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Month: September 2024

PeoplesBank Recognized for Corporate Responsibility, Community Support

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — PeoplesBank has been named a Top Corporate Charitable Contributor by the Boston Business Journal, which also recognized the bank’s employees by listing them as number three in the state for volunteer hours contributed. PeoplesBank was also included in the top three most generous corporate contributors in Western Mass.

“Our emphasis on supporting the community demonstrates the power of a mutual bank,” said Brian Canina, president of PeoplesBank. “Our focus is serving our customers and the communities where they live. The fact that we are not diverting funds to pay stockholders means we can instead invest in nonprofit organizations that improve the quality of life for all.”

Canina noted that he is especially proud of the bank’s associates for their commitment to volunteerism. “Being ranked number three on the list for highest average volunteer hours underscores our value of service. It’s part of our culture. We know that support often translates to more than a donation of money. Often, it means helping in the community or serving on a nonprofit board — and our associates do both in record numbers of hours.”

Matthew Bannister, senior vice president and head of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility, noted that the bank’s charitable impact has soared over the last decade, adding that “we now serve both Connecticut and Massachusetts, and our contributions, both in terms of financial support and volunteerism, have increased correspondingly.” He estimates that the 10-year contribution total is now close to $13 million total when both states are considered.

A sample of Massachusetts organizations supported by PeoplesBank include the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Girls Inc. of the Valley, Spirit of Springfield, and Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services. Connecticut organizations supported by PeoplesBank include the Boys & Girls Club Greater Hartford, Habitat for Humanity of North Central Connecticut, Celebrate! WeHa, and Operation Fuel.

“PeoplesBank exemplifies an exceptional commitment to community by consistently responding to calls for action,” said Shannon Rudder, CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services (MLKFS) in Springfield. “Their proactive approach and focus on meaningful reinvestments truly strengthen and uplift our evolving neighborhoods. At MLKFS, we deeply appreciate their unwavering support and partnership, and we look forward to a collaborative future that continues to enhance our community.”

AIC Ranks Among Leaders in Social Mobility by U.S. News & World Report

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) has been recognized for its outstanding achievement in social mobility, ranking 82nd in the National Universities category of the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. Within this classification, AIC is the top-performing institution for social mobility in Western Mass. and ranks third in the state, tied with Harvard University.

The U.S. News rankings, which evaluate 1,500 colleges and universities using up to 17 measures of academic quality, serve as a resource for prospective students and families. This year’s edition continues to emphasize social mobility and postgraduate success, two areas in which AIC has maintained a longstanding commitment. AIC’s efforts to create pathways for student advancement are reflected in its top-100 nationwide ranking for the second consecutive year.

Social mobility refers to the ability of individuals to improve their economic and social standing through education and career advancement. By providing access to affordable, high-quality education, AIC enables students — particularly those from underrepresented or economically disadvantaged backgrounds — to achieve greater opportunities and long-term success. The U.S. News social-mobility ranking assesses colleges based on outcomes such as enrolling and graduating students from diverse backgrounds, managing student debt, and the earnings of graduates.

“Now in its 40th year, the Best Colleges rankings remain a trusted source of information for students and families,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor of education at U.S. News. “By highlighting factors like social mobility and postgraduate success, we aim to help students find schools that not only offer a quality education, but also prepare them for a successful, fulfilling future.”

Economically disadvantaged students are less likely to complete college, according to U.S. News. However, institutions like AIC have shown an intentional commitment to increasing educational access and advancing social mobility. This is partly achieved by enrolling and graduating many students who receive federal Pell Grants, with most awarded to students with family incomes under $50,000. For the fall 2023 semester, 53% of AIC’s undergraduate students received Pell Grants.

“Since its founding, AIC has embraced the mission of making education accessible to all, and that mission is stronger today than ever,” interim President Nicolle Cestero said. “We are driven to provide a high-quality education that empowers every student, from every background, to reach their full potential. Education is a powerful catalyst for social mobility and equity, and we are dedicated to ensuring that these opportunities are open to everyone.”

Insurance for Students Inc. Promotes Gina Warga

By
Daily News

Gina Warga

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Insurance for Students Inc. (IFS), an insurance agency with an office in West Springfield as well as Delray Beach, Fla., announced the promotion of Gina Warga to director of Marketing and Operations.

Warga has been a valuable member of the team for more than eight years. From creating marketing materials to team support, she has exceeded internal and external client expectations. Her new role will increase her responsibilites as a valued leader at IFS. She is a licensed insurance broker and received a bachelor’s degree from Westfield State University.

Holyoke Community College’s Sharale Mathis Named to National Advisory Board

By
Daily News

Sharale Mathis

HOLYOKE — Sharale Mathis, vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at Holyoke Community College (HCC), has been appointed to a national advisory board for community colleges.

Mathis was invited to join the Commission on Institutional Infrastructure and Transformation of the American Assoc. of Community Colleges (AACC), the primary advocacy group for U.S. community colleges. Her three-year term began July 1 and will run through June 2027.

The AACC’s Commission on Institutional Infrastructure and Transformation focuses on community-college efforts to improve student success, which includes administrative processes, infrastructure, technology, and workforce development.

As vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at HCC, Mathis oversees all academic divisions, as well as student records, the registrar’s office, planning and assessment, student-success programs, library services, advising, career services, transfer affairs, admissions, and financial aid, among others.

She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Hartfield, a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from Quinnipiac University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University. She joined HCC in 2021 after serving as dean of Academic and Student Affairs at Middlesex Community College in Connecticut, where she previously led the STEM division as director.

Comcast Awards $70,000 to Three Organizations to Advance Digital Equity, Learning

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Comcast announced it is awarding a total of $70,000 across three nonprofit organizations in Western Mass. to help provide area residents and students with technology and computer skills training. These grants are a part of Project UP, Comcast’s $1 billion commitment to advance digital equity through programs and community partnerships that connect people to the internet, advance economic mobility, and open doors for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers, and creators.

Tech Goes Home will receive $30,000 to offer its digital-inclusion programs in Holyoke and Springfield, through which participants will complete 15 hours of digital skills training and earn a technology bundle that will include a personal device.

The Urban League of Springfield will receive $20,000 to support its digital learning lab, which provides participants with essential technology and internet skills training, specialty workshops, the Urban League’s Project Ready Mentor and STEM youth programs, and more.

The Boys & Girls Club of Springfield will receive $20,000 to support its e-sports programming, through which participants build social-emotional and STEM skills by engaging in educational, hands-on gaming sessions led by club staff.

“We are grateful to Comcast for supporting our efforts to help close the digital divide in Holyoke and Springfield,” said Daniel Noyes, CEO of Tech Goes Home. “By providing our participants with digital skills trainings and their own devices, we’re able to prepare them to navigate school, work, and life. We are excited to see the impact we can make in Western Massachusetts, thanks to the support from Comcast.”

Added Carolyne Hannan, senior vice president of Comcast’s New England region, “we understand the critical role that the internet plays in contributing to a future of unlimited possibilities for everyone across Western Massachusetts. In today’s world, digital literacy is essential to success, which is why we continue to support programs that empower individuals to explore and understand digital media platforms and technical capabilities to set them up for their professional futures.”

Tickets Available for Healthcare Heroes Gala on Oct. 17

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — BusinessWest and the Healthcare News will celebrate this year’s eight Healthcare Heroes on Thursday, Oct. 17 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Log Cabin in Holyoke.

The class of 2024, profiled in the Sep. 16 issue and at businesswest.com, includes Dr. Andrew Balder, attending physician, Baystate Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center; Lucinda Canty, associate professor of Nursing and director of the Seedworks Health Equity Program, UMass Amherst; Bernice Drumheller, past president, NAMI Western Massachusetts; Peta-Gaye Johnson, director of Healthcare Workforce Initiatives, MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board; Margaret King, occupational therapist, Baystate Medical Center; Alexa Mignano, director of School-Based Clinical Services, River Valley Counseling Center; Dr. Laki Rousou, chief of Thoracic Surgery, chief of Robotic Surgery, and medical director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program, Mercy Medical Center; and Janet Williams, professor of Biology, Elms College.

Tickets cost $95, and tables of 10 are available. To purchase tickets, visit businesswest.com/healthcare-heroes-tickets. Presenting sponsors include Baystate Health/Health New England and Elms College. Partner sponsors include Trinity Health Of New England/Mercy Medical Center and Holyoke Medical Center.

Wilbraham Balances Growth, Small-town Feel

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Mike and Barbara Trombley returned to Wilbraham for its quality of life — and to be the succession plan for the financial-services firm started by Mike’s father.
Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight

Mike and Barbara Trombley returned to Wilbraham for its quality of life — and to be the succession plan for the financial-services firm started by Mike’s father.

Mike and Barbara Trombley returned to Wilbraham for its quality of life — and to be the succession plan for the financial-services firm started by Mike’s father.

Like many young people who grow up in Western Mass., Mike Trombley left this region to start his professional career and then returned because of the quality of life it affords.

His story, and his career, have not been like most others, though.

Indeed, Trombley, who excelled on the baseball diamond at Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, would go on to play to play at Duke and be drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

Mostly a relief pitcher — with a career record of 37-47 and a high of 24 saves in 1995 — he played for the Twins, Orioles, and, briefly, the Dodgers until 2002. Living in Florida with his wife, Barbara, and three children after his playing days were over, he dabbled in real estate and managed to survive relatively unscathed when the market collapsed.

By 2009, the Trombleys decided that Florida wasn’t really for them, so they relocated to Wilbraham to live and essentially become the succession plan for Mike’s father, Ray Trombley, who founded the financial-services firm Trombley Associates in 1965.

The Wilbraham Mike returned to was and is very much like the one he left, meaning it has maintained its small-town charm and rural character — there are more than 20 farms within the community.

But there have been some significant changes, including the mailing address for the Trombley firm — Post Office Park on Route 20, a business park that includes the Scantic Valley YMCA, a post office (hence the name), and dozens of businesses — as well as many new businesses along that thoroughfare. There have also been some changes on Main Street and just off it, including the town’s new senior center, which was a dozen years in the making, and a new mixed-use development that includes several apartments, a brewery, a restaurant, and a wine-and-cheese shop.

This combination of small-time charm and an eclectic business community makes Wilbraham an attractive community, one where residents sometimes take all they have for granted but shouldn’t, Mike said.

“This is the quintessential New England town; any time anyone would go down Main Street and see Wilbraham & Monson Academy and the Village Store … it’s just a picturesque postcard driving through town.”

“It’s very interesting seeing Wilbraham as an adult. I grew up in this town, then left to go to go to college and play baseball; we were away a long time and came back. To see it as an adult … Barbara said to me, and it’s true, ‘Wilbraham is a charming town.’

“I’m a big fan of New England,” he went on. “And this is the quintessential New England town; any time anyone would go down Main Street and see Wilbraham & Monson Academy and the Village Store … it’s just a picturesque postcard driving through town, especially at this time of year, and I appreciate it much more as an adult.”

This is the message the town’s Economic Development Committee is trying to put out — or, at least, part of the message.

Indeed, the commission has ramped up efforts to let it be known that this community of almost 15,000 people is open for business and has plenty to offer those who wish to set up shop here.

That list includes a single tax rate, one lower for businesses than neighboring Springfield (and some other communities, for that matter); busy Route 20, which is already home to dozens of businesses, with room for many more; access to other neighboring communities; proximity to what will be a totally reimagined Eastfield Mall; that aforementioned quality of life; and, coming sometime soon, a town-owned fiber network that will bring faster and more reliable service to residents and businesses alike.

“We have many attractive selling points here in Wilbraham,” said Mike Mazzuca, chair of the Economic Development Committee. “And we’re going to work harder to make sure businesses are aware of all that we have to offer.”

For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Wilbraham and its ongoing, and quite successful, efforts to balance its rural character with needed business growth.

 

Getting Down to Business

Brady Suomala is a senior at Minnechaug High, captain of the soccer team, and … an intern with the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce, which counts Wilbraham among the five communities it serves.

Since coming aboard just after school started, Suomala, who is focusing his internship on marketing and graphics, has been visiting many businesses in town with chamber Executive Director Grace Barone. He’s been talking with their graphics and marketing people about their work and possible career paths, while also, in some cases, gauging their marketing needs and whether the chamber might be of any assistance.

He’s stopped by a few banks, and recently visited with Sandy Polom, owner of the Scented Garden Gift Shoppe, located in the Wilbraham Shops on Route 20, who is coming up on her five-year anniversary of buying the business and is planning a celebration.

Brady Suomala

As an intern with the ERC5 Chamber of Commerce, high-school senior Brady Suomala is gaining unique insight into Wibraham’s business community.

Suomala’s work to date relates the importance of internships like his to introducing young people to the world of work, while also introducing them to businesses and possible careers. It also helps tell the story of Wilbraham’s business community, which, as noted, is both diverse — with a blend of local companies and regional and even national chains (like Home Depot) — and deep, with many businesses, like Trombley Associates, the Scented Garden, Rice’s Fruit Farm, and many others having well-established roots.

Indeed, the Scented Garden has been a mainstay in the community, and region, for more than 30 years now.

“We reached out to businesses at the mall and were successful in bringing a few here.”

Polom, who had been in medical and pharmaceutical sales for 26 years, was looking for a change, and less travel, and bought the business five years ago.

That was just a few months before COVID, which wound up essentially shutting her down for three and half months.

“That was a little scary, to say the least,” she said, adding that the pause, while unwelcome, gave her an opportunity to refresh the store and make some needed changes. Upon reopening, she has been continuously buoyed by local support — a running theme among business owners in town — but also shoppers from neighboring communities and those passing through along Route 20 or stopping in to other businesses in the shops.

They’re drawn to her mix of gift items, from women’s and children’s clothing to jewelry to home items, with a focus on products made in this country.

As for Trombley Associates, it has been a nice, but not easy, transition for Mike and a solid second career, one where Barbara, a CPA by trade, is his business partner.

Barbara, a frequent contributor of articles to BusinessWest on the many aspects of financial planning, handles the tax side of the business, but also shares the financial-planning work with Mike.

Wilbraham at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1763
Population: 14,613
Area: 22.4 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $18.50
Commercial Tax Rate: $18.50
Median Household Income: $65,014
Median Family Income: $73,825
Type of government: Board of Selectmen, Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Baystate Wing Wilbraham Medical Center; Friendly Ice Cream Corp.; Big Y; Home Depot; Wilbraham & Monson Academy
*Latest information available

Together, they have grown the client portfolio and, overall, continued a business that traces it roots back 60 years.

“I think my father would be very proud that we’ve carried the torch and, hopefully, made it better in his eyes,” Mike said.

The broad goal for the town’s Economic Development Committee is to help write more success stories like these in Wilbraham, said Mazzuca, adding that the mixed-use project on Main Street, which now includes several apartments, Pafumi’s on Main restaurant, the Guilty Grape wine-and-cheese store, and Scantic River Brewery, has generated momentum in efforts to bring more businesses, and vibrancy, to what would be considered the community’s downtown, the Main Street area.

Meanwhile, Wilbraham has become more focused on promoting itself and its assets and attracting more businesses. The town was successful is recruiting two of the former tenants of the Eastfield Mall — the Mall Barber and School of Fish, an aquarium store — for some of the reasons stated earlier, such as location and proximity to Route 20.

“We reached out to businesses at the mall and were successful in bringing a few here,” said Mazzuca, “because this is a great place to do business.”

Jeff Smith, vice chair of the Economic Development Committee and a small-business owner himself, agreed. He said the town’s single tax rate has incentivized Home Depot and other businesses to locate in town, and there are many other assets as well.

“We have a lot of open space — the trail systems are extensive, and we have two fantastic farms that put on all kinds of activities in the fall,” he explained. “There’s also water, sewer, access to Route 20, and a very business-friendly town government.”

As for the planned new Eastfield Mall … there are still many questions to be answered on that project, but if it is redeveloped as planned, with a mix of local and national stores and restaurant chains, it should bring more traffic through and into Wilbraham.

“If the stores that are proposed to go up do go up, that will draw more people into the area,” Mazzuca said. “For people going to the Eastfield Mall, when it’s time to go to a restaurant, you’ll have more people coming to Wilbraham. We have fantastic restaurants here, and in addition, some of our niche shops are spectacular.”

 

Bottom Line

Returning to those thoughts he had about how he appreciates Wilbraham even more now than when he was growing up there, Mike Trombley said that, overall, little has changed beyond that appreciation level.

“There’s no way you can avoid progress, which is a good thing, but the town has kept its home-town feel, which is good, too,” he said, noting, as others did, that this community has much to offer — to residents, yes, but also to those who want to get down to business here.

 

Conference Brings Together Library, Lawyers for Civil Rights

By
Entrepreneurship

Tools to Grow

Roz Freeman recognizes and values the connection between civil rights and economic justice, which is why she’s gratified by the work being done by BizGrow, an arm of Massachusetts-based Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR).

LCR was born during the Civil Rights era, said Freeman, entrepreneurship manager for Lawyers for Civil Rights, noting that it sprung from the broader, national movement known as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We work through the law to fight for justice. We have a team of litigators who litigate civil rights in collaboration with law firms that are doing pro bono work to support these cases.”

LCR was created in 1968 (more on that later), but about 20 years ago, it established BizGrow, which provides free legal assistance, business support, and technical assistance to minority, immigrant, and women business owners, aiming to ensure they encounter fewer obstacles and more opportunities. Assistance can come in many areas, including starting a business, growing an enterprise, shifting ownership, managing transactional issues, or any other challenge small businesses are faced with.

Now, LCR has launched a new partnership with Springfield City Library aimed at transforming the support landscape for small-business owners and entrepreneurs in and around the city. The collaboration will kick off with the free BizGrow Conference on Thursday, Oct. 10 from noon to 4 p.m. at the library, located at 220 State St.

At the BizGrow Conference, modeled after a similar annual event in Boston, current and aspiring small-business owners will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with volunteer attorneys for free legal advice, connect with local and state organizations that provide essential resources and support to small businesses, and network with other local business owners. Dozens of business owners and entrepreneurs, pro bono attorneys, and providers of business technical assistance are expected to attend.

Roz Freeman

Roz Freeman

“We work through the law to fight for justice. We have a team of litigators who litigate civil rights in collaboration with law firms that are doing pro bono work to support these cases.”

“We are thrilled to deepen our connections to Springfield and offer this valuable event to the small-business community,” said Priya Lane, BizGrow director at Lawyers for Civil Rights. “Free legal support and business networking are crucial tools to help close the opportunity gap and fuel the small businesses that are the engines of our Commonwealth.”

 

Birth of a Notion

LCR traces its national roots back to June 1963, when President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with 250 leading American lawyers at the White House to discuss the role lawyers could and should play in the deepening civil-rights crisis.

The nation recently had been shaken by television and news accounts of police-led violence against peaceful demonstrations led by Martin Luther King Jr., and by the spectacle of U.S. Army intervention to enforce court orders requiring the University of Alabama to admit Black students against a defiant Gov. George Wallace.

The Kennedy brothers made an appeal to the lawyers to mobilize the voice and work of the legal profession to support the struggle for civil rights in the nation. Locally, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Assoc. was formed in 1968. Funded with a grant from the Ford Foundation and contributions from major Boston law firms, it became the first of eight independent affiliates of the national Lawyers’ Committee. The only Lawyers’ Committee in the country affiliated with a major bar association, it rebranded as Lawyers for Civil Rights in 2018.

But before that, BizGrow developed from a recognition that social justice also means economic opportunity, and LCR had a role to play there as well.

Priya Lane

Priya Lane

“Free legal support and business networking are crucial tools to help close the opportunity gap and fuel the small businesses that are the engines of our Commonwealth.”

“After many years, we wanted to connect fighting for justice with economic justice and wealth creation for disadvantaged communities,” Freeman explained. “Lawyers for Civil Rights and BizGrow partner with law firms that provide pro bono opportunities to support small businesses. Businesses, in turn, get a free legal network to support them.”

Sheila Coon, owner of Hot Oven Cookies, which has locations in Sprngfield and Chicopee, speaks well of her experiences working with lawyers through LCR, and says others should reach out.

“The attorneys I’ve connected with through LCR and BizGrow have been invaluable to solving key issues for my small business,” she noted. “I am so excited that this amazing resource is coming to Springfield.”

Hot Oven is just one of roughly 1,600 different businesses Lawyers for Civil Rights has worked with in 2024 alone through workshops, free legal clinics, and its Boston conference, Freeman told BusinessWest.

And many one-on-one connections made at the conference between entrepreneurs and attorneys will be forged before the event itself, to ensure that each volunteer lawyer has the background needed to help a particular business owner.

“We match businesses with the right attorneys in the area; we talk ahead of time to make sure the questions are clear and they’re able to make most of the meeting with the attorney during the conference,” she explained. “Then, if they need long-term legal representation, we can make a match for free legal support. Any questions that don’t get answered within a 30-minute session during the conference, we can follow up with support.”

 

Support for the Journey

Of course, BizGrow’s presence in Springfield will extend well beyond one conference.

“We are reaching out to small-business owners to make sure they’re getting the wraparound supports that businesses need. So we offer workshops and legal clinics, too,” Freeman said. “But the reason for the in-person conference is we want to not only bring resources on the ground in Springfield, but also provide a networking opportunity for small businesses. That’s why we partnered with the library.

“Fifteen different small-business resource partners will be there. So entrepreneurs can come to the event and get the support they need and make connections with many of those business resources in the region,” she added. “We’re looking to support Western Mass. businesses in a way we haven’t before.”

The partnership with Lawyers for Civil Rights promises to be “a fantastic opportunity for Springfield’s small-business community,” said Elizabeth McKinstry, programming and training librarian for the 167-year-old Springfield City Library.

“We are thrilled to host the BizGrow Conference and bring such vital resources to our local entrepreneurs,” she added. “For many small-business owners, access to legal advice and business networks can be a game changer. We are hopeful this event will have a lasting impact on the growth of small businesses in our community.”

To register for the BizGrow Conference Springfield, visit bit.ly/BizGrowSpringfield2024.

Stay Safe by Preparing for Holiday Driving Season

By Contributor
Insurance

Rules of the Road

By Jack Dowd

 

Holiday season, which will ramp up over the next few months, is peak travel time. “From Atlantic to Pacific / Gee, the traffic is terrific,” goes the song, and it’s about 10 times truer today than it was when Perry Como sang it in 1954. The more people on the road, the more important it is to take extra care preparing for your trip and driving with safety in mind.

 

Preparation Is Key

90% of safe travel is in the planning. Even if you’ve driven to grandmother’s house more times than you can count, it’s still essential to run through a safety checklist before you hit the road.

 

Auto Insurance

Make sure your auto or motorcycle insurance policy is up to date and has the coverage you need. The rates of accidents spike during the holiday season, and even the most careful drivers can find themselves in dangerous situations. It’s best to be sure you’re covered.

Jack Dowd

Jack Dowd

“The one guaranteed result of road rage is regret. Don’t leap at the opportunity to join in on someone else’s bad judgment.”

 

License and Registration, Please

And pack proof of insurance while you’re at it. Again, despite a careful driver’s best efforts, accidents do happen, so be sure you’ve got an active driver’s license, current registration, and proof of insurance at the ready. We know you’ll follow all state and local speed limits, of course, so we won’t even bother to discuss that here.

 

Roadside Assistance

Whether you have roadside assistance through your insurance agency, your bank, a cell-phone carrier, or AAA, make sure your policy is active before you set out on your trip. If you choose not to participate in a roadside assistance program, be sure you have all the tools you need to change a tire or take care of any other minor repair en route. While you’re at it, check your spare and be sure it’s properly inflated and in good condition.

 

Basic Car Maintenance

If you’ve been putting off an oil change and haven’t checked your tire pressure in a while, take a little time to get your car ready for the long haul. Check the levels of oil, coolant, windshield fluid, and brake fluid. Test your lights, including turn signals, taillights, reverse lights, and the low and high beams on your headlights. Bring your tires up to their recommended PSI. Make sure your wipers work well and your windows are clean.

 

Know Where You’re Going

Don’t be too dependent on your phone to tell you where to go. Review your route carefully before you leave, and note some of the key milestones, exits, and turns. Heaven forbid you lose cell service, overshoot a turn, and miss the turkey!

 

Watch the Weather

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts for all the regions you’ll pass through along the way. Watch out for storm warnings and predictions of rain, snow, and ice. If it looks like a major storm will impact your route, seriously consider delaying the trip until it’s cleared. If you’re traveling through steep or mountainous terrain, or roads that tend not to be cleared regularly, bring tire chains with you or put your snow tires on before you leave.

 

Charge Your Devices

Start your drive with a fully charged phone. Bring along both a car charger and a rechargeable battery pack. That way, should your car break down, you can still keep your phone charged to call emergency services, friends, relatives, hotels, or airlines.

 

Keep a Calm State of Mind

When it comes to safe holiday driving, getting there is what’s important. Don’t worry about getting there before the car in the other lane or teaching that tailgater a lesson. It’s not a contest, and it’s not a race. The one guaranteed result of road rage is regret. Don’t leap at the opportunity to join in on someone else’s bad judgment. Maintain a smooth, safe speed; drive carefully; and visualize grandma’s apple pie. Relaxing music also goes a long way.

 

Mind the Speed Limit

Should you still be tempted to drive aggressively to make up time, get ready for a big surprise. According to AAA, speeding accomplishes nothing of the sort. If you drive 65 mph on a 45 mph-posted road for five miles, the most you will save is a whopping 1.9 minutes — not exactly worth risking your life or the lives of others. Keep cool and prioritize arriving in one piece.

 

Jack Dowd is vice president of the Dowd Agencies in Holyoke.

State Expands Job-training Programs for Homeless Individuals

By Contributor
Manufacturing

Innovative Strategy

The Healey-Driscoll administration recently announced the expansion of job-training programs for individuals who face barriers to employment, including those staying in Emergency Assistance (EA) shelters. These programs are part of the administration’s efforts to meet the needs of the state’s employers who are looking to hire skilled talent and connect individuals experiencing homelessness with the training they need to get jobs and move out of shelters into more stable housing.

The administration has created a new ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) for Employment program to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with ESOL training, job-placement programs, and career wrap-around services. Eligible applicants, including community-based organizations, training providers, employers, community colleges, and industry associations, can apply at the Commonwealth Corp. website, commcorp.org/funding. The program is open to work-authorized individuals who are eligible for EA, which includes both long-term Massachusetts families and newly arrived immigrant families.

“Training and job-placement programs provide more access to underserved communities while helping our businesses stay competitive.”

“Employers across Massachusetts have job openings in high-demand fields like healthcare, manufacturing, human services, and hospitality. We also have individuals in EA shelter who have their work authorizations, who want to contribute to our communities and economy, and who want to move their families out of shelter into more stable housing,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “These programs help us meet all of those needs by providing EA residents with the training they need to succeed in the workplace and connecting them directly with employers who are hiring. We’re grateful to the Legislature for their continued partnership as we work to lessen the strain on the EA system and strengthen our economy.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll added that “training and job-placement programs provide more access to underserved communities while helping our businesses stay competitive. We know language is a barrier to employment, and that’s why the administration has launched a cross-secretariat effort to increase ESOL programs across the state, which will improve worker skills and productivity for our businesses.”

The administration has also made additional funding available for current Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF) awardees to incorporate additional cohorts or slots into pre-existing, currently active grants, including Kenneth Donnelly Success grants, ESOL Continuation grants, and Healthcare and Behavioral Health Hub grants. The WCTF invests in initiatives aimed at increasing access to well-paying jobs for residents facing employment barriers and improving the competitive stature of Massachusetts businesses by enhancing worker skills and productivity.

The funding for these programs was provided for in the April 2024 supplemental budget and distributed by Commonwealth Corp.

Additionally, the Division of Apprentice Standards (DAS) has made $500,000 available for training programs for individuals and families in the Emergency Assistance program or in temporary respite sites across the state.

“The Healey-Driscoll administration has been intentional in our efforts to connect work-authorized individuals with job training and placement, and these grants will help this effort by providing necessary workforce supports for some of our most vulnerable residents,” Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones said. “We look forward to working with applicants as they provide vital ESOL training and help individuals and families foster economic stability.”

Commonwealth Corp. President and CEO Molly Jacobson added that “this funding will support employers, training providers, and regional partners breaking down barriers for thousands of job seekers, particularly those experiencing homelessness.”

Hired Hand Signs Wins Manufacturing Leadership Award

By Contributor
Manufacturing

Craft and Community

 

 

On Sept. 25, Hired Hand Signs of Turners Falls received an award for Outstanding Leadership Skills in the Manufacturing Industry at the ninth annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony, presented by the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus.

Over the last decade, Jess Marsh Wissemann has built her sign shop and her career from the ground up. Her unique, hand-painted signs can now be found adorning independent businesses in the Pioneer Valley and across New England.

This award is part of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up, and the ceremony, held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, was hosted by the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus and other key partners. State Sen. Jo Comerford and state Rep. Natalie Blais nominated Hired Hand Signs for this award.

Marsh Wissemann started painting signs when she couldn’t find anyone to create quality signage for her family’s farmstand. She has always been ambitious, so she picked up a paintbrush and did the work herself.

Jess Marsh Wissemann

Jess Marsh Wissemann

“As a signmaker, I’m passionate about elevating our region’s streetscapes with beautiful storefronts. Having my work recognized with this manufacturing award was an incredible surprise.”

Working as a traditional sign painter, she is on a mission to bring artistry and craftsmanship back to the sign industry. She noted that vinyl and digitally printed signs, while cheap and efficient to produce, don’t have the longevity and inherent character of hand-crafted signs. And, unfortunately, they cannot be restored when they start to peel and fade — they are destined for landfills. Marsh Wissemann provides an alternative for businesses wishing to distinguish themselves with signage that is produced the traditional way, with time-honored techniques and materials.

She also believes that streetscapes are defined by the character of their signage, and that protecting and reviving historic signs and hand-crafting new signage with care and craftsmanship for brick-and-mortar businesses is vital to maintain a thriving community. Through her robust social-media presence and appearances on television, she documents her process and her adventures in sign saving and sign making, with the aim of preserving the legacy of hand-painted signage and inspiring people to care about the places they live.

“As a signmaker, I’m passionate about elevating our region’s streetscapes with beautiful storefronts. Having my work recognized with this manufacturing award was an incredible surprise,” said Marsh Wissemann, who also co-created Mike’s Maze at Warner Farm in Sunderland with her husband and farm owner, Mike Wisseman. “I’m honored and humbled. It is immensely gratifying to know that my effort is making a positive impact on my community.”

Comerford said she was pleased to recognize Marsh Wisseman’s art and the value it brings to independent businesses across Western Mass. “Jess is an example to us all for her work to inspire people to invest deeply into the places they live. She is more than deserving of this Outstanding Leadership Skills in Manufacturing award.”

Blais added that the award “recognizes Jess as a visionary placemaker whose hand-painted signs are helping to define our downtowns.”

Discovery High Students Get Taste of Working World

By
From left, Declan O’Connor, Kelley Gangi, and Evan Plotkin in a classroom in the new Discovery High School.
Modern Office Special Coverage

View to the Future?

From left, Declan O’Connor, Kelley Gangi, and Evan Plotkin in a classroom in the new Discovery High School.

From left, Declan O’Connor, Kelley Gangi, and Evan Plotkin in a classroom in the new Discovery High School.

Bob Bolduc remembers getting the call from Bill Low, a commercial real-estate broker based in Springfield.

Low was working with Bolduc on finding a new home for Discovery Polytech Early College High School, then located in cramped quarters within Chestnut Middle School, and he had an intriguing suggestion.

When Low explained that the space in question was the top two floors of 1350 Main St. in the heart of downtown Springfield, former home to BankBoston’s regional headquarters, Bolduc, former owner of the Pride chain of stores and gas stations who created the Hope for Youth and Families Foundation with proceeds from the sale of that chain, thought that concept had promise, but it was outside the box. As in way outside the box.

He recalls phoning Matt Brunell, co-executive director of the Springfield Empowerment Zone, which Discovery High is part of, and saying, “this is crazy … but we should at least give it a look.”

“Our school is a STEM high school — we’re an early-college high school, but we’re also a STEM school. Most of our kids are going to work in companies that look like our school. I had the amazing opportunity to work with a team and an architect to design a space that looks like a tech company.”

They did, and that was the official start to a journey that ended on Aug. 28, when the 250 students at Discovery High turned out around 7 a.m. for a different kind of first day at a different kind of school.

One with lots of windows and penthouse (literally) views of the city, the Connecticut River, neighboring communities, and much more. One where students take an elevator to get to class, and might share one with a lawyer, accountant, or nonprofit manager — or maybe one of each. One where they take a PVTA bus, not a yellow school bus, to school. One where the cafeteria looks like your typical school cafeteria … except it’s 17 floors up and has seats that face windows that provide those views.

That aforementioned journey came complete with a whole host of challenges, a super-tight deadline (the first day of school can’t be moved), and the chance to do something really special, said Evan Plotkin, president of NAI Plotkin and co-owner of 1350 Main. He told BusinessWest that bringing a high school, especially this one, where students start taking college courses as freshmen, to downtown Springfield, presents intriguing opportunities for the students, faculty, the businesses in the building — and other buildings downtown — and the city itself.

These opportunities include student internships at downtown businesses, being next door (again, literally) to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and a block or two from the Quadrangle and its many learning opportunities, and just being part of the dynamic in the city’s central business district.

Add them all up, said Declan O’Connor, principal of the school, and what emerges is an opportunity for students to attend school at a place that looks and feels like the world of work — where they will hopefully be in a half-dozen years or so.

The classrooms at the new Discovery High

The classrooms at the new Discovery High have glass at the front and back and were designed to resemble workspaces at tech companies.

“This was about identity building,” he explained. “Our school is a STEM high school — we’re an early-college high school, but we’re also a STEM school. Most of our kids are going to work in companies that look like our school. I had the amazing opportunity to work with a team and an architect to design a space that looks like a tech company.”

Meanwhile, the relocation of Discovery High to a downtown office tower might become a model for what other cities can do with office space that isn’t needed anymore and is too difficult (and too expensive) to convert into housing, said Plotkin, adding that, for cities and towns, it might prove cheaper to lease space in buildings like his than build and maintain schools.

“The more we looked at the program, and the more we looked at what we think students are really going to need to succeed in life — not only these early-college credits they’re earning, but also work-based learning — we realized that the best place for a school was going to one where students were going to get ease of access to work-based learning opportunities and see themselves as part of the industry and commerce of the city of Springfield.”

“It’s cheaper to buy milk than own cows, as my father used to say,” he noted, adding that this project should generate discussion on the subject.

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, we take an in-depth look at how this project came together and what it means for the many stakeholders involved.

 

School Daze

Ninety days.

That’s roughly how long Plotkin and the architects and general contractors he assigned to the project had to convert the office space on the 16th and 17th floors after all the involved parties — and there were many of them — had given their respective green lights to Discovery High’s relocation to 1350 Main.

Plotkin recalls being nervous as the days seemingly flew by in August. But those involved got it all done.

And what they created is, as O’Connor said, a high school that not only helps prepare people for the world of work, but looks like the world of work.

Specifically, the classrooms look more like very large private offices, complete with glass at the front and back. There’s a grand staircase that connects the two floors and looks like it belongs in an elaborate corporate headquarters — and it did.

Then there’s the cafeteria, created in a space that was once home to rows of cubicles. As noted earlier, it looks like a traditional school cafeteria — but not really.

All this is what Low, Plotkin, Bolduc, Brunell, O’Connor, and others were able to picture back in the spring. Sort of.

Indeed, it would take a while for the picture to start to come together. Meanwhile, there were questions to be answered, said O’Connor, involving everything from security to how to get 250 students to school in elevators over a short time span.

The staircase linking the two floors at Discovery High looks like it belongs in a corporate headquarters — and it did.

The staircase linking the two floors at Discovery High looks like it belongs in a corporate headquarters — and it did.

One by one, these challenges were worked out, said those we spoke with, and now that the proverbial dust has settled — although this is still all very new — they can stop and reflect on what they and the students have here: an ideal setting for a still-young (this is only its fourth year) institution described by Brunell as a “wall-to-wall early-college” model, one where students can graduate from high school with enough credits for an associate degree.

The school had been located in Chestnut Middle School from the beginning, and, almost from the start, it had been looking for its next home, because that one wasn’t working, for many reasons. Cramped quarters was one of them, but high-school students being on a middle-school campus was the bigger one.

“The real innovation here was the city as a campus. The location here, more than any other, provided students with this very unique opportunity to have access to all the assets in the city.”

As the search commenced two and a half years ago, and especially over the past year or so as Bolduc and his foundation became involved in the project, the goal was always to think outside the box, said Brunell, meaning the consideration non-traditional spaces.

“The more we looked at the program, and the more we looked at what we think students are really going to need to succeed in life — not only these early-college credits they’re earning, but also work-based learning — we realized that the best place for a school was going to one where students were going to get ease of access to work-based learning opportunities and see themselves as part of the industry and commerce of the city of Springfield,” he explained.

Matt Brunell in the cafeteria in the new Discovery High School.

Matt Brunell in the cafeteria in the new Discovery High School.

A few different sites were looked at — within the downtown but also in commercial spaces near some of the college campuses where students attend classes. But after the initial visit, 1350 Main St. emerged as a “dream location,” one that married easy access to the school’s college partners with a space that could be tailored to Discovery’s programs and provide proximity to, and connections with, downtown businesses and cultural institutions.

“The real innovation here was the city as a campus,” said Kelly Gangi, chief of School Innovation for Discovery High. “The location here, more than any other, provided students with this very unique opportunity to have access to all the assets in the city.”

 

Setting the Stage

BusinessWest visited Discovery High mid-morning on a Thursday, which meant it was relatively quiet.

The sophomores, juniors, and the first batch of seniors — as well as some freshmen — were attending early-college classes at several different schools, including Springfield Technical Community College, Western New England University, and Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. Most of the students who weren’t on the road were in class.

But it was still easy to see the many opportunities this site affords those attending the school. The accommodations, as noted, are both modern and different in that they look and feel more like class-A office space (which, again, this was) than a traditional school.

There’s also the opportunity to be more independent than in a traditional school setting — from taking a PVTA bus to being out in the downtown.

“The other day, Kelly and I were coming back from Starbucks and encountered some students walking in the other direction,” O’Connor recalled. “I said ‘where are you going?’ They said, ‘we’re going to Big Y … we have 12 minutes before school starts.’”

Such episodes help explain why the site offers much more than views out its many windows, said those we spoke with, noting that being downtown provides students with a chance to see and be part of their city in a way that simply wasn’t possible in their corner of Chestnut Middle School. And also a chance to maybe … well, gain some maturity in the process.

“One might think that students can’t handle a school that’s all glass — that they might be goofy with each other and be distracted by one another,” O’Connor said. “They’ve just settled into it because this whole experience is trusting them, as young adults, to exist in a space that they absolutely belong in.

“They’re learning how to move through the building, get on elevators and interact with adult professionals, ride the elevator up and enter a space and move through that space in ways that they are trusted to handle,” he went on. “It’s very much like working in a company, and I think that’s going to translate.”

And while this new downtown location is pioneering from an education perspective, the same is true when it comes to adoptive reuse of class-A office space, said Plotkin, noting that he hasn’t seen or heard of many — or even any — conversions like this one.

As he said, Discovery High might in time become a model for other cities with large portfolios of vacant office space in the wake of the remote-work surge — and there are many of them.

Plotkin said he’s thinking about writing an article for the New England Real Estate Journal on Discovery High landing in 1350 Main. In the meantime, a different kind of story is being written at the new Discovery High.

A story of innovation, outside-the-box thinking, teamwork, partnerships, and reaching higher. That’s what it took to get this done, and those are some of the things students are learning about in their unique new home.

 

Country Bank Recognized by Boston Business Journal for Charitable Giving

By
Daily News

WARE — Country Bank announced that the Boston Business Journal has once again named the bank an honoree in its annual 2024 Corporate Citizenship Awards, recognizing the region’s top corporate charitable contributors. The magazine annually publishes this list to highlight companies that promote and prioritize giving back to their communities.

“It is with honor that we present our list of the Top Charitable Contributors in Massachusetts, companies who gave $100,000 or more to Mass.-based charities in 2023,” Boston Business Journal Market President and Publisher Carolyn Jones said. “Collectively, they gave $362 million in cash contributions — a true example of the business community coming together to help those in need. We are proud to celebrate these organizations who give both money and time to make our communities a stronger and better place for all.”

During this year’s celebration on Sept. 5, 96 companies qualified for the distinction by reporting at least $100,000 in cash contributions to Massachusetts-based charities last year, as noted above. This year’s honorees include companies from such industry sectors as financial and professional services, healthcare, technology, retail, and professional sports.

Country Bank, ranked 51st, employs 220 staff members within Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester counties. The bank’s employees actively promote its mission of making a difference in its communities by volunteering for various nonprofits throughout the year.

“We are honored to be recognized by the Boston Business Journal for Country Bank’s philanthropic efforts,” said Mary McGovern, the bank’s president and CEO. “As a community bank, it is our mission to help make a difference in the lives of others.”

Chamber of Greater Easthampton Officially Opens WorkHub on Union

By
Daily News

EASTHAMPTON — At a ribbon cutting and open house last week, the Chamber of Greater Easthampton officially opened the doors to its WorkHub on Union co-working space at 33 Union St., Easthampton. The opening followed four years of analysis, collaboration, and fundraising, and will provide valuable resources for entrepreneurs and businesses in the Greater Easthampton region.

WorkHub on Union is intended to be an innovative and inspiring environment where entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small-business owners can converge and thrive, offering support and services to local professionals, fostering entrepreneurial growth, and stimulating economic development in the community.

In addition to offering a dynamic and flexible workspace, the project, which received both public and private funding, will provide access to mentorship programs, networking events, educational programming, and other support services from the chamber designed to accelerate the growth of startups and small businesses.

“The fact that we could bring together dozens of partners at both the state and local levels, raising nearly $500,000 to bring this project to fruition, is a clear indication of the value WorkHub on Union will bring to our community and the local economy,” said Moe Belliveau, the chamber’s executive director.

In 2020, the chamber partnered with the city of Easthampton to undertake an extensive analysis of the city’s economic climate relative to entrepreneurialism and innovation. This analysis revealed that businesses would choose to locate or relocate in Easthampton if a supportive entrepreneurial community could be better enhanced and marketed. The analysis also showed that there are more than 13,000 companies in the region that are less than a year old, many of which have no employees and operate from a kitchen table. Over the past three decades, these types of companies have created an average of 1.5 million jobs per year.

The study went on to say, “it’s simple: the more contacts entrepreneurs can make early in the life of their companies — that is, the more help and information they can access — the greater their chances of getting products developed, finding viable markets, surviving the first years, and growing toward success.” From this information, the vision for WorkHub on Union was born.

“Led by our local general-contracting partner, Five Star Building Corp., our economic- and community-development vision was to take our existing building at 33 Union Street, redesign the space, reimagine its use, and renovate its interior to create a unique co-working space which will serve our community now and well into the future,” Belliveau said. “We are so proud to see the culmination of our strategic thinking, fundraising efforts, manpower, commitment, and blood, sweat, and tears.”

WorkHub on Union features flexible membership options on full, half, and hot desks, as well as day passes with virtual office options expected to be available in the future. All memberships include amenities such as 24-hour key-fob access; high-speed internet; a fully equipped conference room; lounge area with complimentary coffee, tea, and water; a private telephone area; access to photocopying, printing, and scanning; professional cleaning service; and on- and off-street parking.

Members of the chamber will receive a discount as a benefit of their chamber membership. The space will continue to house the headquarters of the chamber to create a more synergistic environment.

Bay Path Recognized by U.S. News & World Report Among Top Schools for Social Mobility

By
Daily News

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University has been ranked ninth on U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of Top Performers for Social Mobility in the North. Bay Path was the only school in Massachusetts to appear in the top 10.

U.S. News & World Report’s social-mobility ranking is a measure of how well schools graduate economically disadvantaged students. Rankings were determined by looking at the number of enrolled students receiving Pell Grants, assessing the graduation rates of those students, and comparing those rates to the graduations of non-Pell-eligible students.

“Being recognized as a top performer for social mobility clearly illustrates the power of a Bay Path education. Our mission of providing an innovative, career-focused education to learners for whom a college degree is transformative — personally, professionally, and financially — is what continually motivates us,” Bay Path President Sandra Doran said. “This ranking affirms the dedication of our faculty and the drive of our learners.”

In recent years, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings and the attention they garner have been cited for perpetuating a culture of exclusion and feeding persistent inequalities. Critics champion the Social Mobility Index, which measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically disadvantaged students (with family incomes below the national median) at lower tuition and graduates them into well-paying jobs.

“For many colleges, like Bay Path, our guiding principles are to expand access, increase opportunities, and strengthen the support we can offer our learners,” Doran said. “We see prestige in a mission that recognizes the talents and potential in all learners who have that drive to go further.”

Holyoke Community College Honored for ‘Igniting Workforce Success’

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently received the Igniting Workforce Success award from the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) for a cybersecurity training program it runs in partnership with the agency, which recently changed its name to MassAbility.

Specifically, the award recognizes HCC for its CyberOps training program, a free, nine-month remote program that trains MassAbility consumers to be cybersecurity analysts. MassAbility works with people with disabilities to empower their lives through counseling and various career and employment programs.

Kermit Dunkelberg, vice president of Adult Basic Education and Workforce Development, accepted the award on behalf of HCC at the MRC’s Igniting Workforce Success conference in June.

“We just completed our fourth year with MassRehab,” Dunkelberg said. “This award is a great recognition of that partnership. In MassRehab, which is now MassAbility, we have a great partner. They bring as much to the table as we do in terms of innovation and attentiveness to student success.”

The pilot program launched by HCC and MassRehab in 2020 was the first of its kind in Massachusetts. Based on the program’s success, MRC launched a second with Roxbury Community College, which also received an Igniting Workforce Success award.

“Together, we are re-envisioning employment and people’s lives,” MassAbility Commissioner Toni Wolf said in 2020 after the first cohort of students graduated from the HCC program. “In the wake of COVID-19, our perspective on what is possible for remote work is expanding on a daily basis, particularly how resilient and adaptive people with disabilities are. These Cisco certifications are nationally recognized and highly sought-after workplace credentials that will give these students the needed leverage to enter a high-paying industry.”

Since 2020, about 60 MassRehab clients have gone through the program, many emerging with paid internships that have led to full-time, benefited positions as cybersecurity analysts.

“It was MassRehab’s vision to offer training in the area of cybersecurity,” Dunkelberg said. “This is by far the longest-duration program that they run, and the most expensive, because it is not only a long duration, but very intensive. These students are studying 30 hours a week for about 10 months, so it ends up being 900 hours of training, but the difference that it can make in someone’s life is huge in terms of economic self-sufficiency.”

Once students complete the training, they take exams to qualify as Cisco certified support technicians and Cisco certified networking associates. Past program graduates have gone on to work as cybersecurity consultants and systems analysts for big tech companies, such as Dell Technologies.

“The story we always like to tell is one about a participant from our first program class who was making pizza at Big Y,” Dunkelberg said. “Upon conclusion of the program, he was making $80,000 a year as a consultant.”

Other students have more modest but no less meaningful career outcomes, he added. “We’ve had four or five students intern here at HCC in our IT department. For a lot of people, just getting that hands-on experience is the next step. Another one of our students got a job working in IT support at her local library, and that was just what she needed. Her family told us that, before she went through our program, she hardly had a life outside her home. Having a job she could walk to was the perfect outcome for her.”

In 2023, program instructor Dalip Singh received the Above and Beyond Award from Cisco Networking Academy for developing and teaching the cybersecurity class.

Overall, Dunkelberg said, the program has been so successful that the agency wants to explore new training partnerships with HCC.

Inventor Mike Garjian Perfects System for Carbon Removal

By
Mike Garjian
Cover Story

Down to a Science

Mike Garjian

Mike Garjian

Mike Garjian likes the symmetry.

Indeed, standing in front of a massive manufacturing space in downtown Holyoke, complete with overhead cranes, where waterwheels, used to generate hydropower, were assembled more than a century ago, he envisions that same space soon being used to produce equipment he has invented that will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere.

“A century later, a different kind of green energy,” he said as he talked about the CarbonStar Catalytic Pyrolysis System and what it might mean for a planet that is heating up, he and many climate experts say, due to rising amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere.

CarbonStar is a company that Garjian, a serial inventor and entrepreneur, and his wife, Irene, created. And catalytic pyrolysis is the process by which biomass (wood chips, seaweed, and canola meal) is converted — through thermal decomposition under oxygen-limited conditions — into what’s known as biochar and other byproducts, such as wood vinegar, a liquid fertilizer.

Gargian calls biochar “almost a miracle substance,” one that can be used for everything for reviving depleted soil to acting as an additive in concrete to reduce the massive CO2 emissions from the production of that product.

In simple terms, Garjian’s system takes a tree that is dead or dying — as well as the biomass lying on forest floors — and essentially interrupts that part of the carbon cycle whereby the tree or biomass decomposes into CO2 or methane. And it creates a use for the biomass that has sat on forest floors, fueling fires from California to Canada to Australia.

All this is, as Garjian said, a different kind of green energy being produced at this same location on Main Street.

“The process of biomass decomposing and returning to CO2 in the atmosphere … that contributes 17 times more CO2 than all human activity combined annually.”

But there is much more to like beyond this symmetry. There is the environmental impact, driven home by numbers that Gargian uses to get his points across.

“The process of biomass decomposing and returning to CO2 in the atmosphere … that contributes 17 times more CO2 than all human activity combined annually,” he explained. “There it is, sitting on the sides of roads, spewing CO2 and methane. That’s the material that we’d like to get, chip it into smaller pieces, and run it through the system.”

Mike Garjian calls biochar “almost a miracle substance.”

Mike Garjian calls biochar “almost a miracle substance.”

There are also the business implications. Indeed, that space Garjian was standing in is intended for the production of catalytic pyrolysis systems, and he can envision that space being transformed for that purpose within the next few years.

And then, there are the jobs, involving everything from the production of these systems to the prospect of people being hired to remove the biomass from forest floors — “just 100 feet off the highway,” as Garjian noted — to feed those systems.

Overall, there are many potential wins from this, the latest venture for Garjian, who has nearly a dozen patents to his name and has developed products ranging from flat light sources (tubeless neon) to alternative fuels — specifically running diesel vehicles on waste vegetable oil — to conversion of waste agricultural products into pellets for wood stoves and then cat litter.

For this issue, we take an in-depth look at his latest project and its far-ranging potential — for the region and the planet.

 

Burning Issue

As he walked around the prototype catalytic vacuum pyrolysis system in the middle of the 7,000-square-foot space he’s now leasing, Garjian explained how it works while also giving a brief history of how, and why, it was developed.

He noted that while the environmentally friendly cat litter he produced sold well, that wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do with his time and energy. So, as a side venture, he got interested in pyrolysis and set out to develop a workable system.

After getting involved with a few different partners, he took the technology he helped develop and, with Irene, created CarbonStar to design, patent, and license the current mobile system now siting in that Holyoke manufacturing building.

Garjian and some investors subsequently formed E3 LLC to build the current system and act as the exclusive licensee to operate and manufacture systems in the New England region.

As for how it works, he said it’s rather simple — the system utilizes a computer-controlled vacuum tube to heat biomass, extracting moisture and leaving behind biochar, without combustion.

“We’re taking woodchips, any plant matter — it could be paper or cardboard — but mostly wood chips from lumber mills that would normally go to waste, and we introduce it into a vacuum tube, with a catalyst,” he explained. “That vacuum tube is heated — it’s computer-controlled — and with that catalytic action, we break down the long-chain hydrocarbons in the wood.

“The way the natural carbon cycle works is … the plant or tree absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, gives off oxygen, and keeps that carbon to build its own physical structure — a tree is 40% to 50% carbon, depending on the species,” he went on. “That’s how the tree sequesters carbon from the atmosphere. When the tree dies, it decomposes, and all of that carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2. Or, if the tree falls in the water or lies on its side where there’s no oxygen involved, it becomes methane.”

As noted, this natural carbon cycle puts a large amount of CO2 back into the atmosphere, he continued, adding that these amounts have been compounded by taking oil out of the ground and burning it, the growing use of other fossil fuels, and the large numbers of fires that have been destroying forests at alarming rates; last year’s forest fires in Canada emitted more than 1 billion tons of CO2 between May and June alone.

“When the tree dies, it decomposes, and all of that carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2. Or, if the tree falls in the water or lies on its side where there’s no oxygen involved, it becomes methane.”

“By the time they burned out in November, months later, they had put more CO2 into the atmosphere than 138 countries,” Garjian noted, adding that such fires will continue in the years to come.

All this explains why the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have been growing at alarming levels, and what those rising levels mean.

“It’s pretty much agreed to now by most scientists now that the level of CO2 in the atmosphere increases the temperature of the planet because CO2 holds more heat,” he explained. “Right now, we’re higher than we’ve been in hundreds of thousands of years. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, it was 250 parts per million in the atmosphere; 350 is kind of an agreed-upon upper limit. We’re now at 420.

“And the level of increase per year is increasing,” he went on. “It’s going in the opposite direction we want it to.”

All this also explains why Elon Musk created the $100 million XPrize for Carbon Removal, which Garjian sought a share of with his catalytic vacuum pyrolysis system, which he describes as one of the most carbon-negative processes in the world, meaning it sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere permanently.

CarbonStar didn’t win a cash prize — only four teams will, and these will be announced next spring — but the company was recognized in the official top 100 list; it officially placed 80th out of 1,400 entries, and in the top 28 among land-based systems.

 

It Comes Naturally

But there may be some even more important prizes in store for this company.

Indeed, Garjian and his team have made some improvements to the prototype, which is the next generation of a system he helped develop several years ago, and have started running it with wood chips supplied by a lumber yard in Westfield, with the goal of eventually running it 24/7, maybe 300 days a year.

Mike Garjian, standing in the large manufacturing space where water wheels were once assembled

Mike Garjian, standing in the large manufacturing space where water wheels were once assembled, says it will eventually be used to manufacture catalytic pyrolysis systems.

“Over the past three years, since we turned it on the first time, we’ve made some improvements in it, improved its throughput, and achieved better control over some areas,” he explained, adding that, while working on the systems, those involved also secured the space in Holyoke and moved in last year.

The system, which sequesters 367 tons of CO2 for every 67 tons it emits, will, as noted, produce biochar and several other products, including heavy and light bio-oils, which can be used as heating oil or refined to produce aviation and automotive fuels, as well as wood vinegar, which can be used as fertilizer.

“When we go in with a ton of wood, we’re going to get 520 pounds of biochar, which is 85% to 90% pure carbon, as well as 100 gallons of liquids, a combination of liquid fertilizer and bio-oils, and we’re going to get 75,000 cubic feet of a gas that we can use to generate electricity to run the system,” he explained, noting the highly sustainable character of this system.

As for biochar, as he scooped out a large handful of the substance, which he called “solid carbon,” Garjian said it has a number of practical uses.

“When I first began to produce it and sell it in 2006 — Irene and I were the first ones ever to sell biochar online — we were selling it as an additive for agricultural land. It improves the quality of the soil; it will replenish and bring life back to depleted soils,” he told BusinessWest, adding that it can also be an additive in the production of cement, and he is in preliminary talks with Sublime Systems, which will build a plant in Holyoke to produce environmentally friendly cement, about partnering with that venture.

While operating the system in Holyoke, the company plans to move into production of such systems in the adjoining manufacturing space, said Garjian, adding that needed capital to do so could be secured from any of several sources, including major corporations such as Microsoft and the federal government, which is pouring billions of dollars into carbon-removal technologies.

The systems themselves are mobile and able to operate in remote areas, he noted.

“Theoretically, when you have one these machines and you get it started with a small generator, it will begin to produce its own power to run itself, and provide electricity as well. So you can put them is small villages in isolated places, third-world countries, or places like Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria; they didn’t have electricity for six months in the middle of the island.”

Manufacturing these systems will obviously lead to the creation of jobs for Holyoke and the region, he said, adding that, overall, jobs can be created on many levels, including the removal of biomass from forest floors and even spaces just off country roads, as he noted earlier.

These jobs, not to mention the myriad benefits for the environment, are just some of the many things, beyond mere symmetry, to like about this intriguing new business venture.

 

Easthampton Chamber’s ignite Conference Aims to Help Businesses Succeed

By
Chamber of Greater Easthampton Executive Director Moe Belliveau
Entrepreneurship Special Coverage

Fired Up

Chamber of Greater Easthampton Executive Director Moe Belliveau

Chamber of Greater Easthampton Executive Director Moe Belliveau

 

Technology, marketing, and talent.

Those are three elements virtually all businesses must take into account if they want to grow and thrive in 2024. They’re also the main themes of this year’s ignite conference, a “professional learning opportunity” being hosted by the Chamber of Greater Easthampton on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton.

This year’s program, dubbed ignite:SPEED, aims to be a fun, fast-paced learning opportunity designed to empower leaders, business owners, professionals, entrepreneurs, employers, and employees with the knowledge and skills required to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of work.

“In today’s business world, change is the only constant,” chamber Executive Director Moe Belliveau said. “To ensure success, all levels of employees must not only keep pace but anticipate and adapt, turning the momentum and speed of change into a catalyst for growth.”

Sean Hogan certainly sees value in such a conference. The president of Hogan Technology is one of the presenters in the technology category, kicking off the first cluster of presentations with an overview of safety in the dark web. Participants will learn how businesses can be protected from attacks such as webite hacking, security breaches, cyberattacks, ransomware, and phishing schemes.

“I’ll talk about what the dark web is, why it was created, what it’s used for, how to avoid it, and, once your information ends up on the dark web, what to do next,” Hogan told BusinessWest — a relevant concern, especially after the National Public Data breach, reported this summer, exposed some 2.9 billion personal records.

“In today’s business world, change is the only constant. To ensure success, all levels of employees must not only keep pace but anticipate and adapt, turning the momentum and speed of change into a catalyst for growth.”

A credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus should be the first step for anyone exposed, he said. “If you’re not buying something like a house or a car, nobody’s running credit on you, so just freeze them and then unfreeze them if you have to apply for credit somewhere, and then freeze it again.”

This year’s ignite conference is a one-day event following last November’s two-day affair at Abandoned Building, which focused on the latest trends and best practices in artificial intelligence and explored the intersection of AI and the human workforce.

More recently, the Chamber of Greater Easthampton and the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce partnered to bring an ignite conference to the latter’s backyard in North Grafton. That two-day conference took place in April and was aimed at professionals who want to improve their emotional intelligence and learn how to interact with co-workers, customers, or donors more effectively.

Clearly, there’s no shortage of key topics affecting businesses and entrepreneurs, which bodes well for the prospect of keeping future conferences … well, ignited.

 

Robust Roster

As noted, Hogan will give attendees a crash course in the dangers of the dark web and how to use monitoring tools and other resources to respond to breaches and stay safe.

“If there’s a breach out there, assume that somebody is working to get into more accounts, trying to open credit cards,” he said. “When it becomes identity theft, it’s serious. You can paralyze somebody. You can lock up their bank accounts and ruin their credit for a long time.”

Sean Hogan

Sean Hogan

“If there’s a breach out there, assume that somebody is working to get into more accounts, trying to open credit cards. When it becomes identity theft, it’s serious. You can paralyze somebody. You can lock up their bank accounts and ruin their credit for a long time.”

Following Hogan’s presentation, the technology cluster will continue with Michael Lareau, vice president of Solution Engineering for SourcePass, who will discuss AI governance in the workplace. A recent blog post by Marsh McLennan noted that, while the explosion in AI usage by businesses has driven innovation, efficiency, and profitability, it can also expose businesses to organizational, reputational, and regulatory risks. Lareau will explore how businesses can appropriately govern the use of AI oversight to address risks such as bias, privacy infringement, and misuse while fostering innovation and trust among customers and employees.

Pat Brough, head of Sales and Marketing for Finck & Perras Insurance Agency, will review cyber insurance. According to Cybercrime magazine, 60% of small businesses go out of business within six months of falling victim to a data breach or cyberattack. Cyber insurance covers a business’ liability for a data breach involving sensitive customer information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, health records, and more.

The second cluster of presentations will focus on the changing landscape of marketing. Jeff Uzzel of Uzzel Design Co. will focus on telling a ‘brand story,’ which entails communicating a mission, values, and purpose in a way that that creates an emotional connection between an organization and its customers. Uzzel will discuss how to successfully tell a brand story and how it can build an organization’s reputation, customer base, and bottom line.

“Building Networks for the Long Game” will be the focus of Bob Burch, owner of Bright Cloud Studio. He will explore how to understand and process what is changing with networking and relationship building, how people can nurture customer relationships, and how to curate marketing to keep pace with it all to build lasting, trusted relationships resulting in repeat, long-term customers.

Blair Winans, president of Rhyme Digital, will end the cluster with a focus on the ever-changing social media algorithms. Social-media platforms utilize algorithms to keep users engaged and ensure users are seeing relevant content. Winans will talk about the various platforms and their algorithms and how businesses can adapt their social-media content to maximize each algorithm to reach a wider audience, increase consumer engagement, and boost their brand.

The final cluster of the program will highlight change in the workplace. With a tight labor market, top talent is in high demand, and talent recruitment, assessment, and retention are critical success factors that can yield a competitive advantage. Allison Ebner, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, will discuss how businesses can adapt to the future of work, embrace generational diversity, better engage employees, and reskill and upskill to support retention.

Creating stability in the age of uncertainty and change will be the theme of Tricia Canavan, who will share insights gained as a former business owner, and now as CEO of Tech Foundry. She says technology has always been an industry in constant flux, but newer advances are creating a constantly changing work landscape and environment, causing employers to continuously adapt and upskill, and employees must learn to self-educate to keep pace.

“The fact that we could bring together dozens of partners at both the state and local levels, raising nearly $500,000 to bring this project to fruition, is a clear indication of the value WorkHub on Union will bring to our community and the local economy.”

Shannon Mumblo of Shannon Mumblo Consulting will close the cluster focusing on cultivating robust agility around change. She will help participants discover how to stay confident and resilient in times of uncertainty by embracing discomfort and cultivating a supportive network, and how to expand potential beyond a job description by thinking creatively and continuously adding new skills to one’s personal toolbox.

Registrations for ignite:SPEED cost $75 for chamber members ($110 for non-members) and include a casual dinner provided by Vegan Pizza Land. To register, visit easthamptonchamber.chambermaster.com/eventregistration/register/1690.

 

And That’s Not All

The ignite conference is just one development that has the Chamber of Greater Easthampton excited; another is last week’s ribbon cutting of the WorkHub on Union project, an ambitious co-workspace project providing resources for entrepreneurs and businesses in the Greater Easthampton region.

In addition to offering flexible workspaces, WorkHub on Union will provide access to mentorship programs, networking events, educational programming, and other support services from the chamber designed to accelerate the growth of startups and small business.

In 2020, the chamber partnered with the city of Easthampton to undertake an extensive analysis of the city’s economic climate relative to entrepreneurialism and innovation. This analysis revealed that businesses would choose to relocate or locate in Easthampton if a supportive entrepreneurial community could be better enhanced and marketed. The analysis also revealed there are more than 13,000 companies in the region that are less than one year old, many of which have no employees and operate from a kitchen table, and could benefit from a resource like WorkHub on Union.

“The fact that we could bring together dozens of partners at both the state and local levels, raising nearly $500,000 to bring this project to fruition, is a clear indication of the value WorkHub on Union will bring to our community and the local economy,” Belliveau said.

Property Owners Should Take Steps to Protect Assets from Weather Events

By
Insurance Special Coverage

Ready for the Storm

 

From water backups, ice dams, and snow runoffs in the basement to windstorms, fires, and floods that can cause much more damage, Beth Pearson has seen it all.

“We have a tremendous amount of experience with these events and have helped educate clients on snow and water-related coverages,” said Pearson, president of Pearson Wallace Insurance in Amherst and Pittsfield. “Then we get involved in the claim remediation and act as a liaison between the company, the carrier, and the client, and make sure it’s an easy process to expedite the claims payouts.”

That process may be a more common one in the coming years, while premium costs creep ever-higher, due to a combination of climate change and more severe weather events, inflation impacting labor and supply costs in the construction world, and insurance carriers basing their rates on what they expect to happen next.

“No area of the U.S. is immune to the impacts of climate risk,” Mark Friedlander, director of Corporate Communications at the Insurance Information Institute, told Bankrate recently. “Whether it’s hurricanes, wildfires, severe convective storms, tornadoes, floods, hailstorms, straight-line winds, or damage from heavy snow or ice accumulation, every county in every state is vulnerable to a multitude of risks.”

“The cost of a loss to a business or a home far outweigh the premium. So it’s important to understand what the replacement cost is. You might want a more expensive premium, but one that will respond to what you need if there’s a loss of business or personal assets.”

That said, the cost of prevention is much preferable to the cost of rebuilding, Friedlander added. “It’s essential that policyholders own their risk. This means they need to assess the risks they face where they live and determine what insurance coverage is essential to be financially protected from losses.”

Pearson agreed. “The premiums are becoming a more expensive budget item for both businesses and personal finances,” she told BusinessWest. “That’s unfortunate, but still, the cost of a loss to a business or a home far outweigh the premium. So it’s important to understand what the replacement cost is. You might want a more expensive premium, but one that will respond to what you need if there’s a loss of business or personal assets.”

That said, Pearson’s agency works with a large number of carriers. “One customer’s policy went from $3,000 to $12,000, and she wanted an alternative option. We found one that lowered it to the original $3,000 cost she was paying. There are options out there.”

Alex Bennett

Alex Bennett

“We come at this from an educational standpoint. It’s complicated, so we sit with every client, and we try to relate the information so they understand what a standard deductible is and how it applies in different claim scenarios.”

Alex Bennett, vice president of Business Development at Pearson Wallace, agreed. “Every carrier has different rates, and they set rates depending on a lot of different factors.”

One recent change due to climate trends has been a remapping of flood zones in Massachusetts and elsewhere, Bennett noted.

“That has changed a lot of the landscape of flood insurance, with the determination that water tables are rising and more floods are popping up,” he explained. “From an agency level, we try to let clients know that certain flood zones are changing, and floods are becoming more and more drastic in terms of actual water flow.”

They also explain that home-insurance policies don’t typically cover flood loss from groundwater, and that clients should consider that additional coverage, just as they would consider additional coverage from, say, earthquakes — which some policyholders do, even though such events aren’t common in the Northeast.

“They might come from the West Coast, where they experienced an earthquake, or a relative did,” Pearson said. “It’s not a standard coverage; it has to be endorsed in the policy. You don’t see a lot of East Coast activity, but it is available coverage if you want to add it.”

Wind damage is far more common, Bennett added, and wind deductibles can be different from other deductibles. In the case of named storms and other factors, the deductible is typically a percentage of the property’s value, which can catch policyholders off guard.

“We come at this from an educational standpoint,” he said. “It’s complicated, so we sit with every client, and we try to relate the information so they understand what a standard deductible is and how it applies in different claim scenarios.”

 

Ounce of Prevention

The other side of protecting property from weather damage — or at least mitigating the impact of that damage — is the broad realm of storm preparedness.

Lisa Eugin, manager of Marketing and Administration at Encharter Insurance in Amherst, recently prepared a checklist of considerations for businesses to protect their assets from severe weather. They include:

Develop a storm-preparedness plan. Identify the types of severe weather most likely to affect one’s area and evaluate how these weather events could impact business operations; compile a list of emergency contacts, including local emergency services, utilities, insurance companies, and key employees; designate evacuation routes and ensure all employees are familiar with them; and establish a reliable communication system to keep in touch with employees, suppliers, and customers during a storm.

“Do you have a proper replacement cost on your home or business? Five years ago, if you bought a home for $500,000, it might cost $400,000 to $500,000 to replace it. Today, it might be $1 million.”

Secure your physical assets. Regularly inspect buildings for vulnerabilities and repair any damage to roofs, windows, and doors to withstand severe weather; install protective measures like storm shutters, reinforced doors, and impact-resistant windows, as well as sandbags and flood barriers to prevent water intrusion; invest in a backup generator to keep critical systems running during power outages, and move valuable equipment and inventory to safer locations, while elevating sensitive items off the ground to protect them from flooding.

Safeguard your data. Perform regular backups of all essential data and storing copies in multiple locations, including off-site and cloud storage; and implement robust cybersecurity measures to protect against data breaches, which can become more common during chaotic situations.

Prepare your employees. Conduct regular training sessions and emergency drills so employees know what to do in the event of a storm; provide emergency kits for employees that include first-aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, water, and non-perishable food; and develop a remote work plan that allows employees to work from home if the business premises are unsafe or inaccessible.

Review your insurance coverage. Verify that the business insurance includes coverage for natural disasters relevant to the area, such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes; purchase business-interruption insurance to cover lost income if the business is forced to close temporarily due to storm damage; and make sure any policy covers damage to or loss of inventory and equipment.

Stay informed. This may include subscribing to weather alerts from reliable sources such as the National Weather Service (NWS) and local news channels, and utilizing resources from government agencies such as FEMA for the latest information and preparedness tips.

Conduct post-storm recovery. Conduct a thorough assessment of any damage to the property and assets, documenting the damage with photos and notes for insurance claims; implement a business-continuity plan to resume operations as quickly as possible; and provide support and resources to employees affected by the storm to help them recover and return to work.

“Even if you haven’t been in contact with the agent or carrier, first mitigate the losses,” Pearson added. “For instance, if a window is blown out, cover it up with plywood to prevent further damage.”

Bennett also emphasized basic preventive measures like winterizing one’s home, checking the roof and gutters, making sure the pipes are insulated, sealing doors and windows, checking the heating system, having a generator on hand, and preparing an emergency kit that includes essential food, medications, blankets, flashlights, and batteries.

“Something I talk about almost every single day is taking photos of your home — inside, outside, the garage, your possessions — maybe once a year,” he added. “If there was a total loss, if you were asked if you know everything you have in your home, most people would say no.”

Pearson also stressed the importance of business-interruption coverage, in case the business needs to be relocated or business income needs to be replicated during a shutdown.

“It’s really important for the clients to sit down with us to make sure there is coverage available and that it’s adequate enough,” she said, adding that both home and business owners need to understand the value of totally replacing a structure. “Do you have a proper replacement cost on your home or business? Five years ago, if you bought a home for $500,000, it might cost $400,000 to $500,000 to replace it. Today, it might be $1 million.”

 

Weather or Not

When a storm is on the horizon, Pearson Wallace often issues notifications to clients about the timing and expected severity, and the agency encourages property owners to carefully document damage after the event to ease claims processing.

“We work through the mitigation of claims and losses. We have conference calls with the carrier and advocate on the client’s behalf,” Pearson said. “A lot of agencies don’t offer that advocacy opportunity. But working with claims representatives is a tough go, particularly when you’ve had a loss and you’re focused on the loss. Having a claims-process advocate is important.”

And will continue to be important, Bennett added.

“Most carriers at this point are preparing their rates for the future based on continued extreme weather events. Whether it’s the West Coast, East Coast, Florida, regardless where you’re located, most carriers and most reinsurance companies are preparing for more extreme weather,” he told BusinessWest. “That’s a direct correlation to the change in weather patterns we’re seeing.”

State Launches New Stipend Program for Eligible Job Seekers in Training

By
Manufacturing Special Coverage

Reducing Barriers to Employment

Earlier this month, the Healey-Driscoll administration launched the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund, a pilot stipend program to provide financial support for eligible unemployed and underemployed Massachusetts residents enrolled in job training, including the Career Technical Initiative and Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund programs.

Administered by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development in partnership with Commonwealth Corp., the Workforce Skills Fund is designed to reduce barriers to job training and employment by providing financial support for eligible trainees and also attract and retain untapped talent pursuing skills and credentials for in-demand occupations in manufacturing, construction, healthcare and human services, and more.

The Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund builds on strategies outlined in the administration’s Massachusetts Workforce Agenda, titled “Meeting the Moment to Attract, Retain, and Develop a Future Workforce,” released earlier this year. The document outlines the administration’s vision, goals, and strategies to support workforce development statewide, and recognizes a stipend program as a resource to attract and retain talent by providing greater means to pursue and persist in job-training programs that ultimately lead to employment outcomes.

Stipends are awarded to participants based on training duration and issued upon completion of three milestones. Participants in training programs that are fewer than three months will receive $3,000, and participants in training programs longer than three months will receive $5,000. Stipends are issued following the first two weeks of training, at the completion of the training program, and upon post-training employment.

“This new program through the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund is a meaningful step toward eliminating barriers to employment and building a strong and inclusive workforce,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “By addressing financial obstacles, this initiative will increase access for more individuals to succeed, compete, and contribute to our growing workforce.”

Gov. Maura Healey

Gov. Maura Healey

“This new program through the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund is a meaningful step toward eliminating barriers to employment and building a strong and inclusive workforce. By addressing financial obstacles, this initiative will increase access for more individuals to succeed, compete, and contribute to our growing workforce.”

Added Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, “as we support economic opportunity and mobility for Massachusetts residents, this new stipend program is an actionable approach to empower unemployed and underemployed individuals who we need active in our workforce. By offering this resource, our administration will maximize the labor potential of untapped talent, supporting both labor productivity and addressing larger social inequities within our workforce.”

 

Targeted Impact

The Workforce Skills Fund is being implemented for two specific, pre-existing programs that focus on unemployed and underemployed workers: the Career Technical Initiative (CTI) and the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF). The stipends are a fixed amount of flexible dollars provided directly to individuals who will enroll in either of the two eligible approved training programs.

WCTF and CTI programs are designed to attract unemployed and underemployed workers. Yet, an array of barriers may hinder participants and prospective participants from enrolling, completing training, and entering the labor market, such as costs for childcare, transportation, and digital equipment. The stipend program through the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund aims to address these and other challenges, facilitating greater access to workforce opportunities.

“As Massachusetts strengthens its world-class workforce, we must provide a world-class support system with greater intentionality to reduce barriers to employment and support persistence and success in job-training programs,” Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones said. “By launching he Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund and initiating this stipend program, the Healey-Driscoll administration is teaming up with training providers and proven workforce programs to further attract and retain untapped talent and provide added resources aimed at improving outcomes and opportunities for more job seekers in Massachusetts.”

Lauren Jones

Lauren Jones

“As Massachusetts strengthens its world-class workforce, we must provide a world-class support system with greater intentionality to reduce barriers to employment and support persistence and success in job-training programs.”

Molly Jacobson, president and CEO of Commonwealth Corp., said her organization is excited to see the tangible impact the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund will have on job seekers’ lives across the Commonwealth. “This initiative not only provides essential support for people who need it, but also encourages participants to seize new opportunities for their future.”

Meanwhile, Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) Commissioner Jeff McCue said the Workforce Skills Fund will be an instrumental resource for clients to utilize as they strive to reach their career goals and full employment potential, by providing flexible dollars that will help individuals and families overcome barriers to participating in the workforce.

“The Department of Transitional Assistance currently serves one in six Massachusetts residents with food and cash assistance,” he noted. “In addition to providing essential resources to the most vulnerable people in the Commonwealth, DTA also aims to connect clients with meaningful employment to improve economic mobility for families and ensure their long-term success.”

 

Statements of Support

Aisha Francis, president and CEO of Franklin Cummings Tech in Boston, called the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Fund a crucial resource for the Commonwealth’s technical and trade workforce.

“Stipends make it possible for individuals to complete high-quality training and secure jobs,” she added. “In partnership with the Workforce Competitive Trust Fund and JVS, Franklin Cummings Tech sees the positive impact of financial support on program outcomes. I applaud the Commonwealth’s leadership for recognizing this opportunity and acting quickly to innovate.”

Paul Bello, director of Career and Community Development at South Shore Vocational Technical High School in Hanover, noted that the school will train hundreds of veterans and unemployed or underemployed residents on the South Shore to prepare them for fulfilling jobs in carpentry, manufacturing, landscaping, welding, hospitality, automotive, and HVAC, and looks forward to assisting residents as they embark on new careers with new skills.

“There is great confidence that this program will make an immediate positive impact in people’s lives and will help produce vital members of the workforce in the South Shore area and around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he added.

Meanwhile, Susan Almono, director of Grants and Workforce Development at Greater Lawrence Technical School in Andover, noted that the school has provided adult workforce-development training to hundreds of area residents through the Career Technical Initiative.

“We are proud to facilitate entry into lucrative technical careers. However, often candidates can’t take advantage of this opportunity because they need to work rather than increase their skills, in order to pay the bills. We’re thrilled with the new Mass Workforce Skills Fund stipend program and the impact it will have on the lives of area residents. Trainees will be sustained through training and have access to career ladders to stability.”

 

Doctors Can Take Steps to Improve Efficiencies, Manage Time

By Contributor
Modern Office Special Coverage

Patient Approach

By James T. Krupienski, CPA

Every day, it’s the same story for physicians. A couple of patients arrive late for their appointments, and then a few unscheduled visits appear on your schedule. As the provider, you stay late into the evening, but never really seem to get caught up. To make matters even more difficult, reimbursement rates continue to be a struggle and expenses continue to rise, including the impact of employment costs in a post-COVID world.

One of the best ways to help combat these pressures is an effective workflow and time-management review. The problem is that we typically get so caught up in our daily schedules that we don’t always take the time to evaluate ways we can improve them. This is one area, however, where a little effort up front can help to reap significant financial benefits. This article will look at some of the ways that a physician can more effectively manage their time.

 

Office Workflow

The first step that should be taken is to review the workflow of your office. What inefficiencies exist from the time a patient walks in the door to when they leave? Is there a bottleneck of patients crossing paths in the hallway, or does the provider have to search to locate supplies that are continuously moved from place to place? If corrected, many of these inefficiencies can result in the physician seeing more patients throughout the course of a day.

To identify these inefficiencies, try putting yourself in the shoes of one of your patients. Come in as a patient and go through the entire process of being a patient within your practice. By looking at the flow from a different set of eyes, you may identify many areas where inefficiencies and redundancies may be eliminated, and the flow of your office can be improved.

James T. Krupienski

James T. Krupienski

“When you arrive for the day, after getting your cup of coffee, make sure that you have reviewed the schedule for the day before seeing any patients. This should include a review of the reason for the visits, as well as a review of the patient’s chart.”

An outside consultant may be extremely helpful in this exercise. They would be able to look at your workflow in an unbiased manner and compare what they see to models of successful practices. Additionally, this would make the best use of your time by allowing you to continue seeing patients while this takes place.

As you review the workflow of your practice, consider also how communication takes place. After seeing a patient, do you need to track down one of your nurses or assistants to explain to them the next steps in the care of the patient? Consider the use of technology in this process. A lighting or internal messaging system could let them know that a patient is ready for discharge or that they need to have lab work scheduled, all while allowing the provider to move right on to the next patient. Such a system may also allow the provider to be informed when something comes up that requires attention, without being interrupted during a patient visit.

Improving the efficiency of your practice workflow is an area where your electronic health records (EHR) system may come into play. Consider meeting with your EHR vendor to see what features or functions may exist in the system that you may not be utilizing to their fullest potential. A review of this process may help eliminate unnecessary paperwork or the need for documentation after a patient visit that could have been documented during the patient visit. You pay a lot for these systems, so it is important to make sure you are getting everything you can out of them.

 

Best Practices

The second step in improving the effectiveness of your time management would be to review some of your own daily tasks. When you arrive for the day, after getting your cup of coffee, make sure that you have reviewed the schedule for the day before seeing any patients. This should include a review of the reason for the visits, as well as a review of the patient’s chart.

For those patients coming in for a follow-up visit, this will ensure that you have received all test results before the patient arrives, as opposed to scrambling to locate them with the patient in the room waiting to be seen. When consulting with a patient, if they bring something up that was not scheduled, and it is non-life-threatening, consider requesting that they make another appointment so that you will be able to spend adequate time discussing the issue with them.

Additionally, be sure to build time into your schedule each day to catch up when you fall behind and to return emails and phone calls. Many providers work late each day and follow up on these items after everyone else has gone home for the day. The problem with this is that a patient waiting for a return phone call may call back multiple times a day until they hear from the provider. Additionally, leaving a pile of paperwork for your staff for when they return the next morning will make them stressed out for the day before they have even placed the first patient in an exam room.

 

Managing Patients

The one way that all providers can help to more effectively manage their own time is to better manage their patients.

First, when scheduling, particularly with new patients, consider changing your policy so that all patients arrive 10 to 15 minutes prior to their visit. Explain to them in advance this policy so that paperwork can be completed and your team can check weight, blood pressure, and changes from the last visit before their scheduled time with the provider.

Second, call patients in advance of the appointment to remind them of their visit. In this call, be sure to confirm with them the office’s policy for no-shows and late arrivals.

While many providers are busy with their caseload for the day, it is easy to get behind in your daily schedule. To be the most effective and productive, however, take a step back and evaluate some of the areas discussed in this article. They are all areas where a little effort up front will lead to greater rewards at the end of the day.

 

James T. Krupienski, CPA, MSA is a partner at the Holyoke-based accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

 

Westfield State University Awarded $55,000 Grant from Davis Foundation

By
Daily News

WESTFIELD — The Westfield State University Foundation has been awarded a $55,000 grant from the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation in support of the Leadership, Excellence, Achievement, Diversity (LEAD) Scholars Program.

Westfield State’s LEAD Scholars Program provides holistic services for students who self-identify as first-generation and demonstrate a financial need, with a special focus on increasing the representation of students who may have historically been excluded from the benefits of a college education.

By providing extra support throughout their college journey, the LEAD Scholars Program helps students overcome the challenges they face as they work to achieve their academic and personal goals, increasing retention and graduation rates. The investment by the Davis Foundation will change the trajectory of students’ lives and increase future possibilities for their families and communities.

Westfield State University’s Urban Education Program was established in 1968 to provide college orientation, mentoring, and academic advising to students of color. In 2023, Urban Education modernized its structure and name to become the Leadership, Excellence, Achievement, Diversity Scholars Program. This update honors the 55-year legacy and founding vision of the Urban Education Program while highlighting the university’s continuing commitment to implementing educational innovations that cultivate excellence in all students, recognize their achievements, and celebrate the diversity that enriches the campus community.

MCLA Ranked Among Top Public Liberal Arts Colleges by U.S. News & World Report

By
Daily News

NORTH ADAMS — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) has earned the sixth spot on U.S. News & World Report’s list of Top Public Liberal Arts Schools in the nation, after earning the seventh spot for the past three consecutive years.

The college’s continued commitment to affordable education and economic prosperity is reflected in additional 2025 U.S. News rankings: fifth for Top Performer on Social Mobility for liberal arts colleges in the state and second for Top Performer on Social Mobility for public liberal arts colleges in the country.

MCLA has appeared on U.S. News’ list of Top Ten Public Colleges for 10 consecutive years. The college has also been acknowledged in its list of National Liberal Arts Colleges for Social Mobility since the organization adopted this ranking in 2019. This list measures how well institutions graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants, typically awarded to students whose families make less than $50,000, though most Pell Grant money goes to families with income below $20,000.

More than 41% of MCLA undergraduate students receive Pell Grants, and 49% are the first in their families to go to college. Overall, 95% of MCLA students receive some kind of financial aid.

“As we celebrate a decade of MCLA ranking in the Top Ten Public Colleges, I continue to be proud of the incredible faculty and staff who make the college such an exceptional place to learn,” MCLA President James Birge said. “Our success is possible because of their unwavering commitment to our students. I am grateful to be part of an institution that focuses on and sees the value in striving to be a continuous top performer on social mobility.”

Mohan Boodram, chair of the MCLA board of trustees, added that “being ranked as a Top Ten Public College is just one of the many ways MCLA’s dedication to its students is made visible. The positive impact MCLA makes on their lives, as well as on the community at large, is impressive, and I am pleased that the hard work that goes into making the college a high-quality, accessible, and affordable educational option has again been recognized.”

UMass Amherst Ranked 26th Among Public Universities by U.S. News & World Report

By
Daily News

AMHERST — UMass Amherst ranks 26th among the nation’s public universities in the 2025 Best Colleges rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, rising six spots from last year. This is the 10th straight year that UMass Amherst has been ranked as a top public university. It is the only public university in New England to place in the top 30.

“I am thrilled to see that UMass Amherst continues to rank among the best universities across the nation,” said Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. “We have world-class faculty and staff supporting our students’ success and preparing them to take on complex challenges as they join our communities and enter the 21st-century workforce. These rankings reflect the growing excellence, leadership, and impact that are now synonymous with the UMass Amherst name.”

UMass Amherst climbed nine spots from last year to 58th among all 434 national universities, both public and private, placing in the top 15% nationally and achieving its highest ranking to date. UMass is the only public university in New England in the top 58 in this national overall ranking.

In addition, the UMass Amherst nursing program climbed significantly to 26th, up from 52nd last year.

“We are very proud of this rise in the rankings that reflects the incredible experience our faculty, staff, and students create here through their teaching, research, and practice of nursing,” said Allison Vorderstrasse, dean of the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing.

The UMass Amherst computer science program ranks 34th for 2025, up six spots from last year. The artificial intelligence program claims the same spot as last year at 20th.

Other highlights include UMass Amherst’s undergraduate business program placing 65th and engineering at 57th, which is up four spots from last year. Psychology was ranked 42nd. The university also places on the Best for Veterans list at 34th, up six spots from last year.

Holyoke Medical Center to Host Recruitment Event at Rumbleseat Bar & Grill

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems will host a recruitment event on Thursday, Sept. 26 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Rumbleseat Bar & Grill, located at 482 Springfield St., Chicopee. The event is free for applicants to attend and includes free food, free drinks, and an opportunity to meet with the hiring leadership and executive team members of Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems.

“This is a great opportunity for applicants to come and learn about the culture of Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems, and experience first-hand the accessibility team members have to our entire leadership team,” said Beverly Fein, vice president and chief Human Resources officer at Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems. “We have had great success with other hiring events in the community and look forward to meeting more great applicants this Thursday at the Rumbleseat.”

Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems will be at the Rumbleseat again for a hiring event on Thursday, Oct. 24 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems also offer Walk-in Wednesdays every week at 22 Hospital Dr., Holyoke, between 1 and 4 p.m. All attendees and applicants are encouraged to complete an online application at holyokehealth.com/careers before arriving for an on-the-spot interview.

Picture This

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Pictured, from left: emcee Brenda Garton-Sjoberg; honorees James Lagodich (Game-Changing Mentor), Ethel Griffin (Dynamic Difference Maker), Patrick Sullivan (Honorary Age of Excellence Award Recipient), Maria Roy (Inspiring Changemaker), Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers (Dedicated Leader – Beyond the Badge), Karen Tetreault (Dedicated Community Connector), Debbie Gardner (Champion of Community Voices), and Jeffrey Greim (Impactful Entrepreneur); and event host Kathy Martin, Glenmeadow’s president and CEO.
Picture This

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

 

Age of Excellence

More than 150 gathered on Sept. 4 at the Carriage House at the Barney Estate in Springfield for Glenmeadow’s inaugural Age of Excellence awards celebration.

Pictured, from left: emcee Brenda Garton-Sjoberg; honorees James Lagodich (Game-Changing Mentor), Ethel Griffin (Dynamic Difference Maker), Patrick Sullivan (Honorary Age of Excellence Award Recipient), Maria Roy (Inspiring Changemaker), Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers (Dedicated Leader – Beyond the Badge), Karen Tetreault (Dedicated Community Connector), Debbie Gardner (Champion of Community Voices), and Jeffrey Greim (Impactful Entrepreneur); and event host Kathy Martin, Glenmeadow’s president and CEO.

Pictured, from left: emcee Brenda Garton-Sjoberg; honorees James Lagodich (Game-Changing Mentor), Ethel Griffin (Dynamic Difference Maker), Patrick Sullivan (Honorary Age of Excellence Award Recipient), Maria Roy (Inspiring Changemaker), Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers (Dedicated Leader – Beyond the Badge), Karen Tetreault (Dedicated Community Connector), Debbie Gardner (Champion of Community Voices), and Jeffrey Greim (Impactful Entrepreneur); and event host Kathy Martin, Glenmeadow’s president and CEO.

 

 

Promoting a Plan

SA International Sports Group was invited to attend a recent Latinos in Sports event to talk with the NBA, MLB, and top investors on its plans to build a major sports complex in Western Mass.  The Latinos in Sports event highlighted impactful contributions Latinos have had across the sporting world. Pedro Martinez was honored as an Impact Hero for his work after his career with the Boston Red Sox. 

Pictured: Cesar Ruiz (left), CEO of USA International Sports Group, is promoting the historic project with Latinos in Sports and ImpactX Sports Group founder Xavier Gutierrez, the first and only Latino NHL president and CEO of the Arizona Coyotes before the team’s recent billion-dollar sale.

Pictured: Cesar Ruiz (left), CEO of USA International Sports Group, is promoting the historic project with Latinos in Sports and ImpactX Sports Group founder Xavier Gutierrez, the first and only Latino NHL president and CEO of the Arizona Coyotes before the team’s recent billion-dollar sale.

 

 

Back to School

Just before the start of the new school year, teachers from Ware Public Schools, Palmer Public Schools, and Quaboag Regional High School were gifted with hundreds of back-to-school items donated by employees across departments at Baystate Wing Hospital, including folders, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, glue sticks, Post-it Notes, calculators, disinfectant wipes, crayons, and more. The supplies were the results of the employees’ annual adopt-a-classroom initiative.

Just before the start of the new school year, teachers from Ware Public Schools, Palmer Public Schools, and Quaboag Regional High School were gifted with hundreds of back-to-school items donated by employees across departments at Baystate Wing Hospital, including folders, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, glue sticks, Post-it Notes, calculators, disinfectant wipes, crayons, and more

Just before the start of the new school year, teachers from Ware Public Schools, Palmer Public Schools, and Quaboag Regional High School were gifted with hundreds of back-to-school items donated by employees across departments at Baystate Wing Hospital, including folders, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, glue sticks, Post-it Notes, calculators, disinfectant wipes, crayons, and more

 

Agenda

By
Agenda

Free Shred Days

Oct. 5, 26: bankESB invites customers and members of the community to two free shred days at local offices. No appointment is necessary. Events will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. (or until the truck is full) on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the 253 Triangle St., Amherst office, and on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the 241 Northampton St., Easthampton office. Local residents can reduce their risk of identity theft by bringing old mail, receipts, statements or bills, canceled checks, pay stubs, medical records, or any other unwanted paper documents containing personal or confidential information, and having them shredded safely and securely for free. A professional document destruction company will be on site in the bank’s parking lot and can accept up to two boxes of documents per person.

 

Whip City Animal Sanctuary Cruise Night

Oct. 13: Whip City Animal Sanctuary will host its first Hogs & Horsepower Car & Bike Show at 232 Montgomery Road, Westfield. The event will include prizes, snacks, adult beverages to purchase, and animals to visit. The entry fee is $10. Event details can be found at www.whipcityanimalsanctuary.com and the organization’s Facebook page. 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 and Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon.

 

Healthcare Heroes

Oct. 17: BusinessWest and the Healthcare News will celebrate the eight annual Healthcare Heroes starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. The class of 2024, profiled in the Sep. 16 issue and at businesswest.com, includes Dr. Andrew Balder, attending physician, Baystate Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center; Lucinda Canty, associate professor of Nursing and director of the Seedworks Health Equity Program, UMass Amherst; Bernice Drumheller, past president, NAMI Western Massachusetts; Peta-Gaye Johnson, director of Healthcare Workforce Initiatives, MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board; Margaret King, occupational therapist, Baystate Medical Center; Alexa Mignano, director of School-Based Clinical Services, River Valley Counseling Center; Dr. Laki Rousou, chief of Thoracic Surgery, chief of Robotic Surgery, and medical director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program, Mercy Medical Center; and Janet Williams, professor of Biology, Elms College. Tickets cost $95, and tables of 10 are available. To purchase tickets, visit businesswest.com/healthcare-heroes-tickets. Presenting sponsors include Baystate Health/Health New England and Elms College. Partner sponsors include Trinity Health Of New England/Mercy Medical Center and Holyoke Medical Center.

 

Cancer Connection Harvest Dinner

Oct. 17: Cancer Connection will host its annual Harvest Dinner at Inn on Boltwood in Amherst, featuring a farm-to-table dinner, live jazz, a silent auction. Starting at 6 p.m., this festive evening will bring the community together and raise critical funds to bring Cancer Connection’s support groups, integrative therapies, and educational programs to a larger, more diverse population of cancer patients and their caregivers. Cancer Connection is the only independent cancer support center in the area. Visit www.cancer-connection.org/special-events to purchase tickets. For more information about the event or for sponsorship opportunities, contact Liz Horn at (646) 234-8805 or [email protected].

People on the Move

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People on the Move
Rosemary Tracy Woods

Rosemary Tracy Woods

Jackson Counsel-Watkins

Jackson Counsel-Watkins

The African Hall Committee of the Springfield Museums announced the recipients of the prestigious Ubora Award and Ahadi Youth Award, which were presented at a ceremony at the Museums on Sept. 21. Rosemary Tracy Woods, executive director of Art for the Soul Gallery, is this year’s Ubora Award recipient, and Jackson Counsel-Watkins, a 2024 graduate of Central High School who is now a freshman at UMass Amherst, was chosen for the Ahadi Youth Award. Woods is known throughout New England as a passionate advocate for social justice. In her role at Art for the Soul, she has championed the transformative power of artistic expression, particularly for African-American and Latinx communities, Native American artists, and those with disabilities like the visually and hearing impaired. Beyond exhibitions, Woods collaborates extensively with local and state cultural councils, cementing her role as a catalyst for arts advocacy. Her accolades, including being appointed by then-Gov. Deval Patrick as Advocate for the Arts in Western Massachusetts and prestigious awards like the 2021 Newell Flather Award and the 2024 Pan African Historical Museum Legacy Award, underscore her impact. She was appointed the Western Mass. coordinator for the creative economy with the assistance of the Springfield City Council, and also aided Anita Walker, former executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, in establishing the first cultural district in Western Mass. Counsel-Watkins. An outstanding student with a GPA of 4.0, Counsel-Watkins pursued a rigorous course load in high school, including multiple AP classes. She was also a member of the track and field team and the cheerleading squad. She also co-founded Central High School’s Black Student Union and served as its first president. In this role, she fostered an environment of inclusivity and empowerment for her peers. She was a two-year member of the Hampden County district attorney’s Youth Advisory Board, teen president of the Western Mass. chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and a member of the National Honor Society. At UMass Amherst, Jackson plans to major in speech, language, and hearing sciences with the goal of becoming a speech-language pathologist.

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Anthony Gulluni

Anthony Gulluni

Jeffrey Sattler

Jeffrey Sattler

Kevin Vann

Kevin Vann

The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts’ trustees of the Order of William Pynchon announced the selection of three local residents as this year’s Pynchon Medal recipients: Anthony Gulluni, Jeffrey Sattler, and Kevin Vann. Gulluni is now serving his third term as Hampden County district attorney. He has promoted a vision of safer communities through community outreach, crime prevention, and education — as well as through the smart prosecution of violent offenders. Furthermore, he has shown commitment to compassionate and effective rehabilitation. Gulluni’s notable accomplishments include spearheading the Emerging Adult Court of Hope, a one-of-a-kind program in Massachusetts designed for criminal defendants ages 18 to 24. Instead of incarceration, the court provides intensive support and programming focused on the participants’ physical and mental health, behavior patterns, housing, and other factors, and ultimately develops a pathway for careers through education and job training. He also developed a cold-case unit, the first in the Commonwealth to use cutting-edge technology like DNA phenotyping and forensic investigative genetic genealogy to assist law enforcement in generating leads and narrowing down suspect lists. Inspired by his humble beginnings, Sattler has spent his lifetime dedicated to service over self. After putting himself through school to earn a bachelor’s degree from Springfield College, he went on to found a bank in Springfield. When he was 18 years old, he became a third-degree member of the Knights of Columbus Council; 47 years later, he is still a member. Throughout Sattler’s professional life, public service has been a mainstay. A partial list of organizations for whom he has volunteered and supported includes the Western Massachusetts Boy Scouts of America, the Chicopee Rotary Club, Springfield Technical Community College, the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. For each organization he serves, he has shown heart and commitment, with particular passion in fighting the impact of cancer in his community. When the American Cancer Society’s 2021 fundraiser was canceled due to COVID, he was instrumental in launching the Men in Pink event in its stead. A native of Springfield and a lifelong resident of the Pioneer Valley, Vann has made serving his community a lifetime commitment, particularly for those who can’t help themselves. The many organizations to which he has dedicated his time and resources reflect a strong affinity for supporting the youth of our region. His involvement with the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club spans decades and includes multiple capital campaigns, including chairing its current campaign to build a new teen center. Vann’s service has included, but is not limited to, the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club, the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, the United Way of Pioneer Valley, the St. Christopher’s Capital Endowment Fund, the American Cancer Society, the National Conference on Community and Justice, and the NFIB Governors Guardian Council. In addition to his nonprofit and charitable activities, he has been a life mentor and coach to countless young people.

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Andrew Loin has joined Bulkley Richardson as an associate in the Real Estate department. Loin graduated from Western New England University School of Law, summa cum laude, in 2024, where he was the editor in chief of the Western New England Law Review, a member of the Environmental Law Moot Court Team, and an Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Scholar. He was also awarded the CATIC Foundation Award for Achievement in Real Property Coursework. Loin was a summer associate at Bulkley Richardson in 2023. He completed internships with Green Miles Lipton and the Hampden Probate and Family Court. He also participated in Western New England’s real-estate practicum, where he was placed with CATIC and a local residential real-estate attorney’s office.

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Allison Gaynor

Allison Gaynor

Jalaysia Isaac

Jalaysia Isaac

Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. (MBK) announced two new hires: Allison Gaynor, administrative assistant, and Jalaysia Isaac, Audit and Accounting associate. Gaynor comes to MBK with more than 30 years of experience in the administrative world. Her role at the firm is vital to ensuring smooth workflow, and her approach tactic to customer service is to always offer a helping hand and a warm smile. She is not limited only to her administrative roles, but has a creative world outside work life. She is the founder of the Jammie Jingle drive and has established roots in the community for the past 10 years, collecting pajamas for children and adults and donating them in time for the holiday season. She flourishes in community involvement and is excited to take part in the community-service branch at MBK. Isaac brings her fresh perspective to her engagements as a recent college graduate and believes that customer service starts with listening to the client and their needs. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and management from Elms College. She is also a member of CPAmerica and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. She is eager to continue growing as an accountant to best help her team and clients succeed.

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Bulkley Richardson recently welcomed Rachel Knauerhase as an associate in the Business department. In 2024, Knauerhase graduated magna cum laude from Western New England University School of Law, where she concentrated her studies on transactional law and served as senior articles editor of the Law Review. She was an Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Scholar and CALI award recipient. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in business & finance. Prior to joining Bulkley Richardson, Knauerhase was a legal intern at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and summer law clerk at a boutique litigation firm in Connecticut.

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Noel Aguilar

Noel Aguilar

Shreya Sanghvi

Shreya Sanghvi

Dietz & Company Architects Inc. announced the recent addition of two new employees at the firm. Noel Aguilar has joined Dietz in the role of project manager. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. He has worked for architecture firms in Texas, most recently in design and construction for retail-store development. He also has many years of experience working on the construction side of the industry. Aguilar specializes in design for medical office and industrial buildings and also has a particular interest in the hospitality sector. Shreya Sanghvi has joined Dietz in the role of architectural associate. She recently completed her master’s degree in architecture and urban design at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), where she completed her thesis focusing on design strategies to overcome the disconnection of a complex Brazilian neighborhood while also creating a sustainable environment. She also holds a bachelor’a degree in architecture from the Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Architecture for Women in Pune, India. Sanghvi has experience working as a architectural designer and intern for firms in India and most recently as a graduate assistant in the Architecture Department at NYIT.

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The Home Builders and Remodelers Assoc. of Western Massachusetts announced the appointment of Zach Kushner as its new president. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, having founded First Peak Construction. Kushner is a graduate of UMass Amherst, where he earned a degree in building and construction technology. He then embarked on a successful career with Gilbane Building Co., one of the nation’s largest commercial construction firms. During his tenure at Gilbane, he was integral to the construction-management teams responsible for delivering numerous high-profile projects spanning various sectors, including healthcare, K-12 education, higher education, and underground infrastructure. In his professional journey, Kushner has excelled in multiple roles, from project engineer to project manager to now running a successful commercial general contracting firm. This diverse experience has equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of both project management and field operations. As a commercial property owner, he recognizes the importance of communication, organization, and transparency with clients, and is dedicated to overseeing every phase of the construction project life cycle, ensuring attention to detail from the initial concept to the final issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

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Lydia Martinez-Alvarez

Lydia Martinez-Alvarez

Pedro Sanchez Jr.

Pedro Sanchez Jr.

Elms College announced that two regional leaders have joined the college’s board of trustees. Lydia Martinez-Alvarez is the former assistant superintendent for the Springfield Public Schools system, and was the first person of Hispanic descent to hold this position. Her career in public education spanned more than 25 years and began in the mid-1990s as a substitute teacher at Samuel Bowles Elementary School. In 2003, she became superintendent of Springfield High School of Science and Technology, and in 2012, she began her tenure as the city’s assistant superintendent. Martinez-Alvarez holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Westfield State University and a master’s degree in teaching from Elms College. In 2019, she was named a Women of Impact by BusinessWest. Pedro Sanchez Jr. is the president of BlueX Solutions, a consulting firm in Springfield specializing in leadership coaching. A bilingual speaker and entrepreneur, he empowers individuals and business leaders by deconstructing preconceived beliefs, identifying opportunities for growth, and nurturing their process of self-discovery. His client base includes companies from several industries, including manufacturing, event and studio production, nonprofit, and mental health. Sanchez holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Assemblies of God Theological Spanish Seminary in Springfield.

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Darcy Tarte

Darcy Tarte

Community Bank recently welcomed Darcy Tarte as regional Retail Banking manager. In her new role, Tarte will lead, oversee, and manage the Retail Banking team and retail banking relationships across the bank’s New England footprint in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Tarte has 30 years of experience in the banking industry. Prior to joining Community Bank, she served as regional market manager at TD Bank and as market manager at People’s United Bank. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and banking from the New England College of Business and Finance. She serves on the board of the Addison County Economic Development Corp. in Middlebury, Vt.

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Country Bank President and CEO Mary McGovern announced the promotion of Julie Sanders Yi to chief financial officer. Having joined Country Bank in 2012 as first vice president and controller, she has made significant contributions to the Finance department. Her exceptional performance led to her promotion in 2021 to senior vice president, where she demonstrated her ability to drive results in the Operations department as well. She brings a wealth of experience to her new role, with 23 years in various roles in finance. She graduated from the University of Nevada Las Vegas with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is a certified public accountant. As chief financial officer, Sanders Yi will oversee all financial operations of Country Bank, including financial planning and analysis, budgeting, and financial reporting. She will drive the bank’s financial strategy and ensure long-term financial stability.

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MGM Springfield recently announced the return of Andres Gomez in his new role as executive director of Hospitality. Gomez was part of the initial team that helped launch the MGM Springfield brand in Massachusetts in 2018, serving as director of Restaurants and Nightlife Operations. His tactical direction and leadership helped set hospitality standards that remain in place today. He was promoted within the MGM family to director of Food & Beverage at MGM Grand Detroit in late 2020. In 2022, he moved to MGM National Harbor just outside of Washington, D.C., where he assumed the role of director of Food & Beverage. As executive director of Hospitality, Gomez will continue to develop and oversee the plan and vision for MGM Springfield that is consistent with the objectives of MGM Resorts International, overseeing all aspects of the property’s hospitality operations. Originally from Puerto Rico, Gomez moved to Springfield as a preteen and carved out his early career working in the local restaurant industry. Local diners may recognize him from his years at Agawam’s iconic Federal Restaurant & Bar, where he served as general manager. He grew his career with that group from host to business partner of some of its fast-casual concepts. He attended Springfield International Charter School and attended UMass Amherst, where he studied business and corporate communications.

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James Brown

James Brown

Governors America Corp. (GAC), a veteran-owned, Massachusetts-based, global manufacturer of innovative engine-control products, recently welcomed James Brown as its new Business Development lead. His responsibilities include researching and building relationships with potential clients, growing Department of Defense contracts within the Hawkeye Innovation division and identifying new business opportunities for growth by analyzing market trends, the competitive landscape, and customer needs. Brown received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and his MBA in healthcare management from Fitchburg State University. He rose to the rank of chief master sergeant (E-9) in the U.S. Air Force over a career spanning 25 years served.

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Country Bank announced that Jodie Gerulaitis, vice president of Community Relations, has been honored as a Community Hero by the Worcester Red Sox, recognizing her commitment and dedication to serving the local community. Gerulaitis’s passionate advocacy for educators and local nonprofit leaders through Country Bank’s partnership with WooSox Foundation programs has had a profound impact on the community. Her support in recognizing leaders and educators throughout the region is evident through the Most Valuable Teacher program and the WooStars initiative. The Most Valuable Teacher program celebrates the achievements of nine exceptional teachers at their schools and the park. Similarly, the WooStars program recognizes the outstanding work of nine local nonprofit leaders. These programs, championed by Gerulaitis, exemplify her passion, dedication, and desire to make a meaningful difference in the community.

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The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke announced that its 58th Citizenship Award winner is the Rev. Fr. Robert Gentile Jr. The Citizenship Award is presented annually to a person or organization that may be of non-Irish descent and has made substantial contributions to the parade and/or the parade committee. Gentile has been a long-time friend to the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke, both providing spiritual guidance to the committee and being a long-time supporter for parade weekend. Gentile served as interim chaplain to the St. Patrick’s Committee, and to this day, although he now serves as pastor of Ste. Rose de Lima Parish in Chicopee, he continues to provide spiritual guidance and friendship to the committee. In 2003, Gentile was ordained to priesthood in the Diocese of Springfield. After ordination, his first assignment was at St. Thomas in the Apostle Church in West Springfield as the parochial vicar, where he served for 33 months. That assignment concluded when he was asked to become the new pastor of Blessed Sacrament in Holyoke. He served that parish from May 2006 until March 2024, when he began his assignment at Ste. Rose de Lima.

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Berkshire Bank announced that Jason Niles has been promoted to senior vice president, MyBanker team leader, overseeing the MyBanker service that provides free financial counseling to help consumer, business, and nonprofit customers navigate the next stage in their financial life. Niles has been with Berkshire Bank for more than 15 years, most recently as first vice president, relationship manager, MyBanker team leader. Prior to that, he held roles as vice president, relationship manger and branch manager. Niles is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and was recognized as part of the Forty Under 40 class of 2018 by BusinessWest. He is active in the community, serving on the boards of Revitalize CDC in Springfield and the Massachusetts Veterans Chamber of Commerce. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from the University of Phoenix.

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook

UMass Amherst to Create Retail, Event, Meeting Space

AMHERST — UMass Amherst announced the creation of UMass Downtown, a multi-purpose retail, event, and meeting space in downtown Amherst. Chancellor Javier Reyes announced the project Tuesday at the 57th annual Community Breakfast, hosted by UMass Amherst and the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. UMass Downtown, scheduled to open in the 2024-25 academic year at 108 North Pleasant St., will provide a dynamic UMass experience in the heart of the Amherst’s central business district. Serving as a boutique retail location and campus information and welcome center during regular business hours, in the evenings it will be a regular site for small lectures, readings, and workshops. Additionally, the space will act as a welcome center for prospective students and their families and a hub of town-gown interaction with community members. UMass Downtown will be managed by the Office of Community Relations and University Events, in partnership with UMass Auxiliary Services. Other campus partners include UMass Athletics, Student Affairs and Campus Life, the Dean of Students Office, Admissions, and the UMass Amherst Foundation. UMass enlisted Kuhn Riddle Architects to help develop the vision that project leads Nancy Buffone, associate vice chancellor for University Relations, and Tony Maroulis, executive director of Community and Strategic Initiatives, put forward after consultation with campus leadership. The Kuhn Riddle team, led by Mallory Nurse, have achieved a design that aims to welcome visitors and community members while creating instantly recognizable, even Instagram-worthy moments to drive foot traffic to the space.

 

STEM Program at STCC Lauded by Magazine

SPRINGFIELD —The STEM Starter Academy at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received the Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from the magazine Insight Into Diversity. The STEM Starter Academy (SSA) has been instrumental in creating opportunities for STCC students who might otherwise face significant barriers to entering and succeeding in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). SSA is designed to support STCC’s underrepresented student populations by providing equity and access to STEM majors and pathways and to promote positive and equitable outcomes through intense student support and guidance. The Inspiring Programs in STEM award is a measure of an institution’s individual college programs and initiatives that encourage and support the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented students into all STEM fields. STCC was one of only two community colleges recognized for this award.

 

Springfield Museums Partners with Ireland’s Office of Public Works

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums announced a partnership with the Office of Public Works (OPW) of Ireland on Sept. 17. Together with the OPW, the Museums will explore the development of exhibitions, educational resources, and community events that enrich and promote the deep and enduring cultural and personal ties between Western Mass. and County Kerry. The first effort in this partnership is the exhibition “Gone Now, to Springfield: Celebrating the Legacy of the Blasket Islands,” currently on view in the lobby of the Wood Museum. The Blasket Islands (Na Blascaodaí) are a group of islands off the west coast of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland, uninhabited since 1954. Many Blasket Islanders immigrated to Springfield and Greater Western Mass. throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, bringing with them the language, literature, culinary traditions, and familial connections that continue to shape the city today.

 

Organization INK Inc. Acquires My Office LLC

GREAT BARRINGTON — Organization INK Inc., a provider of bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and human-resources services in Western Mass. and the surrounding areas, acquired My Office LLC, a firm based in Torrington, Conn. The acquisition, which was finalized on Sept. 2, comes as My Office LLC’s owner, Cynthia Rines, seeks to retire after 13 years in business. The majority of My Office’s staff, including Rines, will join Organization INK, ensuring continuity of service for existing clients and contributing to the expanding regional presence of Organization INK. Clients of My Office can expect a seamless transition, with enhanced access to human-resources services, which are not offered by My Office. My Office LLC provides bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll services to businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies in the northwest corner of Connecticut. The acquisition further solidifies Organization INK’s position as a regional leader in financial solutions, providing businesses with expert bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and human-resources services.

 

Carr Hardware to Remodel Downtown Pittsfield Store

PITTSFIELD — Carr Hardware announced a major investment in its downtown Pittsfield location, which will undergo a $400,000 remodel this fall. The project underscores Carr Hardware’s commitment to the community and its confidence in the future of downtown Pittsfield. The remodel will be completed with all local contractors, highlighting the dedication and appreciation Carr Hardware has for supporting fellow local businesses and contributing to the local economy. The store will remain open through the remodel. With plans to expand and diversify products, customers will have a wider range of shopping opportunities. The newly remodeled store aims to enhance the shopping experience for customers while preserving the store’s welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

 

Women’s Fund Announces $240,000 in Grant Awards

SPRINGFIELD — The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts recently announced $240,000 in grant awards this year and through 2026 to 17 organizations serving women, girls, and transgender and gender-diverse people across Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties. The Women’s Fund’s general grant cycle will provide $100,000 in awards to 13 organizations in both 2024 and 2025. An additional four gifts totaling $40,000 were also made from the organization’s Young Women’s Initiative for the current year. Grant recipients for this funding round include 50 Arrow Gallery in Easthampton, A Queen’s Narrative in Springfield, Berkshire Community Diaper Project in West Stockbridge, Elizabeth Freeman Center in Pittsfield, It Takes a Village in Huntington, Make-It Springfield, Mother Root Farm in West Cummington, New England Learning Center for Women in Transition in Greenfield, Pioneer Valley Workers Center in Northampton, Somali Bantu Community in Springfield, Springfield No One Leaves/Nadie Se Mude, Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition in Greenfield, and Western Massachusetts Parasol Patrol in Montague.

 

Llumin Inc. Receives $69,800 Workforce Training Grant

BOSTON — State Sen. Adam Gomez recently joined Secretary Lauren Jones of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to announce a $69,800 grant being awarded to Springfield-based Llumin Inc. as part of the Healey-Driscoll administration’s Workforce Training Fund. The grant being awarded will go toward training 16 workers at the software company, with eight additional jobs expected by 2026. Funded by Massachusetts employers via contributions made to unemployment insurance, the Workforce Training Fund helps companies improve productivity and competitiveness by providing resources to invest in the Massachusetts workforce.

 

Greenfield Cooperative Bank Launches New Mortgage Product

GREENFIELD — Greenfield Cooperative Bank (GCB) announced the launch of its new Homegrown Heroes mortgage product, designed to provide special financing options for police officers, EMTs, RNs and CRNs, firefighters, school employees, and military personnel. This initiative aims to recognize the contributions of these dedicated individuals to their communities and offer them a helping hand in achieving their homeownership dreams. The Homegrown Heroes program offers a variety of benefits, including reduced interest rates for eligible borrowers, making their monthly mortgage payments more affordable; and the flexibility to choose between a fixed-rate mortgage with predictable monthly payments or an adjustable-rate mortgage that offers potential interest-rate savings initially but may fluctuate over time.

 

AIC Awarded Grant to Modernize Science Labs

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s Workforce Development Capital Grant Program to support the renovation and upgrade of the college’s Old Science Building and fund the purchase of new equipment for life-sciences courses within the School of Business, Arts, and Sciences. Renovation work is scheduled to begin this fall. The grant was part of a broader $13.1 million in funding announced on July 22 by the Healey-Driscoll administration. The Old Science Building, constructed in 1956, marked the beginning of a new era of development on AIC’s historic campus. Located on the eastern side of the main quadrangle and notable for its small greenhouse at the center of its façade, the brick building was originally designed to accommodate the biology and chemistry labs and classrooms, which had previously been housed in Olde Hall, a wooden structure built in 1892. Today, the Old Science Building continues to serve as the venue for courses in biology and chemistry. The effort to secure this funding was led by Susanne Swanker, dean of the School of Business, Arts, and Sciences, along with a dedicated team of life-sciences faculty members who supported the grant application and will oversee the improvements. In addition to the physical upgrades, the funding will also help purchase new equipment for teaching labs in molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and microbiology. These state-of-the-art facilities will provide students with hands-on experience in settings that closely replicate real-world labs, enhancing their learning and ensuring the curriculum reflects current industry standards.

 

HCC Celebrates Relocation, Expansion of Food Pantry

HOLYOKE — The new Holyoke Community College (HCC) food pantry is more than four times the size of the old one. More than that, it is now just steps away from the HCC Campus Center and cafeteria. On Sept. 10, HCC held a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the relocation and expansion of both the HCC Thrive Center and the food pantry. Prior to the move, the food pantry occupied a small space within the Thrive Center, which was located in a tight, reconfigured classroom on the second floor of the Frost Building. Now, the Thrive Center and food pantry occupy dedicated, more spacious rooms side by side on the second floor of the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development, which adjoins the Campus Center. The Thrive Center (formerly called the Thrive Student Resource Center) helps students address non-academic issues that can interfere with their studies, such as food and housing insecurity, transportation, healthcare, childcare, utilities, and credit. Thrive also manages the food pantry.

 

Food Bank Receives $50,000 from Point32Health Foundation

CHICOPEE — The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts received a $50,000 general operating grant from Point32Health Foundation to support its work of increasing access to local, affordable, nutritious food. The Food Bank provides nutritious food to an average of 114,000 people each month over the last 12 months, an 18% increase over the prior year. The grant is one of 31 new community investments totaling nearly $3 million from Point32Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Point32Health and its family of companies, including Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan, and Care Partners of Connecticut. The grants support community-led solutions to advance healthier communities and equity in aging in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

 

Nonotuck Resource Associates to Dedicate Lee Office

LEE — Nonotuck Resource Associates Inc. announced the dedication of its Lee office in memory of Kathleen “Kitty” Kelly-Curtin. The historical building, located at 14 Park Place, was publicly dedicated on Sept. 21, during Founders Day Weekend in Lee. The Lee Historical Commission unanimously approved the dedication last spring. Previously, the house was named for Edward Bosworth, a local businessman who made it his home in 1872. Kelly-Curtin, who passed away in July, served as the driving force behind the creation of Nonotuck Resource Associates’ Adult Family Care program, spent 26 years as a Shared Living caregiver, and worked for Nonotuck for 17 years, most recently as executive vice president of Operations. She left behind two sons, her life partner, and a large network of family and friends. Founded in 1972, Nonotuck offers Shared Living, Adult Family Care, and individualized day services for people with disabilities. Providing support and services at locations throughout Massachusetts, it is the largest shared-living organization in the state.

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.

AGAWAM

Hy Trucking Inc., 418 Meadow St., Agawam, MA 01001. Hoyoung Lee, same. Interstate trucking.

CHICOPEE

The Angela Santiago Foundation Inc., 798 Prospect St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Shavonne Santiago, same. Nonprofit organization established to develop youth through education, sports, fitness, and recreation, for the purpose of equipping them with the necessary tools and skills to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.

Chicopee Queer Consortium Corp., 100 Worthington St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Daniel Leatherwood, 58 Elmer Dr., Chicopee, MA 01013. To engage with and promote the LGBTQA+ community in the city of Chicopee and surrounding areas.

 

EASTHAMPTON

Green Star Services Inc., 16 John St., Easthampton, MA 01027. Marin Goldstein, same. Construction of residential and small-business buildings and consultation services toward green building, electrification, and sustainable measures to reduce the carbon footprint of the building.

GREAT BARRINGTON

Great Barrington Library Fund Inc., 32 Hollenbeck Ave., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Sharon Gregory, same. Nonprofit organization established to support the restoration and renovation of the buildings in the Great Barrington library system through the solicitation of donations, gifts, grants, and other sources of funding.

HOLYOKE

Mystery Bins Holyoke Inc., 50 Holyoke St., Holyoke, MA 01040. Hazem Al-Awdi, same. Secondhand thrift store.

INDIAN ORCHARD

The Outside Guys Co., 34 Front St., Suite 221, Indian Orchard, MA 01151. Dakota Lamont Cotton Smith, same. Exterior home improvement and residential and commercial property and grounds maintenance.

LONGMEADOW

DIF Nail & Spa Inc., 927 Shaker Road, Longmeadow, MA 01106. Chenyan Zhuo, 142 Autumn St., Apt. H, Agawam, MA 01001. Nail spa.

NORTH ADAMS

EH Entertainment Inc., 41 Roberts Dr., North Adams, MA 01247. Eric Reinhard, 295 Blair Road, Williamstown, MA 01267. Engage in all forms of food, entertainment, and on-premises alcoholic beverages.

PITTSFIELD

Berkshire Pediatric Dentistry Specialists, P.C., 77 Elm St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Dr. Logan Wilson, same. Dental practice.

Community Wellness Medical Associates, P.C., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Michael Catausan, same. Medical practice.

Pizza Trails Inc., 33 Eleanor Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Bridget Sweener, same. Food truck.

Seed Institute Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Ji Hye Park, 265 Bay Dr., Sudbury, MA 01776. Nonprofit organization established for program evaluation, applied research, and consultation.

Turnkey Marketing Enterprises Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Myooran Nakeswaran, same. Digital marketing and content creation.

SPRINGFIELD

All Things Signs Corp., 1 Allen St., Springfield, MA 01108. Sakasha Taylor, same. Sign design.

Kish Corp., 1343 Carew St., Springfield, MA 01104. Sheikh Ahmed, same. Convenience store.

UC Cleaning Company Corp., 841 Newbury St., Springfield, MA 01104. Richard Brasil, same. Janitorial services.

WESTFIELD

J.Hat & Sons Masonry Contractors Inc., 1098 Western Ave., Westfield, MA 01085. Joquan Hatchett, same. Masonry and general contracting work.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

China Kitchen Corp., 42 Myron St., West Springfield, MA 01089. Dong Hua Chen, 184 Flynt St., Palmer, MA 01069. Restaurant.

WILLIAMSBURG

Anami, 37 Hemenway Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096. Paul Charles Vidich, same. Nonprofit organization which provides a physical and spiritual sanctuary for the Anami faith.

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the months of August and September 2024.

HADLEY

Active Chiropractic
8 Goffe St.
Bradford Eichwald

Aegis Chiropractic
241 Russell St.
Lisa Sanderson

Alina’s Ristorante
96 Russell St.
MMAAB Inc.

Blueprint Gallery
138 Russell St.
Timothy Brewer

Giorgia’s Magic
225 Middle St.
Giorgia Nicolini

Viviyarn Fashion
267 Russell St., D4
Viviyarn Fashion Fuzhuang LLC

 

HOLYOKE

A Head Above Barber
1548 Northampton St.
Karen Mickey

CRDN of Central and Western Mass and Vermont
361 South St.
Heather Burbeck-Rodriguez, Miguel Rodriguez

General Cleaners of Holyoke
361 South St.
Heather Burbeck-Rodriguez

JC Parker
8 Highland Ave.
John Parker

Max Orient
509 Holyoke St.
John Chen

YJ Catering
112 High St.
Yamil Canales

PITTSFIELD

Alejanda Pastry
80 Dickinson Ave.
Maira Gomez

Berkelium Technology
63 Concord Parkway
Ross Comstock

Berkshire Green Leaf & Wellness LLC
150 North St.
Marlee Tyska

Blessed by Bryan
5 Cheshire Road
Bryan Green Berrios

Christine Bile Music LLC
28 Church St., #1407
Christine Bile

COAN Insurance Solutions
82 Wendell Ave.
Impact Financial Co.

DMC Funding
3435 Stelzer Road
Linda Heaston

Ejourneys-C
82 Wendell Ave.
EJ-C Inc.

Hillcrest Community Support Services
788 South St.
Hillcrest Educational Centers Inc.

Language Justice Solutions
241 Second St.
Maria Fuller, Alex Valdivieso

Mountain Magnolia Marketing
140 Broadview Ter.
Nichole C. Dupont LLC

Network Matters Inc.
82 Wendell Ave.
Marketing Matters Inc.

Quick Fix Mobile Repair and More
555 North St.
Tyler Alderman

Rocco’s North End Barbershop LLC
1175 North St.
Anthony Riello

Sharon Castro Beauty
5 Cheshire Road
Sharon Castro Mogollon

Sheri Iodice, RDN
42 Summer St.
Sheryl Iodice

Uncle Samuel Larios
33 Fairfield St.
Samuel Larios Bixcul

Whole Life Pet Products
1520 East St.
Fran Co. LLC

SOUTH HADLEY

Ace of Fades Barber Studio
130-138 College St.
Ace of Fades Barber Studio LLC

Heartwood Hives & Beekeeping
46 Bridge St.
Melissa Turgeon, Alain Turgeon

Jen’s Hair Care
341 Newton St.
Jen’s Hair Care LLC

Madlybyte
43 Laurie Ave.
Tyler Bourgeois

Mass Community Consulting
27 South St.
Jessica Krupa

wino.blog
39 Abbey St.
Karl Hidden

SOUTHWICK

Lakehouse Financial
6 North Pond Road
Mark Garrity

WESTFIELD

Alyssa’s Craft Corner
23 Whispering Wind Road
Alyssa Charland

A.R. Deliveries
63 Furrowtown Road
Anatolie Reznicenco

Bertera Motors of Westfield Inc.
167 Springfield Road
Bertera Motors of West Springfield Inc.

Bonte
18 School St.
Eliezer Burgus

Chalmers & Kubeck North
24 Elise St.
Martin O’Connell

Complete Lawn & Landscape
273 Prospect St. Ext.
Kyle Patrick

Cutting Edge Hair Salon
45 East Meadow St.
Robina Saleem

Dunkin’ Donuts
1 Ely Road
Pleasant Street Donuts LLC

Fox Eye Photography
1925 East Mountain Road
Jessica Beaupre

Hardware Specialties
94 North Elm St., #204
Steve Bagley

Javo Publication
125 Ridgecrest Dr.
Jeff Vanoudenhove

Latko Printing & Marketing
204 Southampton Road
John Latko & Co. Inc.

Maura Bonavita Skin Care
154 Wild Flower Circle
Maura Bonavita

Mikes Tree Service & Landscaping
14 William St.
Michael Christodlous

Northside Creamery
519 Southampton Road
Petrina Fondakowski, Andrew Fondakowski

One World Gallery LLC
121 North Elm St.
One World Gallery LLC

Petsmart
273B East Main St.
Petsmart LLC

Seymour Auto
19 Railroad Ave.
KBR Enterprises LLC

WEST SPRINGFIELD

The Apple Tree Program LLC
122 Heywood Ave.
The Apple Tree Program LLC

Babylon Barber Shop
716 Union St.
Babylon Barber Shop

Guns & Gun Parts
983 Westfield St.
Guns & Gun Parts

Infinite Hair by Katie
1817 Riverdale St.
Infinite Hair by Katie

Lucky 7 Nail & Spa
1146 Union St.
Lucky 7 Nail & Spa

The Next Street MA LLC
68 Baldwin St.
The Next Street MA LLC

 

Bankruptcies

By
Bankruptcies

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

Akram, Nadia
95 Glenwood St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/19/2024

Beaudoin, Jean B.
38 Warsaw Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/23/2024

Brown, Jeffrey
8 Ridgeview Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/19/2024

Cartagena, Joel
391 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/28/2024

Churchill, Stephen
4 Waterford Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/22/2024

Dorlouis, Debra A.
68 State St., Apt. 401
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/23/2024

Dufresne, Jessica M.
736 Greenfield Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/28/2024

Dufresne, Michael A.
10 Wright Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/28/2024

Fontaine, Melody L.
40 Brunelle St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/27/2024

Garrant, Buffie A.
38 Converse St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/26/2024

Gedenberg, Sandra
PO Box 5
Gilbertville, MA 01031
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/19/2024

Godbolt, Wilfred
65 Pendelton Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/20/2024

Gregory, Rachel Genevieve-Ann
a/k/a Molina, Rachel Gregory
99 Armstrong St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/23/2024

Grogan, Noreen A.
32 Park Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/27/2024

Hedblom, Timothy H.
27 Holland Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/27/2024

Koval, Sabrina
29 Jennings St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/21/2024

Lafond, Henri David
129 Edgewood Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/20/2024

LaFontaine, Holly A.
44 Florence St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/27/2024

Landry, Linda M.
28 Glen Albyn St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/19/2024

Lemieux, Michael R.
45 River St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/27/2024

Leonard, Ewaugh Regina
200 East River St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/27/2024

Martin, Jessica L.
65 Meadow St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/23/2024

McIntyre, Christopher D.
McIntyre, Amanda M.
37 South John St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/20/2024

Medeiros, Laura L.
72 West Orange Road
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/17/2024

Meskill, Joshua W.
58 Margaret St.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/28/2024

Moreno Figueroa, German
a/k/a Moreno, German
92 Saint James Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020-2427
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/17/2024

Perez, James M.
1475 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/21/2024

Picardi, Patricia Ann
25 Helen Lane
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/22/2024

Scaringi, Jennifer Anne
80 Damon Road, #5308
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/26/2024

Soley, Jeffrey J.
Dudley, Robyn E.
555 River Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/20/2024

Stebbins, Giles S.
P.O. Box 38
Montague, MA 01351
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/19/2024

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

ASHFIELD

537 West Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $643,000
Buyer: Alan Ross
Seller: Dennis A. Nolan INT
Date: 08/20/24

BERNARDSTON

273 Northfield Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Northfield Mt. Hermon School
Seller: Vicki Fellows
Date: 08/29/24

BUCKLAND

12 Wilde Road
Buckland, MA 01370
Amount: $610,000
Buyer: Justin V. Bujdoss
Seller: Godfrey INT
Date: 08/23/24

CHARLEMONT

193 Main St.
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $355,900
Buyer: Maria Frias
Seller: Melody L. Whelden
Date: 08/30/24

CONWAY

115 Ives Road
Conway, MA 01341
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Russell A. French
Seller: Sheila A. French
Date: 08/26/24

DEERFIELD

24 Elm Circle
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Heather A. Wemhoener
Seller: J. Regish & T. Delaney JLT
Date: 08/30/24

31 West St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $515,000
Buyer: Simon M. Ellott
Seller: Madelaine E. Bartlett
Date: 08/30/24

ERVING

6 Church St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Arthur Bembury
Seller: William A. Bembury
Date: 08/30/24

11 High St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Dale C. Kowacki
Seller: Kowacki, Rae, (Estate)
Date: 08/29/24

 

GILL

26 Oak St.
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: Samuel P. Plotkin
Seller: Bryan Hobbs
Date: 08/28/24

7 Oak St.
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $327,500
Buyer: Pacled Properties Inc.
Seller: Sheue Y. Hwu
Date: 08/30/24

47 South Cross Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Alexander S. Pirozhkov
Seller: David P. Tetreault
Date: 08/30/24

GREENFIELD

205 Davis St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Heather M. Greene
Seller: Carsten R. Dahl
Date: 08/26/24

2 Earl Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Nathalie Arnold
Seller: Heath Hutchinson
Date: 08/28/24

97 Ferrante Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Kathleen Harris
Seller: Naples Home Buyers TR
Date: 08/30/24

7 Myrtle St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Ellen D. Cookson
Seller: Alex K. Phakos
Date: 08/19/24

14 Pierce St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Hallie Abelman
Seller: Caleb M. Stempel
Date: 08/27/24

42 Rockland Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Wende Mueller
Seller: Parsons, Joanne P., (Estate)
Date: 08/22/24

246 Silver St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $368,500
Buyer: Misti Boettiger
Seller: George R. Marchacos
Date: 08/29/24

37 Silvio O. Conte Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $649,000
Buyer: Breakaway Real Estate LLC
Seller: John T. Koehler
Date: 08/19/24

336 Wells St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Alexander P. Morin
Seller: George R. Marchacos
Date: 08/23/24

HEATH

5 State Farm Road
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $529,000
Buyer: Peter M. Maitland
Seller: Phillips INT
Date: 08/28/24

LEVERETT

63 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $632,000
Buyer: Benjamin A. Ewing
Seller: Cousins, Andrea B., (Estate)
Date: 08/30/24

MONTAGUE

88-90 2nd St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Elinor Jarvin
Seller: Herny A. Brown
Date: 08/29/24

11 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $491,000
Buyer: Shiran Neumann
Seller: Quentin K. Reynolds
Date: 08/20/24

90 South Prospect St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Colby A. Mailloux
Seller: Tyler G. Hobbs
Date: 08/30/24

34 School St.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Mark D. Hutton
Seller: Sean D. Alexander
Date: 08/26/24

NEW SALEM

78 North Main St.
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Graham L. Hsu
Seller: Ryan D. Greeley
Date: 08/23/24

NORTHFIELD

27 Aldrich St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Fofija R. Sutton
Seller: Matthew T. Witz
Date: 08/30/24

44 Pentecost Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $327,500
Buyer: Kelsey O’Brien
Seller: Gould FT
Date: 08/23/24

17 West Lane
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Joel H. Padovani
Seller: William E. Ferguson
Date: 08/30/24

ORANGE

12 Adams St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Make Investments Great Again LLC
Seller: Jason A. Sherman
Date: 08/26/24

55 Benham St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $240,500
Buyer: Cynthia L. Teto
Seller: Brent R. Salvetti
Date: 08/28/24

74 Harrison Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Carol Diesel
Seller: John P. Ferguson
Date: 08/20/24

102 King St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Sarie L. Whitehouse
Seller: Joshua J. Tyler
Date: 08/22/24

108 Lake Mattawa Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Daniel Rowe
Seller: Kim M. Jarvenpaa
Date: 08/30/24

371 Walnut Hill Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Olga RT
Seller: Dennis F. Bramhall
Date: 08/22/24

387 Walnut Hill Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Athol Realty Investments LLC
Seller: Gambrell, Ellen H., (Estate)
Date: 08/30/24

SHELBURNE

359 Main St.
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Kurt E. Damkoehler
Seller: Deerfield Ave Realty Inc.
Date: 08/19/24

286 Patten Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Jeremy Kingsbury
Seller: Edward W. Blatchford Int.
Date: 08/23/24

77 Reynolds Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $460,500
Buyer: Carmen L. Bassett
Seller: Jeremy Kingsbury
Date: 08/23/24

SHUTESBURY

325 Montague Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $399,000
Buyer: Claire Pless
Seller: Mari L. Vlach
Date: 08/30/24

366 Pelham Hill Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $593,000
Buyer: Michael Lennon
Seller: Kerry L. Blanchard
Date: 08/19/24

SUNDERLAND

332 South Silver Lane
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $469,000
Buyer: Rebecca Bleecher
Seller: Kipa Realty Inc.
Date: 08/22/24

WENDELL

59 Gate Lane
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Hollows Keep TR
Seller: Stephen A. Geosits
Date: 08/21/24

WHATELY

11 Poplar Hill Road
Whately, MA 01039
Amount: $570,000
Buyer: Michael F. Mahar
Seller: Anita T. Dimartino
Date: 08/30/24

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

131 Alfred Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Dfg Property Group LLC
Seller: Rcf2 Acquisition TR
Date: 08/19/24

9 Alfred Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Anthony Sciartelli
Seller: Dalton T. Boglisch
Date: 08/23/24

115 Anthony St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Hakan Kirca
Seller: Kmak LLC
Date: 08/29/24

113 Bridge St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Alex Korotich
Seller: Steven A. Aviles
Date: 08/20/24

63 Coronet Circle
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Dalton Boglisch
Seller: Flipping Best LLC
Date: 08/23/24

47 Day St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: Norman R. Olden
Seller: William J. Egan
Date: 08/30/24

23 Giffin Place
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Robert L. Maxton
Seller: Scott E. Skolnick
Date: 08/26/24

11 Hall St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Alh Properties LLC
Seller: Heath Dion
Date: 08/27/24

105 James St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Erin McGee
Seller: Christine C. Zawacki
Date: 08/26/24

455 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Mary Hill
Seller: Paula S. Wittenberg
Date: 08/26/24

976 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Jolcy LLC
Seller: Vadzim Hrytskevich
Date: 08/30/24

42 Mallard Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Samuel P. McMurray
Seller: Steven M. Forni
Date: 08/23/24

660 Mill St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: James B. Meyers
Seller: Erica Perkins
Date: 08/23/24

14 Parkview Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Michael J. Paynter
Seller: Steven W. Sojkowski
Date: 08/29/24

184 Parkview Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $422,000
Buyer: Neal R. Churchill
Seller: David Boisvert
Date: 08/30/24

101 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Brittany M. Kingan
Seller: Colleen A. Delair
Date: 08/27/24

35-37 Royal St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Skypec LLC
Seller: Kerry Norman
Date: 08/29/24

595 South West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $690,000
Buyer: Daniel Sherry
Seller: Mark C. Watson LT
Date: 08/29/24

470 School St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Ermir Sefa
Seller: Mildred F. Krause
Date: 08/30/24

163 Senator Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Michael A. Andre
Seller: Norman R. Olden
Date: 08/30/24

1162 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $5,155,652
Buyer: Pcr Agawam LLC
Seller: 1162-1172 Springfield St. Realty
Date: 08/22/24

1176 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $234,348
Buyer: Pcr Agawam LLC
Seller: 1176 Springfield St. Realty
Date: 08/22/24

43 Sterling Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Joseph A. Russo
Seller: Danielle Baker
Date: 08/23/24

BLANDFORD

7 Herrick Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Alla Lapsova
Seller: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Date: 08/23/24

BRIMFIELD

71 Dunhamtown Palmer Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Timothy Bresnahan
Seller: Sandra D. Riveron
Date: 08/26/24

31 Sturbridge Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $300,800
Buyer: JP Morgan Chase Bank
Seller: Ethan Kean
Date: 08/29/24

71 Tower Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $426,500
Buyer: Richard Curtiss
Seller: Robert Brodeur
Date: 08/23/24

CHESTER

278 Route 20
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $226,000
Buyer: Jose A. Andino
Seller: Renee A. Healy
Date: 08/21/24

 

CHICOPEE

109 9th Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $223,000
Buyer: Federal National Mortgage Assn.
Seller: Robert G. Schwalm
Date: 08/29/24

45 Armanella St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Robert Ducharme
Seller: Natalie Bys
Date: 08/19/24

26 Artisan St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Wei Yan
Seller: Gary E. Boutot
Date: 08/23/24

93 Caddyshack Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $599,000
Buyer: Reginald Ghiden
Seller: Jason A. Lonczak
Date: 08/30/24

48 Charpentier Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Mariana E. De Figueroa
Seller: Blainpursuant, Mary M., (Estate)
Date: 08/19/24

424 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Blanca A. Rivas
Seller: Roseann Bonatakis
Date: 08/23/24

77 Davenport St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $304,900
Buyer: Joseph C. Rogers
Seller: Jordan A. Lafrennie
Date: 08/22/24

39 Dewey St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $261,000
Buyer: Alexis M. Rivera
Seller: Loridan A. Mardukhayeva
Date: 08/27/24

147 Hampden St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $467,000
Buyer: Jose A. Baez
Seller: Livingwater Capital LLC
Date: 08/30/24

149 McCarthy Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Eric J. Piskorowski
Seller: Marianne M. Gregersen
Date: 08/23/24

664 McKinstry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Christopher Nascembini
Seller: Alex Alvarez
Date: 08/23/24

37 Monroe St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Isaac Boahen
Seller: Richard J. Deska
Date: 08/23/24

165 Mount Vernon Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $316,575
Buyer: Jose M. Figueroa
Seller: Anthony L. Fortunato
Date: 08/30/24

64 Narragansett Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Dylan R. Casey
Seller: Paul H. Courchesne
Date: 08/19/24

111 Paderewski Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Melissa A. Corning
Seller: Coalie RT
Date: 08/30/24

551 Prospect St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Martin J. Cahill
Seller: Rita A. Bernier
Date: 08/29/24

56 Randall St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Mario J. Dipaolo
Seller: Yoko Belczyk
Date: 08/26/24

87 Rimmon Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Bret Thibault
Seller: Carl Buss
Date: 08/19/24

1380 Sheridan St.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Amount: $2,922,556
Buyer: Western Mill LLC
Seller: Parisi Family Partnership LP
Date: 08/21/24

51 Shirley St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Ian J. Currie
Seller: Joyce Koske
Date: 08/23/24

152 Silvin Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $326,000
Buyer: Jose Irizarry
Seller: Norman R. Boucher
Date: 08/23/24

103 Ward St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Jahnyce K. Cameron
Seller: Manioudakis NT
Date: 08/30/24

48 West St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $960,000
Buyer: Mjtd LLC
Seller: Strong Building Co. LLC
Date: 08/22/24

EAST LONGMEADOW

27 Albano Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: Rafael Crespo
Seller: Janet L. Wrinkle
Date: 08/21/24

9 Edwill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Daniel F. Bechum
Date: 08/21/24

60 Favorite Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $266,500
Buyer: Jason Chauvin
Seller: Panther NT
Date: 08/29/24

22 Granby St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Sanjay Timilsina
Seller: Timothy A. Bates
Date: 08/30/24

183 Mapleshade Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Matthew K. O’Brien
Seller: Anastasia Marangoudakis
Date: 08/29/24

155 Patterson Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Zachary Perkins
Seller: Hanbyul Chang
Date: 08/30/24

45 Rockingham Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Connor FT
Seller: Timothy P. Crimmins Jr. RET
Date: 08/30/24

14 Somerset St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Erin K. Coughlin
Seller: Richard B. Cuoco
Date: 08/23/24

27 Wedgewood Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Kimberly S. Staggs
Seller: Thomas McLaughlin
Date: 08/19/24

12 William St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $436,000
Buyer: Ronald Joseph
Seller: Ronald P. Lavoie
Date: 08/27/24

43 Wood Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Erin Gawronski
Seller: Zachary D. Perkins
Date: 08/30/24

HAMPDEN

54 Genevieve Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $406,000
Buyer: Gary J. Monteleone
Seller: Susan E. Crowley
Date: 08/19/24

62 Mountain Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $518,400
Buyer: Shelby L. Rios
Seller: Derek M. Gray
Date: 08/28/24

64 Potash Hill Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Mohammed Abdraba
Seller: Dawn Sheldon
Date: 08/19/24

37 River Park Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Michael V. Jones
Seller: Gail M. Lefebvre
Date: 08/23/24

115 Stafford Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $309,000
Buyer: Fiore Grasetti
Seller: Elayne Stratton
Date: 08/28/24

HOLLAND

23 Collette Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Hillary Dahl
Seller: Michael J. Swanson
Date: 08/30/24

11 Craig Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $407,000
Buyer: Lawrence P. Rodrigues
Seller: Boniface, Gary J., (Estate)
Date: 08/30/24

46 East Brimfield Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Brian A. Rak
Seller: Christina M. Rootes-Hunter
Date: 08/29/24

5 Roberts Park Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $168,030
Buyer: Fed Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
Seller: David Noyes
Date: 08/20/24

161 Stafford Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Charles Jetter
Seller: Shannon Horn-Eldred
Date: 08/22/24

HOLYOKE

14 Albion St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $628,000
Buyer: American Supplies & Rental LLC
Seller: Roman Catholic Bishop
Date: 08/28/24

495 Appleton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $576,500
Buyer: 495 Appleton LLC
Seller: Holyoke Property Mgmt. LLC
Date: 08/26/24

86-88 Brook St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Robert Thomas
Seller: Austin Monett
Date: 08/27/24

108 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Nahndi M. Ali
Seller: Romero, Marta, (Estate)
Date: 08/30/24

130-132 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Xavier Hernandez
Seller: Provencal, Maxwell L. J., (Estate)
Date: 08/29/24

1030 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Alanna Tiernan
Seller: Alexandro R. Ramirez
Date: 08/28/24

57 Elm St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Adefunmilola O. Attitebi
Seller: Chiang Mai LLC
Date: 08/30/24

91 Elm St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $426,000
Buyer: Michael Forman
Seller: Sherani Weatherington
Date: 08/22/24

10 Ernest Lane
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Michael E. Craven
Seller: Christian Midua IRT
Date: 08/23/24

2 Irving St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $521,000
Buyer: Catherine Rowen
Seller: Roxann A. Callender
Date: 08/29/24

58 Knollwood Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $283,000
Buyer: Juan M. Moscoso-Mejia
Seller: Clement, Louis P., (Estate)
Date: 08/28/24

427 Maple St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Wollaston Real Estate Investments LLC
Seller: Roman Catholic Bishop
Date: 08/28/24

51 North Summer St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Stewart D. Wilkerson
Seller: Carmen R. Martinez
Date: 08/23/24

206 Walnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Leannice Del Valle
Seller: Yvan S. Audet
Date: 08/29/24

LONGMEADOW

108 Berwick Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Diane V. Yensen
Seller: Philip J. Godeck
Date: 08/19/24

392 Bliss Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Joseph Berouard
Seller: Leo J. Berrouard
Date: 08/19/24

48 Blueberry Hill Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Cranberry Real Estate LLC
Seller: Sushila Chahal
Date: 08/30/24

48 Blueberry Hill Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $562,500
Buyer: Layla C. Mocio
Seller: Cranberry Real Estate LLC
Date: 08/30/24

498 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $422,500
Buyer: Mei C. Chu
Seller: Daniel S. Regan
Date: 08/19/24

54 Fernleaf Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Annmarie Martinez
Seller: Fabricio Ochoa
Date: 08/23/24

85 Franklin Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $319,000
Buyer: Jeffrey E. Jean-Charles
Seller: Justin D. Weber
Date: 08/20/24

81 Green Willow Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $729,900
Buyer: Daniel Chase
Seller: Gainski Funding TR
Date: 08/30/24

50 Greenacre Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Michael Muia
Seller: David G. Wartman
Date: 08/30/24

244 Overbrook Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $1,613,767
Buyer: Hailey K. King-Reome
Seller: Pag Ft
Date: 08/30/24

108 Pleasantview Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $464,900
Buyer: Elizabeth M. Dougal
Seller: Jonathan L. Fein
Date: 08/29/24

26 Sherwood Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Xinrui Huang
Seller: Marcus J. Bouchard
Date: 08/29/24

146 Silver Birch Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $807,000
Buyer: Jared Butlin
Seller: Lawrence Nedwed
Date: 08/19/24

37 South Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $408,000
Buyer: Howard G. Hinds
Seller: Robert E. Kelley
Date: 08/22/24

LUDLOW

336 Alden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Carlton R. Roy
Seller: Katherine L. Provencher
Date: 08/21/24

419 Alden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Carol E. Robin
Seller: Karl E. Hoeckh
Date: 08/19/24

Avelino Way, Lot 5
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Lee Realty Co. LLC
Seller: Paulo Baltazar
Date: 08/28/24

161 Barna St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Jose Santos
Seller: Sedelow, Gerald D., (Estate)
Date: 08/23/24

557 Chapin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Faith E. Ackerman
Seller: Frederick Gamache
Date: 08/19/24

140 Dowd Court
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: James D. Preston
Seller: Kenneth R. Germain
Date: 08/27/24

76 Hill Ter.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Delores Zimmer
Seller: Joao D. Pinto
Date: 08/29/24

27 John St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $254,000
Buyer: Jorge Ruiz
Seller: Christian A. Potter
Date: 08/23/24

55-57 Maple St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $398,250
Buyer: Zhi Huang
Seller: Maria I. Rodrigues
Date: 08/30/24

41 Stevens St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Estelle C. Janisieski
Seller: Grace Dias
Date: 08/30/24

311 Ventura St., Lot 107
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Stephen G. Young
Seller: Whitetail Wreks LLC
Date: 08/26/24

35 West Akard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Danielle Moore
Seller: Regina A. Morrissey
Date: 08/27/24

MONSON

47 Butler Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Ralph S. Rinaldi
Seller: Rebecca L. Mycyk
Date: 08/30/24

9 Country Club Heights
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $329,000
Buyer: Savannah J. Finney
Seller: Orluk FT
Date: 08/27/24

31 Crest Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Olson
Seller: Webster, Steven J., (Estate)
Date: 08/19/24

15 Elm St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $329,900
Buyer: Dimitri A. Lowell
Seller: Olatunde Cooper
Date: 08/19/24

95 Ely Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Connor K. Skowyra
Seller: Andrew H. Linkenhoker
Date: 08/30/24

PALMER

257 Breckenridge St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Jennison
Seller: Bruce J. Geary
Date: 08/29/24

2018 Central St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Michael A. Houle
Seller: Jane A. Bobowicz
Date: 08/30/24

5 Crawford St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Romilda D. Heneghan
Seller: West Jam Man LLC
Date: 08/29/24

15 Cyd Alan St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $356,000
Buyer: Eric S. Smith
Seller: Marc J. Semon
Date: 08/23/24

66 Mason St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $540,000
Buyer: Thinh Huynh
Seller: Lori Hathaway-Towsley
Date: 08/27/24

1252-1254 South Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: CNC Management LLC
Seller: Paula A. Haley
Date: 08/23/24

SPRINGFIELD

339 Abbott St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Julissa F. Vazquez
Seller: Millennia Development LLC
Date: 08/23/24

842-844 Alden St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Brooke E. Coughlin
Seller: William F. Cassidy
Date: 08/21/24

116 Amherst St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Bricmore Property Investments LLC
Seller: James Scott
Date: 08/19/24

227 Arcadia Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Manchester Enterprises LLC
Seller: Bonnie M. McCabe
Date: 08/26/24

98-100 Barnum St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Audrey R. Kettle
Seller: Simpson, Vivian M., (Estate)
Date: 08/29/24

17 Beaumont Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Santos C. Jimenez
Seller: Irene Eliopoulos
Date: 08/20/24

645 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: 70 Milford Street RT
Seller: 645 Belmont Ave. RT
Date: 08/30/24

174-176 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Marlin N. Tejeda-Melo
Seller: Presley Williams
Date: 08/26/24

54 Bevier St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Sareen Properties LLC
Seller: Cascade Funding Mortgage TR
Date: 08/26/24

271 Bolton St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Michelle A. Mateo
Seller: Glenn D. Benson-Lewis
Date: 08/30/24

136 Bowdoin St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Rusty Polsgrove
Seller: Michael D. Wiseman
Date: 08/23/24

178 Bowdoin St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Kisha N. Jones
Seller: Roderick R. Barton
Date: 08/28/24

50 Burton St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Ian C. Graney
Seller: Livingwater Capital LLC
Date: 08/27/24

44 Cherrelyn St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Marisela Arias
Seller: Ernie E. Colon
Date: 08/23/24

47 Colton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: 413 Realty LLC
Seller: Eliezar Garcia LLC
Date: 08/21/24

33 Cortland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Giavanni J. Thomson
Seller: Jose M. Flores
Date: 08/30/24

20 County St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Ruby Rosario
Seller: Gerald J. Roncalli
Date: 08/23/24

17 Delmore St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jason A. McCreary
Seller: John Sourdiffe
Date: 08/28/24

47 Denver St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Percilla Jones
Seller: Danny R. Kettle
Date: 08/30/24

707 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: 7 Star Dickinson Realty LLC
Seller: Atlantis Real Estate LLC
Date: 08/30/24

715-717 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: 7 Star Dickinson Realty LLC
Seller: Atlantis Real Estate LLC
Date: 08/30/24

110-112 Dunmoreland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Charly Lenescar
Seller: Marilyn Norman
Date: 08/30/24

32-34 Dunmoreland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Anthony Yeboah
Seller: 32-34 Dunmoreland St. LLC
Date: 08/29/24

30 Duryea St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Joejoe Properties LLC
Seller: Ruiz, Carmelo Ortiz, (Estate)
Date: 08/23/24

18-20 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Emilia Capuano
Date: 08/20/24

19 Edgewood St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $439,900
Buyer: Maria L. Lopez
Seller: Emtay Inc.
Date: 08/30/24

239 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Danielz M. Salas-Ortiz
Seller: Jesse Carman
Date: 08/30/24

119 Feltham Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $288,000
Buyer: Shaun J. Mateus
Seller: Desiree Y. Brown
Date: 08/28/24

10 Ferncliff Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Yuriko Maldonado
Seller: Joseph M. Santaniello
Date: 08/20/24

80 Florida St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Ezekiel J. Cardona
Seller: Silver Snake Properties LLC
Date: 08/26/24

96 Garfield St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $445,500
Buyer: Mivida Domercant
Seller: Luis M. Rodriguez
Date: 08/27/24

44-46 Gordon St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Yanercy Diaz
Seller: Melanie Pham
Date: 08/21/24

386 Grayson Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Jose Pabon
Seller: Monique D. Seabrooks
Date: 08/30/24

19 Greene Place
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Amanda Vega
Seller: Joejoe Properties LLC
Date: 08/22/24

31-33 Hayden Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Robi M. Pearson
Seller: Nres LLC
Date: 08/28/24

90 Hillside Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Noelia Ortiz
Seller: Hector R. Rosado
Date: 08/26/24

409 Holcomb Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Anthony Almodovar
Seller: Jeffrey A. Sophinos
Date: 08/23/24

65-67 Hollywood St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $349,900
Buyer: Michael D. Barros
Seller: CT Assets 2 LLC
Date: 08/30/24

23 Homestead Ave.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Krisq & Johnnyb LLC
Seller: Quinn, William Edward, (Estate)
Date: 08/30/24

194 Island Pond Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Jessie N. Lozada-Gomez
Seller: Creton Spencer
Date: 08/19/24

38 Itendale St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Shara Randolph
Seller: Raul Gomez
Date: 08/28/24

37 Jennings St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Arlen Y. Escobar
Seller: MS Homes LLC
Date: 08/19/24

47 Lansing Place
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Jorge Lopez
Seller: Vince LLC
Date: 08/27/24

17 Manhattan St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Casa Bonita Apt LLC
Seller: Fossa, William Michael, (Estate)
Date: 08/28/24

86-88 Maple St.
Springfield, MA 01001
Amount: $2,828,104
Buyer: Papyrus Equities LLC
Seller: Springfield Gardens LP
Date: 07/22/24

67-69 Market St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Amount: $880,000
Buyer: Market Partners LLC
Seller: 67 Market Street LLC
Date: 08/29/24

20 Maura St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Jean D. Ntalagana
Seller: Melissa S. Laws
Date: 08/23/24

28 Michigan St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Michelle Berthiaume
Seller: Shawn M. Boisclair
Date: 08/20/24

92 Mill St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Magaly Torres
Seller: Anthony Luczkow
Date: 08/27/24

631 Newbury St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Lesvia S. Coton
Seller: Brian E. Figueroa-Solis
Date: 08/30/24

87 Oak St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Jocelyn Brown
Seller: Maria M. Oquendo
Date: 08/26/24

290 Oakland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Oakland Street Properties LLC
Seller: Winners O. LLC
Date: 08/29/24

294 Oakland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Oakland Street Properties LLC
Seller: Winners O LLC
Date: 08/29/24

298 Oakland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Oakland Street Properties LLC
Seller: Winners O LLC
Date: 08/29/24

110 Oklahoma St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Kevin Labonte
Seller: Dne Pro Properties LLC
Date: 08/27/24

1276 Page Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Julio Ayala
Seller: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Date: 08/23/24

97 Parallel St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $324,261
Seller: Mary E. Dunlap
Date: 08/27/24

214 Parkerview St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Tucker J. Lee
Seller: Lori J. Marchand
Date: 08/22/24

70 Pasco Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Patricia Benoit
Seller: Siddeequah A. Williams
Date: 08/30/24

86 Paulk Ter.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Blue Oak Development LLC
Seller: Keith P. Diaugustino
Date: 08/19/24

27 Powell Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Anthony C. Beckford
Seller: Michael A. Simmons
Date: 08/23/24

115 Ranney St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $390,500
Buyer: Jose R. Sirin
Seller: Ariana Nunez
Date: 08/28/24

60 Rencelau St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $376,000
Buyer: Elpidio Decena-Pena
Seller: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Date: 08/30/24

140 Rosemary Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Erika M. Berrios
Seller: Manning, Susan E., (Estate)
Date: 08/21/24

222 Rosewell St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Javier C. Diaz
Seller: Rebecca Goda
Date: 08/26/24

24-26 Sachem St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Onassis Martinez
Seller: Spring Forth Properties LLC
Date: 08/26/24

288 Saint James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Emily Le
Seller: Cascade Mortgage Funding HB13
Date: 08/27/24

68 Sawmill Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Mangali Sarki
Seller: Thomas P. Lynch
Date: 08/28/24

28 Schley St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $190,100
Buyer: Robert D. Gauvin
Seller: Malone, Richard F., (Estate)
Date: 08/23/24

4 Seneca St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Jjj17 LLC
Seller: Tomas Ferreira
Date: 08/30/24

6 Shelby St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Emily Edwards
Seller: ARJ Enterprises LLC
Date: 08/30/24

156 Slater Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Michael Bogan
Seller: Shaquana Bailey
Date: 08/30/24

78 Starling Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Cassandra Rolon
Seller: Charles A. Brooks
Date: 08/27/24

663-665 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Ivan Pimentel
Seller: North East Construction Services Inc.
Date: 08/29/24

711 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Loraine M. Sopena-Fontanez
Seller: Jjs Capital Investments LLC
Date: 08/30/24

29 Suzanne St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $181,321
Buyer: Arpc LLC
Seller: Margaret A. Manning
Date: 08/26/24

49 Sylvester St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Glendaliz G. Gonzalez
Seller: 49 Sylvester LLC
Date: 08/23/24

24 Thornton St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Elisandro G. Aleman
Seller: Amber D. Degrandpre
Date: 08/20/24

101 Victoria St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $201,883
Buyer: LB-Igloo Properties IV LLC
Seller: Aileen Reyes
Date: 08/28/24

92 Wayne St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Maria Da Silva
Seller: Jamie E. Pimentel
Date: 08/30/24

79 Westbanks Court
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: First Landing Investors LLC
Seller: Mayshell C. Mora-Cyrus
Date: 08/23/24

79 Westbanks Court
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $262,200
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: First Landing Investors LLC
Date: 08/23/24

800 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Efrain Guardado
Seller: Jobmtc LLC
Date: 08/19/24

83-85 Wilmont St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $362,300
Buyer: Timothy M. Hansen
Seller: Spring Forth Properties LLC
Date: 08/22/24

65 Wilshire Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Fallah Razzak
Seller: Gaynor, Steven R., (Estate)
Date: 08/26/24

SOUTHWICK

14 Brayton Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Dawn Parker
Seller: Beverly S. Zahnke FT
Date: 08/27/24

1 Cedar St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $323,000
Buyer: John Oleksak
Seller: Johnson, Mabel A., (Estate)
Date: 08/23/24

19 Meadow Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $970,000
Buyer: Jonathan Chinea
Seller: Mehmet Mizanoglu
Date: 08/27/24

9 Noble Steed Xing
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $1,153,000
Buyer: Austin F. Orszulak
Seller: H. & Valerie Dulude RT
Date: 08/19/24

WALES

111-R Union Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Ryan Whisman
Seller: Susan Smith
Date: 08/29/24

2 Willow Dell Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Edward T. Merriam
Seller: Michael G. Foster
Date: 08/30/24

WEST SPRINGFIELD

370 Brush Hill Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $187,000
Buyer: Orchard Holdings LLC
Seller: Jeffrey F. Craig
Date: 08/30/24

170 Central Miami St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Celeste L. Provost
Seller: Gerald V. Miller
Date: 08/23/24

283 Circle Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $312,500
Buyer: Roman Chirilov
Seller: Joanne C. Leslie TR
Date: 08/23/24

47 Deer Run Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $532,000
Buyer: Mansi K. Patel
Seller: Michael T. Moriarty
Date: 08/28/24

119 East Gooseberry Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: William F. Seney
Seller: Bethann Cook
Date: 08/19/24

42 George St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Matthew Badten
Seller: Lawrence R. Phillips
Date: 08/29/24

14 Hillcrest Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Miroslav Nesterchuk
Seller: Jennie B. Kiczek
Date: 08/30/24

27 Oakland St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Bianca Lambert
Seller: Michelle A. Mirti
Date: 08/30/24

63 Queen Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $305,500
Buyer: Gloria York
Seller: Dawn E. Roberts
Date: 08/23/24

1011 Riverdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $9,500,000
Buyer: LND West Springfield LLC
Seller: Springfield Welcome LLC
Date: 08/30/24

175 Robinson Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: K. L. & David B. White RET
Seller: Gureckis, Agnes M., (Estate)
Date: 08/22/24

16 Ryan Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Karna S. Tamang
Seller: Daniel J. Desnoyers
Date: 08/28/24

44 Smyrna St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Sarah J. Howe
Seller: Bedard, Dorothy Ann, (Estate)
Date: 08/21/24

28 Spring St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Julianna Brooks
Seller: Maa Property LLC
Date: 08/19/24

529 Union St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Joshua Ayala
Seller: Ajaykumar R. Desai
Date: 08/23/24

WESTFIELD

112 Beverly Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Bornail Achelus
Seller: Pamela A. Gintowt
Date: 08/27/24

43 Broad St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: Smol Business LLC
Seller: Edem Inc.
Date: 08/29/24

11 Conner Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Congamond Management LLC
Seller: Naples Home Buyers TR
Date: 08/21/24

7 Dudley Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Chis-Home LLC
Seller: Thomas J. Fitzgerald
Date: 08/30/24

1380 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Alan W. Fini
Seller: Debra M. Baldiga
Date: 08/23/24

22 Fairview Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $221,500
Buyer: David W. Saltus
Seller: Carol W. Saltus
Date: 08/30/24

11 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Vladislav Mozolevskiy
Seller: Naples Home Buyers TR
Date: 08/29/24

33 Fowler St., Ext.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $20,150,000
Buyer: Boise Cascade Building Materials
Seller: Ronald E. Schortmann
Date: 08/23/24

16 Gail Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Monica E. Theriaque
Seller: Janet E. Forry
Date: 08/23/24

58 George St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Ivan Kozar
Seller: Roman Radetskyi
Date: 08/28/24

15 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Ednier J. Cruz
Seller: Angela M. Santos
Date: 08/23/24

714 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $327,500
Buyer: Griffin Simpson
Seller: Laura Blockel
Date: 08/30/24

36 Kellogg St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Eduard Pomaznuk
Seller: Victor Marchenkov
Date: 08/22/24

67 Montgomery St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $172,000
Buyer: New Rez LLC
Seller: Nancy C. Blair
Date: 08/26/24

121 Otis St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Elena Abashina
Seller: Daniel Mosijchuk
Date: 08/30/24

44 Prospect St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Carlos Cruz
Seller: Brian Litwak
Date: 08/27/24

19 Railroad Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Kbr Enterprises LLC
Seller: Westfield Riverside LLC
Date: 08/23/24

4 Rita Mary Way
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $499,900
Buyer: Robert E. Kelley
Seller: Glen P. Perlmutter
Date: 08/22/24

79 Riverside Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Justin I. Medina
Seller: Monica E. Theriaque
Date: 08/23/24

446 Southwick Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Mike M. Makarchuk
Seller: Deborah S. Buzzee
Date: 08/29/24

14 Stuart Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Alexis Cooper
Seller: No Limit Assets LLC
Date: 08/22/24

27 West Glen Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $540,000
Buyer: Jacob Lane
Seller: Brian M. Connors
Date: 08/22/24

1272 Western Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Chelsea Popko
Seller: John B. Davies
Date: 08/21/24

WILBRAHAM

17 Bellows Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $680,000
Buyer: Angela B. Berthaume
Seller: S. Mortazavi-Zanjani
Date: 08/29/24

3264 Boston Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Leonard M. Sears
Date: 08/27/24

41 Brainard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: James T. Demas
Seller: Sara M. Bronner
Date: 08/28/24

60 Brainard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $495,000
Buyer: Sorgalim Rodriguez-Madera
Seller: Congamond Management LLC
Date: 08/30/24

18 Cooley Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: MW RT
Seller: Edward S. Porter
Date: 08/19/24

25 Eastwood Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $690,000
Buyer: Vincent E. Spagnolo
Seller: Joseph M. Kane
Date: 08/22/24

28 Hemingway Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Daniel S. Regan
Seller: Carol E. Robin
Date: 08/19/24

47 Old Boston Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Steven A. Paige
Seller: Stanley J. Strycharz RET
Date: 08/19/24

11 Pidgeon Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: Andrew Grenier
Seller: Mary M. Bryant
Date: 08/28/24

7 Pleasant View Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Steven A. Aviles
Seller: Richard H. Ryan
Date: 08/20/24

11 Ripley St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Jillian Watson
Seller: Alfred R. Ocamp
Date: 08/29/24

1028 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $311,500
Buyer: Sujerly Escobar
Seller: Sa Nguyen
Date: 08/23/24

787 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Thomas D. Curcio
Seller: Szf Properties LLC
Date: 08/21/24

874 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $480,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Zacher
Seller: Ethan J. Lafreniere
Date: 08/20/24

1 Sylvan Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: James C. Adams
Seller: Scott D. Skala
Date: 08/26/24

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

529 Belchertown Road
Amherst, MA 01072
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Western Mass Winery Group LLC
Seller: Audrey Fountain
Date: 08/30/24

Lawrence Cirle, Lot 1
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: DJ Engineering Consultant
Seller: David Leith
Date: 08/30/24

114 Lindenridge Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $1,050,000
Buyer: Anthony J. Tiarsmith
Seller: Ali S. Moghaddam
Date: 08/29/24

74 Morgan Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $631,000
Buyer: Nathaniel W. Kerbin
Seller: Harry E. Seelig RET
Date: 08/30/24

BELCHERTOWN

24 2 Ponds Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $775,000
Buyer: Nam Tran
Seller: Robert J. Canale
Date: 08/29/24

154 Amherst Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $1,525,000
Buyer: North Harlow LLC
Seller: Cedarwood Apts. LLC
Date: 08/30/24

485 Amherst Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Warren N. Schreiber
Date: 08/28/24

19 Barton Ave.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $372,000
Buyer: Laura Mcpherson
Seller: Diana B. Jones
Date: 08/29/24

565 George Hannum Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Alison C. Averette
Seller: Ralph P. Guisti
Date: 08/20/24

10 Old Sawmill Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Amir Eshtiaghi
Seller: Timothy J. Luce
Date: 08/30/24

State St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Town Of Belchertown
Seller: Claire A. Gingras RET
Date: 08/23/24

30 Summit St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $425,500
Buyer: Xiaobin Zheng
Seller: Arpc LLC
Date: 08/26/24

CHESTERFIELD

108 South St.
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $686,875
Buyer: Gregory M. Bishop
Seller: Tessier FT
Date: 08/19/24

CUMMINGTON

215 Trouble St.
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $428,000
Buyer: Susan Makower
Seller: Timothy L. Gibson
Date: 08/28/24

EASTHAMPTON

165 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: M&H Property Ventures LLC
Seller: Candice P. Girouard
Date: 08/23/24

155 Loudville Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Isabelle Lofquist
Seller: Cornestone Homebuying LLC
Date: 08/26/24

23 Monska Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Danielle Buzzee
Seller: Thayre A. Trzepacz
Date: 08/19/24

5 Saint James Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $441,000
Buyer: Julia Phipps
Seller: Courtney B. Jaworski
Date: 08/19/24

GOSHEN

109 Aberdeen Road
Goshen, MA 01032
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Jay Czelushniak
Seller: Gordon S. Swift
Date: 08/30/24

GRANBY

6 Jackielyn Circle
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Sarah L. Kellogg
Seller: Livingstone, Ruby, (Estate)
Date: 08/23/24

11 Leo Dr.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Leo RET
Seller: Frances M. Valentino
Date: 08/27/24

7 Lyn Dr.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Christina L. Hevey
Seller: Donald L. Marsha TR
Date: 08/20/24

HADLEY

47 Huntington Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Yarphel Ghani
Seller: George E. Zinsmeister
Date: 08/29/24

4 Maegans Way
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $999,000
Buyer: Constance J. Hallquist RET
Seller: Richard M. Diruzza TR
Date: 08/20/24

Meadow Bridge Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $298,000
Buyer: The Usa
Seller: Thatsaul LP
Date: 08/28/24

HATFIELD

11 King St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Laura McGrath
Seller: Corey Lebeau
Date: 08/29/24

163 West St.
Hatfield, MA 01088
Amount: $1,100,000
Buyer: Szawlowski Property LLC
Seller: Stephen F. Bruscoe
Date: 08/21/24

HUNTINGTON

2 East Main St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Hilltown Village Inc.
Seller: Farrelly FT
Date: 08/30/24

NORTHAMPTON

48 Austin Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Carl Underwood
Seller: Arthur P. Dunphy
Date: 08/29/24

123 Brookside Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $361,300
Buyer: Jasmine Hardy
Seller: Michelle M. Barthelemy
Date: 08/28/24

12 Day Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $304,000
Buyer: RM Blerman LLC
Seller: Cynthia A. Kochan
Date: 08/21/24

64 Federal St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $570,000
Buyer: Julie D. Palmer
Seller: Miko Yoshiyama 2009 RET
Date: 08/21/24

28 Longview Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $365,600
Buyer: Alessandra L. Morgan
Seller: Veteran Stan LLC
Date: 08/23/24

91 Moser St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $679,000
Buyer: Angela Wong
Seller: Jerah Smith
Date: 08/30/24

15 Munroe St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $899,000
Buyer: Alexander J. Indyk-Zapka
Seller: Passage Holdings LLC
Date: 08/21/24

639 North Farms Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $824,000
Buyer: Vikram Budhraja
Seller: Richard H. Millington
Date: 08/26/24

32 Powell St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $426,000
Buyer: Paola Tayvah
Seller: Caleb D. Langer
Date: 08/27/24

298 Ryan Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: John Fraize
Seller: Irven A. Gammon
Date: 08/20/24

40 State St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Indo-Hellenic Venture Properties LLC
Seller: Diana Randall
Date: 08/27/24

17 Stone Ridge Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Sunwood Development Corp.
Seller: Tofino Associates LLC
Date: 08/30/24

39 Stone Ridge Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Sunwood Development Corp.
Seller: Tofino Associates LLC
Date: 08/30/24

78 Straw Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Daniel A. Manson
Seller: Debra A. Guscette
Date: 08/30/24

84 Whittier St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $665,000
Buyer: Gaurav K. Jashnani
Seller: Kathleen N. Rowan
Date: 08/26/24

PELHAM

21 Arnold Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $519,900
Buyer: Marisa Pizii
Seller: Victoria A. Dowling
Date: 08/22/24

SOUTH HADLEY

64 Columbia St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Tara Alterman
Seller: Kristen Briody
Date: 08/23/24
28 Dale St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Philip Locke
Seller: Leo R. Desjardins IRT
Date: 08/30/24

4 Edison Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Kristen Briody
Seller: Michael E. Craven
Date: 08/23/24

3 Greenacre Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $286,000
Buyer: Michael Dipon
Seller: Donna J. Tyler
Date: 08/30/24

73 Lyman St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Tamara Adkins
Seller: Michael Wong
Date: 08/30/24

20 Meadow Lane
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $1,025,000
Buyer: Amer Ahmed
Seller: Stephen A. Rondeau RET
Date: 08/19/24

60 Michael Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $599,728
Buyer: Yuguan Liu
Seller: Catherine M. Scribner
Date: 08/29/24

20 Mountain View St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Luce
Seller: Kelly M. Omasta
Date: 08/30/24

615 Newton St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Arthur R. Alves
Seller: Noella E. Bergeron
Date: 08/30/24

150 Old Lyman Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $396,900
Buyer: Michael J. Flanagan
Seller: James Myers
Date: 08/23/24

90 Ridge Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Bryce Eldridge
Seller: Donald G. Jarvis
Date: 08/30/24

21 Taylor St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Emilio Velez
Seller: Ernest D. Harris
Date: 08/23/24

180 Willimansett St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Diamond Property Mgmt. LLC
Seller: New England Property Mgmt. LLC
Date: 08/19/24

SOUTHAMPTON

123 Brickyard Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Nadia Podolyanchuk
Seller: O’Connor Land & Timber LLC
Date: 08/30/24

28 Hillside Meadows Dr.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $499,900
Buyer: Richard L. John
Seller: Lorraine M. Loiselle
Date: 08/30/24

67 Moose Brook Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Sean A. Parker-O’Grady
Seller: Daniel M. Sherry
Date: 08/29/24

WARE

76 Beaver Lake Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Babara Kimball
Seller: Sean P. Guimond
Date: 08/23/24

109 Greenwich Plains Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Danubio Zepeda
Seller: Steven O’Brien
Date: 08/19/24

246 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Susan Lynch
Seller: Daniel C. Veale
Date: 08/21/24

30 Pleasant St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Milestone Funeral Services
Seller: Marc A. Varnun
Date: 08/26/24

39 South St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Paris
Seller: R&L Property Investor LLC
Date: 08/23/24

171 Upper Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Adriana Rocha
Seller: Karen Redmond
Date: 08/20/24

WESTHAMPTON

7 Burt Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Lisa Mascaro
Seller: Richard A. Ammon TR
Date: 08/21/24

65 Kings Hwy.
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $223,500
Buyer: David J. Blakesley
Seller: Robert Fournier
Date: 08/23/24

73 Kings Hwy.
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Lynn Fournier
Seller: David J. Blakesley
Date: 08/23/24

WILLIAMSBURG

70 Nash Hill Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $426,000
Buyer: Jennifer S. Smith
Seller: Maureen A. Mathers
Date: 08/29/24

WORTHINGTON

130 Prentice Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $814,000
Buyer: Mohammed Dasser
Seller: Sara W. Upton 2006 TR
Date: 08/23/24

Building Permits

By
Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the months of August and September 2024.

CHICOPEE

Chicopee Marketplace Owners LLC
601 Memorial Dr.
$2,500 — Install pre-engineered commercial kitchen hood fire-suppression system for Wing Stop

Generational Wealth LLC
151 East St.
$15,000 — Roofing

Karen Piantek
585 Sheridan St.
$2,300 — Insulation, ventilation, and weatherization

EASTHAMPTON

American Dream Realty LLC
5 East St.
$8,000 — Install internally illuminated drive-up menu board and canopy

HADLEY

E&A/I&G Campus Plaza LP
458 Russell St.
N/A — Expand Liqours 44

Pearson Hadley LLC
380 Russell St.
N/A — Remove and replace wet, damaged drywall on first floor

Peoples Savings Bank
5 South Maple St.
N/A — Interior soft demolition

Town of Hadley
21 River Dr.
N/A — Install playground structure at Hadley Elementary School

LEE

BDC Inc.
40 Consolati Way
$10,000 — Selective demolition for repairs

Nestor Perez
30 Housatonic St.
$11,567 — Install ceiling in portion of kitchen area, patch missing tiles, install insulation and drywall in kitchen area, and modify bar area

LENOX

GSA IV LLC
90 Pittsfield Road
$45,000 — Verizon to replace 12 antennas with nine new antennas and ancillary equipment to mount on existing telecommunications tower

GSA IV LLC
90 Pittsfield Road
$45,000 — Verizon to replace nine antennas with six new antennas and ancillary equipment and ground work on existing telecommunications facility

Town of Lenox
227 Housatonic St.
N/A — Install sprinkler system

 

NORTHAMPTON

39 Main Street LLC
33 Main St.
$3,765 — Illuminated wall sign for Zephyr Rugs

69 Bridge Street LLC
69 Bridge St.
$200,000 — Repairs due to water damage

Blue Mountain Properties LLC
76 Maple St.
$3,200 — Install lean-to

City of Northampton
20 West St.
$145,923 — Accessibility upgrades

Easthampton Mahadev LLC
137 Damon Road
$7,100 — Interior renovation for nail salon

HPMG
275 Main St.
$39,500 — Repairs and renovations to Filo’s

Pioneer Property Services LLC
319 Bridge St.
$5,700 — Install 17 replacement windows

Pioneer Property Services LLC
319 Bridge St.
$3,611 — Insulation and weatherization

Rodman Capital Group LLC
78 Cahillane Terrace
$5,342 — Insulation and weatherization

Smith College
Berenson Place
$40,000 — Renovate classroom/office space

Smith College
25 Henshaw Ave.
$66,000 — Siding

PITTSFIELD

Berkshire Medical Center Inc.
725 North St.
$20,000 — Emergency repair/replacement of exterior dual automatic doors at ambulance bay

Berkshire Medical Center Inc.
810 North St.
$48,500 — Roofing

Ghes Realty LLC
652 East St.
$31,000 — Replace temporary office trailer with larger temporary office trailer

Mathes LLC
555 Dalton Ave.
$8,025 — Place new shed on property for mini-golf

Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc.
117 Fenn St.
$142,000 — Roof replacement and floor framing repairs

Sonal Patel LLC
360 Pecks Road
$4,000 — Add two interior walls to make bottle-redemption room and glass entranceway

TD Bank
99 West St.
$499,096 — Roofing

Wahconah/Grove Street Nominee
21 Grove St.
$9,000 — Fire alarm

Wojtkowski Bros. Inc.
1548 West Housatonic St.
$118,000 — Addition to existing building

SPRINGFIELD

143 Main Street Realty Corp.
125 Main St.
$44,000 — Install new fire alarm and associated devices in Monkey Wrench Building

Bethany Road Properties LLC
121 Memorial Dr.
$600,000 — Install solar panels to roof of Building 1

Bethany Road Properties LLC
121 Memorial Dr.
$300,000 — Install solar panels to roof of Building 2

Bethany Road Properties LLC
121 Memorial Dr.
$300,000 — Install solar panels to roof of Building 3

Philip Burdick
5 Ridgewood Ter.
$1,800 — Remove and replace retaining wall

Center for Human Development
367 Pine St.
$36,993.65 — Install counters, sink, two exterior windows, and interior reception area window

Maple Springfield Associates LP
110 Maple St.
$533,343 — Remodel interior of Stepping Stones

Northeastern Conference Corp. of Seventh Day Adventists
797 State St.
$14,999 — Siding on Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church

Springfield College
263 Alden St.
$5,000 — Install new fire-alarm panel

 

STCC Partners with HCS Head Start to Open Early-childhood Program

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), Holyoke Chicopee Springfield (HCS) Head Start, and dignitaries announced the opening of an HCS early-childhood program on the STCC campus.

The opening of the facility will provide affordable childcare for qualifying families in the region, as well as learning and training opportunities for STCC students.

The announcement came at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 23 in front of the new Head Start location in Building 14. Earlier in the year, the Assoc. of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the National Head Start Assoc. (NHSA) initiated a partnership to increase the number of Head Start programs co-located on community-college campuses. STCC is the first community college in Western Mass. to host a Head Start center.

Also attending the ribbon cutting were members of the Springfield state delegation, STCC trustees, and faculty, as well as HCS Head Start board members and leaders.

At the STCC campus location, HCS Head Start will provide services in one of the historic brick buildings located on the south side of the campus near State Street. HCS Head Start will have two classrooms, one for infants and toddlers as well as a preschool classroom.

The partnership will strengthen workforce-development opportunities for educators, HCS Head Start CEO Nicole Blais said. “This exciting partnership will allow us to provide access to affordable care for qualifying students. We also will collaborate with STCC’s early childhood education program and give students the opportunity to do their student teaching.”

HCS Head Start will provide internship opportunities for students studying in various disciplines across the STCC campus. “This partnership allows us to create a pipeline to employment for future early-childhood educators,” Blais noted.

STCC President John Cook expressed enthusiasm for the new partnership, noting that research shows access to childcare can remove barriers for students with children.

“We are thrilled to welcome HCS Head Start to our campus,” he said. “We very much view this collaboration as a version of what is termed in the field as a ‘lab school,’ with a focus on workforce development — our students deeply embedded with Head Start programming and teaching. On the cusp of the 60th anniversary of Head Start, how exciting to formalize this partnership in Springfield.”

Added Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, “the importance of strong early-childhood education cannot be overstated. We will continue to invest in our students, families, and youth who are furthering their education and bring them the tools and opportunities they need to succeed. There is no limit to what our young people can accomplish, and my administration will continue to do what we can to make sure that our youth have the skills and opportunities to succeed in life.”

In February 2024, ACCT and NHSA announced the launch of the Kids on Campus initiative to bring more Head Start programs to community-college campuses throughout the U.S. The joint project offers a practical, common-sense approach to solving challenges in childcare and education, according to the ACCT announcement.

ACCT notes that qualifying student parents receive free, high-quality childcare and early education for their families from the Head Start program, while colleges obtain an expert partner to operate on-site childcare from Head Start, which also has the ability to apply funding to retrofit buildings on campus.

Moe Belliveau to Retire from the Chamber of Greater Easthampton in 2025

By
Daily News

Moe Belliveau

EASTHAMPTON — After 10 years of leadership, Moe Belliveau, executive director of the Chamber of Greater Easthampton, has announced her retirement effective June 1, 2025.

“My husband, Mike, and I have started our vegetable farm, and it is now time to turn my focus and attention on this dream we have been working toward for the past few years,” Belliveau explained. “Like the many small businesses and entrepreneurs the chamber has helped along the way, Mike and I know the time and energy required to make a dream reality, and I look forward to this next chapter.”

Under her leadership, Belliveau was instrumental in advancing the chamber’s mission of promoting economic development and enhancing business opportunities. After successfully navigating the chamber through the pandemic of 2020, she championed a number of innovative initiatives, including creating the “Mind Your Own Business” podcast, which highlights local professionals, business owners, thought leaders, and chamber members; launched the sheLEADS women’s leadership conference designed to empower women in all stages of their careers; developed the ignite professional-development conference to provide the tools and skills needed to navigate the ever-changing landscape of work; implemented the CO.STARTERS entrepreneurial program for aspiring professionals; and, most recently, opened the chamber’s WorkHub on Union co-workspace to address the needs of the region’s ‘grey economy’ and stimulate small-business job growth.

“Moe is known in the region for her visionary guidance and passionate advocacy for local business, and under her tenure, the chamber saw a period of growth and transformation for the chamber and the Easthampton community,” said Laurie Lamoureux, chair of the chamber’s board of directors.

Belliveau’s leadership extended beyond the chamber, as she built strong partnerships with local government, regional organizations, and business owners.

“Serving this community has truly been an honor,” Belliveau said. “Easthampton is a unique place filled with creativity, innovation, resilience, and grit. I am grateful for the support of the chamber’s members, our board of directors, and the incredible business community.”

The chamber’s board of directors will undertake an extensive search for her replacement.

“Moe’s dedication and commitment to Easthampton has been unparalleled,” Lamoreaux said. “Her leadership has left a lasting impact on the chamber and the businesses we serve. She will be greatly missed, and we wish her the very best in her retirement.”

North Shore Bank, Abington Bank Complete Merger

By
Daily News

EASTHAMPTON — Hometown Financial Group Inc., the multi-bank mutual holding company for bankESB, bankHometown, North Shore Bank, and Abington Bank, a division of North Shore Bank, announced that the merger of Abington Bank with North Shore Bank is complete, and that North Shore Bank has joined the Hometown Financial Group family of banks.

North Shore Bank now has more than $3 billion in assets and 25 full-service retail locations across Massachusetts’ North and South Shore regions and Southern New Hampshire. No branch closures or staff reductions took place. As part of the transaction, North Shore Bank has established a new charitable foundation to supplement its existing philanthropic mission.

The branches in the South Shore region will continue to operate under the Abington Bank brand as a division of North Shore Bank, led by Kevin Tierney Sr., CEO of North Shore Bank and president of Hometown Financial Group. Michael Wheeler, president and chief operating officer of North Shore Bank, also assumed the role of chief operating officer of Hometown Financial Group. The transaction allowed long-time Abington Bank President and CEO Andrew Raczka to retire after a more than 40-year career in community banking. Members of the Abington Bank board of directors joined the board of directors of North Shore Bank at closing, and the corporators of North Shore Bank joined the corporators of Hometown Financial Group.

“We’re thrilled to welcome North Shore Bank employees and customers into the Hometown Financial Group family,” Hometown Financial Group CEO Matthew Sosik said. “This transaction more than doubles our presence in Eastern Massachusetts and brings our holding company consolidated assets to $6.5 billion, making us one of the largest mutual holding companies in the country.”

With the transaction completed, Hometown Financial Group now has consolidated assets of $6.5 billion, more than 700 employees, and a branch network of 52 full-service offices across Massachusetts, Northeastern Connecticut, and Southern New Hampshire. The transaction is the seventh strategic merger for Hometown Financial Group in the last nine years.

Zonta Club of Quaboag Valley to Host Event on Oct. 14

By
Daily News

LUDLOW — On Monday, Oct. 14, the Zonta Club of Quaboag Valley will host an event at Ludlow Country Club celebrating International Day of the Girl Child. This evening is dedicated to mentoring young girls and fostering strong, confident future leaders.

Keynote speaker Alison Berman, council director for Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts, will unveil evidence-based strategies that empower girls to recognize their inner strength, boost their physical activity, and envision boundless possibilities.

In addition, special guest Erin Kraus, entrepreneur with Honey Bear Tea, will spark attendees’ imaginations with her innovative gift ideas.

The event will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $28 at the door or $30 online at zontaqv.square.site. Spaces are limited.

Unidos in Power Dímelo! Talks Slated for Today at Bay Path

By
Daily News

LONGMEADOW — Unidos in Power, in collaboration with the Latino Economic Development Corp., the Western Massachusetts Development Council, and Bay Path University, will host the Unidos in Power Dímelo! Talks series today, Sept. 23, with more than 300 attendees commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month.

The event, which will take place at Mills Theatre in Carr Hall at Bay Path from 1 to 6:30 p.m., will focus on the fact that, as one of the fastest-growing and younger communities of color, Latinos are poised to continue shaping the present and future of Massachusetts.

This dynamic event will feature a series of TED-style presentations, known as Dímelo! Talks, in which two Latino experts on six key topics will deliver 15-minute talks. These presentations will focus on local and national context of the Latino community in housing, education, workforce, economic development, health and climate, and immigration.

By showcasing the strengths, talent, and potential of the Latino community, these experts will provide thoughtful analysis and offer a series of recommendations to ensure the Latino community has equitable opportunities to contribute to the economy, grow, prosper, and live healthy, productive lives.

Following the talks, a panel of statewide elected officials from Western Mass., moderated by former Secretary of Labor Rosalin Acosta, will engage in a discussion to outline how the current Legislature is addressing the pressing issues facing the Latino community. The event will culminate with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Dietz & Company Architects Welcomes Two Employees

By
Daily News

Daniel Naylor and Claire Green

SPRINGFIELD — Dietz & Company Architects Inc. is announced the recent addition of two new employees to the firm.

Daniel Naylor has joined Dietz in the role of architectural staff. He holds both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology. He brings more than 10 years of experience working for architecture firms in Massachusetts and New York on multi-family, K-12, and higher-education projects, and specializes in exterior building design and detailing.

Claire Greene has also joined the firm in the role of architectural staff. She holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Vanderbilt University. Most recently, she worked for an architecture firm in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a focus on residential projects. While completing her master’s degree, she interned at firms in Massachusetts and Texas.