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GREENFIELD — Greenfield Savings Bank Wealth Management and Trust Services named Janice Ward first vice president and trust officer. She joins GSB Wealth Management and Trust Services with more than 19 years of experience in the industry, and will assist clients with financial-planning, estate-settlement, and trust-administration services throughout the Western Mass. area, including the Berkshires.

“Janice has earned an outstanding reputation in the industry for trust and estate settlement administration and financial planning,” said Steve Hamlin, senior vice president and senior trust officer. “Janice’s passion for serving clients mirrors our department’s core values, and she is a welcome addition to our team, especially as the GSB Wealth Management and Trust Services department is experiencing significant growth due to increased demand for our services.”

Ward graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She then received a juris doctor degree at Western New England University and has been a licensed attorney in both Massachusetts and New York since 2005. In 2012, she earned the designation of certified financial planner.

She is the co-founder of the Berkshire County Estate Planning Council, and after serving as president for five years, she is currently a director. She has many active professional connections with CPAs, attorneys, investment and insurance professionals, and financial planners throughout Franklin, Hampshire, Hamden, and Berkshire counties.

Daily News

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) will host a cannabis career fair on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at the HCC Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development, where individuals interested in working in the cannabis industry will have the opportunity to talk about job openings in person with representatives from area cannabis companies.

The fair, titled “Cultivating an Industry,” will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the PeoplesBank Conference Room on the third floor of the Kittredge Center on the main HCC campus, 303 Homestead Ave. It is sponsored by the Cannabis Education Center — a partnership between HCC and Elevate Northeast — and MCR Labs, a marijuana testing facility in Framingham.

The fair is free and open to anyone looking for a job in the burgeoning cannabis industry, which had surpassed $1 billion in sales in Massachusetts by October 2020, after its first four years.

“There are a lot of jobs that go along with a billion dollars in industry activity,” said Jeff Hayden, HCC’s vice president for Business and Community Services.

So far, 10 cannabis employers have signed up for the fair, with more expected: Boston Bud Factory, Canna Provisions, Holyoke Cannabis, and My Analytics Lab, all from Holyoke; NETA, Resinate, and Truelieve, all from Northampton; Mass Alternative Care and Theory Wellness, both from Chicopee; and Insa, based in Easthampton.

Attendees will be granted access to a new virtual job board specific to the cannabis industry. Note that masks are required in all HCC buildings regardless of vaccination status. To maintain social distancing, only 50 people will be allowed in the conference room at a time, so pre-registration is strongly encouraged. To register for the fair, visit hcc.edu/canna-fair.

The CEC will also run introductory Cannabis Core training programs Nov. 9-17 (Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m.) and Nov. 28 to Dec. 20 (Mondays from 6 to 9 p.m.), as well as a Cannabis Cultivation Assistant training course Nov. 13 to Dec. 4. To register for those programs, visit hcc.edu/cannabis-core.

Daily News

WARE — Country Bank, a full-service financial institution serving Central and Western Mass., recently supported the Ride to Remember, the 100-mile bicycle ride in tribute to fallen police officers and firefighters. This year, the event was rerouted to include a round-trip ride from Springfield to Worcester to pay tribute to the lives lost by the Worcester Police and Fire departments.

Country Bank President and CEO Paul Scully, who previously participated in the ride, presented a $10,000 donation to the Ride to Remember with funds directed to the Manny 267 Foundation in Worcester. The Manny 267 Foundation was established after the city of Worcester suffered the loss of officer Manny Familia, a five-year veteran who responded to the 911 call of a 14-year-old boy in distress at Green Hill Pond. Unfortunately, neither Familia nor the boy survived.

The goal of the foundation is to raise funds to provide rescue tubes for every police cruiser and, with the collaboration of the YMCA, provide proper training for police to perform water rescues. In addition, they want to offer swimming lessons and water-survival skills for kids and teenagers in the Worcester community. Finally, their goal is to donate a ‘Manny tube’ to every police department in the U.S. and to prevent this type of tragedy from ever happening again.

“Country Bank’s involvement in this meaningful event is a great way for us to show our gratitude and support for our frontline workers,” Scully said. “Our appreciation for their work to support their communities is to be commended.”

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — For the first time in more than 18 months, poker enthusiasts will have the opportunity to ante up and compete in live cash games in the MGM Springfield Poker Room. Scheduled to reopen its doors today, Oct. 29, at 11 a.m., it will be the state’s only venue currently offering poker.

“MGM Springfield is thrilled to reopen our poker room. We are looking forward to welcoming back our loyal players and dozens of employees who have waited for this day for more than a year and a half,” said Chris Kelley, MGM Springfield president and chief operating officer.

With the health and safety of guests and employees at the forefront, the room will offer 13 total tables, up to nine players per table, live cash games, and daily play from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Daily News

AMHERST — In an effort to defend science and combat misinformation, Richard Peltier, associate professor of Environmental Health Sciences in the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, has started writing a free, weekly newsletter called Up in the Air on Substack, a digital subscription newsletter platform.

Peltier, an expert in air pollution, aims to offer “objective analysis of science — mostly air quality and health, but occasionally dipping my toes in other directions where I might have something to say.”

He conducted urgent research at the start of the pandemic to test whether healthcare workers could safely reuse face masks designed for one-time use. In general, using innovative approaches and novel designs and applications of instrumentation, he focuses his research on advancing knowledge of particulate matter and its impact on human health.

Peltier’s expertise is often sought by national media outlets and such agencies as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization, for which he serves on the Global Air Pollution and Health Technical Advisory Group.

He invites “anyone who wants to learn — policymakers, journalists, students, or anyone who wonders about their environment” — to check out Up in the Air. “If you are curious about science, this newsletter is for you.”

Subscribe for free at 20000breaths.substack.com/about.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — BusinessWest will honor its fourth annual Women of Impact on Thursday, Dec. 9 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place. Tickets cost $85 per person. To purchase tickets, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or e-mail [email protected].

This year’s class, like the first three, demonstrates the sheer diversity of the ways women leaders in our region are making an impact in business, the nonprofit world, and in the community. Profiled the Oct. 27 issue of BusinessWest, they are:

• Jessica Collins, executive director of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts;

• Elizabeth Dineen, CEO of the YWCA of Western Masachusetts;

• Charlene Elvers, director of the Center for Service and Leadership at Springfield College;

• Karin Jeffers, president and CEO of Clinical and Support Options;

• Elizabeth Keen, owner of Indian Line Farm;

• Madeline Landrau, Program Engagement manager at MassMutual;

• Shannon Mumblo, executive director of Christina’s House; and

• Tracye Whitfield, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer for the town of West Springfield and Springfield city councilor.

The event is sponsored by Country Bank and TommyCar Auto Group (presenting sponsors) and Comcast Business and Health New England (supporting sponsors).

Daily News

AMHERST — UMass Amherst announced that, as part of Robert and Donna Manning’s recent historic $50 million gift to the University of Massachusetts, $18 million will endow the newly named Robert and Donna Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences.

At the same time, Gov. Charlie Baker announced a $75 million commitment that will enhance and expand the college’s facilities. The state grant, which will be allocated over the course of multiple future capital plans, is backed by a $30 million commitment from the campus for the expanded physical footprint of the college.

These combined investments will allow the college to continue to grow and fuel new discoveries in computing research. It will attract top faculty, increase access to its nationally ranked program, and offer scholarships, bridge programs, and peer mentoring to foster a diverse and ethical future workforce. Since 2018, the college has committed to doubling the amount of undergraduate and graduate students, and the gift and grant will help accelerate that goal.

The Robert and Donna Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences ranks among the top 20 computer science programs in North America and boasts the 11th-ranked artificial intelligence (AI) program. United around a revolutionary vision for computing research and education, known as Computing for the Common Good, the college is driving scientific discovery in key areas such as healthcare, sustainability, cybersecurity, quantum information systems, and human-centered technology. Its research is focused on some of the most demanding challenges of today, including ensuring that AI is equitable, safe, and applied in positive ways, creating technologies that protect personal privacy and safeguard children from online predators.

“I have been very focused on the ethical application of new technologies, which both enhance and complicate our lives,” said Robert Manning, who is chairman of MFS Investment Management and the longtime chair of the UMass board of trustees. “The future of computing will cure diseases and solve some of the world’s greatest challenges, but will also be incredibly disruptive, particularly to the workforce. The College of Information and Computer Sciences at UMass Amherst, with its groundbreaking research and top-notch faculty, is well-positioned to be a leader in building a framework for Computing for the Common Good. Donna and I are proud to invest in this incredibly important initiative.”

UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy added that “it’s an exciting time for UMass Amherst, and we’re incredibly grateful for this gift from the Manning family and funding commitment from the Commonwealth. We are committed to contributing to an inclusive and innovative society, and we know these gifts will help our institution harness technology’s power to drive this change.”

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Morgan Stanley announced that John Pappas, a financial advisor in the firm’s Springfield Wealth Management office, has been named to Forbes magazine’s list of Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors.

The Forbes listing is a select group of individuals who were born in 1981 or later, have a minimum of four years of industry experience, and lead — or are viewed as potential leaders of — their teams. The ranking, developed by Forbes’ partner, SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, weighing factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience, and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews.

“I am pleased that John Pappas is representing Morgan Stanley,” said John Carty, branch manager of Morgan Stanley’s Springfield office. “To be named to this list recognizes John Pappas’s professionalism and dedication to the needs of his valued clients.”

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Level Two Studios, LLC a new all-inclusive production facility, recently opened in Springfield, offering an optimal environment for professional, full-scale video production and photography. Located on the second level of 155 Brookdale Dr., the studio’s expansive, 2,000-square-foot space accommodates creative media production with numerous amenities.

“Level Two Studios is fully outfitted to enable professionals to bring their artistic visions to life,” said Bryan Czajkowski, director of Production & Technology. “We incorporated the latest technology and functionality to allow for the ultimate in versatility and limitless creativity.”

The many features of Level Two Studios include a 25-by-11-foot white or green screen corner cyclorama wall — the only one available in the region — as well as blackout walls for seamless filming. The studio also boasts flexible standing sets that provide endless customization options, sound suppression, full lighting, a state-of-the-art video-editing suite and audio studio for post-production, a green room, and ample accommodations for private wardrobe, makeup, meetings, and other preparation.

“We incorporated everything media specialists would need to take their productions to the next level,” Czajkowski said. “Our on-site agency partner, Market Mentors, is also available, if needed, for full or partial creative or production assistance.”

Level Two Studios can accommodate production crews of all sizes and is available for both full- and half-day rentals.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — For the fifth consecutive year, Excel Dryer is lending its support to Square One’s Adopt-a-Classroom initiative, donating $5,000 to provide supplies and meals to the agency’s preschoolers.

“We are proud to support Square One and their ongoing efforts to provide early-education services to children in our area,” said Denis Gagnon, president of Excel Dryer. “This organization is a vital part of our community, providing a safe and educational space for young children. We hope our donation can help provide much-needed meals and resources for these students.”

Square One’s Adopt-a-Classroom program is part of the agency’s Campaign for Healthy Kids, a multi-year fund-development initiative focused on the agency’s commitment to providing healthy meals, physical fitness, social-emotional well-being, and a healthy learning environment.

“Long-term success in life starts with a healthy foundation,” said Kristine Allard, vice president of Development & Communication at Square One. “We are so grateful to Denis and his team at Excel Dryer for supporting us in our mission to ensure that our children are prepared with the tools they need to succeed — academically, physically, and socially. We hope that Excel’s continued generosity will inspire others to become involved in this important work.”

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. announced that Attorney Erica Flores has been recognized as one of the 2021 Top Women of Law by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. She will be honored at an award ceremony recognizing the top 50 female legal professionals in Massachusetts on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at Boston Marriot Copley Place.

The Top Women of Law program celebrates the outstanding achievements made by exceptional women in the legal profession. Each year, the publication honors women who have demonstrated great accomplishments in their field.

Flores has been with Skoler Abbott since 2013 and was named a partner earlier this year. She defends employers in single-plaintiff and class-action litigation involving claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, wage and hour violations, contract disputes, and other employment issues. She also advises clients with respect to compliance challenges, personnel policies, and day-to-day employment issues, and provides custom training programs and materials on a variety of important topics, including sexual harassment, paid and unpaid leave, and ADA accommodations.

Flores has been an invited speaker at educational events sponsored by local chambers of commerce, the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, the CMEA Employers Assoc., and other organizations, and has been published in BusinessWest, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Massachusetts Law Review. She is also an editor of and contributor to the New England Employment Law Letter and volunteers her time as president of the board of directors of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. She received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Daily News

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Fall Feastival, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity’s (GSHFH) biggest fundraiser of the year, will take place on Thursday, Nov. 4 starting at 5:30 p.m. at Twin Hills Country Club in Longmeadow. At $50 a ticket — a $25 savings from previous years — the evening promises hours of fun and networking opportunities.

This year marks the event’s 20th year. Attendees can enjoy sweet and savory samplings from local restaurants, including Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill, Elegant Affairs, Twin Hills, and Mamma Mia’s, and bid on live and silent auctions to win featured prizes such as four tickets to see the Boston Bruins play the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 11 with four passes to Legends — the private, members-only restaurant at TD Garden — and an overnight stay at Red Lion Inn in the Berkshires.

“We are so thrilled to have this event in person once again and look forward to a great evening of fun, food, and live and silent auction items. A huge thank you to our many generous event sponsors, including Dietz & Company Architects,” said John O’Farrell, GSHFH fundraising and volunteer coordinator. “The collective support of our donors, community partners, and volunteers truly make our building projects possible throughout Hampden County. We hope to see everyone at Twin Hills on Thursday, Nov. 4.”

Daily News

HOLYOKE — On Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) will present a Leadership Luncheon at Venture X Holyoke, sponsored by Elms College.

The featured speaker will be Matt Bannister, senior vice president of Marketing & Corporate Responsibility for PeoplesBank. He will discuss his career, share his advice for young professionals, and offer an opportunity for questions from the audience. He will also highlight the importance of community involvement and how it can increase brand awareness, establish a positive reputation, and help grow a business.

A light lunch will be included. Please indicate if you have any food allergies or prefer a vegetarian option. The cost is free for YPS members and $10 for non-members. Parking is free. Pre-registration is required by clicking here.

Daily News

HOLYOKE — Joe Desormier has joined Clayton Insurance Agency as an account executive/producer. Desormier graduated from Granby High School in 2017 and continued his education at Worcester State University (WSU), where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

“I am extremely excited for my journey here at Clayton to finally be underway,” he said. “Having a great team of co-workers by my side to help me along the way will be an incredible benefit, and I look forward to being a productive member of the team.”

Cover Story Women of Impact Women of Impact 2021

Women of Impact Awards Ceremony

Thursday, December 9, 2021 • 5- 8 p.m. • Sheraton Springfield

Tickets $85 per person • Call: (413) 781-8600 or Email [email protected]

Honorees to Be Saluted on Dec. 9

Leader. Inspiration. Pioneer. Mentor.

You will read plenty of words like these over the next eight profiles as BusinessWest introduces its fourth annual cohort of a program called, appropriately enough, Women of Impact.

Appropriate, because these women aren’t only business successes and community leaders; they are, indeed, impactful — in ways that reverberate far beyond their office, their sector, and even this present time.

These are compelling stories about remarkable women, and as you read them, you’ll quickly understand why BusinessWest added Women of Impact to its list of annual recognition programs four years ago. In short, these stories need to be told — or told in a different way than you’ve heard before.

These eight stories detail not only what these women do for a living, but what they’ve done with their lives. Specifically, they’ve become innovators in their fields, leaders within the community, and, most importantly, inspirations to all those around them. Crucially, they’re creating a legacy for other women to build upon.

The stories are all different, but there are many common denominators: these are women and leaders who have vision, passion, drive to excel, and a desire to put their considerable talents to work mentoring and helping others.

 

Individually and especially together, they’re making this a much better place to live, work, raise a family, and run a business.

And they will be celebrated on Dec. 9 at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel. So, after reading their stories, we invite you to come and applaud some truly impactful women. The 2021 honorees are:

• Jessica Collins

Executive director of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts;

Elizabeth Dineen

CEO of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts;

Charlene Elvers

Director of the Center for Service and Leadership at Springfield College;

Karin Jeffers

President and CEO of Clinical and Support Options;

• Elizabeth Keen

Owner of Indian Line Farm;

• Madeline Landrau

Program Engagement manager at MassMutual;

• Shannon Mumblo

Executive director of Christina’s House;

• Tracye Whitfield

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer for the town of West Springfield; and Springfield City Councilor.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Presenting Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Meet the Judges

Michele Cabral

Michele Cabral is interim executive director of Professional Education and Corporate Learning at Holyoke Community College and director of Training & Workforce Options. She started her career as a CPA for KPMG Peat Marwick, graduated from the Leadership Development Program at CIGNA Insurance Companies, and joined Farm Credit Financial Partners Inc. as CFO and COO. At HCC, Cabral has held positions as an Accounting professor, then dean of the Business and Technology Division, and she currently leads the HCC Women’s Leadership Series.

Dawn Fleury

Dawn Fleury is the first senior vice president of Corporate Risk at Country Bank in Ware. In her current role, she oversees the bank’s comprehensive risk-management programs. Before joining Country Bank, she had a 21-year career with the FDIC as a commissioned senior bank examiner in the Division of Supervision. Fleury serves on the board of Christina’s House in Springfield, which provides transitional housing for women and their children, as well as educational programming as families transition from homelessness to permanent, stable living environments.

Ellen Freyman

Ellen Freyman is a shareholder with Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. in Springfield. Her practice is concentrated in all aspects of commercial real estate: acquisitions and sales, development, leasing, permitting, environmental, and financing. She has been recognized for her community work and was named to Difference Makers and Women of Impact by BusinessWest, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Excellence in the Law, and the Professional Women’s Chamber Women of the Year. She also earned a Pynchon Award from the Ad Club of Western Massachusetts.

Features Special Coverage

A New Kind of Challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested area employers in every way imaginable. And soon, it will test many in a way that probably couldn’t have been imagined even a few months ago — vaccine mandates put in place by the Biden administration and set to take effect probably before the end of the year. The mandates are prompting lawsuits, generating questions that are often hard to answer, and creating high levels of anxiety for employers who are already dealing with a host of problems, especially an ongoing workforce crisis.

Amy Royal says she’s seen all manner of new regulations — state, federal, and local — that employers and their HR departments must contend with as they carry out business day to day.

But she speaks for all employment-law specialists — and those HR professionals as well — when she says she’s never seen anything quite like the COVID-19 vaccine mandates either already in effect or soon to be.

The mandates are far-reaching in their impact, in terms of everything from the number of businesses affected to the costs they will have to absorb to the very real possibility of losing more valued employees, said Royal, a principal with the Indian Orchard-based Royal Law Firm, which specializes in employment law, specifically representing employers. She summed up the measures and their bearing on employers with a single word. “It’s exhausting for companies.”

That would be an understatement.

Already, vaccine mandates enacted by states, individual cities and towns, healthcare providers, and private companies are resulting in thousands of people being fired or simply walking off the job. That list includes the football coach and several assistants at Washington State University, more than 100 state troopers in Massachusetts, police officers in countless communities, and a wide range of healthcare workers, especially nurses.

The recent developments raise questions on everything from just how safe many cities now are to which games NBA star Kyrie Irving can actually play in — none at his home court in Brooklyn, for starters.

And the next shoe — a rather large one — is set to drop in this unfolding drama. That would be the Biden administration’s vaccine and testing mandates, the ones affecting companies of more than 100 employees, any business with federal contracts, and federal employees — mandates the administration estimates will impact more than 80 million workers.

“People would be surprised at the array of businesses, both for-profit and nonprofit, that meet that federal-contractor test.”

Royal and other employment-law specialists we spoke with said there are far more businesses in the 413 in those categories than most people would think, and all of them are, or should be, working diligently to prepare for these mandates — which will take effect soon, although exactly when is a question.

Actually, that’s one of many, many questions, said John Gannon, an employment-law specialist with Springfield-based Skoler, Abbott & Presser, who said others include everything from whether employees get paid while they’re getting vaccinated or tested to who pays for those tests, to whether employees who ultimately lose their jobs to these mandates are eligible for unemployment benefits.

Amy Royal says far more businesses and nonprofits in the 413

Amy Royal says far more businesses and nonprofits in the 413 will be impacted by the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate than most people would believe.

“People are asking, ‘what do we do now — what can we do once the mandate is rolled out?’” he said. “They also want to know when it is going to release and how much lead time they’re going to have for compliance. And, unfortunately, we just don’t know the answers to those kinds of questions.”

Meredith Wise, president and CEO of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, agreed, noting, as others did, that the vaccine mandates add new layers of intrigue, challenge, and polarization for employers who have seen more than enough of all three over the past 20 months.

When she talked with BusinessWest, Wise had recently left a roundtable of CHROs — chief human-resource officers — representing companies across the Northeast. The group meets every six weeks to discuss the challenges its members are facing, she noted, adding that the dominant topic of conversation was the new vaccine mandates and what they might mean for companies, especially in the broad realm of employee relations.

“People who have not wanted to get vaccinated may get tired of the testing and may eventually get vaccinated, but be disgruntled about it,” she said, adding quickly that, if employers have to pay the cost of testing — and pay employees while they’re getting tested — then there is little incentive, if any, to get vaccinated.

“There’s still a lot of questions about what the mandates are going to say, how it’s all going to come down, and whether we’re going to lose employees,” she went on, adding that employers may have to pay a steep price for a policy they didn’t implement themselves.

The best advice Gannon and the others we spoke with have for employers and the HR departments is to be as ready as they can be for these mandates and fully understand just what they are up against. This means knowing how many employees are vaccinated (and not) and having a plan in place for meeting the mandates.

Above all else, Wise and the employment-law specialists advise that businesses take the mandates seriously — even if enforcement of its provisions will be extremely difficult, if not impossible — and to be prepared.

 

Taking More Shots

BusinessWest asked a number of area business owners and nonprofit managers who fall under the categories of the Biden vaccination mandates to discuss the measures and what they could mean.

Not surprisingly, none really wanted to talk about it — on the record or even off. Indeed, the subject of vaccinations and the mandates regarding them are a hot-button, polarizing topic, to say the least. Most employers are staying away from it, figuring it’s best not to say anything than delve into a matter drenched in controversy.

Meredith Wise

Meredith Wise

“There’s still a lot of questions about what the mandates are going to say, how it’s all going to come down, and whether we’re going to lose employees.”

That goes for MassMutual, one of the region’s largest employers, with more than 6,000 workers, which offered only this statement from a spokesperson:

“We are waiting for the specifics of the OHSA guidance to be issued, after which we will be able to better evaluate what it will mean for our company and employees. In the meantime, we have begun to prepare by determining how much of our employee base is vaccinated, which is currently approximately 85%. We are also encouraging fully vaccinated employees to begin coming into the office if they are comfortable doing so and on a schedule that makes sense for them. We’ll continue to evaluate our broader return based on the status of COVID-19 as well as guidance from medical experts and government officials to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of our employees.”

With that, the company probably spoke for most employers in the region, who are waiting for OSHA (the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to offer specifics while also assessing just where they stand with regard to what percentage of their workforce is vaccinated.

Here’s what is known at this juncture. The Biden action plan directs OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) that requires all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either fully vaccinated or get tested weekly for COVID-19, Gannon said. Employers will also be required to provide paid time off to employees to get vaccinated and recover from any side effects from the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s plan also includes two executive orders requiring federal employees and federal contractors (and subcontractors) to get vaccinated, regardless of workforce size. There is no weekly testing exception; employees working on or in connection with a federal contract, including subcontractors, must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8.

And, as noted, there are more companies in the 413 that will be impacted by these measures than most would think. Indeed, while most businesses in this region fit the textbook definition of ‘small’ — under 100 employees — there are hundreds of companies, nonprofits, and institutions that count at least that many workers. That includes healthcare-related agencies, manufacturers, nursing homes, municipal departments, a few banks, and many more. Meanwhile, the provision regarding federal contractors — and subcontractors — brings many more businesses under the auspices of the Biden mandates.

“People would be surprised at the array of businesses, both for-profit and nonprofit, that meet that federal-contractor test,” said Royal, noting that her own firm has had federal contracts at different points in its history. “So this has an impact on a number of organizations up and down the valley — including small businesses and human-service agencies that may provide a service to the federal government in some way and come under the umbrella of being a federal contractor.

John Gannon

John Gannon

“When President Biden first issued his plan in early September, we told people, ‘let’s see what happens over the next 30 days.’ But now, we’re getting to a situation where employers have to begin planning and preparing.”

“It might even be retail-type product that is sold on a military base,” she went on, while detailing the broad scope of these measures. “This definitely has widespread implications.”

Beyond waiting — and perhaps hoping that the measure is delayed, which most experts say is possible but not likely — the best area employers can try to do is be ready, said Gannon, adding that, while it’s anyone’s guess as to just when the OSHA standard for companies with 100 or more employees will be issued, it will almost certainly be released before the end of the year.

“When President Biden first issued his plan in early September, we told people, ‘let’s see what happens over the next 30 days,’” he explained. “But now, we’re getting to a situation where employers have to begin planning and preparing.”

Indeed, the clock is certainly ticking on the Dec. 8 deadline for federal contractors, he noted, adding that anyone who takes a vaccine that requires two shots must wait several weeks after the first shot to get the second. And full vaccination, regardless of whether it’s a one-dose or two-dose vaccine, is not achieved until two weeks after the final dose.

“It can take employees at least 45 days, and that’s if they act as soon as possible, to make sure they’re vaccinated,” Gannon went on. “Meanwhile, employers are going to have to get testing programs in place and provide options for employees on how they get tested weekly if they are opposed to getting vaccinated.”

The logical next step for employers, if they haven’t done it already, is to determine their vaccination rates and thus get a handle on the scope of the problem they’re facing, he added.

“We’ve seen all sorts of numbers, but generally, employers fall somewhere in the 60% to 80% range,” he said. “And you’re allowed to ask people if they are vaccinated or not — several agencies have confirmed that there is nothing unlawful about that. You can’t ask them why, but you can generally survey your workforce population, and that should be the first step.”

 

Compounding the Problems

Flashing back to those days — it might even have been hours — after Biden announced his vaccination mandates, when the phone calls started coming in, Royal said the initial reaction was shock, followed by incredulousness.

“That’s because it represents a whole new layer of challenges for employers when they’ve already been navigating a number of challenges related to the pandemic, or just workforce-related issues,” she explained, adding that the overriding concern, beyond all the planning, logistics, and costs of meeting the new standards, regards the potential loss of valued employees at a time when workers are retiring and resigning at unprecedented rates (see related story on page 61), and replacing them has been increasingly difficult.

“Whether you’re in manufacturing or in human services, or are a professional service, there is a general worker shortage and shortage of prospects,” Royal noted, adding that the mandates, especially the one regarding federal contracts (because there is no provision for testing, only required vaccination), will make a serious problem that much worse.

Wise agreed. While she noted that the vaccine mandates for those companies in the listed categories relieve employers from having to implement such a polarizing policy themselves, it does bring a new and unwanted layer of challenge to the table, especially when it comes to workforce.

“They’re already hurting for staff as it is,” she told BusinessWest. “If they lose employees over this, that’s going to make it even harder for them to meet their customer demands and fulfill their orders.”

But there are other considerations, including the costs attached to all this and uncertainty over whether employers who don’t want to get vaccinated or tested can become eligible for unemployment benefits.

She said there has been no clear guidance on that, but she speculates that, if the federal government issues a mandate and an employee is unwilling to comply with that mandate, then the employee would not be eligible to collect unemployment benefits.

But that’s just one of many questions that remain unanswered at this juncture, she said, adding that employers of all sizes are pondering how to get ready for these mandates, but also just how seriously to take them, especially since the T in ETS stands for temporary.

“Apparently, under OSHA guidelines, unless OSHA makes it permanent, within six months this ETS will expire,” she said, adding that some employers may roll the dice and try to wait this out.

Indeed, while there are steep fines attached to the mandates — up to $13,653 per violation — Wise said some employers are wondering out loud just who is going to enforce all this.

“In my mind, this would be a risk that I, as a business owner, don’t think I’d be willing to take,” she told BusinessWest. “But there’s a piece to this that says, ‘how am I going to get caught?’

“OSHA isn’t going to be able to come in and audit every workplace, so there would probably have to be a complaint filed,” she went on, adding that, if an employee doesn’t want to get vaccinated, he or she is unlikely to file a complaint that their employer is not in compliance.

 

Bottom Line

Like Royal and Gannon, Wise said she’s never seen anything quite like the vaccine mandates when it comes to the many ways they might impact an employer.

“I’ve been in HR for more than 40 years, and I can say that there’s been nothing like this,” she noted. “There’s been a lot of regulations and guidelines that employers have to put in place — certain safety precautions, pay requirements, overtime laws — but there really hasn’t been anything that’s come down that has affected the individual and their bodies like this.”

Indeed, these measures are unprecedented in many respects, and they come at a time when beleaguered employers are already being challenged in every way imaginable.

Only time will tell what happens next, but it’s clear that employers will have their mettle tested even further.

 

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

Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Open for Business

Ben Leonard outside Tower Square

Ben Leonard outside Tower Square, where Country Bank just opened an office to service growing commercial business in and around Springfield.

Businesses didn’t stop borrowing in 2020, although much of last year’s lending activity had more to do with staying afloat with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans than expanding operations. These days, with the economy in a more stable — if not exactly robust — place, many businesses are looking to invest and grow (that is, if they can get enough people to come to work), at a time when banks are sitting on more liquidity than usual and are anxious to lend it out.

When Country Bank announced it was opening a commercial-banking office in Springfield, Ben Leonard was intrigued by the opportunity, noting its similarities to the bank’s push into Worcester in recent years.

“Country Bank has been around a long time, but historically, the physical presence has been between Worcester and Springfield,” noted Leonard, a senior vice president who leads the new Springfield office, located downtown in Tower Square.

“But we’ve always served clients everywhere within a 100-mile radius, and we’ve seen more activity here,” he went on. “We have clients in Springfield and the greater area of Western Mass., so the impetus to build that office was to be closer to those customers. Part of that is growing our C&I [commercial and industrial lending] business — we see a growth market here. It’s an opportunity to grow.”

The C&I lenders who work in the Springfield office have experience in niches like manufacturing, distribution, and equipment-heavy companies, Leonard explained. “That’s kind of what the team knows, and that’s a big part of why Springfield and Worcester are appealing markets for the bank to expand in, because those kinds of businesses are what’s here.”

Those are also the kinds of businesses that maintained operations at a more or less steady level during the pandemic, and now they’re ready to grow — and borrow, he said, adding that the real-estate market is active as well.

Jeff Sullivan

Jeff Sullivan

“If there’s a hindrance to businesses growing, it’s labor. It’s not being able to buy the machine, it’s hiring someone to run the machine.”

“Certainly there’s a need for affordable housing, and we’re seeing a lot of turnover in real-estate properties, some repurposing, and some interesting dynamics with real-estate valuations being as high as they are. We’re also seeing situations where the dynamics have changed, where an office building is half-empty now, and it needs to change hands.”

In short, commercial lenders are busy, which marks a change from a year ago. More accurately, they were just as busy last year, but often dealing with some very pandemic-specific activities, from PPP loan processing to commercial-loan deferments, particularly for hard-hit industries like hospitality. These days, however, businesses (not all, but many) are moving past the treading-water stage and calling on banks to help them expand, not just survive.

“People are spending money,” said Jeff Sullivan, president of New Valley Bank, which is based in downtown Springfield, noting that some business owners are looking to buy property rather than continue to pay a landlord, while others are making speculative investments in real estate, rather than sitting on cash they may have accumulated during the pandemic, when spending was suppressed for both individuals and businesses.

“We’ll see two or three buddies get together and pool some money to use for a down payment on a two-family or three-family house, thinking, ‘I can make 10 to 15% on my money investing in real estate rather than have it make zero percent in my savings account,’” Sullivan said.

Many are first-time real-estate investors, he added, including young people and people of color aiming to build wealth, while established businesses are anxious to invest in their own operations.

“A lot of people have squirreled away cash from the government programs during the pandemic, and have been hanging onto that cash for a rainy day, and now they’re in a situation where they can use some of that — and banks are lending,” he said. “If there’s a hindrance to businesses growing, it’s labor. It’s not being able to buy the machine, it’s hiring someone to run the machine.”

Mike Lynch, senior lender at Florence Bank, said his institution is looking at commercial-loan numbers that are at least equal to pre-pandemic activity — and that’s on top of PPP loans.

Kevin Day says last year’s loan deferments were a “lifesaver” for many businesses.

Kevin Day says last year’s loan deferments were a “lifesaver” for many businesses.

“We do all kinds of loans, commercial real estate and C&I loans. We’ve seen strong activity across all sectors; it hasn’t been one pocket more than others,” Lynch said.

Florence Bank President Kevin Day agreed. “It’s kind of across the board — not every sector, necessarily; we’re not seeing many new hotels and restaurants opening up. But investment properties are creating new borrowers, and they need help with financing.”

The combination of low interest rates and high prices were driving the commercial-loan market a year ago, the last time BusinessWest tackled this story, and that has remained true. “In the real-estate market, everyone understands residential properties are hot,” Day said. “But in commercial real estate, it’s similar.”

 

Back to Normal?

One thing that has changed is the reliance on loan deferments, which was one of the leading stories in commercial lending (and retail lending as well, for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards) last year.

“We were very active in the deferment program. It was a lifesaver for a lot of businesses,” Day said. “As we’ve come into 2021, a lot of the deferment periods have ended, customers are emerging from pandemic lockdown activity, and things are becoming more normal.”

In the business world, “almost all commercial customers are out of deferments, back on normal schedules, and it feels like their business is gaining traction, getting back to to pre-pandemic levels,” he added. “In the hospitality areas — hotels, restaurants, and such — the pandemic hurt them, but even they’re coming back out of the malaise, and business is starting to pick up. The deferments gave people time, and as everything is starting to come back online, those businesses will get their customers back and should come out of it fine.”

Leonard said Country Bank handled close to 1,000 PPP loans totaling around $75 million.

“I’m happy to say we deployed a lot of that, and consulted with folks on the front end to be sure it wasn’t a rubber stamp,” he said. “It was a differentiator; I think the smaller banks really shined, and were nimble enough to support their customers. You can talk about being there for your customers when they need it, but could you deliver? I think Country Bank did.”

The bank is well-positioned to be a stable provider of financing going forward, he added, “because our capital ratios are head and shoulders above most other banks, which allows us to do a couple things. It means our lending limits are higher, but it also allows us to be patient and pragmatic with our customers.

“We have a lot of capital to lend and the ability to lend it, but where we’re going to be most successful is really understanding our businesses, so that we can bank them through cycles.”

“So I think we see an opportunity because of that,” he added. “We have a lot of capital to lend and the ability to lend it, but where we’re going to be most successful is really understanding our businesses, so that we can bank them through cycles. That is more important than ever, I think.”

Elaborating, Leonard said the pandemic reinforced the need for banks to have close relationships with their commercial clients and really understand their business, and to understand how much struggle — or success — over the past two years was a pandemic-induced anomaly and how much might remain the trend going forward.

“The value add for any banker, especially a C&I lender, is knowing a company well enough to make those educated decisions,” he told BusinessWest. “Our strategy is to spend a lot of time getting to know the companies we bank, so once we start a banking relationship, we’re in it, and we find a way to be pragmatic and support companies for the long term. That takes thoughtfulness on the front end.”

Sullivan said New Valley has been actively reaching out to small-business owners, who are often too busy running their business to seek help. “Larger companies have more resources and have banks calling on them all the time. There’s plenty of capital out there, and we want to make sure we connect with those business people, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Almost as one, bankers say there’s plenty of liquidity in the market, and once businesses began seeing some clarity with the pandemic — and, to be sure, there’s still plenty of uncertainty — they started moving into growth mode. But, again, the current labor situation is dampening some of that enthusiasm.

“I talk to a lot of business owners who are grateful the government bailed out businesses during the pandemic,” Sullivan said. “But there are some who would rather have a more normalized market where people are coming back to work.”

Meanwhile, “deposits are way up, and all the community banks I know are looking to put that money to work as loans rather than having it sitting around in cash. If anything, that’s become more exacerbated the last few weeks.”

 

Good Business

Like Country Bank, Florence Bank has expanded its geographic footprint in recent years, into Hampden County, specifically, to serve — and expand on — commercial business it was already doing in the region.

It has been a successful transition, Day said, one that has turned into retail business growth as well. But right now, he sees plenty of opportunity on the commercial side.

“Our credit quality, frankly, has never been better. People who had jobs and operated businesses during the pandemic have a lot of cash on hand. Hospitality businesses had to take time off because of the pandemic, but are now starting to get over it. Deferments helped people like that a great deal to come back online.”

The resulting liquidity in the system — and the resulting credit quality — mean delinquencies are at record lows, Day added. “Not only is business good, but the business we have is good business as well.”

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Employment Special Coverage

Coping with the ‘Great Resignation’

By Sarah Rose Stack

 

You’ve just woken up. As you sip your morning coffee, you open your e-mail and give it a quick glance. Wedged in between your work and personal mail, you have several e-mails with the subject line ‘We’re Hiring’ or ‘Join Our Team.’ You switch over to social media and see that your neighbor just announced she’s left her place of employment for a new opportunity. There are few more posts from friends who are frustrated with their employers’ lack of communication or insistence on returning to the office.

How many ‘We’re Hiring’ signs have you seen or talked about today?

There has been much discussion about the current hiring crisis, and while many thought that this would be resolved once Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ended, that has not been the case. In fact, the Bureau of Labor (BOL) recorded the highest number of people who quit their jobs in August 2021, with 2.9% of people quitting (4.3 million people). This is the highest number of quits since the BOL started recording this data in 2000. Probably even more concerning is that August was the sixth consecutive month of massive quitting numbers.

Coined the ‘Great Resignation’ by Anthony Klotz, a professor at Texas A&M, people are leaving their jobs at record-breaking rates as the pandemic is waning. This is only expected to be amplified as 2021 comes to an end and people reflect on what they want in life. Employees are demanding more from their current and potential employers. Companies should be very careful to pay attention to the change in dynamics if they want to retain or attract new talent to their workforces.

“Employees are demanding more from their current and potential employers. Companies should be very careful to pay attention to the change in dynamics if they want to retain or attract new talent to their workforces.”

As part of my position at Meyers Brothers Kalicka, I assist clients with finding new talent, such as controllers, accountants, HR, marketing, and other administrative professionals, for their organizations. Prior to the pandemic, I would see 50 to 100 applications from people in Western Mass. applying for every posted job opportunity. That number has drastically declined, the geographical representation has widened, and the questions and concerns from potential employees have also significantly changed.

So, what are employees expressing that they want? Here’s a hint: it’s not just about salary. People had a lot of time to reflect during the pandemic about what work means to them and what role they want their careers to play in their overall lives.

 

Work-life Balance

Prior to the pandemic, Americans were obsessed with ‘hustle culture.’ People were happy to rise and grind and wear their burnout like a badge of honor. Perhaps people were too distracted working around the clock to ever consider what they truly wanted. You’ve probably noticed the shift in sentiment in social media from #hustle to the idea that inner peace is the new success.

Working through the pandemic came with its own unique set of stresses. Some workers had to compensate for poorly staffed jobs, while others lost a feeling of security at their jobs, causing them to work even harder to show their value. Indeed recently posted a study that surveyed 1,500 employees about burnout, and a shocking 80% of people said the pandemic made the burnout worse.

As a result, potential employees have been asking:

• What is your company’s view on work/life balance?

• Does management regularly e-mail or call after hours or on weekends?

• Is the schedule flexible if I have a family event or event for my child?

• Do people actually take their paid time off?

According to PR Newswire, “poor work-life balance tops the list of job-seeker deal breakers, ranking above other immediate turnoffs, including lower salary (50%) and a company’s decreasing profits and lack of stability (48%)”.

 

Flexibility and Remote Work

Employees are actively seeking remote or hybrid work opportunities just as many companies are now demanding that employees return to in-person work. Some have even pre-emptively started seeking flexible work opportunities out of fear that their current remote-work situation might change.

Many are expressing that the ability to work from home and have more flexible work schedules in general have helped to prevent burnout. People have enjoyed ditching the morning commute and 5 p.m. rush hour. The returned pockets of time have come with myriad benefits, including more sleep, more time with family before and after work, less wear and tear on vehicles, more time with pets, and an overall more comfortable environment.

It isn’t all hypothetical, either. Stanford conducted a study of 16,000 remote workers over a period of nine months and showed that productivity increased by 13%. Further, with more workers reporting they were happier working from home, attrition rates were cut by 50%.

Time is the only non-renewable commodity, so when employers are demanding that their people return to in-person work, employees are asking themselves, “at what cost?” The most-asked question I have received from potential employees over the last year is: “can this position be done fully or partially remote?” If the answer was no, most candidates politely declined to continue in the application process, presumably in favor of remote opportunities.

I would also attribute the increase of applicants from other regions to the normalization of remote work. I’ve seen applications from all over the country because most people in professional positions are now of the mindset that they can work for anyone, from anywhere.

 

Company Culture and Shared Values

At its core, company culture is its identity. It’s how the company’s values, attitude, approach, and ideals dictate the inner workings of the organization. Generally, this is set and modeled by the leadership and then mirrored by the people within the organization, driving the way the company does everything.

Companies with attractive corporate culture actively value their people in ways that are both tangible and intangible. They may have perks such as food, drink, cocktail hours, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and professional-development opportunities. More than that, they will also have a solid mentorship program, encourage open communication, speak to each other with respect, and show clear indicators that the work and growth of their people are valued.

As part of corporate culture, shared values are another important consideration for many job seekers today. Whether they are directly impacted by certain causes or not, they are looking to work for companies who have values that align with their own. Employers need to understand that potential employees are doing as much vetting and interviewing of the organization as the organization is doing of them.

Employees want to know what your company culture is like and what your values are. They are asking direct questions such as:

• What is the company’s leadership like?

• Describe the company’s culture.

• Does your company have a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program?

• How does your company implement its DEI statement?

• How involved is your company in the community?

• How does your company handle discourse among employees?

 

Pandemic Protocols in General

While we all have pandemic fatigue and want the pandemic to be over, there are still so many open issues that need to be faced head-on. Potential employees are very concerned with how companies handle current guidelines regarding masking, social distancing, quarantine, and vaccination.

This would be simple if everyone had the same passionate stance on the subject, but they don’t. Employees tend to be divided into three camps: Those who wants the strictest protocols in place, those who prefer more lax protocols, and those who are indifferent and will simply follow whatever protocols are set. Regardless of which camp your organization falls into, companies should be aware that their response to these questions will either encourage or deter certain prospects from continuing with the interview process.

I’ve found that most candidates were generally satisfied to hear that the organization is simply following the current federal, state, and municipal guidelines. In addition to the actual protocols, candidates have been very concerned with how those protocols are communicated. They routinely ask:

• Does the leadership communicate changes to protocols in a timely manner?

• Have they listened to employees’ questions and concerns?

• Are protocols safe, fair, and reasonable?

 

In Conclusion

We are in an employee market, and employees want the best of it all. They want work-life balance and more remote-work opportunities, but also want to feel connected with their company’s mission and their colleagues.

This may feel like an impossible balance to achieve, but I believe it can be done. People want to work, they want to feel connected, and they want their work to mean something. That’s the good news. Companies who understand these needs can take action and translate them into powerful employment opportunities that almost certainly will yield happier and more productive workers, better products and services, and stronger businesses.

 

Sarah Rose Stack is the Marketing and Recruiting manager for the Holyoke-based accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

 

Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

A Blast from the Past

Springfield’s Trolley Barn, the property at the corner of Main and Carew streets, has had an important place in the city’s history since it opened back in 1897. It was long home to the Springfield Street Railway Co. and, later, Peter Pan’s Coach Builders operation. Today, it has a new life as home to J.D. Rivet, a roofing and sheet-metal company, thus ensuring that this link to the past will have a place in the city’s future.

At top, the Trolley Barn sign

At top, the Trolley Barn sign is joined by others announcing the newest owners. Above, past and present come together in the second-floor conference room.

Jim Trask says the search took the better part of four years.

That’s because, as he and other members of the leadership team at JD Rivet & Co. Inc., a roofing and sheet-metal company, went about looking for a new home to replace the one on Page Boulevard in Springfield, they had a lot of boxes that needed to be checked.

Chief among them was — and is — location, said Trask, the company’s president, adding that several crews hit the road for jobs each day, and easy access to highways is a major consideration. But there were others, including large open space for a warehouse, parking, and more, as the company, working with a broker, considered a number of options, including property at the Deer Park Industrial Park in East Longmeadow.

Eventually, the search ended at a rather intriguing place, the corner of Main and Carew streets in Springfield, home for nearly 125 years to a building known as the ‘Trolley Barn.’

“That’s a nod to the days when there were actual stables for horses that would pull carriages,” said Trask, adding that the property certainly has seen a great deal of history and change; from the horse-drawn cars to the electrically powered trolleys of the Springfield Street Railway Co., to far more recent uses. These include it being home to Peter Pan Bus Lines’ Coach Builders repair and restoration facility, and, simultaneously, a methadone clinic in the front-office section of the facility.

Trask and Sean Gouvin, the company’s vice president, recalled that, when they were first introduced to the property by Brendan Greeley, a broker at R.J. Greeley Co., they saw both opportunity and challenge, in perhaps equal amounts.

The former was represented by those aforementioned boxes being checked, especially the location part; the property is just a few hundred feet from an on-ramp to I-91, a few blocks from I-291, and a just a few minutes from the Mass Pike. The latter came in the large amount of work that needed to be undertaken to ready the property for the planned new use, especially transforming the portion occupied by the methadone clinic into modern office and warehouse space.

“I liked the building — I could tell it was really strong,” Trask said. “I loved the space in the warehouse, but the office at the time was all broken up and I didn’t really like the office space at all.”

Eventually, though, they decided seizing the opportunity was worth the challenge. Thus commenced more than six months of cleanup and restoration work that yielded some surprises — sheetrock was covering original brick and intricate woodwork in that office area — as well as a few artifacts, and a workspace that speaks to the early 20th century but certainly works in the early 21st century.

At left, from left, Robert Ostrader, Sean Gouvin, and Jim Trask in the new first-floor conference room.

“There are a lot of reasons why we’re here — location, price, everything,” Trask said. “But I love old buildings, and this is one of the most historic buildings around.”

And it provides what the company needs most — a long-term solution to its space needs, he added, noting that JD Rivet has worked through the many hurdles created by the pandemic (although some stern challenges remain, especially supply-chain issues) and is in a growth mode.

Founded in 1960, the company specializes in the installation and maintenance of commercial, industrial, and residential roofing systems. The company has worked on everything from churches to hangars at Westover Air Reserve Base.

From its new headquarters in Springfield’s North End, it can see the past — and the future as well.

 

Pulling Out All the Stops

As for those artifacts … there are several of them, including old pictures of the trolleys that were once housed there (one now graces the second-floor conference room), a boiler alarm bell (just like it sounds, it’s a bell that would ring if there was a problem with the boiler) that dates back to the turn of the 20th century, and some old fire-insurance maps, found on the property, that offer a glimpse of the dramatic growth that came to that section of Springfield in the early 1900s.

These items would be considered a bonus, said Bob Ostrander, JD Rivet’s chief financial officer, adding that what the company really wanted from its new home was a chance to consolidate operations — it was spread out in several different buildings on Page Boulevard — as well as have better, easier access to highways and that room to grow.

“The office was so chunked up, you couldn’t really get a feel for what it was because you couldn’t see more than a few feet without a wall.”

It got all that and more at an address — Carew and Main — that has seen a lot of history and certainly changed with the times. Indeed, the owner for decades was the Springfield Street Railway Co., which opened in 1870, and originally operated a single line of track — served by four cars and 24 horses — that ran from the North End of the city down Main Street, past State Street.

The original line soon expanded to other parts of the city, and by 1891, the lines were all electrified to run trolleys. By the end of the century, the network had extended to several area communities, and connections were made to other networks in other cities, including Holyoke, Westfield, Northampton, and Hartford. To handle all this growth, the company built the facility, named the Trolley Barn, at the corner of Main and Carew.

Like all trolley lines, Springfield’s became obsolete in the 1950s as cars and buses became the dominant modes of transportation. The Trolley Barn would eventually be acquired by Peter Pan Bus Lines to house its Coach Builders operation, which painted and repaired buses.

When the management team at JD Rivet first looked at the property, Coach Builders was still occupying the large area formerly used for housing and maintaining trolleys, and a methadone clinic had recently moved out of the office portion of the property. That later operation required privacy for its clients, said Ostrander, adding that the relatively large area had been carved up into many smaller spaces covered by sheetrock.

Before-and-after shots of the office area show the amount of work needed to restore the historic Trolley Barn to its former luster.

Before-and-after shots of the office area

“The office was so chunked up, you couldn’t really get a feel for what it was because you couldn’t see more than a few feet without a wall,” he said, adding that their collective imaginations managed to see through all that. And they liked what they saw.

“We had a demolition contractor, Associated Builders, come in and tear down all that sheetrock, and when they did, it revealed all this beautiful wood,” he told BusinessWest, waving his hand across the space that has become his office. “So we decided to restore all that wood — the floors, the wainscoting on the walls, the ceilings, the doors.”

Only small portions of those hardwood floors could not be fully restored, said Ostrander, adding that the company has effectively blended the past — specifically those floors, walls, and ceilings — with the present, including a new, glass-walled conference room created on the ground-floor office area.

Gouvin agreed. “From the beginning, we treated it as historic renovation — every turn was thoughtful,” he said of the efforts to preserve historic qualities of the property (and there are many of them), yet make the property suitable for modern office and warehouse operations.

Elaborating, he said the structure is in a historic district, so any alteration to the building that faces Main Street had to be approved by the Historic Commission. That includes the windows and the front door, which had to be restored and not simply replaced.

The past and present come together in a number of spaces within the building — the warehouse still bears evidence of where trolley cars were kept and maintained, but the there’s now high-efficiency lighting there and elsewhere — but perhaps none better than the second-floor conference room, which takes advantage of large windows, more of that ornate woodwork, and a fireplace (one of several in the building) to provide a unique, homey setting.

“I don’t think we’ve had to turn the lights on in there yet — the windows let in a ton of light,” said Trask, adding that it’s the same throughout the office portion of the property.

 

Past Is Prologue

The business cards for those at JD Rivet list 2257 Main St. as the address.

That’s a location steeped in history, one that brings three different centuries together in the same building.

Those at the company are proud of how they’ve blended the past with the present. But mostly, they’re excited about the future and the opportunities presented by this new facility.

 

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

Community Spotlight

Stockbridge Looks Forward, Honors Its Heritage

By Mark Morris

Town Administrator Michael Canales

Town Administrator Michael Canales says a number of municipal projects speak to Stockbridge’s progress during the pandemic.

One of Norman Rockwell’s most famous paintings depicts a snow-covered Main Street in Stockbridge. The painting “Home for Christmas” was intended to celebrate small towns all over America, but these days, it’s nearly impossible for modern-day photographers to recreate the artist’s vision without including a constant stream of traffic.

While that might frustrate photographers, Margaret Kerswill is encouraged by all the activity she has seen this summer and into the fall.

“There’s more tourism than I expected to see in Stockbridge,” the board president of the Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce told BusinessWest. “It’s rare to go into town and not see it full of people.”

Kerswill said the pandemic encouraged business owners to find creative ways to keep people safe while maintaining their operations — and revenues. Despite the many challenges last year, they’ve largely come back strong.

“As rules and mandates kept changing, our business owners rolled with it,” she said. “It was wonderful to see everyone rise to the top of their game.”

Tri Town Health acts as a regional health department for the towns of Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge. When the Delta variant of COVID-19 began spreading, Tri Town Health imposed mask mandates for indoor common spaces.

“There’s more tourism than I expected to see in Stockbridge. It’s rare to go into town and not see it full of people.”

Stockbridge Town Administrator Michael Canales appreciates the agency’s work to keep the community as safe as possible. As of Oct. 15, 68% of Berkshire residents are fully vaccinated, while 78% have received at least one dose.

On the job for just over a year, Canales has not yet had the chance to lead the community in the absence of a pandemic. “It will be a little difficult for me to compare what normally happens in town because I have yet to see what normal looks like,” he noted.

Children’s Chime Tower

Repair work will begin next year on the Children’s Chime Tower, a fixture since 1878.

For now, he believes longtime residents who tell him Stockbridge is starting to look normal again. Canales himself has certainly noticed the busy summer and fall seasons, and credits that in part to the return of Tanglewood, which offered a limited schedule for audiences half the size of a normal show.

“Tanglewood is an example of one of the big events that happened as a smaller event for this year,” he said.

Despite the limited schedule, Kerswill said it was important that Tanglewood held events this year. “Tanglewood is integral to the local economy. It provides so many jobs in the area and definitely brings visitors to town for dining and shopping.”

Kerswill also wanted to set the record straight for BusinessWest about “a broad misconception” that Tanglewood is located in Lenox. “The entrance is in Lenox, but nearly 85% of Tanglewood’s land is actually in Stockbridge.”

 

Change and Progress

For several years, Kerswill co-owned Mutability in Motion, a gift shop she ran with her wife, Laureen Vizza. When COVID hit, they made the decision to close the shop.

“We’re working on new endeavors, still keeping our efforts local, but in new areas,” she explained. In addition to starting a personal blog called artmeditationlife.com, Kerswill has become a licensed realtor.

“The real-estate market is doing well — in fact, it’s crazy,” she said, adding that home-improvement services are also coming back strong, as evidenced by long wait times for many home projects.

In terms of municipal projects, Stockbridge added a new highway garage this past spring, though supply-chain issues caused delays in finishing it even sooner.

A current project nearing completion is the Larrywaug Bridge on Route 183. Canales expects this busy connector road will be open by the winter, with finishing touches to be completed in the spring.

“The real-estate market is doing well — in fact, it’s crazy.”

Next year, repair work will begin on the Children’s Chimes Tower, a fixture in Stockbridge built in 1878. Canales said the town has approved funding to refurbish all the internal mechanisms.

“It’s a neat structure, but it needs some tender loving care,” he added. “We’re hoping to make repairs that will keep it playing for the next 50 years.”

Still relatively new in the job, Canales said it’s been exciting to learn about the rich history of Stockbridge. While people all over the world are familiar with Tanglewood, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the town’s mention in James Taylor’s song “Sweet Baby James,” there are even deeper historical references to be found which Canales said “makes it a fascinating community.”

For example, the town is working on a project to protect old-growth forests, specifically Ice Glen, a ravine in the southeast area of Stockbridge. Its name comes from the many moss-covered rocks with deep crevices that can sustain ice into the summer.

During the time he wrote Moby Dick, Herman Melville lived in Pittsfield and is said to have visited Ice Glen at least once. The Stockbridge ravine is referenced in the novel when narrator Ishmael describes Pupella, a seaside glen, as “a wondrous sight. The wood was green as mosses of the Icy Glen.”

These days, the town is exploring several options to protect the old-growth trees from insects that are causing damage in Ice Glen.

The Chamber of Commerce has joined the effort to help tourists find both famous and lesser-known sites in Stockbridge. As an ongoing project, it has developed and begun installing new signs to help direct people to the many attractions in town. Right now, they’ve been installed downtown, but the plan is to expand the green-and-white signs to more areas of the community.

“We want to help people get around outside the downtown area because there is a lot to see,” Kerswill said. “If someone is here only for a weekend, we want to make sure they can find all the attractions that interest them.”

 

Better Days

While the town navigates the various stages of the pandemic, Canales said he and many others are looking ahead.

“We are staying on top of things and keeping an eye on trends so that when we come out of this, Stockbridge will be in the best possible shape to return to normal, or as close as we can get to normal,” he noted.

Kerswill added that Stockbridge is a place that continues to amaze her.

“Whether we’re going through good times or difficult times, it’s a community that comes together to get things done. I couldn’t be prouder of that.”

Banking and Financial Services

Gathering Storm

Christopher Viale

Christopher Viale says student-loan deferments, set to end in February, may pose issues for families who haven’t paid them back in a while.

 

During times of recession or economic upheaval, the last thing economists expect is for credit-card debt to fall.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened during the first year of the pandemic. According to Experian, from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2020, credit-card balances fell by 24% nationally. The percentage of credit-card users carrying an interest-bleeding balance month to month fell from 58% to 53%, according to the American Bankers Assoc.

One reason was that this was no normal economic downturn; during the early months of COVID-19, businesses were shuttered, restaurants were closed, and consumers simply reduced their spending dramatically — even if they were still working, and despite the government stimulus checks.

“For the first year of the pandemic, people weren’t really spending; they were paying down debt. Record amounts of debt were being paid down,” said Christopher Viale, CEO of Cambridge Credit Counseling in Agawam.

But that has not been the case in 2021.

“When things started opening up a little bit, people went haywire; they started spending like crazy,” Viale noted. “Credit-card debt has increased by 13% over the last quarter, which is the most it’s ever increased in a quarter.”

“For the most part, consumers have been in a good position, but then, when all these debts start to come due again, it’s going to be a very difficult time.”

Basically, stimulus worked — in the sense of stimulating spending. “You got free money, the $250 tax credit per child, you got whatever other government programs were there … people had a lot of money in their hands. Even though they weren’t working, the unemployment checks they were getting were as good as if they were working. So, for the most part, consumers have been in a good position, but then, when all these debts start to come due again, it’s going to be a very difficult time.”

And that’s what economic leaders — and people like Viale, who help families get out of debt — worry about. The increased spending in 2021 has coincided with an end to loan-deferment programs launched at the start of the pandemic, and if they haven’t been paying attention to their budget, many families might be in for a shock.

“It really is a perfect storm,” Viale said. “Consumers have had the ability to not pay their rent or mortgage or credit-card payments. Most, if not all, of that has ended, except for the 800-pound gorilla, which is student loans.”

Those will continue to be in moratorium until Feb. 1, which is when $1.3 trillion of debt will start to be drafted back out of consumers’ checking accounts. “Yes, they are being alerted and warned to be ready, but after not paying on these loans for almost two years, it’s going to be a shock for many.”

All of this has banks — with whom Viale talks all the time — worried about huge loss rates due to credit defaults starting in late 2022 and early 2023. In short, we may be heading into perilous times for household debt.

 

Change of Plans

According to a recent CreditCards.com survey, 44% of respondents they are willing to take on debt in the second half of 2021 for non-essential purchases, such as dining out.

That marks a dramatic change from savings-happy 2020. Even after that temporary dip in debt in 2020, 42% of U.S. adults with credit-card debt have increased those balances overall since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to a Bankrate.com survey conducted in September.

“It’s been an upside-down credit environment,” Stephen Biggar, who covers financial institutions at Argus Research, told CNBC this month. “If you told me the market was going to crash 40% and we would have 20% unemployment, you would have also said card delinquency rates would go through the roof, particularly for the lower-end consumer.”

But instead, the savings rate spiked to levels not seen in 70 years, as consumers curtailed spending — and were allowed to halt payments on student loans and mortgages — and started paying back other debt, notably credit-card balances. Now, the tide has completely turned. Meanwhile, most of those deferment programs no longer offer last year’s safety net.

“People haven’t had to pay their bills for a long time,” Viale said. “Mortgage, rent, student loans, even credit cards allowed a period of time when people didn’t have to make payments.”

Unlike payment deferment for credit cards, in which interest keeps accruing, “student loans are very different because that was a true moratorium; no one was being charged,” he explained. “So whatever status someone was in with their student loans when the pandemic started is where they’re going to be in February when they have to start paying again.

“Yes, they are being alerted and warned to be ready, but after not paying on these loans for almost two years, it’s going to be a shock for many.”

But on Feb. 1, those autodrafts will begin again. “And that’s going to be a shock for consumers because they haven’t made these payments in 18 months or so.”

Politico reported that the U.S. Department of Education is considering providing student-loan relief to borrowers who miss a payment during the first 90 days after payments resume, so credit scores won’t be adversely impacted.

According to Forbes, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to go even further; fretting about a surge in student-loan delinquency and default once payments resume, she and other members of Congress have repeatedly asked the Biden administration to postpone the restart of payments.

The average monthly payment for student-loan debt is between $400 and $600, Viale noted. “That’s a pretty big-ticket item they haven’t had to pay for a long time, and now, out of nowhere, they’re going to have to start paying it again.”

This will only exacerbate what seems to be a looming credit crisis, Viale said, one that makes programs like Cambridge’s — which manage and pay down a client’s debt payments in a way that reduces interest costs and protects their credit rating — even more critical.

Because of concerns about consumer debt next year, the Federal Reserve is allowing such relief programs to be extended to offer consumers even more concessions if they are struggling to keep up with mortgage and credit-card payments, Viale added. “My industry has been working flat out to develop and implement these additional hardship programs.”

 

Back to School

It’s not easy to escape credit-card debt — especially with the average annual percentage rate topping 16%.

According to a Bankrate.com survey, 54% of adults carry credit-card balances from month to month, and 50% of have been in credit-card debt for at least a year. The average person with credit card debt owes $5,525.

And that’s only one element of household debt. Wth student-loan payments ramping back up in February, the Department of Education has launched an extensive outreach campaign to borrowers.

“They’re giving people several months notice. They’re doing a pretty good job of letting consumers know this is coming,” Viale said. “But that doesn’t really mean much when you haven’t had to do it in a long time.”

 

—Joseph Bednar

Employment

Facing Whistleblower Concerns

By Jeremy Saint Laurent, Esq.

 

Facebook is currently in very murky waters with both the federal government and with its users. Employers should pay attention to the multitude of issues surrounding this matter to better understand potential exposure and develop a response plan.

On Oct. 5, after leaking sensitive Facebook documents to the media and the Securities Exchange Commission, whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress. Haugen’s testimony provided the Senate subcommittee with a glimpse into how Facebook’s policies negatively impact the mental health of its users, particularly children; creates political and social discord; and undercuts democratic ideologies.

Although dealing with public and agency scrutiny is not uncharted territory for Facebook after facing similar allegations during the last two presidential elections, these newly raised allegations of misconduct appear to be especially worrisome because Haugen was a Facebook insider. Haugen was employed in a department within Facebook tasked with investigating how the platform’s algorithm spreads misinformation and how the network was being used by our nation’s foreign rivals. In short, Haugen is believable, credible, and convincing because her allegations amount to Facebook disbanding and ignoring the work of herself and her colleagues in the pursuit of financial growth.

Jeremy Saint Laurent

Jeremy Saint Laurent

“Employees who come forward to the SEC and/or government regarding perceived misconduct are often covered by federal whistleblower protections and other laws, like wrongful termination in violation of public policy.”

In a recent NPR interview, attorney Andrew Bakaj, who represents Haugen, stated that “we have made lawful, protected disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission and to Congress. Such disclosures are protected both by law and Facebook’s own internal policies.”

Bakaj correctly states that federal whistleblower protections afford employees and ex-employees a broad range of legal protections for alerting law enforcement, the SEC, and Congress of potential malfeasance. Typically, employers have no legal recourse if that’s the only thing a whistleblower does to report potentially incriminating information. In fact, a Facebook representative told the Senate subcommittee that the company won’t retaliate against the whistleblower for speaking to Congress.

 

Lessons Employers Should Learn from the Facebook Whistleblower Fiasco

Employees who come forward to the SEC and/or government regarding perceived misconduct are often covered by federal whistleblower protections and other laws, like wrongful termination in violation of public policy. In a 2014 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that privately owned companies, in addition to publicly traded companies, may be subject to whistleblower liability if they retaliate against an employee or former employee who reports malfeasance to the appropriate agencies.

Massachusetts, like most states, adheres to the at-will employment model. The at-will employment doctrine allows an employer or an employee to terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, with or without cause or notice. However, in addition to federal whistleblower protections, employees are afforded additional protections under state law.

Commonly referred to as ‘wrongful discharge,’ wrongful termination in violation of public policy is a sort of catch-all, judge-made rule that prohibits employers in many states from firing an employee who opposes or refuses to participate in certain unlawful or unethical activities. In Massachusetts, an employee has a viable claim for wrongful discharge if they have a reasonable belief that they are preventing a violation of law. An employee who complains internally that his employer allegedly violated a criminal statute will, more often than not, have a claim for wrongful violation of public policy.

Employers must be conscious of when employees make complaints about possible violations of the law, and be cautious of terminating employees who refuse to conform to a company policy or engage in some action because they believe they are preventing a violation of law.

However, the tide turns when an employee takes things a step further and disseminates confidential information to the media or a competing organization. In the situation of Facebook, before Haugen resigned from Facebook, she copied thousands of pages of confidential documents and shared them with the SEC and Congress, but also with the Wall Street Journal, which in turn, authored a series of articles containing the classified information. Although sharing the information with the Journal does not make Haugen’s actions any less heroic, it may muddy the waters when it comes to what protections she is afforded under whistleblower protection and applicable state law.

Releasing information to media outlets or competing organizations can be in violation of many non-disclosure agreements entered into between the employee and employer during the onboarding process. Because most non-disclosure agreements exclude disclosure only to agencies like the SEC and Congress, employers can explore legal recourse through vehicles like breach-of-contract claims. Typically, non-disclosure agreements require employees to return or destroy confidential documents prior to or immediately after either party terminates the employment relationship. Essentially, non-compete agreements are structured to allow employees to utilize their legal right to report potentially illegal activity or policies within their company while protecting the employers’ legal rights and interest by limiting the types of disclosures allowed.

Should an employer choose to pursue a claim against an employee or former employee for exceeding the bounds of protected activities as outlined by whistleblower regulations and state laws, the employer may seek as damages any severance paid at the time of departure, private pension accrued by the former employee, stock options paid in connection to employment, and general monetary damages.

If you find yourself as an employer in a similar situation, be sure to consult with your labor employment counsel before moving forward with any employment action.

 

Jeremy Saint Laurent, Esq. is a litigation attorney who specializes in labor and employment law matters at the Royal Law Firm LLP, a woman-owned, women-managed corporate law firm that is certified as a women’s business enterprise with the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office, the National Assoc. of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council; (413) 586-2288; [email protected]

 

Opinion

Editorial

 

The past 20 months or so have been a living hell for most businesses in this region. Owners, managers, and HR execs (who have been earning their keep, to say the least) have had to cope with everything from the many stages of the pandemic to the worst workforce crisis anyone can ever remember; from supply-chain issues to the ‘Great Resignation’ and retirements.

It’s been a long, hard stretch that has challenged everyone and forced too many small businesses to simply pack it in.

The last thing these businesses needed was another stern challenge, but that’s what many of them got with the vaccination mandates recently announced by the Biden administration. These mandates involve businesses of 100 or more employees (which must soon have all employees vaccinated or tested regularly) and those with contracts with the federal government — all those employees must be vaccinated by Dec. 8, with no testing option (see related story, page 6).

The vaccine mandates are well-intended — they are designed to greatly improve vaccination rates and move the country closer to herd immunity — and in some ways they relieve the employers in these categories from having to implement a vaccine mandate on their own, a controversial decision to say the least. Now, they can simply say, ‘the government is making us do it.’

But as well-intentioned as they are, these mandates are simply not what struggling business owners and managers need right now. They don’t need the additional costs, and there are many of them, from paying for vaccines and tests to paying employees while they’re getting vaccinated or even recovering from side effects. They don’t need the burden of trying to make sure they are in compliance with the new regulations, and they certainly don’t need the additional turmoil when it comes to their workforce.

Businesses across every sector of the economy are not only have trouble filling positions, they’re having trouble simply getting applicants to apply for open positions. It is already a nightmare scenario for these businesses, many of which are trying to fully rebound from the pandemic and get back to something approaching normal — or what existed before March 2020. 

Talented workers are already leaving hospitals and other healthcare providers, police departments, state agencies, and even college football programs because they refuse to be vaccinated. Forcing more businesses, especially small businesses with federal contracts, to also require vaccination or testing as a condition of employment is a step that is only going to wreak more havoc on an economy struggling to pick up steam.

We understand why the Biden administration has taken these steps, and everyone wants to be able to put the pandemic behind us. But mandating vaccinations in this fashion is only going to create more turbulence for employers at a time when they simply don’t need it.

Opinion

Opinion

By Pam Thornton

 

Organizational leaders are ready to pull their hair out over the challenges they are fighting to recruit and retain talent today. The best recruitment strategy always includes having a strong retention plan. We know what can happen when we take our eye off the ball … ouch!

By the end of 2022, we expect more than half of all employees in the U.S. to be looking for a new job. Employers are really going to need to assess the value they bring to the reasons why their employees stay.

Gallup has provided us with the 12 most important factors that employees evaluate as they consider staying put or testing out opportunities with a new employer. They are:

• I know what is expected of me at work;

• I have the equipment I need to do my work right;

• I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day at work;

• I’ve received recognition or praise for doing good work in the last week;

• My supervisor seems to care about me as a person;

• There is someone at work that encourages my development;

• At work, my opinions seem to count;

• The mission of my organization makes me feel my job is important;

• My co-workers are committed to doing quality work;

• I have a best friend at work;

• In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress; and

• In the last year, I’ve had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

All of this comes down to our culture and level of engagement. Do you know how your employees would respond to these statements? If you aren’t sure, now is the time to find out. Here are a few ways to increase engagement with our employees:

• Encourage managers to define and discuss the expectations with each employee they supervise on a regular basis.

• Remember that employees use tangible and intangible resources to do their work well. Ask employees what would make it easier to perform their tasks. You might find out you don’t really need the fancy new software, but you do need the entire team to be trained on how to use what is already in place with consistency and efficiency.

• Encourage managers to ‘connect the dots’ with the talents and interests their employees demonstrate and even share in social conversations. Those elements of interest and excitement might be just what is missing from their job description today. Giving employees tasks that are a natural fit will increase productivity all the way around.

• Learn which employees like which types of recognition — and give it! Workplace recognition provides a sense of value and accomplishment. It also shows other employees what success in your organization looks like.

• Challenge employees, but give them the tools for success. Create learning opportunities and ask employees what they are learning as they go, and give them the opportunity to demonstrate it. Talk with them about their short-term and long-term growth goals with an open mind about where those goals align with today’s and tomorrow’s needs within your organization.

We all know that compensation and benefits are the lure that can attract someone to your organization, but it’s your culture that can keep the top talent you’ve already won. Keep the lines of communication open, and you might just find that some of the talent you have been trying to recruit is already on your payroll.

 

Pam Thornton is director of Strategic HR Services at the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. This article first appeared on the EANE blog.

Women of Impact 2021

Executive Director, Christina’s House

She Helps Homeless Moms and Kids Achieve Stability and Independence

One Sunday morning in 2010, Linda Mumblo was sitting in church when she felt God calling her to minister to homeless women and children.

“She noticed there were a lot of services for men in the area, but she felt there weren’t a lot of services for women,” said Linda’s daughter-in-law, Shannon Mumblo, adding that Linda turned the idea, which she called Christina’s House, into a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit within the month.

Shannon was a nurse and licensed clinical social worker at Baystate Medical Center at the time, but she was intrigued by Linda’s vision — for a very personal reason.

“I knew I wanted to be a very big part of what she was going to do because, growing up, I was the child who lived in a situation with an alcoholic mom, who lived in an apartment with just a mattress on a floor and didn’t always know where my next meal was going to come from.”

Fortunately, her grandmother stepped in. “She became the person for me that was my encouragement, that provided me with the love and support that I needed to allow me to have opportunities in life that I feel like I would not have been able to have with my mom,” Mumblo told BusinessWest.

And she saw Christina’s House as a way to help children be reunified with their mothers, and to help women realize their full potential and be the best parents they could be, she explained, “so that those children can grow up with their moms or have the opportunity to have a relationship with their mom that they might not otherwise have had. That’s how I started to be involved.”

Today, as executive director of Christina’s House, Shannon Mumblo has grown the organization to two large homes in Springfield, each serving up to 16 individuals at any given time, who live there for up to two years not only to escape homelessness, but to develop the skills and education necessary to live independently, with financial security, afterward — and deliver it all through a faith-based model.

“Growing up, I was the child who lived in a situation with an alcoholic mom, who lived in an apartment with just a mattress on a floor and didn’t always know where my next meal was going to come from.”

“In 2012, when we incorporated and formed the board,” she explained, “our mission was to educate, embrace, and encourage mothers and their children who are homeless or near-homeless through the love of Jesus Christ.”

The results — specifically, the many lives changed not only in the moment, but for the long term — speak for themselves, and demonstrate why Mumblo, by taking her mother-in-law’s vision to new heights, is certainly a Woman of Impact.

 

Teach a Woman to Fish…

At its heart, Christina’s House provides a program for moms and their kids to transition out of homelessness or near-homelessness and into independent living, Mumblo explained.

“It’s not a shelter — it’s a transitional, educational facility. We didn’t just want to house people, we wanted to teach them then skills they needed to break the generational patterns of poverty, abuse, trauma, all the barriers that keep people in a place of poverty. It’s education.”

The first Christina’s House location on Madison Avenue

The first Christina’s House location on Madison Avenue was followed last year by a second site on Union Street.

The program can last anywhere from 18 to 24 months, Mumblo said. “It can take six months just to earn their trust that we don’t want anything from them, just the best of who they are, and the motivation to be part of the program — six months to let their walls down and receive what we’re giving them.”

Early on, she and her team members break down with each client what their goals are — financial, educational, employment, health, parenting, even spiritual — and create a syllabus to help them achieve those goals. “Every week, we look at each of those categories and more and go through them and start to unpack them — look at what they need in each area and seek resources to help fill the gaps.”

Those resources include community partners ranging from Dress for Success and Springfield WORKS to local churches and community colleges. And the program ranges from job-training initiatives to classes that bolster life skills from parenting to anger management. Counseling is a part of every client’s schedule, including financial counseling from the United Way of Pioneer Valley’s Thrive program. After about a year in the program, discussions begin on planning for independent living, whether in a house or apartment.

Mumblo said she wants to stay in contact with graduates for at least five years after they leave, not only to track their self-sustainability and independence, but because the stories can be inspiring.

“It literally saves lives; some of our moms have been on the brink of suicide because they just didn’t have somebody to help them.”

“Once you’re really invested in the program, this becomes like a family. Most of our moms and kids didn’t have a family coming in here, so this becomes their family, and we don’t let them go,” she said, noting that one of the program’s first graduates came back to volunteer, and Christina’s House sent her son to summer camp for two weeks.

“She’s saving up for a house now. She’s still independent, still growing, still getting raises in her job. She’s a corrections officer — that was always her dream, and that’s what she’s doing.”

Even those who don’t finish the program can reap its benefits, she noted, recalling a woman who left the program early, and how devastated she felt about that. But then the woman stopped by recently to donate some of her granddaughter’s clothes.

“It was such a healing experience,” Mumblo said. “She shared that the seeds planted during her time here never left her. She kept hearing our words about what it meant to be financially independent, kept hearing our words about boundaries and parenting and all the things that were taught during her time here. So even though she didn’t finish, she’s still a success.

“I gave her a big hug and said, ‘whatever you need, we’re still here; we never left,’” she went on. “And for her, she felt like it was one last piece she needed to have healing and wholeness. So we never understand the full impact of the seeds we plant. Experiences like that make me excited to get up and be in a job where this is my calling.”

 

From the Ground Up

That calling took plenty of work — and faith. The first Christina’s House on Madison Avenue was owned by Cottage Hill Church, which gave the keys to Shannon and Linda at a time when the fledgling nonprofit had $300 in the bank, so they could give tours and raise awareness of the mission.

A fundraising ball later that year netted $8,000, and between that and donations from supporters, they were able to put a down payment on the house and move in.

A connection with the Springfield Police Department proved to be a key source of early support. Mumblo wanted to name a room after the late Kevin Ambrose, an officer who died while protecting a mother and child in a domestic-abuse situation. After visiting the house, Ambrose’s widow, Carla, decided to make Christina’s House her charity of choice.

Later that year, police Sgt. John Delaney launched the Ride to Remember, a fundraising bike ride in honor of fallen first responders, which donated $64,000 to Christina’s House in its second year to help repair the leaking roof and paint the house.

These days, donations — from individuals, businesses, and churches, as well as a few grants — are more steady, and the annual ball, now in its ninth year, is a $100,000 fundraiser.

“I feel like it started on faith, and every step of the way, we had faith,” Shannon said, and that went for buying and renovating a second Springfield location on Union Street in April 2020, to serve even more families. “The vision started in a church, and everything we do here has been a leap of faith, so to speak.”

Asked why she emphasizes a faith-based model, with a program delivered from a Christian perspective, with regular Bible studies, and her answer was simple yet firm.

“If we took God out of it, it wouldn’t be the program that it is. I’ve said it from the beginning — this has been about faith; this has been God’s mission and vision that was placed on my mother-in-law’s heart, and we give him all the glory for everything here every day. It’s not about us, it’s not about me — it’s about God working through me to do this work that I do every day.”

Mumblo believes it’s a model that can be replicated in other areas that need such a facility.

“I see God growing Christina’s House; it’s so needed,” she said. “It literally saves lives; some of our moms have been on the brink of suicide because they just didn’t have somebody to help them.

“And it’s about giving these kids the ability to have a mom and to have love around them and be in a safe environment where they don’t have to have drugs around them, and they don’t have to worry about what they’re going to eat,” she went on. “They’re fed, they’re cared for, they have a beautiful house to live in, and they have us long-term. We don’t go anywhere.”

Her clients, meanwhile … well, they’re going places.

“The most gratifying thing is watching the moms and kids grow and be successful and realize their potential, realize their goals, get that CNA certificate, get their GED, get a scholarship to attend school,” Mumblo said. “It’s more than I could have ever asked for in this lifetime.”

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

 

Women of Impact 2021

Program Engagement Manager, MassMutual

A Success in Business, She Is Also a Force in the Community

Maddy Landrau was returning home from a lengthy business trip to Texas. As the car that picked her up at the airport was approaching her home in the Brightwood section of Springfield, she was surprised to see a small crowd of people, including her husband, Carlos Landrau, gathered on her porch.

As she walked toward the door, she recognized the five young girls who lived next door and other children from the neighborhood, but still didn’t know quite why they were there. She would soon find out.

“They were there … with their report cards,” she told BusinessWest as she fought back tears (unsuccessfully), adding that the girls, especially, couldn’t wait — quite literally — to show them off to the person they deemed most responsible for the higher grades they’d achieved.

“They would come to me, and I’d be saying to them, ‘this is your education … you have to do well; education is your ticket out of here. No one can take away that A, no can take away your grades,’” she said, adding that the girls from her neighborhood are just some of the many she’s counseled on a wide range of matters, but especially education and its importance to quality of life.

There are many ways to explain why Madeline (Maddy) Landrau has been named a Woman of Impact for 2021, but that story — and the setting for it — probably do it best.

Indeed, mentoring young people has long been a big part of her life and career, the latter dominated by a series of assignments at MassMutual, the latest as program engagement manager, a position with a broad range of responsibilities in (and on behalf of) the community, as we’ll see.

As for the setting … that’s another huge part of this story.

Landrau left Brooklyn for Springfield at the behest of a friend more than 30 years ago. She settled in the North End and the Brightwood neighborhood, one of the poorest in the city (and the state, for that matter) and home to many Hispanics … and never left, even when friends, colleagues, and Realtors alike were advising her to look elsewhere when she and her husband decided to build a home.

“There was an opportunity to purchase land in the Plainfield area of Springfield, and my husband and I took a deep dive — we said, ‘let’s do this,’ she recalled. “There were appraisers and contractors who would say, ‘what are you doing? You could move to Agawam, South Hadley, or Wilbraham.’ And I said, ‘you’re missing the big picture, the sense of community.’ That’s what I wanted to leave my children.”

Landrau’s devotion to Brightwood, the people who live there, and the region as a whole is summed up by Jean Canosa Albano, herself a Woman of Impact (class of 2018), who nominated her for the same honor.

“Maddy believes that there is a narrow path — be it to education, financial literacy, or workplace success. All you have to do is make the path wider. And she does it! She is inclusive and representative of communities who in some places may not find a place on that path.

“She believes in leading from the rear, not seeking the spotlight, and recognizes others’ humanity,” Albano continued. “She doesn’t seek to shatter the glass ceiling as much as to open the windows and welcome more people in.”

That comment, one of many poignant takes in the nomination, explains what drives Landrau and why she has touched so many lives in so many ways.

So does this comment from Lydia Martinez-Alvarez, assistant superintendent of Springfield Public Schools and another Woman of Impact (class of 2019).

“Many young adults call her ‘mom’ because of the impact that she has had on their lives,” she wrote. “Maddy is always helping someone with whatever they need. She often puts others ahead of herself; she is a mentor to many in our community and volunteers her time to ensure that our community is a better place for all to live in.”

 

Moving Thoughts

As noted earlier, Landrau grew up in Brooklyn, specifically the Bay Ridge neighborhood.

It was a close-knit, very diverse community, but there were few Hispanics, she told BusinessWest, using ‘mixed salad’ rather than ‘melting pot’ to describe it, adding that it was a very welcoming and tolerant environment.

“Many young adults call her ‘mom’ because of the impact that she has had on their lives.”

As much as she liked those elements of home, she desired to make a new life for herself and her two young sons, and, at the behest of a friend in Springfield who promised to help her get settled, packed her bags.

“I did not want to raise them in New York City, the fast and the furious — I needed something slower,” she said. “I felt bad when I told my dad I was leaving, but I knew that I needed this challenge, this opportunity to start afresh — a white canvas.”

The picture that now fills that canvas is one that tells of a young women taking advantage of opportunities afforded her, but mostly making her own opportunities — while never, ever forgetting that neighborhood she moved to and the people, like her, who still call it home.

Upon arriving in Springfield, in quick order, she secured an apartment, a job, and daycare so she could work that job. She married Carlos, a police officer, and the two created a blended family and “pulled it together,” as she put it.

That same phrase applies to her career and her ladder climbing at MassMutual.

She started in Accounts Receivable and quickly advanced, first to a leadership role in that department, then the IT department, and later Sales and a management position in that department. In 2011, she became director of Life Company Marketing and, among other initiatives, led the development and execution of marketing and recruiting strategies to help the company reach the U.S. Hispanic and Latino markets.

Maddy Landrau engages in a game of dominoes with some North End residents.

Maddy Landrau engages in a game of dominoes with some North End residents.

In her current role, Landrau has a number of responsibilities. She manages the MassMutual Foundation’s Anchor Institution Grantee Portfolio, which represents $5 million in funding to more than 20 organizations across the state. She also leads the company’s national LifeBridge life-insurance program, which offers free life-insurance coverage to eligible parents for the benefit of their children’s education. And she also leads and executes the FutureSmart Challenge Program in markets across the country. On pause because of COVID-19, the program is MassMutual’s proprietary financial-education program that educates middle- and high-school students about making smart financial decisions and career choices.

All throughout her career, she has been active within the community, and especially the North End. Early on, she volunteered on the board of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and also served on the New North Citizens Council. Currently, she serves as a trustee at Westfield State University — she’s the first Latina to serve in that capacity — and is now vice chair of a subcommittee of the Finance & Capital Assets Committee, as well as a trustee with the Baystate Health Foundation.

But while influential in the boardroom, she has been most impactful in the community itself and working with people (especially young Latinas) as a mentor, second mother on many occasions, and role model in every way imaginable.

She said she is connected with mentees through the New North Citizens Council, Springfield Technical Community College, neighbors, and other channels. Slicing through what she tells them and she guides them, she said there is a dominant message.

“They create these challenges for themselves … and I tell them that, if only they were to make the right choice at the given time, I foresee that they wouldn’t have so many challenges,” she explained. “If they only took a pause and said, ‘this isn’t life the way it’s supposed to be,’ and if they created this opportunity for themselves to be happy and not allow others to make them happy, but also to become financially sound.

“I see many of these mentees living beyond their means,” she went on. “The ‘wants’ become more important than the ‘needs,’ and in my mentoring I’m trying to change that — how do you create the ‘needs’ as a priority? I stress the importance of being financially sound and educated, and that these are the things they need to pass on to their children.”

She said she mentors mostly young people, in the 13-18 age bracket, but also young adults and even a few grandmothers raising their grandchildren, whom she advises to look at things differently and not try to raise young people the way they were raised.

“When I meet with them, I tell them they have to meet me halfway. They have to do their part; let’s build trust, build the communication pattern, and share the good, the bad, and the ugly. I tell them that I want to hear more good, but don’t be afraid to share the bad — and the ugly.”

With each mentee, the basic ground rules for the relationship are the same.

“When I meet with them, I tell them they have to meet me halfway,” she continued. “They have to do their part; let’s build trust, build the communication pattern, and share the good, the bad, and the ugly. I tell them that I want to hear more good, but don’t be afraid to share the bad — and the ugly.”

 

Passing It On

That’s what you might expect from someone who’s made it her life’s mission to not necessarily shatter that glass ceiling, as Albano noted (although she has done that in some respects), but rather open the windows and welcome more people in.

It’s what you would expect from someone who had a crowd of young people waiting to show her their report cards as she returned from a trip, and what you would expect from someone who passed on Wilbraham and Agawam and stayed in the neighborhood where she raised her children.

And it’s what you would expect from someone who personifies the phrase ‘Woman of Impact.’

 

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

Women of Impact 2021

Owner, Indian Line Farm

She’s Continuing an Agricultural Legacy — and Cultivating Her Own

 

By Mark Morris

Elizabeth Keen’s journey to becoming a successful farmer in Western Mass. began in Mexico and Guatemala.

Shortly after graduating from Colorado College, Keen joined an effort by Witness for Peace to work with Guatemalan refugees living in the south of Mexico who were looking to return home. In the three years she spent with the Guatemalans, Keen saw how their entire subsistence was based on working and growing food. It left a lasting impression.

“I thought I would return to the states and work for a nonprofit,” she said. “But I also wanted to learn about and understand sustainable agriculture so I could someday return to Guatemala and offer a technical skill to the people looking to go back to their homeland.”

Upon her return to the U.S., friends who had accompanied Keen on the Central American trip invited her to take part in a 1,000-mile bike tour of New England as a fundraiser for an organization called the Guatemala Accompaniment Project.

During the bike tour, she reconnected with a friend who lived in Great Barrington who knew a farmer in need of apprentices. Keen committed to a year-long apprenticeship at what is known as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm.

Through a CSA farm, the public can support local agriculture by purchasing farm memberships. In return, members are offered a weekly bounty of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. According to the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, CSAs are a way for the food-buying public to create a relationship with a farm and bring home plenty of healthy produce to boot.

“It was amazing to work with your hands and see the results of your work. The physical strain also made me feel that what I was doing was valuable.”

While she did not have previous experience with this type of work, Keen said she fell in love with the physical-labor part of farming.

“It was amazing to work with your hands and see the results of your work,” she said. “The physical strain also made me feel that what I was doing was valuable.”

During the apprenticeship, she met Al Thorp, and they began a relationship that would eventually lead to their marriage — and to an intriguing agricultural success story.

In January 1997, Robyn Van En, owner of Indian Line Farm in South Egremont, died suddenly of an asthma attack at age 49. Members of the community were stunned and worried about what would happen to this historic land, site of the first CSA farm in the U.S. Meanwhile, Keen and her husband had just completed their apprenticeship and were considering their next move. Keen had worked briefly with Van En before she died and appreciated the beauty and viability of Indian Line.

People in the community feared the land was vulnerable to developers and wanted to make sure it would stay a working farm, so they encouraged the young couple to take over the operation of Indian Line.

“With six months experience for me and a year and a half for Al, we started a farm,” Keen said. “We started from scratch and did not know what we were doing.”

Along with Keen and Thorp, the Nature Conservancy and the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires worked together to keep Indian Line a working farm. The couple purchased the buildings on the property, and the other entities secured the land with a lease to ensure its exclusive use as a farm for the next 99 years.

Now with a mortgage to pay, Keen took on running the farm while Thorp, an engineer by training, began working three days a week in a surveyor’s office. Keen explained her husband’s role at the farm as “the person who fixes everything that breaks.” Now a licensed surveyor and engineer, Thorp continues his roles on and off the farm. It’s a division of labor that has worked well for both of them.

Elizabeth Keen’s impact extends beyond her own farm to broader efforts like the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training.

Elizabeth Keen’s impact extends beyond her own farm to broader efforts like the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training.

“I do all the member interaction, employee management, and the daily work of the farm,” Keen said. “But when I need a new greenhouse, Al will take that on and get it done.”

 

Growing Community

Currently, 200 members belong to the Indian Line Farm CSA. Keen pointed out that each membership represents a household, so her farm is providing food for well over 400 people in the Berkshires through this one program.

From arugula and kale to carrots and a variety of radishes, the farm offerings vary by season. Keen provides members with familiar as well as not-so-familiar vegetable offerings.

“Our climate doesn’t allow us to just grow the most popular vegetables,” she said. “I have to grow what the seasons will allow.” That means daikon radishes and Japanese turnips become part of the vegetable selection. “I introduce my members to lots of new things and try to provide recipes for vegetables that might not be as familiar to people.”

Vegetables are only part of what grows and develops at Indian Line Farm. Keen and Thorp are longtime participants in the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT), a program that enhances educational opportunities for apprentices through visits to a number of farms and networking with fellow apprentices and farmers. The couple were part of this program during their apprentice days and wanted to pay forward their experience as a CRAFT farm.

“I’m able to share some knowledge with our apprentices, but CRAFT visits give them a much wider perspective of what’s going on in agriculture,” Keen said. For the last 20 years, three or four workers each year complete an apprenticeship at Indian Line, with nearly half of them pursuing a career in agriculture.

More than half of Keen’s apprentices over the years have been women, many of whom have told her the example she sets as a female farmer is meaningful to them.

“I came to farming at age 26 with no experience in how to mow, use sharp tools, or drive a tractor,” she said. “I benefited from wonderful mentors, and now I have the opportunity to share these experiences with other women. It’s empowering for them and for me.”

“Getting to know other farmers reinforces that we are all in this together; we recognize all the challenges and complications that come with this life, and we’re not facing it alone.”

While she has also taught plenty of men how to drive a tractor, women are often less likely to have had the opportunity to learn these types of skills.

While the demands of the farm can easily keep Keen busy from dawn to dusk, she and Thorp felt it important to develop a community among others who were farming in the area. They began by informally reaching out to other farmers to get together and socialize. Keen wanted something more intentional, so she started a group called Farmers Gather.

“A meeting consists of a tour at an area farm with a potluck dinner to follow,” she explained. Before COVID-19 put a damper on regular meetings, the gatherings often brought together farmers who had lived in the area for many years, but didn’t really know each other.

“In a social sense it’s been terrific, but it’s even more than that,” she said. “Getting to know other farmers reinforces that we are all in this together; we recognize all the challenges and complications that come with this life, and we’re not facing it alone.”

Margaret Moulton, executive director of Berkshire Grown, noted that, on top of Keen’s contributions to the farming community, her work to eradicate food insecurity ranks among her most impressive efforts.

“Through Berkshire Grown’s Share the Bounty program in partnership with the People’s Pantry, Elizabeth provides tons of fresh food to low-income residents in the county,” Moulton said.

Keen estimated that 10 shares of food reach the People’s Pantry through her personal contributions, and other members spend a little extra for their shares to help out. The arrival of COVID last year greatly increased the need — and the generosity of even more members who donated extra money to make more food available to their neighbors who needed it.

“It’s easy for me to be generous because, over the years, people have been so generous to us,” she said. “There are also many people helping in important ways, such as transporting the food from the farm to those who need it; that’s a huge part of the effort.”

 

The Next Generation

During her time in Guatemala, Keen learned to speak Spanish. When snowfall covers the farm, one of her winter passions is practicing her Spanish as an interpreter for Volunteers in Medicine, a clinic located in Great Barrington with a mission to improve access to healthcare for Berkshire residents.

And, yes, she did return to Guatemala. In 2016, she and her children, Colin and Helen (ages 18 and 15, respectively), spent six months in one of the small indigenous communities where Keen had worked many years before. After a humbling moment when she realized Guatemalans have survived for centuries without her farm knowledge, Keen instead taught English in the middle school.

“This was a chance to give back in a way that felt concrete,” she said. As a bonus, Colin and Helen learned Spanish while there.

“I’m really proud that Al and I have been able to parent two children who can say they grew up on a farm,” she said. “I don’t think they are going to be farmers, but they know how to work, use tools, and they are both strong.”

Keen feels her greatest professional achievement has been to keep the farm where the CSA movement started a success today and into the future. “It’s an honor to keep Robyn Van En’s vision alive here at the birthplace of CSA.”

With everything she does for the farming community and neighbors in need, many would say Keen is forging her own legacy — as a true Woman of Impact.

Picture This

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


 

Celebrating a Legacy

Square One celebrated the career and legacy of Joan Kagan, its former president and CEO, at a retirement party on Oct. 14. Pictured from top: Kagan addresses the gathering at the Starting Gate at GreatHorse. Center: from left, Melissa Blissett, vice president of Family Services; Kris Allard, vice president of Development & Communication; Kagan; Maria Bedard, vice president of Early Education & Care; Dawn DiStefano, president and CEO; and Joni Beck Brewer, retired vice president of Family Services. Bottom: Kagan with a painting gifted by local artists and Bay Path University students Cora Swan and Audira Cave. The painting will hang at Square One’s Tommie Johnson Child & Family Center as a way of honoring Kagan for her years of service.

 


 

Cutting the Ribbon

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries recently held a ribbon-cutting event at its newly renovated store on University Drive in Amherst. Pictured, from left: store Manager Cynthia Bartels, Goodwill CEO Joanne Hilferty, Goodwill board member Kathleen Murphy, Amherst Town Council President Lynn Griesemer, Amherst Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Youssef Fadel, state Rep. Mindy Domb, and Goodwill Senior Director of Retail Robert Niejadlik.

 


Growing STEM

Springfield Technical Community College was recently awarded two grants worth more than $7 million from the U.S. Department of Education to boost student success among Latinx and low-income students in STEM fields. Pictured at the ceremony announcing the grants: from left, STCC President John Cook, state Rep. Orlando Ramos, state Rep. Bud Williams, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, and Shai Butler, STCC’s vice president of Advancement and External Affairs.

 


Hunger Relief

State legislators visited Rachel’s Table recently to announce $25,000 in funding secured for food rescue and distribution efforts. Pictured from left: state Rep. Brian Ashe; a staffer for state Rep. Bud Williams, Jodi Falk, director of Rachel’s Table; state Sen. Eric Lesser; Sarah Maniaci, associate director of Rachel’s Table; Nora Gorenstein, interim executive director of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts; Ellen Gold, board president of Rachel’s Table; and state Rep. Jacob Oliveira.

Women of Impact 2021

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Town of West Springfield; Springfield City Councilor

She’s an Entrepreneur, Public Servant, Mentor, and True Role Model

 

 

To effectively convey the depth of Tracye Whitfield’s impact within the community, one should probably start with her business cards — as in the plural.

She carries three of them. Sort of.

She usually has only one on her, and that’s for the job she started just four months ago — as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer for the town of West Springfield. That’s a new position, and in it, she’s essentially starting from scratch and drafting the blueprint for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department, an assignment she describes with the single word ‘difficult’ (much more on that in a bit).

But she also has a business card identifying her as an at-large city councilor in Springfield — she said she had to make it herself; the city does not supply them — and another one explaining that she is a principal with T&J Tax and Credit Savers, the most recent iteration of a small business she started seven years ago.

Together, these business cards tell a compelling story. It’s about a single mother who started working at a call center in the late ’90s because it was a way to get more doors to open for her, including the one at MassMutual, where she would become inspired — and receive the tuition reimbursement — to earn first a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance and then a master’s in accounting and taxation, both at American International College.

She would use those degrees to launch her own tax business — one she has built steadily over the years — and eventually move on to different career challenges, including one as director of Business Development for the Training and Workforce Options (TWO) program operated by Springfield Technical Community College and Holyoke Community College, and, well before that, as a finance analyst for Springfield Public Schools.

It was while in that job that Whitfield realized many constituents were missing out on resources and program funding because they were simply not aware of them. Later, as she talked within the community about the need for better communication and a voice for all residents, friends and relatives encouraged her to become that voice by running for City Council.

Neither she nor most of the members of her team had any experience with election campaigns, but she ran hard, knocked on more doors than she could count, and would up finishing a strong sixth, just out of the running, in the 2017 election. But she was later placed in an at-large seat when Tom Ashe became chief of staff for Mayor Domenic Sarno. Today, she is vice president of the Council and running for a third term.

Yes, it’s a compelling story, and one that forms the basis of what she considers the advice she passes on to the many young people she mentors.

“There are no real barriers other than the ones we place on ourselves — we can do whatever we want to do,” she said. “And I also tell them to give back; whatever you learn, bring it forward to the next person so they can learn it, too. That’s how we’ll maintain a culture of togetherness and just helping one another. And we’re all far better off when we can do that.”

“Whatever you learn, bring it forward to the next person so they can learn it, too. That’s how we’ll maintain a culture of togetherness and just helping one another. And we’re all far better off when we can do that.”

Those sentiments, and, yes, those business cards and all they stand for, explain why Tracye Whitfield is a Woman of Impact for 2021.

 

Running Story

As noted, Whitfield is running for re-election this fall. That means an already-hectic daily schedule becomes even more so.

Indeed, in addition to her day job in West Springfield, her duties as city councilor — which include countless meetings (many now thankfully conducted via Zoom) and events — and her work handling clients who asked for extensions on filing their tax returns, she must now campaign.

Such work is a little different in a pandemic, she explained, adding that there will be less knocking on doors (at least for her). But there are still the events and the stand-outs with supporters at busy intersections. Whitfield is an at-large councilor, so she must blanket the entire city; some of her favorite stand-out locations are the convergence of Wilbraham Road and Parker Street and at the X by the CVS.

Tracye Whitfield stands outside Town Hall in West Springfield, where she now serves as the community’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer.

Packing a lot into the hours available in a day is nothing new to Whitfield, who long juggled work, school, and parenting duties, and still does to some extent, although now it’s her first grandchild, different kinds of work, and different kinds of education.

Born and raised in Springfield, she said she had her first child at 18 and, like many single teen mothers, faced a number of daily challenges. But unlike many others like her, she had a plan — and a path — as well as a desire to set the tone for her children.

“I wanted to set a good example for them,” she said, adding that she took a job at First Notice Systems, a giant call center, with the larger goal of taking her experience in customer service and use it to get a foot in the door at MassMutual.

She eventually joined the financial-services giant in 2000, working her way from customer service representative to ‘top Blue Case manager,’ to accounting specialist.

Along the way, as noted, she earned two college degrees and set her career sights higher. After stints with Springfield Public Schools, Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, and Springfield Technical Community College, she landed a job as director of Business Development for TWO, a position that was eventually eliminated due to cuts forced by COVID-19, a setback that brought her back to the job market and, eventually, to apply for a new position posted by the town of West Springfield.

She saw it posted on Indeed, and after talking with friends and colleagues, she decided to apply. She prevailed and started just four months ago, becoming one of a growing number of people with ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer’ printed on their business cards.

“I have seen how much people can change their life and advance through workforce development.”

When asked about this movement, if it can be called that, she said these positions are being created out of obvious need.

“It’s important to bring everyone’s voice to the table,” she said, noting that many area communities, including West Springfield, are becoming increasingly diverse. “There’s a large refugee population in this community, and from what I’ve gathered from meeting and interviewing people, they do feel left out and isolated because communication isn’t in their language, and they don’t know where to go; they don’t have a lot of guidance and resources to help them navigate the town process itself.”

Her work is pioneering in many respects, she said, adding that there is no blueprint to follow — as noted, she’s creating one. Thus, she’s reaching out to others in this emerging field of equity and inclusion for advice and best practices. And, following a pattern from earlier in her career, she’s continuing her education. Indeed, she’s pursuing a certificate in diversity, equity, and inclusion from Cornell and attending a number of forums.

Her first assignment is to hire a strategic consultant to help chart a course, and eventually she plans to create a town Equity Advisory Committee.

While breaking new ground in West Springfield, Whitfield continues to serve her constituents across the river in the City of Homes.

As an at-large councilor, she represents the entire city and has established some priorities or specific points of focus, including transparency, finance, public safety (she’s been chair of the Mason Square C3 Initiative since 2016), home ownership, and education and workforce development.

Those are all matters to which she can speak from experience, especially when it comes to seeing how higher education can change one’s career path — and their life.

“I have seen how much people can change their life and advance through workforce development,” she told BusinessWest. “College isn’t for everyone right after high school, so I think workforce development is a great path.” 

 

Paying It Forward

Amid her myriad roles, Whitfield saves time to mentor others, especially a small group of young women, including some on her campaign team. She advises them on subjects ranging from politics to entrepreneurship; from credit repair to home ownership.

“I feel that anything I’ve done … I can pass that on to others,” she said. “If someone asks, and they’re serious, I’m definitely going to help them.”

And there is much she can help with, as we know from those business cards. Together, they speak of someone who used education to change her life, someone who has chosen not to just live in a community, but get involved in it — someone who has molded herself into a Woman of Impact.

 

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

Court Dockets

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

New Castle Building Co., LLC d/b/a New Castle Building Products v. Thomas Kelliher a/k/a Thomas M. Kelliher Jr. a/k/a Thomas M. Kelliher a/k/a Thomas Michael Kelliher d/b/a TK Home Improvement
Allegation: Breach of contract: $3,789.92
Filed: 9/16/21

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Jeffrey C. Allard, M.D., individually and as manager of Manomednet, LLC v. Baystate Health Inc., Baystate Wing Hospital Corp., Baystate Medical Practices Inc., and Richard Hicks, M.D.
Allegation: Breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and tortious interference with contractual relations: $1,000,000
Filed: 9/24/21

William Crowley v. Capital Driver Leasing, LLC; Mark R. Warsofsky; James Burokas; and M&M Transport Co.
Allegation: Employment discrimination
Filed: 9/29/21

Cassandra D. Gisolfi as personal representative of the estate of Cathy Runquist v. Louis J. Durkin, M.D. and Mercy Inpatient Medical Associates Inc.
Allegation: Medical malpractice, wrongful death: $14,658.20
Filed: 9/29/21

Agenda

‘Rewire: Finding Purpose and Fulfillment After Retirement’

Nov. 3: Due to popular demand, Holyoke Community College (HCC) has added a second date this fall for its three-hour workshop focusing on life after retirement. “Rewire: Finding Purpose and Fulfillment After Retirement” will meet from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development on HCC’s main campus at 303 Homestead Ave. Many pre-retirees focus solely on their 401(k) and pension when deciding when to retire but neglect to consider how they will find purpose and fulfillment in the next chapter of their lives. A person who retires at age 65 will be active for 20 years or more after leaving their full-time job. The workshop will explore ways retirees can fill those hours they have previously devoted to their careers. It will offer a series of exercises and self-assessments, as well as time to reflect, brainstorm with others, and develop goals and a vision for this new chapter of life. Participants will also leave with an extensive list of resources to explore. To maintain safe social distancing, space is limited, so advance registration is required. To register, visit hcc.edu/rewire, or call (413) 552-2500 for more information. The cost is $39. Masks are required in all HCC campus buildings regardless of vaccination status.

 

City of Bright Nights Ball

Nov. 13: It will be “Cherry Blossoms Under the Moonlight” for the 2021 City of Bright Nights Ball, when the event returns to MGM Springfield for the third time, Spirit of Springfield President Judy Matt announced. Eastman is the gala’s sponsor, and Shawn Pace, Eastman’s Indian Orchard site manager, is the chair. Additional support for the City of Bright Nights Ball is provided by MassMutual, which was the lead sponsor of the 2019 gala and will serve as this year’s Chairman’s Reception Sponsor. Golden Circle Sponsors include American Medical Response, Baystate Health, the Colvest Group, Comcast, Country Bank, FR Investment Group, Gleason Johndrow Landscaping, Health New England, MGM Springfield, MP CPAs, New England Business Machine, Sheraton Springfield, and the Springfield Business Improvement District. The décor and dinner will be themed with cherry blossoms. Andrew Jensen from JX2 Productions and Dan Stezko with his team at Flowers, Flowers! have been hard at work designing the look in flowing pinks and flowers. The culinary team at MGM Springfield, led by Executive Chef Chris Smigel, will serve a dinner featuring braised short ribs, pan-seared diver scallops, seared trumpet mushroom ‘scallops,’ and a dessert complete with a touch of cherry cotton candy. For information about being a sponsor of the City of Bright Nights Ball or purchasing tickets, contact the Spirit of Springfield at (413) 733-3800 or [email protected].

 

Women of Impact

Dec. 9: BusinessWest will honor its fourth annual class of Women of Impact at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel. This year’s class, like the first three, demonstrates the sheer diversity of the ways women leaders in our region are making an impact on the worlds of business, nonprofits, health, and the community. Profiled this issue of BusinessWest, they are Jessica Collins, executive director of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts; Elizabeth Dineen, CEO of the YWCA of Western Masachusetts; Charlene Elvers, director of the Center for Service and Leadership at Springfield College; Karin Jeffers, president and CEO of Clinical and Support Options; Elizabeth Keen, owner of Indian Line Farm; Madeline Landrau, Program Engagement manager at MassMutual; Shannon Mumblo, executive director of Christina’s House; and Tracye Whitfield, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer for the town of West Springfield and Springfield city councilor. The event is sponsored by Country Bank and TommyCar Auto Group (presenting sponsors) and Comcast Business and Health New England (supporting sponsors). See page 30 for more information on the event.

People on the Move
Caitlin Trites

Caitlin Trites

Bill Kemple

Bill Kemple

Trina Moskal

Trina Moskal

The Wealth Transition Collective Inc., a values-based, full-service financial-planning firm in Holyoke, recently announced personnel news regarding three team members. Caitlin Trites recently passed the Securities Industry Essentials and Series 6 exams and has been promoted to registered client relationship manager. She has 13 years of financial-services industry experience. Bill Kemple was recently awarded Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor designation. CPFA designees are financial professionals that demonstrate expertise and experience working with qualified retirement plans. During the CPFA certification, candidates spend two months learning about fiduciary services for qualified retirement plans. Kemple recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with the Wealth Transition Collective and brings more than 13 years of financial-services experience helping individuals, families, and small business owners oversee their fiduciary affairs. Trina Moskal has joined the firm as a Medicare planning specialist. She will be responsible for new business development as well as working with firm clients on their individual Medicare and Social Security planning needs in the pre- and post-retirement life stages. Moskal has held a number of leadership positions in the healthcare community, and earned a master’s degree in healthcare management from Bay Path University.

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Jean Deliso

Jean Deliso

Jean Deliso, CFP has been named a member of the 2021 Chairman’s Council of New York Life. Members of the Chairman’s Council rank in the top 4% of New York Life’s more than 12,000 licensed agents in sales achievement. Deliso has accomplished this level of achievement for 10 consecutive years. Deliso has been a New York Life agent since 1995 and is associated with New York Life’s Connecticut Valley General Office in Windsor, Conn. She is a member of Nautilus Group, an exclusive advanced-planning resource for estate-conservation and business-continuation strategies. She is president and owner of Deliso Financial and Insurance Services, a firm focusing on comprehensive financial strategies that help position clients for a solid financial future. She has been working in the financial field for more than 30 years, her first seven in public accounting and the balance working in the financial-services industry. A certified financial planner, Deliso has developed an expertise in assisting business owners and individuals protecting and securing their and their family’s future. Her extensive experience has led to a focus in certain fields, such as cash-flow planning, risk management, investment, retirement, and estate planning. Deliso currently serves on and has held chairman of the board positions at Baystate Health Foundation and the Community Music School of Springfield. She is also a former board member of the YMCA of Greater Springfield and Pioneer Valley Refrigerated Warehouse, a former trustee of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, and a member of the Bay Path University advisory board.

•••••

Two employees who have been coordinating UMass Amherst’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic since March were recently honored by Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy for their efforts. Ann Becker, campus Public Health director and a clinical associate professor in the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, and Jeffrey Hescock, executive director of Environmental Health and Safety and Emergency Management, were awarded the Chancellor’s Medal at a recent tribute dinner. Hescock and Becker are the co-directors of the university’s Public Health Promotion Center (PHPC), which has been the home to the UMass COVID testing and vaccination programs. The Chancellor’s Medal is the highest honor the campus bestows on individuals, and is given for exemplary and extraordinary service to the university. Becker and Hescock had worked together before the pandemic on urgent issues of campus public health and safety, including their successful effort to stem a campus meningitis outbreak. When COVID-19 hit, they once again combined their respective expertise in public health and emergency management to quickly develop a response strategy for the campus, including the establishment of the PHPC, which became one of the largest asymptomatic COVID testing resources in the Commonwealth. They continually evolved the PHPC from a testing site to a vaccination clinic as well.

•••••

Jenna Rahilly

Jenna Rahilly

Florence Bank appointed Jenna Rahilly to serve as vice president and Human Resources Operations director. She is a 23-year veteran in the banking industry with 28 years of professional human-resources experience. Rahilly most recently served as vice president of Human Resources for a local credit union. Her duties included the overall management of the credit union’s human-resources function, which encompassed the development and implementation of policies related to employee relations, organizational development, recruitment, compensation and benefits, training, and human-resources compliance. Rahilly studied at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English.

•••••

Eric Frazier

Eric Frazier

Eric Frazier joined OMG Roofing Products as the market manager for its growing line of roofing adhesives. In his newly created position, Frazier is responsible for developing marketing strategies and sales-execution plans for the adhesive-product category, including OMG’s popular line of OlyBond500 adhesives. In this capacity, he will work closely with product management, marketing communications, as well as the field sales team to deliver adhesive solutions to OMG customers. He reports to Adam Cincotta, vice president of the Adhesives & Solar Business unit. Frazier has extensive experience in brand and product-line commercialization as a product marketing manager. He comes to OMG from Techtronic Industries of Anderson, S.C., where he spent more than six years, most recently as group product manager responsible for leading product development and marketing efforts within its Ryobi and Hart brands. He holds a master’s degree in marketing from Southern New Hampshire University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I.

•••••

Professor Jennifer Taub of the Western New England University School of Law has recently been elected to the American Law Institute (ALI), the leading independent organization in the U.S. producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. The organization includes judges, lawyers, and law professors from the U.S. and abroad, selected on the basis of professional achievement and demonstrated interest in improving the law. Taub will join 24 new members from across the country to advance the ALI mission to clarify the law through restatements, principles, and model codes. At WNE School of Law, she teaches civil procedure, white-collar crime, and other business and commercial law courses. A legal scholar and advocate, she is devoted to making complex business-law topics engaging inside and outside of the classroom. Her scholarly research and writing centers on corporate governance, banking and financial market regulation, and white-collar crime. Similarly, her advocacy is focused on ‘follow the money’ matters, promoting transparency and opposing corruption. Her book, Big Dirty Money: The Shocking Injustice and Unseen Cost of White Collar Crime, was published in 2020 by Viking Press. Penguin Books published the paperback edition of Big Dirty Money last month with a new subtitle: Making White Collar Criminals Pay, with a new preface and epilogue updates.

•••••

Andrea Kwaczala, assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering (BME) in the Western New England University College of Engineering, has been named a 2021 Woman of Innovation for her efforts in post-secondary academic innovation and leadership by the Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc. Kwaczala was among 11 exceptional Connecticut women recognized for their achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at the 17th annual Women of Innovation awards held virtually on Oct. 14. Women of Innovation finalists are nominated by their peers, co-workers, and mentors and are selected based on their professional experience, history of innovation, ability to think creatively and solve problems, and demonstration of leadership. The Post-Secondary Academic Innovation and Leadership award is granted to a woman working in the post-secondary academic setting who has created and fostered STEM programs in curriculum development, student research, and teacher-student collaborations. Each finalist has secured outside funding to support her work and/or received peer recognition for her leadership and innovation. The prestigious awards were earned by women innovators, role models, and leaders in STEM disciplines. They were selected from a field of 26 finalists — the scientists, researchers, academics, manufacturers, student leaders, entrepreneurs, and technicians who are catalysts for scientific advancement throughout Connecticut.

Women of Impact 2021

President and CEO, Clinical & Support Options

She’s Growing Her Agency and Cultivating the Next Crop of Behavioral-Health Leaders

By Mark Morris

Karin Jeffers knew she was taking a big risk.

It was 2005, and she had the opportunity to take the reins at Clinical & Support Options (CSO) — a nonprofit community behavioral-health agency that had lost several large contracts and had just parted ways with its third CEO in five years, the last one under investigation for Medicaid fraud in Vermont.

At the time, Jeffers was the regional director for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC), a job she greatly enjoyed. However, though secure in that role, she decided to take the risk and accept the top job at CSO. Reactions from her colleagues ranged from the polite — “we’re surprised to see you do that” — to the blunt: “what are you thinking?”

But during the interview process, Jeffers met the CSO staff and found people who were passionate and capable, and who cared about providing quality service.

“At that moment, it became clear the problem was leadership and not the staff or the agency mission,” she said. So she accepted the position with a realistic attitude. “We’re either going to fall on our face, or we’re going to make something of this.”

Fortunately for people all over Western Mass., she did make something of it. When Jeffers first joined CSO, it was a $4 million agency with 90 employees. Today, she manages a $45 million budget with more than 600 employees who provide services to 19,000 families and individuals.

This impressive growth resulted in large part from Jeffers adopting the philosophy that a nonprofit organization is a business and should be run like one.

“Nonprofit is a tax status, not a business model,” she said. “As important as our employees and clients are to us, profit and loss statements matter, too.”

To achieve the right balance, she believes in open communication. “Our manager meetings include behavioral-health people as well as fiscal staff,” she explained. “When there is something we would like to do but can’t, we are transparent about it so everyone understands how we reached our decision.”

Paying close attention to both the service and fiscal parts of the organization was key to CSO surviving and now thriving.

“When I joined CSO, we were days away from closing down, and there were weeks when we struggled to make payroll,” she recalled. “Now that we have enough capital to invest in the company, we are able to look at providing services five, 10, even 15 years out.”

 

Ladders to Success

That willingness to take risks goes back to her days as a sports physical therapy student at Springfield College. Physical therapy seemed like a logical major for Jeffers, who was a runner on the SC track team. Three years into her studies when the clinical practicum began, Jeffers discovered that working in physical therapy no longer appealed to her as a career.

“At that same time, I was taking an abnormal psychology class that was fascinating to me,” she recalled. She switched her major to psychology, then remained at SC, earning a master’s degree and later became a licensed mental-health counselor.

“We’re either going to fall on our face, or we’re going to make something of this.”

“I was the typical soon-to-graduate student,” she said. “I sent out 50 résumés and landed only one interview.” That interview was with MSPCC, which hired her as a therapist.

“I could not have asked for a better place to learn so much about the industry,” Jeffers noted. “Thanks to some fabulous mentors who were willing to teach and guide me, I kind of grew up professionally at MSPCC.”

Karin Jeffers says trauma-informed care informs not just clinical operations at CSO, but all departments, from IT to maintenance.

Karin Jeffers says trauma-informed care informs not just clinical operations at CSO, but all departments, from IT to maintenance.

In nearly 14 years, she rose through the ranks, holding several management positions, until she became regional director, overseeing operations across all of Western Mass.

As a leader, she appreciates that her success was due in large part to the internal promotions she received at MSPCC and the mentors who were willing to take a chance on her. “I wasn’t always the most experienced person, and I didn’t have all the answers, but there were people willing to invest in me and provide the opportunity.”

Because of that experience, internal promotions are strongly supported at CSO. Among 135 managers, she noted, 67% were promoted from within.

“Whether I’m mentoring women or men, I believe in giving someone an opportunity to take a risk and let them learn instead of looking for what they are doing wrong,” she said, adding that the result is a team of people who are invested and who can shine in their work.

“Promoting from within has helped define who we are as an agency,” she added. “It’s helped us grow, become more innovative, and provided stability in our management.”

While women outnumber men in direct human-services positions, the ratio reverses at top leadership levels, where women are less likely to be found. Jeffers became president and CEO at age 35, and, while she felt up to the task, there were some who questioned her abilities based on her age and gender.

“There is some truth to the idea that a woman has to work a little harder to get a seat at the table,” she told BusinessWest. “Once at the table, though, I’ve had wonderful experiences feeling very much on a level playing field among colleagues who are respectful to me.”

Behavioral-health workers often hear they are doing “God’s work.” While Jeffers agrees with that sentiment, she believes it’s also important to recognize these are medical professionals and should be compensated as such.

To that end, she serves on several influential boards, most notably the Assoc. of Behavioral Health and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, where she advocates for parity in the way behavioral-health professionals are paid compared to those in physical care. Jeffers has testified to the state Legislature about where the disparities are and how to address them.

“Whether I’m mentoring women or men, I believe in giving someone an opportunity to take a risk and let them learn instead of looking for what they are doing wrong.”

“Investments in the workforce will make or break the future of community-based behavioral healthcare,” she said. While pandemic-relief money has been helpful in providing some immediate support, the goal is long-term salary increases.

“We have a seat at the table, and people are listening,” she added. “Now we need to see this turn into action.”

Currently, the state is looking at a redesign of its behavioral-health services, which gives Jeffers hope for lasting change. “It could really turn the tide for behavioral health in Massachusetts.”

 

Stepping Out

CSO is one of the first agencies in Western Mass. to adopt a training technique known as trauma-informed care (TIC). Because trauma can impact every aspect of health, TIC encourages a more compassionate approach in client interactions.

According to one TIC training website, asking someone “what happened to you?” instead of “what’s wrong with you?” is a simple example of the attitude shift when using this method. More than a treatment plan for clients, Jeffers sees TIC training as a model for how to do business at CSO.

“Our maintenance staff, IT, front desk, everyone is included in this training,” she said. “The goal is to shift the way we interact with clients and each other toward a culture of care.”

 

For Jeffers, risk taking is not limited to work. Her husband, Scott, lost his sales job after his company was acquired by a larger entity. As his next act, Scott considered purchasing the Daily Pint, a small pub that was for sale in Wilbraham, where he had grown up.

“Using all the risk taking we had applied at CSO, we took a leap of faith and said, ‘why not?’” Jeffers explained. So they acquired the Daily Pint, two years before the pandemic threw a wrench into plenty of business plans. After the initial impact of having to close and endure layoffs, the hometown pub has been making a comeback with the same staff returning to work.

“It’s really Scott’s day job, but since I’m a co-owner, I have to pull my weight there, too,” she said with a laugh.

When she can take time to reflect, Jeffers appreciates all the challenges CSO has overcome since she joined the agency in 2005.

“We serve about 19,000 people each year, and over the last 15 years, that’s a lot of people,” she said. “I feel privileged that the great team here at CSO allows me to be their leader.”

She also expressed gratitude that her team is willing to follow her and take risks as well.

“There were times when I’ve asked people to just trust me,” she said. “I’m so lucky to have people who do trust me and then get things done. It’s a real can-do attitude we have here.”

Smart risks and a can-do spirit — they’re just part of what makes Karin Jeffers a Woman of Impact.

Company Notebook

Amherst Couple Gives $1 Million to Cooley Dickinson Hospital ED

NORTHAMPTON — Dr. Lynnette Watkins, the new president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Health Care, announced the receipt of a $1 million gift from John and Elizabeth Armstrong of Amherst to support the hospital’s Emergency Department. The Armstrong’s gift will support Transforming Emergency Care: Campaign for the Cooley Dickinson Emergency Department, a $15.5 million expansion, reconfiguration, and renovation which will allow the hospital to meet the ever-evolving emergency medical needs of community members, from infants to older adults. Cooley Dickinson’s Emergency Department is 40% undersized to meet the community’s needs and cares for many patients who require critical medical attention. The number of patients visiting the department has grown from 17,000 annually in the 1970s to nearly 34,000 in recent years. For those patients, Emergency Department teams treat approximately 300 traumatic injuries per year; last year alone, over 6,000 patients needed to be admitted for further care. Gifts to the Cooley Dickinson Emergency Department will support more and better designed spaces and increased privacy for patient care, faster access to computerized tomography (CT) scans, improved coordination of care to allow face-to-face communication between providers and nurses, and more patient rooms. Other planned improvements include enhanced geriatric care, a larger behavioral-health pod, a pediatric observation unit, and a streamlined admission process. The groundbreaking for these renovations is expected to occur at the end of 2022.

 

Balagan Cannabis Opens Doors in Downtown Northampton

NORTHAMPTON — Balagan Cannabis, a boutique, adult-use cannabis dispensary located at 235 Main St. in downtown Northampton, officially opened on Oct. 16. The enterprise is owned by a team of four partners, including native Northamptonite Rachael Workman, daughter of Danny Workman, the former long-time owner of Jake’s. Her partners are veteran cannabis retailer Adi Nagli, New York-based financier Itamar Alpert, and Gil Sasson, who has been running operations next door at Cafe Balagan, the dispensary’s sister outfit, which opened six months ago. The name Balagan (pronounced bah-lah-gone) is a Hebrew slang term translating loosely to ‘a beautiful chaos’ and pays tribute to the partnership’s strong Israeli roots. In the three years since Mayor David Narkewicz signed Balagan’s host agreement, the team took on a hefty gut renovation of the former Sam’s Pizza space and relocated two of the partners’ families to the area (one from as far away as Israel). The last year has been dedicated to designing a signature retail space with the help of interiors expert Sarah Zashin-Jacobson. Sweitzer Construction provided design-build general contracting services.

 

Belt Technologies Recognized at Manufacturing Awards Ceremony

AGAWAM — Belt Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of custom metal belt conveyor solutions for more than 50 years, was honored at the sixth annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony hosted by the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus at the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up event. More than 600 people attended the event, which was organized by Mass Tech Collaborative and held at Polar Park in Worcester on Sept. 28. “We were honored to be recognized as a leading manufacturer in Massachusetts,” said Denis Gagnon, CEO of Belt Technologies. “We have been innovating for more than five decades and fortunate to have grown, adding several jobs here in Massachusetts over the past year. Thank you to Senator John Velis for seeing the great work we do and nominating us for this award.”

 

State-of-the-art LEAP@WNE Training Center Established

SPRINGFIELD — The Western New England University (WNE) College of Engineering Laboratory for Education and Application Prototypes (LEAP), a state-of-the-art optics/photonics training center, has been established through a grant of $2,581,109 from the Massachusetts Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM). LEAP@WNE is part of a national effort to advance state-of-the-art manufacturing with the American Institute for Manufacturing (AIM) Photonics consortium. With the support of the grant funding, WNE partnered with Convergent Photonics in Chicopee and Springfield Technical Community College for the development of the new advanced-manufacturing center, located at Convergent Photonics. The LEAP lab, only the fourth of its kind in the state, will focus on product development, educational training, and collaborative research in the field of integrated photonics. The LEAP@WNE facility features six instrumentation and prototyping workstations with capabilities including tunable lasers and optical power meters, polarimeters, and polarization controllers; optical-spectrum analyzers and free-space optics; electronic signal generators, oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and power supplies; and PCB fabrication using subtractive and additive techniques. The grant was part of the CAM Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M212), which has made a $100 million commitment to manufacturing innovation.

 

Legislators Announce Funding Secured for Zoo in Forest Park

SPRINGFIELD — On Oct. 1, state Sen. Eric Lesser and state Rep. Carlos González were joined by members of the Springfield legislative delegation, and Sarah Tsitso, executive director of the Zoo in Forest Park & Education Center, to announce $50,000 in funding secured for annual operations. Lesser acted as lead budget sponsor in the Senate in securing this earmark in the FY22 budget along with House sponsor González. The FY22 budget was passed by the Senate and House and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker in July. These funds will help sustain the annual operations of the Zoo in Forest Park, which includes daily care of more than 240 animals 365 days per year, including several endangered species; educational opportunities for youth and adults across Western Mass.; camps during summer and school vacation weeks; collaborations with other local nonprofits, including Square One in Springfield and Girls Inc. of the Valley in Holyoke; job training and internships in the fields of biology, veterinary medicine, and animal care; tourism and marketing initiatives that encourage visitors to spend time and money in the city and our region; and opportunities for individuals and local businesses to get involved in their community through volunteer projects.

 

Jewish Family Service Receives Multi-year Grant to Promote Refugee Economic Independence

SPRINGFIELD — Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts (JFS), in partnership with HIAS, has been awarded a four-year, $250,000-per-year Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The IDA program is a matched-savings program that assists individuals and families to save toward an asset that will increase financial independence. Refugees can save for one of four assets — to start or support a business, to purchase a vehicle to obtain and maintain employment and education, to increase capital to purchase a home, or to invest in post-secondary education or training. Individuals can save up to $2,000, and households can save up to $4,000, and have their savings matched dollar for dollar. The IDA program provides asset-specific training, financial-literacy classes, and technical assistance to increase participants’ capacity to increase self-sufficiency, become financially stable, and achieve their savings goals. By enrolling participants in IDA, HIAS and JFS will help refugees establish savings accounts; create regular saving habits; promote participation in the financial banking system; increase knowledge of financial topics, including developing a household budget, building and maintaining credit, and saving; acquire assets to build individual, family, and community resources; advance education opportunities; purchase homes; gain access to capital for microenterprise development; and foster community economic development by which the historically marginalized are now accessing resources and opportunities.

 

YMCA Golf Classic Raises More Than $70,000 for Programs

SPRINGFIELD — The YMCA of Greater Springfield held its 2021 Golf Classic on Sept. 20 at the Longmeadow Country Club, with local businesses coming together in a round of golf to support the mission of the YMCA. Dexter Johnson, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Springfield, said the event raised more than $70,000, which will support before- and after-school programs, child care, early-learning opportunities, summer camp, swim lessons, and health and wellness programs. Wellfleet Insurance sponsored this year’s Golf Classic.

 

KC Law Celebrates Five-year Anniversary

WESTFIELD — Attorney Kevin Chrisanthopoulos is celebrating the five-year anniversary of KC Law, which specializes in personal injury and medical malpractice. Since leaving a large Springfield firm in 2016 to start out on his own, Attorney Chrisanthopoulos has been named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list and included in America’s Top 100 Medical Malpractice Litigators. He has guided numerous families through the loss of a loved one and advocated for those dealing with significant injuries. He is a graduate of Western New England University and Roger Williams School of Law. His bar admissions include Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals First Circuit. In addition, he is a member of the Hampden County Bar Assoc., Massachusetts Bar Assoc., and Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys. Over the past five years, he has litigated numerous complex medical-malpractice and wrongful-death cases while providing countless hours of pro bono services to individuals who cannot afford legal representation. Chrisanthopoulos’ community involvement includes assisting in the creation a foundation to raise money for the Clarke School, which specializes in educating children who are deaf or hard of hearing. He also serves as president of the board of trustees for Amelia Park Arena & Memorial Garden and has spent significant time coaching hockey.

 

Incorporations

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

AGAWAM

Colossal Construction Inc., 1231 Main St., Agawam, MA 01001. Alexandru Barbaneagra, same address. Construction.

CHICOPEE

Mass #1 Gutter Inc., 178-B Center St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Sergey Sevostyanov, 131 Belknip Ave., West Springfield, MA 01089. Gutter installation and repair.

Nail Bliss Queen Inc., 1483 Memorial Dr., Chicopee, MA 01020. Okhee Ko, 3B Mapleview Lane, Feeding Hills, MA 01030. Nail salon.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Classic Installations Inc., 18 Edwill Road, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Michael P. Harrington, same address. Kitchen and bath remodeling.

EASTHAMPTON

Budzeego Corp., 123 Union St., Suite 200, Easthampton, MA 01027. Kevin Perrier, 4 Birchwood Dr., Huntington, MA 01027. Vehicle leasing.

HADLEY

Z & G Restaurant Inc., 19 Grand Oak Farm Road, Hadley, MA 01002. Xue Zhun Zhang, same address. Restaurant.

HOLYOKE

Galaxy Logistics Inc., 161 Lower Westfield Road., Holyoke, MA 01040. Michael Smith, same address. Transportation and warehousing.

Labranza Fashion Inc., 600 Dwight St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Ramona Cotto Mulero, same address. Retail store.

INDIAN ORCHARD

BBG Transportation Corp., 319 Main St., 1st Floor, Indian Orchard, MA 01151. Joshua B. Oliver, same address. Freight transportation.

PITTSFIELD

BLCK VC Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Sydney Sykes, same address. Advocacy group for black representation in venture capital.

DEFI Technologies US Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Sunil Bathija Darshan, 284 Dr., Nanjappa Road Coimbatore, Tamil, NADU-641018. Virtual asset service provider.

SPRINGFIELD

Bravo’s Restaurant Corp., 106 Edendale St., Springfield, MA 01104. John Alfred Muise, same address. Full service restaurant.

Children of Light Church Inc., 175 Barrington Dr., Springfield, MA 01129. Stephen Agboola, same address. Teaching and preaching of the gospel to all.

DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of October 2021. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

DEERFIELD

Bella the Salon
670 River Road
Trisha Moody-Bourbeau

Logan Training Group
19 Kelleher Dr.
Richard Logan

Stylus
6A Elm St.
Cynthia Strypek

HADLEY

Curran and Keegan Financial
104 Middle St.
Karen Curran, Molly Keegan

TNT Nutrition
102 Middle St.
Michael Filkoski

SOUTHWICK

Audet and Sons Construction
5 Grandview Ter.
Kenneth Audet

Fountain Bleu
19 South Longyard Road
Cindy Demay

S.G. Racette Plumbing & Heating
100 Klaus Anderson Road
Stephen Racette

SPRINGFIELD

Aveanna Healthcare
354 Birnie Ave.
Aveanna Healthcare

Bare Luxe
51 Massachusetts Ave.
Shelicia Thomas

Black Tie Renovation LLC
14 Leonard St.
Roberto Carlos

Bravos Restaurant Corp.
1003 St. James Ave.
John Muise

C&R Properties
245 Kent Road
Armand Arce

CH Construction Services
40 Orchard St.
Adelso Morales

Deese Beauty
1655 Boston Road
Yadeline Dominguez

Diaz Cleaning & Car Detailing
6 Wolcott St.
Yunnior Diaz Vazquez

Dollar Tree #03541
1101 Boston Road
Rosa Banks

Dressed by Eli
33 Copley Ter.
Elisandra Medina

Goldheart Construction
62 Everett St.
Ezequiel Torres

Guillermo’s Barber Shop
472 Bridge St.
Jonathan Rodriguez

Gutter Installation Springfield
70 Leete St.
Daniil Dmitriev

Home Improvement
34 Grant St.
Annette O’Farril

KLV Ventures
41 Mattoon St.
Kate Vishnyakov

KTM Slate Roofing
154 Garnet St.
Craig Henley

Laibon Business Data Solutions
14 Pinegrove St.
Laibon Enterprise LLC

Lee Brown Construction
555 Union St.
Lee Brown

Lilac Gray
7 Matthew St.
Carol-Ann Boardway

Naicam LLC
169 Lebanon St.
Rudy Nunez

P.L. Krynicki Insurance
459 Main St.
Pamela Krynicki

Price Chop Auto Detailing
8 Kensington Ave.
Enrique Hernandez Jr.

Ryder Transportation Services
220 Tapley St.
Ryder Truck Rental

Skin Deep
395 Dwight St.
Trisha Brito

Strong Trucking
117 Enfield St.
Carlos Santiago

Tenant Finders of Western Massachsetts
101 Mulberry St.
Debra Fletcher

WESTFIELD

Andrea York Photography
16 Union Ave.
Andrea York

Armbrook Village Senior Living Residence
551 North Road
Senior Living Residences LLC

Greg’s Auto Repair Inc.
301 North Elm St.
Greg’s Auto Repair Inc.

Ideal Auto Repair
190 Russell Road
David Danek

Ideal Auto Sales
190 Russell Road
David Danek, William Digris

Park Square Realty
44 Elm St.
PSQ Inc.

Sophy Nails and Spa
84 Main St.
Lida Lim

Swingfield Batting Cages
99 Springfield Road
Swingfield Batting Cages

Westfield Liquors
95 Main St.
Patel Liquor LLC

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Grosso Chiropractic P.C.
615 Westfield St.
Cynthia Grosso

India Foods
312 Memorial Ave.
Padam Bharati

Legend Auto Craft
167 Norman St.
Mykola Mevshyy

New Penn Motor Express
241 Bliss St.
Lowell Harlow

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
919 Riverdale St.
Angela Simmons

Stanley’s Vintage Finds
683 Westfield St.
Mia Bouyea

Thai Shallot
2260 Westfield St.
Darin Kantarattanakul

Wiggles & Giggles Day Care
112 Orchardview St.
Kristen Egea

Women of Impact 2021

Director, Center for Service and Leadership at Springfield College

She’s Built Stronger Bridges Between the College and the Neighborhoods Around It

 

Charlene Elvers says she and others at Springfield College affectionately refer to it as the “listening tour.”

It happened around seven years ago, she noted, and as that name suggests, there was a lot of listening going on — and there is still a good bit of it today. This tour, if you will, was prompted by her desire to build more and stronger bridges between the college and the two neighborhoods that surround it — Old Hill and Upper Hill — which, when you get right down to it, is her basic job description as director of the school’s Center for Service and Leadership.

The assignment, which had many components, included asking residents in those neighborhoods if they saw any tangible benefits to having the college in their backyard and, likewise, asking SC students if they saw any benefits, as in learning or growing opportunities, from being in that neighborhood. When both constituencies answered, for the most part, ‘no,’ Elvers knew she had to take some steps to change those responses.

“I wanted to someday talk with people who said, ‘one of the great benefits of living here is having Springfield College as a neighbor,’” she said, adding that, as a result of all that listening and the answers garnered, she spearheaded the creation of the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, an arm of the Center for Service and Leadership. It’s located in a three-story house a few blocks from campus and is, quite literally, a bridge between the community and the school.

It is mostly quiet now as a result of the pandemic, but before COVID-19 arrived, it housed a homework-help drop-in center and a middle-school mentoring program — initiatives that are both being carried out remotely.

“It is great when college students really see things from a different perspective, when they develop relationships with people who come from a different place than they came from.”

In the future, Elvers sees vast potential for the site also housing a bicycle-repair shop — her listening revealed that there isn’t one anywhere in the city, and there’s a real need for one — and that the large open space adjacent to the house can be used for fitness and recreation programs.

The Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement is perhaps the most visible manifestation of a 20-year stint at Springfield College that has been spent developing high-impact programs that seek to foster connections between the college and the community while working collaboratively with partners to identify and serve their needs.

Elvers told BusinessWest this is very rewarding work, and one of the biggest rewards is seeing how this involvement with those in the neighborhood prompts students to ask poignant questions about what they see and hear — and start to develop the resolve to help answer them.

“It’s great to have one foot solidly on this campus and another foot solidly in the community to bridge those two organizations,” she told BusinessWest. “It is great when college students really see things from a different perspective, when they develop relationships with people who come from a different place than they came from.

“I see them really begin to gain a broader a broader understanding of some of the social issues that are happening, and that’s when they begin to ask questions,” she went on. “They ask, ‘how did this happen? How did we end up here? Why are we in a neighborhood where there isn’t a grocery store?’”

Through her work to build these bridges between the college and the community, and through her efforts to inspire those kinds of questions from students, Elvers has clearly shown she is a true Woman of Impact.

 

School of Thought

Elvers, who has spent her entire career in higher education, came to Springfield College after a stint at Mount Holyoke College as director of Student Activities. In that capacity, her work drew her increasingly toward helping students connect with — and serve in — the communities they call home.

She summed up her career, and her time at Springfield College, this way. “While I have taught in a classroom from time to time, mainly my teaching is outside the classroom, and it comes through facilitating experiences for students to enhance their educational experience as well as to develop them into leaders.”

This passion, and it can only be called that, has been taken to new and higher levels at Springfield College, where, for more than a decade, Elvers oversaw the school’s annual Humanics in Action Day, which provided direct service throughout the community, and also transformed it — from a day of service to ongoing grants and support for individuals and groups wishing to partner and serve with community organizations.

“There has to be more that we can do to come together as a college and a local community and work together to make this neighborhood everything it can be and everything we want it to be.”

She also succeeded in building upon several existing programs, including a mentoring initiative, called the Partners Program, that has linked students at the college with young students at DeBerry and Brookings elementary schools for nearly three decades now.

“We have 80 pairs of mentors between the two schools,” she said, adding that the college has worked extensively with those elementary schools as well with organizations combating some of the long-standing issues in those neighborhoods, including food insecurity, homelessness, and others.

It was through these initiatives that Elvers came to understand that the college could, and should, take its involvement to a higher plane.

“Over the years, and from just getting to know a number of the families from the DeBerry school and the Brookings school, I began to realize that, in these two neighborhoods, there were a lot of families that had great ideas and things they wanted to see in their neighborhoods that weren’t there. And I began to wonder if there were ways to connect our students and facility and staff directly with the community. Working together, I thought we could start to facilitate some of the changes that we would all like to see.”

Thus commenced the listening tour, which was launched with a basic premise. “There has to be more that we can do to come together as a college and a local community and work together to make this neighborhood everything it can be and everything we want it to be.”

To that end, the school, with Elvers taking a leadership role, acquired the property that became the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement.

Now in its fifth year, the center is a work in progress, Elvers said — progress that has in some ways been limited or slowed by COVID, but progress nonetheless.

From countless discussions with those in the neighborhood and from listening at dozens of school and church meetings, Elvers said two clear needs emerged: educational opportunities for young people outside of school, and health and wellness programs and activities for people of all ages.

The first initiatives launched were the middle-school mentoring program and the homework-help drop-in center, both of which have continued with virtual platforms, a shift that has actually enabled them to help more young people — and get more Springfield College students involved with the community.

And this brings Elvers back to the reason why it is so important to build these bridges between the college and the community. The biggest is to, in some ways, improve quality of life for those in Old Hill and Upper Hill. But there are others, especially the manner in which these programs help open students’ eyes to the challenges facing those living in these neighborhoods, prompt them to ask questions, and perhaps inspire them to help come up with answers.

Referencing the fact that there is no supermarket in that area of Springfield, Elvers said students will hear stories from the families and individuals they work with that really open their eyes.

“I have students who will say, ‘I’m working with these young people, and they have a hard time getting food, and when I ask them about it, they say they have to go somewhere else to go to a grocery store. And they’ll say they take the bus, but the driver only lets my mom take on two bags of food — and we need more food than that.’

“Our students often don’t realize the challenges that sometimes face these families,” Elvers went on. “And when they hear these stories, they start to realize, and that’s when they start to ask questions, like ‘why would there not be a grocery store in this neighborhood?’ and ‘who’s doing something about that?’ and ‘how do we get involved in that?’ and ‘what’s the process by which that can happen?’

“I have seen more college students ask the really important questions and start to engage after they’ve developed a relationship with a local family and learn of the challenges that are happening,” she continued. “These are challenges that some of them would never have faced.”

 

Grade Expectations

Opening students’ eyes to these challenges, these problems confronting those living just outside the campus, has become part of Elvers’ mission and work.

Her business card says she is the director of the Center for Service and Leadership. But she’s really a builder — a builder of relationships, of connections, of bridges between two entities that share a zip code but often little else.

And her success as a builder explains why she’s a Woman of Impact.

 

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

Bankruptcies

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

Alciere, Simon P.
Simon’s Place (Air BNB)
20 McClellan St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 13
Date: 09/23/2021

Basiliere, Holly Jeanne
36 Briarcliff St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/16/2021

Carlin, Marc E.
66 Worcester St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Date: 09/24/2021

Dupuis, Stephanie L.
2030 Palmer Road
Three Rivers, MA 01080
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/29/2021

Freeman, Tara A.
17 Hazelhurst Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/27/2021

Kim, Christine C.
41 West Summit St., #70
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/28/2021

Maureen’s Sweet Shoppe
Dempsey, Maureen M.
a/k/a Basile, Maureen M.
47 Cass Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Date: 09/17/2021

Opal, Craig Arthur
Opal, Marisa Ann
42 Central St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/16/2021

Pongan, Adam F.
Pongan, Catherine M.
a/k/a Lyons, Catherine
53 McGilpin Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 13
Date: 09/21/2021

Rodriguez, Maria D.
a/ka/ Rodriguez/Valle, Maria
52 Maynard St., Apt. 3
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/23/2021

Rovezzi, Christopher J.
28 Maple St.
Sturbrdge, MA 01566
Chapter: 13
Date: 09/30/2021

Sullivan, Daniel J.
Sullivan, Darlene M.
59 Sugarloaf St.
South Deerfield, MA 01373
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/22/2021

The Cozy Home Collection
Pearl, Howard Michael
28 Mountain View St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/28/2021

Torchia, Cynthia Mae
a/k/a Russello, Cynthia Mae
64 Wilson Ave.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/29/2021

Washington, Robert C.
111 Manchester Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108|
Chapter: 13
Date: 09/17/2021

Yvon, Gregg R.
239 Otis Stage Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/21/2021

Zhilyaev, Timothy
139 Eagle St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Date: 09/20/2021

Real Estate

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

FRANKLIN COUNTY

BERNARDSTON

88 Shedd Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $211,000
Buyer: Homeroots Properties Inc.
Seller: Shedd, Ernestine M., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

BUCKLAND

Bray Road
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Paul J. Depaolo
Seller: Peck RT
Date: 09/27/21

155 East Buckland Road
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $128,000
Buyer: Phillip Sherwood-Berndt
Seller: Charles J. Plesnar
Date: 09/30/21

COLRAIN

282 Thompson Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Shelby L. Porrovecchio
Seller: Sandra J. Guzik
Date: 09/24/21

CONWAY

576 South Deerfield Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $1,350,000
Buyer: Robert J. Morin
Seller: D. Holly Hobbie
Date: 09/27/21

DEERFIELD

7 Beaver Dr.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Curtis R. Warren
Seller: Maureen E. Bowler
Date: 09/27/21

18 Juniper Dr.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Tessa L. Doubleday
Seller: Jason J. Goodhind
Date: 09/24/21

18 King Philip Ave.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Mikaelian
Seller: Matthew J. Mikaelian
Date: 09/20/21

282 Lower Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: Gary M. Straw
Seller: Ellen R. Kingsbury
Date: 09/20/21

6 North St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Turkey Plains Inc.
Seller: Mildred E. Green
Date: 09/30/21

105 North Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $274,000
Buyer: Allykev LLC
Seller: Rachel Jackson
Date: 09/30/21

ERVING

32 High St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Matthew F. Hill
Seller: Alan J. Mailloux
Date: 09/30/21

33 High St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Allan J. Mailloux
Seller: Elizabeth C. Mailloux
Date: 09/30/21

GILL

Dole Road
Gill, MA 01376
Amount: $162,500
Buyer: Mary Mayer
Seller: James H. McComb
Date: 09/20/21

GREENFIELD

85 Allen St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Dakota Guerro
Seller: Kyle J. Matteson
Date: 09/23/21

21 Cheapside St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Jesse J. Berry
Seller: Bryan D. Williams
Date: 09/24/21

458 Colrain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Andra Daunhauer
Seller: Nancy G. Rivard
Date: 10/01/21

68 Congress St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Corbin H. Blight
Seller: Michael E. John
Date: 09/30/21

11 Cooke St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: Jacqueline Fuller
Seller: David A. Schrier
Date: 09/28/21

84 Cottage St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Robert J. Vallandingham
Seller: Georgia A. Moore
Date: 09/29/21

306 Deerfield St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jeremy A. Ortiz
Seller: Meghan Powers
Date: 09/28/21

11 Leonard St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Catherine S. Valdez
Seller: Donna M. Walden
Date: 09/30/21

47 Mill St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Caroline Cooper
Seller: J. D. & Shirley A. Lapean IRT
Date: 10/01/21

111 Montague City Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Angela H. Morrissey
Seller: Jodi L. Thompson
Date: 09/20/21

36 Place Ter.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Ashlyn Richardson
Seller: Anderson RET
Date: 10/01/21

8 Water St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Matthew Ares-Torrey
Seller: George R. Marchacos
Date: 09/21/21

HAWLEY

East Hawley Road
Hawley, MA 01339
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: William S. Lawless
Seller: Harry A. Culver
Date: 09/24/21

HEATH

128 South Road
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Steven A. Michel
Seller: Jason B. Graves
Date: 09/27/21

LEVERETT

Amherst Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Richard Wyatt
Seller: Woodard, Philip O., (Estate)
Date: 09/23/21

190 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Suzanne R. Starling
Seller: Hans H. Herda
Date: 09/29/21

MONTAGUE

16 15th St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Ian Hamilton
Seller: Warchol, Michael, (Estate)
Date: 09/28/21

26 Avenue C
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Mathew Page
Seller: Christine C. Dionne
Date: 09/30/21

2 George Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Nicholas D. Woods
Seller: Brian C. Dobosz
Date: 09/28/21

178 L St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Sage Winter
Seller: Michael R. Pendriss
Date: 09/30/21

19 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $377,000
Buyer: Ryan M. Zraunig
Seller: Nathaniel T. Donovan
Date: 09/30/21

4 Rastallis St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: LCS Realty LLC
Seller: Shane C. Kosterman
Date: 09/30/21

65 Taylor Hill Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Glenn E. Morin
Seller: Jordan F. Funke
Date: 09/30/21

249 Wendell Road
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $298,000
Buyer: Amanda G. Lavallee
Seller: Katie Esposito
Date: 10/01/21

NEW SALEM

60 Stone Hill Road
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $357,500
Buyer: Candice Nolette
Seller: John Desrosiers
Date: 09/29/21

236 Wendell Road
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Simone Bodmer-Turner
Seller: Gentl, Raymond V., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

NORTHFIELD

111 Birnam Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $312,500
Buyer: Garrett T. Hasanbasic
Seller: Rifet Hasanbasic
Date: 09/30/21

730 Old Wendell Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Carleigh Dlugosz
Seller: Marshall E. Royce
Date: 09/24/21

442 South Mountain Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Nils T. Johnson
Seller: Gary C. Selanis
Date: 09/28/21

ORANGE

11 Horton Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Christina A. Bernier
Seller: Michael C. Brown
Date: 10/01/21

105 Pleasant St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Angel Toro-Perez
Seller: Cynthia R. Doyle
Date: 09/24/21

215 Tully Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Kathleen L. Young
Seller: Arleen R. Wilson RET
Date: 09/28/21

ROWE

27 Newell Cross Road
Rowe, MA 01367
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Rebecca Richardson
Seller: Jo-Ann M. Brown
Date: 09/28/21

SHELBURNE

27 High St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $553,000
Buyer: Emily S. Baron
Seller: E. A. Kidder Funding TR
Date: 09/23/21

SHUTESBURY

82 January Hills Road
Shutesbury, MA 01002
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Kristen Bonstein
Seller: Tyler D. Chambers
Date: 09/22/21

343 Locks Pond Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Heather M. Belhumeur
Seller: Christal L. Cutler
Date: 09/22/21

43 Weatherwood Road
Shutesbury, MA 01002
Amount: $337,500
Buyer: Grace B. Fitzpatrick
Seller: Robert Greenspan
Date: 09/24/21

55 West Pelham Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $329,000
Buyer: Bert Schwarz
Seller: Isaac S. Wilner
Date: 09/27/21

SUNDERLAND

162 Hadley Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $425,162
Buyer: Sean P. Paradiso
Seller: Hikaru Kozuma
Date: 09/22/21

 

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

750 Barry St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Joseph Maratea
Seller: Michael R. Welch
Date: 09/24/21

63 Belvidere Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Ashley M. Neville
Seller: James R. Typrowicz
Date: 09/24/21

8 Burlington Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Ryan A. Lottermoser
Seller: Lilia Mereshko
Date: 09/24/21

28 Cesan St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Nicholas Wickles
Seller: Brian M. Scott-Smith
Date: 09/29/21

39 Highland St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $329,900
Buyer: Cynthia Bonilla
Seller: Vera Belyshev
Date: 09/30/21

13 Kathy Ter.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Lilia Mereshko
Seller: Paul T. Mahoney
Date: 09/24/21

32-34 King St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Carissa N. Hanlon
Seller: Round 2 LLC
Date: 09/30/21

1084 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Samantha Bechta
Seller: Ryan A. Lottermoser
Date: 09/24/21

59 Maynard St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Rebecca Giguere
Seller: Christin L. Wilson
Date: 09/30/21

522 North St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Matthew S. Oliver
Seller: Andrey Bateyko
Date: 09/29/21

340 Poplar St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Earl K. Dandy
Seller: Jeffrey A. Bellefleur
Date: 09/30/21

21 Ramah Circle South
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: William St. Holding LLC
Seller: 21 Ramah Circle LLC
Date: 09/28/21

1200 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Guy T. Pepe
Seller: Paul S. Herzenberg
Date: 09/30/21

352 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $207,500
Buyer: Walz Realty LLC
Seller: Cheryl A. Macfadzen
Date: 09/29/21

365-385 Walnut St. Ext.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: 365-385 Walnut Plaza LLC
Seller: Walnut Plaza LLC
Date: 09/30/21

BRIMFIELD

30 Apple Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Brendan J. Fullam
Seller: Gail H. Laplante
Date: 09/28/21

16 Hollow Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Cody R. Siegel
Seller: Minney, Brett F., (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

126 Washington Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $341,600
Buyer: Hannah M. Timmermann
Seller: Joseph Collins
Date: 09/22/21

CHESTER

84 Route 20
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jessica M. Slatcher
Seller: Nicole Lasky
Date: 09/28/21

7 William St.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Carlos A. Davila
Seller: Diane M. Armitage
Date: 09/22/21

CHICOPEE

80 Angela Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Caitlin M. Dasilva
Seller: Lenworth V. Thompson
Date: 09/30/21

285 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Joshua D. Lepage
Seller: Felicia Siclari
Date: 09/30/21

503 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Glen E. Rostocki
Seller: Neil K. Fahey
Date: 09/30/21

20 Clinton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Hector Perez
Seller: Manchester Enterprises LLC
Date: 09/20/21

21 Ducharme Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $296,000
Buyer: Flor M. Sayay-Guailla
Seller: Steven A. Wieczorek
Date: 09/20/21

33 Emerson St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Connecticut River View LLC
Seller: Raymond A. Spear
Date: 09/20/21

17 Factory St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Michael A. Torres
Seller: Rachel E. Loomis
Date: 09/24/21

90 Fairway Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Jeffrey C. McCormick
Seller: Paul B. Thornton
Date: 10/01/21

6 Garrity St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,500
Buyer: Ellen M. Pray
Seller: Jarmuzewski, Cecylia, (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

40 Greenwich St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: A. Crane Construction LLC
Seller: Geraldine Nawrocki
Date: 09/29/21

20 Hafey St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Carlos Rivera
Seller: Sean P. Carroll
Date: 09/21/21

22 Leslie St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $333,000
Buyer: Michael Placella
Seller: James Cherewatti
Date: 09/22/21

74 Monroe St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Kenneth R. Grant
Seller: Edward A. Ziemba
Date: 09/21/21

20 Mount Carmel Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Rosa Sanchez-Aponte
Seller: Luis R. Nunez
Date: 09/23/21

60 Mountainview St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Timothee Jacques
Seller: Clark, Duane E., (Estate)
Date: 10/01/21

30 New York Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Joseph E. Marsh
Seller: David J. Lebeau
Date: 09/24/21

187 Pondview Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Michael S. Winters
Seller: Maureen Kontrovitz
Date: 09/23/21

29 Raylo St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $248,400
Buyer: Youel Gato
Seller: Aida Lemanski
Date: 09/30/21

79 Rolf Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: George Estrada
Seller: Vadym Denysyuk
Date: 09/21/21

25 Wilson Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $338,000
Buyer: William Goldenberg
Seller: Bellal Realty Group LLC
Date: 09/24/21

308 Skeele St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Kristopher J. Dugas
Seller: Pamela J. Seiffert
Date: 09/30/21

21 Social St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Wrecker LLC
Seller: Bruce L. Vachon
Date: 09/30/21

36 Spence St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Jennifer M. Najuch
Seller: Sandra A. Gauthier
Date: 09/30/21

90 West St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Hathi Nguyen
Seller: Ky VanNguyen
Date: 09/28/21

EAST LONGMEADOW

29 5th St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Nicholas D. Ferrara
Seller: Peter J. Dimichele
Date: 09/20/21

18 Lyric Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Lindsey L. Taylor
Seller: Gail M. Taylor
Date: 10/01/21

310 Maple St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Blue Ridge Wilder LLC
Seller: 1st Step Nursery School
Date: 09/21/21

572 North Main St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Dorian Veterinary Real Estate Fund
Seller: Gerr Main Corp.
Date: 09/28/21

61 Saugus Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Christian S. Walden
Seller: Vecchiarelli, Evelyn, (Estate)
Date: 10/01/21

87 Shaker Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: 140 Lburg LLC
Seller: Chapdelaine Realty Inc.
Date: 09/28/21

28 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Moose & Co. Investments LLC
Seller: Lynn A. Martin
Date: 09/21/21

20 Speight Arden
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Hildah S. Dube
Seller: Leanna C. Rodriguez
Date: 09/22/21

GRANVILLE

10 Crest Lane
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $358,000
Buyer: Vitaliy Khomichuk
Seller: Matthew A. Bowen
Date: 09/27/21

HAMPDEN

21 Meadow Brook Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Aili M. Bond
Seller: Joanne E. Optiz
Date: 09/30/21

HOLLAND

2 Big Tree Lane
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Jimmy Le
Seller: Hue Pham
Date: 09/20/21

HOLYOKE

314 Apremont Hwy.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $248,500
Buyer: Pat Labrocca
Seller: Raquelle Briant
Date: 09/30/21

443-445 Beech St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: SA Holdings 2 LLC
Seller: Janet Graves
Date: 09/28/21

2 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Junyu Yang
Seller: Ersie B. Nogueras
Date: 09/22/21

134 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $297,000
Buyer: Carlos E. Rivera-Rosario
Seller: Rafael E. Calderon
Date: 09/30/21

77 Central Park Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: EPB Real Estate Services LLC
Seller: Libby A. Sadowski
Date: 09/22/21

272 Cherry St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Zane H. Prunier
Seller: Debra Taaffe
Date: 09/30/21

842 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Michele N. Kidder
Seller: Jorge R. Diaz
Date: 09/22/21

19 Evergreen Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Bryan D. Brown
Seller: K. Godfrey Equities LLC
Date: 09/21/21

473 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $272,000
Buyer: Eli Greiner
Seller: Shawna E. Tobin
Date: 09/24/21

38-40 King St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Erica C. Murauski
Seller: Glen A. Gagnon
Date: 10/01/21

150 Nonotuck St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $228,000
Buyer: Hilda M. Martinez
Seller: Yoeli Pacheco
Date: 09/24/21

1835-1837 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $150,050
Buyer: Jesus Delgado
Seller: Peter Nham
Date: 09/30/21

44 Queen St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: Sarah Gumaer
Seller: Julie C. Rochefort
Date: 09/27/21

45 Taylor St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Carrie Schieppe
Seller: Karen L. Everett
Date: 09/29/21

115 Vermont St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Danielle M. Arsenault
Seller: Christopher Hampson
Date: 09/28/21

275 Walnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Raulisha Agramonte
Seller: Natalie M. Sacco
Date: 09/22/21

LONGMEADOW

65 Birnie Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Peter Stiansen
Seller: Nathan F. Twining
Date: 09/30/21

480 Bliss Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Keegan Dudeck
Seller: Frank H. Krenzer
Date: 09/21/21

272 Burbank Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Riccardo Albano
Seller: Shear, Sheila B., (Estate)
Date: 09/27/21

26 Cobblestone Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Ilyssa O. Zippin
Seller: Sacks, Millicent, (Estate)
Date: 09/20/21

86 Dover Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Peter J. Wehrli
Seller: David Fortier
Date: 09/24/21

20 Edgewood Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Liam T. Walsh
Seller: Michael P. Healy
Date: 09/30/21

92 Elmwood Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Tighe Dudeck
Seller: Rose M. Mowry
Date: 09/24/21

148 Greenacre Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Stephen Cressotti
Seller: Adam L. Deutsch
Date: 09/23/21

84 Inverness Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $421,500
Buyer: Regina A. Gross
Seller: Suresh D. Samant
Date: 09/30/21

1702 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Mann No Enterprises LLC
Seller: Yong J. No
Date: 09/21/21

129 Meadow Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Joseph Warga
Seller: Lauren K. Warga
Date: 09/30/21

64 Pleasantview Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Bolduc
Seller: James W. Gordon
Date: 09/30/21

206 Sheffield Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Eugene Haviland
Seller: Richard G. Strodel
Date: 09/28/21

127 Tecumseh Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $545,000
Buyer: Genny M. Riley
Seller: John E. Kristensen
Date: 09/29/21

99 Twin Hills Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $830,000
Buyer: Michael P. Healy
Seller: Steven M. Feldman
Date: 09/30/21

9 Westmoreland Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Brent C. Rasmussen
Seller: Timothy M. Nelson
Date: 09/21/21

LUDLOW

544 Alden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Elaine Hom
Seller: Lynn M. Tenerowicz
Date: 09/23/21

14 Arthur St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: Domingo Gonzalez
Seller: Spano, Anthony J., (Estate)
Date: 09/27/21

419 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $1,500,000
Buyer: BK Ludlow Realty LLC
Seller: Selkow & Smith LLC
Date: 09/29/21

1348 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Michael W. True
Seller: Donald G. Brown
Date: 09/24/21

28 Focosi Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Hemil Patel
Seller: Fonseca, Saudade R., (Estate)
Date: 09/23/21

75 Fox Run Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: Allison B. Chambers
Seller: David F. Roy
Date: 09/22/21

26 Hampden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Indila RT
Seller: Kelly M. Ferreira
Date: 09/29/21

37 Lakeview Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Shawn S. Gibbs
Seller: Maria Costa
Date: 09/30/21

95 Letendre Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: David Fidalgo
Seller: Lucie Kamuda-McHan
Date: 09/28/21

125 Main Blvd.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Paulo E. Fialho
Seller: Barbara L. StJacques
Date: 10/01/21

112 Roy St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Douglas C. Guertin
Seller: Gallo, Garry W., (Estate)
Date: 09/21/21

44 Sewall St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $795,000
Buyer: Nolimit Opportunity LLC
Seller: Richard F. Kelleher
Date: 09/30/21

Sunbriar Lane #6
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Tyler G. Beaudry
Seller: David R. Lavoie
Date: 09/22/21

34 Williams St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Kyle A. Bernard
Seller: Daryl M. Johnson
Date: 09/24/21

MONSON

107 Beebe Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Yu C. Li
Seller: Robert Hubbard
Date: 09/23/21

40 Bethany Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Lyle H. Smith
Seller: Melro Associates Inc.
Date: 09/23/21

480 Boston Road West
Monson, MA 01069
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Detour Construction LLC
Seller: Antonio D. Fernandes
Date: 09/24/21

15 Fenton Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Christopher Fenton
Seller: James A. Muckinhaupt
Date: 09/22/21

229 Hovey Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Michael A. Reid
Seller: Thomas D. Lee
Date: 09/30/21

71 Lakeside Dr.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Thomas Greene
Seller: Martha Prybylo
Date: 10/01/21

2 Old Stagecoach Dr.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Kimberly Reed-Gagner
Seller: Dale M. Wyman
Date: 09/29/21

165 Reimers Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Town of Monson Conservation Commission
Seller: Edna M. Brouthrs RET
Date: 09/29/21

5 Spring St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Matthew O. Beck
Seller: Jennifer M. Moskal
Date: 09/24/21

126 Stebbins Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Justin Meyzen
Seller: Mile Properties LLC
Date: 09/22/21

21 Stewart Ave.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Brenda L. Cleveland
Seller: Denoncourt, Cheryl L., (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

PALMER

4125 Church St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Dwight E. Demers
Seller: Leo Gregoire
Date: 09/20/21

19 Converse St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Tyler P. Brun
Seller: Thrive Properties LLC
Date: 09/30/21

1-3 Crest St.
Palmer, MA 01056
Amount: $206,000
Buyer: Maureen Kirk
Seller: Marilyn T. Lemanski
Date: 09/30/21

45 French Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Matthew T. Frazier
Seller: Corey H. Lomas
Date: 09/21/21

3141-3143 Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: 3141 Main LLC
Seller: Phyllis J. Rojko
Date: 09/22/21

2018-2020 Prospect St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Theresa M. Nallett
Seller: Ace Properties LLC
Date: 09/23/21

376 Rondeau St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Gregory Foucher
Seller: Dorota Cygan
Date: 09/24/21

10 Sibley St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Mark Gobeille
Seller: Real Estate Investments Northeast
Date: 09/23/21

41 Springfield St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $171,000
Buyer: William L. Silliker
Seller: Benjamin T. Santucci
Date: 09/29/21

18-24 Stewart St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Norval N. Rose
Seller: Manuel Sanches
Date: 09/28/21

RUSSELL

93 West Main St.
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Daniel D. Gagnon
Seller: Andrew L. Champiney
Date: 09/21/21

SPRINGFIELD

263 Abbott St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Victor Rivera
Seller: Brian J. Schmutte
Date: 10/01/21

628 Alden St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Victor L. Salgado
Seller: Chenevert Properties LLC
Date: 09/30/21

135-137 Almira Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Luxiana Property LLC
Seller: Jesus H. Rosa
Date: 09/30/21

35-37 Arthur St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Maria E. Figueroa
Seller: Jacqueline M. Prince
Date: 09/30/21

18 Baywood St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Degaulle N. Litoma
Seller: Emily Niemann
Date: 09/23/21

39 Bellevue Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Seller: Scott L. Emirzian
Date: 09/30/21

65 Bonnyview St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $205,500
Buyer: John Hulse-Bellows
Seller: Josephine R. Sears
Date: 09/24/21

67 Bowles Park
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Mya V. Gaskins
Seller: Revampit LLC
Date: 09/24/21

679 Bradley Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Yesenia Burgos
Seller: DJD Real Estate LLC
Date: 09/28/21

232 Breckwood Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Jessenia Echevarria
Seller: William Ortiz
Date: 09/23/21

27 Brighton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $223,000
Buyer: Yaitza I. Soto
Seller: Good Diggin Real Estate LLC
Date: 09/30/21

4 Burton St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $234,000
Buyer: Shakina M. Gladden
Seller: William Raleigh
Date: 10/01/21

216 Cabinet St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: M. Michele Shuler
Date: 09/21/21

4 Chapin Ter.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Samantha Moreira
Seller: Reubben Fontanez
Date: 09/30/21

55 Colonial Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Neydimar O. Rodriguez
Seller: Chad Lynch
Date: 09/22/21

231 Commonwealth Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Jayden M. Tran
Seller: Thach Tran LLC
Date: 09/30/21

553 Cooley St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Michael A. Montanez
Seller: Nancy Lee
Date: 09/29/21

85 Copeland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Courtney Torres
Seller: Karen J. Quinby
Date: 09/30/21

73 Corcoran Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Adam T. Picard
Seller: Mitchell, Leon, (Estate)
Date: 09/23/21

50 Crestmont St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $162,500
Buyer: Joseph Rosa
Seller: Alyssa Houatchanthara
Date: 09/30/21

33 Crittenden St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Gary P. Pysznik
Seller: Brenda J. Miller
Date: 09/30/21

28 Davis St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Cristian Santana-Ayala
Seller: Alex Cowles
Date: 10/01/21

5 Dell Place
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Luis Santiago
Seller: Lisha L. Gutierrez
Date: 09/20/21

124 Dubois St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Rafael Rivera-Sanchez
Seller: Santana Real Estate Inc.
Date: 09/30/21

84 Entrybrook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $233,900
Buyer: Juliannys M. Aviles
Seller: Foster, Edgar A., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

61 Euclid Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $293,000
Buyer: Maria I. Semprit
Seller: Zhengs 168 Group LLC
Date: 09/30/21

88 Fair Oak Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Joanny Figueroa
Seller: Elizer Vasquez
Date: 09/28/21

77 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Kerby Roberson
Seller: Boubacar Komou
Date: 09/27/21

193 Fountain St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Patricia M. Rose-Davis
Seller: Eliodoro Figueroa
Date: 09/28/21

225 Fountain St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $234,000
Buyer: Rodney B. Candelaria
Seller: Elaine Kenney
Date: 09/24/21

19 Frederick St.
Springfield, MA 01013
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Angel Villanueva-Cabrera
Seller: Jacob J. Martins
Date: 09/30/21

55 Gatewood Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Joseph M. Santaniello
Seller: James F. Johnson
Date: 10/01/21

507 Gifford St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Shawn Adams-Dion
Seller: Arturas Ribinskas
Date: 09/22/21

141 Glenwood St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Stacy R. Waters
Seller: Lizaida Cruz
Date: 09/27/21

15 Gourley Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $256,000
Buyer: Dajara Wright
Seller: Garfield James
Date: 09/24/21

48 Grosvenor St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Ricardo Merced-Rivera
Seller: Carlina Matos
Date: 09/30/21

10-12 Hamburg St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Eileen W. Perez
Seller: 2 Kens LLC
Date: 09/27/21

20 Hampden St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Vijayakumar Paramasivam
Seller: Jonathan J. Falcetti
Date: 09/30/21

142 Hancock St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Ellen Boynton LLC
Seller: Living Water Global
Date: 09/21/21

311 Hancock St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Latoya Bushay
Seller: Chad Lynch
Date: 10/01/21

25 Helberg Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Juan E. Fabregas
Seller: James B. Long
Date: 10/01/21

40-42 Humbert St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $218,500
Buyer: Hanati Lubega
Seller: Stokley Comrie
Date: 09/27/21

77-79 Humbert St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Alexander B. Rivera
Seller: Tia M. Burris
Date: 09/28/21

216 Jasper St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Mariluz Mateo
Seller: Beverley R. Mighty
Date: 09/20/21

115-117 Kent Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Alex J. Tsang
Seller: Edward C. Lennon
Date: 09/30/21

147 Lebanon St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Eagle Crest RT
Seller: Nicole J. Maxey
Date: 09/30/21

15 Lemnos Lane
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Leonard J. Bass
Seller: Craig M. Outhouse
Date: 09/24/21

9-19 Loring St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Hanzalah M. Ishaaq
Seller: Rafael Guzman
Date: 09/28/21

1155 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $2,750,000
Buyer: Springfield Redevelopment Authority
Seller: Freedom Credit Union
Date: 10/01/21

65 Mandalay Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Sheila A. Shepard
Seller: Juan Martinez
Date: 09/22/21

55-59 Margaret St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $345,300
Buyer: Ramu Raju
Seller: Wlub LLC
Date: 10/01/21

52-54 Maryland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Wendy Caraballo
Seller: Manzi, Angelo, (Estate)
Date: 09/20/21

8 Mayfield St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Carolyn Senecal
Seller: Amena Assaf
Date: 09/24/21

22 Mayflower Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Jeromy Javier-Perez
Seller: Meghan C. Donahue
Date: 09/29/21

59 Melba St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: RHL Properties LLC
Seller: Candido, Louis J., (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

15 Meredith St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Julissa Santana
Seller: Magnolia Berrios
Date: 10/01/21

103-105 Michon St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Dorcas Boakye-Agyemang
Seller: Janet Addai
Date: 10/01/21

51-53 Milford St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Michel P. Liriano
Seller: Pawel Bialobrzeski
Date: 09/22/21

87-89 Monrovia St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Linda Pozo
Seller: H&P Investments LLC
Date: 09/30/21

129 Naismith St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $328,000
Buyer: Dorothy Atieno-Omondi
Seller: Peter W. Otiende
Date: 09/30/21

8 Navajo Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Juan C. Rojas-Colon
Seller: Ingrid B. Ingram
Date: 09/24/21

564 Newbury St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Israel Calderon
Seller: Michael W. Jones
Date: 09/29/21

124 Newfield Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Eliezer Rivera
Seller: Meghan L. Hayes
Date: 09/30/21

16-18 Noel St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Hector I. Cruz
Seller: Vlad Grechka
Date: 09/23/21

134 Norfolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: B9 Industries Inc.
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 09/22/21

416 Nottingham St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Francina Martinez
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 09/29/21

36 Osborne Ter.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Carlos Valencia-Silva
Seller: Sara J. Gilpatrick
Date: 09/24/21

1298 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Correa
Seller: Lewis G. Riopelle
Date: 09/24/21

1699 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: London Realty LLC
Seller: Patrick Soucy
Date: 09/22/21

371 Parkerview St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $224,900
Buyer: Amysue A. Rivera
Seller: Deanna M. Leighty
Date: 09/29/21

Pendleton Ave.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Ellen Boynton LLC
Seller: Living Water Global
Date: 09/21/21

99 Pine Acre Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Heather Gillespie
Seller: Liam T. Walsh
Date: 09/29/21

45 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $227,500
Buyer: April Reason
Seller: FNMA
Date: 09/27/21

69 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Leonardo Diaz
Seller: Robert B. Labranche
Date: 10/01/21

136 Prentice St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Ahisha E. Aponte-Flores
Seller: Daniel J. Mauke
Date: 10/01/21

35 Princeton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jacqueline C. Rodriguez
Seller: Andres Rosario
Date: 09/24/21

108 Prouty St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $257,000
Buyer: Steven J. Laurin
Seller: Margaret G. Lynch
Date: 09/23/21

168 Quaker Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Stephanie M. Kile
Seller: Samantha M. Moriarty
Date: 09/30/21

881 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Brandon M. Basdeo
Seller: Mark A. Simeone
Date: 09/24/21

909 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Maria F. Alban
Seller: Andrea Allen-Glenn
Date: 09/29/21

1390 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Fernando O. Baez
Seller: Carmen Martinez
Date: 09/24/21

2470 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Michael Sotiropoulos
Seller: Kenneth J. Disley
Date: 09/27/21

75 Rosella St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Beverley Mighty
Seller: Kimberly A. Casineau
Date: 09/29/21

7 Ryan Circle
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Edwin Rivera
Seller: Phyllis L. Phaneuf
Date: 10/01/21

175 Saint James Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Eduard Rodriguez
Seller: Eric A. Acosta
Date: 09/30/21

100 Saint James Circle
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Emmanuel R. Marrero
Seller: Nasser Zebian
Date: 09/21/21

68 Shamrock St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Dina Lam
Seller: Han Pham
Date: 09/29/21

240 Slater Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Eneroliza Cardenas
Seller: Fortier, Thomas, (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

Stafford St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: B&EM Properties Inc.
Seller: 1 Stafford St. Assocs. LLC
Date: 09/29/21

1 Stafford St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: B&EM Properties Inc.
Seller: 1 Stafford St. Assocs. LLC
Date: 09/29/21

125-127 Stafford St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: 125 Stafford Street RT
Seller: US Bank
Date: 09/30/21

203 Starling Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $357,000
Buyer: Quynh T. Pham
Seller: Susan N. Muhaiman
Date: 10/01/21

115-117 State St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $2,750,000
Buyer: Springfield Redevelopment Authority
Seller: Freedom Credit Union
Date: 10/01/21

94 Steuben St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Israel E. Casaol
Seller: Crimilda Rosado
Date: 09/21/21

 

11-21 Stockbridge St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $2,750,000
Buyer: Springfield Redevelopment Authority
Seller: Freedom Credit Union
Date: 10/01/21

5 Stony Brook Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Raymond J. St.Amand
Seller: Francis Cassidy
Date: 09/22/21

788 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Lucas M. Herrera
Seller: RWM RE Portfolio LLC
Date: 09/30/21

252 Sunrise Ter.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Maribel Frias
Seller: Peter A. Carter
Date: 10/01/21

128 Tallyho Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Kimberly Cortes
Seller: Minh Q. Ha
Date: 09/27/21

24-26 Tracy St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: John C. Chirchir
Seller: Magdalena Rodriguez
Date: 09/24/21

15 Vadnais St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Roberto Vega-Santiago
Seller: Migdalia Santiago
Date: 09/29/21

51 Victoria St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Daniel E. Perez
Seller: Maximo R. Lopez
Date: 09/24/21

61-63 Virginia St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Derone C. Brewington
Seller: Maribel Frias
Date: 10/01/21

95 Virginia St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $197,500
Buyer: Cassidy Michalski
Seller: Rebecca A. Pink
Date: 10/01/21

18-20 Wareham St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Uziel Gomes-DaSilva
Seller: True Pyramid Architects
Date: 10/01/21

29 Wareham St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $137,000
Buyer: Derick R. Lopes
Seller: Alberto Nieves
Date: 09/20/21

9-11 Waterford Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Justin Reid
Seller: James Dorman
Date: 09/20/21

112 West Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Ryan Garvey
Seller: Delores E. Gentile
Date: 09/30/21

78 Westford Circle
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Allixandria M. Nieves
Seller: Latham, Charles L., (Estate)
Date: 10/01/21

565 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Kimberly Reid
Seller: Delores King-Scott
Date: 10/01/21

43 Wilkes St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $296,600
Buyer: Yasmin Forbes
Seller: Lindsay N. Vo
Date: 10/01/21

81-83 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Juan O. Rivera
Seller: Stephen E. Newell
Date: 09/24/21

250-270 Worthington St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Honore LLC
Seller: Venture Properties LLC
Date: 09/20/21

272-278 Worthington St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Honore LLC
Seller: Venture Properties LLC
Date: 09/20/21

280-302 Worthington St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Honore LLC
Seller: Venture Properties LLC
Date: 09/20/21

382-386 Worthington St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Honore LLC
Seller: Venture Properties LLC
Date: 09/20/21

75 Wrentham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Luis D. DeLaCruz
Seller: Flora Tung
Date: 09/29/21

SOUTHWICK

26 Birchwood Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $286,000
Buyer: Joseph A. Richard
Seller: Lisa C. Toal
Date: 09/22/21

16 Gargon Ter.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Aaron Benard
Seller: Joanne F. Sico
Date: 09/20/21

13 Grandview St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $229,900
Buyer: Dennis Ford
Seller: Benjamin J. Barton
Date: 10/01/21

32 Hillside Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: RWC Properties LLC
Seller: Witchwood Realty LLC
Date: 09/23/21

80 North Lake Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $324,900
Buyer: Alexander Stupak
Seller: Amos Bliesener
Date: 10/01/21

124 Point Grove Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Mulvenna
Seller: Jeremy R. Becker
Date: 09/28/21

1 Tree Top Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Trent C. Duda
Seller: Tracy L. Daborowski
Date: 10/01/21

WALES

2 Haynes Hill Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $139,500
Buyer: Amy S. Bishop
Seller: Richard W. Horne
Date: 10/01/21

WEST SPRINGFIELD

159 Albert St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $402,500
Buyer: William M. Kelly
Seller: Aleksandr Govor
Date: 09/24/21

30 Armstrong St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Jessica C. Marquez
Seller: Neil K. Fahey
Date: 09/23/21

37 Bluebird Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Wanda L. Frink
Seller: Bruce E. Wade
Date: 09/30/21

106 Christopher Ter.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $427,800
Buyer: Patrick Kayego
Seller: Darlene M. Libiszewski
Date: 09/29/21

79 Exposition Ter.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $720,000
Buyer: Aga Realty LLC
Seller: V&K Realty LLC
Date: 09/21/21

18 Ferry Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Onoriss Burgess
Seller: Ronald J. Charbonneau
Date: 09/23/21

48-52 George St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Aleksandr Katykhin
Seller: Juan Fernandez
Date: 09/24/21

25 Greenleaf Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Gabrilla Ballard
Seller: Courtney R. Charland
Date: 09/28/21

175 Labelle St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Nelson Pagan
Seller: Vip Homes & Assocs. LLC
Date: 09/29/21

385 Lancaster Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $322,500
Buyer: Amy McCartin
Seller: Antoinette R. Demaio
Date: 09/28/21

17 Laurence Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Nino Valentino
Seller: Kathleen J. McIntyre
Date: 09/20/21

176 Lower Beverly Hills
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Brianna N. Pisano
Seller: Sarah B. Long
Date: 09/22/21

52 Nelson St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Andrew Castillo
Seller: Janet S. Clarke
Date: 09/27/21

166 Nelson St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Kevin G. North
Seller: Justin Clark
Date: 09/23/21

200 Poplar Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Karen A. Bodendorf
Seller: Diane M. Leitao
Date: 09/20/21

429 Riverdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $3,345,043
Buyer: SNS Brothers LLC
Seller: Patel Brothers Corp.
Date: 09/27/21

61 Sibley Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Dana Hill
Seller: Brian A. Redfern
Date: 09/23/21

2027 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Michaela R. Cassidy
Seller: Michael R. Werman
Date: 09/22/21

56-58 Worthen St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Tina Piechota
Seller: Aziz Tasayev
Date: 09/28/21

WESTFIELD

167 Apple Blossom Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Linda L. Ligsukis
Seller: Nikolay Novenko
Date: 09/20/21

15 Belanger Road
Westfield, MA 01073
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Daniel I. Fetteroll
Seller: James A. Mooney
Date: 10/01/21

116 Devon Ter.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Patrick D. Moody
Seller: Jon K. Mott
Date: 09/30/21

234 Dox Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Joseph Cabana
Seller: Murphy, Sheila A., (Estate)
Date: 09/29/21

25 East Bartlett St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Alfonso Chimburazo
Seller: Westfield Real Property LLC
Date: 09/24/21

33 Fairfield Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $318,650
Buyer: Jacs Properties LLC
Seller: No Property Services LLC
Date: 09/23/21

35 Fairfield Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $318,650
Buyer: Jacs Properties LLC
Seller: No Property Services LLC
Date: 09/23/21

28 Hancock St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Leonid Semenov
Seller: Kristina L. Leighty
Date: 10/01/21

22 Hayre St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $347,000
Buyer: Erik Lamothe
Seller: Mikhail L. Girich
Date: 09/24/21

55 Hillcrest Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Jason D. O’Grady
Seller: William Dee
Date: 10/01/21

94 King St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: Megan E. Gentile
Seller: Ralph J. Cocchi
Date: 09/30/21

21 Livingstone Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Edric Toledo
Seller: Christine A. Sienkiewicz
Date: 09/20/21

50 Montgomery St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Jon Kozak
Seller: Lisa Utzinger-Shen
Date: 09/29/21

152 Montgomery St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Colin Ashley
Seller: Heniek Wykowski
Date: 09/24/21

171 Munger Hill Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Christin L. Wilson
Seller: Elizabeth S. Lusteg
Date: 09/30/21

67 Overlook Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $483,200
Buyer: Jill L. McCormick
Seller: Andrew C. Bean
Date: 09/28/21

12 Phelps Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Quinn Barbeito
Seller: Vantage Home Buyers LLC
Date: 09/28/21

31 Pilgrim Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Vladimir Kolomiyets
Seller: Ourand, Raymond T., (Estate)
Date: 10/01/21

563 Pochassic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $300,500
Buyer: Andrey Bezkulov
Seller: Benjamin H. Johnson
Date: 09/30/21

41 Salvator Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $545,000
Buyer: Deidre L. Bean
Seller: James W. Vanderwalker
Date: 09/28/21

73 Shaker Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $509,000
Buyer: Maunish K. Shah
Seller: Leah Russell
Date: 09/30/21

238 Springdale Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Sarah Plumador
Seller: Kevin Trempe
Date: 10/01/21

262 Steiger Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $343,000
Buyer: Yury N. Zuev
Seller: Editha T. Angco
Date: 09/24/21

44 Susan Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Ed R. Cruz-Candelaria
Seller: David McCourt
Date: 09/24/21

84 Susan Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Kristina L. Leighty
Seller: Joshua M. Krassler
Date: 10/01/21

674 Western Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Justin Torres
Seller: Luz Martins
Date: 09/30/21

883 Western Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Diaz Properties LLC
Seller: Wicked Deals LLC
Date: 09/20/21

25 Willow Brook Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Wood
Seller: Howard G. Barber
Date: 09/28/21

18 Winding Ridge Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $565,000
Buyer: Sean O’Brien-Coyne
Seller: Shadi Zaghloul
Date: 09/27/21

5 Woronoco Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $290,500
Buyer: Pamela J. Seiffert
Seller: Jennifer Robidoux
Date: 09/30/21

102 Yeoman Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Michael G. Ruffo
Seller: Hurley, Eileen T., (Estate)
Date: 09/21/21

60 Zephyr Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Elizabeth S. Lusteg
Seller: David C. Johnson
Date: 09/30/21

WILBRAHAM

5 Burleigh Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Robert A. McDonald
Seller: Scott D. Hathaway
Date: 09/23/21

8 Carla Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $489,000
Buyer: Jason A. Mancuso
Seller: Lisa M. Libby
Date: 10/01/21

4 Hawthorne Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $393,000
Buyer: Nils Dahl
Seller: Jim P. Zimmerman
Date: 09/24/21

9 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $469,000
Buyer: Adam D. Lape
Seller: Stephen L. Murdoch
Date: 09/28/21

60 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $184,400
Buyer: Adam K. Long
Seller: David J. Magazu
Date: 10/01/21

6 Old Carriage Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $389,000
Buyer: Lewis Riopelle
Seller: David E. Grumt
Date: 09/30/21

140 Springfield St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Kevin J. Czaplicki
Seller: Alfred F. Artioli
Date: 10/01/21

1222 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Sarah Shecrallah
Seller: Jennifer Baribeau
Date: 09/30/21

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

17 Elm St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $512,000
Buyer: Michael Comyn-Ching
Seller: Melissa Y. Mueller
Date: 09/30/21

307 Middle St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Allison J. Holt
Seller: Alison M. Ozer RET
Date: 10/01/21

7 Moody Field Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $725,000
Buyer: Dennis M. Meletiche
Seller: Jie Li
Date: 09/29/21

24 North Prospect St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $615,000
Buyer: Joseph P. Meagher
Seller: Richard N. Bentley
Date: 09/30/21

85 North Whitney St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $3,700,000
Buyer: Historic Renovations
Seller: Green Tree Family LP
Date: 09/29/21

114 State St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Julie Haddad
Seller: Donald J. Pelkey
Date: 10/01/21

39 Valley View Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $334,000
Buyer: Meagan Moran
Seller: Forrest A. Wellman
Date: 09/30/21

BELCHERTOWN

664 Bay Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Jade J. Jerolmon
Seller: Simone Rainaud
Date: 09/27/21

24 Eagle Heights
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Karol Makusiewicz
Seller: Jerzyk, Jack R., (Estate)
Date: 09/21/21

601 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $253,450
Buyer: Alisha J. Morin
Seller: Cooper, Christine L., (Estate)
Date: 09/22/21

752 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Felix C. Salas-Sanchez
Seller: Timothy E. Montgomery
Date: 09/24/21

50 Green Ave.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $626,000
Buyer: Matthew C. Spafford
Seller: Marcia Sears
Date: 09/29/21

91 Jensen St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Ryan F. Rocheleau
Seller: Czupkiewicz, Marie M., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

71 North Main St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: CMJT Management LLC
Seller: Olympic RE LLC
Date: 09/24/21

74 Orchard St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $407,000
Buyer: Henry J. Kryeski
Seller: John C. Coty
Date: 09/30/21

72 South Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Lara A. Hariri
Seller: Melvin L. Conner
Date: 09/20/21

280 State St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: Jonathan Shaink
Seller: Jarrett, Donald F., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

CHESTERFIELD

388 Main Road
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $434,000
Buyer: William P. Norton
Seller: Kenneth A. Jones
Date: 09/24/21

CUMMINGTON

362 Stage Road
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Kristin Wingar-Hook
Seller: Gregory J. Tonelli
Date: 10/01/21

EASTHAMPTON

518 East St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Martin E. Fedor
Seller: E. F. & F. I. Fedor TR
Date: 10/01/21

9 Gross Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: David A. Schrier
Seller: Lisa M. Bartlett
Date: 09/28/21

16 Holyoke St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $553,000
Buyer: Todd M. Snider
Seller: Robert E. Dragon
Date: 09/30/21

18 Lawson Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Amy McIntosh
Seller: Todd Carson
Date: 09/23/21

35 Lovefield St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Easthampton Mahadev LLC
Seller: Jayohm Inc.
Date: 09/30/21

225 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $605,000
Buyer: Matthew S. Bauer
Seller: John P. Boulais
Date: 09/22/21

334 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Easthampton Mahadev LLC
Seller: Jayohm Inc.
Date: 09/30/21

237 Park St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $316,500
Buyer: Jamie Messer
Seller: McGraw, Mary A., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

106 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $324,000
Buyer: Todd R. Carson
Seller: Philip H. Labbee
Date: 09/23/21

25-27 Pleasant Green East
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Manhan Properties LLC
Seller: Mountain View Investors LP
Date: 09/24/21

89 Pomeroy St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $352,000
Buyer: Jared Lancelle-Callaham
Seller: James E. Nicoll
Date: 09/20/21

5 Prospect St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $392,500
Buyer: Jessica Sheeran
Seller: Mark I. Donovan
Date: 09/20/21

10 Russell Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Janet Macnab
Seller: Gary Lenshyn
Date: 09/21/21
10 South St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Vadim Tulchinsky
Seller: Sherry, Arthur B. 3rd, (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

GOSHEN

75 South Main St.
Goshen, MA 01096
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Demi Lambadis
Seller: Erin L. Bajnoci
Date: 09/24/21

GRANBY

55 Pleasant St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Alison J. Kuley
Seller: Cari M. Wiater
Date: 09/20/21

172 Porter St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Michael R. Hartbarger
Seller: Hartbarger, Rodney L., (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

HADLEY

7 Colony Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Dennis Hanno
Seller: Valley Construction Co. Inc.
Date: 09/27/21

6 Nikkis Way
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $769,900
Buyer: Daniel W. Mitte
Seller: Adam Ginsburg
Date: 10/01/21

223 River Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $386,000
Buyer: Historic Renovations
Seller: Green Tree Family LP
Date: 09/28/21

118 Rocky Hill Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $354,000
Buyer: Jin Liu
Seller: Valerie A. Wentzel
Date: 09/27/21

158 Rocky Hill Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: Gregoriy Dokshin
Seller: Nader S. Akoury
Date: 09/30/21

HATFIELD

59 North St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $570,000
Buyer: Monadnock Media Inc.
Seller: David H. Short
Date: 10/01/21

HUNTINGTON

38 Worthington Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Jacob Reider
Seller: Benjamin Snape
Date: 09/30/21

NORTHAMPTON

60 Avis Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $515,000
Buyer: Heather M. Tobey
Seller: Claudine C. Wega
Date: 10/01/21

419 Bridge Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Ranjit Singh
Seller: Jagdish Singh
Date: 09/29/21

26 Crescent St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $226,000
Buyer: Andrew M. Batchelor
Seller: Charlotte R. Morse
Date: 09/24/21

985 Florence Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Julia Ryan
Seller: Anchor Moore Investments LLC
Date: 09/20/21

994 Florence Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Kimberly A. Arra
Seller: Jeremy D. Ober
Date: 09/30/21

65 Ford Xing
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Wendy A. Bleiman
Seller: Ivana M. Liebert
Date: 09/27/21

3 High Meadow Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $710,000
Buyer: Amanda Coles
Seller: Charlotte Vesel
Date: 09/23/21

132 King St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Sardinhas & Constante Realty
Seller: JKD LLC
Date: 09/22/21

162 Main St.
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Christopher Collins
Seller: Jason M. Cohen
Date: 09/30/21

64 Meadow St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $332,000
Buyer: Barbara Ferrante-Bricker
Seller: Lori Beaudry-Flint
Date: 09/24/21

124 Moser St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $676,000
Buyer: Brian K. Grant
Seller: Todd Weir
Date: 09/30/21

43 Murphy Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $468,000
Buyer: Amy F. Cohen
Seller: Ina Sabloff-St.Germain
Date: 10/01/21

49 Reservoir Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Philip J. Cote
Seller: Dawn G. Tacy
Date: 09/24/21

165 South St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $432,200
Buyer: John G. Gibbons
Seller: Christopher Colby
Date: 10/01/21

71 Union St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Dennis Cavaliere
Seller: Plogger Family IRT
Date: 09/30/21

43 Woodbine Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Marc A. Bleicher
Seller: David A. Seifert
Date: 10/01/21

PELHAM

57 South Valley Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $211,000
Buyer: Vera Bruursema
Seller: Carol M. Johnson RET
Date: 10/01/21

SOUTH HADLEY

100 Abbey St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Herman P. Mak
Seller: Douglas G. Blair
Date: 09/23/21

125 Abbey St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Barbara A. Myca
Seller: Sheila Clegg
Date: 09/21/21

114 College St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: David P. Solender
Seller: Andrew L. Klepacki
Date: 09/23/21

5 College View Heights
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Erin C. Zwisler
Seller: Norman E. Aubrey PHD RET
Date: 09/20/21

295 East St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Radwan Zaitoun
Seller: Henry Komosa
Date: 09/30/21

2 Fulton St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Eric Weiss
Seller: Claire R. Richards
Date: 09/28/21

20 Leahey Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Benjamin H. Hale
Seller: Quenneville, J. P., (Estate)
Date: 09/30/21

22 Los Angeles St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Alyssa M. Mandeville
Seller: Bajowski, Jean L., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

239 Morgan St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Eloise Thibault
Seller: Nathan P. Duclos
Date: 09/20/21

631 Newton St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $380,750
Buyer: John M. Baglione
Seller: Fredrick R. Smith
Date: 09/21/21

9 North St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Frances N. Orta-Rojas
Seller: Brian R. Demers
Date: 09/30/21

7 Queen Circle
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Samantha Bielunis
Seller: Steven Parentela
Date: 09/30/21

8 Spring Meadows
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: Dawn B. Sibley
Seller: Nicole Bradley
Date: 09/27/21

7 Sycamore Park
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Laura Khoudari
Seller: Charles W. Austin
Date: 09/21/21

35 Yale St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $272,500
Buyer: Sherry M. Sawyer
Seller: Carol Bogdanovich
Date: 09/29/21

SOUTHAMPTON

15 Belanger Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Daniel I. Fetteroll
Seller: James A. Mooney
Date: 10/01/21

213 College Hwy.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Leonard J. Boivin
Seller: Damaska, Lillian A., (Estate)
Date: 09/24/21

86 Glendale Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Anthony D. Pelullo
Seller: Thomas O. Mimick
Date: 09/21/21

125 Glendale Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $397,500
Buyer: Jennifer Siegel
Seller: Lawrence S. Trinceri
Date: 09/21/21

205 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $451,000
Buyer: Kyle D. Fox
Seller: David J. Mari
Date: 09/21/21

WARE

2 Ashley St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $261,973
Buyer: Desantis FT
Seller: Patricia L. Lukaskiewicz
Date: 09/24/21

5 Chester Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Joanna Sivia-Ellington
Seller: Kenneth W. Foss
Date: 09/30/21

10 Clifford Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $277,700
Buyer: Timothy P. Lagrant
Seller: Maximilian C. Delpino
Date: 10/01/21

80 Coffey Hill Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Alexander J. Reed
Seller: Robert E. Demers
Date: 09/23/21

34 Greenwich Plains Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jason Johnson
Seller: Gregory Foucher
Date: 09/24/21

52 North St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Nallett FT
Seller: Breton Realty LLC
Date: 09/22/21

9 Old Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Harley Richards
Seller: Fumi Realty Inc.
Date: 09/27/21

174 Osborne Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Jeremy Desjardins-Smith
Seller: Gary J. Miarecki
Date: 10/01/21

35 Pine St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Ronald Gresty
Seller: Helen M. Sidur
Date: 09/30/21

56 Pleasant St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Nallett FT
Seller: Breton Realty LLC
Date: 09/22/21

52 Pulaski St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $118,000
Buyer: Scott H. Hartwell
Seller: Gary Buelow
Date: 09/23/21

14 Wildflower Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Olusola P. Ekundayo
Seller: Michael J. Levesque
Date: 09/30/21

Women of Impact 2021

CEO, YWCA of Western Massachusetts

Her Advocacy for Women and Children Has Taken Many Powerful Forms

 

Liz Dineen was always a bit different from her young peers. During the 1960s, when they were listening to the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones, she would scour her local library for famous speeches — in print and on vinyl — from the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Winston Churchill, and John and Robert Kennedy.

“I was very intrigued by the power of the word to mobilize people into action for good, and to motivate people to change,” she said.

At age 12, watching Bobby Kennedy’s funeral and procession, “I remember saying to my mother and father that day, ‘I want to be a lawyer. I want to make a difference.’ I’ve wanted to be an advocate for women and children my whole life, from when I was 12 years old, and I’ve kind of directed the rest of my life that way.”

Dineen wasn’t interested in criminal law when she entered law school, but an internship in the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office hooked her. So she kept working there, and stayed after graduation — for the next 27 years, in fact.

“I just loved being an advocate, being a trial lawyer and being able to fight in that legal arena for justice for women and children,” she said, specifically on wrenching cases involving physical and sexual child abuse, adult rapes, child murders, and domestic-violence murders.

“I’ve wanted to be an advocate for women and children my whole life, from when I was 12 years old, and I’ve kind of directed the rest of my life that way.”

“Liz Dineen was the epitome of a caring, supportive, and compassionate champion for those victims,” said attorney Stephen Spelman, who met her while working with her in the DA’s office in the 1990s, and later married her. “She was a zealous advocate in the courtroom, renowned throughout the state, and the nation, for getting decades-long sentences on those who had sexually assaulted children and women, or brutally harmed them physically.”

Always thinking innovatively, she also began a series of lectures and meetings among various professional groups (nurses, doctors, law enforcement, and prosecutors) to ensure, while women and children were receiving medical care after being assaulted, that crucial items of evidence were not tossed out or ignored. “These meetings not only improved the collection of evidence for trial, but also improved the medical care of the victims, particularly in sexual-assault cases,” Spelman said.

It was critical, deeply gratifying work, but after 27 years, Dineen felt it was time to step away. She had been teaching law in an adjunct capacity at Elms College and Bay Path University, and when an opportunity arose to chair Bay Path’s Criminal Justice department, she pursued and landed that role in 2009.

 

Liz Dineen with the most recent Springfield Police Academy class, which made a donation to the YWCA’s programs.

Liz Dineen with the most recent Springfield Police Academy class, which made a donation to the YWCA’s programs.

“I reinvented the department,” she said, “with a strong emphasis on developing women leaders within the criminal-justice arena.”

But in 2015, it was time to shift gears again, and this time, for the first time in her adult life, she took six months off to really think about the future. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next, and I knew I was too young to retire,” she said, so she asked people who knew her well what they envisioned for her. “The answer that kept coming back was to go for a judgeship.”

So, with encouragement from judges and others she had interacted with, she applied for a Superior Court judgeship in December 2015. But then something unexpected happened — something that would completely alter Dineen’s life and career, but made perfect sense along her journey as a Woman of Impact.

 

Opportunity Knocks

It was the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, which was looking for an interim executive director, and reached out to ask if she would consider the role.

Coincidentally, Dineen had just finished reading Year of Yes, a book by TV production powerhouse Shonda Rimes. “The whole message was, ‘don’t be afraid to say yes, even if you’re not 100% qualified,’” she said. “Men will say ‘sure,’ while women make sure every ‘T’ is crossed and every ‘I’ is dotted. So I said, ‘sure — I will throw my hat in that arena.’”

Two weeks later, she was on the job — with no nonprofit experience, but plenty of exposure to some of the Y’s programmatic issues, like domestic violence and sexual assault. “It was a real learning curve in terms of how nonprofits work, how to go about maintaining the funding we already have, obtaining new funding, and seeking new opportunities to expand.”

In March, just a few months into the job, the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee contacted Dineen, wanting to interview her for that judgeship. When she told the executive committee of the YWCA board, they didn’t want to lose a good thing — and offered her the CEO position permanently. She said she’d need some time to think about it.

“But the more I thought about it, the more I thought, ‘if I take this position, I can be proactive. If I’m on a bench, I have to be reactive, meaning I have to wait for cases to come to me.’ And you can’t be political at all if you’re a judge. You have to be very selective in terms of who you’re associating with so you avoid any appearance of impropriety or preference. So I said, ‘OK, let’s try it. Let’s stay here and see what happens.’”

“Everyone realized, when the pandemic hit, that this community would need us now more than ever, and people just really stepped up. I’m proud that we could keep offering those services. We didn’t let the community down.”

Importantly, she noted, “I saw it as an opportunity to continue to serve women and children. I saw it as an opportunity to grow this organization and to be a changemaker in the nonprofit arena, especially on issues relating to women and children. And I have not regretted it.”

Besides growing the organization from 70 employees to 150 in just five and a half years, she has developed and expanded a number of programs, all with the YWCA’s mission — to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote social justice — in mind.

The YWCA offers 22 programs, residential and non-residential, to support women and girls, including a large domestic-violence shelter, residential housing for teen mothers, residential housing for women who are survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence, sexual-assault counselors who respond to local hospitals when a woman has been raped, in-court counselors for domestic-violence survivors, a 24-hour hotline, workforce-development programs, and many others.

Programs take a forward-looking approach to immediate crises. For example, the Children Who Witness Violence program provides therapy to kids (ages 3 to 17) who have witnessed or experienced domestic violence. “We’re trying to change the paradigm so they don’t replicate what they saw — so we can change generations going forward.”

Meanwhile, a financial-empowerment program considers that the vast majority of victims of physical domestic violence are also victims of financial abuse. This fiscal-education program dovetails with the YWCA’s workforce-development programs in that they aim to cultivate independence for women down the road, and they are also open to the public, not just to those who enter through the Y’s crisis services.

The YWCA also visits college campuses to talk about domestic violence and sexual assault, both counseling students and teaching about awareness and intervention in the classrooms, with an eye toward preventing those crisis situations to begin with.

Back on her own campus, Dineen finds satisfaction in seeing troubled lives change.

“I go into the shelter every day — it fuels me,” she said. “I particularly like to see the kids because the kids in the shelter are really happy. That surprised me, but it’s a little like camp — they’re around other kids — and they’re happy because they’re safe and they know their mom’s safe. You see a transformation within 24 hours; they come alive again.

“I can’t even imagine being a kid and seeing my mother get abused like that,” she went on. “Especially the little boys — you can see they’re very, very protective of their mothers. Some of them have said to me they feel bad they didn’t protect their mom. And I just keep saying, ‘you’re just a kid; it’s not your job. Your job is to do well in school and then go outside and play and scream and yell.’”

 

Shelter from the Storm

While the pandemic threw the social-service world into disarray, Dineen said she’s proud that all YWCA programs continued — many virtually, but some in person, including the domestic-violence shelter, two teen residential programs, and the supportive-housing program — “and we kept COVID out the entire time, which was a miracle.”

At the same time, many needs became more urgent. “So many women were looking for help, saying, ‘I’m trapped at home with my abuser. How can I get out, how can you help me?’”

The YWCA raised large amounts of money during that time, as individuals and organizations recognized those needs — including the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which awarded $200,000, some of which was used to place women in hotels because the shelter was full.

“I’m so proud of my staff and my board of directors,” Dineen said. “Everyone realized, when the pandemic hit, that this community would need us now more than ever, and people just really stepped up. I’m proud that we could keep offering those services. We didn’t let the community down.”

Throughout all of that, she’s never forgotten the legacy she’s forged, of empowering women — some in crisis, some learning from her, some working beside her — to move forward in their own lives. “The thing that gives me the most joy and causes this 65-year-old Irish Catholic girl, who never cried before, to actually cry is seeing another woman succeed.”

That goes for the women of color who direct the YWCA’s programs, and are encouraged to continually advance their education and training.

“I keep saying to them, ‘you are the future leaders of nonprofits of Western Mass. I want to be 80 years old, reading in the newspaper that you just got made a director or CEO of some organization.”

A four-decade career spent not only standing up for women, but helping them become advocates for others — that’s a real Woman of Impact.

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]