspect framing and bring fire separation up to code

Three Four and Twos, LLC
92 Elm St.
$4,800 — Replace porch flooring, repair floor joists if needed

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Medical Center Inc.
759 Chestnut St.
$1,750,000 — Add MRI building addition to existing hospital

Friends of Springfield Preparatory Charter School
2071 Roosevelt Ave.
$7,398,082 — Alter interior space and add gymnasium for new use as Springfield Preparatory Charter School

Lingo Associates, LLC
20 Carando Dr.
$406,361 — Alter interior office space on first floor of Carando Foods Inc.

Mercy Medical Center
271 Carew St.
$328,297 — Alter interior space for MRI machine upgrade on first floor of Mercy Medical Center

Mercy Medical Center
271 Carew St.
$49,498 — Modifications to mobile dock site on first floor of Mercy Medical Center

Picknelly Family LP
1414 Main St.
$160,000 — Alter interior tenant space for New Valley Bank

Paul Salvage
29 State St.
$702,428 — Alter interior space for HVAC upgrade, replace drop ceiling

WILBRAHAM

Town of Wilbraham
492 Stony Hill Road
$1,812,940 — Replace roof on Wilbraham Middle School

State Loosens Restaurant Seating Restrictions Starting Today

BOSTON — Starting today, Sept. 28, restaurants in Massachusetts will be allowed to expand seating from six to 10 people at a table, as well as open bar seating.

The new guidelines apply to both indoor and outdoor seating, and tables must remain at least six feet apart. Customers must wear a face covering when not seated at a table.

Gov. Charlie Baker’s guidance also stressed that patrons at restaurants’ bars must sit and not stand in the bar area, and bars and nightclubs that are not also restaurants must stay closed until phase 4 of the state’s reopening, which may not be announced until a COVID-19 vaccine is available.

Click here for the state’s full current guidance on restaurants, including social-distancing, staffing, hygiene, cleaning, and disinfecting protocols.

bankESB Earns Recognition for Quality, Community Commitment

EASTHAMPTON — bankESB was recently honored for overall quality and commitment to the community.

The bank earned the number-one spot for Overall Quality in Western Mass. in the 2020 New England Banking Choice Awards. The awards are presented annually by American Business Media, publisher of Banking New England, and are based on the results of the Rivel Banking Benchmarks, the largest and most comprehensive measure of banking customer experience in the world. The 2020 results are based on more than 11,000 interviews and 300,000 reviews of nearly 300 Massachusetts institutions.

The bank also was named an honoree by the Boston Business Journal in its annual 2020 Corporate Citizenship Awards, a recognition of the region’s top corporate charitable contributors. The publication annually publishes this list to showcase companies that promote and prioritize giving back to their communities. Companies qualify for the distinction by reporting at least $100,000 in cash contributions to Massachusetts-based charities and social-service nonprofits last year.

“We’re honored and humbled to be named to the top spot for quality among banks in our area, and then to be recognized among the most benevolent companies in the state is just icing on the cake,” bankESB President and CEO Matthew Sosik said. “Being here for our customers and giving back to our communities is what we’re all about.”

Two Former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Administrators Indicted by Grand Jury

BOSTON — Two former administrators of the Holyoke Soldier’s Home, where nearly 80 people died after being exposed to coronavirus, have been charged over their handling of the outbreak, state Attorney General Maura Healey said Friday, according to the Boston Globe.

In what is believed to be the first criminal case in the country brought against nursing-home officials for actions during the pandemic, former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton were indicted by a grand jury on charges stemming from their decision in March to combine two dementia units, packing residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms, Healey said.

The veterans “risked their lives from the beaches of Normandy, to some the jungles of Vietnam, and to know that they died under the most horrific circumstances is truly shocking,” Healey told reporters.

In a statement, family members noted that “we now want our state to move forward and do the right thing to ensure this never happens again to any other veteran,” the Globe reported.

UMass Donahue Institute Wins $14M Contract for Head Start Training, Technical Assistance

HADLEY — The UMass Donahue Institute has been awarded a five-year, $14 million contract to provide training and technical assistance to Head Start and Early Head Start programs for all six New England states. The grants allows the institute to continue to work with local Head Start programs on their educational, health, and family services as well as management systems to strengthen their ability to serve children and their families.

Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide comprehensive services that support the development of children from birth to age 5, and their families, in centers, childcare partner locations, and their own homes. Early Head Start also provides services to pregnant women. Head Start and Early Head Start services include early learning, health, and family well-being.

The contract was awarded by the Office of Head Start in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nationally, Head Start/Early Head Start is divided into 12 regions. UMass Donahue Institute will be the sole provider of training and technical assistance to Region 1, which includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The institute was first awarded the New England training and technical assistance grant in 2003.

“We are honored to continue serving Head Start programs throughout New England,” said Eric Heller, executive director of the UMass Donahue Institute. “We have been the predominant provider of training and technical assistance to Head Start in this region for the past 17 years and continue to build on an outstanding reputation.”

Ruth-Ann Rasbold, UMass Donahue Institute’s regional Early Childhood manager, noted that “Head Start is such an essential set of services and supports for children and families. We are glad that we can remain a partner with New England Head Start programs as they continually improve their services.”

Added Rosario Dominguez, Training & Technical Assistance coordinator, “we are honored to continue to work with the Office of Head Start and New England Head Start programs in supporting families with young children, in our communities, to build strong foundations for achieving their goals and full potential.”

BusinessTalk with James Leahy

Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

Episode 30: Sept. 28, 2020

George Interviews James Leahy, Holyoke City Councilor

George O’Brien talks with James Leahy, Holyoke City Councilor, official with the Massachusetts State Lottery, and one of five finalists for the magazine’s coveted Alumni Achievement Award. The two discuss his 20-year track record of service to the community as well as recent developments in Holyoke, from the emergence of a cannabis sector in this historic mill town to efforts to bring new businesses to the mills that give this city its heritage.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO ALL OUR EPISODES

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Bright Nights Announces 2020 Season with COVID-19 Protocols

By BusinessWest Staff September 25, 2020

SPRINGFIELD — Bright Nights at Forest Park will take place this year, according to its organizer, Spirit of Springfield.

“Bright Nights is needed more than ever now, especially in these challenging and surreal times we are currently living in,” Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said. “I’m very pleased that my city team and the Spirit of Springfield have worked together to come up with a safe and acceptable public-health model that allows our beloved Bright Nights to continue to bring holiday cheer to all our families from near and far. Also, I am very appreciative of our generous business and philanthropic community for their continued belief and investment in our City of Springfield.”

Spirit of Springfield and the city of Springfield have developed protocols to provide a safe and festive event that has been a holiday tradition since 1995. They will be instituted during setup, breakdown, and during the event, and include masks, regular cleaning, online ticketing, and more. Restrooms will be for emergency use only, and the usual bustling gift shop, amusement rides, horse-drawn wagon and carriage rides, and visits and supper with Santa will not be available. This will help keep all visitors safe and socially distanced in their vehicles during the experience.

“We are so pleased that Bright Nights at Forest Park will continue to be a part of the holiday season. It is important we celebrate each and every holiday while staying safe and healthy,” Spirit of Springfield President Judy Matt said. “We want to keep the tradition glowing.”

Bright Nights at Forest Park is three miles of a unique holiday experience featuring more than 675,000 lights and iconic displays like Seuss Land, Everett Barney Mansion, Toy Land, Happy Holidays, Springfield, and so many more. It generates $15 million in economic impact annually and has created a lifetime of family memories in its 25-year history. It also promises to be one of the safest events, with families contained in their cars.

The season will open on Wednesday, Nov. 25 and operate through Sunday, Jan. 3. Admission will be $23 per car weeknights, weekdays, and holidays. Discounted tickets will be available at participating Big Y World Class Markets for $16.50. Due to bus-capacity limitations in Massachusetts, admission for buses has been reduced to $100 for buses with capacity of more than 30 people. Vehicles with seating from 17 to 30 people will be charged $50 for admission.

Bright Nights’ 26th season is sponsored by AAA Pioneer Valley, Balise Auto, Baystate Health, Big Y World Class Markets, Charlie Arment Trucking Inc., Comcast, Eversource Energy, Gleason Johndrow Landscaping, Health New England, iHeart Media, MassLive, MassMutual, Mercy Medical Center, MGM Springfield, MP P.C., PeoplesBank, the Republican, Sheraton Springfield, the Springfield Thunderbirds, WWLP-22News, and more.

WNEU School of Law, Massachusetts Fair Housing to Present Virtual Eviction Panel

By BusinessWest Staff September 25, 2020

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University School of Law and Massachusetts Fair Housing will present a virtual panel discussion on “Eviction in the Time of COVID-19: the Next National Crisis” on Friday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m.

A panel of experts will discuss the impact the coronavirus has had on an already-existing housing crisis. Bringing important perspectives on the subject will be panelists Joel Feldman, attorney and shareholder at Heisler, Feldman, & McCormick, P.C.; Michael Doherty, clerk magistrate for the Western Division Housing Court; David Leveillee, attorney at the Rhode Island Legal Services Housing Law Center; and Rose Webster-Smith, program coordinator for Springfield No One Leaves.

Serving as moderator will be Alexander Cerbo, a third-year Western New England University law student and editor in chief of Lex Brevis.

Of particular interest to legal professionals, fair-housing advocates, and members of the higher-education community, the one-hour event is free and open to the public. Contact Cerbo with questions at [email protected]. To register, visit www.fhcrconference.com.

Square One Responds to Growing Need for Child Care and Remote Learning Support

By BusinessWest Staff September 25, 2020

SPRINGFIELD — As working parents continue to navigate the unchartered territory surrounding remote education, Square One is answering the call for help.

The agency is now providing full-day remote-learning support for children in kindergarten through grade 5, in addition to expanded offerings for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Enrollment is available at three Square One early-learning centers in Springfield, as well as the agency’s network of home-based child-care providers who operate throughout the region.

Through the generosity of funders, including the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and Square One’s corporate and individual donors, all locations are outfitted with the technology and staffing needed to accommodate each student’s remote-learning needs. All guidelines surrounding social distancing, cleanliness, and personal protective equipment will be strictly enforced. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided.

“It is our mission and our responsibility to do everything we can to support families during this very challenging time,” said Dawn DiStefano, executive vice president. “We hope that, by expanding our services, we are offering parents peace of mind and confidence that their children are learning and cared for in a safe, healthy environment.”

For more information, parents are urged to contact the Square One enrollment office at (413) 732-5183.

“We are thankful to have the support of our state officials, foundations, corporations, and individual donors who make it possible for us to provide the resources our staff and children need to ensure success,” said Joan Kagan, president and CEO. “But with the growing demand for our programs and services comes a great need for additional financial support. It is critical that we expand our donor base in correlation with our expanded offerings.”

Donors are asked to support the Campaign for Healthy Kids by texting ABC123 to 4432, visiting www.startatsquareone.org, or e-mailing Kristine Allard, vice president of Development & Communication, at [email protected].

MassDevelopment Awards $86,415 to Assist Local Economic Recovery Efforts

By BusinessWest Staff September 24, 2020

BOSTON — MassDevelopment awarded $86,415 for 10 projects, three of them in Western Mass., through the Commonwealth Places COVID-19 Response Round: Resurgent Places, a program made available specifically to assist local economic recovery efforts as community partners prepare public spaces and commercial districts to serve residents and visitors. Projects receiving awards include the creation of outdoor dining spaces, sidewalk retail venues, and partitions to support social distancing.

“The Commonwealth Places program is a tool to help drive foot traffic to downtowns and commercial districts by providing opportunities for safe dining and recreation,” Gov. Charlie Baker said, “and we look forward to continuing to work with municipalities to support local communities across the state.”

The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce will receive a $10,000 grant for the Amherst Resilience Initiative – A Play in Three Acts, a project in which the organization will reopen an outdoor version of the Downtown Amherst Visitor Information Center and install COVID-19 public-health and wayfinding signage and landscaping in downtown Amherst.

The Chicopee Chamber of Commerce will receive a $10,000 grant for Chicopee Center Public Spaces, to transform a remediated lot in the city’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) district at 181 Center St. into a mixed-use public space for outdoor programming, including farmers’ markets, food trucks, performances, community gatherings, and more.

The Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will receive a $7,200 grant for A Path to Reopening: Repurposing Public Space in Stockbridge, a project in which the organization will host three monthly pop-up events featuring artist shows and presentations on the library’s front lawn.

Asnuntuck Graduate Opens 413 Café in Downtown Springfield

By BusinessWest Staff September 24, 2020