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Month: July 2024

Nominations Due July 29 for Healthcare Heroes Class of 2024

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — In the spring of 2017, BusinessWest and its sister publication, the Healthcare News, created a new and exciting recognition program called Healthcare Heroes. It was launched with the theory that there are heroes working across this region’s wide, deep, and all-important healthcare sector, and that there was no shortage of fascinating stories to tell and individuals and groups to honor. That theory has certainly been validated.

But there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of heroes whose stories we still need to tell. And that’s where you come in.

Nominations for the class of 2024 are due Monday, July 29, and we encourage you to get involved and help recognize someone you consider to be a hero in the community we call Western Mass. in one (or more) of these eight categories:

• Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider;

• Health/Wellness Administrator;

• Emerging Leader;

• Community Health;

• Health Educator;

• Innovation in Health/Wellness;

• Collaboration in Health/Wellness; and

• Lifetime Achievement.

Nominations can be submitted at businesswest.com/healthcareheroes/nominations.

T-Birds Announce Hockey Operations Staff Promotions, Hires

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Thunderbirds announced multiple promotions and hires in the team’s hockey operations department.

First, the club announced that Steve Passineau, formerly head equipment manager, has accepted a promotion to join the St. Louis Blues, the T-Birds’ NHL affiliate, as an assistant equipment manager.

In addition, Abe Edson, formerly the Thunderbirds’ strength and conditioning coach, will join the NHL’s Minnesota Wild as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Casey Barile has been promoted to head equipment manager with the Thunderbirds after serving as an assistant for the last three seasons. A graduate of Kent State University and a native of St. Louis, Barile previously has experience in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears as an assistant equipment manager during the 2020-21 season.

The Thunderbirds will also welcome two new members to the Hockey Operations staff for the 2024-25 season. Phil Currier will join the organization as a strength and conditioning coach. A Haverhill, N.H. native, Currier most recently served as director of Hockey Performance at the University of Vermont last season. His prior experience also includes stints at the University of Maine and his alma mater, Plymouth State University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport physiology and a master’s degree in applied exercise physiology and human performance.

Lastly, Steven Smith will join the Thunderbirds as assistant equipment manager. The McAllen, Texas native most recently served as head equipment manager for the United States Hockey League’s Youngstown Phantoms from 2022 to 2024, where he was a member of the club’s Clark Cup championship in 2023. He has served in the same capacity for six organizations, including the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder and the North American Hockey League’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, Amarillo Bulls, Jamestown Rebels, and New Jersey Titans.

Massachusetts Unemployment Rises Slightly in June

By
Daily News

BOSTON — The state’s June total unemployment rate was 3.2%, a 0.2% increase from the revised May estimate of 3.0%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced. The Massachusetts unemployment rate was 0.9% lower than the national rate of 4.1% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 0.1%.

The state’s labor-force participation rate — the total number of residents 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks — increased 0.4% over the month to 65.7%. Compared to June 2023, the labor-force participation rate also increased 0.6% over the year. The labor force increased by an estimated 23,800 from the revised estimate of 3,782,800 in May, with 16,200 more residents employed and 7,600 more residents unemployed over the month.

The BLS preliminary estimates show Massachusetts gained 19,000 jobs in June. This follows May’s revised gain of 6,400 jobs, up from the preliminary estimates of 4,200. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in education and health services; professional, scientific, and business services; and construction. Employment now stands at 3,755,100. Massachusetts gained 691,600 jobs since the employment low in April 2020.

From June 2023 to June 2024, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 40,200 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in education and health services, government, and construction.

MassDOT Board Approves $16.7 Billion Investment Plan, Including East-west Rail

By
Daily News

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) board of directors voted this week to approve a five-year capital investment plan (CIP) that includes roughly $16.7 billion in planned transportation investments in FY 2025-29.

Included in the CIP is more than $800 million for the MBTA over five years, including funding for Red and Orange Line vehicles, South Coast Rail, and bi-level commuter rail coaches.

“I want to commend our tireless team members who have been working on the five-year plan, crunching the numbers and ensuring funding is allocated for the essential projects our communities need,” Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt said. “I also thank everyone who gave input during the public comment period, helping to ensure that we make effective, equitable investments.”

In addition to support for the MBTA, the CIP includes:

• $772 million for the Cape Cod Bridges Program;

• $367 million for the I-195 to Route 18 interchange rehabilitation in New Bedford;

• $295 million for the ongoing I-90/I-495 interchange improvements in Hopkinton and Westborough;

• $256 million to support the Rourke Bridge replacement in Lowell;

• $243 million for the I-90 Allston multimodal project in Boston; and

• $123 million to advance west-east rail, including track improvements between Springfield and Worcester, planning and design for a future Palmer station, Pittsfield track capacity improvements, preliminary engineering and environmental work for the Springfield-area track reconfiguration, and planning for additional train service connecting Boston and Albany, N.Y.

“I am very pleased with this announcement and the steady progress we continue to make in bringing west-east Rail to fruition,” U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said. “I have been in frequent communication with Governor [Maura] Healey and Secretary Tibbits-Nutt, advocating for this project and ensuring it is a priority for the Healey-Driscoll administration. After yet another announcement in what has been a series of substantial investments from the governor and her team, it is clear that they are all in.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that came from the Ways and Means Committee under my chairmanship was one of our nation’s greatest undertakings in decades — $1.2 trillion to improve all facets of American infrastructure, including rail,” Neal added. “I am pleased that the Healey-Driscoll administration has continued to pursue these federal dollars and, as a result, the Commonwealth has been a great benefactor of this historic legislation.”

Fifteen Educators, Including Two from Springfield, Selected for Fellowship

By
Daily News

BOSTON — Nonprofits Barr Foundation and Springpoint have selected the second cohort of their Transformative Leaders of Massachusetts, a two-year fellowship aimed at supporting a diverse group of aspiring school leaders.

Two Springfield educators, Kori Alston, principal of Veritas Prep High School, and Teron Brown, math teacher, instructional coach, and basketball coach at Springfield Prep, are among 15 fellows selected from a group of 112 applicants. These middle-school and high-school educators are committed to delivering rigorous, student-centered instructional practice. They share a desire to build their knowledge and ability to lead in service of reimagining secondary schooling for all young people, especially the most underserved.

Nearly half of the educators selected are from charter schools, the other half from traditional public schools. Sixty percent were first-generation college students, more than one-quarter are bilingual or trilingual, and two-thirds of the cohort identify as Black, Indigenous and other people of color. They represent six regions across Massachusetts stretching from Boston to Great Barrington. Twenty percent of the fellows are LGBTQIA+. Fellows in the second cohort range in experience from five years to more than 21 years.

The cohort will begin their work in the summer of 2024. As fellows, these educators will participate in a two-year school-design and leadership program that will build their leadership capacity and instructional experience so they can become innovative leaders and change agents in their schools and communities.

Participants in the Transformative Leaders Massachusetts program will earn a stipend of $20,000 over two years in addition to their current salaries, have support to earn Massachusetts school-leader licensure through the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s alternative certification apprenticeship pathway, have a dedicated mentor at their current school and an experienced coach, expand their professional networks, join school visits across the nation and state to see transformational programs in action, and enact transformative learning through their school-based apprenticeship.

Nominations Close on July 26 for Glenmeadow’s Inaugural Age of Excellence Awards

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Glenmeadow recently announced the inaugural Age of Excellence Awards: Celebrating Success over 60, a new event dedicated to honoring older adults in the community who embody the vigor and purpose that come with age and experience.

The public is invited to submit nominations for individuals who deserve to be celebrated. Nominees should be those who have made significant contributions to their communities, pursued new adventures, or demonstrated an unwavering spirit of excellence.

Honorees will be recognized at the Age of Excellence Awards ceremony, set to take place on Sept. 4 at the Carriage House at the Barney Estate. Nominations can be submitted online at glenmeadow.org/age-of-excellence-awards until Friday, July 26. Hard copies of the nomination form can also be found at the concierge desk at Glenmeadow. A panel of community leaders will then review and select those to be celebrated at the event.

“The Age of Excellence Awards honor the ways that those over 60 are showing us all that age is just a number,” Glenmeadow President and CEO Kathy Martin said. “These are our friends, colleagues, and family members who are changing the world and our perceptions of what it means to get older. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate their achievements, as well as their wisdom, resilience, and invaluable contributions to our region.”

The Age of Excellence Awards will bring together honorees, their families, friends, and supporters to recognize and celebrate the remarkable achievements of these community members. It is also a fundraising event to support Glenmeadow, including the $10.5 million renovation project that is aligned with what is important to today’s older adults and to prepare the next generation of Glenmeadow residents. This event is intricately tied to Glenmeadow’s “Next Chapter” campaign theme, serving as a platform to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of older adults as they redefine life in their later years. Tickets are available for purchase online by clicking here.

MountainOne Awards More Than $150,000 in Community Grants During Second Quarter

By
Daily News

NORTH ADAMS — MountainOne announced the completion of its community-dividend funding for the second quarter of 2024, distributing more than $150,000 to support various not-for-profit organizations in the Berkshires and South Shore communities.

MountainOne’s $25,000 sponsorship of the North Adams SteepleCats, a New England Collegiate Baseball League team, helps bring baseball to Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams, enriching the greater Berkshire community. MountainOne has been a prominent sponsor of the Steeplecats since their inception in 2002.

MountainOne was the inaugural pavilion sponsor of the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) at its inception in 2020, and continues its commitment of support to the BIC in 2024. In the recent grants, MountainOne committed $10,000 to the BIC in Pittsfield, supporting programming that focuses on vital areas such as STEM education, entrepreneurship, career preparation, and leadership, driving economic growth, and community empowerment.

The Brien Center in Pittsfield, dedicated to providing comprehensive behavioral-health services for more than a century, received $10,000 from MountainOne to support its Youth Substance Use Prevention and Intervention program, which delivers essential services to local schools and ensures the well-being of young people in the community.

In celebration of 50 years of service, MountainOne awarded $5,000 to Old Colony Elder Services in Brockton to support its behavioral-health and wellness programs, aiding the aging community on the South Shore.

MountainOne contributed $5,000 to BFAIR, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The funds will support the nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities, autism, and acquired brain injury.

MountainOne also donated $5,000 to sponsor Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth’s Hearts and Hammers Gala. The gala is the nonprofit’s top fundraising event of the year, raising money to assist in its mission to combat poverty and homelessness through home construction and repair.

With summer in full swing, MountainOne’s community dividend grant program also supports numerous community events, including the Summer Concert Series hosted by Friends of the Scituate Library, farmers’ markets in North Adams and Williamstown, Pittsfield and Williamstown 4th of July parades, and the North Adams Downtown Celebration on Aug. 14. It also supported pride events in Pittsfield, North Adams, and Quincy, underscoring its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

MountainOne’s summer contributions also include sponsorship of numerous golf tournaments benefiting organizations such as BCARC in Pittsfield, the Bianchi-Barbarotta Foundation in Pittsfield, the Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield, Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington, Plymouth Public Library, and UCP of Western Massachusetts in Pittsfield. In addition, MountainOne has supported local baseball and softball teams, as well as charitable walk/run events, including the South Shore Food Bank’s Fresh Bite 5K and Citrus Stroll in Rockland and NAMIWalk Berkshire County in Pittsfield.

“Through these initiatives, MountainOne reaffirms its dedication to cultivating vibrant communities across the Berkshires and South Shore,” said Jennifer Meehan, Community Engagement officer at MountainOne. “Our community-dividend program is designed to support organizations that better people’s lives, and we are pleased to be a contributor to help continue the work these organizations generate.”

Monson Evolves — on Main Street and Beyond

By
Mikki Lessard
Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight

Mikki Lessard

Mikki Lessard says Monson’s Main Street has been reinvented through small businesses new and old, many of them owned by women.

Mikki Lessard calls it “Main Street USA reinvented.”

She was referring to her business, oHHo, a cannabis and botanical wellness company “dedicated to bringing you plants with benefits,” which recently opened on Monson’s Main Street, but also to a growing collection of new businesses in the town’s center and beyond, including the Better Bean coffee shop, the Happy Hen farmstand, a gourmet cookie venture operated out of a Main Street home, and much more.

“We have some great little businesses that have been there forever and some new businesses, like mine, the Better Bean, and many others,” Lessard said. “It’s proof that the American dream is still alive.”

These businesses, many of them women-owned, are, indeed, part of a growing small-business infrastructure in this rural community of just over 8,000 people — a community that is, in a word, supportive of its local businesses, said Rachel Zundell, owner of Cookies by Ray.

“It’s super-community-oriented, the quintessential small town. It’s great to be here; I Iove this town,” said Zundell, who started this venture as a way to supplement her income and has made it a full-time pursuit, one that continues to grow on the back of both old favorites like chocolate chip, but also a continuous flow of new offerings, including something called the ‘Pub,’ featuring pretzels, potato chips, caramel, and chocolate chips, and a fried dill-pickle cookie created for the Fourth of July.

Lessard agreed. “It’s a gorgeous community; it’s a little hilltown with a great sense of community, especially after the tornado,” she explained, referencing the June 2011 twister that hit Monson hard. “People care about other people here, and they support small business.”

An evolving Main Street and a surge in entrepreneurship are just two of the storylines unfolding in this community. There is also some movement in ongoing efforts to find new uses for the former Monson Developmental Center (MDC). The sprawling, 675-acre campus of nearly 30 buildings was closed by the state Department of Developmental Services in 2012, with the property turned over to the Commonwealth’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM).

Town Administrator Jennifer Wolowicz told BusinessWest that town officials are currently working with Westmass Area Development Corp. to develop strategies for development of the property.

She noted that, while some of the acreage at the MDC is being transferred to the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, there are plenty of redevelopment opportunities, including new housing, which is certainly needed, as it is in most other cities and towns in the 413 — and across the state, for that matter.

“We have a lot of seniors in town who would like to move out of the larger homes they have — their children are grown and out of the house — but there is no place to downsize to in Monson,” she said, adding that housing for seniors and perhaps younger families is among the preferred new uses for the property.

“We have a lot of seniors in town who would like to move out of the larger homes they have — their children are grown and out of the house — but there is no place to downsize to in Monson.”

She said the town’s population has been decreasing in recent years, and the only real way to achieve growth is to be proactive and create new housing opportunities, especially at the MDC site.

Other storylines on the municipal side, Wolowicz noted, include renovation and modernization of the town’s 1960s-era fire station — a new design should come before town residents this fall; a previous iteration was deemed too expensive — as well as a new, ARPA-funded meter-reading system for water and sewer services and a much-needed communications-tower rebuild.

But perhaps the best story is the continued growth and diversification of the business community, which still boasts a number of farming-related ventures, but now also includes new restaurants and coffee shops, CBD, cookies, and more.

For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest turns its lens on Monson, a small town with some developing stories — both figuratively and literally.

 

Down on Main Street

Lessard, who moved to Monson 35 years ago, said it has long been her dream to have a shop on Main Street because of its “quintessential New England Main Street vibe.”

She’s taken a winding road to realizing that dream, but she likes where she is now — in every context, from her own mental and physical health and well-being to her place in Monson’s evolving commercial center.

Monson Redevelopment Center

Jennifer Wolowicz says the Monson Redevelopment Center — one of its roughly 30 remaining buildings is seen here — has vast potential for reuse, especially as housing.

Before we go there, we first need to visit another Main Street: Springfield’s. Actually, the alley just behind it called Marketplace, where Lessard and partner Nancy Feth tried to create (or recreate) that small-town vibe she spoke of, through something called Simply Grace, a portfolio of businesses including a yoga studio, nail salon, ‘serendipity boutique,’ and more that they collectively referred to as a ‘retail-tainment district,’ blending retail and entertainment.

The two were, by most measures, successful with their concept until COVID knocked the foundation from under their feet.

“We were shut down at first, obviously, and it was very difficult to do business downtown because all the businesses were closed and there was very little if any foot traffic,” she recalled. “A lot of business was service, such as yoga and nails, and the retail was really soft.”

The two eventually walked away from their venture, and, when asked what she did in the years that followed, Lessard said simply, “I did a lot of cathartic healing.” That included the use of some CBD products, which kept her “calm, centered, grounded, and hopeful.”

It also became her next career opportunity.

Monson at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1775
Population: 8,150
Area: 44.8 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $15.50
Commercial Tax Rate: $15.50
Median Household Income: $52,030
Median Family Income: $58,607
Type of Government: Select Board, Open Town Meeting
Latest information available

Indeed, she interviewed for a corporate position with Bedford, N.Y.-based oHHo and became an independent contractor for the company, supporting its growth and development in the Northeast. And she determined that one of the vehicles for growth in the company’s omni-channel business model should be shops.

“Because the product needs explanation, it needs an education; it almost needs consultation, much like people are doing in dispensaries,” she explained. “This is a newer concept for wellness; it’s botanical wellness.”

Her shop, at 180 Main St., is part of a pilot project for oHHo, one that could eventually lead to franchising opportunities. She describes it as spa experience of sorts, one that caters especially to women.

“It feels like a sanctuary where you can come in from the negative, narrative noise of the world and find a peaceful, quiet space to consider our wellness collection,” she said, adding that she’s been open only a few weeks, but can see the potential of this venture.

Lessard considers herself part of a changing Main Street and just one of several entrepreneurs, many of them women, who are reshaping the business community in Monson.

Zundell is another member of this group. She was working as a third-shift baker at Randall’s Farm in Ludlow when she became pregnant with her third child, a development that helped fuel some entrepreneurial passion.

“I decided to start this business to increase my income because daycare is expensive,” she recalled, adding that her continued success with her cookies enabled her to quit her day (actually, night) job and make this a full-time venture.

A large sign on her front lawn alerts passersby that this is Cookies by Ray ‘world headquarters.’ A solid stream of visitors to the property pick up orders placed online, and they are greeted with a growing portfolio of offerings, baked in small, limited batches, prompting Zundell to inform patrons that “if ya snooze, ya lose.”

“I change my flavors every week, but I have some classic and unique flavors,” she said, noting that chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookies are among her best sellers. But there are those new offerings as well, including the fried dill-pickle cookie, featuring kettle-cooked potato chips and dill pickle.

“It’s sweet, it’s savory — I tell people it reminds me of cornbread,” she told BusinessWest. “It just works.”

 

Developing Story

The MDC traces its roots back to 1854, when the state acquired 175 acres in Northern Monson, near the border with Palmer, on which it created an almshouse to provide facilities for poor immigrants fleeing the great famine in Ireland.

Over the years, the property took on different names — the State Farm School, the State Primary School, and the Hospital for Epileptics, among them, before becoming the Monson Developmental Center — and continued to grow, eventually reaching more than 72 buildings.

“It was a little city itself,” said Wolowicz, now in her fourth year as town administrator. “It had a laundry, it had a powerhouse … it had everything needed to run that large operation.”

As its population of residents continued to decline, the state announced plans to close the facility in 2008, and in 2012, it relocated the last residents to other facilities. Since then, its future has been a question mark and a huge issue in this community, with the boarded-up buildings along State Avenue providing both a constant reminder of the past and hints of enormous opportunity for the future.

But like Belchertown State School and Northampton State Hospital before it, the MDC is a state-owned facility; thus, redevelopment is a slow, challenge-filled process, said Wolowicz, while noting that there are signs of progress.

Specifically, the state has set aside $14 million for remediation of those buildings that can be repurposed — and there are some — and demolition of those that cannot be salvaged. Perhaps 200 of more than 600 total acres are suitable for redevelopment, and for several reasons, she noted, ranging from the likelihood of a Palmer stop on the planned east-west rail line — which is expected to make it easier for people to live in the 413 and work elsewhere — and housing, especially the affordable variety.

Wolowicz said the state has issued some requests for proposals in the past regarding the MDC property and not garnered much by way of responses. She noted that there have been discussions about DCAMM supporting legislation that would transfer part of the property to Westmass, which would then partner with the town to advance redevelopment strategies.

Town officials are already working with the agency on another project — redevelopment of the former Omega manufacturing facility, which has been abandoned, is in tax title, and will soon be officially owned by the town. Wolowicz said there are ongoing discussions about what can be done at that two-acre site, including more housing.

Whatever happens at the Omega site and the MDC, it will be part of continuing evolution in Monson, where the overall character of this small town hasn’t changed, but where a good place to live and work gets even better.

Danielle Williams Finds Her Place Behind the Bench

By
Danielle Williams
Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now?

Danielle Williams

Danielle Williams has made a smooth transition from practicing law to the bench.

Danielle Williams seen as a 40 Under Forty winner

Danielle Williams seen as a 40 Under Forty winner in 2015.

“When last we left our heroes…”

That’s a line Baby Boomers will remember from the start of each Rocky & Bullwinkle episode. Danielle Williams might have written it a few times a decade or so back, when she was co-creator of comic-book heroes known as the Mighty Magical Majestics, “keepers of ancient mysteries and defenders of civilization.”

Williams’ creative exploits were a major storyline as she was named to BusinessWest’s Forty Under 40 class of 2015; by day, she was an attorney with the Northampton-based firm Fierst Kane & Bloomberg LLP.

Today, she’s still writing, but it takes a much different form, such as motion decisions, which comprise one of the myriad aspects of her work as associate justice of the Westfield District Court, a role she assumed almost five years ago.

This isn’t the job she’d always dreamed of. It’s the position she was told she should apply for after serving just a few years in the job she did always dream of — assistant court magistrate.

“I wanted to do that way back when I was a victim witness advocate in 1999; I had my eye on that job for a long time,” Williams said, noting that it comes with a number of responsibilities. “When I finally got the job, in 2016, I thought I had reached the height of where I wanted to go.”

But after being told by more of the few of the judges she worked with that she should consider joining them behind the bench, she did just that. She wasn’t sure she was ready the first time she applied, and didn’t get an appointment, but felt far more ready the second time, which turned out to be the charm.

Today, she splits her time among courts scattered across the 413, or what’s known as District 6, from Westfield (although she’s not there much, even though that’s her court of appointment) to North Adams; from Chicopee to Orange. On the day she spoke with BusinessWest for the second installment of its Where Are They Now? series, she was in the Palmer court, a shorter drive from her home in Wilbraham than to most of the other courts.

Still, she puts a considerable number of miles on the car, maybe the thing she likes the least about this job, which also provides her with daily opportunities to learn and grow as a jurist and, more importantly, chances to make a difference.

“Our job is to give people access to justice and an opportunity to be heard,” she said. “I’m glad to be part of a system where I hope I’m helping people do that.”

As noted earlier, while Williams enjoyed practicing law — she focused on litigation, housing, and intellectual-property law — she always wanted to be a clerk magistrate. And it wasn’t really long after that goal was realized in 2017 that Judge Willam Boyle, one of many she worked with, suggested she consider applying for a judgeship.

“It’s difficult to make those decisions, and, in my opinion, it should be difficult to make those decisions. Because when you make those decisions, you’re not just affecting that person in front of you; you’re affecting that person’s family and their community. So those shouldn’t be easy decisions to make.”

Williams admitted she needed some convincing, but eventually did apply, unsuccessfully at first, before breaking through at the height of COVID, when she was appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker to the Westfield District Court, and started on Black Friday.

She traditionally gets word a week or two in advance of what court she will be sitting in, but things happen, as she noted, so she must be prepared for anything — and to travel anywhere.

District courts handle both criminal and civil matters, Williams explained, adding that, while there are many aspects to this work, perhaps the most difficult is sentencing. And for some crimes, including firearms violations, there are mandatory minimums, which takes some of the decision making from her, but doesn’t make sentencing anyone any easier.

“Some of our defendants are so very young — their early 20s, and sometimes 18 or 19,” she said. “And there is a proliferation of firearms in our cities. It’s sad — sometimes you don’t have a choice. They don’t give you much of a choice, but it’s still sad to have to sentence someone so young.

“It’s difficult to make those decisions, and, in my opinion, it should be difficult to make those decisions,” she went on. “Because when you make those decisions, you’re not just affecting that person in front of you; you’re affecting that person’s family and their community. So those shouldn’t be easy decisions to make.”

As for what she likes most about her work, Williams said it’s the ability to make a difference in the lives of others — and, for her personally, the opportunity to continue learning.

“We get some really interesting issues, particularly with motions to suppress,” she noted. “It makes me learn, it makes me do research, so you feel like you’re always learning.”

She noted that this has been an intriguing year for the courts, with high-profile cases in Massachusetts (the Karen Read murder trial, for example) and nationally — such as many lawsuits involving Donald Trump.

Overall, and in Massachusetts especially, she believes the judicial system has … well, acquitted itself well.

“I’m very proud of our judicial system in Massachusetts; I’m proud of my colleagues,” she told BusinessWest. “I’m proud of the work that they do every day, both at the District Court level and the Superior Court and up. I read the decisions that come out of the SJC, and I speak with my colleagues, and the ones that I speak with are making considered decisions and doing their best to make decisions in line with the law.”

 

PeoplesBank, Cornerstone Merge Holding Companies

By
Brian Canina
Banking and Financial Services

Coming Together

 

Brian Canina

Brian Canina says the merger with Cornerstone Bank’s holding company will provide both institutions with opportunities to become more efficient — and more competitive.

Brian Canina says that, while it’s being called a merger, in reality, it’s more of a partnership.

He was referring to the recent announcement that Holyoke-based PeoplesBank, which he serves as president, and Worcester-based Cornerstone Bank will combine their holding companies — PeoplesBancorp, MHC and SSB Community Bancorp, MHC, respectively — into one entity, which will take the former’s name.

This transaction, the latest to merge multi-bank holding companies, will create an entity with approximately $6 billion in assets, said Canina, a number that brings with it certain competitive advantages and a stronger ability to withstand increasingly thin margins in this sector.

“What we’re trying to do is create some scalability,” he explained. “Through the holding company, we can look for ways we can work together and share the back-office services to become more efficient through size.”

Overall, and outwardly at least, not much will change with this partnership, said Canina, noting that both banks will continue to operate under separate names and brands for the foreseeable future. All account information, branch banking, and digital access will remain the same for both banks throughout the transaction.

It will be, as he put it succinctly, “business as usual.”

Behind the scenes, though, the merger will provide both institutions with opportunities to become more efficient and, in many ways, leverage each other’s markets.

“The banking industry is pretty transparent in terms of being able to see the cost of goods sold,” he explained. “If you look at what the current market interest rates are for deposits, and what people are looking to get for a savings account or CD, and then you compare that to what the market prices are for a 30-year mortgage or a commercial loan … you can see the spread between the two and also see how thin that is.

“As a mutual bank, we can’t raise capital from stock issuances; we earn our capital through hard work and bottom-line earnings. As a result, it can be more challenging for a mutual bank to stay up to speed with inflation, the cost of wages, and competing with stock banks that have more access to capital.”

“The only way to continue to manage like any other business that has shrinking profit margins is to become more efficient in your operations,” he went on. “And that’s where this opportunity is important; you need size in order to become more efficient, and that’s the same in any business.”

 

Strength in Scale

Canina said this transaction reflects a trend in the industry: a growing number of mergers, or partnerships, among mutual banks and their holding companies, something that wasn’t seen as much years ago, when more mergers involved publicly traded institutions.

And they’re coming about out of necessity, he went on, adding that the size and scale they generate amount to better opportunities to compete with those larger stock banks.

“As a mutual bank, we can’t raise capital from stock issuances; we earn our capital through hard work and bottom-line earnings,” he explained. “As a result, it can be more challenging for a mutual bank to stay up to speed with inflation, the cost of wages, and competing with stock banks that have more access to capital. But we do it because we want a mission that’s focused on our communities, our customers, our employees, and giving back — and not about shareholders.

“So I think you’re going to see more of these mutual-to-mutual mergers,” he went on. “We’re starting to see them already, but I’ll think you’ll see more of them because they need to partner with each other to maintain that mutual status — and to remain relevant.”

Elaborating, he said that, when it comes to such transactions, with no stock to acquire, it’s not as much about dollars as it is about culture. And these two institutions are very similar in that regard.

“We provide the same services and technology as the larger regional and national banks, but we’re also giving back to the community, which a lot of those banks don’t do,” he went on. “That’s what we do, and when we partner with other like-minded mutual banks, we can start really competing — and giving back more to the community.”

Indeed, as noted earlier, bringing these holding companies together creates a $6 billion entity — PeoplesBank has roughly $4.4 billion in assets, and Cornerstone is a $1.6 billion institution — which creates more economies of scale and, thus, opportunities to increase overall profits, Canina explained.

And while it will be business as usual for the time being, the two banks will, over time, seek out ways to share best-in-class technologies as well as resources to become more efficient.

“Over time, we’ll look for opportunities to share employees and to share technologies to be more efficient, as a larger organization would,” he told BusinessWest, emphasizing, again, the importance of scale in banking today.

 

Promising Partnership

This quest for size helps explain other mergers of holding companies, Canina said, adding that there have been several over the past few years, including a few involving bankESB and its holding company, Hometown Financial Group Inc.

Such mergers enable institutions, often on the other end of this state or in other states, to build on each other’s success in their respective markets. It’s the same with PeoplesBank and Cornerstone.

“We can’t build 11 banking centers in the Worcester County area, and Cornerstone can’t build 21 banking centers in the Western Mass. and Northern Connecticut markets,” he explained. “But by partnering, we’re able to leverage each other’s markets and find ways to enhance each other’s franchise values in those markets by partnering together.

“We don’t necessarily need to merge with Cornerstone — we’re financially strong, and we’re doing great,” he added. “It’s more of the opportunity and what we can do better with a partner.”

 

Country Bank CEO Paul Scully Announces Retirement

By
Paul Scully says customers are feeling more optimistic about the future.
Banking and Financial Services

Closing the Account

 

On July 1, CEO Paul Scully announced his retirement after a career of 28 years at Country Bank and 48 years in the financial-services industry. His retirement will be effective on July 31.

Scully, who started his banking career as a part-time teller while attending Bentley University, previously served as senior vice president of Country Bank, was appointed president in 2004, and later assumed the position of CEO in 2005.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been guided by the belief that success is not just about growth in numbers, but about the positive impact we make in the lives of our team members, customers, and communities,” he said. “It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together.

“As I retire, I leave with a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to serve as Country Bank’s CEO for the past 20 years and with the utmost respect of my successor, Mary McGovern, and the entire Country Bank team to continue the bank’s legacy of excellence,” he added.

Paul Scully

Paul Scully

“Throughout my career, I’ve been guided by the belief that success is not just about growth in numbers, but about the positive impact we make in the lives of our team members, customers, and communities.”

McGovern, appointed president by the bank’s board of trustees on April 1, will assume the role of CEO effective Aug. 1. McGovern, who has been with the bank since 2011, previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer before assuming the role of chief operating officer in 2023. With her extensive experience in the financial-services industry spanning more than three decades, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her new position.

“I am honored to have worked alongside Paul for the past 13 years,” McGovern said. As I assume the organization’s leadership, I am dedicated to the bank’s continued growth and supporting our customers, community, and team members. The bank is committed to providing best-in-class customer service; the latest banking services, safety and security; and ensuring Country Bank remains a trusted financial institution in our communities.

Country Bank’s board of trustees added that its members and bank employees “are deeply grateful to Paul for his exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication throughout his tenure. His visionary guidance has positioned the bank for continued success and growth. As the bank embarks on this new chapter, it looks forward to the leadership of Mary McGovern, who will undoubtedly build upon Scully’s legacy and drive Country Bank to new heights.”

Senate Unanimously Passes $5.4 Billion Affordable Homes Act

By
Commercial Real Estate
Construction

Toward More Accessible Housing

 

On June 27, the Massachusetts Senate passed its Affordable Homes Act, authorizing $5.4 billion in borrowing and making policy changes with the goal of building new housing, accelerating the rehabilitation of existing housing, reducing barriers to development, and promoting affordable housing.

The legislation passed unanimously. With separate versions having passed the Senate and the House of Representatives, the two branches will now reconcile the differences.

State Sen. Adam Gomez, who has personally experienced housing insecurity, lauded the bill’s passage.

“The housing crisis we are seeing nationwide is one of the major challenges of our lifetime, and a challenge we can’t shy away from if our state is going to remain competitive and viable for families and individuals who want to set their roots here,” he said. “Today, we took important steps to address this issue and make the housing market more approachable to first-time buyers and people of color, as well as renters looking for affordability in the areas they work. I am proud of our work here and look forward to seeing this blueprint put in motion.”

Sen. Adam Gomez

Sen. Adam Gomez

“The housing crisis we are seeing nationwide is one of the major challenges of our lifetime, and a challenge we can’t shy away from if our state is going to remain competitive and viable for families and individuals who want to set their roots here.”

According to a release by the Massachusetts Senate press room, the bill’s components include the following:

 

Creating and Repairing Public Housing

The Senate’s Affordable Homes Act provides $2.2 billion for repairs, rehabilitation, and renovation across the 43,000 units of state-aided public housing. This investment aims to ensure that the state’s public housing infrastructure remains safe, modern, and sustainable so it can continue providing quality living conditions for thousands of families.

To ensure that the Commonwealth makes strides towards its climate goals as it creates housing, $150 million of the funding for public housing is specifically allocated to making energy-efficient upgrades.

 

Spurring Affordable Housing Units

A further $425 million will go to the Housing Stabilization and Investment Trust Fund, working with municipalities, nonprofits, and developers to support housing preservation, new construction, and rehabilitation projects for affordable rental units. This is intended to help the longevity and sustainability of affordable housing stock, addressing both immediate needs and long-term housing solutions.

In addition, the bill includes $800 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to create and preserve housing for households with an income at or below 110% of area median income, helping to bridge the gap between the high cost of housing and what many families can afford.

 

Building Sustainably

This bond bill includes $275 million for innovative, sustainable, and green housing initiatives. By finding new ways to build that don’t have such a detrimental environmental impact, these initiatives will help pave the way for a greener housing portfolio in Massachusetts and will be an important part of the state’s response to the climate crisis.

 

Supporting First-time Homebuyers in Gateway Cities

The Senate’s Affordable Homes Act authorizes $200 million for the CommonWealth Builder program to further the production of housing in gateway cities for first-time homebuyers. This initiative supports economic development in these cities, helping families achieve homeownership and contributing to the revitalization of urban areas.

The legislation also includes $50 million for MassDreams, a program that provides down-payment and closing-cost grants to first-time homebuyers who meet the program’s eligibility criteria and who currently live in one of the 29 communities that were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Maintaining Essential Infrastructure

The bill provides $375 million for HousingWorks, a program that awards grants to municipalities and other public entities for a variety of infrastructure-related support.

Of this amount, $100 million will be dedicated to addressing water, sewer, and septic challenges tied to housing developments, and $100 million will help incentivize best practices in communities that have adopted the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and are spending a high percentage of those funds on housing, as well as MBTA communities that are going beyond the minimum requirements set forth in the MBTA zoning law passed in 2021. Communities that have been proactive in creating transit-oriented development, which reduces traffic congestion and promotes sustainable urban growth, will be eligible.

 

Addressing Regional Equity

The legislation includes $150 million in dedicated funds to address the unique housing needs of rural towns, seasonal communities, and mid-sized communities, aiming to ensure that all areas of the state, regardless of size or location, have the resources to meet their specific housing challenges.

 

Policy Proposals

The Senate’s Affordable Homes Act also contains multiple policy proposals to go hand in hand with the new authorizations, including:

• Protecting Tenants from Broker Fees. By requiring that real-estate brokers’ fees be paid solely by the party that contracted with them, this legislation aims to ensure that buyers are not burdened with unexpected and extraordinary costs, while also promoting transparency and fairness in real-estate transactions.

• Establishing Equity-focused Housing Offices. The Office of Fair Housing and the Office of Livable Communities and Community Services will be established under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. These offices aim to set the Commonwealth on a path to address many decades of housing discrimination by prioritizing equity issues in housing, ensuring equal access to housing opportunities for all residents, and offering technical assistance to cities and towns that can sometimes lack dedicated housing staff.

• Eviction Record Sealing. The bill introduces a process for tenants to seal their eviction records in cases of no-fault evictions and other limited scenarios. This policy protects vulnerable tenants from the long-term stigma of eviction records, enhancing their ability to secure future housing and promoting housing stability.

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The legislation prohibits the banning or unreasonable restriction of ADUs in single-family residential zones, promoting flexible housing options. This policy aims to enable homeowners to create additional living spaces, increase housing supply, and provide more affordable rental options within established neighborhoods.

• Homeownership Tax Credit. This new tax credit will be available for the production of homeownership units for households that make up to 120% of the area median income, incentivizing housing production and promoting homeownership opportunities.

 

‘A Bold Commitment’

State Sen. Lydia Edwards, chair of the Senate Committee on Housing, called the bill “more than a legislative measure; it is a bold commitment to the principles of production, preservation, and protection of housing across the Commonwealth. With a $5.4 billion investment, we are building new homes, preserving existing ones, and ensuring that all residents, especially the most vulnerable, have access to safe and affordable housing.

“This bill can’t fix everything or undo past injustices, but it can course correct and set us on the right path,” she added. “It acknowledges that solving the housing crisis is a long-term effort, one that requires innovative solutions and ongoing commitment. This act focuses on supporting the vanishing middle class, sealing eviction records, and providing protections for seniors and working-class individuals like teachers, healthcare workers, small-business owners, and public servants. Our goal is to create a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable future for all in Massachusetts.”

Rocky’s Ace Hardware to Expand South Hadley Store

By
Rocky’s broke ground on June 19
Construction

Room to Grow

Rocky’s broke ground on June 19

Rocky’s broke ground on June 19 for the new, expanded South Hadley store.

 

Rocky’s Ace Hardware, one of the country’s largest family-owned Ace Hardware dealers, held a groundbreaking ceremony on June 19 for a new, expanded store in the South Hadley Plaza at 501 Newton St., which is co-owned locally by the Falcone, Picknelly, and Yee families. The anticipated opening of the new store is March 2025, replacing the existing store in the same plaza.

“This is going to be a 13,000-square-foot new building, all new construction,” Rocky’s Ace Hardware President and CEO Rocco Falcone II said. “We will be relocating from a 10,000-square-foot store, expanding the sales floor and adding a 2,000-square-foot garden center for live plants, Christmas trees, and things of that nature.”

Plans for the new Rocky’s store also include expanded paint and grilling centers, as well as a workwear department featuring the Carhartt brand.

“We’ll carry all the quality name brands we’re known for, such as Benjamin Moore paint; Weber, Traeger, and Big Green Egg in grilling; and Milwaukee, Dewalt, Stihl, Ego, and Craftsman in power tools, to name a few,” Falcone said. “We’ve got a big partnership with Scotts in lawn and garden, and the indoor and outdoor power-equipment department is going to be a knock-your-socks-off experience.”

Falcone noted that, when the Falcone, Picknelly, and Yee families purchased the plaza in 2016, it contained an empty former grocery store and wasn’t being used to its potential. He said the second phase of the project, slated to begin in March 2025 in conjunction with Way Finders, is to construct a six-unit apartment building.

“We’re pretty excited to become more ingrained into the South Hadley community as a property owner and not just a tenant.”

Edison Yee, a partner in the project, said, “I grew up in the town of South Hadley, and in the late ’70s and early ’80s, this used to be our hangout, a gathering spot for meeting up for the night. There used to be a Friendly’s and a Waldbaum’s grocery store. Waldbaum’s closed in 2013, and it’s been relatively dormant since then. I think this revitalization signifies a new era for South Hadley, to hopefully bring the community together and back to this area.”

Falcone said he remembers signing the lease on the South Hadley store back in the ’80s. “It was our seventh store location, and now we have 50. We’re pretty excited to become more ingrained into the South Hadley community as a property owner and not just a tenant.”

The current Rocky’s store will remain open with minimal disruptions during construction and will be available for lease after the store moves to its new home. Construction of the new store is being led by Caolo & Bieniek Architects and Inglewood General Contractors, in conjunction with Falcone Development.

Gains in Several Sectors Boost Construction Industry Across U.S.

By
Construction

Building on Momentum

 

 

Total construction starts rose 10% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Non-building starts gained 49% during the month, driven by the start of an offshore wind project and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, while residential starts lost 7%, and non-residential building starts were down 2%.

On a year-to-date basis through May, total construction starts were up 11% from the first five months of 2023. Residential starts were up 16%, while non-building starts gained 17%, and non-residential building starts rose 3%.

For the 12 months ending May 2024, total construction starts were up 2% from the 12 months ending May 2023. Non-residential building starts were down 7%, residential starts were up 5%, and non-building starts were up 14% on a 12-month rolling sum basis.

“Single-family starts in particular have risen in eight of the last 12 months despite high mortgage rates. Growth in single-family will incentivize further demand for retail, health, and education starts, among others.”

“Even though May’s gain in construction starts was mainly due to a handful of large projects, the data highlights that there is some grassroots demand building in the market,” said Richard Branch, chief economist of Dodge Construction Network. “Single-family starts in particular have risen in eight of the last 12 months despite high mortgage rates. Growth in single-family will incentivize further demand for retail, health, and education starts, among others, and the stability in the Dodge Momentum Index, which tracks projects in planning, underscores this optimism.”

 

Non-building

Nonbuilding construction starts rose 49% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $463 billion. The increase was solely on the back of a massive gain in gas and utility starts as two large projects (a $10 billion offshore wind project in Virginia and an $11 billion LNG project in Texas) got underway. Environmental public works starts fell 10%, miscellaneous non-building starts lost 16%, while highway and bridge starts were 22% lower in May.

On a year-to-date basis through May, total non-building starts were 17% higher. Gas and utility starts were up 35%, environmental public works and miscellaneous non-building were each up 24%, and highway and bridge starts were up 3% on a year-to-date basis through May.

For the 12 months ending May 2024, total non-building starts were 14% higher than the 12 months ending May 2023. Utility and gas starts were up 28%, miscellaneous non-building starts rose 19%, environmental public works starts moved 14% higher, and highway and bridge starts rose 4% for the 12 months ending May 2024.

 

Non-residential

Non-residential building starts fell 2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $415 billion. Manufacturing starts lost 14% following a very strong April, while institutional starts dropped 6%. Commercial starts gained 10% due to gains in warehouse, office, and parking starts. On a year-to-date basis through May, total non-residential starts were up 3%. Institutional starts were 20% higher, while commercial starts were down 5%, and manufacturing starts were 19% lower on a year-to-date basis through May.

For the 12 months ending May 2024, non-residential building starts were 7% lower than the previous 12 months. Manufacturing starts were down 32%, and commercial starts were down 11%, while institutional starts were 10% higher for the 12 months ending May 2024.

 

Residential

Residential building starts moved 7% lower in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $365 billion. Single-family starts rose 2%, while multi-family starts lost 25%. On a year-to-date basis through five months, total residential starts were 16% higher. Single-family starts improved 29%, and multi-family starts were 5% lower on a year-to-date basis.

For the 12 months ending May 2024, residential starts were 5% higher than the previous 12 months. Single-family starts were 15% higher, while multi-family starts were 10% lower on a 12-month rolling-sum basis.

Regionally, total construction starts in May rose in the Midwest, South Atlantic, and South Central regions, but fell in the Northeast and West regions.

The Importance of Multi-factor Authentication in Cybersecurity

By Contributor
Cybersecurity

Layers of Protection

By Charlie Christianson

 

Today’s cyberthreats are constantly evolving, threat actors are increasingly sophisticated, and the risks of having accounts compromised through stolen or hacked passwords are very high.

One of the most effective ways to protect against having an account compromised is by using multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA is a security process that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource such as an application, online account, or VPN. By combining multiple forms of verification, MFA significantly reduces the likelihood of unauthorized access. In fact, many cyber insurance providers now require it.

 

Enhancing Security with Multiple Layers

The key advantage of MFA is that it provides multiple layers of security. Traditional authentication methods, such as passwords, are increasingly vulnerable to attacks. Many people continue to use weak passwords or the same password across many accounts.

Commonly used attack vectors include phishing, brute-force attacks (guessing weak passwords), and credential stuffing (using compromised passwords from one breach to access unrelated accounts) to compromise passwords. MFA addresses these vulnerabilities by requiring additional verification factors that are much harder to steal or replicate. These factors typically include:

• Something You Know. This could be a password, PIN, or an answer to a security question.

• Something You Have. This includes physical devices like a smartphone, security token, or smart card.

• Something You Are. Biometric verification may include fingerprints, facial recognition, or voice recognition.

By combining these factors, MFA ensures that, even if one factor is compromised (like a password), unauthorized access is still unlikely unless the attacker can breach multiple layers or the user is not paying attention and actually allows the access.

Charlie Christianson

Charlie Christianson

“The key advantage of MFA is that it provides multiple layers of security. Traditional authentication methods, such as passwords, are increasingly vulnerable to attacks.”

Mitigating the Risk of Data Breaches

Businesses can be devastated by a data breach through financial losses, reputational damage, and legal implications. Implementing MFA can significantly mitigate the risk of such an event. According to a report by Verizon, compromised credentials are one of the leading causes of data breaches. MFA makes it exponentially more difficult for attackers to use stolen credentials, as they would also need to defeat a second or third layer of authentication.

For instance, if a user’s password is compromised through a phishing attack, the scammer would still need access to the user’s mobile device or biometric data to complete the authentication process. This additional barrier is often enough to deter attackers or prompt them to move on to easier targets.

 

Compliance with Regulatory Standards

Most industries are subject to regulations that mandate the implementation of MFA. These include General Data Protection Regulation, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. All emphasize the importance of robust authentication mechanisms. Failure to comply with these standards can result in severe penalties and legal repercussions.

By implementing MFA, organizations will satisfy a major requirement of these regulations and enhance their overall security posture. Strong security practices also enhance customer trust and confidence.

 

Protecting Remote Workforces

A remote workforce presents several cybersecurity challenges. Employees accessing company resources from multiple locations with various devices increase the attack surface for cybercriminals. MFA is essential to ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive information and systems.

Remote access solutions, such as virtual private networks and cloud services, should be protected with MFA to prevent unauthorized access. This is an essential tool in preventing man-in-the-middle attacks and session hijacking, which are more prevalent in remote work environments.

 

Improving Incident Response and Risk Management

MFA also plays a critical role in improving incident response and risk management. By implementing MFA, organizations can better track and monitor access attempts, allowing them to identify and respond to suspicious activities more quickly. Better visibility aids in earlier detection of failed attempts and helps to mitigate threats before they become major incidents.

MFA helps to reduce the overall risk profile of an organization by minimizing the chances of unauthorized access. This is one of the reasons why cybersecurity insurers are requiring MFA on external accounts, internal administrator accounts, and even domain user log-ins.

If you are renewing your cyber coverages, be sure to read the cyber questionnaires carefully and make sure you are doing what you say you are doing. Cyber insurers will deny claims or even deny coverage altogether if they determine these critical controls are not in place.

 

Conclusion

In an era where cyberthreats are increasingly sophisticated and pervasive, MFA stands out as a crucial component of any cybersecurity strategy. By requiring multiple forms of verification, MFA significantly enhances security, mitigates the risk of data breaches, ensures compliance with regulatory standards, protects remote workforces, and improves incident response and risk management.

Organizations that prioritize the implementation of MFA can better safeguard their digital assets and maintain the trust of their customers and stakeholders. As cyberthreats continue to evolve, the importance of including an MFA solution as part of your cybersecurity strategy is becoming essential in the fight to secure your digital assets.

 

Charlie Christianson is president of CMD Technology Group Inc. in East Longmeadow.

Brew at the Zoo Returns to Forest Park on Aug. 3

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Zoo in Forest Park will host its sixth annual Brew at the Zoo on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

This 21+ event offers adults a unique way to enjoy the zoo with samples from more than 20 local breweries and home brewers, live music, food trucks, games, and a raffle, all while visiting with the animals at the zoo. Brew at the Zoo has become a fan favorite on the zoo’s event calendar, selling out each year. It is the zoo’s largest fundraiser, raising money for the daily care of more than 225 animals that live at the zoo year-round.

“We look forward to Brew at the Zoo all year,” said Sarah Tsitso, executive director of the Zoo in Forest Park. “This event raises much-needed funds that provide high-quality care for our animals, 365 days a year. The vast majority of our animal residents live here because they have been deemed non-releasable, for a variety of reasons, and thus would not survive on their own in the wild. It’s our job to take care of them.”

This work speaks directly to the zoo’s mission to inspire the community to respect and value the natural world through education, conservation, and rehabilitation.

A limited number of VIP tickets are available, which include extra time to sample the beer, as well as interactive animal encounters and keeper talks with members of the zoo’s animal-care and education teams. The VIP time slot runs from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The zoo will be closed to the public for this ticketed event on Aug. 3. Advance tickets are required, and all IDs will be checked at the door. No one under 21 will be admitted. For a list of participating breweries and to purchase tickets, visit www.forestparkzoo.org/brew.

The Sugar Chalet in Wilbraham to Host Grand Opening on July 20

By
Daily News

WILBRAHAM — The Sugar Chalet, Wilbraham’s newest bakery and cafe, will hold its grand opening on Saturday, July 20 at 10 a.m. at One Crane Park Dr.

Owner and head chef Allison Henry will offer an assortment of fine pastries and desserts. Her specialties include chocolate-chip cookies and housemade bagels. She also will offer breakfast sandwiches and other items, like focaccia pizza and salads. The Sugar Chalet has espresso drinks and milkshakes crafted with house-made frozen custard.

Henry will also offer cooking classes, including demonstrations for children and adults for cake decorating, cooking, and baking, and has a small room for private events. She does custom orders for specialty items on request.

“I feel very welcomed by the community and am excited to bring new desserts and experiences to the town of Wilbraham,” Henry said.

A classically trained chef, Henry graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York in the spring of 2022 and is a 2021 graduate of the culinary program at Tantasqua High School in Sturbridge.

“Allison has dreamed of being a chef since she was 6 years old,” said Dawn Ruffini, Henry’s mother. “She started the Sugar Chalet in our family kitchen in the fall of 2022 and just took off from there. I’m really proud of her.”

Young Professional Society Announces Speed Networking Event

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) will present its Third Thursday speed networking event with the Rally Cry tonight, July 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Table-n-Tap, 2039 Boston Road, Wilbraham.

YPS is hosting this networking event alongside Angel Rios of the Rally Cry in an effort to bring the community together at a new Wilbraham hotspot. The event will commence with open networking, then move to quick-round rotations. Each table will feature cards from the Rally Cry’s newest networking game, Enough Said, which serves up easy, thought-provoking questions to break the ice and make for memorable interactions throughout the evening.

Guests can purchase tickets for the event and find more information by clicking here. Tickets are free for YPS members and $10 for non-members, and will include light snacks and an automatic entry into winning a copy of Enough Said.

MCLA Receives Accreditation from New England Commission of Higher Education

By
Daily News

NORTH ADAMS — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announced it has received its decennial accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

NECHE is a voluntary, peer-based, non-governmental membership association that promotes educational excellence and quality assurance to its more than 200 members, all of which are degree-granting, post-secondary institutions. NECHE, through its membership, has established rigorous standards for accreditation to ensure quality, innovation, and student success across the evolving higher-education landscape. The commission consists of faculty and administrators from affiliated institutions, as well as public members who have no institutional affiliation.

MCLA submitted its 10-year accreditation report (self-study) in October 2023, documenting its work to provide a high-quality, affordable, public liberal-arts education. The content responds directly to the nine standards outlined by the commission for all institutions undergoing reaccreditation.

The self-study was the outcome of two years of careful, thoughtful work, with input from more than 70 members of the campus community. The study covered everything from MCLA’s mission and purpose to its academic program and student profile, to its physical plant and financial strength. In the self-study, MCLA described the ways in which it meets the standards, identifies areas of progress and improvement, and offers plans to continue moving the college forward in the next 10 years.

As part of the accreditation process, a NECHE team visited campus on Nov. 5-8, 2023. The college received a formal accreditation letter in May 2024.

In addition, MCLA continues to ascend in the U.S. News & World Report rankings in alignment with its mission, rising to be the top college for social mobility in the state, second in the country for public institutions, and 22nd nationally for liberal-arts colleges. MCLA ranks seventh on the list of top public liberal-arts colleges.

Mowry & Schmidt Builds on a Strong Legacy

By
Construction Cover Story

Firm Foundation

Co-owners Robyn Provost and Bob Provost

Co-owners Robyn Provost and Bob Provost

 

Marking 75 years in business is a significant milestone for any company, and when Mowry & Schmidt Inc. hit that mark in 2022, it was extra gratifying, simply because of how it had survived the worst of the pandemic.

“We stayed working; we’re that essential workforce,” said Bob Provost, the third-generation co-owner of this family business with his sister, Robyn Provost. “People trusted us, we practiced the proper protocol, and we went in and out of people’s houses and people’s businesses. We never stopped. It was tough, what was going on, but at the same time, we were fortunate because we were able to work; our guys were able to work.”

Greenfield-based Mowry & Schmidt was also able to ride a wave of home improvement that arose when people began spending more time at home, as well as working from home, a trend that has solidified into something more or less permanent.

“You hate to shout out the positives from something that was so horrible, but we were able to stay in business through the worst of it, then things picked up dramatically,” Robyn said. “And that hasn’t changed. We’re still seeing a lot of work out there, and we actually have the ability to pick and choose a little bit more, to figure out what’s the right fit. There’s always a job that’s not the right fit, and you have to recognize that and be able to admit that. But it was an interesting phenomenon that happened, how construction exploded for a lot of people — if they could make it through that initial wave.”

“You hate to shout out the positives from something that was so horrible, but we were able to stay in business through the worst of it, then things picked up dramatically.”

The pandemic years were only the latest cycle in the long history of Mowry & Schmidt, which has been doing residential, commercial, and industrial work since its inception.

“It has kind of evolved over the years,” Bob said. “Years ago, a big part of it was industrial. But a lot of the paper mills and machine shops closed down, so it bounced more to residential and commercial. Even 20 years ago, we still had some pretty substantial industrial contracts. And now it’s maybe one or two, some smaller machine shops.

“So I’d say our work base now is commercial and residential, and that it kind of fluctuates depending on the market. We used to say we were 70% commercial and 30% residential. Now we might be 60-40, or maybe even 50-50 at times.”

The firm has tackled a wide range of jobs, from large construction jobs to smaller renovations and repairs, throughout its history, a diversity of expertise that has served as a buffer against shifting trends and economic tides.

The dining room inside the Farm Table

The dining room inside the Farm Table in Bernardston, where Mowry & Schmidt performed significant work across the campus.

“We do new construction, renovations, additions, alterations,” Bob told BusinessWest. “We still do small projects, decks on homes, window replacements, door replacements, repairs. And then we do larger projects, whether it’s building a new bank, building a new restaurant, new home construction, large additions, prefabricated metal buildings as well.”

For this issue’s focus on construction, we talked at length with the Provost siblings about how their business has stayed remarkably stable over the years, and how they’re tackling today’s challenges — from higher costs to fierce competition to workforce issues — with an eye toward growing the firm further as it approaches the century mark in the decades ahead.

 

History in the Making

Mowry & Schmidt was founded by David Mowry and Albert Schmidt in Greenfield in 1947, quickly gaining loyal customers and the reputation for diverse expertise it touts today. In 1977, when the founders retired, Robert Provost (David’s son-in-law) and Georges Wetterwald purchased the company and continued to grow it. In 1990, Wetterwald retired, and Robert became the sole owner.

During the 1990s, Bob and Robyn Provost, the current owners, started working in the office — Robyn from outside the company and Bob from its job sites, where he had labored since the 1980s — to work with their father on estimating, project management, and other roles. When the elder Provost died in 2007, ownership was transferred to his wife, Marcia Mowry Provost, and today, the third generation of Bob and Robyn manage all the day-to-day operations, with the help of Bob’s wife, Jessica Provost.

“If they had their kitchen renovated, but then, 20 years later, they come back and ask you to do their deck and porch or their bathroom, I think that’s a big deal.”

“A big part of our success is repeat business, whether it’s residential, commercial, or a commercial project leading to residential work,” Bob said, noting that longtime customers run the gamut from Greenfield Savings Bank — one recent project is the restoration of Greenfield’s former library, the Leavitt-Hovey House, into a new facility for the bank — to educational facilities like Northfield Mount Hermon, Stoneleigh Burnham, and Deerfield Academy.

“One of our last large jobs was the VESH veterinary clinic in West Springfield,” Robyn added. “That was a good-sized project, and we hope to become a repeat customer and able to do more work for them.”

That job is one example of how Mowry & Schmidt continues to expand its footprint outside of Franklin County.

Mowry & Schmidt’s work for VESH in West Springfield

Mowry & Schmidt’s work for VESH in West Springfield is an example of seeking jobs outside its traditional Franklin County footprint.

“We’re not afraid of travel. We’ll go where the customer base is, and if it’s a repeat customer, I’ll go anywhere for them,” Bob said, adding quickly that other firms are doing the same these days.

“We’re competing against contractors up here that we haven’t had to in the past,” Robyn agreed. “And then, vice versa, we’re walking into places that we haven’t been all the time. It’s happening everywhere.”

And it’s happening at a time of flux and challenge in other ways in the construction world, one example being the impact of high prices, she added.

“Our costs are high, and we have to pass that on to the consumer, so consumers are facing construction costs that are substantially higher than what they maybe think they should be. So we need to explain that and get people to understand that this is the time we live in; these are the costs.”

The other major issue across the construction spectrum these days is workforce — specifically, finding enough people to do the available work, a situation that has caused many firms to turn down work they might otherwise procure.

“There’s a lot of work out there still in construction; even though the prices are high, people are paying it. There’s a demand, and that creates a demand on the workforce,” Robyn noted. “People are needed to work in all of the industries, whether they’re making the material, trucking the material, or actually installing it.”

Fortunately, Bob added, Mowry & Schmidt hasn’t seen significant employee turnover, with team members who have been on board for anywhere from five to more than 20 years.

“If they had their kitchen renovated, but then, 20 years later, they come back and ask you to do their deck and porch or their bathroom, I think that’s a big deal.”

“As for the new guys, it’s hard to find younger folks, but some of our newer folks come from other companies closing up, or a lone sole proprietor who has come to a point in their life where they don’t want to deal with the bills, the headaches, all the office crap; they just want to come in and work. That’s been a good avenue for us to find people to come in and work for us. We also have people who’ve retired from other industries, other types of work; they’ve put their 20-plus years in, and they’ve still got a lot to offer.”

Often, they’re offering those services to clients that have been loyal to Mowry & Schmidt for generations, Bob said. “We keep them because they know they can trust us, and we go in there and do their work, and we’re fair.”

More challenging, he added, is developing trust with new clients, but the firm can lean on its reputation over 77 years in business, as well as its recent performance.

“When the same individuals come back time after time to do projects in their house, I think that speaks volumes,” Robyn said. “If they had their kitchen renovated, but then, 20 years later, they come back and ask you to do their deck and porch or their bathroom, I think that’s a big deal.”

The key is honesty and open communication, Bob added. “Don’t get me wrong; in 77 years, we’ve made mistakes. It’s how you finish it out and correct those mistakes … it’s how you take care of them and make sure everything’s squared away at the end.”

The company was founded in Greenfield in 1947

The company was founded in Greenfield in 1947 and is still headquartered in the city today.

Valuing transparency extends to the firm’s expectations for its subcontractors, Robyn said.

“Our crew doesn’t do everything on a project. We do X amount of the work, but we have to rely on subcontractors, or we would not exist. And being able to find trustworthy, transparent subcontractors is something we’ve worked really hard at achieving. And we maintain those relationships as long as we possibly can. We know that’s an important part of being a general contractor because you have to rely on these people.”

 

Looking to the Future

Bob told BusinessWest he has twins — a son and daughter — who both work at the firm, but he doesn’t know whether they’ll eventually want to become part of a fourth generation of family ownership — and, besides, he and Robyn have a long way to go in that role.

“I’m still pretty young, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. So we’ll be doing it for a while,” he said. “Hopefully another generation comes along, which wouldn’t break my heart if it did. I’m a firm believer that this is a good place, and there’s always going to be a need for general contracting and construction. You just have to run it the right way and keep moving forward; that’s the key.”

Whether it’s construction and renovation, design-build projects, construction management, or even small repairs, there’s still plenty of work in Franklin County and beyond, he added.

“It feels great when you finish a veterinary clinic, but you also feel great when you know that you’ve helped somebody stay in their home by renovating their bathroom or putting up a ramp.”

“Those are good customers. Your local banks, your YMCAs — they’re strong, they’re local, and they’re good repeat business. You could have some people on the board at the YMCA, where you’re working, and next thing you know, you’re working at their house. Getting an opportunity to work for all these people and customers, it’s very rewarding.”

Robyn noted that the city of Greenfield will often call Mowry & Schmidt to tackle an urgent job for the Fire Department or Board of Health. “Unfortunately, things happen, and they need somebody local they can call at a moment’s notice, that can put together a crew and send them out.”

It’s a nimble trait, and an earned one, Bob said.

“That’s having a quality crew. You’ve got to have guys that aren’t looking at you cross-eyed when you take them out of finishing somebody’s beautiful kitchen and say, ‘come with me; we have to go board up a house.’”

Another niche has been helping elders in their homes, figuring out ways to keep them aging in place, Robyn added.

“The other thing is just being there when someone who we’ve worked for for 30 years needs a cabinet door adjusted, and they call, and we do it,” she added. “We’ll send somebody over there as soon as we can to get it done.

“I think if we weren’t able to adjust so quickly and do those small things, that would be tough for us because it makes you feel good about what you do. It feels great when you finish a veterinary clinic, but you also feel great when you know that you’ve helped somebody stay in their home by renovating their bathroom or putting up a ramp.”

It’s just one more way Mowry & Schmidt isn’t just staying busy — it’s making an impact, one customer at a time.

Peter Banko Shapes a Game Plan for Baystate Health

By
Peter Banko
Features Special Coverage

Goal to Go

Peter Banko

Peter Banko

Peter Banko earned a bachelor’s degree at Notre Dame in the late ’80s.

And as with most people who attend that university, his connection to it — and its football team — remains quite strong, manifesting itself in many ways.

Indeed, his office on the sixth floor at 280 Chestnut St. boasts everything from signed photos of players from his era — including one of Pat Terrell, who famously broke up that two-point conversion in the so-called ‘Catholics vs. Convicts’ game against the University of Miami in 1988, Banko’s senior year — to a replica of the famous ‘Play Like a Champion Today’ sign that players smack as they exit the locker room. Meanwhile, he has season tickets and goes to most games in South Bend each fall.

But the connections to Notre Dame don’t end there, and they extend, coincidentally, to his eventual arrival at Baystate Health, where he took the helm as president and CEO on June 3.

As Banko tells the story, he was standing in line at the men’s room at Notre Dame Stadium during the game against USC last October when the person two ahead of him in that line, someone who places executives in healthcare systems, started talking about the top position being open at Baystate, and how he might want to think about pursuing it.

“In meeting with the board and others, what came across was a commitment to mission and community. The academic nature, but also the community nature of the system was very attractive.”

“He turned around and said, ‘hey … are you open to looking at something?’ I said ‘yes,’ and he said, ‘Baystate,’” Banko recalled. “I said, ‘in Springfield?’ and he said, ‘yeah.’” (More on this later.)

And then … well, there’s his commitment to taking the Notre Dame family’s philosophy, if you will, about taking care of one another — long after they’ve graduated or stopped playing football — to healthcare in general, and now to Baystate Health.

Baystate Medical Center

Peter Banko says these have been difficult times for Baystate Health and its flagship hospital, Baystate Medical Center, but the system’s goals are “within reach.”

“There’s a way that you’re indoctrinated, that you take care of each other,” he said, referring those who are called ‘Domers,’ a reference to the campus’s famous golden dome. “From a healthcare perspective, this is a people business, and we have to take care of the people who provide the care. That’s the business lesson learned — you take care of the people; the rest works itself out.”

Putting aside all the Notre Dame memories and connections for a moment, Banko said he came to Baystate because he was well aware of its strong reputation within the industry and wanted to be part of it.

“I’m also having fun again. Sometimes big is not great,” he said, adding that he wasn’t having much fun — or, at least, not as much as he used to — at Centura Health in Centennial, Colo. (which he served as president and CEO), which is part of the massive, $4 billion CommonSpirit Health system.

How much fun he has at Baystate will likely be a function of how well the system, which consists of four hospitals — Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Noble Hospital, Baystate Wing Hospital, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center — as well as several neighborhood clinics and other community-based services, fares with the many challenges facing all healthcare systems today.

“I heard someone say I’ve got the toughest job in town, and I said, ‘no, I’ve got the easiest job in town; I’ve got a great group of people.’”

These include workforce issues, which started before COVID and were amplified by the pandemic; inadequate reimbursements from public payers; and, in general, maintaining a healthy bottom line.

Perhaps the biggest of those challenges is building and maintaining a workforce, he said, adding that a number of factors, from retiring Baby Boomers to COVID-induced burnout that prompted many to leave the industry, are conspiring against healthcare providers on this front.

“We’re facing all the demographics — people are retiring, and there aren’t people replacing them,” he said, adding that Baystate’s status as a teaching hospital will likely be an advantage as it confronts these workforce issues moving forward.

As for financial challenges, he takes over a health system that experienced an operating loss of $178 million in FY 2022, lost $63 million on operations in FY 23, and saw operating losses carry over into FY 24. Nonetheless, Banko sees light at the end of this tunnel.

Peter Banko says workforce issues are the biggest challenge

Peter Banko says workforce issues are the biggest challenge facing Baystate Health, and all healthcare providers, today.

“We’re poised and in a good situation, even though we’ve had a couple of rough years,” he went on. “Folks have said, ‘yeah, it’s been really rough here. I said, ‘well, if it was too rough, I wouldn’t have come.’ We’re poised to do some really good stuff.”

Overall, he said his primary goal is to build on the solid foundation put down his predecessor, Dr. Mark Keroack, and take full advantage of the system’s many assets, especially its core of physicians and clinicians.

“As I told the board then and I keep telling people now, I can move mountains with the group of physicians we have here,” he told BusinessWest. “We can do anything.”

For this issue, we talked at length with Banko about healthcare, the challenges facing the industry, his plans for meeting them head on, and, yes, Notre Dame football and all those connections to his alma mater.

 

His Chosen Field

Banko calls it his “week of fame.”

It came in 2006, when he was serving as administrator of the CHRISTUS Spohn Health System in Corpus Christi, Texas, and it started when he got a phone call alerting him that Vice President Dick Cheney had been shot while quail hunting and had been taken to what was known then as Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital, part of the system. Upon arrival, Banko found out that wasn’t the case, and also that, while no one was saying it out loud, let alone officially, it seemed that Cheney had likely shot the person who was in his hospital.

“I did a few interviews with national news outlets that evening on the phone, and I came in the next day at 6:30, and every news outlet on the planet was parked outside the hospital,” he recalled. “I did all the press conferences every day; I had a direct line to the White House.”

And what he remembers as much as those press briefings and his hotline to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is how his doctors eventually solved the mystery surrounding the victim’s heart-attack-like reaction to the shooting.

“We couldn’t figure out what it was,” he recalled. “We had doctors in from three major teaching hospitals and the White House. I was in the cath lab with seven cardiologists and three heart surgeons on our side, and one of our docs found an obscure article about a Vietnam vet who had shrapnel in his heart, and years later he had the same symptoms. So they treated him based on that one article.”

The rest of Banko’s career has brought considerably less fame, if you will, but myriad rewards and rich learning experiences. And except for one very brief stint in the private sector, as he called it, he’s spent that career in healthcare administration.

He actually got his start in healthcare as a junior volunteer in his home state of New Jersey while attending Notre Dame. His specific assignment was patient transport, which enabled him to meet hundreds of people and compile a large portfolio of stories.

“I had a lot of great conversations, and I learned a lot,” he said, adding that the administrator of the hospital — a Notre Dame football fan — told him he a knack for health leadership.

“Being an academic center has put us in a better position. We can more easily work with the universities and colleges, we can partner more, and we have that academic setting where we can train and keep our own, which puts us in a unique position.”

“I said, ‘I don’t even know what you do,’” he recalled. “She spent a few hours with me and encouraged me down a path. So, other than one week working in a supermarket as a porter, I’ve never worked anywhere other than a hospital or physician group or health plan.”

After earning his bachelor of business administration degree at Notre Dame and his master of health administration degree from the Sloan Program in Health Services Administration at Cornell, where they take their football far less seriously, he worked in a succession of jobs in healthcare administration, starting at Saint Clare’s Health Services in Denville, N.J. Later, there were stints as president and CEO of CHI St. Vincent in Little Rock, Ark.; and at CHRISTUS Spohn in Texas.

With CommonSpirit Health, he spent nearly two decades in various capacities, including vice president of Southeast Operations and national chief integration officer, before becoming president and CEO of Centura Health, with facilities, including 20 hospitals, across Colorado, Kansas, and Utah.

“I was at CommonSpirit for 17 years, and I was ready for a refresh and a chance to do something different,” he said.

Which brings us to that encounter with the executive recruiter in the men’s room at Notre Dame Stadium.

 

New Team Leader

Banko said he was late, as in very late, to the game when it came to Baystate’s search for a successor for Keroack, but, with some additional encouragement from his executive coach, who once worked in the Baystate system and told him he needed to look into this opportunity, he hustled and became part of a large field of candidates. As noted earlier, he said he was familiar with the organization and its strong reputation within the industry.

“And in meeting with the board and others, what came across was a commitment to mission and community,” he told BusinessWest. “The academic nature, but also the community nature of the system was very attractive.”

He persevered through several rounds of interviews, including a lengthy discussion with the board about his vision for the system, and was chosen by the search committee in March.

Summarizing that vision, he said there are several components to it, everything from honoring a mission and legacy that dates back to 1883 to having a “more physician- and clinical-centered system”; from achieving growth and operating at scale to having a healthy balance sheet.

“We want to use our physicians and other clinicians to drive our strategy and what we do going forward,” he explained. “One of the things that impressed me being here and interviewing is that our cadre of physicians is one of the best I’ve seen in the country in terms of training, expertise, skills, and leadership.”

As for the bottom line, that balance sheet, he said COVID and its after-effects have obviously taken a toll on this and every other healthcare system across the country.

“But it’s all within reach,” Banko added. “Financially, our future is easily within our reach; it’s nothing that’s not attainable. I heard someone say I’ve got the toughest job in town, and I said, ‘no, I’ve got the easiest job in town; I’ve got a great group of people.’

“COVID wasn’t great, and the recovery afterwards has been worse, almost,” he went on. “We’re not facing any problems anybody else isn’t dealing with nationally — some more, some less — but I feel our future is attainable and within our grasp; we just have to go for it.”

Elaborating, he noted that, while all healthcare systems are facing the same issues and challenges, the solutions are local.

“The problems are generally the same … the solutions and how you work at them are very locally contextual,” he elaborated. “Workforce challenges in Boston are different than the ones we face here, but we both have them, and our solutions are not the same as what our colleagues in Boston are doing.”

As for those workforce issues he mentioned earlier, he said Baystate Health does have some advantages as it works to attract and retain talent, including its status as a teaching hospital, but also its location and comparatively lower cost of living.

“Being an academic center has put us in a better position,” he explained. “We can more easily work with the universities and colleges, we can partner more, and we have that academic setting where we can train and keep our own, which puts us in a unique position.

“Plus, this is a great area,” he went on. “It’s affordable, you can raise a family here, and that’s not true of a lot of places around the country.”

One of the keys to success with workforce moving forward is taking care of people, which includes the wages paid, but certainly doesn’t end there, he told BusinessWest.

“My view is that, if you take care of people and help them produce a good product, then growth and profitability will take care of themselves,” he said. “That’s where we have to start; we need to make sure that people want to work here and that we’re a workplace of choice and that we’re delivering a quality product for our community.”

Since arriving at Baystate, Banko says he’s been on a listening tour, one involving both internal and external constituencies, which will continue for the next several months.

What he hears, what he learns, and what he shares will all be part of a report to the board on his first 100 days at the helm, one that will update and likely add new layers of specificity to that vision he has for where this system can go in the years and decades to come — and how to get there.

 

Passing Thoughts

Getting back to those season tickets Banko has had since 2017 … there are four of them for each game, and he likes to share the wealth. And that includes work colleagues.

Which means some of his new team members will be journeying to South Bend in the autumns to come as the Irish pursue their first national championship since … well, Banko’s senior year.

They’ll also be contributing to another journey, one in which they’ll help write the next chapters in the history of this institution — a game with much higher stakes, and one for which he believes the winning formula is already in place.

As they say in football, it’s a matter of execution — and that will be a big part of Banko’s new job.

Leader of Greenfield Cooperative Bank Focuses on Community

By
President and CEO Tony Worden
Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Lending Perspective

President and CEO Tony Worden

President and CEO Tony Worden

Tony Worden has worked at several banks in his career, of various types and sizes, but there’s something about a small community bank that … well, just suits him.

For starters, “there’s less pressure,” said Worden, president and CEO of Greenfield Cooperative Bank (GCB). “I mean, we certainly have to grow, and we have to make money, but there’s less emphasis on that and more emphasis on relationships. I’m not trying to pat us on the back because I know Florence is like this, bankESB is like this, Greenfield Savings, too — we all need to make money, we need to grow, but we also get how important we are to the communities that we serve.

“There are loans we make that, at a previous bank, we never would have made,” he went on. “They just would have said, ‘no, we’re not doing that.’ But community banks find ways to stretch to get people’s mortgages done, and even on commercial loans. As a community bank, we have to think about how we’re serving our community, and bigger banks worry less about that. It’s easier for them to turn loans down because they’re not as involved.”

Worden knows a lot about commercial lending after working in that realm for the vast majority of his career before former GCB President and CEO Michael Tucker persuaded him, in 2019, to pursue that role as Tucker prepared to retire. Worden knew he’d have a steep learning curve in areas ranging from finance to IT to human resources — but he embraced the challenge.

“My thought was, someday, if I play my cards right, maybe I’ll get a chance to be the senior lender somewhere. And I got to be that here. It was not part of my grand plan to be president.”

“A lot of people get into this business, and their dream or goal is to become president of a bank. But I never really thought about that. My thought was, someday, if I play my cards right, maybe I’ll get a chance to be the senior lender somewhere. And I got to be that here,” he said. “It was not part of my grand plan to be president.”

But Tucker was convinced Worden was the right candidate to put forth internally, and the board eventually chose him over two external candidates. Worden, a longtime senior commercial loan officer, initially worked alongside Tucker as chief operating officer through 2020, then took over as president at the start of 2021; Tucker stayed in the CEO role until the start of 2022, when he retired and passed that mantle to Worden as well.

The long transition period working alongside Tucker turned out to be a blessing in more than one way. Not only was Worden learning the ins and outs of a much broader job than his previous career in commercial lending, but the emergence of the pandemic threw a major wrench into the banking world.

“The transition got stunted a little by the pandemic,” he recalled. “Obviously, I was excited when I accepted the job, and we knew COVID was a thing that was happening, but no one knew exactly what it was going to do. And literally within a week, my excitement ended because it was, ‘OK, now we have survive this.’”

Greenfield headquarters

While nine of its 10 branches are in Franklin and Hampshire counties, including its Greenfield headquarters (pictured), GCB has been making inroads into Hampden County as well.

Worden said bank leaders will be telling stories for decades about the adventure of PPP loans and everything else they had to do to help customers navigate that whitewater, but they are gratifying stories to tell.

“It’s amazing, in hindsight, to think about what all the banks accomplished. There were certainly technological hurdles because the SBA was not set up to be doing this volume.”

But in the years that followed, Worden has become accustomed to many other challenges, from a shifting rate environment — and its impact on lending — to the continued evolution of digital banking platforms, to Greenfield Co-op’s own growth trajectory.

“As a community bank, we have a responsibility to serve our customers’ needs as fully as we possibly can,” he told BusinessWest. “So we all stretch a little bit more to get loans done, to get projects done.”

 

Steady Growth

Greenfield Cooperative Bank has grown in numerous ways over the past decade, most notably by merging with Northampton Cooperative Bank in 2015, which increased its branch total from five to nine; a tenth branch opened in South Hadley in 2020, the first outside of Franklin or Hampshire county.

At the time of the merger, Greenfield Co-op boasted roughly $350 million in assets, and Northampton brought roughly $150 million, to create a $500 million bank.

“Right now, we’re just under $800 million in total,” Worden said. “So, in a decade, we’ve had about $300 million worth of growth, which, obviously, for a bigger bank or a publicly traded bank, wouldn’t be acceptable. But we don’t have stockholders, so we can grow sensibly.”

“The real growth, from a demographic perspective, is in Hampden County. And with all the mergers and acquisitions, there are fewer banks in Hampden County than there used to be.”

That said, he views Hampden County as a big part of GCB’s future, and the South Hadley branch as a jumping-off point to do more business in that region. In fact, many of the bank’s lenders have worked at Springfield-area institutions in the past and have maintained relationships there.

“If you look at the demographics, Hampden County is growing. Franklin County is not; it’s actually retracting. Hampshire County’s growing a little bit, but the real growth, from a demographic perspective, is in Hampden County. And with all the mergers and acquisitions, there are fewer banks in Hampden County than there used to be.

“So we see opportunity,” he went on. “We’ve had some success on the commercial side, and this past winter, we hired a mortgage originator from a local competitor who’s based out of Holyoke and knows that market, and we’re making a push to start doing some residential mortgages in all of Hampden County. But our focus right now is Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield because we feel like we can handle that through a branch in South Hadley, which isn’t technically in Hampden County, but it’s not that far away. So we’re taking tentative steps to be more of a presence down there.”

Greenfield Cooperative Bank

Greenfield Cooperative Bank partners with many community organizations, such as Montague Public Libraries (pictured) for programs like its bilingual children’s music and movement program.

That said, when Worden joined the commercial lending team at GCB 15 years ago, the bank had $29 million in commercial loans; that number is now $260 million, and the bank employs more lenders, credit analysts, and administrative staff.

“But we’ve also seen some significant payoffs of our loans — not because they’ve gone and refinanced somewhere else, but because they sold their properties when the market got so hot,” he noted.

At the same time, “I think the rising rate environment has made people shyer about going out and pursuing things because, again, no one wants to finance something at the top of the market and have the rates start to go down the day after they do it. So I think what we’ve seen is people kind of sitting and waiting: ‘is the economy going to tank or not?’

“As time has gone on, I think more people are buying into this idea that there could be a soft landing,” he went on. “But I think it would help to see the rates drop because I think that would get people active again. There’s a lot of wait and see at this point.”

That said, a large swath of the customer base never lived through really high rates.

“When I first started, I was a junior commercial credit analyst at Vermont National Bank up in Brattleboro,” Worden said. “And people were saying, ‘you know, if prime would just get down to 10%, that would be perfect.’ And then we were so low for so long that people started to think that was normal.”

He recently watched a recording of a Red Sox game from the 1980s, complete with commercials, and one in particular made him laugh. “It was a car commercial, and it said, ‘low, 11.99% financing for well-qualified buyers.’ Today, people would see that, and their heads would explode.”

Historical perspective isn’t the only thing separating younger from older bank customers — they have different banking habits as well, as Millennials and Gen Z grew up with technolology and are more apt to eschew physical branches.

“They go in as little as possible. They want to do as much remotely and through their phone as they possibly can,” Worden said. “That’s a new reality, making sure we have the technology and the channels for them to bank the way they want to bank.”

But there will always be a need for a physical presence and face-to-face interactions, he added, which is why banks continue to expand geographically.

“For a decade or so before the pandemic, if you went to any banking-industry events, they said, ‘get rid of your branches, get rid of the bricks and mortar; they’re expensive. The fintechs are eating your lunch because they don’t have those costs. They’re not paying real-estate taxes. They’re not paying for AC. They’re not paying for the lights.’ But now, we’re hearing, ‘lean into your branch network because that’s your advantage over the fintechs. The fintechs wish they had a building on the corner that people could walk into.’

“If everything is going well for you as a customer, maybe you don’t need to talk to somebody face-to-face. But as soon as something goes sideways, it’s nice to know you can walk into a building and talk to somebody face-to-face and deal with them,” he went on. “We, as a bank and as an industry, have to do a better job explaining to people what the value is of having someone local working with you.”

 

Different Kind of Dream

That local face and relationship banking may be even more important at a time when mergers are creating ever-larger institutions — and fewer of them, Worden noted.

“Some people say to me, ‘you must be happy when you see these bank mergers because it’s one less piece of competition for you.’ But no — I think it’s a shame that local options are going away.

At a Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. meeting he attended last fall, attendees were told there are half as many banks in Massachusetts as there were 20 years ago, and it’s estimated that, over the next decade, that figure could be halved again. “I left there thinking, ‘we have to focus on what it will take for us to make sure we’re one of those banks that survive.”

But it’s a challenge he’ll enjoy, even though it’s not one he dreamed about taking on earlier in his career.

“When it was announced that I got this job, people would come up to me and say, ‘you got your dream job.’ And I’d say, ‘no, actually, I gave up my dream job for this job.’ If someone offers you the chance to be the president of a bank, you take the job. But what’s been fun is focusing on other parts of the bank than commercial lending.”

One of those is philanthropy, and Worden appreciates being in a place where community giving decisions are made locally, rather than regionally or nationally, as is the case at larger banks.

“The decisions we make about where we’re going to give our money happen right here in this building, for the most part,” he noted. “We certainly upped our giving during COVID, and then we never went back down to the historical level — not that it was low before.”

Overall, Worden said, GCB is a relatively uncomplicated bank to run. “We’re very vanilla. I think my senior staff gets sick of hearing me say that, but I say it as a good thing. We’re not in all kinds of weird things. We stick to what we know how to do, and we do them well.”

While Greenfield Co-op isn’t among the region’s largest banks in terms of assets, it’s well on its way to $1 billion, and Worden is looking forward to that milestone.

“Things will change a little bit; there’s more regulation,” he told BusinessWest. “But it’s gratifying to see the growth and to know I played a small part in that. A lot of the reason for the success was Mike Tucker. He did a great job for 20 years; he got the ball rolling. I’m just trying to keep the thing moving down the road.”

Questions Abound About Future of Hampshire Mall

By
Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

A Matter of Speculation

‘What happens now?’

That’s the question that was on the minds of many as Hampshire Mall was sold at a foreclosure auction last month — to the company that holds the mortgage on the property, and for far less than half its assessed value.

Actually, people have been asking that question for a while now, as the fate of the mall becomes less clear after years of struggle, even after its former owner, Pyramid Management Group (which also owns Holyoke Mall), started doing the things malls are supposed to do in these changing times, especially shifting gears and devoting far more square footage to entertainment-related venues — everything from a large gym to escape rooms to taekwondo.

Apparently, all that simply wasn’t enough, said John Benoit, a principal (with his two brothers) of Vantage Point Retail in Longmeadow, which leases and sells retail properties and finds locations for a few national chains, such as Five Guys, Advance Auto Parts, and 99 Restaurant.

“Zoning is complicated, to say the least, and sometimes, when people hear about an effort and there’s a lack of specificity surrounding it, they can draw conclusions that are not appropriate.”

He noted that Hampshire Mall, located near the Amherst line in Hadley on busy Route 9, is just one of many malls across the U.S. that are suffering and destined for new life; others in this region include Eastfield Mall, which has already been demolished, to be replaced by a large power center, and Enfield Square, which is also awaiting its fate. Meanwhile, the retail sector itself is a state of flux.

John Benoit

John Benoit says Route 9 is a retail destination, but he wonders how much more retail can come to that busy thoroughfare.

“Retail has been undergoing change for a long time, and I don’t know if it’s settled,” Benoit told BusinessWest. “There was a time when online was a new world in retail and the discussion in the trade journals and at the trade association meetings going back 10 to 15 years was about whether brick-and-mortar locations would go away — would people just do business online?”

What has emerged, he went on, is the concept of multi-channel retail that includes online as well as bricks-and-mortar elements, with some consumers using one or the other for research, buying, returns, or some combination of the above.

“It changes every year,” he added. “Some of the statements I just made … I don’t even know if they’re current.”

Nothing is expected to happen at Hampshire Mall for a while, as the new owner, Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas and Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc., which, as noted, held the mortgage on the property, figures out what it wants to do. The bank foreclosed on the mall after Pyramid defaulted on its mortgage.

Shardool Parmar, a more-than-interested observer at the auction — that’s because the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group, which he serves as president, owns three hotels on Route 9 in Hadley and is building a fourth — said it will likely be years before the fate of the property is known.

“It’s a big unknown what will happen to the mall property,” he said. “That’s because it’s difficult to say what the future market will be when it comes to whether this will remain retail or become residential. There are a lot of unknowns.”

The most obvious future uses are more (and perhaps different) retail — because of the emergence of the Route 9 retail corridor as one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the region, rivaled perhaps only by Memorial Drive in Chicopee, said Benoit — and housing, mostly because of the size of the parcel and the huge need for more housing in that region.

But both of those options come with question marks. Indeed, while Route 9 is a retail hub, there are vacancies — actually, several of them — along that corridor, Parmar said. Meanwhile, Benoit added, while successful retail and especially grocery stores (and there are lot of them on this corridor) attract more retail, most of the major players, from Walmart to Home Depot, are already there.

“They did what people said what malls could do and should do, and they did it early — and that’s entertainment, as compared to shopping. They had the shopping, but they also had an entertainment component.”

As for housing, a zone change would be required, said Hadley Select Board member Molly Keegan, noting that the town will likely pursue creation of what’s known as a 40R, otherwise known as a smart growth zoning overlay district, which, according to the state’s website, “seeks to substantially increase the supply of housing, and decrease its cost, by increasing the amount of land zoned for dense housing.”

“The Planning Board has been working with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on researching and potentially bringing a zoning change to town meeting in either the spring or fall of 2025 that would allow for additional types of development, specifically using Chapter 40R,” Keegan explained, noting that the intent of 40R is to encourage municipalities to create dense housing or mixed-use zoning districts.

Such a proposal would require educating town residents about just what such a zone is for and what could happen if one becomes reality on that corridor, she noted, adding that, if a vote comes to fruition, it will Hadley’s first attempt at creating a 40R.

Molly Keegan

Molly Keegan says information and education will be the keys to passing a needed zone change to permit dense housing at the Hampshire Mall site.

“There’s an awful lot of education that needs to go along with this,” Keegan said. “Zoning is complicated, to say the least, and sometimes, when people hear about an effort and there’s a lack of specificity surrounding it, they can draw conclusions that are not appropriate. So the most important thing the town can do right now is educate.”

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, we take an in-depth look at Hampshire Mall and what might come next for this retail and cultural landmark.

 

Landmark Decisions

Hampshire Mall is one of the several area spots that gets some exposure in the recently released Janet Planet, a coming-of-age movie set in Western Mass. in the early ’90s.

In a recent Boston Globe article intended to help readers understand just what ‘Western Mass.’ is — and how the movie helps explain that geography — it is noted that the mall became a solid locale for the movie because … well, with a JCPenney and a rollerskating rink, it looks the part of an early-’90s mall.

In the larger scheme of things, that’s probably not a good look, even though, as noted earlier, the mall has made some significant changes in recent years to make it more viable, especially that shift to more entertainment-related venues. Indeed, in most respects, it doesn’t look like an early-’90s mall, with tenants that include FunHub Action Park, All In Adventures, LaserBlast Ancient Adventure, Planet Fitness, and PiNZ, a bowling alley.

“They did what people said what malls could do and should do, and they did it early — and that’s entertainment, as compared to shopping,” he explained. “They had the shopping, but they also had an entertainment component.”

This shift helped, but it certainly hasn’t stemmed the mall’s decline, said Benoit, theorizing that habits changed during the pandemic — people didn’t want to be indoors around a lot of other people — and they haven’t really changed back.

This reality, coupled with the many changes in retail — and the proliferation of other retail on Route 9 — conspired to all but seal the fate of Hampshire Mall, he noted, adding that similar stories have been written at malls around the country. The ones changing the narrative for the better have embraced reinvention.

“Malls are really struggling, and that struggle didn’t just start — it’s been going on a long time,” Benoit said, emphasizing that word ‘long.’ “Malls are big, complicated financial and physical arrangements.”

Using Eastfield as an example, he said talks about converting it to a large power center with a housing component have been going on for at least 15 years, by his count. Advancing those plans have been complicated by everything from the Great Recession to the pandemic; from ownership of some footprints by the anchors themselves, which slows and adds more layers of complexity to the equation, to the fate of existing tenants.

“The more information people have, and the earlier they have it and have time to ask questions and digest it, the better they’ll understand what they’re voting on what they get to town meeting.”

That question of what might come next at Hampshire became an assignment — “Reimagining the Hampshire Mall: Exploring Opportunities for Intergenerational Housing and Community Development” — for 40 juniors in the architecture and landscape architecture programs at UMass Amherst.

Teams of five students presented different concepts for the mall property. Each one included 350 to 700 new housing units, designed for young professionals, working families, and seniors; site amenities for residents and visitors; parking for tenants and shoppers alike; and some portions of the existing mall. Many of those elements are likely to be included in whatever the mall becomes next, said those we spoke with.

Getting back to a possible 40R zone at the Hampshire Mall site, Keegan said the Planning Board has formed a smart-growth subcommitee that is specifically working on the next steps in the process of creating such a zone. Informational sessions will be scheduled to help inform the public of what is involved and what it means for the community moving forward.

“The more information people have, and the earlier they have it and have time to ask questions and digest it, the better they’ll understand what they’re voting on what they get to town meeting,” she added, noting that, while there is a recognized need for more housing in the community, 40R and its emphasis on dense housing is a new concept for Hadley.

What certainly isn’t a new concept is retail on Route 9. With five colleges only a few miles away and several smaller communities without their own retail centers, the stretch between the Coolidge Bridge and the center of Amherst has been a retail destination for more than 50 years now, one that has consistently added new regional and national brands to the portfolio, becoming what Benoit called a ‘super-regional trade area.’

As a measuring stick, he pointed to all those aforementioned supermarkets. As he commenced counting them, he started with Big Y and Stop & Shop and ended with Maple Farms, a smaller, independent outlet, and listed eight in all. And he was quite sure there was a ninth that he couldn’t recall.

In any case, all those supermarkets attract other retail, he said, adding that there may still be room for more on Route 9, including at a reshaped Hampshire Mall property, where a power center, at which “every store has a front door,” as he put it, could — that’s could — be part of the equation.

 

History Repeats?

That’s what happened at Mountain Farms Mall, which opened in 1973 and, ironically enough, became known as the ‘dead mall’ after its precipitous decline and the closing of all but a few of its 35 stores.

Converted to an open-air mall and anchored by Whole Foods Market and Walmart, it is now thriving — so much so that Benoit wondered out loud if there is, in fact, room for more retail on that stretch.

“I’m not sure retail is that strong anymore,” he said. “And with the Mountain Farms Mall thriving, a lot of tenants that are in business are already in that market. Between there and the Stop & Shop center, there’s already a lot of retail. The anchors are there — Home Depot, Lowe’s … there’s no one left.”

Parmar concurred, noting that, whatever comes of the site, it will be costly and probably complex.

“There are a lot of variables, including the cost of construction,” he told BusinessWest. “To bring something to light there is not going to be cheap, and will there be a return on investment? There is a lot to investigate before someone can say ‘this will work’ or ‘that will work.’”

Congressman Neal Announces $750,000 for Lenox Town Hall Restoration Project

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Daily News

LENOX — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal joined state Rep. and interim Town Manager Smitty Pignatelli to announce a $750,000 earmark for the Lenox Town Hall restoration project.

The allocation was made possible through congressionally directed spending from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Neal included funding for this project in the FY 2023 spending bill that was signed into law on Dec. 29, 2022.

“A town hall holds a prominent place in a community’s downtown, representing the cornerstone for public discourse and the nexus for local governance. In a community like Lenox, whose history predates the Revolutionary War, the Town Hall represents an institution with which generations of residents identify,” Neal said. “I was pleased to partner with state Representative Smitty Pignatelli to further the Town Hall restoration project. This funding will help preserve and maintain this historic building, ensuring it can continue to serve the residents of Lenox for years to come.”

Built in 1901, the historic Lenox Town Hall stands in a prominent position in downtown Lenox. A signature building of the Downtown Historic District, the Town Hall is on the State Register of Historic Places.

The project will restore and repair a number of interior and exterior features throughout the building, including repairing and restoring the deteriorating dome; reshingling the roof and exterior painting; addressing extensive water damage in the rotunda; installing more modern, energy-efficient lighting fixtures; replacing the flooring and sound system in the auditorium; and improving the handicap-accessible ramp.

Mirick Insurance Agency, Albert B. Allen Insurance Agency Join Wheeler & Taylor

By
Daily News

GREAT BARRINGTON — Mirick Insurance Agency of Shelburne Falls and Albert B. Allen Insurance Agency of Greenfield each recently entered a partnership with Wheeler & Taylor Insurance, a large insurance agency based in Great Barrington.

The two long-established insurance agencies joined Wheeler & Taylor to broaden their insurance offerings locally, regionally, and nationally. Both firms retain their name, staff, location, and management.

“With this new arrangement, we can provide additional insurance products, offer specialized expertise, and represent more insurance companies,” Mirick President Patrick Shippee said.

Brock Hines, president of Albert B. Allen, noted that “the partnership gives us a national reach and lets us write home, auto, and business insurance throughout the country. We will always offer the same personal hometown service.”

The move is a win for all parties, Wheeler & Taylor President J. Scott Rote said.

“By partnering with Wheeler & Taylor, both agencies can do even more for their personal and business customers,” he explained. “Local decision making combined with national resources creates a unique opportunity for agencies like them to preserve their heritage and commitment to the local community while at the same time significantly expanding their access to a broadened marketplace of insurance carriers, knowledge to insure nationwide, and commercial expertise allowing for expanded product offerings.”

Albert B. Allen Insurance Agency has been serving Franklin County since 1925. It is located at 277 Federal St., Greenfield, and online at albertallen.com.

Founded in 1980, Mirick Insurance Agency is located at 28 Bridge St., Shelburne Falls, and is online at www.mirickins.com.

Founded in 1871, Wheeler & Taylor Inc. is one of America’s oldest continuously operated financial companies. Operating full-service insurance and real-estate brokerage operations from its headquarters in Great Barrington, it has a network of offices in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, and Nevada.

Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts Announces Seven New Board Members

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts (JAWM) announced the addition of seven new members to its board of directors. They are:

• Corey Caron, managing director at Northwestern Mutual;
• Mychal Connolly Sr., founder and CEO of Stand Out Truck and Marketing and Cupcakes;
• Susan Fearn, vice president and Treasury Management officer for Liberty Bank;
• Ana Parrelli, vice president, Member and Employee Relations, LUSO Federal Credit Union;
• Nicole Polite, founder and CEO of the MH Group;
• Teremar Rodriguez-Vazquez, assistant general counsel at Health New England; and
• Joseph Williams, vice president, Commercial Lending at bankESB.

“We are honored to welcome these board members and appreciate their enthusiasm and commitment,” said Amie Miarecki, president of JAWM. “They have a wealth of regional business experience, and their insights will allow us to forward our mission to provide economic education and financial-literacy programs to students throughout the area.”

JAWM also announced these updates to its executive committee:

• Board co-chair: Tracy Alves-Lear, practice manager at Baystate Financial;
• Board co-chair: Terrell Joyner, financial advisor at Charter Oak Financial and founder of the Consulting Web; and
• Treasurer: Susan Fearn, vice president and Treasury Management officer, Liberty Bank.

Valley Blue Sox to Host Bark in the Park on July 18

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — The Valley Blue Sox will host Bark in the Park night on Thursday, July 18, sponsored by the Good Dog Spot. All proceeds from the night will benefit the Foundation for TJO Animals, which helps animals in need at the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center.

Fans have the opportunity to bring in their dogs to MacKenzie stadium for just $5 per dog (one dog per person limit). Fans must have a non-retractable leash for their dog at all times and must fill out a waiver prior to arrival, which can be found on the Blue Sox app or at www.valleybluesox.com.

There will also be free doggie swag bags for the first arrivals. Gates at MacKenzie Stadium open at 5:30 p.m., and the first pitch against the Bristol Blues is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Cybersecurity Center at Springfield Union Station Nears Opening

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The main entry of the new Richard E. Neal Cybersecurity Center of Excellence.
Cybersecurity Special Coverage

Training Ground

The main entry of the new Richard E. Neal Cybersecurity Center of Excellence.

The main entry of the new Richard E. Neal Cybersecurity Center of Excellence.

 

There are plenty of ways to learn about cybersecurity, Gene Kingsley said, but none better than actually doing it.

“It’s a huge advantage to be immersed in an environment where you’re undergoing what you’re learning about. You’re not just learning coding; you’re actually applying coding. You’re not just reading a book; you’re applying knowledge that you can replicate on your next job, having had this experience.”

Kingsley, cyber range manager for the Richard E. Neal Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, was describing the value of the center, which will open later this summer, to students studying cybersecurity — but also to an industry that desperately needs an influx of talent.

The project, housed at Springfield Union Station, is just one component of a multi-million-dollar series of investments, announced in 2022, to bolster cybersecurity resilience — and the related workforce — across the state.

These awards included a $1,086,476 grant to support the launch of CyberTrust Massachusetts, a nonprofit that works with business and academia statewide to grow the cybersecurity talent pipeline by increasing career pathways for underrepresented groups, while promoting security operations to address the day-to-day needs of resource-constrained municipalities, nonprofits, and small businesses.

“It’s a huge advantage to be immersed in an environment where you’re undergoing what you’re learning about. You’re not just learning coding; you’re actually applying coding. You’re not just reading a book; you’re applying knowledge that you can replicate on your next job.”

The state also awarded $1,462,995 award to Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) and $1,200,000 to Bridgewater State University to establish a security operations center (SOC) and cyber range in each city. The Neal Center at Union Station, managed by STCC, also benefited from $500,000 in ARPA funding from the city of Springfield.

Springfield’s 6,000-square-foot center — a collaboration between STCC, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, and CyberTrust Massachusetts — aims to be a hub for advancing cybersecurity awareness, education, and innovation while battling global security threats. Its cyber range is a simulated, hands-on training environment, and its SOC is envisioned as a support service for Massachusetts municipalities, as well as regional businesses, to detect cybersecurity events in real time and respond quickly.

“Springfield Union Station has re-established the city of Springfield as the crossroads of New England, and it will soon serve as home to a state-of-the-art cybersecurity training center that will greatly benefit our region,” U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said during a walk-through earlier this year.

Now that it’s set to open, Mary Kaselouskas, vice president and chief information officer at STCC, is excited to see its applications for students; three STCC classes will conduct work there this fall.

“Any of the students involved in the cybersecurity courses will have the cyber-range experience embedded in that,” she told BusinessWest, “and other classes will use the range as well.”

The facility’s security operations center

The facility’s security operations center will be a support service for municipalities and businesses to detect cybersecurity events in real time and respond quickly.

And not just STCC students; other institutions partnering on the project include Bay Path University, UMass Amherst, Western New England University, Elms College, and Springfield College, each of which offer a range of certificate and degree programs in cybersecurity, computer science and programming, digital forensics, criminal justice, and more.

“This is a very important initiative,” said Doug Keevers, program director of the School of Management and Technology at Bay Path. “It definitely benefits all students in the region by providing them with a facility where they can gain practice and hands-on experience. They’re going to be exposed to mentors, professionals in the field, real-life situations, different types of things — even competitions.

“We are very focused on knowledge, and taking the intangible and making it more tangible — giving students more hands-on, real-life experience. That’s what we’re all about,” he went on. “This will not be just for Bay Path and the partners involved, but any schools who want to use this facility as a resource. That’s very important in a field that can change dramatically on a daily basis.”

 

Essential Components

Essentially, the Neal Center will provide threat monitoring and other cybersecurity services for Commonwealth municipalities and small-business and nonprofit customers. The SOC will be able to monitor, detect, and respond to cyberthreats 24/7/365, protecting organizations’ assets.

Meanwhile, the cyber range is a testing lab that mirrors real-world IT environments to provide hands-on training opportunities to local companies, universities, and other cyber-focused organizations. It will allow both students and employees of companies and municipalities to experience simulated threats in a virtual environment, including hands-on training in live-fire attacks, blue-team/red-team events (in which one team attacks a system and the other defends it), and other training models, potentially leading to certification in security fields for students.

“We are very focused on knowledge, and taking the intangible and making it more tangible — giving students more hands-on, real-life experience. That’s what we’re all about.”

CyberTrust Massachusetts CEO Pete Sherlock called the center a critical piece of the Commonwealth’s overall effort to grow and diversify the cyber workforce and address the security needs of municipalities, nonprofits, and businesses. “With its state-of-the-art cyber range, educational facilities, and security operations center, this cyber center of excellence is a world-class resource to serve the region’s people and institutions.”

For its part, CyberTrust was launched to address four key imperatives for the state:

• Boosting security, as organizations across Massachusetts are challenged to find affordable resources to defend themselves against growing cybersecurity threats and maintain resiliency in the digital world;

• Underemployment in cybersecurity, with almost 800,000 cybersecurity job openings in the U.S. — a number expected to grow — and more than 20,000 in Massachusetts alone. The center also puts a particular focus on women and communities of color, which are underrepresented in the cybersecurity workforce and frequently overlooked for employment due to a lack of opportunity to obtain hands-on experience;

• Employee training, as businesses across the Commonwealth typically do not have a location to send their employees to receive such training at an affordable rate; and

• Business and economic development, specifically a need to convene regional hubs for business development where cybersecurity entrepreneurs can establish and grow startups, or where specific industry segments, such as defense contractors, can receive specialized support.

Gene Kingsley

Gene Kingsley says the new center could be an economic boost for downtown Springfield as well as benefiting the cybersecurity workforce.

Students who train at the center will have access internships and industry partnerships that help them build experience and career networks, research opportunities that establish best practices combined with emerging technologies, and community outreach and education forums to raise awareness about cybersecurity risks and solutions.

Kingsley said it could also be an economic booster for downtown Springfield. “Obviously, more traffic downtown is ideal. The idea is bringing people from the community to upskill them. And this is a growth field; we’re looking to get people into the field right now.”

Kaselouskas agreed, noting that the new center could be a way to boost the security workforce by creating training opportunities in an easy-to-access location.

“What’s nice about the center is that it’s a centralized location available by train and bus and it’s very easily accessible,” she said, adding that the city is interested in using the center for training its own employees. “It offers them an economy of scale. It’s cost-prohibitive to buy the platform or services on your own.”

Businesses can also use the center to upskill employees, Keevers said.

“Cybersecurity permeates every industry, every field, every department. I’ve heard advisory-board members say, ‘we have an employee who has an affinity for cybersecurity; they just need some upskilling.’ So it’s an opportunity to do that.”

 

Creating a Hub

Kaselouskas said the state’s recent focus on cybersecurity investments is intended not just to buy tools and give them to businesses to fight cyberthreats, but to train the future workforce.

“Bridgewater’s center is on campus, and ours is at a different location, but the vision and goal are the same: to train students to allow them to get jobs.”

Combined with MassReconnect, the program that now makes community college free for Massachusetts residents age 25 and up — and which has boosted enrollment at STCC and other colleges — the Neal Center promises to draw more talent into a field that needs it.

“My personal passion is for Massachusetts to become a cyberhub. And I think this is an opportunity to do that,” Keevers added, noting that, while some young people are hesitant to enter what they feel is an overly technical field, cybersecurity jobs span a wide range of skills and expertise.

“It’s not one size fits all. The biggest threat in cybersecurity is people, and the best way to stay safe is to educate and train people.”

Picture This

By
Monson Savings Bank President and CEO Dan Moriarty (center)
Picture This

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

 

Fighting Fire with Faith

Monson Savings Bank recently donated $2,500 to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church Fire Fund. In December 2020, the historically black Springfield church, established in 1897, was set ablaze by an arsonist, causing an estimated $2.5 million in damages. The church’s members have been forced to worship elsewhere during the campaign to rebuild.

Monson Savings Bank President and CEO Dan Moriarty (center)

Pictured: Monson Savings Bank President and CEO Dan Moriarty (center) and Kylie LaPlante, assistant vice president and Business Development officer (far left), present the donation to the Rev. Terrlyn Curry Avery (center right) and church board members.

 

 

 

Let’s Talk Mental Health

MiraVista Behavioral Health Center and the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (PHIWM) recently announced a partnership highlighting young people’s emotional wellness during the summer months and launched a public education campaign titled “Adolescent Mental Health Doesn’t Take a Vacation.”

Kimberley Lee, chief of Creative Strategy and Development at MiraVista

Pictured, from left: Kimberley Lee, chief of Creative Strategy and Development at MiraVista; Kathleen Szegda, senior director of Community Research and Evaluation at PHIWM; and Jessica Collins, PHIWM executive director.

 

Mobile Methadone Program

Behavioral Health Network Inc. recently launched a mobile methadone program to help those struggling with opioid-use disorder. The program is the first of its kind in Western Mass., providing access to methadone from a 35-foot mobile treatment unit, which will be parked at 75 Main St. in Ware, with dosing hours Monday to Friday from 7 to 10 a.m. Intakes for new clients take place Tuesdays and Thursdays during regular operating hours.

Yazmin Ayala, medical assistant; Jessica Plescia, clinician

Pictured, from left: Yazmin Ayala, medical assistant; Jessica Plescia, clinician; Michael Navedo, driver; Alison TellierFox, senior program manager; and Laura Maceyka, program director.

Agenda

By
Agenda

Healthcare Heroes Nominations

Through July 29: In the spring of 2017, BusinessWest and its sister publication, the Healthcare News, created a new and exciting recognition program called Healthcare Heroes. It was launched with the theory that there are heroes working across this region’s wide, deep, and all-important healthcare sector, and that there was no shortage of fascinating stories to tell and individuals and groups to honor. That theory has certainly been validated. But there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of heroes whose stories we still need to tell. And that’s where you come in. Nominations for the class of 2024 are due Monday, July 29, and we encourage you to get involved and help recognize someone you consider to be a hero in the community we call Western Mass. in one (or more) of these eight categories: Care Provider, Administrator, Emerging Leader, Community Health, Educator, Innovation, Collaboration, and Lifetime Achievement. Nominations can be submitted at businesswest.com/healthcareheroes/nominations.

 

Applications for Free Small Business Legal Clinic

Through Aug. 1: The Western New England University Small Business Legal Clinic is accepting applications from entrepreneurs and small-business owners seeking legal assistance for the fall 2024 semester. Under faculty supervision, law students assist clients with legal issues, including choice of entity, employment policies, contract drafting, regulatory compliance, and intellectual-property issues relating to trademark applications and copyright. This is a free service available to local businesses that might not have the resources to obtain such services, and has assisted more than 500 small businesses since it opened. The clinic asks small-business owners to submit their applications by Aug. 1. Applications received after that date will be considered if additional resources are available. Students will begin providing services in September. For more information, call the Small Business Legal Clinic at (413) 782-1469 or email Marie Fletcher, Clinical Programs administrator, at [email protected].

 

 

Art Exhibit Submissions

Through Aug. 31: The Taber Art Gallery at Holyoke Community College (HCC), in partnership with the college’s Thrive Student Resource Center, is seeking submissions from area artists for an exhibit titled “THRIVE: Beyond Surviving.” The exhibit will run from Oct. 31 to Dec. 20. Artists are encouraged to enter work that considers the systemic, communal, and/or individual obstacles and barriers to survival; what surviving means; how we as humans can continue to dream, push, and hope for more than the minimum; and the struggle of exhaustion versus the ability to rest. Submissions are due by Aug. 31.

 

Whip City Animal Sanctuary Annual Golf Tournament

July 27: Whip City Animal Sanctuary will host its fourth annual golf tournament at St. Anne Country Club in Feeding Hills. “This is our biggest fundraising event of the year, and we’re working toward expanding our facilities in the near future. We’re looking for players and sponsors of all levels to come join the fun and support the sanctuary this year,” said Sonia Henderson, head of off-site fundraising for the sanctuary. Whip City Animal Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides long-term care for more than 100 abandoned, rescued, and surrendered farm animals. The sanctuary is open for public visiting hours on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon.

 

Ride to End Homelessness

July 28: The Springfield Rescue Mission is inviting area motorcyclists to participate in its annual Ride to End Homelessness. The ride starts with registration beginning at 10 a.m. and kickstands up at 12:30 p.m. at Sheldon Harley-Davidson, 914 Southbridge St., Auburn. It ends at the Springfield Rescue Mission, 10 Mill St., Springfield, with an after-party at 2:30 p.m. The after-party will feature raffles, food and drinks available for purchase, and live music by Night Moves, a Bob Seger tribute band. The party is free for ride participants and open to the whole community with a $10 donation per person. Walk-ins are welcome to join riders at the after-party. As an emergency shelter, mobile feeding program, rehabilitation and transformation center, and transitional living facility, Springfield Rescue Mission provides food, shelter, clothing, medical attention, Christian counseling, financial literacy, workforce development, high-school equivalency, higher-educational opportunities. and more, free of charge. Visit bit.ly/SRMRide to learn more and register for the Ride to End Homelessness.

 

Willpower Foundation Annual Golf Tournament

Sept. 3: The Willpower Foundation announced its annual golf tournament, set to take place at Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley. The tournament is open to all golf enthusiasts, with a registration fee of $125 per person. Participants will enjoy a round of golf, lunch, and opportunities to win prizes. Proceeds from the event will support the Willpower Foundation’s mission to provide financial support to children and families affected by disabilities. In addition to golfers, the Willpower Foundation is actively seeking sponsors to help offset the costs of the tournament. Sponsorship opportunities range from hole sponsorships to event sponsorships, each offering benefits and recognition. Sponsors will have the chance to showcase their commitment to the community and support a worthy cause. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, visit  www.willpowerfoundation.org or email Hayley Procon at [email protected].

 

Party for a Purpose

Sept. 19: With the goal of making sure Square One’s children have a new, state-of-the-art, outdoor learning and playspace, Friends on a Mission will host its annual Party for a Purpose to raise funds for the playground project at Square One’s Tommie Johnson Child & Family Center in Springfield. Now in its second year, Friends on a Mission started with a trio of friends — Bob Perry, Walter Tomala, and the late Jenn Schimmel — who set out to spend time together while giving back to the community. Their inaugural event held last fall raised more than $38,000 for Make-A-Wish of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. With early sponsorship support from PeoplesBank and Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C., this year’s Party for a Purpose, featuring cocktails, food, and festivities, will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Delaney House in Holyoke. Interested sponsors should contact Perry at (413) 530-3787. For tickets, visit www.startatsquareone.org.

People on the Move

By
People on the Move
Melissa English

Melissa English

Sharon Blazejowski

Sharon Blazejowski

Joe Oliveira

Joe Oliveira

MP CPAs, a full-service certified public accounting firm offering a wide range of accounting, tax, and consulting services to clients of all sizes, announced the promotions of three directors who have consistently exceeded client expectations and helped enhance team development and growth within the firm. Melissa English, senior manager, has been promoted to director. She has been with the firm for 23 years, working with clients across a variety of industries. Her background includes managing audits, reviews, and compilations of financial statements of nonprofit organizations, employee benefit plans, and small to medium-sized for-profit businesses specializing in employee benefit plan audits. English serves on the board of trustees of several local organizations, including serving as treasurer of the Chicopee Galaxy Youth Athletic Assoc., as well as serving as audit chair of Viability Inc. She is a certified employee benefit plan specialist and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Sharon Blazejowski, senior manager, has been promoted to director. She has been with the firm for 28 years, working with clients across a variety of industries. Her background includes managing audits, reviews, and compilations of financial statements in various industries, specializing in charter schools and nonprofit organizations by performing yellow-book and single audits under government auditing standards and uniform guidance. Blazejowski takes an active role in the local community by participating in various community fundraising and networking events, including serving as treasurer of a local youth sports team. She is a certified public accountant in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. Joe Oliveira, senior manager, has been promoted to director. He joined the firm in 2014 and has more than 20 years of experience providing consulting and tax solutions to a diverse group of clients including individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, and trusts. He specializes in working closely with high-net-worth clients, as well as private equity firms and their owners. Oliveira is currently treasurer for the Massachusetts Service Alliance and Suffield Girls Scouts. He is a certified public account in Connecticut and Massachusetts and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.

•••••

Hilary Barnard

Hilary Barnard

UMassFive College Federal Credit Union announced Hilary Barnard in her new role as Human Resources manager. She comes to UMassFive with more than 15 years of leadership experience. Her recent roles include serving as HR director in both the healthcare and property-management sectors and, previously, as store director for a large retail chain. Barnard has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in e-learning and instructional design from Northeastern University. Additionally, she holds SHRM-CP credentials, showcasing her commitment to excellence as a certified professional recognized by the Society of Human Resources Management. In her new position, she is responsible for supporting a variety of human-resources operations and initiatives, including supporting the recruiting process, recognition programs, training and development, and a variety of other projects.

•••••

Sabba Salebaigi-Tse

Sabba Salebaigi-Tse

The Royal Law Firm recently welcomed attorney Sabba Salebaigi-Tse to the team.Sabba received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alberta in Canada; her juris doctorate from Thompson Rivers University in Canada, and her master of laws degree from the University of Connecticut. She advises and represents clients in various labor- and employment-law matters and is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts. Her professional experience includes roles as a research assistant, legal researcher, and student clinician in various legal-aid clinics. Her background in legal research and advocacy, combined with hands-on experience in client representation and legal consulting, equips her to handle complex litigation effectively. She has received several awards for her legal research and writing skills.

•••••

Misty Lyons

Misty Lyons

Katya Krasnova

Katya Krasnova

Misty Lyons and Katya Krasnova, assistant vice presidents and mortgage officers at Greenfield Savings Bank, have both been recognized as top loan originators in Western Mass. for 2023 by Banker & Tradesman, a financial-industry publication that tracks banking and real-estate activity in Massachusetts. Lyons has been recognized as the third-ranking loan originator by dollar volume. She joined the bank in 2019 and works out of its Amherst office at 6 University Dr., covering all of Hampshire County. Krasnova is the fourth-ranking loan originator by number of loans. She joined the bank in 2016, covers Franklin County, and works out of the Greenfield office at 400 Main St. In 2023, Greenfield Savings Bank was also the number-one purchase mortgage lender in Hampshire County and, for the 22nd year in row, was the number-one mortgage lender in Franklin County, according to Banker & Tradesman.

•••••

Jeremy Payson

Jeremy Payson

Greenfield Cooperative Bank (GCB) announced that Jeremy Payson, executive vice president and controller, has graduated from the American Bankers Assoc. Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The Stonier Graduate School of Banking is a highly regarded, multi-year program designed to develop future leaders in the financial-services industry. Through a combination of intensive on-campus sessions and off-site coursework, graduates gain a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of banking, from commercial lending and risk management to strategic planning and leadership development. Payson’s graduation from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking underscores Greenfield Co-op’s commitment to investing in its employees and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

•••••

Berkshire Money Management welcomed two new staff members to its Great Barrington office: Operations Support Partner Katrina Fitzpatrick and Front Office Coordinator Lusha Martin. Fitzpatrick’s goal is to continuously make Berkshire Money Management and its processes more efficient. She works closely with Chief Operating Officer Natalie Wheeler to assess company needs and identify opportunities for improvement, while and developing strategies for addressing both. Fitzpatrick is a graduate of Westfield State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business management with a concentration in finance and a minor in economics. Prior to joining Berkshire Money Management, she worked as a branch specialist at Greylock Federal Credit Union. Martin manages the daily needs of Berkshire Money Management’s Great Barrington office, welcomes clients and guests, and manages the phone lines for the Dalton and Great Barrington offices. Before arriving at Berkshire Money Management, Martin owned and operated Bakin’ Bakery in Sheffield. She also brings more than two decades of experience in office management to the team and is in the process of earning an associate degree in business careers at Berkshire Community College. She has raised funds for various nonprofit organizations, including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and she is a member of the board of directors for Stanton Home in Great Barrington.

•••••

Emily Leonczyk

Emily Leonczyk

The Markens Group Inc. (TMG) and ASAE, the Center for Association Leadership, announced that Emily Leonczyk recently earned the certified association executive (CAE) designation, the highest professional credential in the association industry. Leonczyk serves as executive vice president of the Markens Group, an accredited association management company based in Springfield. The designation earned by Leonczyk significantly bolsters TMG’s operational effectiveness. This prestigious credential leads to better service for association clients and stronger outcomes, such as increased membership, improved member engagement, and successful events, paving the way for TMG and its clients to achieve their strategic goals. To become a designated CAE, Leonczyk leveraged her extensive experience with association management, completed 100 hours of specialized professional development, passed a stringent examination in association management, and pledged to uphold a code of ethics. CAEs conduct ongoing professional development and activities in association and nonprofit management to maintain certification. Leonczyk holds an MBA from Drexel University. She attributes her drive, resilience, and dedication to serving others to her family, including her determined and entrepreneurial parents and brothers.

•••••

Kim Baker

Kim Baker

Florence Bank announced it recently presented its 2024 Community Support Award to longtime employee Kim Baker. The Community Support Award was established by the bank in 1997 as a means of formally recognizing team members who are active in the community and give their personal and professional time to local nonprofit organizations. Each year, the award recipient selects an organization of his or her choice, and the bank donates $500 to that organization on the recipient’s behalf. Baker chose to support United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region. Baker joined Florence Bank in 1995 and currently serves as vice president, Commercial Loan Operations and compliance officer at the bank’s main office in Florence. She is responsible for commercial-loan compliance, including regulatory and management reporting. She holds an associate degree from Holyoke Community College, a bachelor’s degree in business management with a concentration in finance from Westfield State College, and a master’s degree in business administration from UMass Amherst. In the community, she is a member of Hatfield’s Finance Committee and the Hatfield Saint Kaz Polish Club. She volunteers for Jessie’s House, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Cancer Connection, the Three County Fair, and the Northampton Saint Patrick’s Assoc. She also chairs United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region’s annual Ski United fundraising event.

•••••

Morgan Bennett

Morgan Bennett

Adam Quenneville Roofing and Siding (AQRS), a locally owned residential and commercial roofing and siding company, recently welcomed Morgan Bennett as Business Development director. In this role, she will support the company in continuing to grow and develop its customer base and geographic reach. Prior to joining the AQRS team, Bennett worked for 10 years at Holyoke Medical Center, and she also worked at WWLP 22 News in Springfield. Her past roles have helped shape her approach to customer engagement and given her notable experience supporting individuals within the community. The recently created role at AQRS attracted Bennett because of her level of comfort and passion for engaging with customers. Her personal mission is to develop a strong understanding of the needs of both the residential and commercial customer base and deliver effective solutions. The Business Development director position incorporates a variety of responsibilities. Among them, Bennett will represent the company at local events, discuss options and guide customers through the decision-making process, work with industry partners to strengthen customer knowledge about the industry, assist individuals in learning so they can make the right roofing or siding decision to support their needs, and work with organizations to continue to pay forward community giving.

•••••

Lisa Doherty

Lisa Doherty

American International College announced the appointment of Lisa Doherty as the newest member of its board of trustees. Doherty is president and CEO of Business Risk Partners (BRP), which she co-founded with her sister, Linda Boborodea, more than 20 years ago. They started BRP in 2000 to provide professional specialty commercial liability insurance for small to medium-sized companies. While BRP initially focused on businesses with up to $50 million in revenues, it has grown as a specialty insurance underwriter and program administrator and writes policies for companies of all sizes nationwide. BRP has been awarded the “best practice” distinction, meeting the rigorous standards and best practices set by the Target Market Program Administrators Assoc. Doherty has served on the board for Veritas Preparatory Charter School in Springfield since 2010. Veritas Prep is a public, tuition-free school in Springfield that prepares students in grades 5 through 12 to compete, achieve, and succeed in college and beyond. Doherty is a graduate of Brown University, where she studied economics and international relations.

•••••

John “Jack” Williams

John “Jack” Williams

Fitzgerald Law, a business advisory law firm with four locations in Springfield, East Longmeadow, Worcester and Hartford, Conn., has announced a new hire to the firm, John “Jack” Williams. Williams is a 2023 graduate of Western New England University School of Law, where he earned his juris doctor degree with a focus in transactional law. He earned his bachelor’s degree in management, cum laude, with a minor in criminal justice from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., where he was a member of the men’s ice hockey team, including captain, for four years. He brings experience as a law clerk and attorney at Susan M. Williams, LLC, where he focused on bankruptcy matters. He also previously interned at the Law Office of Bonnie Mangan, P.C. in South Windsor, Conn., and served as a legal assistant for many years. At Fitzgerald Law, Williams will focus on transactional matters, including commercial real estate and finance, corporate governance, and business contracts. He is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

•••••

Alba Ago

Alba Ago

Benjamin Keogh

Benjamin Keogh

Gary DeYoung

Gary DeYoung

Sarah Zaino

Sarah Zaino

Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that Alba Ago, Benjamin Keogh, Gary DeYoung, and Sarah Zaino have been accepted into its law-clerk program for the 2024-25 school year. Ago is currently a candidate for a juris doctor degree at Western New England University School of Law, expecting to graduate in May 2025. She earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in three years from Montclair State University in 2022, majoring in political science with double minors in social work and global security diplomacy. Before joining Bacon Wilson, Ago completed a family-law defense practicum through Western New England and worked as a family law legal assistant for the current Superior Court judge in New Jersey. Keogh is currently a candidate for both a juris doctor degree and an MBA at Western New England University, with both degrees expected in May 2025. He earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Western New England University in 2022, majoring in criminal justice and minoring in accounting. Before joining Bacon Wilson, Keogh worked as a private investigator, handling a variety of cases in Vermont, Connecticut, and Central and Western Mass. He also worked for the U.S. Census Bureau in Northern Vermont. DeYoung is currently a candidate for a juris doctor degree at Suffolk University Law School, expecting to graduate in May 2025. He holds a doctor of philosophy degree in applied human development and a master of arts degree from Boston University, and he earned his bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, from UMass Amherst. Before joining Bacon Wilson, DeYoung gained experience as a judicial intern for the U.S. District Court in Springfield and served as chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board in Chelsea. Zaino is currently a candidate for a juris doctor degree at Western New England University School of Law, expecting to graduate in May 2025. She earned her bachelor of science degree, cum laude, from Marist College in 2022, where she also obtained her paralegal certificate. Before joining Bacon Wilson, Zaino worked as a temporary assistant clerk for the Connecticut Supreme Appellate Courts and interned with Corbally, Gartland, and Rappleyea in Millbrook, N.Y. She founded the Italian American Law Society during her second year of law school and was also a part of the real-estate practicum this past spring.

•••••

Florence Bank announced that it recently presented its 2024 President’s Award to three staff members for exceptional service. Established in 1995, the President’s Award recognizes outstanding performance, customer service, and overall contributions to Florence Bank. Those named are nominated by their colleagues at the bank. This year’s award recognizes Kim Downing, branch manager and assistant vice president in the Chicopee branch; Michele St. Germain, senior teller and customer-service representative in the West Springfield branch; and Christina Mullen, loan servicing manager in the main office in Florence. With 38 years in the banking industry, Downing was recognized for her communication, team management, and customer-service skills. She was also saluted for her commitment to community service. She currently serves as a board member of the Therapeutic Equestrian Center and sits on the gala committee for the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee. St. Germain has 36 years of banking experience and was saluted for her ability to quickly and effectively respond to customers’ needs, her positivity, mentoring colleagues, and communicating effectively. She was also recognized for handling customer transactions courteously and for supporting the teller operations manager and tellers to ensure efficient operations. In her role at the bank, Mullen is responsible for servicing residential mortgages and consumer loans. She was lauded for her attention to detail and ensuring that her staff provides outstanding customer service at all times. She has 34 years of experience in the industry.

•••••

The Rotary Club of Springfield has installed Oscar Mena De Leon as its 2024-25 president, the youngest person to serve in this role. Upon graduation from Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy in 2014, he received the Outstanding Vocational Student of the Year award signed by the state Senate. He is an insurance agent with Comparion Insurance Agency, a Liberty Mutual Company. As president of the Springfield Rotary Club, Mena De Leon said he plans to concentrate on two of Rotary’s areas of focus — basic education/literacy and the environment — to help promote the well-being and success of youth in the community.

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook

PeoplesBank Named Among Best Banks In Massachusetts

HOLYOKE — PeoplesBank has again been honored as one of the Best Banks in Massachusetts in the seventh annual America’s Best Banks list from Forbes, and is the only bank headquartered in Western Mass. to make the list. The bank was similarly honored in 2023. The results were compiled from survey data from more than 26,000 bank customers, as well as online reviews and ratings from 2021 to 2024. Larger banks and credit unions with branches in 15 or more states — including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase — were excluded. Top regional banks and credit unions — which populate this year’s lists — have learned how to build a loyal customer base despite being smaller and having fewer resources than their larger counterparts with branches spanning the country, and often the world.

 

475 Canal St. Converted into CubeSmart Self Storage Facility

HOLYOKE — 475 Canal MA LLC announced the conversion of 475 Canal St. in Holyoke into a CubeSmart Self Storage facility. The project is spearheaded by principals James Quinn, Gary Youm, and Richard Lee, who bring a wealth of experience and vision to this development. CubeSmart, a $12 billion real-estate investment trust (REIT) known for its leadership in the self-storage industry, will oversee both the asset management and property management of the new facility. This partnership promises to bring state-of-the-art storage solutions to Holyoke residents. The facility features modern, climate-controlled units designed to meet a variety of storage needs, from personal to business use.

 

Edwards Church Invests $500,000 in Affordable-housing Fund

NORTHAMPTON — Edwards Church of Northampton has made a $500,000 investment in Way Finders’ Development Capital Fund via a low-interest loan that will provide pre-development funding for affordable-housing projects the agency manages throughout Western Mass. In 2019, the Edwards Church congregation was surveyed on their preferences for church support in the community. Results indicated that members had a strong interest in supporting affordable housing as an alternative investment of the church’s invested funds. Its investment committee subsequently sought out an affordable-housing development partner in which to invest and learned that Springfield-based Way Finders, an affordable-housing organization dedicated to bringing home stability to people across Western Mass. since 1972, manages its own Development Capital Fund, which is open to outside investors. Way Finders puts money into the fund, as do outside investors, including churches. Edwards Church is now one of those investors. The $500,000 is a loan to Way Finders, not a grant or gift. The funds earn an annual, below-market interest rate; the funds can be repaid to the church in six years if the church so chooses.

 

Monson Savings Bank Named ERC5 Business of the Year

MONSON — Monson Savings Bank was recently named the East of the River Chamber of Commerce (ERC5) Business of the Year. The announcement was made at the chamber’s 2024 annual meeting awards and reception event held at Twin Hills Country Club. “Monson Savings Bank’s unwavering dedication and tireless efforts have left an indelible mark on the lives of countless individuals in our communities,” said Grace Barone, executive director of the ERC5. “The transformative influence of the Monson Savings Bank team under the team’s exceptional leadership is undeniable.” The community bank was chosen as the ERC5 Business of the Year by the ERC5’s board members and ambassadors, based on the bank’s achievements and contributions to the communities.

 

ArchitectureEL Awarded Contract with Holyoke Housing Authority

EAST LONGMEADOW — ArchitectureEL Inc. (AEL) has been awarded on-call architect contract for the Holyoke Housing Authority for a two-year period. The firm also continues to fulfill its obligations as the current on-call architect for the city of Holyoke and Holyoke Public Schools. ArchitectureEL Inc. provides professional design services on a wide range of projects, from renovating existing buildings to designing new. The firm has significant experience in accessibility, historic preservation, educational, and commercial design, as well as both private and multi-family residential development. AEL has developed strong local connections and provided services for the city of Holyoke and Holyoke Public schools as their on-call architect for the past two years, completing a roof and skylight replacement for the DPW, a roof and skylight replacement for the City Hall Annex, a roof replacement for the Holyoke Children’s Museum and Volleyball Hall of Fame, heating upgrades for the McMahon VRF, historical renovations on the City Council chambers located at City Hall, HVAC system replacements in the city’s elementary schools.

 

Lee Bank Foundation Awards $56,700 During Second Grant Cycle of 2024

LEE — The Lee Bank Foundation announced the allocation of $56,700 in grants to 10 organizations serving the Berkshire region, marking its second funding round of 2024. These grants, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, will bolster local initiatives addressing critical community needs. The following organizations are recipients of the Lee Bank Foundation grants: Berkshire Bounty, Berkshire South Regional Community Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts, Blackshires, Community Access to the Arts, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Focus Is Our Children, Greenagers, Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, and Roots Rising. Established in 2021 to uphold Lee Bank’s commitment to community reinvestment, the Lee Bank Foundation has awarded a total of 150 grants amounting to $759,600 since its inception.

 

Connecticut Insurance Agency Joins Smith Brothers Insurance

NORTHAMPTON — Monroe Insurance Center Inc., an independent insurance and risk-management agency located in Monroe, Conn., has merged its operations with Smith Brothers Insurance, which has an office in Northampton, as well as offices across Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The leadership team at Monroe Insurance Center, including John Rodrigues, Anna Rodrigues, Peter Lozier, Gary Freeman, Alan Helfer, and Paul Ackert, will continue to serve clients and, along with their team, join Smith Brothers Insurance. They will maintain their office in Monroe while leveraging the resources of Smith Brothers.

 

Baystate Health Awards $500,000 in Better Together Grants

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Health, in partnership with the Community Benefits Program, announced the recipients of the 2024 Better Together Grants. This year, proposals considered focused on advancing youth well-being through strategic interventions that seek to decrease adverse youth mental-health outcomes. Projects funded by Better Together must apply a framework of social determinants of health, be evidence-based, include routine performance evaluation, and align with Baystate’s community health needs assessment. The grantees are Community Legal Aid ($100,000 for its Family Preservation Project); Follow My Steps Foundation ($100,000 for its Steps to Empowerment Program); Latino Counseling Center ($100,000 for its Mindful Connections/Conexiones Conscientes); Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services ($100,000 for its Beat the Odds Project); and Springfield Pride Parade Organization ($100,000 for its Safe Space Program). Funding for the Better Together grants is made possible through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s determination-of-need requirements. In addition to funding the grantees, Baystate Health has also contracted with the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts to provide technical assistance and evaluation support to the grantee cohort over the next one to two years.

 

Springfield Boys & Girls Club Receives $20,000 from Keybank

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Boys & Girls Club announced that the KeyBank Foundation, the charitable foundation of KeyBank N.A., has awarded the Springfield Boys & Girls Club a $20,000 grant to support its Summer Brain Gain program. This funding supports the administration of a comprehensive program run on one-week modules and fun-themed activities that are aligned with common-core standards, focusing on learning through discovery, creative expression, and collaborative group work. The program helps the club’s members avoid learning loss over the summer, ensuring they stay on track for the upcoming school year. The vast majority of children being served by the Springfield Boys & Girls Club are from low-income families, with 65% of them raised in homes where English is a second language, putting them at a disadvantage in terms of reading, retention, and school learning. Members of KeyBank presented a ceremonial check to Borello and members of the club on June 26, when local bankers conducted a Banking Basics financial-literacy course to about 40 teen members. In addition to philanthropic support through its charitable foundation, KeyBank also provides financial resources to nonprofits within the bank’s service areas that help students achieve academically, with a particular focus on minority and low- and moderate-income populations.

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.

Chanda’s House, Inc., 723 Main St., Agawam, MA 01001. Chantal Bernard, 1125 River Road, Agawam, MA 01001. Home healthcare services for seniors.

CHICOPEE

I Buy Houses and Cars Inc., 1421 Granby Road, Chicopee, MA 01020. David Brunelle Jr., same. Buying and selling real estate through private sale.

HOLYOKE

Sixty-Six Corp., 56 Jackson St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Jo-Anne Rainone, 18 Cavalcade Blvd., Johnston, RI 02919. Nonprofit organization established to promote the education, experiences, and enjoyment of cannabis through private events and related activities.

LONGMEADOW

Freedom Writers Inc., 209 Laurel St., Longmeadow, MA 01106. Erin Freed, same. Not-for-profit that provides eligible U.S. voters with information on how to register to vote, when to vote, and how to sign petitions.

MONSON

Arloma Landscaping Inc., 92 Peck Brothers Road, Monson, MA 01057. Daniel Montcalm, same. Residential and commercial landscaping, design, maintenance, and related services and products.

NORTHAMPTON

Vibes of Change Inc., 39 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060. Alexandre Pazmandy, same. Charitable organization that provides sound and movement to groups or individuals for healing purposes.

PITTSFIELD

Advocacy, Counseling and Education Services Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Noa Zehari, same. Non-for-profit organization established to provide counseling services.

Creation Industries Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Bryton Smith, same. Solar sales, equipment, distribution, and installation.

Just Add Flights Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Alison Hurley, same. AI-driven travel assistant providing personalized vacation recommendations and itinerary planning services.

Leaseclub Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Steve Goulas, same. Online peer-to-peer platform to let users transact rental real estate.

Rise & Thrive Education Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Joseph Cain, same. A concession stand raising funds for student activities while teaching entrepreneurial skills.

SPRINGFIELD

Empower Imports Inc., 146 Verge St., Springfield, MA 01129. Maygyul Izzatova, same. Transportation and trucking services.

Massachusetts Fashion Council Inc., 1500 Main St., Suite 800, Springfield, MA 01115. Ariaun Stewart, same. Charitable organization whose mission is to activate the Springfield economy at Springfield Fashion Week through the world of fashion and creative artistry.

New England Foster Parent Assoc. Inc., 50 Joseph St., Springfield, MA 01119. Lyle Akers, same. Provides legal, financial, educational, recreational, counseling, and therapeutic services to foster parents.

PDC Charitable Champions Outreach Inc., 189 Brookdale Dr., Springfield, MA 01104. Ronald Perry, 23 Quorn Hunt Road, West Simsbury, CT 06092. Provides services and support within the community to benefit charitable, educational, scientific, and other activities.

Precision Construction Equipment Rentals Inc., 189 Brookdale Dr., Springfield, MA 01104. Ronald Perry, same. Business of leasing construction equipment owned by the corporation.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

True Deliverance Church of God in Christ Inc., 25 Nile St., West Springfield, MA 01089. Fred Baymon, same. Local community church providing worship and social community unification.

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of June 2024.

BELCHERTOWN

Happy Nail
147 North Main St.
Hailong Piao

Nicholas Monteiro Electrician
575 State St.
Nicholas Monteiro

Sage Residential Cleaning
37 Lamson Ave.
Keishla Rotger-Burgos

GREAT BARRINGTON

BR Handyman Services
7 Rose Court
William Rand

Childs & Clark Gallery
684 Main St.
Mary Childs, Lauren Clark

FEN
3 Railroad St.
Sian Jones

Flora Fina Gardens
65 Pumpkin Hollow Road
Honora Toole

Gabriel Edward Adams Gallery
252 Main St.
Gabriel Adams

Gisos Trucking LLC
2 Blue Hill Road
Ergis Aliai

Keira Ritter Design Co.
390 Main St., Suite 2
Keira Ritter

L’io Beauty and Wellness
287 Main St.
Calla Delsignore

Timbercraft Homes
247 Monument Valley Road
Mark Rosengren

Tina Sweet Massage Therapy
168 Main St., Suite 2
Tina Sweet

VIP Petcare
356 Stockbridge Road
Community Veterinary Clinics LLC

Wallflowers
38 State Road
Heidi Johnson

PITTSFIELD

413 Real Estate
2 South St.
McRay Inc.

AWC Construction LLC
108 Summer St.
Anthony Cunagin

Berkshire County Multiple Listing Service
99 West St.
Multiple Listing Service Inc.

C&C Yeastly Delights
141 Bromback St.
C&C Yeastly Delights Inc.

Chill Zone Snow Cone Factory
260 Barker Road
Jennifer Cunagin, Taea Cunagin

Extra Space Storage #7642
901 Crane Ave.
Extra Space Management Inc.

GVA Cleaning & Service
50 John St.
Faiver Molina Quisaboni

J&J Lawn Cutters
832 North St.
Jayden Abrahams

JAF Contracting
1278 North St.
Jacob Friederick

JT Nail Studio
95 Dalton Ave.
Thao Ilagan

Mammoth Construction
82 Wendell Ave.
Mammoth Construction

MJCC Cleaning Services
80 Cromwell Ave.
Mauricio Cevallos

Sanchez Cleaning Services
31 Copley Terrace
Kevin Mercado

Sideline Saloon LLC
434 Fenn St.
Timothy Carroll

Wurkforce Inc.
82 Wendell Ave.
Deborah Saneman

WESTFIELD

Anto HVACR
125 Fowler St.
David Anthonovschi

B&R Home Improvement
15 Hunters Slope
Benjamin Mikhalinchik

Business Cyber Guardian
23 Linda Dr.
Joanne Brooks, Richard Brooks

The Coral Farm
9 Irene Dr.
Brian Hale

Greenline
35 Joyce Dr.
Mihai Timircan

JAT Enterprises
25 Pearl St.
Jeremy Tanguay

Junkease
24 Western Ave.
Mark Markevich, Nick Mazza

Lyubas Mobile Hair Care
243 Russell Road, #109
Lyubov Shevchenko

MJC Welding and Fabrication LLC
287 Elm St.
Matthew Caracciolo

Power Pressure Wash
558 Russellville Road
Yelisey Kafanov

Saraii Supply House
24 Meadow St.
Giali Nieves

Supreme Detailing
81 Fowler Road
Benjamin Shvetsov, Mason Dolan

Taylor Mechanical
49 Apple Orchard Heights
Rebecca Matthew

Thrifty Car Sales
300 East Main St.
Direct Auto Promotion Inc.

Truturf Lawncare
14 Sylvan Dr.
Edward Hagelstein

Two Stroke Parts
120 Shaker Road
Nicholas Mee

Uplift Beauty Supply
1029 North Road
Cassie Staudinger

VIP Petcare
81 Springfield St.
Community Veterinary Clinics LLC

WEST SPRINGFIELD

J&L Medical Services
201 Park Ave.
Lincare Inc.

Lindsay Thompson, LMHC
65 Craig Dr.
Lindsay Thompson

Maid to Clean
93 Greystone Ave.
Maid to Clean

Marmadukes Cleaner
69 Lathrop St.
Marmadukes Cleaner

MI Group US LLC
84 Chilson Road
MI Group US LLC

Siller Home Improvement Specialist
293 Elm St.
Siller Home Improvement Specialist

Western Mass Vehicle Upfitters Inc.
52 Baldwin St.
Western Mass Vehicle Upfitters Inc.

Westside Check Cashing
173 Elm St.
JMT Check Cashing Inc.

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies

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

Brown, Jeffrey Mark
8 Ridgeview Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/11/2024

Flichtbeil, Rachel H.
Flichtbeil, Vaughan
P.O. Box 655
Worthington, MA 01098
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/05/2024

Fournier, Kimberly Marie
112 South Royalston Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/04/2024

Hart, Charles
35 4th Ave.
Cheshire, MA 01225
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/07/2024

Hayward, William J.
1806 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/07/2024

Johnson, David G.
372 Saint James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/13/2024

Laureano, Maria Del Carmen
Estate of Carmen Maldonado
86 Malden St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/11/2024

Learned, Branden Robert
61 North Main St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/12/2024

McGovern, Kathleen D.
60 Olive St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/14/2024

Murphy, Christine M.
152 Beauregard Ter.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/11/2024

Osman, Tyler J.
35 Moseley Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/12/2024

Palmer, Kimberly A.
5 Beacon Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/13/2024

Raleigh, Heidi J.
7 Central Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/13/2024

Rivera Crespo, Blasina
228 Old County Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/12/2024

Robert, Jonathan William
Melendez, Egdalise
119 Artisan St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/03/20

Roy, Heather
Estate of Lewis O. Roy
28 Massachusetts Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/11/2024

Sibelman, Simon Phillip
18 Cass Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/07/2024

Smith, Stephen G.
37 Pleasant St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/13/2024

Snyder, Valerie L.
131 Shepherd St., 1st Fl.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/11/2024

Symonds-Powell, Patricia Ann
73 North St.
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/13/2024

Williams, Valerie L.
1368 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/05/2024

Yost, Nadiwska Yarina
a/k/a Manon, Nadiwska Yarina
16 Lorraine Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/13/2024

Zebian, Salam
Zebian, Amira
7 Lower Beverly Hills
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/07/2024

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

DEERFIELD

24 Elm St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $244,790
Buyer: Cascade Funding Mortgage Trust
Seller: Wallace A. Turner
Date: 06/05/24

93 Sugarloaf St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: Emma R. Washburn
Seller: Olszewski Sugarloaf Realty
Date: 06/20/24

GREENFIELD

37 Congress St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Kristi L. Ceccarossi
Seller: William D. Spencer
Date: 06/20/24

7 Conway Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Eric Lemm
Seller: Hayley L. Gilmore
Date: 06/20/24

50 Highland Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $537,000
Buyer: James M. Sexton
Seller: Howell Chickering RET
Date: 06/11/24

14 Myers Farm Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Andrew Conant
Seller: Davin R. Tomlinson
Date: 06/12/24

18 Orchard St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Aidan McKenna
Seller: Elizabeth Keitel TR
Date: 06/20/24

119 Shelburne Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $308,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Bengtson
Seller: Shawn S. Fitzherbert
Date: 06/13/24

215 Wells St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: DSK Real Estate LLC
Seller: Judith B. Stein RET
Date: 06/12/24

MONTAGUE

13 Coolidge Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $307,500
Buyer: Timothy Sheperd
Seller: Rudolph A. Herzig
Date: 06/14/24

91 Taylor Hill Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $890,000
Buyer: Zoe C. Abram
Seller: Ann R. Leschen-Lindell
Date: 06/13/24

185 Wendell Road
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Dowty FT
Seller: Lisa R. Sweeney
Date: 06/14/24

NEW SAL1EM

337 Wendell Road
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Daniel H. Lewis
Seller: Donna M. Ballantine
Date: 06/10/24

NORTHFIELD

862 Old Wendell Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $545,000
Buyer: Michael Townsley
Seller: William A. Richardson
Date: 06/18/24

ORANGE

25 Beacon St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Finlay Stewart
Seller: Cheryl A. Young
Date: 06/11/24

230 East River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Molly J. Melanson
Seller: William H. Gale
Date: 06/17/24

Lake Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Willow St. LLC
Seller: Joshua L. Dodge
Date: 06/14/24

100 Oaklawn Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $294,000
Buyer: Ryan Hulbert
Seller: Jamison E. Kahn
Date: 06/11/24

118 Putnam St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Russell Bilodeau
Seller: Zacchary M. Peele
Date: 06/14/24

SHUTESBURY

315 Montague Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $427,000
Buyer: Adam V. Wellen
Seller: J. G. Bernhard TR
Date: 06/12/24

SUNDERLAND

142 Hadley Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $645,000
Buyer: Raymond Caron
Seller: Keith A. Rehbein
Date: 06/20/24

19 Meadowbrook Dr.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: George Delomonte
Seller: Sunghoon Lee
Date: 06/18/24

194 Montague Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $785,000
Buyer: Todd D. Sikorski
Seller: Steven D. Chamberlin RET
Date: 06/11/24

70 Plumtree Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $509,000
Buyer: Dallas Hubert
Seller: Robert L. Hesseltine FT
Date: 06/13/24

WHATELY

105 Webber Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $173,300
Buyer: Michael Busa
Seller: Michael R. Sorrell 2022 TR
Date: 06/14/24

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

32 Elizabeth St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Michael Godek
Seller: Melissa A. Dargon
Date: 06/13/24

260 Elm St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Samantha L. Morin
Seller: Kimberly J. Hayes
Date: 06/17/24

15 Hillcrest St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Stefani Ruane
Seller: Sareen Properties LLC
Date: 06/14/24

69 Parkedge Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: James Ottino
Seller: Thomas D. Sharpe
Date: 06/20/24

60 Parker St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $330,500
Buyer: Vyacheslav Babinov
Seller: Patricia L. Cyranowski
Date: 06/14/24

BLANDFORD

11 Brookman Dr.
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $647,000
Buyer: Calvin Wineland
Seller: F. K. & Frances E. Fedor FT
Date: 06/12/24

15 Brookman Dr.
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $647,000
Buyer: Calvin Wineland
Seller: F. K. & Frances E. Fedor FT
Date: 06/12/24

BRIMFIELD

102 Wales Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Gabriell M. Marquez
Seller: Steven Hin
Date: 06/18/24

CHESTER

400 US Route 20
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Jane J. White
Seller: Hoppe, Siegfried, (Estate)
Date: 06/18/24

CHICOPEE

78 Alfred St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $261,000
Buyer: Gladys Betancourt
Seller: Hein, Egon, (Estate)
Date: 06/13/24

28 Amherst St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Clifton Barchard
Seller: Alexus N. Emond
Date: 06/14/24

32 Carter Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Analeh Kisol
Seller: Hilton, Ann Marie, (Estate)
Date: 06/20/24

48 Clairmont Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $312,500
Buyer: Michael Rohrbacher
Seller: Brett M. Salamon
Date: 06/17/24

130 Delaney Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Stephanie R. Pacinella
Seller: Cassidy Carpenter
Date: 06/17/24

186 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $1,350,000
Buyer: Green Holdings LLC
Seller: 186-194 Grattan St. TR
Date: 06/12/24

194 Grattan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $1,350,000
Buyer: Green Holdings LLC
Seller: 186-194 Grattan St. TR
Date: 06/12/24

373 Hampden St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Hector M. Matias
Seller: Livingwater Capital LLC
Date: 06/12/24

36 Harrington Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: James R. Vieu
Seller: Kimberly Dout
Date: 06/14/24

1697 Memorial Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Long Huynh
Seller: Stephanie S. Crews
Date: 06/20/24

43 Monroe St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Tetrault
Seller: Donnell G. Hart
Date: 06/10/24

189 Montgomery St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Alfredo Lopez
Seller: Erin L. Barrett
Date: 06/17/24

78 Narragansett Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Elizabeth F. Ortiz
Seller: Roger Strange
Date: 06/18/24

1040 Sheridan St.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Amount: $6,500,000
Buyer: Sheridan Industrial Park LP
Seller: A3 Sheridan LLC
Date: 06/14/24

640 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $610,000
Buyer: Epoch Ambulance LLC
Seller: Paul A. Teta
Date: 06/18/24

83 Thomas St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Maxim Morozov
Seller: Joel M. Radner
Date: 06/10/24

1715 Westover Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Christopher Duprey
Seller: Duval, Donna M., (Estate)
Date: 06/14/24

EAST LONGMEADOW

462 Chestnut St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Vernard Mercader
Seller: Arvind K. Sundaram
Date: 06/11/24

21 Clover Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $722,950
Buyer: David S. Drobner
Seller: D. R. Chestnut LLC
Date: 06/20/24

32 Deer Run Ter.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Brian T. Houser
Seller: John P. Swienton
Date: 06/14/24

115 Franconia Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Lauren McDonough
Seller: Thomas G. Bedard
Date: 06/20/24

47 Hillside Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Blais M. Guzman
Seller: Robert V. Jones
Date: 06/12/24

41 Rural Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Katherine Burke
Seller: Timothy Giguere
Date: 06/20/24

160 Stonehill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $620,000
Buyer: Thomas Ogoley
Seller: Michael J. Wilkins
Date: 06/14/24

26 Woodlawn St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: William R. Bazin
Seller: Andrew Hillson
Date: 06/14/24

HAMPDEN

116 Scantic Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $512,300
Buyer: Aaron Perreault
Seller: Bernadette A. Parker
Date: 06/10/24

76 Valleyview Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $351,000
Buyer: Erikas Manerskas
Seller: Claudia Muradian-Brubach
Date: 06/13/24

HOLLAND

26 Hamilton Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $302,500
Buyer: Derek Sorel
Seller: Kenneth P. Cook
Date: 06/14/24

3 Inlet Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Tnf Investment LLC
Seller: Ryan P. Murphy
Date: 06/14/24

35 Lakeridge Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: Kenneth P. Cook
Seller: Daniel G. Fetko
Date: 06/14/24

33 Lee Ave.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $810,000
Buyer: Aimee R. Kelly
Seller: Brian Scully
Date: 06/20/24

HOLYOKE

146 Allyn St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $366,500
Buyer: Benjamin Young
Seller: Corey R. Nimmer
Date: 06/20/24

61-1/2 Arthur St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $292,500
Buyer: George J. Bushey
Seller: Leahy, William F., (Estate)
Date: 06/14/24

193 Bemis Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Marianne G. O’Leary
Seller: William J. O’Brien
Date: 06/18/24

35 Downing Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Laura M. Ferriter
Seller: Charles R. Hausmann
Date: 06/18/24

49 Howard St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Real Estate Investment Northeast LLC
Seller: B. & B. Realty Partners LLC
Date: 06/11/24

317-319 Linden St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Wayne Steed
Seller: Francisco M. Ramos
Date: 06/14/24

720 Main St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: Road Star Express Inc.
Seller: Holyoke News Co. Inc.
Date: 06/14/24

76 Merrick Ave
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $261,900
Buyer: Erica Bradley
Seller: Jolly Jr., Robert W., (Estate)
Date: 06/11/24

79 Mountain Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $393,000
Buyer: Emmett Higley
Seller: James Kuzeja
Date: 06/17/24

601 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Tawandah Musengi
Seller: Pah Properties LLC
Date: 06/10/24

12 Pinehurst Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $347,000
Buyer: Jessica Johnson
Seller: Caitlin Marquis
Date: 06/20/24

191 Southampton Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Matthew A. Still
Seller: Robert W. Simpson
Date: 06/20/24

216 West Franklin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $234,900
Buyer: Joshua J. Abbott Salazar
Seller: Federal National Mortgage Assn.
Date: 06/14/24

LONGMEADOW

73 Bel Air Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Quynh Nguyen
Seller: Nres LLC
Date: 06/10/24

102 Belleclaire Ave
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $499,999
Buyer: Stephen H. Weigant
Seller: Rebecca L. Wales-Szyluk
Date: 06/13/24

54 Chatham Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Robert P. Ide
Seller: Stanley J. Poltack
Date: 06/14/24

19 Edgemont St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Patrick J. Murray
Seller: Haemin Lee
Date: 06/14/24

141 Green Hill Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Alexis Rodriguez
Seller: Denise A. Monday
Date: 06/13/24

26 Magnolia Circle
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $695,000
Buyer: Harun Bayindir
Seller: Shahnaz B. Bozorgzadeh
Date: 06/14/24

6 Maplewood St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $448,000
Buyer: Eileen R. Cohen RET
Seller: Kevin P. Sterling
Date: 06/17/24

319 Merriweather Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $570,000
Buyer: Moochul Shin
Seller: Victor I. Shinsky
Date: 06/20/24

167 Pendleton Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $1,315,000
Buyer: Sarah S. Yi
Seller: Eva M. Santaniello RET
Date: 06/10/24

27 South Park Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: John Weaver
Seller: Nathan J. Hogan
Date: 06/14/24

67 Warren Ter.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $332,000
Buyer: Tetyana Buescher
Seller: Stephanie L. Walker
Date: 06/14/24

12 White Oaks Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $589,900
Buyer: Nicholas Huanca
Seller: Quercus Properties LLC
Date: 06/20/24

70 Williamsburg Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $782,500
Buyer: Vijayakumar Paramasivam
Seller: Sarah M. Maniaci
Date: 06/18/24

LUDLOW

217 Cady St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: David J. Del Tatto
Seller: Zachary P. Button
Date: 06/17/24

8 Daisy Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: Emily Stulgis
Seller: Susan A. Theriault
Date: 06/17/24

405 Fuller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Jia Zheng
Seller: Scott Falconer
Date: 06/20/24

572 Lyon St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Manuel A. Carreira
Seller: Debora P. Barreto
Date: 06/18/24

5 Marion Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $211,729
Buyer: Summit Ridge Builders Inc.
Seller: Miner, Dean Allan, (Estate)
Date: 06/14/24

721 Moore St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Stephanie Taylor
Seller: Stephen W. Ricardi
Date: 06/18/24

123 Ray St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Vanessa E. Demarco
Seller: Allison M. Jessup
Date: 06/10/24

Turning Leaf Road, Lot 83
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $164,900
Buyer: Christopher S. Blondek
Seller: Whitetail Wreks LLC
Date: 06/14/24

759 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $569,900
Buyer: Tran K. Nguyen
Seller: Olga Lebedinskaya
Date: 06/10/24

MONSON

300 Main St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $358,000
Buyer: Thomas Palazzi
Seller: Nathan R. Olson
Date: 06/14/24

20 Upper Hampden Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Christopher Bruce
Seller: Guertin, Richard E., (Estate)
Date: 06/18/24

200 Wilbraham Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: William Metz
Seller: Kristen Adams
Date: 06/11/24

MONTGOMERY

Southampton Road
Montgomery, MA 01085
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Kbip LLC
Seller: Scarfo Construction Co. Inc.
Date: 06/14/24

PALMER

2118 Baptist Hill Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Melissa Beaumier
Seller: Eric B. Robertshaw
Date: 06/11/24

15 Bourne St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $283,000
Buyer: Michael Pinsonneault
Seller: David M. Piechota
Date: 06/12/24

6-8 Crest St.
Palmer, MA 01056
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Colton Skorupski
Seller: Peter P. Skorupski
Date: 06/13/24

14 Sasur St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: George Hirtle
Seller: Deborah J. Galinski
Date: 06/18/24

Springfield St., Lot 17
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Olszewski
Seller: Waclaw J. Bernard IRT
Date: 06/14/24

SPRINGFIELD

97 Alderman St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $540,000
Buyer: Katherine C. Toledo
Seller: Archimede L. Jerome
Date: 06/14/24

96 Almira Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Mirlande Georges
Seller: Matahari RT
Date: 06/14/24

21 Amherst St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jaida Gresham
Seller: Dorothy M. Besaw-Woodall
Date: 06/20/24

131 Arvilla St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Bumberger, Arthur F., (Estate)
Date: 06/14/24

54 Athol St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Laura A. Marquez
Seller: Lezinski, Anthony, (Estate)
Date: 06/12/24

46 Bancroft St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Martin Ssekyewa
Seller: Onstar Properties AA LLC
Date: 06/12/24

62 Bartels St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $323,800
Buyer: Claudia Muradian-Brubach
Seller: William V. Plourde
Date: 06/13/24

122 Benz St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Lourdes S. Townsend
Seller: Elaina A. Mendrala
Date: 06/10/24

111 Berard Circle
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Kristen Calkins
Seller: Peter A. Varley
Date: 06/13/24

Boston Road (SS)
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $4,722,707
Buyer: Bar CW Springfield LLC
Seller: Store Master Funding Xii
Date: 05/03/24

69 Brandon Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $177,500
Buyer: Skyspec LLC
Seller: Jason W. Brierley
Date: 06/17/24

29 Brickett St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Mercedes Dunkelly-Taylor
Seller: Nres LLC
Date: 06/18/24

124 Bristol St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Dorothy J. Mendenhall
Date: 06/17/24

32 Brittany Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $254,900
Buyer: Evelyn Solivan
Seller: Roger H. Cant
Date: 06/14/24

41 Brookdale Dr.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $1,150,000
Buyer: 41 Brookdale Drive LLC
Seller: Npn Realty LLC
Date: 06/18/24

23 Brooks St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Kadisha Velasquez
Seller: Jjj17 LLC
Date: 06/18/24

70 Buckingham St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $293,500
Buyer: Victoria B. Chance
Seller: Leon Woods
Date: 06/20/24

243 Central St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Paramount Grizzlies LLC
Seller: Lino Carrasquillo
Date: 06/10/24

60 Clayton St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Allan Comerbatch
Seller: 60 Clayton St. Land Trust
Date: 06/14/24

150 Cloran St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $163,800
Buyer: Stanwich Moratge Loan TI
Seller: Wanda Pierce
Date: 06/10/24

169 Cooper St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $161,000
Buyer: Malia Homebuyers LLC
Seller: Joseph L. Ceresa
Date: 06/14/24

98 Corey Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Mary Critelli
Seller: Elvin Ramos
Date: 06/14/24

92 Cornell St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Seller: TM Properties Inc.
Date: 06/18/24

80-82 Corona St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Northeast Capital LLC
Seller: Jennifer M. Ribeiro
Date: 06/20/24

74 Crystal Brook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Tin Nguyen
Seller: Grahams Construction Inc.
Date: 06/11/24

158 Davis St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Dianne Tatro
Seller: Kimberly A. Dearing
Date: 06/14/24

107 Dorset St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $273,000
Buyer: Jessica L. Galdamez
Seller: SLC Associates LLC
Date: 06/13/24

31 East Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Jaime Richter
Seller: Gail F. Purcell
Date: 06/14/24

336 Eastern Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Jake M. Ollmann
Seller: Jose O. Reyes-Santiago
Date: 06/20/24

90 Elijah St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Nkemdilim J. Anam
Seller: Elijah Street RT
Date: 06/13/24

29 Eton St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Gabrielle Rodzen
Seller: 29 Eton RT
Date: 06/12/24

62 Fargo St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Julio J. Bonilla-Jusino
Seller: Kristen R. Podziemski
Date: 06/10/24

42 Fenwick St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Nres LLC
Seller: Hall, Arnold C., (Estate)
Date: 06/20/24

184 Gardens Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $143,700
Buyer: Tascon Homes LLC
Seller: Jamie R. Martin
Date: 06/10/24

184 Gardens Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Aldo Properties LLC
Seller: Tascon Homes LLC
Date: 06/20/24

49 Jean Dr.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Khl Group
Seller: Diane M. Guihan
Date: 06/11/24

190 Kendall St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $146,230
Buyer: Mass. Detox Holdings LLC
Seller: Northeast Health Group Inc.
Date: 06/14/24

110 Kensington Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: First Landing Investments LLC
Seller: Lmo Realty LLC
Date: 06/18/24

110 Kensington Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $147,775
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: First Landing Investments LLC
Date: 06/18/24

38-40 Knollwood St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Jose O. Morales
Seller: Mary Perakis
Date: 06/10/24

154 Laconia St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $298,000
Buyer: Everett Washburne
Seller: Christopher G. Banas
Date: 06/14/24

111 Lakevilla Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Navjot Singh
Seller: Edwin O. Quiles
Date: 06/17/24

33 Littleton St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Nonye Madufor
Seller: Erica Pagan
Date: 06/10/24

34 Lorimer St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Desiree Velez
Seller: Emely Figueroa
Date: 06/10/24

24-26 Los Angeles St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $159,000
Buyer: Springfield Home Development LLC
Seller: Gregory D. Wilson
Date: 06/14/24

111 Magnolia Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Cliff A. Paredes
Seller: No Limit Assets LLC
Date: 06/18/24

99-101 Middlesex St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Jean Louis
Seller: Pfgc LLC
Date: 06/11/24

57 Oakwood Ter.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Manchester Enterprises LLC
Seller: Carleen V. Charles
Date: 06/13/24

2171 Page Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Victoria Guzman
Seller: Karen Edwards
Date: 06/17/24

90 Park Dr.
Springfield, MA 01106
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: David Tougias
Seller: James E. Fenlason
Date: 06/11/24

1883 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Nathan Calebaugh
Seller: Chad White
Date: 06/13/24

23 Parkwood St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $378,000
Buyer: Lizbeth M. Del Toro-Mejias
Seller: Mishel Ahuatl
Date: 06/14/24

17 Pasadena St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,500,000
Buyer: Ortins Capital Partners Group LLC
Seller: Spring Park Prop Inc.
Date: 06/10/24

115 Piedmont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Alexis Maldonado
Seller: Jesus M. Ortiz
Date: 06/14/24

45-47 Ranney St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Joanna C. Laghetto
Seller: Shannon M. Mann
Date: 06/10/24

59 Redfern Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Tyasia M. James
Seller: Cortez, Luis, (Estate)
Date: 06/10/24

42 Riggold St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Guilmar E. De Paz Ortega
Seller: Manuel Colon
Date: 06/12/24

84-86 Rittenhouse Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: Steven Aguasvivas
Seller: John Ashmore
Date: 06/18/24

103 Santa Barbara St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $131,000
Buyer: Equity TCompany
Seller: Debra A. Allen
Date: 06/10/24

165 Sawmill Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $278,000
Buyer: Victoria A. Rodriguez
Seller: James Darosa
Date: 06/11/24

75-79 Sherman St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Andrea Ciano
Seller: Kec Properties LLC
Date: 06/14/24

33-35 Smith St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Lucas M. Herrera
Seller: Roberto Santos
Date: 06/14/24

184-186 Stafford St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Grit & Gratitude Wrestling
Seller: Crocker Building Co. Inc.
Date: 06/14/24

61 Stanhope Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Randall W. Bevan
Seller: Jacqueline Parker
Date: 06/10/24

824 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Marie H. Danestan
Seller: Santiago R. Oliva
Date: 06/17/24

11 Sumner Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Michelle L. Ortiz
Seller: Alicia Lockwood
Date: 06/11/24

95 Victoria St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Jjj17 LLC
Seller: Angel Rodriguez
Date: 06/14/24

65 Wellington St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Kimberly Camilo-Santos
Seller: Jairo M. Rodriguez
Date: 06/17/24

182 Westbrook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $305,900
Buyer: Mary L. Rasanen
Seller: Aaron R. Perreault
Date: 06/10/24

100-102 West Alvord St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $218,100
Buyer: Posiadlosc LLC
Seller: Huguette K. Williams
Date: 06/14/24

106 Weymouth St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Gretchen R. Drane
Seller: Stephanie L. Taylor
Date: 06/18/24

34-36 White St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: SH Properties LLC
Seller: Liquori, Vincenzo, (Estate)
Date: 06/14/24

192-198 White St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,500,000
Buyer: Ortins Capital Partners Group LLC
Seller: Spring Park Properties Inc.
Date: 06/10/24

17-19 Windsor St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Mlb Property Mgmt. LLC
Seller: Seajay Group LLC
Date: 06/11/24

1275 Worcester St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $316,000
Buyer: Victor A. Carillo Ramos
Seller: Lavotto Group LLC
Date: 06/14/24

SOUTHWICK

231 College Hwy.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Wes Properties LLC
Seller: Richard T. Zapponi
Date: 06/11/24

233 College Hwy.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Wes Properties LLC
Seller: Richard T. Zapponi
Date: 06/11/24

10 Dairy Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $630,000
Buyer: Donnell G. Hart
Seller: Kevin Meder
Date: 06/10/24

39 Lakeview St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Grafton Lt
Seller: Kathleen R. Dziura
Date: 06/18/24

18 Silvergrass Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $639,900
Buyer: Katherine C. Garvey
Seller: Hamelin Framing Inc.
Date: 06/13/24

9 South Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Lauren K. Bolduc
Seller: Malcolm D. Debay
Date: 06/13/24

3 White St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $735,000
Buyer: Tyler Wild
Seller: Timothy Blais
Date: 06/12/24

WALES

22 Tiderman Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Devin Weidler
Seller: Jody Weidler
Date: 06/12/24

WEST SPRINGFIELD

37 East School St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Emil Lachinov
Seller: Reinaldo Rivera
Date: 06/18/24

10 Elizabeth St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Mark E. Gehring
Seller: Joseph Switzler
Date: 06/17/24

54-56 Elm Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $379,000
Buyer: Arshad Mehmood
Seller: Amjad Real Estate LLC
Date: 06/17/24

17 George St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Sara Tleis
Seller: Mahmoud Jnaed
Date: 06/14/24

110 New Bridge St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Krishna Kharel
Seller: Mahendra Bhattarai
Date: 06/20/24

89 Silver St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Noel V. Martinez
Seller: Joseph E. Brown
Date: 06/20/24

WESTFIELD

55 Apple Orchard Heights
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $560,500
Buyer: Syed S. Abbas
Seller: Pah Properties LLC
Date: 06/14/24

147 Barbara St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Juanita Veveros
Seller: Joseph P. Pouliot
Date: 06/14/24

289 City View Blvd.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $491,000
Buyer: Brandon D. Fraichard
Seller: Joseph J. Garlo
Date: 06/18/24

27 East Bartlett St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Evghenii Covileac
Seller: Louis J. Siano
Date: 06/17/24

102 Falley Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $376,214
Buyer: Alice Mosijchuk
Seller: Francisco R. Matos
Date: 06/10/24

71 Flynn Meadow Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $760,000
Buyer: Viorika Nelson
Seller: Michael P. Morin
Date: 06/12/24

207 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Tyler D. Hess
Seller: John M. Callahan
Date: 06/14/24

17 Green Ave
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Peter Lutaya
Seller: Dlemelin Property Management LLC
Date: 06/11/24

125 Medieros Way
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $605,000
Buyer: Forest Family Real Estate LLC
Seller: Cygnus Properties LLC
Date: 06/13/24

815 North Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $595,000
Buyer: 815 North Road LLC
Seller: Onsite Mammography LLC
Date: 06/13/24

969 Southampton Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $1,800,000
Buyer: 969 & 979 Southampton Road
Seller: Denardo Realty LLC
Date: 06/12/24

979 Southampton Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $1,800,000
Buyer: 969 & 979 Southampton Road
Seller: Denardo Realty LLC
Date: 06/12/24

295 Valley View Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Kevin Cloonan
Seller: Scot W. Brzoska
Date: 06/18/24

21 West Glen Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Maria Vancini
Seller: Dennis P. Mayhew
Date: 06/14/24

278 Western Ave
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Jessie E. Pratt
Seller: Jeffrey T. Pratt
Date: 06/14/24

WILBRAHAM

21 Bittersweet Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $690,000
Buyer: David M. Blumenstiel
Seller: Santosh Puri
Date: 06/20/24

26 Carla Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $730,000
Buyer: Haroon Balwa
Seller: Burt H. Fahy
Date: 06/17/24

19 Hunting Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $196,560
Buyer: Blas J. Nunez
Seller: Fumi Realty Inc.
Date: 06/11/24

166 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $297,000
Buyer: Tony J. Ribeiro
Seller: Marcel Nunes
Date: 06/14/24

100 Sandalwood Dr., Lot 100
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $493,885
Buyer: Danielle L. Beaulieu
Seller: AC Homebuilding LLC
Date: 06/14/24

424 Soule Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Ethan J. Eady
Seller: Anne Jacque
Date: 06/17/24

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

117 Chestnut St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Jennifer J. Meyer
Seller: Lasalle, David E., (Estate)
Date: 06/18/24

8 Foxglove Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Jessica Muskin-Pierret
Seller: Hilda M. Puente
Date: 06/14/24

10 Hitching Post Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: Charles Dana
Seller: Karen L. Ching
Date: 06/20/24

435 Market Hill Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $735,000
Buyer: Ellen Broselow
Seller: Carol Connare
Date: 06/14/24

874 North Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $615,000
Buyer: Eawoftd LLC
Seller: Sbd RET
Date: 06/10/24

14 Nutting Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $740,000
Buyer: Xiaowei Chen
Seller: Carlos Santiago
Date: 06/17/24

41 Shays St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $850,000
Buyer: Danielle A. Bochneak
Seller: Sabine H. Cray RET
Date: 06/18/24

319 West St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Michael Lee
Seller: Christopher L. Price
Date: 06/18/24

55 Woodlot Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $836,000
Buyer: Sunghoon Lee
Seller: Nathan K. Smith
Date: 06/13/24

BELCHERTOWN

70 Aldrich St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $438,000
Buyer: Yandle Kuo
Seller: Patrick S. Fitzgerald
Date: 06/17/24

271 Hamilton St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Dennis J. O’Connor
Seller: Leah Lamoureux
Date: 06/12/24

41 Oasis Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $662,500
Buyer: Timothy Drost
Seller: Melissa A. Madden
Date: 06/18/24

19 Old Amherst Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Yunjuang Seo
Seller: Robert J. Carroll
Date: 06/17/24

56 Poole Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $173,250
Buyer: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
Seller: Timothy A. Stoltz
Date: 06/20/24

163 Ware Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Kam C. Lau
Seller: William J. Sordillo
Date: 06/17/24

24 West St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: George W. Braid
Seller: Yuk S. Chan
Date: 06/20/24

EASTHAMPTON

1 Autumn Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $720,000
Buyer: Patrica Crowley
Seller: Karen S. Kuhr
Date: 06/10/24

4 East Green St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Matthew S. Gardner
Seller: Lisa A. Darragh
Date: 06/17/24

100 Line St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Amanda Sharron
Seller: Philip Leblanc
Date: 06/14/24

265 Loudville Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $375,400
Buyer: Melanie Conklin
Seller: Wendy Kirby
Date: 06/18/24

GRANBY

51 Kendall St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Justin E. Fuglestad
Seller: Veitenheimer, Ruby C., (Estate)
Date: 06/10/24

140 School St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: Nicole M. McKinstry
Seller: Elaine M. Chaloux
Date: 06/14/24

7 School St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Michelle Bushey
Seller: John D. Giroux
Date: 06/12/24

HATFIELD

7 Dwight St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Robert Vollinger
Seller: Marilyn L. Fifield
Date: 06/14/24

470 Main St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $537,500
Buyer: Daniel J. Jacques
Seller: Mark E. Kelleher
Date: 06/13/24

8 Molloy Ave.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $237,500
Buyer: Chenvert Properties LLC
Seller: Cascade Funding Mortgage Trust HB9
Date: 06/20/24

HUNTINGTON

121 County Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Gordon M. Richardson
Seller: Richarrson NT
Date: 06/18/24

Thomas Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Thomas Road Land Trust
Seller: David P. Baillargeon
Date: 06/17/24

Thomas Road (off)
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: David P. Baillargeon
Seller: David P. Baillargeon
Date: 06/17/24

MIDDLEFIELD

153 Skyline Trail
Middlefield, MA 01243
Amount: $302,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Clayton
Seller: Denise M. Lucas
Date: 06/10/24

NORTHAMPTON

119 Bridge Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $594,475
Buyer: Leah Varsano
Seller: Thomas Sadoski
Date: 06/18/24

392 Bridge St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Mark L. Mervine
Seller: Gena M. Downey LT
Date: 06/14/24

17 Harrison Ave
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $407,500
Buyer: Jeffrey T. Barton
Seller: Renee S. Westein
Date: 06/13/24

84 Longview Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Colin D. Chickles
Seller: Minh H. Le
Date: 06/14/24

24 Massasoit St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $915,000
Buyer: Pamela Rosen
Seller: Elliot Fratkn RET
Date: 06/20/24

24 Murphy Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Susan B. Edelstein
Seller: Bettie F. Farber
Date: 06/10/24

111 Prospect St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $1,075,000
Buyer: Georgia N. Crump
Seller: Deevia C. Patel
Date: 06/20/24

311 Prospect St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $930,000
Buyer: Shira Bettinger LT
Seller: Lindsay Hunter
Date: 06/10/24

31 South Park Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $725,000
Buyer: Steven R. Roszko
Seller: D. J. Narkewicz & Y. Mikich
Date: 06/14/24

160 South St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $775,000
Buyer: Dexter D. Dong
Seller: Marjorie A. Shearer
Date: 06/12/24

11 Valley St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: Ingrid R. Gugler
Seller: Equity TCom
Date: 06/20/24

8 Villone Dr.
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: Kirkpatrick Realty LLC
Seller: Dtj Properties LLC
Date: 06/14/24

SOUTH HADLEY

11 Central Ave
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $419,000
Buyer: Hannah Laue
Seller: Elias D. Os
Date: 06/10/24

15 Tampa St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Joshua M. Kranz
Seller: Jaswinder Kour
Date: 06/10/24

11 Wildwood Lane
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Edwin Quiles
Seller: Dubuc, Michael J., (Estate)
Date: 06/17/24

21 Yale St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $291,000
Buyer: Quentin S. Amrani
Seller: Sarah G. Ritchie
Date: 06/17/24

SOUTHAMPTON

29 Bluemer Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Mary Britton
Seller: Rgb Idustries Inc
Date: 06/14/24

23 College Hwy.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $975,000
Buyer: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Seller: Truehart Inc.
Date: 06/18/24

19 Duggan Lane
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $595,000
Buyer: James Barry
Seller: Alexander Kozodoy
Date: 06/10/24

Fomer Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Holyoke W. Works
Seller: Scott Cebula
Date: 06/18/24

6 Laurie Dr.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Garry L. Parks
Seller: Mark E. Challet
Date: 06/17/24

Southampton Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Kbip LLC
Seller: Scarfo Construction Co. Inc.
Date: 06/14/24

52 Valley Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Alexppark LLC
Seller: Joyce E. Bard
Date: 06/12/24

WARE

123 Bacon Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Yaojun Liu
Seller: Cun S. Chen
Date: 06/18/24

21 Old Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $282,044
Buyer: Mortgage Assets Mgmts. Series I
Seller: Daigle, Claire C., (Estate)
Date: 06/12/24

15 Sherman Hill Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $437,500
Buyer: Wesley D. Mariere
Seller: Christopher A. Hubbard
Date: 06/12/24

32-34 South St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Adcc100 LLC
Seller: Depina & Saintil Investments LLC
Date: 06/17/24

72 West St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Crystal Brown
Seller: Scott M. Fortin
Date: 06/17/24

WORTHINGTON

153 Kinnebrook Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $729,000
Buyer: Mark E. Challet
Seller: Fisk FT
Date: 06/17/24

Building Permits

By
Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of June 2024.

CHICOPEE

Chicopee Child Development
989 James St.
$394,120 — Abate and remove windows; install new windows, storefronts, and entrances

Chicopee Falls Lodge 1849
244 Fuller Road
$75,000 — Replace what is being demolished, rebuild entryway leading to bar area

Colvest/Wilbraham LLC
1284 Memorial Dr.
$301,334.44 — Replace floor and wall tiles, wall coverings, and interior lighting

Fairview Knights of Columbus
1599 Memorial Dr.
$20,000 — Install drive-up elements, clearance bar, canopy, digital menu board, building canopies, and other elements for Dunkin’ Donuts

N. Riley Realty LLC
621 Grattan St.
$1,000 — Fill in cellar hole

Shawinigan Drive LLC
645 Shawinigan Dr.
$14,977,000 — Renovations for regional dispatch center for monitoring and controlling emergency services for several Western Mass. communities

Sherroy LLC
1410 Memorial Dr.
$214,000 — Tenant buildout of existing space for food services

Standex International Corp.
939 Chicopee St.
$250,000 — Renovation into adult day health center

HADLEY

63 East Realty LLC
63 East St.
N/A — Replace equipment in dental office

Pyramid Mall of Hadley Newco LLC
373 Russell St.
N/A — Supply and install HVAC systems

Chun Suk Yoon
99 Russell St.
N/A — Replace front awning

NORTHAMPTON

Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc.
30 Locust St.
$162,773 — Modify storage area and install new sterilizer

Falk 41 Main LLC
41 Main St.
$3,000 — Interior renovation

Hill Institute
77 Pine St.
$62,500 — Pavilion

Lathrop Community Inc.
680 Bridge Road
$45,000 — Interior renovation

Lathrop Home
215 South St.
$78,929 — Renovate two full bathrooms

Mill River Music Inc.
135 King St.
$90,000 — Interior alterations

Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity
278 Burts Pit Road
$26,500 — Install roof-mounted solar system

Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity
286 Burts Pit Road
$24,500 — Install roof-mounted solar system

Safe Journeys LLC
32 Vernon St.
$4,600 — Roofing

 

PITTSFIELD

Thomas Abate
75 Wendell Ave.
$30,000 — Roofing

CW Acquisitions LLC
1685 West Housatonic St.
$410,000 — Non-bearing wall removal

Diplacon Investments
315 Dalton Ave.
$83,600 — Roofing

Michele Mazzeo
416 Tyler St.
$125,179 — Interior alteration to fit dental office

Mental Health and Substance Abuse
184 Bradford Road
$36,300 — Roofing

Mirabito Holdings Inc.
25 Downing Parkway
$199,999 — Roofing

Nicholas R. Disantis Revocable Trust
3 Lanckton Court
$17,000 — Roofing

Phoenix Merrill Road LLC
676 Merrill Road
$269,000 — Roofing

Somnath LLC
1055 South St.
$195,000 — In-ground gunite pool and spa

Swam Realty LLC
724 Tyler St.
$40,000 — Roofing

SPRINGFIELD

1441 Main Street LLC
1441 Main St.
$205,796 — Alter first-floor interior space for TD Bank

City of Springfield
20 Lydia St.
$735,463 — Alter interior space in two classrooms on ground floor of Dorman School

FB Development LLC
1537 Main St.
$1,624,745 — Alterations for new tenant on first floor of Fuller Block Building, including installation of new west stairway layout between first and second floors and improvements to second-floor west stairway layout

Gulmohar Hospitality LLC
711 Dwight St.
$85,000 — Remove and replace nine antennas and six remote radio units on T-Mobile cellular communication tower

Helmut Lederer, Christine Lederer
1918 Wilbraham Road
$220,000 — Interior upgrades and modifications at Dunkin’ Donuts

New North Citizens Council Inc.
4 Birnie Ave.
$719,500 — Alter third floor of New North Community Center into transitory dormitories

Another Investment in the Arts

By
Opinion

Editorial

 

Earlier this month, the Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BFMC) announced it was awarded a $200,000 Cultural Facilities Fund capital grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and MassDevelopment.

The collaborative will use this grant to begin build drawings for Kemble Street Studios, a new, international film-education center proposed for the north end of the Elayne Bernstein Theatre complex on the grounds of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox.

“We are thrilled with the continued support we have received from MCC/Cultural Facilities Fund for the project, first for the feasibility study, then for architectural drawings, and now to finish phase 2 of the project and to plan and begin the final renderings of the build drawings,” BFMC Executive Director Diane Pearlman said. “Their support has been significant in garnering interest and contributions from other individuals and organizations.”

Kemble Street Studios will be a mixed-use studio, lab, and classroom environment dedicated to education in the art and craft of filmmaking and media development. The center will offer hands-on learning for area young people interested in training in this burgeoning industry, as well as a resource for local nonprofits and companies to become video-literate and incorporate video in their branding, marketing, social media, and training. To date, BFMC has raised well over $500,000 for this initiative.

It’s just another example of how the creative economy continues to be a key driver across the four counties of Western Mass., not just in the sense of tourism, culture, and recreation — think museums, festivals, concert venues, and the like — but by generating future impacts through training, workforce development, and entrepreneurship.

Everywhere you look (and listen), the vibrancy of the Western Mass. creative and cultural scene is evident, from music events — such as last week’s Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, the upcoming Northampton Jazz Festival, and a constant stream of concerts at the Iron Horse, the Drake, Academy of Music, Hawks & Reed, and myriad other venues — to a new round of large-scale art going up in Springfield thanks to Common Wealth Murals; from dance and drama at Jacob’s Pillow, Shakespeare & Company, and Double Edge Theatre to the occasional movie filmed in the region, most recently Janet Planet, the film directorial debut of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (and Amherst native) Annie Baker.

And that doesn’t even mention all the solo artists and craftspeople creating quietly in their homes and small businesses.

When people talk about quality of life in Western Mass., they often think of outdoor recreation, restaurants, interesting downtowns, and a cost of living that, while still high these days, is less burdensome than in the Boston area.

But they also think about the arts and culture, which continue to thrive in so many ways, as artists, audiences, and the entities that invest in their worthy work continue to generate inspiration and economic impact at a time when both are certainly needed.

The Value of Investing in Training

By Contributor
Opinion

Opinion

By John Henderson

We’ve all heard the famous quote by Henry Ford, “the only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”

When you invest in someone’s professional growth, how do you measure the return on your company’s investment? There are several models that can help you measure return on investment (ROI). One model that many people use is the Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation. In this model, there are four levels to evaluate:

• Level 1: Reaction. This is simply noting how people directly respond to the training. Were they satisfied? You can measure that by evaluation responses.

• Level 2: Learning. What knowledge and skills did the employee acquire due to the training? This can be measured by observing the employee’s performance after the training — was there improvement?

• Level 3: Behavior. How did the employee’s behavior change? Has there been an increase in productivity, motivation, and employee engagement?

• Level 4: Impact. How has the training impacted the goals of the team and/or organization?

While the Kirkpatrick model is widely used, if you are looking for a more mathematical way to measure ROI, you can use a more traditional formula: simply calculate the dollar return (benefit: have sales increased, have efficiencies increased, has retention increased), and divide it by the cost of the investment (training).

Now, with all that said, let’s look at how to effectively get the most return on training investment.

First, determine the skills gap and identify the appropriate training course for the person to attend.

Second, set them up for success by doing the following:

• Explain to the person why you are sending him or her to the training session. I once had a participant during a break tell me he thinks he was sent to the leadership series because he was in trouble. I asked him if he would be comfortable asking his supervisor why he was selected to attend. When he returned to the next class, he proudly proclaimed, “I’m here because they think I have high potential to be a leader.”

• Provide the person with all the logistical information and an overview of what the content of the training will be.

• Provide the trainee’s supervisor with the same information.

• Encourage the trainee and supervisor to meet after the training is completed to discuss what was learned and how the employee intends to use the newly learned skills.

Investing in your employees’ training can bring great ROI if you make sure to follow the four steps outlined above. Don’t spend your learning and development dollars without ensuring that the participant is prepared and ready to learn.

 

John Henderson is director of Learning and Development at the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. This article first appeared on the EANE blog; eane.org

HCC Welcomes First Vice President of People, Culture, and Equity

By
Daily News

Marlowe Washington

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Marlowe Washington as its first vice president of people, culture, and equity.

In this executive-level position, Washington serves as a strategic partner to President George Timmons, the HCC cabinet, and all campus constituencies to advance culture, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Washington comes to HCC following his work as the inaugural senior diversity officer at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, N.Y., where he oversaw the continuation of the university’s efforts supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. He recently moved to Springfield, but maintains a residence in Rochester, where he is pastor of the Agape Fellowship United Methodist Church. He started his position at HCC on July 8.

“I am here, first of all, because the president’s vision really resonated with me,” Washington said. “He said, ‘I want to save lives,’ and you don’t normally hear that from a college president. That’s not what they talk about. That was what sold me, because education is the great equalizer. It was for me in my personal life, as it was for President Timmons.”

Washington is a New York City native who grew up in the Bronx. A first-generation college graduate, he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, a master of divinity degree in urban ministry and planning from the New York Theological Seminary in Manhattan, a doctorate of ministry in transformational leadership and cultural intelligence from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, and a doctorate of education in executive leadership in higher education from St. John Fisher University.

“I am very excited about the hiring of Dr. Washington as our inaugural vice president for people, culture, and equity,” Timmons said. “I am excited about this enthusiasm, his excitement to be part of our team, to be part of our mission and vision. Being a first-generation college graduate and understanding the population we serve is really important.”

In his role, Washington will oversee the Human Resources department, Title IX (federal prohibition against sex and gender discrimination), the college’s Affirmative Action officer, and its interim executive director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

He is married to Mira Washington, a human-resources professional. They have two adult children and three grandchildren. His office on the fourth floor of the HCC Kittredge Center is already filled with photographs of family members and other young people whom he calls his “surrogate children.”

“They call me papa or dad or whatever,” he said. “I have a very strong relationship with them, and that’s what I love about higher ed, because it’s not just about educating, it’s developing relationships. Really, 90% of diversity, equity, and inclusion is about building relationships and building social connection. That’s what I’m aiming to do here at HCC.”