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Month: June 2022

Matt Flink Named President of Appleton Corporation

By
Daily News

James Sullivan, president of The O’Connell Companies Inc., announced that the board of directors has named Matt Flink president of Appleton Corporation.

Flink, who will be based in the firm’s Holyoke office, succeeds Paul Stelzer. Prior to joining Appleton in 2012, Flink worked in the real estate development and construction industry in Colorado and Florida. He has developed management services accounts in the transportation industry, and coordinated projects for The O’Connell Companies real estate portfolio of multi-family and commercial assets.

“I’m very excited to be named President of Appleton Corporation,” said Flink. “The culture of the company is based on our family-oriented core values and principles and our service delivery model is implemented across a diversified portfolio of management accounts. Our team is loaded with talent and energy, and I look forward to guiding the future strategic and management direction of the firm.”

Appleton Corporation provides comprehensive property, facilities and asset management services, along with accounting and financial services, to managers and owners of commercial and residential properties in central New England.

bankESB Promotes Erik Lamothe to AVP

By
Daily News

EASTHAMPTON — bankESB recently promoted Erik J. Lamothe to assistant vice president, asset liability management.

Lamothe joined bankESB in 2016 as ALM manager and was promoted to ALM officer in 2017. He has nearly 25 years of experience in banking, and is responsible for budgeting, forecasting, managing interest rate risk, and CECL for the Hometown Financial Group family of banks, which includes bankESB, bankHometown, and Abington Bank.

Lamothe earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Westfield State University and his master’s degree in banking and financial studies from Boston University. He serves as a board member and Finance Committee member of the Lathrop Home in Northampton and is also a course instructor with the Center for Financial Training.

Juneteenth Heritage Walking Tour Created

By
Daily News

AMHERST — Starting this upcoming Juneteenth weekend, a new walking tour of local historic homes and museums will showcase the unique history and contributions of generations of Black families in Amherst that ranged from music to manufacturing.

Ancestral Bridges, a local nonprofit organization, collaborated with the Amherst Historical Society & Museum, local organizations, and the descendants of local Black families to produce the Juneteenth Heritage Walking Tour, a 1.5-mile story-filled tour that invites visitors to immerse themselves in the day-to-day experiences of Black Amherst residents from 200 years ago to more modern times.

“There is so much important Black history in Amherst that has been hidden from view for too many years,” said Anika Lopes, founder of Ancestral Bridges. “With this walking tour, we are pulling back the curtain, highlighting the way that my family and other Black and indigenous historic residents of Amherst lived and worked, what they hoped and fought for, so that Black youth and others can understand this part of our history and use it to grow.”

The Juneteenth Heritage Walking Tour is the first descendant-led and curated walking tour of its kind in the area. A family-friendly event on June 18 will serve as a kick-off of the walking tour and encourage local residents and visitors to explore exhibits featuring historic photographs, artifacts, and millinery that bring to life the essence of Black neighborhoods in Amherst.

The tour begins at the historic West Cemetery to honor the lives and contributions of the all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment and the famed 5th Cavalry, the soldiers who alerted Texas residents that the Civil War and slavery had ended. This event is the origin of the holiday celebrated as Juneteenth.

Additional tour stops include special exhibits at the Amherst History Museum with artwork and images from the mid-18th century and on; The Emily Dickinson Museum, where stories of Charles Thompson and other Black residents familiar with the Dickinson Family are featured; Hope Church, the first Black church in Amherst; and Goodwin Memorial AME Zion Church. The event to be emceed by descendant William Harris, Jr., president and CEO of Space Center Houston.

Neighborhoods featured on the tour include the Westside District (Hazel Avenue, Baker Street, Snell Street, Northampton Road), which was designated a National Historic District in 2000 thanks to the efforts of Dudley J. Bridges, Sr.; and the neighborhood of McCellan, Beston, and Paige Streets.

Also featured on the walking tour will be a special art installation by local artist Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker that will highlight the Tote2Vote campaign, launched recently to raise awareness of voter suppression.

The June 18 public event begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. No registration is needed. The First stop is West Cemetery, Triangle Street, Amherst. Additional stops (in order) include the Amherst Historical Society & Museum, The Emily Dickinson Museum, Hope Church, and the Goodwin Memorial A.M.E Zion Church. Music and community party at The Drake.

Limited transportation is available for those with limited mobility; meet at Amherst Regional High School 10:30 AM. Light refreshments will be served.

Learn more at ancestral-bridges.org.

Art with Heart to Debut with Reception on July 20

By
Daily News

FLORENCE — Community members are invited to attend a free art exhibit and reception for the debut of Art with Heart, a collaboration between local grieving youth and caregivers and area artists. The exhibit will run the month of July with the reception on July 20 at 6 pm at the BOMBYX Center for Arts and Equity.

Art with Heart, the vision of Shelly Bathe Lenn, program coordinator at The Garden: A Center for Grieving Children and Teens, paired local grieving youth and caregivers with artists to create art as an expression of grief.

Children ages 5 to 17 participated in workshops that were held in May.

“We believe in reinforcing the connection between the head, heart, and hand to help one express their feelings around grief that may have previously been unspoken,” Lenn said. “Grieving youth can use art to help them further understand their experience and gain a sense of mastery and confidence while serving as a ‘container’ for the intense feelings associated with grief.”

Artists Barbara Neulinger, Christine Southworth, Frankie Borrero, and Omarthan Clarke each worked with one of four small groups of grieving youth and caregivers. In each of the groups, the participants learned the artist’s medium and made an art piece.

The art piece that was created was designed to help participants express their feelings and/or remember those in their life who have died.

The artwork will be on display throughout the Pioneer Valley each month through June 2023 and a culminating event will be timed with the 25th anniversary of The Garden in 2023. View the schedule of exhibits and receptions here.

To learn more about the Art with Heart program, contact Shelly Bathe Lenn at (413) 727-5749.

 

 

Country Bank Appoints New Corporators

By
Daily News

WARE — Country Bank announced the appointment of 16 new Corporators from local businesses within the communities it serves at its annual meeting held at the Publick House in Sturbridge on June 6.

Newly appointed Corporators include: 

 

• Grace Barone, director of the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce;

• Kelly Tufaro Bartholomew, a certified public accountant at Marcum LLP;

• Heather Bean, an eCommerce IT PM/Tech Expert at Nestle;

• Ashley Clark, vice president of Marketing & Sales at Quirk Wire Company Inc.;

• Debra Cusson, owner of Spartan Auto Care Center; 

• Keshawn Dodds, executive director at the Boys & Girls Club Family Center; 

• Anthony Frasco, vice president of Corporate Sales & Marketing at Quality Beverage; 

• Ivon Gois, president at Gois Broadcasting; 

• Russell Haims, owner and real estate investor at Hampton Properties, LLC;  

• Cherisa Hernandez, a middle/secondary clinical professor at Worcester State University; 

• Amie Miarecki, executive director at Christopher Heights of Belchertown. 

• Richard Morris, Jr., chief information officer at Linedata; 

• Charles F. Norton, resident of Franklin Realty Advisors Inc.; 

• Jasmine Jina Ortiz, founder & principal CEO at HestiaLIVING; 

• Joseph Searles, president at International Container Company LLC.; and 

• Erin Wynne, assistant head of School for Institutional Advancement at Eagle Hill School in Hardwick.  

 

“While each of our markets offer a unique value proposition, we are adding strategic business professionals throughout the region to help us focus our efforts on the areas that will provide the bank with the greatest growth opportunities,” stated Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank. “We are excited to have these new dedicated and experienced business professionals join us. Together, we look forward to the future with great optimism, continued success and making a difference in the lives of our customers, communities and team members.”

HNE, PeoplesBank Donate $20,000 to Gardening the Community

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — PeoplesBank and Health New England have partnered to donate $20,000 to Gardening the Community (GTC) of Springfield. The money will support the non-profit’s urban garden, farm store, youth leadership program, and other programs.

The companies’ collaborative donation came about as representatives from each were discussing needs in the Springfield community and the non-profit organizations each supports. Both support GTC and, knowing that more than 15% percent of children in Hampden County are food insecure, the two companies agreed to help.

“We believe that this donation from two of our most valued corporate partners is an investment in our organization, economically and spiritually.  It is especially appreciated during this time of rising food costs, as we work to bring forth a just food system that works for all,” said Liz O’Gilvie of GTC. “We will use the funds to support our efforts to grow food that’s affordable while we help our young people to understand the inequities in our food. system.”

“PeoplesBank and Health New England are like-minded in our belief that companies have a responsibility to improve the communities in which they do business,” said Matthew Bannister, senior vice president of marketing and corporate responsibility for PeoplesBank. “In working with Health New England as our health plan, we found that we both supported several of the same area non-profits, including Gardening the Community. We decided to demonstrate our partnership with this combined donation.”

“Both Health New England and PeoplesBank know that our companies are part of a larger ecosystem – our community – and when it thrives, we thrive,” said Keith Ledoux, Vice President Commercial Line of Business and Business Development for Health New England. “Together, our support of Gardening the Community will not only fight hunger and promote good health but will bring opportunity to the Mason Square neighborhood.”

Gardening the Community (GTC) grows organic food on formerly empty lots increasing access to healthy food in food-insecure areas. They emphasize youth leadership development, racial justice, and intergenerational relationship building in all their work. GTC serves Springfield’s Mason Square neighborhood, a low income, predominantly Black and Latinx community as well as residents from across the city.

 

Big Y Implements Pay Increases

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Big Y Foods Inc. is investing in its store teams in order to show appreciation for their hard work, and customer service.

This multi-million dollar investment will increase starting pay rates for all clerks, customer service, fresh food and center store specialists, and assistant department managers as of June 26.

Almost three fourths of the company’s retail workforce will receive a pay increase which will assist them with the rising cost of living. These hourly store operations teams work in the Big Y Markets, Table & Vine, and Big Y Express Gas and Convenience Stores.

Once implemented, all retail Big Y employees will be paid above minimum wage in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. Members of upper management are not included in this increase.

“We are proud to be investing in our store teams who have been on the front lines these past two years to support our customers and our community,” said Charles L. D’Amour, Big Y president and CEO. “We know that household budgets are being squeezed by inflation- we hope that by boosting their hourly rates, we will help them to weather these tough times as we recognize and appreciate their efforts and their loyalty.”

 

United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region Presents Awards

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region staged its annual meeting last week, offering two awards in partnership with the Daily Hampshire Gazette and three awards from the United Way.

The United Way’s Kay Sheehan Spirit of the Community Award was presented to It Takes a Village, a nonprofit in Huntington. The Community Champion Award went to Dr. Martin Wohl, a dentist from Northampton, and the 2022 Workplace Champion Award was presented to Greenfield Savings Bank.

In conjunction with the Daily Hampshire Gazette, United Way honored Robin Bialecki, executive director of the Easthampton Community Center, as the 2022 Person of the Year, and Lilly Fellows, of Orange, was named the Young Community Leader.

“Our annual meeting is always a wonderful opportunity for us to express gratitude to our partner agencies, donors, volunteers and the community at large, and we are honored to also be able to present awards to activists in the community who offer so much support and ask for nothing in return,” Said Geoff Naunheim, United Way’s interim executive director.

 

 

Junior Achievement Recognizes Young Leaders from Across the Region

By
The 18 Under 18 Class of 2022.
Education

The 18 Under 18

The 18 Under 18 Class of 2022.

The 18 Under 18 Class of 2022.

Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts (JAWM) honored its inaugural 18 Under 18 Class of 2022, sponsored by Teddy Bear Pools, on May 19 at at Tower Square in Springfield. The event — which included poster board displays by the students, remarks, appreciation presentations and a buffet — recognized outstanding young people throughout Western Mass. who exemplify innovative spirit, leadership, and community involvement.

“We were impressed with the caliber of the nominations we received for this recognition,” said William Dziura, Development Director, JAWM. “It’s gratifying to know there are so many young people committed to making an impact on the world, and we are thrilled to be able to offer a forum through which they can be applauded for their efforts.”

 

The following 18 students comprise the 18 Under 18 Class of 2022:

 

Trinity Baush, Grade 11, Chicopee High School: A multi-sport athlete and member of the National Honor Society and Student Council, Bausch has shown leadership in all these groups by facilitating fundraisers and leading discussions about important issues. She maintains high academic standards and currently has a 4.0 GPA. Outside of school, she works in a leadership role at Applebee’s. Recently, she has helped increase awareness about the war in Ukraine through a fundraising program with money raised sent directly to a school in Ukraine.

 

Nevaeh Branyon, Grade 8, Marcus M. Kiley Middle School, Springfield: An outstanding student with a GPA over 4.0, Branyon is passionate about financial literacy and entrepreneurship because of the unique and innovative perspectives they provide. She serves as a Student Council liaison and is a member of the Yearbook, Math and Art clubs. In addition to being a student athlete, she participates in the FitZone after-school programs and is a member of Girls on the Run.

 

Nathaniel Claudio, Grade 12, Business Information Technology Program, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy, Springfield: Claudio is president of the National Honor Society and the student representative to the Springfield School Committee. He has been involved with Junior Achievement since his freshman year, participating in the Stock Market Competition, the 100th Anniversary Gala and Parade, the Summer Accelerator and served as a High School Hero, teaching financial literacy to younger students. Outside of school, he is participating in a cooperative learning experience at Freedom Credit Union.

 

Chase Daigneault, Grade 10, Chicopee High School: Daigneault has participated in school leadership since middle school, where she served and still serves in various class officer positions. Recently, she was voted the class president of the class of 2024. In this role, she plans activities and monitors the social media presence for her class, in addition to organizing fundraisers for charity and scheduling volunteer opportunities for the class.

 

Ella Florence, Grade 11, Chicopee High School: As a member of the National Honor Society and Class Council, Florence leads many fundraisers, social projects and progressive initiatives. She is vice president of her school’s Best Buddies program, which involves students with autism into school events. Last year, she became a member of the Special Olympics Youth Activation Council and attended the statewide Winter Youth Summit, and she recently attended Capitol Hill Day with a Best Buddies peer. Outside of school, she volunteers at the Springfield Boys & Girls Club Family Center.

 

Elise Hansel, Grade 10, Business Information Technology Program, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy: A longtime participant in Junior Achievement programs, Hansel was a student leader in JA’s internship program with the Springfield Thunderbirds, where she played a crucial role in the event’s marketing efforts, including designing the event flier, partnering with area schools to coordinate a group, and making cold-calls to area businesses to sell event business packages. Recently, she won first place for her marketing and design skills in a billboard design competition for the Stop the Swerve campaign.

 

Liberty Basora, Grade 10, Marketing/Retail Program, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy: Known for her outstanding communication skills, fantastic aptitude for working with other students, and innovative mindset, Basora’s most recent project was bringing to life the dormant social media accounts for the school store: Putnam Vocational Beaver Lodge. She analyzed the problems faced by the Beaver Lodge, then created new content that allowed the site to reflect the Marketing Shop and open up two-way conversations with the store’s growing customer base.

 

Adyan Khattak, Grade 12, Chicopee Comprehensive High School: A member of Student Council, Business Club, sports teams, and the DA’s Youth Council Board, Khattak is passionate about creating opportunities for other students to connect with resources that improve and better their lives. As an intern at the Chicopee Comp College & Career Center, he has applied many creative and innovative approaches to help better answer student queries and needs. In addition to fluency in English, this first -generation American also speaks Urdu and Punjabi and reads Arabic.

 

Grace Kuhn, Grade 12, Westfield High School: A member of the cross-country team and vice president of the National Honor Society, Kuhn is also a member of the Best Buddies Club, which works with West Springfield’s preschool program, and the Reshaping Reality Club, which focuses on mental health and body image. She completed and published her first novel, Knox Hollow: Murder on Mayflower, during the pandemic and recently completed her second novel, Dalton Ridge: Homicide on Holiday Hill. She enjoys working closely with children and plans to be a speech pathologist.

 

Katelynn Mersincavage, Grade 12, Hampden Charter School of Science–East: Excelling academically, Mersincavage pushes herself with multiple advanced placement classes and college dual enrollment courses. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council and the soccer team. Outside of school, she is an organizer and active participant in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, where she regularly participates in fundraising and awareness events for the cause, which hits close to home; her brother lives with type-1 diabetes.

 

Alondra Nieves, Grade 10, Business Information Technology Program, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy: Academically, Nieves maintains a 4.0 GPA. Creatively, during the pandemic, she started teaching herself to play the guitar and write music, using her skills and talents as a poet to create songs. She is actively involved in the Hampden County District Attorney Youth Advisory Board with responsibilities on the Mental Health Teen Task Force. She also reads to elementary students, participated in the Stop the Swerve Campaign, and helped with a school-wide food collection.

 

Sean O’Dea, Grade 12, Mohawk Trail Regional High School: O’Dea is captain of his cross-country team, a member of the Student Council, secretary of the Key Club, a member of the National Honor Society and student representative to the School Committee. He was also selected by his teachers to represent the Town of Heath for Project 351, a non-profit lead by Governor Baker to develop the next generation of community-first leaders through youth service. For his AP language course, he wrote and produced a video essay highlighting local environmental issues in Franklin County.

 

Ricardo Ortiz, Grade 8, Marcus M. Kiley Middle School: Ortiz moved to Springfield from Guatemala at age 11, speaking only Spanish. He has since participated in the Empowerment Academy and the school band, where he plays clarinet. This year, he campaigned successfully to establish a Yearbook Club and inspired the idea of painting an 8th grade mural, so students can leave their mark for future generations. He aspires to be the first person in his family to graduate from college, with the goal of becoming an entrepreneur and opening his own flower shop to honor his late grandmother.

 

Het Parikh, Grade 12, West Springfield High School: Leader of the percussion section of the school band, Parikh is also a member of the National Honor Society and the Key Club, and serves as a student tutor and participant in the Innovation Pathways Program. He has maintained a 3.92 cumulative GPA while simultaneously earning more than 30 transferable college credits. Outside of school, he has volunteered at the Lions Club Food Kitchen at the Big E, the clean-up of Mittineague Park, and the local senior center, where he runs a smart phone clinic.

 

Parmila Sarki, Grade 12, Business Information Technology Program, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy: Since her freshman year, Sarki has been involved with Junior Achievement, participating in the annual Stock Market Competition, the 100th Anniversary Gala and Parade and the Summer Accelerator. She also served as a High School Hero, teaching financial literacy to younger students. During the pandemic, she worked with her teacher to create videos to help younger students understand financial literacy concepts. After school, she helps first graders with schoolwork.

 

Jadyn Smith, Grade 11 Chicopee High School: This student activist works to make the school a better place by advocating on behalf of the entire student body. As a member of the National Honor Society, Smith helps facilitate fundraisers, including one for a school in Ukraine, and is also on the Student Council fundraising committee. Outside of school, she enjoys volunteering at her local church, helping to address food insecurity, and is an assistant manager at McKinstry Market Garden.

 

Kayla Staley, Grade 11, Springfield Conservatory of the Arts: An accomplished singer, Staley has been featured at events across the community ranging from school graduation ceremonies to the Union Station Tree Lighting Ceremony and the Western Massachusetts Chorus Festival. She also excels academically and is president of her class and a member of the National Honor Society. She was selected as a student representative for the Springfield Public Schools Portrait of a Graduate, and to receive private coaching from Broadway stars, college professors and other masterclasses.

 

Victoria Weagle, Grade 11, Frontier Regional High School: This exemplary student leader is passionate about her community and finding creative solutions to complicated problems. Weagle is greatly gifted in scientific research, and hopes to develop these skills in college and throughout her life. She is involved in Quiz Bowl and many extracurricular science projects, including a volunteer research trip to Dominica in 2023, for which she has saved up her own funds.

 

Nominations for the 18 Under 18 were open to anyone 18 years or younger who attends school in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, or Berkshire counties. Judging criteria was divided in three categories: innovative spirit, leadership, and community involvement.

Beyond the award recognition, the students selected will benefit from a meaningful new network of community leaders and peers and may receive additional opportunities through event partners. They will also be invited to participate in a virtual leadership workshop later in the year.

Jessye Deane to Take the Helm at the Franklin County Chamber

By Contributor
Jessye Deane, left, with Diane Szynal.
Women in Businesss

A Home Game

By Mark Morris

Jessye Deane, left, with Diane Szynal.

Jessye Deane, left, with outgoing Franklin County Chamber director Diane Szynal.

While the specific job responsibilities are new, most everything else about Jessye Deane’s new assignment, as executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, isn’t.

Starting with the region this agency represents.

Indeed, Deane is a native of Bernardston and a lifelong resident of the county. So she is quite familiar with the region’s many assets — as well as the considerable challenges it faces, and has faced for decades now.

“When I’m out grabbing a coffee or dropping my kids off for softball, I hear all about the challenges businesses are facing,” Deane told BusinessWest. “Because I live here and run a business here, I feel intertwined with the local economy.”

Those sentiments help explain that, while Deane is no stranger to she is also no stranger to the ins and outs, ups and downs, of running a business or nonprofit. In fact, she’s had experience with both.

In her current position, Deane is the director of Communications and Development for Community Action Pioneer Valley. In her 12 years with the anti-poverty agency, the $36 million non-profit has seen an increase in private funding of more than 1,600%. Deane said her experience with Community Action has given her an education on the various strengths and challenges in each community in the county.

“I plan to get out to meet with businesses and start work on a community needs assessment. An important part of this role is to always ask our stakeholders if we are doing a good job; are we supporting them and are we being effective?”

“Community Action primarily serves Franklin County as well as offering services in other parts of Western Mass,” Deane said. “In my time there, I have become familiar with the differences in each community and the unique economic landscape in Franklin County. So, I come into my new role with that background.”

And with her husband Danny, Deane owns two F45 Training fitness studios, located in Hadley and West Springfield.

“When I hear about the challenges local businesses are facing it’s not some abstract concept,” Deane said. “As a business owner I’m facing those same challenges.”

What’s more, she is certainly no stranger to this chamber, and chambers in general. She’s served on the Franklin County chamber’s board since 2019, and before that, she as an Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce ambassador.

It is this considerable wealth of experience — with the region and the fundamentals of business, and the chamber — that Deane will bring to her position; she will begin in July, when current executive director Diana Szynal takes on a similar challenge — as president of the Springfield Regional Chamber.

It is her intention to hit the ground running, and she already has what might be considered a solid head start.

When interviewing for the position at the chamber, Deane wanted to accurately convey her vision for the agency’s role in Franklin County as it relates to both tourism and as a business collective. So she presented a 14-page proposal.

“The best way for me to operate was to put it all on paper and say this is where I think we can go,” said Deane. “I also wanted to make sure that the vision I had in mind was supported by the board.”

While this vision provides a blueprint of sorts moving forward, Deane acknowledged that there is much that she has to learn — about chamber members and their current and anticipated needs, and about the chamber its role as well.

“With my transition into the role and this new business landscape in front of us, it’s a great time to take inventory of what’s working for the chamber and where we should add additional value,” Deane said, adding that, as someone who values numbers and metrics, she plans to gather qualitative and quantitative data to deliver on the objectives she has set for the chamber.

“I plan to get out to meet with businesses and start work on a community needs assessment,” she went on. “An important part of this role is to always ask our stakeholders if we are doing a good job; are we supporting them and are we being effective?”

Overall, this is an intriguing time for the chamber, which moved from Greenfield (and an office now occupied by Community Action Pioneer Valley) to Deerfield at the start of this year. The was made primarily for the chamber to locate its visitor center to a place where more people could access it. Prior to COVID, Historic Deerfield drew nearly 20,000 visitors every year.

Meanwhile, the chamber is building on experiences — and some confidence — gained during the pandemic, when it became, out of necessity, a greater resource to members and the business community in general, and also when it learned new and often better ways to do things.

Indeed, much of Szynal’s tenure at the chamber was spent helping businesses get through an unprecedented public health crisis, something Deane acknowledged and appreciated.

“Diana did an incredible job, and was able to provide growth and stability for our members during that time,” Deane said. “As a business owner I learned quickly that there is no playbook for doing business during a pandemic, which makes Diana’s accomplishments even more amazing.”

As for her own tenure, Deane said she is looking forward to putting all those many forms to experience to work — for the chamber and the county.

“I’m so honored to serve in this role because after growing up and now raising my family in Franklin County, I’m committed to the people here,” Deane said. “These folks are my neighbors and I’m going to do everything in my power to do right by them.”

As High Season Arrives, Lenox Exudes Energy

By Contributor
Jaclyn Stevenson
Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight

By Mark Morris

Jaclyn Stevenson

Jaclyn Stevenson says Shakespeare & Company has extended its season into the shoulder months surrounding summer.

 

Jennifer Nacht describes the beginning of the summer season in Lenox as a light switch that clicks on to a time of “happy mayhem.”

Unofficially, the season begins after Memorial Day weekend, but Nacht, executive director of the Lenox Chamber of Commerce, noted that the weekends leading up to the holiday were plenty busy, as well. In fact, as early as January she first began to see a vibrant summer on the horizon for Lenox.

Back then, Nacht had begun planning the Lenox Art Walk event scheduled for this month. Her attempt to reserve hotel rooms for artists who planned to travel to the event was more difficult than anticipated.

“I was able to find only three rooms after calling several different hotels back in January,” Nacht said. “They were all so apologetic and said that because of weddings and other events, every place was booked full.” 

This difficulty with finding rooms is just one indication of what promises to be a sizzling summer for Lenox, which, because of its tourism-based economy, faced innumerable challenges during the past two summers of COVID, and is poised for a breakout year.

Indeed, ‘healthy’ and ‘robust’ are terms that Marybeth Mitts, chair of the Lenox Select Board, uses to describe tourism in her community as high season, the three months of summer, commence.

“We’re excited to welcome the first full season of Tanglewood since the summer of 2019,” Mitts said, adding that, with a full summer of Boston Symphony Orchestra performances as well as a Popular Artists series, Tanglewood’s economic impact on Lenox and the Berkshires is considerable.

As one small snapshot, Nacht pointed out that James Taylor’s annual shows on July 3 and 4 will bring more than 36,000 people to town over just those two days.

“We’re excited to welcome the first full season of Tanglewood since the summer of 2019.”

Shakespeare and Company is another Lenox-based arts institution projecting not just a solid summer, but a solid year.

Indeed the theater company has extended its season into the shoulder months surrounding summer. Jaclyn Stevenson, director of marketing and communications, said the longer season is experimental, and will incorporate performances both indoors and outdoors.

Last year when COVID numbers stubbornly stayed high enough to threaten Shakespeare and Company’s ability to stage indoor plays, plans for an outdoor theatre that was a “someday” project, moved on to the fast track.

“The Spruce Theatre was constructed in 90 days in the summer of 2021,” Stevenson said. Modeled after the amphitheaters of ancient Greece, the stage rests in front of several tall spruce trees that are incorporated into the design.

“When the idea for it was presented in the context of COVID, it was much easier for everyone to understand the vision Artistic Director Allyn Burrows had for the theater,” added Stevenson.

While the company already had its outdoor Roman Garden Theatre that seats 280, the Spruce Theatre is a 500-seat facility with room to stage larger productions. In fact, the opening play for the Spruce Theatre was a production of King Lear featuring actor Christopher Lloyd in the title role.

“Having Christopher Lloyd here to christen the stage was a real coup,” Stevenson remembered. “It was the kind of fanfare we would not have been able to create otherwise in a COVID world.”

For this, the latest installment of its Ciommunity Spotlight series, BusinessWest looks at how Lenox is well-positioned to further rebound from COVID and take full advantage of what is expected to be a big year for the tourism sector — and communities that rely on such businesses to fuel their economy.

 

Art and Soul

The Art Walk is a good example of an event that was created at the height of the pandemic after the town was forced to cancel its annual Apple Squeeze event. As an alternative to the town-wide festival, Nacht and others developed the Art Walk and scheduled it for the late-September weekend when Apple Squeeze would have taken place.

The first Art Walk consisted of 40 artists set up in different areas of town known as “artist villages.” These villages were arranged to accommodate only small groups of people with an emphasis on foot-traffic flow to keep everyone moving through the exhibits.

The event received great feedback and has quickly become a tradition in Lenox. Now in its third year, Art Walk features spring and fall editions. Meanwhile, the Apple Squeeze has returned, and will take place on Sept. 24.

Jennifer Nacht

Jennifer Nacht says the summer is looking very promising for Lenox and its many tourism-related businesses.

“It’s very validating to see these events that we put together on the fly are now becoming established,” said Nacht, noting that Lenox Loves Music is another event created during the pandemic that has had staying power.

In Lenox, music and entertainment are an important part of the town’s identity. When Tanglewood, Shakespeare and Company and the other entertainment venues shut down at the height of COVID, the chamber began working with the Berkshire Music School on a series of Sunday afternoon concerts, and Lenox Loves Music was born.

“The new events really help the merchants,” Nacht said. “Our real goal is to hold events that bring people to Lenox who will eat in our restaurants and explore our shops.”

Like the Art Walk, the popularity of Lenox Loves Music has made it a keeper, with concerts every Friday in June and September.

“We run all these events in the shoulder months of May and June then September and October,” Nacht said. “Once our high season hits, beginning the weekend of July 4, we’re packed with visitors so we don’t need to entice tourists because they are already here.”

Shakespeare and Company is another organization that has extended its season to the shoulder months. In years past, the company would stage three plays by the Bard and three contemporary works. With the expanded season, it is staging two Shakespeare plays along with five or six modern plays.

“The mission of our company is based on the work of Shakespeare,” Stevenson said. “We choose our plays thoughtfully to reflect the spirit of the Bard and to show people new things.”

In addition to staging plays, the company also has a robust actor-training program and a nationally recognized theatre-in-education program.

Stevenson noted that a high-school-age theater group had recently performed Romeo and Juliet on the Spruce Theatre stage.

“The new events really help the merchants. Our real goal is to hold events that bring people to Lenox who will eat in our restaurants and explore our shops.”

“It was so cool to see students on the same stage where actors from all over the world will be performing Much Ado About Nothing in July,” Stevenson said. “You could see the joy of them being in that space.”

 

Setting the Stage

To accommodate all the tourists visiting these attractions, and locals as well, Lenox has a number of projects in the works to refurbish some of its municipal buildings while plans are in the works to build several new structures for town departments.

Beginning with Town Hall, Mitts said improvements are underway to replace the carpet and curtains in the auditorium as well as install a new roof and gold leaf on the Town Hall cupola.

“The town has capital plans within the next five years to begin construction on a new wastewater treatment plant, and a new public safety structure to include the Lenox police and fire departments,” Mitts said.

In addition to roof and chimney repairs to the library, Mitts said a key project involves updating the HVAC system.

“We’re installing a new interstitial system to manage ventilation in the building,” Mitts said. “This is to ensure proper storage of the library’s collections including rare books and ephemera of the region.”

Meanwhile, a different kind of refurbishing project is taking place at Mass Audubon Society’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, a popular destination for hikers at all levels. Last July a wind and rainstorm felled thousands of trees and severely damaged a boardwalk at Pike’s Pond. With $200, 000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the state and private donations, cleanup and renovations are in progress.

“Many of the trails and structures have been restored, however, there is on-going work to bring the facility back up to the full capacity it enjoyed in June 2021,” Mitts said.

As for the chamber of commerce, Nacht said that while the pandemic really challenged the agency in many different ways, it also presented an opportunity for the chamber to show what it could do to support efforts in town.

“People are now confident in the chamber and look to us for help with their events,” Nacht said offering the example of a proverbial ‘good problem to have’ at a recent farmers’ market.

“The farmers’ market brought so many people to town there weren’t enough lunch places for people,” Nacht said. The chamber arranged for a food truck run by someone who had worked in Lenox restaurants for 20 years. “He was excited to be back in Lenox and tells people he’s living his dream with his food truck.”

“It’s nice to feel that kind of energy coming back to Lenox,” she went on, adding that energy levels are expected to soar even higher during what is shaping up to be a very memorable summer.

HCC Offering Free Manufacturing Training at the End of June

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College is offering a free training program that provides entry-level knowledge and skills for jobs in manufacturing.

Classes start June 21 and run through June 30. All classes meet in person from 9 a.m. to noon at HCC’s downtown location, the Picknelly Adult & Family Education Center, above the Holyoke Transportation Center.

The program will provide entry-level knowledge and skills for employment in the manufacturing sector in the Holyoke area. Classes are geared for students already employed by area companies or looking to gain entry to the industry.

“HCC instructors are teaching what employers want taught,” said Paul Sheehan, HCC special projects coordinator. “We’ve offered the program before and local companies have sent staff to the training.”

The course will cover general manufacturing processes and principles, math skills for manufacturing, problem-solving strategies, an overview of quality control standards, and career expectations and professional behavior. Upon completion, students will receive a certificate from HCC.

The course is offered in collaboration with state Rep. Pat Duffy of Holyoke, who secured a $50,000 line item in the state budget to get the program started.

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required to attend on-campus classes at HCC, including those held at PAFEC.

For more information or to sign up, contact Paul Sheehan at [email protected] or fill out the inquiry form online at hcc.edu/manufacturing.

State’s Rate of Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths Rose 8.8% in 2021

By
Daily News

BOSTON — The rate of opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts increased by 8.8% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Mass. Department of Public Health (DPH).

Drug overdose deaths in Massachusetts continue to trend lower than the nationwide figures. The rise in death rates reflects effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasingly poisoned drug supply, primarily with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, which remains a persistent factor in opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts.

Preliminary data shows fentanyl was present at a rate of 93% where a toxicology report was available. The presence of fentanyl has increased about 1% per quarter since 2016, including in the pre-pandemic period from 2017 to 2019 when opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts were on the decline.

After fentanyl, cocaine continues to be the next most prevalent drug among opioid-related overdose deaths, present in toxicology reports at a rate of 51% in 2021 — a 5% increase over 2020. Benzodiazepines were present in 31% of opioid-related fatal overdoses. The percentage of benzodiazepines has been declining since the last quarter of 2017.

Alcohol, a newly reported toxicology data point, was present in 29% of opioid-related overdose deaths. This was followed by prescription opioids in 13%, and heroin or likely heroin and amphetamines present in 10 percent. The rate of heroin or likely heroin present in opioid-related overdose deaths has been declining since 2014.

The Baker-Polito administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) budget proposal invests $543.8 million in total funding for a range of harm-reduction, treatment, and recovery programs that support individuals struggling with substance addiction, as well as programs that work to prevent substance addiction through education, prescription monitoring.

“Tackling the opioid epidemic remains an urgent priority for our administration, which is why we have worked with the Legislature to quadruple funding for substance addiction treatment and prevention, but we know there is more work to do,” said Gov. Charlie Baker. “Today’s report underscores the harmful impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and the scourge of fentanyl have had on those struggling with addiction, and we are committed to continuing our work with the Legislature and our colleagues in the addiction and recovery community to boost access to services and treatment.”

In 2021, the opioid-related overdose death rate in Massachusetts increased to 32.6 per 100,000 people as compared to 29.9 per 100,000 in the prior year. Opioid-related overdose death rates among race and ethnic groups as a whole or by gender remained relatively stable, with Black non-Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander populations seeing small decreases and white non-Hispanic and Hispanic populations seeing small increases.

The death rate for American Indian/Alaska Native residents was 118.6 per 100,000. While this population accounts for a small number of opioid-related overdose deaths (13 out of 2,234 confirmed deaths), American Indian/Alaska Native residents statistically had the highest opioid-related overdose death rate among all race/ethnicity groups last year.

GCAi/New England Corporate Video Helps Nativity School Fund Free Tuition

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Daily News

Darcy Young and Mary Cate Mannion, producers for New England Corporate Video (NECV), recently completed a pro bono video series for the Nativity School of Worcester. The feature video was shown at a fundraising event that raised a record-setting $340,000 which will ensure that the school can continue to provide a tuition-free education.

The Nativity School is an accredited, independent, Jesuit middle school that provides an education to underserved boys of all faiths.

Young and Mannion are two of the most experienced female video producers in New England and experts in brand journalism and corporate video production. Young is an award-winning video producer and Mannion is a former award-winning news anchor and reporter.

Their pro bono video work includes videos for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Willie Ross School for the Deaf, where Manion serves on the board of directors, The Children’s Study Home, where Young serves on the executive board, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services.

NECV is a recently launched division of Garvey Communication Associates Inc. (GCAi), which was co-founded by Young and Mannion. The NECV Nativity School video can be viewed at https://bit.ly/nativityvideo22

Big Bands Are Back at the Armory with Concerts June 11 and July 16

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — After a two-year hiatus due to COVID, The Springfield Armory will present two concerts this summer on the lawn in front of the Commanding Officer’s Quarters.

On Saturday, the West Mass Brass band will perform military style music in the afternoon at 1 p.m., and on July 16 at 6 p.m., The Bad News Jazz and Blues Orchestra will perform swing music for the annual big band concert, led by Jeff Gavioli.

“There is a long-standing tradition between Springfield Armory and big band music,” said Park Ranger, Susan Ashman. “In 1943 Benny Goodman and his band came to the Armory as part of his nationwide Twilight Tours. Goodman made a point to play to war workers like those at Springfield Armory as a thank you for their dedication and patriotism. The Armory workers were essential in the manufacturing of firearms for the military during WWII.”

The Springfield Armory National Historic Site is the location of the nation’s first armory (1794 – 1968) and was established by George Washington.

 

2022 Alumni Achievement Award

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Alumni Achievement Award Cover Story

2022 Finalists Are Inspirational Leaders within the Community

 

In 2015, BusinessWest introduced a new award, an extension of its 40 Under Forty program. It’s called the Alumni Achievement Award, and as that name suggests, it recognizes previous honorees who continue to build on their resumes of outstanding achievement in their chosen field and in service to the community. Recently, a panel of three judges identified the three finalists for the 2022 award — Amanda Garcia, Anthony Gleason II, and Amy Royal. The winner for this year will be unveiled by Alumni Achievement Award presenting sponsor Health New England at the 40 Under Forty Gala on June 16 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. As the profiles that begin on page 7 reveal, these three finalists embody the spirit of this award. Their stories convey true leadership and are, in a word, inspiring.

Amanda Garcia

Associate Professor of Accounting and Finances, Director of the MBA Program, Elms College

 

Anthony Gleason II

President and Co-founder of the Gleason Johndrow

 

Amy Royal

Founder/CEO, the Royal Law Firm

 

 

Country Bank Donates Its Former Headquarters to the Town of Ware

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Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Landmark Decision

Country Bank

Country Bank

The property on Main Street

The property on Main Street has always played an important role in the economic vibrancy of the town, and this is expected to continue with its new function as a police station.

Country Bank recently introduced a new marketing slogan — ‘Made to Make a Difference.’ There have been myriad examples of that mindset over the bank’s 172-year history, but perhaps none bigger than the recent announcement that the bank would gift its former headquarters property on Main Street, valued at more than $3 million, to the town, with the intention of it becoming the site of a new police station and perhaps home to other town offices.

 

Paul Scully says that, over the past few years, or since Country Bank started ramping up discussions about what to do with its vacant former headquarters building on Main Street in Ware, there had been talks with various real estate developers about the property.

But they didn’t go very far, said Scully, the bank’s president, noting that those making inquiries were “more speculators than investors,” as he put it.

“And we didn’t want to sell it on a speculative basis and then not have it maintained,” he explained. “Or have someone say ‘we bought this with the intention of having some office move in but it never came to fruition’ and now the property is abandoned.

“Yes, we were approached by some people,” he went on. “But we really weren’t interested. We really were driven by a desire to use this property to make a difference for the town; that was our guiding compass.”

With that, Scully poignantly described the mindset that ultimately led to the announcement on June 1 that the bank was donating the property at 75-79 Main St. to the town with the intention of it becoming the site of its new police station and perhaps other municipal uses.

Elaborating, he said there were multiple objectives in mind as the bank considered what to do with the property that had been its home until it moved its headquarters into renovated mill space on South Street in 2005.

These included a desire to help the police department find larger, better quarters — something it desperately needs — while also “energizing Main Street,” as Scully put it, noting that the town’s central business district has been hit hard by COVID and other factors and needs a spark. He believes that having the police department and perhaps some other town offices in that complex will provide one.

The decision to gift the property to the town comes, coincidentally, as the bank introduced a marketing tagline: ‘Made to Make a Difference.’

This tagline evolved from a series of focus groups with customers, team members, board members, and non-customers who had gathered to discuss their experiences with the bank and their knowledge of its impact on the people and communities it serves, said Scully, adding that the donation of the Main Street building is the latest example of this mindset at work.

“Yes, we were approached by some people. But we really weren’t interested. We really were driven by a desire to use this property to make a difference for the town; that was our guiding compass.”

“It’s what we’ve been doing for 172 years — we’re made to make a difference; make a difference in your loan, make a difference in the community, make a difference in your financial planning,” he said, adding that this mission has been carried out in countless ways over the years, including a recent project in Worcester to build 55 beds for children in conjunction with the Mass. Coalition for the Homeless, at which the new slogan was formally introduced to the bank’s staff.

“That was the first time they’d heard the slogan, and in the previous two hours, they had just made a difference in a child’s life, someone who did have a bed of their own,” he explained, adding that the donation of the Main Street property adds a new and an intriguing chapter to that long-running story of giving back.

 

Building Momentum

As he talked about the decision to gift the property to the community, a donation he described as rare for a private institution, Scully first set the stage in an effort to explain how this came about, why it makes sense for the town, and how it meets the bank’s ongoing commitment to the community embedded in its new marketing slogan.

He started by discussing Main Street and, more specifically, what was largely missing from it — vitality, or energy. Elaborating, he said that many retail businesses had moved over the past several years from Main Street to the new commercial hub on Route 32, near a Wal-mart. And in recent years, several fires, including one at the bank’s Main Street property, prompted more moves by businesses. Meanwhile, COVID and lengthy and very involved reconstruction of Main Street brought additional challenges to that part of downtown.

These forces coincided with Main Street property going quiet, as a result of the pandemic and forces resulting from it.

That property, valued at approximately $3 million, includes the former banking office located on the corner of Main and Bank Street along with the E2E building located at 79 Main St., the rear parking lot and bunker style garage, and rooftop parking situated behind the 65-71 Main Street location that was also donated by Country Bank to the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation back in 2016.

Country Bank president Paul Scully

Country Bank president Paul Scully

It has been vacant since the start of the pandemic, when the bank closed its branch there due to staff and customer safety concerns.

“Not maintaining a presence on Main Street was a tough decision that required months of consideration while assessing how this location might be best utilized to support the community,” said Scully. “The effects of the pandemic combined with a significant decrease in customer foot traffic over the years and a shift in banking habits to more customers adopting electronic delivery channels were all a considerable part of the decision. It is a massive building to be sitting empty. The decision to donate the building became evident as we weighed the usage of this location and discussed the opportunities it could provide to the town.”

Elaborating, Scully said that while there have been ongoing discussions about the fate of the building over the years, they took on new urgency with the pandemic and the bank’s decision not to have on presence on Main Street.

However, that urgency coincided with the large-scale construction work undertaken on Main Street, he went on, adding that nothing could really be done while that work was going on.

“Over the past year, and with more earnest, we’ve been saying ‘let’s figure out what we can do with this building a make a difference,” said Scully. “And it somewhat coincided with hearing about the need for a new police station.”

The pricetag for such a facility was pegged at $7 million to $9 million, he said, adding that a new station is clearly needed, with the department having outgrown its current quarters, the town’s former post office.

By gifting the town its former headquarters, the bank can help save the town much of that expense — it will still need to renovate the property for that new use, said Scully — while also helping to bring some new life to a downtown that is poised for a resurgence given the recent roadwork and an easing of the pandemic.

“We knew that now that the roads had been repaved and new sidewalks installed, there was more of an opportunity for a resurgence on Main Street than there had been during that construction process,” said Scully. “And we didn’t want to circumvent that by having someone buy the building who wasn’t going to be able to maintain it or have the financial resources to take care of it.

“We wanted it to be right formula for the town and for the other merchants on Main Street to allow them to get some foot traffic back,” he went on, adding that a police station, and other town offices that might eventually move into that space, will help accomplish many of those goals.

Although there is no specific timeline for the transfer of ownership, which needs approval from the town at a scheduled town meeting, the bank intends to work on a smooth transition with all parties involved and expects the transfer of the location to happen in 2023, said Scully.

 

The Bottom Line

Reflecting on the long history of the Main Street property, Scully said it has housed different banks, including Country, the Ware Trust Company, and Ware Savings, since before World War I.

It has long played a role in the economic vibrancy of the town, he said, adding that even though its function will change, it will continue to do so. This was that guiding compass the bank used as it went about determining a new use for the property.

“We look at this as a great investment in community — this is what community banking is all about,” he said. “We say that we exist for our customers, our community, and our staff, and this really is the community basis of it. We’re really excited that we can help make a difference downtown and help make a difference to the taxpayers.

“We met internally as a board and a senior management team, and our driving focus was to what’s right for the town,” Scully explained. “We’ve been in town since 1850, and we believed we’ve made a difference over all those years and wanted to continue making a difference.

At 75, HCC Celebrates All That’s Changed, and All That Hasn’t

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The original home to HCC
Education Special Coverage

Marking a Milestone

The original home to HCC

The original home to HCC, the former Holyoke High School

The campus today

The campus, and its renovated campus center, today

Holyoke Community College, the state’s first community college, is marking its 75th anniversary this year. This has been a time to reflect on how the school has evolved to meet the changing needs of those living and working in the communities it serves, while remaining loyal to the mission with which it was founded — to open doors to opportunity.

 

It’s called the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center.

And the name says it all — if you know about this kind of facility. It’s not a daycare center — there’s already one of those on the Holyoke Community College campus. And it’s not an early education facility — the college has no intention of getting into that business, according to its president, Christina Royal.

Instead, it’s a … child-watch center, a place where students can bring young children for a few minutes or a few hours, while they’re attending classes, taking part in meetings, or perhaps huddling with advisors.

“In daycare, you drop your child off in the morning and you pick it up at the end of the day; it’s generally for full-time working parents,” she explained. “In a child-watch program, you’re dropping the child off for a short-term period that is very specific; you’re coming, you’re taking a class, you need to put your child in a child-watch program for that 50 minutes or an hour and a half that you’re in class.”

The presence of the Itsy Bitzy Child Watch Center is just one example of the profound level of change that has come to the institution now known as Holyoke Community College. There are many others, including the name over the door — the school was originally called the Holyoke Graduate School (a night program), and was later renamed Holyoke Junior College, before becoming HCC in 1964 — as well as the setting. Indeed, the college was originally located in the former Holyoke High School, which was totally destroyed by fire in 1968, to be replaced by the current campus, carved out of a dairy farm, which opened in 1974.

“We were birthed to create opportunities for working adults to be able to get a quality education, and that’s really important still today. Education is accessible to all — that’s the most important piece about community colleges; access is a tenet of a community-college education.”

But for perhaps the most dramatic change we need to juxtapose the picture of the first graduating class in 1948 with some statistics that Royal keeps at the ready, specifically those noting that more than half of the current students are women, and that during the most recent semester, 41 different countries were represented by the study body, and 33 different languages might be heard on the campus.

The first graduating class

The first graduating class (1948) was much smaller, and far less diverse, than the classes today.

But while celebrating all that has changed over the past 75 years, the institution is also marking what hasn’t. And there is quite a bit in that category as well.

Christina Royal, the college’s fourth president

Christina Royal, the college’s fourth president

Indeed, HCC has, seemingly from the beginning, been a place to start for those seeking a college education, but not a final destination, said Royal, noting that many have transferred to four-year schools to obtain bachelor’s degrees and then graduate degrees.

It’s also been a place for those for whom college is certainly not a foregone conclusion.,

“We were birthed to create opportunities for working adults to be able to get a quality education, and that’s really important still today,” said Royal. “Education is accessible to all — that’s the most important piece about community colleges; access is a tenet of a community-college education.

“No matter who you are, or where you’re at in your career, there is a place for you at HCC,” she went on. “This creates doors that open for many students, and it’s also why, when you look at our alumni, we talk about HCC being a family affair; we have many alums who say that either their parents had come here or their siblings or their cousins come here.” because you see many generations of students that continue to come back and have the next generation supported at HCC.”

Meanwhile, the school has always been known for the high levels of support given to its students, many of them being the first in their families to attend college. In 1946, and the years that followed, many of these students were men who had served in World War II and were attending college on the G.I. Bill.

Fire destroyed the college in 1968

Fire destroyed the college in 1968, leaving some to ponder whether HCC had a future.

Today, as noted, more than half are women and far more than half are non-white. Many arrive with specific needs — ranging from food insecurity to transportation to a child-watch facility — and HCC, while helping them earn a degree or certificate, has been steadfast in its efforts to address those needs and “meet students where they are,” as Royal likes to say.

Moving forward, the school is marking its first 75 years with a variety of ceremonies, a commitment to continue its tradition of being accessible, and a refreshed strategic plan, one that has put additional emphasis on academic success and meeting student needs.

“It’s important that we provide equitable opportunities and that there is an equitable chance of success no matter who walks through the door.”

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest talked at length with Royal about where HCC has been, where it is today, and where it would like to be in the years to come.

 

School of Thought

As she talked with BusinessWest late last month, Royal was planning for, and very much looking forward to, commencement ceremonies at the MassMutual Center on June 4.

This would be the first in-person ceremony in three years, and members of the classes of 2020 and 2021 were invited to join this year’s graduates in the proceedings. Royal; said several dozen members of those earlier classes accepted the invitation to march.

The new Center for Health Education and Simulation

The new Center for Health Education and Simulation on Jarvis Avenue is one of many recent additions to the HCC landscape in recent years.

“We’ve heard from some members of those classes that they desire to have that traditional pomp-and-circumstance experience,” said Royal, noting that, beyond the canceled in-person commencement ceremonies, the pandemic has tested HCC in myriad other ways, from enrollment to helping students secure access to the Internet.

“We were impacted as intensely as everyone else in the world,” said Royal, adding that this has been a test that has left the school stronger and more resilient, in her estimation.

And looking back on HCC’s 75 years of service to the region, the pandemic is certainly not the first, or only, time the school has faced adversity of the highest order — and persevered.

Indeed, the fire of 1968, which broke out on Jan. 4, just before final exams, left the school shaken to its foundation — quite literally, with some wondering if it even had a future.

“Culturally, we have fewer students who start, finish their education, and then focus on work for the rest of their career.”

“Springfield Technical Community College had just opened,” said Royal, only the fourth president in the school’s history. “And there was a lot of conversation about whether we needed another community college in this region — and if so, do we want to build it in Holyoke? It was amazing that while all this debate and discussion was going on, we inherited the land from the Sheehan family, what was the Sheehan Dairy Farm, and be able to rebuild the college in a place that allowed us to continue to expand and grow to what you see today.”

And since opening its facility off Homestead Avenue in 1974, the college has certainly grown within that space, adding several new facilities, including the Bartley Center for Athletics and Education, the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development, a new health sciences facility, and a renovated campus center. It has also returned to its roots with facilities in downtown Holyoke, including the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Center in the Cubit Building on Race Street, and the Picknelly Adult and Family Education Center.

Meanwhile, it has become far more diverse, said Royal, adding that, overall HCC has changed and evolved as the region, its host city, the local business community, and society in general have.

The Kittredge Center

The Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development is another of the many recent additions to the HCC campus.

“We are a reflection of the community,” Royal explained, adding that the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center is just one example of this phenomenon.

“When you look at the history of our communities and when you think about how these communities have changed, then we’ve had to grow and change with them to keep up with the changing demographics of our region — both in growth in numbers and in terms of the ‘who’ that we’re serving; we really serve a lot of student populations.”

Elaborating, she said that today, as always, the focus is on inclusion, empowering students, and creating an environment in which they can not only attend school, but achieve success, however they wish to define it.

“We’re really focused on equity,” Royal explained. “It’s important that we provide equitable opportunities and that there is an equitable chance of success no matter who walks through the door. And the data shows us that our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of Color) students are not succeeding at the same rate as our white students.

“So our equity initiatives look to be able to provide the additional support and services so we can bring those numbers into alignment,” she went on, adding that, overall the school has become far more data-driven as it works to understand the changing demographics of those it serves — and usethat data to determine how it pivots and changes to better serve students and other constituencies.

Summing it all up, Royal said, “We have a reputation of being a place to come, to start your education at an affordable rate, with high-quality faculty, strong academic rigor, plenty of support services, and to set students up to transfer to any of the prestigious four-year institutions in our area or beyond.”

 

Course of Action

Looking at HCC today, and what she projects for tomorrow, Royal said the process of evolution at the school is ongoing. And that’s because change is a constant — change within the communities being served, change in the business community and the workplace, and change when it comes to the needs of the students coming to the Homestead Avenue campus.

The pandemic accelerated this process of change in some respects, said Royal, and it also brought a greater need for reflection on just what students need — and how those needs can be met.

Returning to the subject of the new child-watch center, she said it’s a reflection of how the school has been focusing on the basic needs of students and taking direct steps to address them, work that was part of the latest strategic plan, which was completed in 2017.

“We want to be a college of academic rigor, known for helping students overcome barriers to success,” she explained, adding that when discussions were launched on this matter, there were four barriers that were initially defined — food, housing, transportation, and childcare — with area focal points, such as digital literacy, mental health, and others, identified

Each has been addressed in various ways, she said, citing initiatives ranging from a program to house students in dorms at Westfield State University (which not only provides housing but provides exposure to potential next step in the higher education journey), to another program that provides 3,000 bus passes to students to help them get to and from the campus.

Childcare has taken longer to address, she went on, adding that collected data clearly showed the need for a facility where students could place children while they were attending class or accessing services at the college. With $100,000 in support from the state, HCC was able to become the second community college in the state (Norther Essex is the other) to offer child-watch services.

While addressing these needs, HCC is also focused on the changing world of work, what it will look like in the years and decades to come, and how to prepare students for that world.

“Our focus is on having students create life-long relationships with the college,” she explained. “Culturally, we have fewer students who start, finish their education, and then focus on work for the rest of their career. Now, the world of work has shifted, the future of work has changed a lot, and we know that people make job changes much more rapidly than they did in past decades, and so therefore, there’s a different interconnection and relationship between education and workforce.

“It’s not linear anymore,” she went on. “It’s integrated, and it changes depending on how a student’s path changes in life, how many career changes they make; they’ll come back and retool through short-term training or perhaps another degree, and then they make their way into a new career field.”

 

Class Act

Summing up both the first 75 years and what comes next, Royal said that while there has been tremendous change since HCC was founded, and there is much more to come, there is a constant:

“We believe in transforming communities through education; that is at the core of what we do,” she told BusinessWest. “We believe there are a lot of different ways that people can find their path and contribute to our local economy.”

Helping individuals forge a path is what this institution has been about since it was called the Holyoke Graduate School. And that is what is being celebrated in this milestone year. u

 

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

Our Annual Guide to Summer Activities in Western Mass.

By
Green River Festival
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

Things Are Heating Up

It’s really happening. After a 2020 summer season in which most recreational and cultural venues were shuttered, and a 2021 that made halting progress toward normalcy, with a mix of in-person and virtual offerings, most area attractions are planning a 2022 summer season with few, if any, restrictions, worrying less about COVID this year than the gas prices tourists will be paying to visit them. For those willing to brave the pump, Western Mass. offers a whole lot to do, from live music to theater and dance; from sporting events to Fourth of July festivities; from agricultural fairs to multiple ways to enjoy the Connecticut River. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

 

Adventure East

11 Bridge St., Sunderland

www.adventureeast.com

Admission: Varies

Year-round: People enjoy being out in nature, but planning an outdoor adventure can be time-consuming and challenging. So Adventure East handles the logistics of outings involving hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, skiing, shoeshoeing, and more — as well as the equipment — so participants can take in the region’s natural beauty without the hassle of figuring out the details. Its activities take place throughout the region’s forests, mountains, and waterways, with guided tours geared at a wide range of skill and experience levels.

The Big E

The Big E

The Big E

1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield

www.easternstatesexposition.com

Admission: $10-$15; age 5 and under, free; 17-day pass, $20-$40

Sept. 16 to Oct. 2: As regional fairs go, it’s still the big one, and there’s something for everyone, whether it’s the copious fair food or the livestock shows, the Avenue of States houses or the parades, the local vendors and crafters or the live music, which in 2022 includes Nelly and the Dropkick Murphys. But the Big E isn’t the only agricultural fair on the block. The Westfield Fair kicks off the fair season on Aug. 19-21, followed by the Blandford Fair and the Three County Fair in Northampton on Sept. 2-5, the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield on Sept. 8-11, and the Belchertown Fair on Sept. 23-25, to name some of the larger gatherings.

 

Bridge of Flowers

Shelburne Falls

www.bridgeofflowersmass.org

Admission: Free

Through Oct. 31: The Bridge of Flowers connects the towns of Shelburne and Buckland. The seasonal footbridge, once a trolley bridge, has a garden of flowers covering it, which has long drawn visitors from both near and far. While admission is free, visitors may express their appreciation by offering donations in the kiosks located at both entrances. The Bridge of Flowers was recognized as a Franklin Favorite tourist attraction four years in a row (2018-2021) in a contest sponsored by the Greenfield Recorder.

 

 

Brimfield Antique Flea Market

Route 20, Brimfield

www.brimfieldantiquefleamarket.com

Admission: Free

July 12-17, Sept. 6-11: After expanding steadily through the decades, the Brimfield Antique Flea Market now encompasses six miles of Route 20 and has become a nationally known destination for people who value antiques, collectibles, and flea-market finds. Some 6,000 dealers and close to 1 million total visitors show up at the three annual, week-long events; the first was in May.

 

Concerts at the Drake

44 North Pleasant St., Amherst

www.thedrakeamherst.org

Admission: Varies

Year-round: For decades, the Amherst community has clamored for a space for a live performance and music venue. The Amherst Business Improvement District and the Downtown Amherst Foundation listened, and the result is the Drake, a recently opened performing-arts venue in the heart of downtown Amherst, with a planned lineup of both legendary and emerging musical artists from Western Mass. and across the globe, as well as workshops and open-mic nights. Check out the website for a full lineup.

 

FreshGrass Festival

1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams

www.freshgrass.com

Admission: three-day pass, $54-$174; ages 6 and under, free

Sept. 23-25: The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is known for its musical events, and the FreshGrass festival is among the highlights, showcasing dozens of bluegrass artists and bands on four stages over three days. This year, the lineup includes Gary Clark Jr., Old Crow Medicine Show, Tanya Tucker, Trampled by Turtles, the Del McCoury Band, Taj Mahal, and many more.

 

Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival

300 North Main St., Florence

www.glasgowlands.org

Admission: $22; ages 6-12, $5; age 5 and under, free

July 16: Celebrating its 27th anniversary, the largest Scottish festival in Massachusetts, held at Look Park, features Highland dancers, pipe bands, a pipe and drum competition, animals, spinners, weavers, harpists, Celtic music, athletic contests, activities for children, and the authentically dressed Historic Highlanders recreating everyday life in that society from the 14th through 18th centuries. Featured performers this year include Enter the Haggis, Albannach, Sarah the Fiddler, and Charlie Zahm.

 

Green River Festival

Green River Festival

Green River Festival

One College Dr., Greenfield

www.greenriverfestival.com

Admission: Weekend, $170; Friday, $55; Saturday, $75; Sunday, $75

June 24-26: For one weekend every summer, Greenfield Community College hosts a high-energy celebration of music; local food, beer, and wine; handmade crafts; and games and activities for families and children — all topped off with hot-air-balloon launches and evening ‘balloon glows.’ The music is continuous on three stages, with more than 30 artists and bands — from Father John Misty to Waxahatchee to Asleep at the Wheel — slated to perform this year.

 

Independence Day Weekend at Old Sturbridge Village

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge

www.osv.org

Admission: $14-$28

July 2-4: Old Sturbridge Village will celebrate Independence Day weekend with a citizens’ parade, fife and drum music, cannon demonstrations, and more. Attendees can join in a game of old-fashioned baseball, watch a toy hot-air balloon flight, listen to a stirring reading of the Declaration of Independence, and hear excerpts from Frederick Douglass’s 1852 address “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July.” On July 4, a citizen naturalization ceremony will take place on the Village Common.

 

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

358 George Carter Road, Becket

www.jacobspillow.org

Admission: Prices vary

June 18 to Aug. 28: Jacob’s Pillow has become one of the country’s premier showcases for dance. This season begins with the 90th anniversary gala on June 18, which precedes dozens of events, including “Eastern Woodland Dances” on June 22, Ted Shawn’s “Dance of the Ages” on June 23, Ronald K. Brown’s “Evidence” from June 29 to July 3, Caleb Teicher’s “Sw!ng Out” on July 6-10, Ballet Nepantla’s “Valentina” on July 13, and much, much more; check out the website for a full listing.

 

Lady Bea Cruise Boat

1 Alvord St., South Hadley, MA

www.brunelles.com

Admission: $18-$25; kids 3 and under, free

All summer: Interstate 91 is not the only direct thoroughfare from South Hadley to Northampton. The Lady Bea, a 53-foot, 49-passenger, climate-controlled boat operated by Brunelle’s Marina, will take boarders up and back on daily cruises along the Valley’s other major highway: the Connecticut River. If you don’t feel like sharing the 75-minute narrated voyage with others, rent the boat out for a private excursion. Amenties include a PA system, video monitors, a full bar, and seating indoors and on the sun deck.

 

Monson Summerfest

Main Street, Monson

www.monsonsummerfestinc.com

Admission: Free

July 4: In 1979, a group of parishioners from the town’s Methodist church wanted to start an Independence Day celebration focused on family and community. The first Summerfest featured food, games, and fun activities. With the addition of a parade, booths, bands, rides, and activities, the event — now in its 23rd year — has evolved into an attraction drawing between 10,000 and 13,000 people every July 4.

 

Shakespeare & Company

70 Kemble St., Lenox

www.shakespeare.org

Admission: Varies

This year marks Shakespeare & Company’s 45th season of performances, actor training, and education, taking place at two indoor venues and two outdoor spaces, including the 500-seat Spruce Theater, an amphitheater built just last summer. The two Shakespeare productions planned for 2022 include Much Ado About Nothing (July 2 to Aug. 14) and Measure for Measure (Aug. 19 to Sept. 18), while visitors can also take in plenty of contemporary plays, as well as comedy and other events.

 

Six Flags New England

Six Flags New England

Six Flags New England

1623 Main St., Agawam

www.sixflags.com/newengland

Admission: $34.99 and up; season passes, $59.99 and up

All summer: Unlike most seasons, Six Flags has not announced a new ride for 2022, but is touting an improved visitor experience, adding single-rider lines on some of its most popular rides, including Batman the Dark Knight, Harley Quinn Spinsanity, Supergirl Sky Flyer, and more; as well as upgrading its Flash Pass system to a mobile app, offering mobile food ordering, and unveiling new dining options. The main park and the Hurricane Harbor water park are both open now.

 

Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival

Stearns Square, Springfield

www.springfieldjazzfest.com

Admission: Free

Aug. 12-13: This year, Springfield’s biggest music festival moves to the Stearns Square neighborhood, and Worthington and Bridge streets will be closed to vehicles to create a pedestrian area. The Charles Neville Main Stage will be located near Stearns Square, and the Urban Roots Stage will be located near Tower Square Park. The music lineup will include Bomba de Aqui, Albino Mbie, Curtis Haywood, Dayme Arocena, and the Haneef Nelson Quintet, with more announcements to come.

 

Star Spangled Springfield

Downtown Springfield

www.spiritofspringfield.org

Admission: Free

July 4: What’s a better end to an Independence Day filled with food, family, and outdoor fun than taking in a spectacle of the skies? Springfield’s annual event will feature family-friendly entertainment, a flyover by the 104th Fighter Wing, and a dazzling fireworks display from the Memorial Bridge. But that’s hardly the only display on tap. Among the Western Mass. communities that have announced fireworks events are Holyoke (June 24); Chicopee and Northampton (June 25); Greenfield (July 1); South Hadley (July 2); Agawam (July 2-4); East Longmeadow (July 3); Amherst, North Adams, and Pittsfield (July 4); and Otis (July 9).

 

Summer Stage at Ski Butternut

380 State Road, Great Barrington

www.etix.com/ticket/v/23194/ski-butternut

Admission: $24 to $28

July 16, Aug. 27. Sept. 17: For the first time this summer, Ski Butternut will present a family-friendly concert series. The cover bands span a range of rock styles and time periods and include Dean Ford and the Beautiful Ones: A Tribute to Prince (July 16), The Machine: Dark Side of the Moon and Greatest Hits of Pink Floyd (Aug. 27), and The Breakers: A Tribute to Tom Petty (Sept. 17). A variety of food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase.

 

Tanglewood

Tanglewood

Tanglewood

297 West St., Lenox

www.bso.org

Admission: Varies

June 17 to Sept. 4: This summer, for the first time since 2019, Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will offer a full season of concerts and events. With Ozawa Hall and the Linde Center for Music and Learning reopening to the public alongside the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Tanglewood will present a wide range of programs, including eight world and American premieres and 28 works by living composers, as well as 21 artists making their Tanglewood or BSO debuts. See the website for a full listing.

 

Valley Blue Sox

MacKenzie Stadium, 500 Beech St., Holyoke

www.valleybluesox.com

Admission: $5-$7; flex packs, $59-$99

Through July 30: Western Mass. residents don’t have to trek to Boston to catch quality baseball. The Valley Blue Sox, two-time champions of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, play the home half of their 44-game schedule close to home at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke. Frequent promotional events like postgame fireworks and giveaways help make every game a fun, affordable event for the whole family.

 

Westfield Starfires

Bullens Field, Westfield, MA

www.westfieldstarfires.com

Admission: $10; flex packs, $99

Through Aug. 6: Still can’t get enough baseball? The newest baseball club to land in Western Mass., the Starfires, a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, play a slightly longer schedule (56 games) than the Blue Sox. Now in its fourth season, the team plays at Bullens Field in a city with a rich baseball history, and peppers its games with plenty of local flavor and fan experiences.

 

The Zoo in Forest Park

The Zoo in Forest Park

The Zoo in Forest Park

293 Sumner Ave., Springfield, MA

www.forestparkzoo.org

Admission: $5-$10; children under 1, free

Through Oct. 10: The Zoo in Forest Park, located inside Springfield’s Forest Park, is home to a wide variety of species found throughout the world and North America. Meanwhile, the zoo maintains a focus on conservation, wildlife education, and rehabilitations. The Zoo is open seven days a week, weather permitting, and, unlike 2020 and 2021, guests no longer need a timed ticket to visit. u

Tina D’Agostino Plants Some Business Roots with Blooms

By
Special Coverage Women in Businesss

Growing Desire

 

Tina D’Agostino

Tina D’Agostino

For many, the pandemic was a time for introspection, for thinking about what’s important in life, for finding what makes one happy. It was that way for Tina D’Agostino, who, after landing in the corporate world following two decades of work at CityStage, decided she wanted to “pursue a career I could love again.” That pursuit led to Blooms Flower Truck and Studio, a business that brings a passion for flowers and some entrepreneurial fire together in the same mobile venture.

 

 

Tina D’Agostino says she’s always been entrepreneurial, and has long had a desire to start a venture of her own. Until very recently, though, the timing just wasn’t right.

By that she meant that she was either busy raising children and working part time, a period much earlier in her career, or working full time, as in very full time, promoting and staging events for CityStage with Springfield Performing Arts Development Corp., until 2018.

“I think that fire, and that interest, was always there,” she said. “But life did not allow me to test those waters and jump in.”

And when it did allow her to jump in and eventually launch Blooms Flower Truck and Studio, the timing could hardly be considered ideal. Indeed, she opened the doors to the truck in the middle of the pandemic, when operating any business was a stern challenge.

In some important ways, however, the pandemic inspired this entrepreneurial gambit, she said, adding that, for her (and many others) that challenging, unprecedented period brought with it time, and reason, for introspection and a focus on what’s important.

And for her, this meant finding work that … well, isn’t really work. Flowers are more of a passion, she said, and working for herself brings rewards on many different levels.

“COVID forced a lot of people to focus on what motivates them and interests them and makes them happy,” she told BusinessWest. “That’s what happened to me, anyway. That, coupled with losing some friends and some family members and realizing that life sometimes is a lot shorter than it should be, I really just wanted to focus on pursuing a career that I could love again.”

In this case, it meant taking a life-long love of flowers and gardening and coming up with something different, specifically a flower truck — a tricked-out Mercedes Sprinter van to be more precise. It’s not a delivery van, but rather a flower shop on wheels, one that she takes to various locations, like the Longmeadow Shops, to sell flowers but also to stage workshops and other programs.

She opened on Mother’s Day — one of those big days for florists — in 2021, and officially opened her studio in the Mill at Crane Pond in Westfield last November. Just over a year in, she described what’s transpired thus far as a rewarding learning experience, one that has yielded all the emotions encountered by entrepreneurs and the normal amounts of highs, lows, doubts, convictions, and nights where she could have done with more sleep.

“It’s certainly stressful figuring out where the next check is coming from and how I’m going to make the next payment on the van,” she continued. “But it’s worth it; at the end of every day, I’m glad I made this move.”

“COVID forced a lot of people to focus on what motivates them and interests them and makes them happy. That’s what happened to me, anyway. That, coupled with losing some friends and some family members and realizing that life sometimes is a lot shorter than it should be, I really just wanted to focus on pursuing a career that I could love again.”

Overall, she has perservered and put down some solid roots in a highly competitive industry. And she has her business on a track to continued growth and new opportunities, while successfully returning to where she was — a place where she loves coming to work every day.

For this issue and its focus on women in business, we talked with D’Agostino about her still relatively new venture, where she wants to take it, and how she intends to get there.

 

Stem Class

D’Agostino calls this the fourth chapter in her career. The first three included an intriguing mix of career stops, all of which in some ways helped her prepare for this latest act.

During that first chapter, she worked for a direct-mail company, a treadmill manufacturer, and an elementary school, when her children were very young. After she divorced, she needed full-time employment with benefits, and found it at CityStage, where she would climb the ladder, advancing from director of marketing to general manager to executive director, the post she was in when the city announced it was closing the nonprofit agency in 2018.

From there, she worked at Mercy Medical Center in the office of Philanthropy, and, later took a community-engagement role with Health New England just days before the pandemic arrived in Western Mass.

“I was at Health New England for four days before we were sent home to work because of COVID, so the community engagement part of that never took off,” she noted, adding that she worked at the company into January of this year as she gradually transitioned out of that phase of her career and into this one.

“I realized that, after enjoying a pretty robust career in a nonprofit in a very unique industry, the entertainment industry, it was hard to make that shift to the corporate environment,” she explained. “I think that this, coupled with COVID, promoted me to pivot to this business and become an entrepreneur. To go to a job every day sent me into a bit of a depression.”

Her chosen field, pun intended, is a hobby and passion that goes back to when she was a child.

“My grandmother had the greenest of all thumbs,” she explained. “She was a gardener and had tons of flowers outside and inside; actually, both sets of grandparents had vegetable gardens. We grew up gardening and paying attention to flowers — when I was a kid, it was big outing to go to Stanley Park and look at the roses, and we used to go to flower shows with my mom and my aunts when I was a kid, so I’ve always been around flowers.

“My father died when I was very young, and after he died, my mom went to work part time in a flower shop, so I had that exposure,” she went on. “It’s always been an interest of mine, and I’ve always arranged my own flowers.”

But making flowers a business is challenging in the current marketplace, she told BusinessWest, adding that there are still plenty of traditional flower shops in the region and supermarkets in nearly every area community with huge floral departments.

Upon surveying this scene, she decided she needed something decidedly different, and by that she meant the experience of choosing and buying flowers. And she decided that a mobile model would set Blooms apart and provide that unique experience.

“Blooms has evolved, and it’s still evolving. I’m rewriting the business plan regularly.”

“It’s kind of like a food truck, but with flowers,” she said, adding that she does pop-ups at the Longmeadow Shops and other locations such as wineries and breweries, and will also appear at events like charity golf tournaments. She has also made appearances at businesses — the Big E was one of them — that are showing appreciation to employees by giving them flowers.

Her first real challenge, and maybe the biggest in her estimation, was simply finding a van in which to operate — a difficult task when inventory is short and prices have skyrocketed.

“When I was looking last year, there were zero; there was nothing out there for a few months,” she recalled, adding that at one point she was in line to get a used model but eventually scored a new one and in less time than she anticipated.

Last November, she went next level and opened the studio at the Mill at Crane Pond in space by the loading dock that was formerly occupied by a machine shop. There, she sees some foot traffic for flowers and also conducts some workshops.

Moving forward, she is shaping and reshaping the business model and working to create enough revenue streams to see the business through the months that don’t have those busy flower days, like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and even Thanksgiving, which was more lucrative than she imagined it would be.

Such streams include everything from event planning, something she has done for years, and providing flowers for such gatherings, to an array of gifts she sells at the studio — most of which are intended for marrying couples — to work helping area residents with their home gardens.

“Blooms has evolved, and it’s still evolving,” she explained. “I’m rewriting the business plan regularly; some things have worked, and some things haven’t. The latest incarnation is to focus on as much events business as possible, and try to book as many large events, such as weddings and corporate gatherings, as possible.”

Elaborating, she said she wants to create more added value at such events by providing take-away gifts such as bouquets, or staging workshops for attendees on making arrangements, an interactive experience she calls a “Blooms bar.”

 

Plant Manager

All this is part of an entrepreneurial experience that is, in many ways, what she expected. But in other ways, it’s been much more than she could have imagined.

“I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but it is a lot more work than thought it was going to be because I’m just one person,” she explained. “I have friends and family that help when I need it for larger events, but for the day to day, I’m handling all of it — managing the books, the buying, the marketing, the social media, and the delivery; it’s much more than I thought.

“I do have to remember that it’s good to put things down and put things away,” she went on. “I really have to focus on staying organized, planning my time, and budgeting my time so that it’s not completely taking over. But that’s also the blessing of being an entrepreneur, because you can make your own schedule.”

Overall, the highs and lows, up and downs, have certainly been palatable, because D’Agostino is in a place she wants to be, figuratively, but also quite literally.

“There aren’t really any bad days, but at the end of the worst day, I look next to me, and I’m delivering, or surrounded by, or working with, all this beauty, and that’s really important to me.”

 

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

Amy Royal

By
Amy Royal
Alumni Achievement Award

Founder/CEO, the Royal Law Firm

Amy Royal

Amy Royal

Amy Royal is a big believer in that old adage — the one about how if you want something done, give that task to a busy person.

“I’ve seen that happen so much over the course of my career,” she told BusinessWest. “Those busy people — they just make it happen. They’ll return things very quickly; they get things done, and done right.”

For quite some time now, Royal, founder and CEO of the Springfield-based Royal Law Firm, has been the very definition of that proverbial busy person — and that’s probably why people keep asking her to do things, with ‘people’ meaning everything from legal clients to area nonprofits to those running the Springfield Ballers (more on them later).

Indeed, Royal is busy with all kinds of things these days, and the sum of this work inside and outside the office (and on her new office) certainly helps to explain why she is a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award in 2022.

Let’s start with the office. Back in 2009, when Royal was honored as a member of the third 40 Under Forty class, she was busy putting the law firm she established on a path to consistent, diverse growth. To say that she has succeeded with that assignment would be an understatement.

Indeed, the firm has grown in size — it now boasts a team of 11 — while also greatly expanding its book of business, its geographic footprint, and its service areas.

When the firm was launched, it was focused exclusively on representing employers in labor and employment law matters. It still does a lot of that, but it has pushed into other areas of the law, as Royal explained.

“It was a long time coming before I decided to expand beyond that; we still only represent organizations, but now we do it in other practice areas beyond where we started,” she explained. “I’m representing Merck Corp. in federal court here in a products-liability claim; my litigation has expanded beyond labor and employment law to commercial litigation generally.”

Merck is just one of many national and international clients in the firm’s portfolio. Others include Google, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s, Panasonic Corp. of North America, and KeyBank.

As for geographic expansion, the firm now has satellite offices in Hartford, Providence, and Bennington, Vt. (the latest facility to open), and Royal has ambitious plans to soon be in all six New England states.

And her entrepreneurial exploits extend beyond her law firm. Indeed, she has been involved in many other business ventures, including the purchase and subsequent expansion of West Side Metal Door Corp., a distributor and fabricator of metal doors and frames. There have been several real estate development projects, the latest being her purchase of the historic Alexander House, just down the street from the federal courthouse.

Royal is in the process of restoring the 6,000-square-foot home, built in 1811, and relocating the law firm’s headquarters there.

Meanwhile, Royal has long been busy outside the office, donating her time and talents to several nonprofits, especially the Center for Human Development. She has served on its board for more than 14 years, and is currently its president. She has also served on other boards, including serving as president of United Way of Hampshire County.

She has also coached many youth sports, from basketball to baseball, and created the 501c3 corporation for the Springfield Ballers, a nonprofit providing opportunities to young people in athletic programs. She serves as clerk of the Ballers board, and has been involved in writing grants to attain the funds to create more opportunities for more young people.

“We serve more than 400 kids in the Greater Springfield area in sports like basketball, both boys and girls, lacrosse, golf, and others,” Royal explained, adding that the initiative started as a girls’ basketball league and has expanded and evolved “massively from there.”

This is a volunteer operation, she went on, where those involved often wear many hats, as she does. She was asked to coach this year, as she has many times in the past, but had to decline — for a good reason.

“This is probably my older son’s last season in AAU, so I really want to watch him play basketball,” she said, adding that this is one example of how she works to balance the many priorities in her life.

When asked where she finds the time for all that she does and is asked to do, Royal said she makes it, because each aspect of her life is important to her — her family, her law career, and her many commitments to this region, which is her life-long home.

“I grew up here, and I care about the community and see that as something that is really important,” she said. “It’s something that both my parents were involved in; they made it a priority, and I’m simply following their example.”

In doing so, she has certainly become one of those busy people from that old adage that others entrust with important tasks — and a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award.

 

George O’Brien

Anthony Gleason II

By
Alumni Achievement Award

President and Co-founder of the Gleason Johndrow Companies

Anthony Gleason II

Anthony Gleason II

 

You might call it the ‘snowball effect.’

That’s one poetic way to describe what has happened since Anthony Gleason started his own landscaping business when he was 16, and especially since he was honored as a member of the Forty Under 40 Class of 2010.

Things have… well, snowballed. And in all kinds of ways.

The landscaping company he started with a $1,500 pickup truck and a lawnmower has grown into one of the largest snow-removal contractors in the country — the 32nd largest to be exact, at least according to the latest rankings in Snow Magazine, with more than $10 million in revenues in 2021. It now boasts a number of large contracts including the city of Springfield (250 locations), UMass Amherst and its 157 parking lots of various shapes and sizes, Western New England University, and many others, and has extended its geographic reach well beyond Western Mass.

“We’re servicing the entire state of Massachusetts — we’ll go out to Worcester and Boston — and go south into Hartford,” he told BusinessWest. “We just keep trying to grow wherever we can with the kind of work that makes sense.”

Meanwhile, the real estate portfolios of the many companies he’s now involved with continue to grow. The combined portfolio now boasts properties valued at more than $25 million, he said, and it includes office, industrial, self-storage, and other properties.

“We’re servicing the entire state of Massachusetts — we’ll go out to Worcester and Boston — and go south into Hartford. We just keep trying to grow wherever we can with the kind of work that makes sense.”

And Gleason’s involvement in the community — both on a personal and company-wide scale — continues to snowball as well, especially in Springfield. Indeed, both Gleason personally and Gleason Johndrow Landscaping have become huge supporters of the Spirit of Springfield, as both a sponsor and with in-kind donations, as we’ll see, but his work to give back extends well beyond the SOS to several other causes and organizations.

To sum it all up, Gleason, 36, who was also a finalist for the AAA award in 2019, travels back in time to when he was just getting started with that pick up truck while still in high school.

“I started with a few accounts … and I just went after it,” he said, adding that this is the mindset that has propelled his landscaping company — and many other business interests — forward, making it a force not only within its highly competitive industry, but within the community as well.

As he talked about his landscaping company and its status among the largest and most successful in the country, Gleason said it is well-positioned within that competitive market. It is large enough — with 150 employees and more than 75 vehicles — to handle the needs of large-scale clients like the city of Springfield and UMass Amherst, but also nimble enough to handle assignments of any size.

“Snow services is our largest offering and it’s what I think sets us apart,” he explained. “I do believe we’re really good at it, and we’re well-equipped. We’re going to continue to grow, but we’re going to try to do it modestly and do it the right way, with the accounts that make sense for our business model.”

With all this success in business comes a responsibility to give back, said Gleason, and he does this in many ways, perhaps most notably, and visibly, with the Spirit of Springfield and its many endeavors.

Since 2015, Gleason Johndrow Landscaping has been heavily involved with the SOS’s annual pancake breakfast, touted as the largest in the world. A team of 20 from the company provides help with logistics and operations — everything from loading batter onto a refrigerated truck to dispensing supplies to three cooking tents and 10 beverage stations.

Starting that same year, the company has been a sponsor of Bright Nights at Forest Park’s ‘Happy Holidays Springfield’ display. In 2017, the company was the lead sponsor, and Gleason the co-chair, of the City of Bright Nights Ball, the SOS’s largest annual fundraiser. In the years that have followed, it has supported the gala as a Golden Circle Sponsor.

But, as noted earlier, Gleason and the company have given back in many other ways as well. Examples include the donation of labor and resources to Southampton’s Norris Elementary School playground project, support for the Gunnery Sergeant Thomas J. Sullivan Park in Springfield, and ongoing support to a host of agencies, including Empty Arms Bereavement, the Mayflower Marathon, Springfield Cultural Council, Susan G. Komen Foundation, and many others.

While doing all this, Gleason has become an inspiration, role-model, and cheerleader of sorts for employees and others in the community, said Judy Matt, president of the Spirit of Springfield, who is one of many who nominated Gleason for the AAA award.

“He continues to inspire others by meeting with employees, colleagues, and friends to assist them with personal financial management, budgeting, and retirement investments,” she wrote. “He has encouraged employees to purchase homes or multi-family buildings, and often has helped them reach their goals of home ownership. He is always willing to donate his time and knowledge and to share his story of success so that others can achieve even greater accomplishments; this has been one of his main objectives throughout his career.”

You might say this objective is just part of the snow-ball effect, a success story that has many chapters still to be written.

 

George O’Brien

Amanda Garcia

By
Alumni Achievement Award

Associate Professor of Accounting and Finances, Director of the MBA Program, Elms College

Amanda Garcia

Amanda Garcia

Amanda Garcia has some simple advice for those she counsels in the Entrepreneurship program at Elms College — and pretty much everyone else she mentors at one level or another.

“I tell them not to be afraid to fail, and that you can learn from failure,” Garcia, now a repeat finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award, told BusinessWest. “A lot of times as an entrepreneur, whatever you start with is not what you end up with. So I encourage the students to understand that failure is OK — just learn from the failure and figure out what you can do better next time.”

And this is advice that extends to all those in business, she went on, not simply those who happen to own the business.

“If you’re too afraid to fail at something, you’ll never take the risk to start something new,” she explained. “A new program, a new initiative … any of that is a risk, because you’re putting your name on it, and sometimes things don’t go well.”

Suffice it to say that Garcia practices what she preaches, and that simple philosophy helps explain why she is again a finalist for the AAA award. Indeed, she has demonstrated several times that she is not afraid to fail, taking on new career challenges, new initiatives in the realm of higher education, and even her own entrepreneurial venture, an accounting firm that bears her name.

Most all of that has occurred since she was honored as a member of the 40 Under Forty Class of 2010. At that time, she was vice president of Operations for Junior Achievement of Western MA. And while she’s still heavily involved in JA, as we’ll see later, she has shifted her career path from the nonprofit realm to higher education.

“If you’re too afraid to fail at something, you’ll never take the risk to start something new. A new program, a new initiative … any of that is a risk, because you’re putting your name on it, and sometimes things don’t go well.”

At Elms College, where she started as lecturer in Accounting, she is currently an associate professor of Accounting and Finances and interim director of the MBA program, which she co-founded in 2012. Since then, she’s helped grow that program to include graduate degrees in several areas, including Accounting, Financial Planning, Healthcare Leadership, Management, and many others.

Meanwhile, Garcia helped launch the Entrepreneurship program at the school, and currently oversees that initiative and is co-director of the First-year Seminar and Innovation Challenge for students in that program.

Explaining that initiative, she said it is aptly named — students are placed into teams that are challenged with conceptualizing a product and service and pitching it in a competition that earns the winners some capital to take their venture forward.

“Students learn about design thinking, they learn how to pitch, they learn about innovation and how to tackle big problems that seem to have no answer,” she explained, adding that as an advisor and leader of the program, she also teaches them how to work in teams and be a good team member.

As for those big problems with no answers, she said that over the years, teams have addressed some of them with imagination, determination, and solutions in various phases of development.

“Last year’s winner pitched a roommate-matching app where the students would design the surveys to determine what is important to them in a roommate,” she explained, noting the importance of such a service. “A bad roommate is the number-one reason for a student leaving college or not living on campus.”

As for her own entrepreneurial venture, Amanda Garcia, LLC, launched in 2008, she has grown it from a sole proprietorship to three employees. It specializes in small business, rental properties, and tax planning for individuals with investments.

While the many aspects of her work keep her busy, she makes time for giving back to the community, especially Junior Achievement.

Indeed, she still has strong ties to the organization, serving as its accountant, co-chair of its annual golf tournament, a JA volunteer, and chair of the JA EnTEENpreneur Challenge, where, again, she is helping young people develop ideas and begin the process of transforming them into businesses.

Summing up all that she does, as a college professor, an accountant, and as a JA volunteer, Garcia said she is educating people and helping them succeed, as she has, in business and in life. It’s a role she takes very seriously, said Jennifer Connolly, president of Junior Achievement of Western MA, who nominated Garcia for the AAA award.

“Over the years, Amanda has helped dozens of area students and their families navigate applying for college, and then mentored those students through their college years,” she said. “She maintains close contact with many of her students after graduation, mentoring them as they navigate the world of work. She gives of herself, her time, and her money to support many organizations in the area.”

Overall, Garcia doesn’t have much direct experience with failure, so she can’t exactly speak from experience there. But she has considerable experience when it comes to overcoming fear of failure and accepting new challenges — on the job, with her business, and with everything that life can throw at someone.

Helping people overcome that fear and reach higher is just one of the ways she is making an impact in the region. And it’s just one of many reasons why she is a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award.

 

George O’Brien

 

Western Mass Founders Network Announces First Demo Day

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Western Mass Founders Network announced its first demo day will be held June 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Valley Venture Mentors’ facility in Springfield.

The participating startups represent the inaugural cohort of the organization’s peer mentoring program. The Western Mass Founders Network Demo Day is the culmination of an eight-month program for startups with high-growth potential based in Western Mass. Over the course of the program, cohort companies have participated in peer roundtables to discuss common challenges and enjoyed one-to-one mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and executives with experience growing innovative companies to scale.

The demo day program will kick-off with Springfield’s Mayor Domenic Sarno and State Representative Carlos Gonzalez and include pitches from the startups, a business showcase, and networking opportunities with the community and investors.

Those interested in attending may RSVP here.

The Western Mass Founders Network is funded by a $200,000 Pathways to Scale grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) and is a coordinated effort by: Western Mass Economic Development Council (EDC), Valley Venture Mentors, FORGE, and the Berkshire Innovation Center.

The Western Mass Founders Network partners established the program to support the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The emphasis is not only on providing higher level resources for startups that are ready to scale, but also on building a sense of community and a network of experienced peers.

“MassTech is proud to continue our support for the emerging startup ecosystem in Western Mass,” said Megan Marszalek, director of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems at MassTech’s Innovation Institute. “The Western Mass Founders’ Network builds on the Commonwealth’s past investments in organizations like VVM and our work with Western Mass EDC and the BIC. The network provides a strong foundation for a sustainable and diverse startup community – one that creates a virtuous cycle where successful entrepreneurs can grow to scale, contribute to local economic growth, and inspire more entrepreneurs to launch and grow in the region.”

“Startups are critical to the overall economic growth and health of our region,” said Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council. “There is great potential for high growth startups to scale to medium and large companies in Western Massachusetts, adding to the vibrancy of the Commonwealth.”

Tuesday’s event will celebrate the 15 startups of the inaugural Western Mass. Founders’ Network.

 

  • DisruptAR:Technology — virtual production, Great Barrington;
  • Elateq: Clean Energy — water treatment, Amherst;
  • IdleSmart:Transportation — fuel reduction, battery management, and vehicle uptime IoT platform, Lenox Mass.,/Kansas City, MO;
  • Marcellamoda — eco-friendly female clothing, Northampton Mass./New York City;
  • Medzu/TickReport — tick testing/surveillance, Amherst;
  • OmPractice — online group yoga and meditation classes, Springfield;
  • QuatroMoney — student finance, Springfield;
  • QuickCord — hand-held utility devices;
  • SISS SendItSafeSolutions;
  • Solablock — vertical solar solutions, Easthampton;
  • Superfrau — upcycled energy drink, Springfield;
  • Sustaine — proprietary software to determine energy savings, Williamstown;
  • Tumult Labs — data privacy protection;
  • United Aircraft Technologies — electrical wiring system management/maintenance – Pittsfield, Mass./Troy, NY; and
  • ZWraps

TRE Olive Wins Gold at Competition

By
Daily News

EAST LONGMEADOW — TRE Olive, located in East Longmeadow, is a Gold Award winner for a second time at this year’s 2022 New York International Olive Oil Competition.

TRE Olive won the Gold Award for its TRE Olive Select. In 2020 TRE Olive won a gold and silver award for both its TRE Select & Campo Dieci brands.

“It’s very humbling and rewarding to receive such a prestigious award from some of the top olive oil experts in the world. Our team in Italy and here in the U.S. are committed to producing a premium extra virgin olive oil for our customers and this validates all the hard work and commitment it takes.” said Joe Maruca, co-owner of TRE Olive

In addition to its award-winning extra virgin olive oil, TRE Olive also offers corporate gifts and a tree-adoption program. When an olive tree is adopted, the recipient will receive an adoption certificate, a gift box, a photo of their tree, a welcome brochure, and three tins of olive oil to get started. The tree is also tagged with the adoptee’s name for one year.

TRE Olive has been featured on the TODAY Show, as well as in the Real Simple and Eating Well magazines as top gifts for the foodies in your life.

Department of Sport Management at UMass Amherst to Mark 50 Years

By
Daily News

AMHERST — The McCormack Department of Sport Management in the Isenberg School of Management at the UMass Amherst will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a special weekend full of events, June 10-12. The celebration will include a golf tournament, dinner, multiple gatherings and presentations, including a panel discussion among high-profile alumni and industry executives on Title IX.

Events for the weekend include presentations on the latest research by the faculty of the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management, a presentation by the McCormack archivist, a celebration dinner, and a Title IX panel.

Title IX is the federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.

“We’re excited to celebrate this big milestone with many of the department’s friends, graduates, and current and former faculty members,” said Professor Steve McKelvey, current chair of the department. “A big part of the success of the McCormack Department of Sport Management is our strong and broad network. Our community includes superstars in the sport industry who are always willing and excited to mentor, advise and engage with students and young alumni. This reunion event is a chance to get everyone on campus together to reminisce about our school days while also talking seriously about the challenges of the sport business.”

Since its founding as the department of sport studies in 1971 with a focus on the history, philosophy, psychology and sociology of sport, the department has over the past five decades evolved to fully embrace the business of sport and is now housed in the Isenberg School of Management. Its faculty members are known for conducting award-winning research, and its students appreciate the commitment to experiential learning. McCormack alumni remain engaged and involved with the school and include numerous sport industry executives in C-suite positions.

Sport industry leaders who will be attending the reunion events include:

Dr. Bernie Mullin, who spearheaded the program’s evolution from “sport studies” to a sport business curriculum; Glenn Wong, long-time department chair; Bill Hubbard, chairman, Tokio-Marine HCC, the world’s largest insurer of major sporting events; Jeff Price, chief commercial officer, PGA; Burke Magnus, president, ESPN; David Wright, chief marketing officer, U.S. Soccer Federation; Nancy Gonsalves, associate director, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee; Adina Erwin, executive vice president, BSE Global; Jeffrey Pollack, most recently president and CEO, XFL; and Jeff Twiss, vice president, Boston Celtics

The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management was first founded in 1971 by Professors Harold VanderZwaag and Guy Lewis as the department of sport studies. Over the past 50 years, the department has evolved to embrace the business of sport and was among the first sport management programs to be housed within a business school.

The program started to develop its business focus in the late 1970s, when professor Bernie Mullin was hired to teach marketing and other business-related courses in 1977. Professor Glenn Wong, who chaired the department from 1987-98, was brought on board in 1979 to teach the program’s first sports law courses, and some were the first of their kind for the sport industry. In 2001, the department created a first-of-its-kind MBA-master’s degree in sport management. In 2002, through the efforts of then-department chair Lisa Masteralexis, the department moved into the Isenberg School of Management. In 2010, it was renamed the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management after the IMG founder.

LifePath Seeks Volunteers to Help with Neighborhood Food Delivery Programs

By
Daily News

GREENFIELD — LifePath, the organization that cares for older adults and people with disabilities in Franklin County and the North Quabbin, has an urgent need for volunteers to help with three food-distribution programs:

Meals on Wheels drivers are needed immediately to deliver pre-made meals to homebound individuals in our community. Food delivery routes go out in the morning, Monday-Friday. Volunteers can sign up for one to five days.

The Grocery Shopper program pairs a volunteer with someone who can prepare meals but cannot get to the store to buy the food. Volunteers are matched with someone who lives nearby (volunteers are needed throughout our service area), and the volunteer and consumer decide together how often shopping trips will occur.

The newest program, Farm to Home, delivers fresh food from local farms to people throughout the area who meet income requirements.  Volunteers are needed to help people place their orders, one to four weeks per month, by phone. Volunteers can work from the comfort of their own homes.

Between these three programs, LifePath has a need for more than 25 volunteers to keep food on the table for their neighbors.

While volunteers provide life-saving services to others, they also benefit personally. Studies show that volunteering brings meaning and joy into our lives while helping us connect with others, combating feelings of isolation and loneliness in the process.

Anyone aged 18 and over can qualify to become a LifePath volunteer. Those interested can explore these and other volunteer opportunities at LifePathMA.org/get-involved/volunteer or contact Carmela Lanza-Weil, associate director of Volunteer Resources at [email protected] or (413) 773-5555,  ext. 3006.

 

Picture This

By
Jim Gipe / Pivot Media
Picture This

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

 

 

Customers’ Choice Grants

Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program gala

Jim Gipe / Pivot Media

Florence Bank recently celebrated its 20th annual Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program gala, awarding $100,000 to 45 nonprofits across the Valley. At the close of the event, president and CEO Kevin Day drew cheers from the audience of nonprofit leaders, announcing that giving will increase to $125,000. Here, Day raises a glass to celebrate the program with nonprofit leaders.

 

 

Sign of the Times

American International College President Hubert Benitez, left, and Springfield Technical Community College President John Cook

American International College President Hubert Benitez, left, and Springfield Technical Community College President John Cook sign an articulation agreement formally establishing a close academic relationship between the two-year college and the four-year institution. The accord between AIC and STCC aligns academic programs that enhance the seamless transition of STCC graduates and qualified candidates from STCC, and promote a smooth, successful transfer to AIC. The articulation agreement offers time and cost savings for students by recognizing the coursework pursued at the community college and demonstrates the ongoing commitment of both AIC and STCC to the community and its students, by ensuring that educational pathways are created for all those who wish to consider a degree in higher education.

 

 

To a Higher Gear

Monson Savings Bank team members deliver bicycles to the YWCA of Western Massachusetts

Monson Savings Bank team members deliver bicycles to the YWCA of Western Massachusetts as a part of its 150 Build-a-Bike Campaign, a component of the bank’s 150th birthday celebration. From left: Diana Guzman, YWCA director of Human Resources; Asia Bradford, YWCA director of Adult Residential Programs; Dalila Cardona, YWCA clinical director; Rob Chateauneuf, Monson Savings Bank senior vice president and senior commercial loan officer; Michael Rouette, Monson Savings Bank executive vice presisdent & COO;  Dan Moriarty, Monson Savings Bank president & CEO;  Elizabeth Dineen, YWCA of Western Massachusetts executive director; Ray Plouffe, Family Bike Shop owner; Monika Konopko, YWCA chief financial officer; Yhissa Ocasio, YWCA director of Youth, HIV, and Court Support Programs; Terri Fox, Monson Savings Bank senior vice president and chief retail officer; and Corinne Sawyer, Monson Savings Bank vice president and director of Business & Municipal Banking.

 

 

Donation to CDH

Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of bankESB

Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of bankESB, recently announced that the bank has made a $500,000 challenge grant to support the Emergency Department at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. The funds will be used to support Transforming Emergency Care: Campaign for the Cooley Dickinson Emergency Department, a $19.76 million expansion, reconfiguration, and renovation effort to allow Cooley Dickinson to meet the ever-evolving emergency medicine needs of all members of the community, from infants to older adults. From left: Nancy Lapointe, bankESB senior vice president, retail banking; Dr. Lynnette Watkins, president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Sosik; and Karen Craig, assistant vice president, branch officer for bankESB’s King St., Northampton office

 

 

Agenda

By
Agenda

Benefit Bike Ride

June 11: Area residents are invited to pedal for a great cause and help raise donations for Cancer House of Hope. A ride is scheduled on the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail (rain date is June 12). In addition to a small registration fee, ride participants are asked to raise donations from family, friends, and colleagues, with an individual fundraising goal of $100, and a family fundraising goal of $150. The ride encourages and welcomes riders of all ages and skill levels. Participants can bike five, 10, or 20 miles. Support stations will be available at all turn-around points and the start/finish location — the Stop & Shop at 57 Main St. in Westfield. To register, visit chd.org/chainofhope. For more information, call Margaret Toomey, (413) 733-1858.

 

Summer Kick-Off Festival

June 11: BFAIR (Berkshire Family and Individual Resources) will stage its Summer Kick-Off Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Paterson Field House at Berkshire Community College. This event is bringing back a popular BFAIR event in the mini-golf tournament, the BFAIR-Way, alongside live music, games, activities, raffles, prizes, food trucks and more. Funds raised from the festival support the BFAIR mission of providing quality services to individuals with developmental disabilities, autism, and acquired brain injury while kicking off the summer with some fun. The festival is sponsored by Beat the Heat sponsor Greylock Federal Credit Union and Fun in the Sun sponsor MountainOne Bank. To register for the event visit: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/2022bfairsummerfest/ If you have any questions, please reach out to Tara Jacobsen, Fundraising and Grants Manager, at [email protected].

 

Chamber Annual Meeting

June 15: The Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce has named Evan Plotkin, president, and owner of NAI Samuel D. Plotkin and Associates, as its 2022 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year. The award, established in 2007, is given annually to honor the memory of Richard J. Moriarty, a long-time active participant in the Chamber and individual who gave his time, talent, and personal and professional resources to the local community. Plotkin will be honored at the Springfield Regional Chamber’s Annual Meeting and Celebration on June 15, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Springfield Sheraton. In addition to honoring Plotkin, the chamber will recognize the graduates of its 2022 Leadership Institute, commemorate outgoing President Nancy Creed, and welcome incoming Chamber President Diana Szynal. Longtime advocate and champion of Springfield, Plotkin has made it his mission to make the city a more attractive place to live and work, both literally and figuratively. A Springfield native, he is one of the lead organizers of the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival and is the force behind Art & Soles, the project that saw sculptures of colorful sneakers placed around the city. Additionally, Plotkin, named a Difference Maker by BusinessWest spearheaded the City Mosaic project, overseeing the conversion of the ninth floor of 1350 Main St. into what’s known as Studio 9, a community gathering space. By also using the front lobby of 1350 Main St. as a gallery space, he forged a partnership with artist James Kitchen to bring many of his metal sculptures to the downtown area. Plotkin was also a catalyst behind bringing art to life on Court House Walk, one of the city’s most charming landmarks that was restored by the Junior League of Greater Springfield in 1979. The walk brought giant murals into fruition on the Court Square property with images of iconic celebrities such as Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, and others. Plotkin’s involvement with the community has given him the opportunity to serve as a member of the board of directors for many organizations throughout the years, including as the chairman of The Center for Human Development, and as a board member for various civic organizations including Holyoke Community College and Springfield Business Improvement District. Additionally, Plotkin served six years on the SRC’s board and was a longstanding active board member of the former Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Plotkin was an instrumental part of the group that launched the SRC’s economic development tools in 2021, helping businesses and developers recognize and understand key indicators that encourage informed business decisions. When he’s not beautifying or enhancing Springfield through his artistic endeavors and volunteer initiatives, he’s assisting in its revitalization through his company, NAI Plotkin, which services commercial real estate in areas such as property management, consulting, construction management, condo/HOA management, and brokerage services. Plotkin’s portfolio includes the management of more than 6 million square feet of commercial and retail space and approximately two million square feet of residential units with clients ranging from institutional to regional in scope and include such entities as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Office Building, the U.S. Postal Service, and Staples Inc. Through his role as president, Plotkin serves on the NAI Asset Services Council along with 30 other esteemed members globally, encouraging a collective wealth of knowledge, including best practices and new technology for effective property management. Reservations for the Annual Meeting and Celebration are $75 for members in advance, and $85 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at the Annual Meeting webpage or by contacting Nancy Creed at [email protected].

 

40 Under Forty

June 16: BusinessWest will host the annual 40 Under Forty Gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House starting at 4:30. One of the most anticipated events of the year, the gala will celebrate the Class of 2022, which was announced in the May 2 issue of BusinessWest. The gala will feature a VIP hour for the honorees and sponsors, networking, the presentation of the Alumni Achievement Award, and introduction of members of the Class of 2022. For more information, visit BusinessWest.com. Forty Under 40 is sponsored this year by: Presenting Sponsor PeoplesBank; Alumni Achievement Award Presenting Sponsor Health New England; and supporting sponsors Comcast Business, Live Nation, Mercedes Benz of Springfield, The Mill District, Stand Out Truck, and the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Business. The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) is an event partner.

 

MOSSO Concerts

June 23/July 21: MOSSO, the Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, have announced details of their upcoming summer concerts at Symphony Hall. MOSSO will celebrate the music of Stephen Sondheim and John Williams. These concerts mark the first time in almost 20 years that the musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra have performed summer concerts in Springfield. On June 23, MOSSO celebrates the music of the late, legendary Broadway composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, who penned the words and music to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. Conductor Tim Stella will lead the program, joined by Broadway stars Hugh Panaro and Lisa Vroman. Also appearing are Ray Hardman and Kathleen Callahan-Hardman. Stella conducted The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and before that, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, Hello Dolly!, and Legs Diamond. He served as vocal coach to Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler, who portrayed Christine and the Phantom respectively, in the movie version of Phantom. Stella is former resident music director of Goodspeed Musicals, and a conductor at Radio City Music Hall. Panaro is best known for having played the role of the Phantom in Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera more than 2,000 times. On July 21, Maestro Kevin Rhodes returns to Springfield to conduct a MOSSO benefit concert, with a program of light classics and music of renowned composer John Williams, whose works include Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List. Rhodes will be joined by guest soloist, violinist Yevgeny Kutik, whose two prior solo appearances in Springfield were met with great acclaim. Rhodes served as music director and conductor of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra for 20 seasons, until the SSO paused performances in 2020.

He continues to serve as music director and conductor of the Traverse Symphony in Michigan, and as principal conductor of Boston’s Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. In March 2021, Maestro Rhodes made his debut with the Orchestra of the Rome Opera in Italy, recording a live radio broadcast of Maurice Jarre’s score to Roland Petit’s ballet, Notre Dame de Paris. He will conduct productions of Giselle and La Bayadère for their 2022-23 season. Kutik, a native of Minsk, Belarus, immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of five, with the help of the Jewish Federations of North America. His 2014 album, Music from the Suitcase: A Collection of Russian Miniatures (Marquis Classics), features music he found in his family’s suitcase after immigrating to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1990. In 2021, Kutik launched Finding Home: Music from the Suitcase in Concert. Kutik’s additional releases on Marquis include his most recent album, The Death of Juliet and Other Tales. Tickets for both concerts, priced $60, $45, $25, and $10, will go on sale on May 9. For details, visit: SpringfieldSymphonyMusicians.com. MOSSO sponsors (to date) include: The Republican/MassLive, BusinessWest and Healthcare News, WWLP-22News & The CW Springfield, the Sheraton Springfield at Monarch Place, New England Public Media, the Musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Bolduc Schuster Foundation.

People on the Move

By
People on the Move
Lara Sharp

Lara Sharp

Lara Sharp, dean of the School of STEM at Springfield Technical Community College, has been named to the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Technology Council. Sharp is the only community college representative on the council. The ASEE is a nonprofit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. The ASEE Engineering Technology Council is committed to promoting quality engineering technology education. “It is an honor to be voted on to the Engineering Technology Council,” Sharp said. “This will be an opportunity to share best practices and develop new ideas that we can use in our engineering technology programs at STCC.” The only technical community college in Massachusetts, STCC offers a wide variety of programs in science, technology, engineering, and math, many of which cannot be found elsewhere in Western Mass. The college offers affordable transfer options in engineering and science as well as two-year degrees and one-year certificates that prepare graduates for positions in the region’s workforce. Programs include civil engineering technology, electrical engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, optics and photonics (laser technology), and more. Sharp was named dean of the School of STEM in 2021. Her professional experience includes six years at St. Petersburg College in Clearwater, Fla., as the program director for Engineering, Manufacturing and Building Arts and also serving as the acting dean of Natural Sciences, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Building Arts. From 2013-2015, she was at the Corporate College of Polk State College, in Winter Haven, Fla., managing National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Labor (DOL) grants in advanced manufacturing and engineering technology. Sharp spent more than 11 years teaching chemistry, natural science and engineering to high school students at various locations. Sharp also brings industry experience, having worked at Specialty Minerals Inc. as a process engineer and an operator technician as well as an educational consultant for PASCO Scientific. She has been recognized for her outstanding teaching as well as her community engagement including a STEM Woman of the Year Award from Girls Inc. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.

•••••

Tracye Whitfield

Tracye Whitfield

The Coalition for an Equitable Economy (CEE) announced the hiring of Tracye Whitfield as its new executive director. In this new role, Whitfield, named a Woman of Impact by BusinessWest in 2021, will lead the coalition’s efforts to ensure equitable access to capital for BIPOC small business owners across the state of Massachusetts. Whitfield will continue the coalition’s efforts in creating new programs and policy needed to change and dismantle racist structures preventing the equitable investments needed to support the growth and viability of these businesses. Prior to joining CEE, Whitfield was appointed as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer by Mayor Reichelt for West Springfield. Her work in this role included promoting a diverse environment free from discrimination among employees as well as residents of their town — with an emphasis on racial equity when recruiting new people or hiring existing ones. In her 25-year career, Whitfield has served as a finance analyst for the city of Springfield and data analyst at Springfield Technical Community College. She also worked in various positions including one with MassMutual Financial Group and youth advocacy at Martin Luther King Family Services. She served as the director of Business Development for Training And Workforce Options (TWO), a collaboration between STCC and HCC where she assisted employers in developing customized trainings to strengthen their workforces. She’s also the owner of T&J Tax and Credit Savers, focusing on individual and small business tax preparation, credit repair, and assisting clients on their journey to home ownership. In 2018, she became an elected official in her community as a Springfield city councilor at large. She is now the first African American woman vice president of this position. For the past seven years, she’s served as co-chair of Mason Square C-3 Initiative. This position has allowed her to work closely with residents and local organizations and police officers to promote public safety while also improving the quality of life throughout the community. The Coalition for an Equitable Economy convenes and partners with a broad cross-sector coalition of stakeholders from across Massachusetts aligned around a shared commitment to building an equitable small business ecosystem and to the values of racial equity, collaboration, and shared leadership.

•••••

Sheila Bandyopadhyay

Sheila Bandyopadhyay

Sheila Bandyopadhyay has joined Shakespeare & Company as its director of training, beginning her new position on August 9. A director, movement specialist, performer, and devisor of original theater, Bandyopadhyay has an extensive background in both new work and Shakespeare and has trained and taught with the company as an education and training artist. “I began my career at Shakespeare & Company, so taking on this role is a wonderful return,” said Bandyopadhyay. “I look forward to upholding the high quality of actor training Shakespeare & Company is known for, establishing inclusive practices, and expanding our offerings to keep us at the forefront of theatrical artistry.” Bandyopadhyay has been an active player in New York’s independent theater scene, with work at venues including the West End Theater, the Brick in Brooklyn, the Tank, the 72nd St. Theater Lab, and multiple festivals for new work (directing/devising); the Boston Center for the Arts, Gallatin NYU, FSU/Asolo, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts Company (movement and choreography), and The Humanist Project and Stages on the Sound as a performer, among others. Before becoming director of training, Bandyopadhyay served as head of the Professional Training Program and Core Movement Faculty at Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, and Head of Movement at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Bandyopadhyay has taught actor training workshops internationally and on both coasts. In her new role, Bandyopadhyay will steward Shakespeare & Company’s acclaimed Center for Actor Training into a new era, continuing to refine its aesthetic and enacting positive change for a more accessible, inclusive environment.

•••••

Insa, a grower and retailer of medical and adult-use cannabis in Massachusetts, announced the hiring of three new employees who will play key roles in helping propel the Company forward in the burgeoning cannabis industry:

• Michael Bird has been named chief people officer. Bird brings significant human resources experience to the team having worked in the field for almost 30 years. Bird started in Human Resources at the Yankee Candle Company as an Employment Recruiter in 1995 when the company was owned and operated by the founder, Mike Kittredge, had 700 employees, and operated 27 retail stores. As Yankee Candle grew, so did Bird’s career. He advanced to hold a variety of positions within HR at Yankee Candle, including serving as the HR director of North American Operations where he led a team of HR business partners serving all corporate functions, with more than 5,000 employees and 500 retail stores. He went on to join The East Coast Tile Group in 2017, a family owned and operated tile importing and multi-channel tile distributor as vice president of Human Resources.

• Nicole Constant joins as brand director. She brings more than 10 years of CPG experience to the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Prior to joining Insa, she was at Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., where she led innovation for the cooperative’s Foods Business Unit, which includes the Craisins® brand. Prior to that, Constant led the new Accelerator team within Ocean Spray’s Innovation Hub. In this role, she took an entrepreneurial approach to building disruptive innovation from within.

She is a strong believer in the medical benefits of cannabis and the quality and craftsmanship of Insa’s product portfolio. In her new role, she will be leading brand expansion and development as well as strategic planning within new and existing markets; and

• Kate Nelson will hold the role of director of Digital Experience. In the newly created role, she will lead the creation of a full digital experience in-store and online that puts customers first and offers them seamless ways to make purchases, communicate with customer service, interact with the brand across social, SMS, email, benefit from Insa’s loyalty programs, and educate themselves on adult and medical-use cannabis products. She joins Insa from Vista Outdoor, a publicly traded company who owns over 40 outdoor and action sports brands, where she created loyalty programs and digital marketing strategies leveraged across their portfolio. Prior to Vista Outdoor, Nelson worked at DEG Digital, a digital marketing agency where she created digital marketing strategies for premier brands such as Walmart, PepsiCo Brands, and AMC Theaters.

“We are thrilled to welcome Nicole, Michael, and Kate to our team at Insa,” said Pete Gallagher, Insa co-founder. “They each have valuable expertise and deep knowledge in their respective areas. Their hard-work, insights, and problem-solving abilities will be critical in growing the Insa brand, helping the Company meet its objectives, and in helping bring high-quality cannabis to many more Insa customers.”

•••••

Stephen Duval

Stephen Duval CFP, a Private Wealth Advisor with Summit House Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. in South Hadley, has qualified for the company’s Circle of Success annual recognition program and will be honored for this achievement in 2022. To earn this achievement, Duval established himself as one of the company’s top advisors. Only a select number of high-performing advisors earn this distinction. He has 30 years of experience with Ameriprise Financial.

Incorporations

By
Incorporations

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

AMHERST

Beausci Corp., 43 Summerfield Road, Amherst, MA 01002. Yang Li, same address. Cosmetic and beauty supplies.

CHICOPEE

Queen Anie Inc., 78 Elcon Dr. Chicopee, MA 01013. Zhanaya M. Richardson, same address. Mental health support.

RPM Fleet Services Inc., 168 Chicopee St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Kevin C. Roberts, 195 Daniel Shay Highway, Belchertown, MA 01007. Vehicle fleet services.

HAMPDEN

Adams Property Services Inc., 306 South Road, Hampden, MA 01036. Stephen Adams, same address. Landscaping company.

LONGMEADOW

Milan Inc., 51 Wilkin Dr., Longmeadow, MA 01106. Ahmed Mostafa, same address. Retail sales of clothing and accessories.

PALMER

Rapid Home Improvements Inc., 36 Elizabeth St., Palmer, MA 01069. Latonya March, same address. Rehab of single-family homes.

PITTSFIELD

Benton Hill Nature Preserve Association Inc., 66 West St., Suite 300, c/o Cain, Hibbard & Myers, P.C., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Leonard M. Golub, 1116 Barkdull St., Houston, TX 77006. Preservation society.

Cevo Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Eric Ping, P.O. Box 1196, Ephrata, WA 98823. Esports and gaming technology services.

SPRINGFIELD

Empowerment-Michelle Crean, Inc., 104 Woodland St., Springfield, MA 01108. Michelle Crean, same address. Personal trainer.

Fishing Friends Inc., 38 Griffin St., Springfield, MA 01104. Stephanie Stone-Crivelli, same address. Fishing education.

Latino Economic Development Corporation, 11-13 Hampden St., Springfield, MA 01106. Heriberto Flores, 46 Atwater Terrace, Springfield, MA 01107

WESTFIELD

Fortissimo Family Products Inc., 1029 North Road, Suite 4, #2002, Westfield, MA 01085. Laura A. Fortin, same address. Online retail.

Laughing Laura Lifestyle Inc., 1029 North Road, Suite 4, #2002, Westfield, MA 01085. Laura A. Fortin, same address. Online retail.

Real Estate Transactions

By
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

BUCKLAND

57 Franklin St.
Buckland, MA 01370
Amount: $303,000
Buyer: Nina S. Hrebenko
Seller: Kippenberger, K. H., (Estate)
Date: 05/10/22

DEERFIELD

282 Conway Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Matthw W. Warnick
Seller: Mark S. Spencer
Date: 05/20/22

62 North Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: J2K Realty LLC
Seller: Mary A. Alber
Date: 05/11/22

GREENFIELD

446 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Michael S. Johnson
Seller: Konopka, Barbara A., (Estate)
Date: 05/13/22

196 Chapman St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $124,900
Buyer: Patricia A. French
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 05/13/22

833 Colrain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Edward
Seller: John J. Mayer
Date: 05/17/22

37 Columbus Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Tully D. McDonough
Seller: Brenda McKelvey
Date: 05/12/22

23 Freeman Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: Theresa M. Turban
Seller: SJL NT
Date: 05/17/22

69 Franklin St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Craig Cullinane
Seller: Richard B. Miller
Date: 05/12/22

161 High St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Peter B. Chandler
Seller: Donna J. Mowry
Date: 05/12/22

90 James St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $248,500
Buyer: Allanah J. Kalka-Riffel
Seller: Anthony J. Davenport
Date: 05/13/22

81 Laurel St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Alexandra S. Khalsa
Seller: Joshua Derrig
Date: 05/20/22

87 Maple St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Leigh H. Eubank
Seller: Christopher Millner
Date: 05/13/22

63 North Country Road
Leyden, MA 01301
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Movement Retreat Center Inc.
Seller: Greenfield Center LLC
Date: 05/16/22

53 Pierce St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Stephanie M. Elman
Seller: Steven D. Beckwith
Date: 05/12/22

MONTAGUE

10 Oak St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $326,500
Buyer: David A. Virgilio
Seller: Clark, Diane I., (Estate)
Date: 05/20/22

9 Taylor Hill Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Ryan F. Coyne
Seller: James F. Coyne
Date: 05/13/22

404 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $316,000
Buyer: Richard P. Harrison
Seller: Peter F. Koscinski
Date: 05/13/22

Whiteman Way
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $326,500
Buyer: David A. Virgilio
Seller: Clark, Diane I., (Estate)
Date: 05/20/22

NEW SALEM

5 Coolidge Dr.
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Benjamin S. Lane-Davies
Seller: George D. Stone
Date: 05/13/22

NORTHFIELD

440 Mount Hermon Station Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Nancy A. Silva
Seller: Wozniak, Stanley H., (Estate)
Date: 05/16/22

36 Pine St.
Northfield, MA 01354
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Paul Shields
Seller: Thomas Aquinas College
Date: 05/09/22

ORANGE

106 Cheney St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Michael D. Allen-Larhette
Seller: Adister Pineda
Date: 05/17/22

157 West Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jordyn A. Jackson
Seller: David Bergeron
Date: 05/20/22

SHELBURNE

278 Old Greenfield Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $620,000
Buyer: Edward R. Whitaker
Seller: Thor A. Holbek
Date: 05/16/22

SHUTESBURY

11 King Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Kethleen Devon
Seller: Joseph Salvador
Date: 05/16/22

SUNDERLAND

38 South Plain Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Robert Jackson-Beaulieu
Seller: Stanley Kozlakowski
Date: 05/17/22

WHATELY

145 Long Plain Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Sarissa Z. Markowitz
Seller: Corrina S. Livernois
Date: 05/18/22

229 River Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Francesca Denhartog
Seller: Andrew D. George
Date: 05/09/22

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

37 Brookline Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $331,000
Buyer: Angela M. Grassetti
Seller: Armand G. Dubuc
Date: 05/13/22

73 Cooper St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $181,000
Buyer: Mark Woodbury
Seller: Jeremey Andrews
Date: 05/11/22

17 Doloris Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Michael Consolini
Seller: Kurt A. Meehan
Date: 05/09/22

92 Halladay Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $366,000
Buyer: Oleksandr Pavliuchyk
Seller: Paul E. Cassidy
Date: 05/12/22

48 Highland Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Kenneth B. Beagle
Seller: Michael D. Balboni
Date: 05/09/22

23 Liquori Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: David J. Mason
Seller: David J. Mason
Date: 05/17/22

204-206 North St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $398,500
Buyer: Zanoris S. Perez
Seller: Vadim Plotnikov
Date: 05/10/22

522 North St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Jeremey M. Andrews
Seller: Matthew S. Oliver
Date: 05/13/22

96 Ridgeway Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Paul V. Trimboli
Seller: Fredrick G. Cooper
Date: 05/13/22

491 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Nolan E. Sheridan
Seller: James S. Sheridan
Date: 05/11/22

51 Robin Ridge Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $298,300
Buyer: Richard B. Mitnick
Seller: Lawton, Harriet R., (Estate)
Date: 05/12/22

Shoemaker Lane, Lot A
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Lower Pioneer Valley Educational
Seller: Elias Properties Inc.
Date: 05/10/22

639 Silver St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $197,723
Buyer: Midfirst Bank
Seller: Sinan Turan
Date: 05/18/22

88 South St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Wal-Lee Enterprises LLC
Seller: Alan J. Kinsley
Date: 05/13/22

CHESTER

Bromley Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Proper Farm LLC
Seller: Meyer, Nancy L., (Estate)
Date: 05/20/22

CHICOPEE

16 Ambrose St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $333,000
Buyer: Kimberly A. Johnson
Seller: KNC Home Renovations LLC
Date: 05/09/22

23 Ashgrove St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $204,900
Buyer: Elizabeth J. Daudlelin
Seller: Antonio Colon
Date: 05/09/22

68 Blanchwood Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Tracy A. Saunders
Seller: Cameron M. Szczygiel
Date: 05/18/22

115 Blanchwood Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Tomas I. Alvarado
Seller: Ramona M. Romero
Date: 05/18/22

113 Center St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $536,000
Buyer: A. Baltazar Properties LLC
Seller: David C. Momnie
Date: 05/09/22

121 Center St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $536,000
Buyer: A. Baltazar Properties LLC
Seller: David C. Momnie
Date: 05/09/22

501 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Felix L. Robles-Velez
Seller: Brendan J. Sayers
Date: 05/13/22

863 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Capi Mitigation Group LLC
Seller: Wayne J. Murphy
Date: 05/20/22

21 Dale St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $358,000
Buyer: Erick C. Weber
Seller: 21 Dale LLC
Date: 05/20/22

35 Edbert St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Delilah M. Rodriguez
Seller: Mark W. Avery
Date: 05/13/22

93 Fernhill St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Joseph R. Lucena
Seller: Deborah Breault
Date: 05/11/22

130 Fletcher Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Mulcahy
Seller: Kathryn Barry
Date: 05/12/22

11 Glendale St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Adam Goncalves
Seller: Kopaczek, Frances G., (Estate)
Date: 05/09/22

96 Granby Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Nelitza Martinez-Gorgas
Seller: Grace Estates LLC
Date: 05/10/22

939 Granby Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $334,000
Buyer: Ismael Arroyo
Seller: Luis Correa
Date: 05/17/22

186 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $1,050,000
Buyer: 186 & 194 Grattan St. TR
Seller: Lucie N. Nadeau
Date: 05/19/22

194 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $1,050,000
Buyer: 186 & 194 Grattan St. TR
Seller: Lucie N. Nadeau
Date: 05/19/22

17 Hartford St.
Chicopee, MA 01075
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Katelyn A. Shepard
Seller: Diana Parks-Forbes
Date: 05/11/22

432 Irene St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: David Kachinski
Seller: Dorothy Hosmer
Date: 05/09/22

42 Ludger Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $249,500
Buyer: Marlene Cardenas
Seller: Richard F. Murray
Date: 05/19/22

24 Marion St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Steven T. Wilco
Seller: Tang Properties LLC
Date: 05/11/22

664 McKinstry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $122,400
Buyer: Alex Alvarez
Seller: Bruce, Ralph C., (Estate)
Date: 05/18/22

217 Moore St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $242,404
Buyer: April Salvador-Macadam
Seller: Gail M. Salvador
Date: 05/13/22

34 Myrtle St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $272,000
Buyer: Xiomara Rivera-Valle
Seller: Oniel Morrison
Date: 05/18/22

4 Paradise St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Thomas A. Lemay
Seller: Christopher M. Roy
Date: 05/17/22

447 Prospect St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $322,000
Buyer: Nicole A. Wassell
Seller: William E. Heroux
Date: 05/16/22

49 Ridgewood Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Christine Perez
Seller: Anne M. Crean
Date: 05/20/22

151 Rolf Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Seller: Chouinard, Jean F., (Estate)
Date: 05/20/22

146 Saint James Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $304,000
Buyer: Ryan H. Short
Seller: Iraida Mendez-Vega
Date: 05/13/22

76 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Orange Bliss Property LLC
Seller: Orange Park Management LLC
Date: 05/13/22

82 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Orange Bliss Property LLC
Seller: Orange Park Management LLC
Date: 05/13/22

20 Swol St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Homestead Connections LLC
Seller: Dzialo, Delores, (Estate)
Date: 05/17/22

125 Wildermere St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Lisbett Alicea
Seller: Greg A. Labonte
Date: 05/09/22

32 Woodcrest Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Amy R. Tanguay
Seller: Irene Remillard
Date: 05/18/22

EAST LONGMEADOW

38 Bayne St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Sadie NT
Seller: Andrew R. Halgas
Date: 05/10/22

29 Brynmawr Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Ryan J. Cronin
Seller: James W. Walsh
Date: 05/12/22

169 Braeburn Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $489,000
Buyer: Yagul Ganendran
Seller: Alexander Grisaru
Date: 05/18/22

197 Chestnut St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $163,500
Buyer: Jahjan LLC
Seller: Kennedy, William H., (Estate)
Date: 05/18/22

21 Dearborn St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Matthew Park
Seller: Nichol A. Catellier
Date: 05/18/22

61 Dwight Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01108
Amount: $272,500
Buyer: Lauren Shaw
Seller: Leslie S. Rivera-Cruz
Date: 05/20/22

7 Fairway Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Vamshi Thandra
Seller: Michael Carabetta
Date: 05/12/22

52 Favorite Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $880,000
Buyer: Louis A. Chauvin
Seller: Kevin J. Kennedy
Date: 05/09/22

193 Kibbe Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Andrew R. Rose
Seller: Steve Congelos
Date: 05/17/22

214 Meadowbrook Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Yan Chen
Seller: Hunter Shea
Date: 05/09/22

595 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Alexander T. Kay
Seller: Jennifer A. Dickinson
Date: 05/18/22

115 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $489,000
Buyer: Geoffrey P. Peer
Seller: Ryan M. St.Germain
Date: 05/18/22

115 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $508,000
Buyer: Hannah D. Kleeberg
Seller: Geoffrey P. Peer
Date: 05/18/22

14 Somerset St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Richard B. Cuoco
Seller: Patrick T. Dillon
Date: 05/13/22

37 South Bend Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $559,000
Buyer: Aengus P. Walker
Seller: Michael Frank Design LLC
Date: 05/20/22

90 Stonehill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Robert Dermgrdichian
Seller: Edward C. Kennedy
Date: 05/12/22

HAMPDEN

63 Bayberry Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Caroline Keirsten-McCoy
Seller: Cabana Properties 3 LLC
Date: 05/13/22

345 Chapin Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Fred A. Pafumi
Seller: Eleanor C. Manegre
Date: 05/18/22

25 Kibbe Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $612,000
Buyer: Donald L. Rhea
Seller: Gregory W. Simonelli
Date: 05/12/22

21 Middlefield Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $283,500
Buyer: Tamara L. Moreau
Seller: Jerry McDonald
Date: 05/09/22

51 Oak Knoll Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Brodeur
Seller: Joseph T. Gorecki
Date: 05/12/22

HOLLAND

38 Island Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Nathan Robidoux
Seller: Douglas Robidoux
Date: 05/10/22

38 Stony Hill Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Lonnie Desmarais
Seller: Tahra I. Alaoui
Date: 05/20/22

HOLYOKE

82-84 Center St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $264,000
Buyer: Leonardo Rodriguez
Seller: Aida Mateo-Rodriguez
Date: 05/10/22

24 Clark St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Mary R. Kolodny
Seller: Kenneth Lauzier
Date: 05/16/22

1010 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $266,300
Buyer: Sarah E. Boisvert
Seller: Mary J. Lavinio
Date: 05/20/22

1071-1073 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $268,000
Buyer: Christopher Wheaton
Seller: Fritzner Guiteau
Date: 05/11/22

52 Fairfield Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Kevin A. Rice
Seller: David Kruta
Date: 05/18/22

3 Fenton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Bonnie Netto
Seller: Joshua Perreault
Date: 05/18/22

21 Glen St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Seth Jackson
Seller: Preterotti, Tristan D., (Estate)
Date: 05/10/22

348 Hillside Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Katherine V. Otero-Aponte
Seller: Richard B. Stuart
Date: 05/09/22

318 Ingleside St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Marcus Stevenson
Seller: Robert Crago
Date: 05/10/22

339 Jarvis Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Kevin A. Carothers
Seller: Andrea York
Date: 05/20/22

293-301 Main St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Enlace LLC
Seller: New England Farm Workers Council
Date: 05/10/22

1691 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Gallagher Cap Group LLC
Seller: Rosemary O’Connell-Doyle
Date: 05/16/22

204-206 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $243,207
Buyer: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Seller: Chaid Sim
Date: 05/13/22

12 Quirk Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Leah Soles
Seller: GZS Realty 2 LLC
Date: 05/12/22

60 Taylor St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Yesenia Diaz-Reyes
Seller: David Roman
Date: 05/20/22

348 West Franklin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $292,500
Buyer: Jessica L. Clark
Seller: Amer Ahmed
Date: 05/16/22

LONGMEADOW

46 Brittany Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $760,000
Buyer: G. F. Dominguez-Paredes
Seller: Eric L. Narotsky
Date: 05/13/22

56 Cambridge Circle
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $670,000
Buyer: Levinia St.Jean
Seller: Custom Home Development Group LLC
Date: 05/18/22

8 Deerfield Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $645,000
Buyer: Michael Walsh
Seller: Gladysh Capital LLC
Date: 05/18/22

159 Edgewood Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: John C. Kienzler
Seller: Carolyn Conway
Date: 05/12/22

183 Homestead Blvd.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Stephanie T. Cloutier
Seller: Donna Bryskiewicz
Date: 05/17/22

17 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Phillip O’Brien
Seller: Harrington Holdings Inc.
Date: 05/16/22

107 Normandy Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $1,130,000
Buyer: Ahmet Gunay
Seller: Alan R. Goodman
Date: 05/13/22

19 Robin Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Quercus Properties LLC
Seller: Kenneth H. Haskins FT
Date: 05/16/22

LUDLOW

Allison Lane, Lot 22
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Ronald F. Willette
Seller: Lionel P. Ribeiro
Date: 05/10/22

41 Bristol St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Rowan Demond
Seller: Richard A. Bagley
Date: 05/13/22

497 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $547,000
Buyer: 4 Season Auto Wash Inc.
Seller: Auto Fuel & Wash Center LLC
Date: 05/16/22

11 Greenwich St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $279,900
Buyer: Peter A. Morales
Seller: Todd A. Fillion
Date: 05/17/22

45 Hunter Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $431,000
Buyer: Joshua M. Block
Seller: Mark A. Duda
Date: 05/16/22

83 Laroche St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Steven C. Lear
Seller: Brigette M. Porth
Date: 05/20/22

79 Massachusetts Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Cody Crowell
Seller: Richard M. Kresconko
Date: 05/09/22

11 North Arthur St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $327,000
Buyer: Amanda Faro
Seller: Benito J. Silvestri
Date: 05/13/22

199 Reynolds St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Modifi Homes LLC
Seller: Sharon R. Laro
Date: 05/09/22

68 Yale St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $278,000
Buyer: James Knight
Seller: Jeffrey C. McConkey
Date: 05/13/22

MONSON

199 Munn Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: McClung FT
Seller: Tawnne J. Ostrander
Date: 05/10/22

MONTGOMERY

48 Pineridge Road
Montgomery, MA 01085
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Chelsi L. Derrig
Seller: Timothy K. Derrig
Date: 05/13/22

PALMER

4495 High St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Barbara A. Blasdell
Seller: Ethel M. Robertshaw
Date: 05/17/22

3 Homestead St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Benjamin Ngachoko
Seller: Deidre L. Cadieux
Date: 05/12/22

313 River St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $149,900
Buyer: Andrew Mentzer
Seller: Matthew R. Dickinson
Date: 05/16/22

SPRINGFIELD

140 Abbe Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $206,000
Buyer: Cecilia Lopez
Seller: Iglesia Bautista Nueva Church
Date: 05/19/22

76 Acushnet Ave.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Jose Figuereo-Lara
Seller: Christopher Colon-Diaz
Date: 05/11/22

137-A Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Jose Rijo
Seller: Jonathan E. Abel
Date: 05/17/22

1920 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Wilfredo Fontanez
Seller: Kimberly M. Conrad
Date: 05/12/22

84 Ambrose St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: John Conboy
Seller: Homes Real Estate Vent LLC
Date: 05/09/22

58 Arliss St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Brian Pryor
Seller: Nathaniel Wilson
Date: 05/11/22

833 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Nicholas W. Turnberg
Seller: John S. Allsop
Date: 05/13/22

406-414 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $1,600,000
Buyer: Sunshine Homes LLC
Seller: J. R. Real Estate LLC
Date: 05/12/22

104 Bowdoin St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Maudeline Duvert
Seller: Stephen Gray
Date: 05/13/22

667 Bradley Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Angelo Deguglielmo
Seller: Mark P. Thomas
Date: 05/09/22

21 Buckingham Place
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Beverly Bromfield
Seller: Davies, Abbie Delores, (Estate)
Date: 05/09/22

64 Buckingham St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Dauntless Path LLC
Seller: Pearlia J. Bailey
Date: 05/20/22

16 Capitol Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Tony Younes
Seller: Katherine M. Kruser
Date: 05/13/22

16 Chapel St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Marshall Gabriel
Seller: Jenary L. Merced
Date: 05/17/22

97 Cherokee Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $261,000
Buyer: Hoi L. Chui
Seller: Cheung M. Chui
Date: 05/13/22

82 Darling St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Kristen N. Lovell
Seller: Shirley Burr
Date: 05/10/22

11-15 Dawes St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Aglika S. Georgieva
Seller: Eric Henson
Date: 05/11/22

101 Derryfield Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: Nicholas P. Massarone
Seller: Luke D. Hands
Date: 05/10/22

101-103 Draper St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Dara Uy
Seller: Marta Raspaldo
Date: 05/11/22

49-51 Dwight St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: RGA Properties LLC
Seller: John F. Magnani
Date: 05/11/22

61 Dwight Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $272,500
Buyer: Lauren Shaw
Seller: Leslie S. Rivera-Cruz
Date: 05/20/22

52 Elwood Dr.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Andrew Hernandez
Seller: Lourdes C. Delson
Date: 05/20/22

8-A Florence St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Wytas Properties LLC
Seller: Peter E. Sares
Date: 05/11/22

206 Gifford St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Kyle D. Ashe
Seller: Diane M. Mead
Date: 05/11/22

19 Glenham St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Eric S. Roy
Seller: Eduardo Matos
Date: 05/19/22

41 Glenmore St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Hau Ly
Seller: Michael F. Torcia
Date: 05/16/22

60 Grand St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Anthony R. Wllison
Date: 05/12/22

25 Greene Place
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: JJJ 17 LLC
Seller: Deluca Development Corp.
Date: 05/13/22

97 Helberg Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $135,500
Buyer: Gisela Navarro
Seller: Timothy Ehnstrom
Date: 05/17/22

33 Higgins St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Johnniel Gomez
Seller: Itsamar Hernandez
Date: 05/12/22

301 Holcomb Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $134,255
Buyer: Kokoleka RT
Seller: Mark Turnbull
Date: 05/13/22

80 Howes St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Kimberly Ramos-Cotto
Seller: Robert L. Gladden
Date: 05/16/22

24 Jardine St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Lizbeth Santos-Castro
Seller: Edwin O. Garcia
Date: 05/19/22

230 Keddy St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $237,500
Buyer: Giuseppe Leone
Seller: Homes RE Vent LLC
Date: 05/10/22

8-12 Kelly Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Eridania Arias
Seller: Jose M. Goncalves
Date: 05/17/22

19-23 Kelly Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Yudeisy C. Arias
Seller: Jose M. Goncalves
Date: 05/20/22

166 Kensington Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Prince E. Kumah
Seller: Emtay Inc.
Date: 05/09/22

312-320 Locust St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Africana Villa LLC
Seller: Phoenix Development Inc.
Date: 05/11/22

106 Maebeth St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Senecal
Seller: James F. Senecal
Date: 05/20/22

42 Merwin St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: George Kamukala
Seller: Joejoe Properties LLC
Date: 05/16/22

150 Methuen St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $221,500
Buyer: Nandlal S. Reejhsinghani
Seller: Kroll, Wayne B., (Estate)
Date: 05/11/22

83-85 Middle St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $349,900
Buyer: Yichen Wang
Seller: Gary Daula
Date: 05/20/22

93 Montrose St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Miguel Diaz
Seller: George T. Bass
Date: 05/16/22

165 Nagle St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Leslie S. Rivera-Cruz
Seller: Zdzislaw Lupa
Date: 05/20/22

156-158 Norfolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $136,000
Buyer: Daniel Carthon
Seller: Efrain Astocio
Date: 05/11/22

90 Norman St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Mei R. Wang
Seller: Alain Jesulus
Date: 05/18/22

84 Northampton Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Kam Sylvestre
Seller: Mitchel Icart
Date: 05/20/22

209 Oak Grove Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Mariely C. Fernandez
Seller: L&T Turnovers LLC
Date: 05/20/22

79 Oak St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: 79 Oak LLC
Seller: BRVSA Associates LLC
Date: 05/20/22

373-375 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Gissel Santiago
Seller: Carmen M. Caraballo
Date: 05/13/22

43 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Eugenio R. Tejada-Diaz
Seller: William Raleigh
Date: 05/18/22

170 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Efrain J. Alvarado
Seller: E&G Joint Venture NT
Date: 05/11/22

216 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Zulaika Hernandez
Seller: Vincent K. Milotte
Date: 05/13/22

447 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: East Coast Contracting
Seller: Lemme, Carmine J. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 05/18/22

57-63 Putnam Circle
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Eridania Arias
Seller: Jack R. Rodrigues
Date: 05/17/22

Quincy St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: 79 Oak LLC
Seller: BRVSA Associates LLC
Date: 05/20/22

909 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $299,999
Buyer: Edward Brown
Seller: Angel O. Alban
Date: 05/16/22

249 Saint James Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Maria Santiago-Lopez
Seller: Jahaira Negron-Garriga
Date: 05/13/22

80-82 Shawmut St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Diana Pun
Seller: Robert K. Barry
Date: 05/13/22

51 Savoy Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Mark A. Daniels
Seller: Winston Bernard
Date: 05/20/22

108 Shawmut St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $274,500
Buyer: Maitic A. Morse
Seller: Thanh V. Nguyen
Date: 05/13/22

46-48 Somerset St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $312,000
Buyer: Kerryann Robinson
Seller: Feliciano A. Bonilla
Date: 05/10/22

78 Starling Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Blanca J. Loja
Seller: Adele D. Rapp
Date: 05/20/22

16 Stratford Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $341,000
Buyer: Ramon P. Dossantos
Seller: Lionel O. Raye
Date: 05/09/22

1032 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Kyle M. Whitlock
Seller: Jacob J. McBride
Date: 05/13/22

69-71 Sycamore St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Kurt I. Wilson
Seller: Hervin A. Edwards
Date: 05/16/22

15 Sylvan St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: KVR Properties LLC
Seller: Caleb A. Rozwenc
Date: 05/10/22

290 Tremont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Ke Xiao
Seller: Danielle Mitchell
Date: 05/11/22

3 Turner St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jan F. Diaz-Navarro
Seller: Henry Alicea
Date: 05/12/22

Verge St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: MR Master LLC
Seller: Lorraine L. Gazda
Date: 05/10/22

146 Verge St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: MR Master LLC
Seller: Robert Gazda
Date: 05/10/22

189 Waldorf St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Antonio M. Rivera
Seller: Alvinelis C. Velazquez
Date: 05/20/22

27 Walsh St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: John Conboy
Seller: Homes Real Estate Ventures LLC
Date: 05/09/22

19 Wareham St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Yuthida Heng
Seller: Israel Mateo
Date: 05/20/22

31 Washburn St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: JJJ 17 LLC
Seller: Deluca Development Corp.
Date: 05/13/22

107-109 Wellington St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $213,000
Buyer: Kareena Williams
Seller: William M. Gaynor
Date: 05/13/22

135-137 West Alvord St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Badran M. Khatib
Seller: Paul K. Plourd
Date: 05/16/22

189 Wheeler Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Gail P. Bordua
Seller: Raymond L. Laflamme
Date: 05/18/22

261 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: Kam Sylvestre
Seller: Mitchel Icart
Date: 05/20/22

205 Winton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $274,991
Buyer: Truist Bank
Seller: Concepcion Morales
Date: 05/13/22

1045-1047 Worcester St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Alycar Investments LLC
Seller: Vivian L. Ludoul
Date: 05/11/22

1189-1191 Worcester St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Perch Rock Management LLC
Seller: Hayden Wattley
Date: 05/13/22

48-50 Wrentham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $342,500
Buyer: Zhong Chen
Seller: Manuel Garcia
Date: 05/20/22

SOUTHWICK

115 Berkshire Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $199,970
Buyer: Avail 1 REO LLC
Seller: Lynne B. Bridges
Date: 05/16/22

Doral Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Armand G. Dubuc
Seller: Hamelin Framing Inc.
Date: 05/13/22

9 Eagle St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Mikhail Kolesnichenko
Seller: Andrey Kolesnichenko
Date: 05/16/22

115 North Lake Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Philip S. Wilson
Seller: Richard Crews
Date: 05/10/22

TOLLAND

650 Colebrook River Road
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $214,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Regan
Seller: Joel Townson
Date: 05/18/22

312 Fox Den Road
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: John D. Cotter
Seller: Marcia C. Eveland
Date: 05/13/22

WALES

8 Henry Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $449,000
Buyer: Kevin Fitzpatrick
Seller: Peter Bouchard
Date: 05/18/22

15 Sichols Colony Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Joseph A. Boyle
Seller: Rebecca C. O’Dell
Date: 05/20/22

172 Union Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Kimberly Y. Lavorante
Seller: Wellner, Susan Jane, (Estate)
Date: 05/11/22

7 Willow Dell Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Leah Savoie
Seller: Joyce E. Stocks
Date: 05/13/22

WEST SPRINGFIELD

127 Adrian Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: David Bonyeau
Seller: Guimond, Claire A., (Estate)
Date: 05/11/22

79 Bridge St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Man H. Tsang
Seller: Haskell Holdings LLC
Date: 05/19/22

20 Clara St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Jared Hamre
Seller: Aetti Einner Projects LLC
Date: 05/09/22

95 Clarence St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Seller: Jenifer C. Berrelli
Date: 05/16/22

31 Crestview Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Wesley E. Clark
Seller: Robert A. McCarthy
Date: 05/20/22

65 Fox St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Denise A. Cordeau
Seller: Steven Ozcelik
Date: 05/20/22

Hannoush Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Ievgenii Gusiev
Seller: Norman A. Hannoush
Date: 05/10/22

215 Hillcrest Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Michael J. Whalen
Seller: Alyssa Vincelette
Date: 05/20/22

342 Lancaster Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Kathryn A. Galuszewski
Seller: Ann M. Clark
Date: 05/18/22

19 Lathrop St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Cornerstone Homebuying LLC
Seller: Old Day Realty LLC
Date: 05/20/22

237 Main St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Congamond Management LLC
Seller: Paul P. Petell
Date: 05/09/22

147 Norman St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $605,000
Buyer: Creanza Realty 3 LLC
Seller: Gandara Mental Health Center
Date: 05/09/22

59 Piper Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Edwin E. Olmeda
Seller: David L. Chapski
Date: 05/12/22

116 Poplar Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Jose A. Mercado
Seller: Maria R. Rodrigues
Date: 05/18/22

233 Poplar Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: June Taylor
Seller: Robert A. Parsons
Date: 05/17/22

100 Prince Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $272,000
Buyer: Tracy Cecchetelli
Seller: Lori J. Kucharzyk
Date: 05/16/22

76 Russell St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Eugeniu Corja
Seller: Lisa W. Cassidy
Date: 05/19/22

17 Vincent Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $274,000
Buyer: Courtney J. Campbell
Seller: Delo, Patricia G., (Estate)
Date: 05/20/22

195 Windsor St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Thaddeus Tokarz
Seller: Rhonda L. Scheible-Dion
Date: 05/09/22

78 Woodmont St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Amy M. Crosby
Seller: Susan P. Kleciak
Date: 05/19/22

15 York St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Mustafa Gusenov
Seller: Suzanne Bergeron
Date: 05/20/22

WESTFIELD

156 Barbara St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Man B. Darjee
Seller: Maria A. Rosado
Date: 05/11/22

21 Cranston St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: NRES LLC
Seller: Shirley M. Lucas
Date: 05/11/22

104 Glenwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Michelle Alfano
Seller: Kathleen B. Jenks
Date: 05/17/22

515 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Patrick J. Liptak
Seller: James V. Liptak
Date: 05/20/22

198 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $225,900
Buyer: Victoria L. Camp
Seller: Diamond Investment Group LLC
Date: 05/12/22

47 Hopkins Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Nickolas Dupelle
Seller: Wayne E. Weatherwax
Date: 05/13/22

57 Jessie Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $590,000
Buyer: Fredrick Bell
Seller: James C. Pelletier
Date: 05/16/22

92 Larchly Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Julie Arroyo
Seller: Martin Nunez
Date: 05/20/22

72 Lindbergh Blvd.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Nicholas J. Strycharz
Seller: Michael P. Machietto
Date: 05/16/22

10 Old Town Ford Way
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: David A. Rudenko
Seller: Jennifer A. Pasterkiewicz
Date: 05/17/22

139 Sackett Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Rene Gauthier
Seller: Bates, Joan, (Estate)
Date: 05/18/22

24 Shannon Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $286,500
Buyer: Michelle L. Wilga
Seller: Janice M. Vincent
Date: 05/19/22

395 Southwick Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Amanda Gauthier
Seller: BP LLC
Date: 05/09/22

63 Spruce St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $426,000
Buyer: Joshua Derrig
Seller: Charles R. Margarites
Date: 05/20/22

809 West Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $327,000
Buyer: Bryelle Boisseau
Seller: Carol B. Tefts
Date: 05/20/22

WILBRAHAM

4 Deer Run Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $620,000
Buyer: James A. Olson
Seller: Brian A. Person
Date: 05/17/22

8 Delmor Circle
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Hazel Zebian
Seller: Anna G. Levine
Date: 05/12/22

717 Main St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $590,000
Buyer: Richard J. Gallagher
Seller: Kevin J. Czaplicki
Date: 05/12/22

6 Pease St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $429,000
Buyer: Alexa S. Locke
Seller: Caren L. Reed
Date: 05/20/22

980 Tinkham Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: NKZ Realty Inc.
Seller: Emtay Inc.
Date: 05/16/22

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

734 Bay Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Jonatan Steenbrink
Seller: David Ulen
Date: 05/19/22

124 Grantwood Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Shalin K. Chellaswamy
Seller: Marmanissayegh LLC
Date: 05/16/22

148 Lincoln Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $975,000
Buyer: James B. Lynch
Seller: Thomas Buck-Sleeper
Date: 05/16/22

285 Lincoln Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $915,000
Buyer: Melissa A. Farris
Seller: J. Richard Pilsner
Date: 05/12/22

124 Lindenridge Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $849,500
Buyer: Jeeyon Jeong
Seller: Countryside Builders Inc.
Date: 05/20/22

106 Shutesbury Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $850,000
Buyer: Anahit Mkrtchyan
Seller: Alys Malcolm TR
Date: 05/09/22

669 Station Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $230,069
Buyer: 669 Station Road LLC
Seller: Spring Associates Inc.
Date: 05/20/22

9 Thistle Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $459,000
Buyer: Maria T. Trapani
Seller: Drue E. Johnson
Date: 05/16/22

40 Valley Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Tristram G. Seidler
Seller: Valley Lane Realty NT
Date: 05/12/22

BELCHERTOWN

38 Edelcy Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: Luke M. Useted
Seller: Lewis A. Holzman
Date: 05/12/22

240 North Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: James Mcisaac
Seller: Santaniello, Frank S., (Estate)
Date: 05/12/22

105 Railroad St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Scott Swistak
Seller: Joel W. Slupnicki
Date: 05/13/22

27 Spring Hill Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Sarah Berger
Seller: Jeffrey Martins
Date: 05/16/22

432 State St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Weston Brook Property LLC
Seller: PMDM Realty LLC
Date: 05/16/22

Sycamore Circle
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: J. N. Duquette & Son Construction
Seller: Hickory Hills Realty LLC
Date: 05/12/22

CHESTERFIELD

17 Bissell Road
Chesterfield, MA 01096
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Cynthia Scully
Seller: David Luquin
Date: 05/17/22

23 Bissell Road
Chesterfield, MA 01096
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Dorothea Hanson
Seller: Vee Builders LLC
Date: 05/16/22

EASTHAMPTON

11 Ballard St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Conan M. Magee
Seller: Ryan McLaughlin
Date: 05/20/22

17 Center St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $389,000
Buyer: Daniel Emery
Seller: Robert M. Stacknow
Date: 05/16/22

30 Gula Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Paul D. Matterson
Seller: Barabaral Matteson LT
Date: 05/20/22

40 Holyoke St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Suzanne M. Bowles
Seller: 413 LLC
Date: 05/13/22

17 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $332,500
Buyer: Margaret Walsh
Seller: Anne L. Carson
Date: 05/12/22

105 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Todd R. Carson
Seller: Nicholas D. Duprey
Date: 05/20/22

106 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $376,500
Buyer: Kimaya Diggs
Seller: Todd R. Carson
Date: 05/13/22

64 Main St.
Goshen, MA 01032
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Barbara E. Richardson
Seller: Harry INT
Date: 05/17/22

 

GRANBY

139 Amity St.
Granby, MA 01002
Amount: $595,000
Buyer: Dianet Laflamme
Seller: Richard J. Jolivet
Date: 05/19/22

26 Cold Hill Dr.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Karen B. Heymann
Seller: Ralph H. Hedrick
Date: 05/16/22

54 Ferry Hill Road
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: James Dean
Seller: Matthew J. Rudnik
Date: 05/18/22

15 Lyman St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $419,900
Buyer: Greg Labonte
Seller: Peter J. Hodgson
Date: 05/09/22

HADLEY

18 Meadowbrook Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: G. Whelpley
Seller: Bruce W. Brewer
Date: 05/18/22

86 Mount Warner Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $489,000
Buyer: Gudrun Durham
Seller: Page Railsback
Date: 05/11/22

104 Rocky Hill Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Mary C. Elmer
Seller: Heidi K. Kuester
Date: 05/09/22

HUNTINGTON

5 Barr Hill Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $399,000
Buyer: Robert D. Peloquin
Seller: 5 Barr Hill Road Land TR
Date: 05/12/22

82 Bromley Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Proper Farm LLC
Seller: Meyer, Nancy L., (Estate)
Date: 05/20/22

128 Goss Hill Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Abigail Lennox
Seller: Brianne Marie
Date: 05/19/22

8 Montgomery Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $565,000
Buyer: Robert A. Drabiuk
Seller: Aaron D. Welch
Date: 05/13/22

3 Pleasant St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Robin Darling-Hendrix
Seller: Lylel Congdon
Date: 05/20/22

NORTHAMPTON

70 Bancroft Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Barbara P. Takahashi
Seller: Snook, Lena P., (Estate)
Date: 05/13/22

947 Burts Pit Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: John T. Race LT
Seller: Deborah J. Foley
Date: 05/16/22

734 Kennedy Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $432,000
Buyer: Mill River Renovations LLC
Seller: Newell, Irene, (Estate)
Date: 05/16/22

40 Keyes St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $581,000
Buyer: Denis F. Cronin
Seller: Priscilla M. Ross
Date: 05/13/22

78 Overlook Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Veteran Stan LLC
Seller: Richard E. Carpenter
Date: 05/12/22

757 Park Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Lauren E. Brown
Seller: Elan L. Abrell
Date: 05/16/22

39 Pine St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $611,000
Buyer: Alexandra Ditucci
Seller: Ellen T. Vitale
Date: 05/18/22

596 Ryan Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Nu Wayhomes Inc.
Seller: Tuperkeizsis, Gloria H., (Estate)
Date: 05/20/22

4 Warfield Place
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Sarah Zlotnik
Seller: Kathryne M. Young
Date: 05/13/22

PLAINFIELD

58 West Hill Road
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Cady Street LLC
Seller: Francis X. Connolly
Date: 05/20/22

SOUTH HADLEY

32 Atwood Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $652,000
Buyer: Lacy N. Gillotti
Seller: Smith & Whyte FT
Date: 05/20/22

10 Bartlett St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Robert Lamirande
Seller: Claire T. Mailhott
Date: 05/10/22

16 Grant St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: James L. Provost
Seller: Gaylord Blue LLC
Date: 05/09/22

17 Hartford St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Katelyn A. Shepard
Seller: Diana Parks-Forbes
Date: 05/11/22

29 Maple St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $328,000
Buyer: Hannah Roth
Seller: Samantha Bortosz
Date: 05/17/22

620 New Ludlow Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $1,350,000
Buyer: All Star Building LLC
Seller: All Star Dairy Foods Inc.
Date: 05/12/22

388 Newton St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Chelsea L. Calhoun
Seller: Cheryl Calhoun
Date: 05/18/22

SOUTHAMPTON

64 Pleasant St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $690,000
Buyer: Perrine Meunier-Jones
Seller: Michael A. Sorokin
Date: 05/20/22

WARE

14 Barnes St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: Zachary Notre
Seller: Ryan Carey
Date: 05/13/22

14 Bellevue Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: John Kingston
Seller: Karen L. Francis
Date: 05/17/22

146 West Main St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $261,500
Buyer: Johnny & Mary Investments LLC
Seller: Robert Mello
Date: 05/20/22

WILLIAMSBURG

9 Eastern Ave.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Samantha E. Lussier
Seller: Donna M. McGill
Date: 05/20/22

50 Hyde Hill Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $391,000
Buyer: Tolani Lawrence-Lightfoot
Seller: Smith, Candace M., (Estate)
Date: 05/10/22

30 South St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $1,150,000
Buyer: Dale T. Raczynski
Seller: Daniel Goleman
Date: 05/20/22

WESTHAMPTON

Blueberry Hill Road, Lot 4A
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Paul A. Nowak
Seller: Monica A. Patrick RET
Date: 05/20/22

258 Chesterfield Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: David Solomkin
Seller: Andrew Braastad
Date: 05/11/22

50 Cove Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $629,000
Buyer: Clac RT
Seller: Robert H. Raub
Date: 05/09/22

223 Main Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Rachel T. Goodman
Seller: Robertap Nardi
Date: 05/20/22

Building Permits

By
Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of May 2022. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

CHICOPEE

St. Christopher’s Episcopal
27 Streiber Dr.
$8,000 — Replace two exterior doors

CPI 425 Meadow Street LLC
425 Meadow St.
$80,000 — Separation wall within the factory space

LENOX

Melanie Carr
489 Pittsfield St.
$209,050 — Remove interior materials to install new

PITTSFIELD

Country Club of Pittsfield
639 South St.
$69,960 — Replace roofing

TJLR Onota LLC
110 Lincoln St.
$40,000 — Demolish burned building, dispose of debris, disconnect water in street and cap, cap sewer hole in foundation

SPRINGFIELD

Better Built Transmissions
338 Rocus St.
$42,588 — Construct pitched roof over flat roof

First Recourse Development Companies
42 Waltham Ave.
$11,418,000 — Knox Phase 2: Alter warehouse to 41 dwelling units

Springfield Eye Associates
3640 Main St.
$16,620 — Alter one existing room into two new rooms

Third Baptist Church
141 Walnut St.
$7,000 — Install 5 x 5 concrete foundation for a new accessible lift

Gandara Mental Health Center Inc
933 East Columbus Ave.
$89,900 — Alter 710 square feet of interior level one for three new offices
and a conference room

Baystate Medical Center
759 Chestnut St.
$77,419 — Alter 220 square feet of interior for new patient nourishment space

COVID Eases, but Challenges Remain

By
Opinion

Editorial

As spring prepares to turn to summer, there are many positive signs for the region’s economy as it moves ever closer to the normal that we have all been seeking since we first heard that word ‘COVID’ back in early March of 2020.

Indeed, the tourism sector seems poised for a strong summer as those who have been shut in, to one degree or another, for the past 27 months, are poised to make up for some lost time. Couple that with soaring gas prices, soaring prices to fly, and soaring prices to stay in a hotel, and many will be opting for day trips and staying closer to home, which also bodes well for our local tourism and hospitality economy, which is geared toward those types of visits.

But amid the many promising signs, there are many stark reminders that, if what we’ve been in for the past two years could be considered the woods, we are certainly not out of them — not by a long shot.

And we need look no further than Northampton and the now shuttered Sylvester’s restaurant for ample proof of that sobering fact.

The owners of that establishment were nearing 40 years of service to the Pioneer Valley when they decided, in their words, to “simplify their lives.’ By that, they meant that they would focus on their other restaurant, Roberto’s, also in Northampton, and close Sylvester’s, which focused exclusively on breakfast and lunch and was a favorite of many in this region, a landmark in every sense of the word.

“Our hearts are heavy as we make a difficult announcement,” they wrote on FaceBook. “After 39 years of serving the Pioneer Valley, we have decided to close our doors at Sylvester’s. Anyone in the business will tell you that navigating a restaurant through the pandemic of the last two years has been a monumental task.

“We have always been successful because of our staff, managers, and family,” they went on. “Many of our staff had come back to us after being laid off twice in the past year. They’ve endured a mask mandate in a steamy kitchen, endless challenges, labor shortages, and the struggles and worries brought on by COVID-19.”

Slicing through all this and reading between the lines, it’s clear that, while the pandemic has loosened its grip on the region and its business community, this fight is far from over. And it’s likely that Sylvester’s will not be the last casualty.

Indeed, businesses of all kinds, but especially those in hospitality, retail, and other service businesses, are still struggling to turn back the clock to 2019. In fact, most have realized there is simply no returning to the way things were.

Wages have skyrocketed and myriad other costs have risen in ways that could not have been imagined two years ago. Some businesses can pass along these higher costs, but others have a much harder time doing so. Meanwhile, it has become painfully clear that the workforce crisis, like inflation itself, is not temporary — or anywhere near as temporary as we all would like.

Finding help, even at the going, much-higher rates seen today, is a daunting task, and for some, it has proven too daunting.

As we mourn the loss of Sylvester’s and the traditions it spawned, we are reminded that, while the skies are certainly brighter in this region and the pandemic has eased its grip, COVID and its many side-effects are still a considerable force to be reckoned with.

Building on Records of Accomplishment

By
Opinion

Editorial

 

In 2015, BusinessWest decided to add a new layer of intrigue to its popular 40 Under Forty Program.

The new wrinkle involved a separate award that would be presented to the 40 Under Forty honoree who, in the minds of a panel of independent judges, had most impressively built on their resume of both excellence in their chosen field and work within the community. We call it the Alumni Achievement Award, or AAA for short.

And over the years, this award has become one of the most coveted that we present each year because of what it represents — specifically a deep and ongoing commitment to this region.

Indeed, it has become a symbol of excellence, but actually much more than that. It has become a symbol of caring about this region we call home and a passion for making it a better place to live, work, and operate a business.

Which brings us to this year’s three finalists for the AAA award, all of whom exemplify the reasons we created it in the first place. Only one will take home the award at the 40 Under Forty gala on June 16, but all of them are very worthy:

• Amanda Garcia was vice president of Operations for Junior Achievement when she became a 40 Under Forty honoree in 2010. At that time, she had recently launched her own accounting firm. In the ensuing years she has moved into higher education, as a professor of accounting and finance at Elms College. At Elms, she has helped launched and build the MBA program and create new initiatives such as a program in Entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, she has grown her business — it now boasts three employees — and remained committed to JA and other nonprofits in the region. She has also become a mentor and coach to many entrepreneurs and young people looking for guidance on college and life in general;

• Anthony Gleason II was also part of the 40 Under Forty Class of 2010. Back then, he was 24, but already a successful businessperson, especially with his own venture, Gleason Johndrow Landscaping. In the ensuing years, he has grown that venture into one of the largest snow-removal companies in the country, while also building an impressive commercial real estate portfolio.

In the community, Gleason and his company have become strong supporters of the Spirit of Springfield and its many initiatives, especially its annual pancake breakfast and Bright Nights, but it also supports many other nonprofits and specific fund-raising efforts;

• Amy Royal became a 40 Under Forty honoree one year earlier than her co-finalists. Since 2009, she has grown her law firm and diversified its roster of services, adding national and international clients ranging from Google to Macy’s to Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Meanwhile, in the community, she continues to lend her time and talents to a number of nonprofits, from the Center for Human Development to the Springfield Ballers.

Overall, these three finalists are shining examples of why BusinessWest created the Alumni Achievement Award and why this honor has become so coveted. There are now more than 600 women and men with 40 Under Forty plaques in their offices; these finalists represent the best of the best.

Skoler, Abbott & Presser to Stage Labor and Employment Law Briefing

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a labor and employment law firm serving employers in the greater Springfield and Worcester areas, will stage a breakfast briefing on June 29 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel, One Monarch Place, Springfield.

Attorneys John Gannon and Meaghan Murphy will discuss important decisions from the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court involving payment of wages and a new type of employment claim related to personnel files. They will also talk about several significant labor and employment law cases including:

  • Cases that address mandatory vaccination and other COVID-related issues;
  • Amazon and Starbucks unionization cases; and
  • A few (not-so) fun cases that involve strange and unusual discrimination claims

 

“Due to the pandemic, it’s been two years since we last held one of our live breakfast briefings,” said Gannon, a partner at Skoler Abbott. “We are happy to be able to return to our regular format for this popular event designed to help business owners, managers and human resources professionals stay up-to-date with employment and labor law mandates.”

The cost for the briefing is $35 per person, which includes a continental breakfast and parking. For more information or to register, email [email protected] with the attendee’s name and company, or register online at bit.ly/SAPJuneBreakfastBriefing.

The Mount Presents New Exhibit

By
Daily News

LENOX — The Mount has obtained a fascinating assortment of personal items collected by the late French scholar and Edith Wharton biographer Claudine Lesage, now on display at the Lenox home designed and built by Wharton in 1902.

After Lesage’s death in 2013, her husband, Jean Claude Lesage, began sending items gathered during their many years of research, including postcards, photos, vintage guidebooks, and other ephemera relating to Wharton’s life in France. Some of these items are clothes believed to have belonged to Wharton: a beautiful silk dress, an embroidered jacket, and several beaded purses. Personal items of Wharton’s are very rare, and we are excited to share them with our visitors. These textiles, china, silver, and a velvet-lined jewelry box are some of the items on display, personalizing Wharton’s years in France.

A highlight of Wharton’s life in France were the gardens she created; the normally very private Wharton even invited the general public to view them. The exhibit displays photos of her gardens and details her relationships with other famous gardeners, and her own staff, without whom neither her gardens nor her writings would have been possible.

Multiple elements are used throughout the exhibit to create an immersive experience, including an enlarged vintage image of the Mediterranean city of Hyères (site of Ste.-Claire, one of Wharton’s homes) that fills an entire wall; a flat-screen slideshow of old postcards; and interactive displays of books and other ephemera. Additionally, the exhibit features a short film of Jean-Claude Lesage discussing his late wife’s work and showing scenes of present-day Hyères.

Claudine Lesage, who wrote several books in French on Wharton, died before she could publish her last manuscript: a work on Wharton’s life in France intended for an American audience. The Mount’s executive director, Susan Wissler, edited and published that work (Edith Wharton in France) in 2018.

“We are grateful for our long-standing partnership with Claudine and Jean-Claude, which has allowed us to further contextualize Edith Wharton’s life after The Mount,” said Wissler. “We are delighted to now share this knowledge more widely through a compelling new exhibit.”

The Mount is open seven days a week, from 10 am to 5 pm. Tickets are available on its website: edithwharton.org.

This exhibit is made possible by the Mitchell and Elaine Yanow Charitable Trust and by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

United Way of Pioneer Valley Partners with Stop & Shop for Fundraiser

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — United Way of Pioneer Valley is partnering with local Stop & Shop stores to fight food insecurity by hosting a fundraiser the entire month of June in support of the Chicopee Community Cupboard (CCC).

Stop & Shop shoppers can purchase a Bloomin’ for Good Bouquet at the local Stop & Shop. From the purchase price of each bouquet, $1 will go directly to the Chicopee Community Cupboard, a United Way owned and operated food pantry located at 32 Center Street in Chicopee. The Chicopee Community Cupboard opened in the spring of 2021 to help create food security for the residents of Chicopee and all those in need throughout Western Mass. Extensive community research into gaps of services in basic needs was done prior to its establishment to support impoverished persons.

“We cannot thank Stop & Shop of Chicopee enough for their generous time and support of our Chicopee Community Cupboard,” said Paul Mina, president and CEO of the United Way of Pioneer Valley. “We service over 300 families in the City of Chicopee alone and these donations will greatly help combat the need.”

Anyone facing food insecurity can visit the Chicopee Community Cupboard between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays or 4-6 p.m. on Wednesdays. Currently clients are requested to fill out an application and schedule a monthly appointment, but all those in need will be served.

 

5 UMass Faculty Members Receive Manning Prize for Teaching Excellence

By
Daily News

Five outstanding University of Massachusetts faculty have been awarded the 2022 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching for their exemplary dedication to students and the university.

The faculty members — one from each UMass campus — will receive $10,000 awards in recognition of their commitment to academic excellence.

UMass Lowell alumni Rob and Donna Manning established the Manning Prize in 2016 to honor UMass professors who excel in teaching and service. With the selection of this year’s honorees, 35 UMass faculty members now have the distinct honor of being Manning Prize recipients.

The winner from UMass Amherst is Lorraine Cordeiro, PhD, director of the Center for Research on Families and associate professor of Nutrition, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Cordeiro is a community-engaged scholar who describes herself as “an educator, a scientist, a first-generation college graduate, a U.S. immigrant, a woman, a cancer survivor, a multigenerational caregiver, and a community volunteer.” Cordeiro has been at the forefront of leading efforts for major curricula changes, new pedagogical approaches, and her department’s efforts in implementing and assessing holistic faculty teaching evaluation.

Cordeiro has been nominated consistently for teaching awards; she is the recipient of the university’s 2015 Distinguished Teaching Award and the College Outstanding Teacher Award from UMass Amherst’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences in 2013.