Home 2024 (Page 20)

Year: 2024

Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative Receives Grant for Kemble Street Studios

By
Daily News

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BFMC) has been awarded a $200,000 Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF) capital grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and MassDevelopment. BFMC will use this grant to begin build drawings for Kemble Street Studios (KSS), a new international film-education center proposed for the north end of the Elayne Bernstein Theatre complex on the grounds of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox.

“We are thrilled with the continued support we have received from MCC/Cultural Facilities Fund for the KSS project, first for the feasibility study, then for architectural drawings, and now to finish phase 2 of the project and to plan and begin the final renderings of the build drawings,” BFMC Executive Director Diane Pearlman said. “Their support has been significant in garnering interest and contributions from other individuals and organizations.”

Kemble Street Studios will be a mixed-use studio, lab, and classroom environment dedicated to education in the art and craft of filmmaking and media development. The center will offer hands-on learning for area young people interested in training in this burgeoning industry, as well as a resource for local nonprofits and companies to become video-literate and incorporate video in their branding, marketing, social media, and training. To date, BFMC has raised well over $500,000 for this initiative.

MP CPAs Promotes Three Team Members to Senior Associate

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — MP CPAs announced the promotions of three associates to the position of senior associate.

Bryce Thompson started with the firm as an intern in January 2021 and transitioned to full-time in June 2022 upon his graduation from Western New England University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He provides tax and consulting services to a diverse group of clients including individuals, limited-liability companies, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and trusts. He is currently the chairperson of the firm’s learning and development committee and also takes an active role in the recruitment of students from local colleges and universities.

Kristina Bullock started with the firm as an intern in June 2021 and transitioned to full-time in January 2022 upon her graduation from Western New England University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. She supervises audits, reviews, and compilations of financial statements of employee benefit plans, nonprofit organizations (including yellow-book and single audits), for-profit businesses, and charter schools. She is currently the co-chairperson of the firm’s learning and development committee.

Brian Moss started with the firm as an intern in January 2022 and transitioned to full-time in January 2023 upon his graduation from Western New England University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He provides tax and consulting services to a diverse group of clients including individuals, limited-liability companies, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and trusts. He is currently the co-chairperson of the firm’s sunshine committee and also takes an active role in the recruitment of students from local colleges and universities.

MP CPAs is a full-service certified public accounting firm offering a wide range of accounting, tax, and consulting services to clients of all sizes.

Easthampton Awarded $330,000 Grant for Manhan Rail Trail Enhancements

By
Daily News

EASTHAMPTON — The city of Easthampton announced it has been awarded a $330,000 grant from the MassTrails grant program. This funding will be dedicated to critical improvements on the Manhan Rail Trail, enhancing safety and accessibility for all users.

The MassTrails grant program supports recreational trail and shared-use pathway projects across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, providing grants for project development, design, engineering, permitting, construction, and maintenance of these trails, along with the amenities that support them.

The awarded project focuses on addressing the deteriorating pavement conditions caused by tree roots and other natural factors. The scope of work includes the removal of trees and roots that are heaving the trail and causing hazardous conditions. Specific pavement repairs will involve minor crack repairs and sealing, asphalt repairs through a mill and overlay, full-depth trench repairs with tree removals, tree-root removals, root-barrier installations, and other preventive measures to protect the trail surface.

Barbara LaBombard, chair of the Manhan Rail Trail committee, and Wendy Hammerle, president of the Friends of the Manhan Rail Trail, expressed their excitement over the grant, saying, “we are thrilled with the announcement of this award, which will help us continue our mission of providing a safe and accessible facility for Easthampton and surrounding communities.”

UMass Study of Microwaveable Popcorn Weighs Trans-fat Tax Versus Ban

By
Daily News

AMHERST — While some governments have imposed a tax on unhealthy ingredients in processed foods, others have opted for an outright ban. A recent study led by UMass Amherst economists sheds new light on how these differing approaches affect consumers, creating a framework that can be used to assess policies aiming to improve eating habits.

Using microwaveable popcorn as a test case, the research found that a 35% tax on partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) and a complete ban of the ingredient, which is the source of added trans fat in foods, yield similar results in reducing trans-fat consumption to near zero. However, both policies produce an estimated reduction in overall consumer welfare by 24% to 26% in the form of higher prices and smaller product selection.

Debi Prasad Mohapatra, assistant professor of Resource Economics at UMass Amherst and a co-author of the paper, notes that a 10% tax on PHO can produce meaningful health benefits while cushioning the effects on prices and consumer choice. The research indicates this approach would cut trans fat consumption by 48% with only an 11% decline in consumer welfare.

“We chose to study microwaveable popcorn because it is ubiquitous and can easily be produced with or without PHO, but our model can be used to assess policies to reduce unhealthy ingredients in a range of products, from trans fat in other processed foods to sugar in soft drinks,” Mohapatra said.

The study estimated a model of demand and supply for microwaveable popcorn using household purchasing data from 2013 and 2014 to analyze 104 products from five leading popcorn brands in the U.S. Products with PHO as an ingredient accounted for approximately 39% of purchases.

PHO is an inexpensive additive that can improve the taste, texture, cooking performance, and shelf life of foods. However, as a source of trans fat, it can contribute to heart disease, stroke, and type-2 diabetes.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration banned artificial trans fat in 2019. Other countries, including Ethiopia and several states in India, have taxed it instead.

“We are not taking a position on whether a PHO tax or ban is better,” said Christoph Bauner, assistant professor of Resource Economics at UMass Amherst and study co-author. “We have designed a framework to compare the pros and cons of different policies. It is up to medical experts and policymakers to decide the best course.”

He stressed that the research captures the market effects of curbing PHO and not the health benefits associated with reducing its use.

Emily Wang, associate professor of Resource Economics at UMass Amherst, and Nadia Streletskaya, associate professor of Applied Economics at Oregon State University, are also co-authors on the paper, which is published in the journal Economic Inquiry.

MSB Supports Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church Fire Fund

By
Daily News

MONSON — Monson Savings Bank recently donated $2,500 to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church Fire Fund.

In late December 2020, the historically black Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield was set on fire by an arsonist. The fire caused an estimated $2.5 million in damages to the church, which was established in 1897. The church’s members have been forced to worship elsewhere but have not let this act of hate and destruction crush them.

“The acts of the arsonist who targeted MLK Church are despicable. As soon as my team and I heard the news, we were ready to stand with the church and help in any way we could. I urge others to do the same; no donation to the Fire Fund is too small,” said Dan Moriarty, Monson Savings Bank president and CEO.

“The response of the church to this situation has been truly inspiring. Their place of worship was targeted and horribly damaged, yet the spirit of the church has remained positive. They were able to quickly pivot, find a temporary place to hold their services, and organize fundraising efforts. Their response is truly admirable.”

To learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church and how to donate to the Fire Fund, visit www.mlkchurchma.org.

Fitzgerald Law Welcomes John Williams to Firm

By
Daily News

John Williams

SPRINGFIELD — Fitzgerald Law, a business advisory law firm with four locations in Springfield, East Longmeadow, Worcester and Hartford, Conn., has announced a new hire to the firm, John “Jack” Williams.

Williams is a 2023 graduate of Western New England University School of Law, where he earned his juris doctor degree with a focus in transactional law. He earned his bachelor’s degree in management, cum laude, with a minor in criminal justice from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., where he was a member of the men’s ice hockey team, including captain, for four years.

Williams brings experience as a law clerk and attorney at Susan M. Williams, LLC, where he focused on bankruptcy matters. He also previously interned at the Law Office of Bonnie Mangan, P.C. in South Windsor, Conn., and served as a legal assistant for many years.

“I am happy to join a firm that is recognized as the regional leader in serving businesses that now, more than ever, rely on legal services that are strategic and collaborative to help them grow,” Williams said. “Having grown up in the area, I have been familiar with the reputation of Fitzgerald Law that it has earned helping so many businesses, large and small, to thrive.”

At Fitzgerald Law, Williams will focus on transactional matters, including commercial real estate and finance, corporate governance, and business contracts. He is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

“Adding Jack to our team improves the depth of our practice in serving businesses in our region,” Managing Shareholder Seth Stratton said. He has demonstrated leadership in college and success in law school and, as a young professional from the region and committed to building his career here, is well-prepared to serve our clients as well as our community.”

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

By
Daily News

LEE — The Lee Bank Foundation announced the allocation of $56,700 in grants to 10 organizations serving the Berkshire region, marking its second funding round of 2024. These grants, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, will bolster local initiatives addressing critical community needs.

The following organizations are recipients of the Lee Bank Foundation grants: Berkshire Bounty, Berkshire South Regional Community Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts, Blackshires, Community Access to the Arts, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Focus Is Our Children, Greenagers, Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, and Roots Rising.

Nonprofit organizations interested in applying for the next round of funding can access the application and additional details by clicking here. The application deadline for the next cycle is Sept. 1.

Applicants must hold 501(c)(3) nonprofit status to qualify for grant consideration. The foundation prioritizes programs that aim to narrow income and opportunity disparities within the Berkshire community. Funding requests should align with the Lee Bank Foundation’s focus areas, which include education, food security, economic development, health services, and mentorship initiatives. Each organization is eligible to receive grant funding once within a 12-month period.

Established in 2021 to uphold Lee Bank’s commitment to community reinvestment, the Lee Bank Foundation has awarded a total of 150 grants amounting to $759,600 since its inception.

Willpower Foundation Announces Annual Golf Tournament

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — The Willpower Foundation announced its annual golf tournament, set to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley.

The tournament is open to all golf enthusiasts, with a registration fee of $125 per person. Participants will enjoy a round of golf, lunch, and opportunities to win prizes. Proceeds from the event will support the Willpower Foundation’s mission to provide financial support to children and families affected by disabilities.

“We are thrilled to host our annual golf tournament once again,” said Sarah Aasheim, board president. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together, enjoy a day of golf, and make a meaningful impact on the lives of those we serve.”

In addition to golfers, the Willpower Foundation is actively seeking sponsors to help offset the costs of the tournament. Sponsorship opportunities range from hole sponsorships to event sponsorships, each offering benefits and recognition. Sponsors will have the chance to showcase their commitment to the community and support a worthy cause.

For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.willpowerfoundation.org or email Hayley Procon at [email protected].

The Willpower Foundation is dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities by providing financial assistance when insurance falls short. Through community events, grants, and advocacy, the foundation strives to enhance the quality of life for those it serves.

Westfield Gains Entrepreneurial Momentum

By
Mayor Mike McCabe, left, presents Westfield G&E General Manager Tom Flaherty
Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight

Mayor Mike McCabe, left, presents Westfield G&E General Manager Tom Flaherty

Mayor Mike McCabe, left, presents Westfield G&E General Manager Tom Flaherty with a proclamation marking the utility’s 125th anniversary.

 

Mike McCabe isn’t sure how or why Westfield hasn’t really been part of the discussion when it comes to stops on the planned — most believe we’ve moved past using the word proposed — east-west rail line.

But the city’s mayor is intent on changing that.

He’s been talking with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and stating the city’s case for being a stop on the line, which is being touted as a way to level the playing field between the eastern and western portions of the state. And he believes it’s a strong case that involves everything from geography and the city’s size (roughly 40,000 people) to the fact that it already has a historic station that could turn back the clock and serve in that role again.

“We have an existing train station that Amtrak goes past every day, so I’m trying to encourage some real talk about getting Westfield on the east-west rail plan,” he said, adding that it’s been probably a half-century since a passenger train stopped in the city. “I don’t know why we weren’t in the game in the first place, but I don’t think it’s too late to get in the game.”

McCabe, re-elected to a second two-year term last November, believes a rail stop would bring more people, and more vibrancy, to a city that has been seeing progress on many fronts.

That includes its long-suffering downtown, which is seeing new life, as other area urban centers have, through a wave of entrepreneurship that has brought new businesses and especially restaurants specializing in everything from burritos to coffee to crepes, with more on the way.

“We’re not the old drive-through that we once were,” said Peter Miller, the city’s director of Community Development, noting that, in addition to new businesses, the downtown now has a new gathering place, or plaza, in the heart of downtown.

Located on the site of the former Newberry’s department store, which was destroyed by fire nearly 40 years ago and never replaced, the venue, named Elm Street Plaza, complete with a stage, will host concerts, food trucks, and other programs and happenings, making the downtown more of a destination while also going a long way toward solving that area’s biggest problem — a lack of parking, Miller noted.

Amanda Waterfield, who recently marked a year as executive director of the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce, agreed.

“One of the problems we’ve had in town has been parking,” she said. “And this park has added a lot of convenient parking in the downtown. And I know many of the merchants and businesses downtown struggled with that a little bit because the on-street parking is limited.”

Meanwhile, there is progress on many other fronts as well, from efforts to build a new police station to the highly anticipated arrival of the F-35 fighter jets, the next generation of planes to be flown and maintained by the Air National Guard’s 104th Tactical Fighter Group, based at Barnes Municipal Airport. Other developments include early-stage talks about replacement of the now 50-year-old Westfield High School; emerging plans for revitalizing the area just off Turnpike exit 41 (formerly exit 3); new, affordable housing in the old City Hall; and creation of new athletic fields and a track-and-field stadium at the high school, a $11 million project that will be funded essentially through larger in-lieu-of-tax payments by the city’s municipal utility, Westfield Gas & Electric.

Amanda Waterfield

Amanda Waterfield

“This park has added a lot of convenient parking in the downtown. And I know many of the merchants and businesses downtown struggled with that a little bit because the on-street parking is limited.”

The G&E, as it’s known, is marking its 125th anniversary this year, a milestone it is celebrating in many ways, from a fireworks celebration at a recent Westfield Starfires baseball game to an event with retirees in May to a blood drive in cooperation with Baystate Noble Hospital, something that will become a monthly happening.

It’s also marking the occasion with continued growth of what has become an intriguing business success story — Whip City Fiber.

The high-speed internet division of the G&E, which was formed 10 years ago, now boasts more than 17,000 customers in more than 20 communities across Western Mass., with more being added to the portfolio, said Tom Flaherty, general manager of the G&E.

Indeed, West Springfield, East Longmeadow, and Southwick are in the later stages of development of their networks, which will be built out by the G&E, which serves as their internet service provider, he said, adding that the G&E’s track record for success has led to communities from the other end of the state, such as Falmouth and Bourne on Cape Cod, reaching out to tap into that expertise.

For this latest installment of our Community Spotlight series, we turn the lens on Westfield, where progress is taking center stage downtown and elsewhere — figuratively, but also quite literally.

 

A New Flavor to Downtown

McCabe, as most locals know, served in the Westfield Police Department for 36 years, rising to the rank of captain, before deciding to change gears and seek the corner office in 2021.

He told BusinessWest he enjoys being the city’s CEO and most aspects of the job, especially work to conceive projects and bring them to fruition.

The new Elm Street Plaza

The new Elm Street Plaza, which will host concerts and other events, is one of many new additions to the downtown Westfield landscape.

There have been several such projects in recent years, including the creation of Elm Street Plaza, which, as noted, brought a successful end to talk that began in 1985 about what to do with the rather large hole in the downtown created by the loss of Newberry’s.

Funded with ARPA money, created at a cost of $1.2 million, and officially opened last fall, the plaza is already paying dividends, said the mayor, noting that, in addition to bringing people downtown for various gatherings, the space has created much-needed off-street parking in an area that has seen several new businesses open over the past few years — businesses that need parking.

“Downtown seems to be coming back together again — it seems more vibrant than in the past,” said McCabe, noting the addition of several restaurants that have brought a new flavor to the area — actually, several of them.

“There’s a lot of young entrepreneurs, a lot of new-American entrepreneurs, a lot of women entrepreneurs who are really taking a chance to pursue their passions and their businesses downtown, and it’s been inspiring.”

“We have an incredible variety of international flavors, whether it’s Polish pierogies or Ukrainian crepes or kabobs,” he said. “You can get any flavor you want downtown.”

The growing list of eateries includes everything from Ray Ray’s Café on Main Street to Two Rivers Burrito on Elm Street; from Crave Café, specializing in crepes, which recently opened at the corner of Elm and School streets, to Circuit Coffee, on the other corner of Elm and School.

Another important addition to that portfolio, Tribeca Gastro Bar & Grill, an upscale tapas bar, is set to open soon (a specific date has not been set) on the ground floor of the historic Lambson’s Furniture building on Elm Street, directly across from the plaza.

“They’re crediting the plaza project with their decision to locate downtown,” said Miller, adding that entrepreneurial gambits like Tribeca are fueling a resurgence downtown, one that has been decades in the making.

“It’s been a slog, certainly, and we can’t take credit for what’s been happening,” he said of efforts to breathe new life into a downtown that, like most others in the region, has been forced to reinvent itself over the past few decades amid dramatic changes in the retail landscape.

Crave Café

Crave Café is one of many new restaurants that are, collectively, making downtown Westfield more of a destination.

“The small-business community has been much more creative over the course of the past six to eight years,” he went on. “There’s a lot of young entrepreneurs, a lot of new-American entrepreneurs, a lot of women entrepreneurs who are really taking a chance to pursue their passions and their businesses downtown, and it’s been inspiring.”

Miller said he expects the downtown to benefit greatly from another ongoing initiative — a bid to create a cultural district in that area.

“We’ve applied to the Mass. Cultural Council for the designation of a cultural district on Elm Street, which we hope will provide us with a collaborative that will help to better market the downtown,” he explained, noting that the city had a business-improvement district doing some of this work, but it disbanded several years ago.

“We’ve seen these districts be successful in places like Easthampton, Great Barrington, and communities as small as Cummington, and we’re hopeful that putting together a group that’s focused exclusively on the downtown will help us to better market what we have here.”

Elaborating, Miller said this was the first time the city and its leadership have felt comfortable applying for creation of a cultural district, and the decision was sparked by the work of several nonprofit groups, including ArtWorks Westfield, formed five years ago, which has committed to an eight-week, Friday-night concert series in the new plaza, among other initiatives, including several art-walk events.

 

A New Gig

It was a desire to be part of this resurgence that prompted Waterfield to put aside work in print journalism — she was the owner and publisher of West Springfield Lifestyle magazine — and pursue the job as director of the Greater Westfield Chamber, which also represents Southwick and the hilltowns to the west of the city.

“It was a position that checked a lot of boxes for me,” she explained. “I’ve been a long-time Westfield resident, I love communications, I love community development, I’ve been an engaged member of the Kiwanis Club here, so I have a lot of interests here and decided to make the switch. And I’m very happy that I did.”

Westfield at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1669
Population: 40,834
Area: 47.4 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $15.97
Commercial Tax Rate: $31.39
Median Household Income: $45,240
Median Family Income: $55,327
Type of Government: Mayor, City Council
Largest Employers: Westfield State University, Baystate Noble Hospital, Mestek Inc., Savage Arms Inc., Advance Manufacturing Co.
* Latest information available

Since arriving, she’s been focused on building membership (she’s increased that number to roughly 235), meeting each member (she figures she’s about halfway there), developing a new strategic plan, and putting in place an ambassador program to help members, especially the newer ones, make the most of their membership.

Overall, she sees renewed vibrancy downtown, momentum that’s measured in various ways — from the steady number of ribbon cuttings for new businesses to the growing roster of events in the new plaza downtown.

“I love those ribbon cuttings because, to me, that shows an investment in our community,” she said, adding that the growing number of such ceremonies shows that more are willing to make that investment and thus become part of an ongoing story of revitalization.

The G&E has long been part of that story, providing comparatively lower-cost energy and, more recently, reliable, gigabit internet service to a growing mix of residential and commercial customers.

“We’ve seen these districts be successful in places like Easthampton, Great Barrington, and communities as small as Cummington, and we’re hopeful that putting together a group that’s focused exclusively on the downtown will help us to better market what we have here.”

As the utility marks 125 years, the emergence of Whip City Fiber has become one of the utility’s better success stories. As noted, it began 10 years ago with service to the Route 20 corridor in Westfield. Today, the business has expanded to communities near the Quabbin to the east and to the hilltowns and well beyond to the north and west.

“Whip City Fiber has diversified the Gas & Electric to not just be focused on natural gas and electricity with essentially zero growth other than potentially a handful of residential customers each year and a few new commercial customers,” Flaherty explained, adding that it has become a solid business that continues to grow each year.

The success of the venture can be attributed to manner in which the G&E becomes full partners with the communities it serves, he added, providing turnkey operations.

“We’re the network operator, which means we handle soup to nuts, everything involved with their network, from billing customer service to tech customer service,” he said. “We don’t touch their money; it goes right into the town’s account, but we physically do all of the management of their department for them.”

He noted that there is considerable competition, not just from the major players such as Comcast and Verizon Fios, but also from other municipal utilities, including those in Chicopee and South Hadley. The G&E’s main competitive advantages are size and proven capabilities, he went on.

“We’ve built out 20 communities outside of Westfield, so we know the process; we know what that takes,” he told BusinessWest, adding that this track record for success has helped bring on new partnering communities, including Southwick and East Longmeadow.

 

Bottom Line

Getting back to east-west rail, McCabe acknowledged that the city is somewhat late to this party, but hopefully not too late.

If he can manage to gain the ear of the state and make Westfield a stop on that line, that would bring another dose of momentum to a community that is seeing large amounts of it — on many different fronts.

 

Addressing the Trend of Quiet Quitting in the Workplace

By Contributor
Employment

Motivation Matters

By Nicole Polite

 

Quiet quitting is a term that has recently gained traction, describing a workplace trend where employees strictly limit their tasks to what is outlined in their job descriptions, refusing to work longer hours or overextend themselves. While these individuals fulfill their basic duties, they establish clear boundaries to preserve work-life balance and resist the notion that ‘work is life.’

This behavior does not necessarily indicate a lack of commitment or intent to leave the organization. Rather, it often highlights a need to manage workplace stress or dissatisfaction effectively. This type of withdrawal could also suggest that an employee is reevaluating their career path or actively seeking new opportunities.

The concept gained notability during the period known as the Great Resignation, a time when many individuals reflected deeply on their careers, salaries, and how they are treated in the workplace. The primary motives behind quiet quitting often include a lack of advancement opportunities, insufficient pay, and a feeling of being undervalued. This isn’t a new phenomenon; workers have been adopting this approach for years in response to issues like poor compensation, unmanageable workloads, and inadequate growth opportunities.

 

Signs of Quiet Quitting

Quiet quitting can manifest in various ways, some of which include:

• Not attending meetings;

• Poor attendance;

• Arriving late or leaving early;

• Noticeable reduction in productivity;

• Lesser involvement in team projects;

• Avoiding participation in planning or strategy meetings; or

• A general lack of enthusiasm or engagement in work.

 

Ripple Effects of Quiet Quitting

Increased Workload for Others: With some employees dialing back their efforts, their colleagues often face increased workloads, which can result in burnout and further disengagement, perpetuating a harmful cycle.

Compromised Reputation: Quiet quitting can take a toll on an organization’s external image. Internal problems can tarnish its reputation as a desirable workplace, making it challenging to attract and retain skilled personnel.

Loss of Competitive Edge: In competitive sectors, where innovation is key, the lack of initiative resulting from quiet quitting can severely disadvantage a company.

Increased Turnover: If issues prompting quiet quitting, such as poor recognition, inadequate compensation, or limited growth prospects, aren’t addressed, employees may eventually leave the company. This turnover is not only disruptive, but also adds significant costs to the organization in terms of replacement and training.

 

Strategies for Employers to Mitigate Quiet Quitting

Employers aiming to combat quiet quitting and enhance employee engagement should focus on improving the overall employee experience through several strategic approaches:

Open Dialogue: Regularly engage with staff to understand their needs and address grievances. Genuine expressions of appreciation can significantly impact morale and motivation.

Realistic Workloads: Ensure that goals set for employees are achievable and reasonable, maintaining clear boundaries to prevent feelings of being overwhelmed.

Regular Check-ins: Create a supportive atmosphere by routinely checking in on employees’ well-being in informal settings. This can help foster a sense of belonging and care within the company.

Autonomy and Creativity: Encourage autonomy in daily tasks and problem solving to enhance creativity and personal investment in work.

Mental Health Prioritization: Develop and implement wellness programs that encourage employees to focus on their mental health. Foster an environment where mental well-being is regarded as essential as physical health.

Career Development: Actively discuss and facilitate potential career paths within the organization. Assist employees with clear, actionable steps to achieve their professional ambitions, showing commitment to their growth and development.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can not only address the issue of quiet quitting, but also cultivate a workplace culture that respects and values employee contributions and personal boundaries. Such an environment can lead to a more engaged and motivated workforce, ultimately benefiting the entire organization and leading to better overall productivity and employee satisfaction.

 

Conclusion

As quiet quitting continues to be a topic of discussion in many professional circles, it’s crucial for leaders and managers to take proactive steps to understand and address the underlying issues that lead to such behavior. By fostering an empathetic and supportive workplace, companies can ensure that their employees feel valued and motivated, reducing the inclination toward quiet quitting and boosting organizational health and effectiveness.

 

Nicole Polite is CEO of the MH Group, a staffing and recruiting firm in Massachusetts and Connecticut specializing in placing professionals in various industries with client companies.

Dress for Success Receives Grant for Women’s Career Center

By
Employment

Investment in the Future

 

Dress for Success of Western Massachusetts (DFSWM), the area’s only workforce-development organization focused exclusively on the needs of women and gender non-conforming people, is expanding its programming to include a new women’s career center in downtown Springfield. The organization recently received a three-year, $133,000 grant from the Women’s Foundation of Boston to help fund this expansion.

Jess Roncarati-Howe

Jess Roncarati-Howe

“We are filled with gratitude for the Women’s Foundation of Boston and thank them for believing in our life-changing mission. Who better than a participant of each of our programs to spearhead this new phase of our programming?”

Currently, DFSWM supports the community through a continuum of workforce-development offerings that includes its suiting program, which makes available new and gently used professional attire to those who have interviews and need appropriate attire; Foot in the Door, a workforce-readiness program for those looking to enter or re-enter the workforce; the Margaret Fitzgerald Mentor Program, which offers one-on-one mentors to program graduates; and a Professional Women’s Group offering graduates ongoing mutual support and professional networking opportunities.

The new career center will supplement this programming by offering workshops and drop-in assistance with résumé writing, job-search strategies, interview preparation, financial literacy, and computer skills.

The career center will be managed by Takisha Mims, a DFSWM program graduate who will be promoted to the organization’s impact manager from her current position as administrative coordinator. In this new role, Mims will conduct a thorough listening tour, receiving feedback from program participants, other graduates, and local community members to inform the career center’s programming, which she will help to design.

Christina Gordon

Christina Gordon

“We are proud to continue working alongside fantastic organizations dedicated to serving and empowering women and girls through this grant cycle, setting them up for success now and in the future.”

“We are filled with gratitude for the Women’s Foundation of Boston and thank them for believing in our life-changing mission,” DFSWM Executive Director Jess Roncarati-Howe said. “Who better than a participant of each of our programs to spearhead this new phase of our programming? We are proud to have Takisha on our management team.”

The Women’s Foundation of Boston is a nonprofit public charity that creates, funds, and accelerates high-impact economic and leadership programs that equip Massachusetts women and girls to be financially independent and successful leaders. During its 2024 grant cycle, the organization awarded $2,173,000 to 10 nonprofits across Massachusetts.

“We are proud to continue working alongside fantastic organizations dedicated to serving and empowering women and girls through this grant cycle, setting them up for success now and in the future,” said Christina Gordon, co-founder and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Boston.

How to Conduct an Effective Workplace Investigation

By Contributor
Law

A Road Map to Fairness

By Elaine Reall, Esq.

Managers, supervisors, and overworked HR professionals all face the specter of a sensitive workplace investigation from time to time. Allegations of illegal discriminatory behavior, workplace harassment and/or bullying, hostile-workplace assertions, or just straightforward favoritism based on a workplace romance between employees all regularly confront employers.

 

When to Investigate

The first question that employers need to ask is, does a formal or informal investigation need to take place? Not all workplace gripes or groans warrant an investigatory response.

Elaine Reall

Elaine Reall

“The first question that employers need to ask is, does a formal or informal investigation need to take place? Not all workplace gripes or groans warrant an investigatory response.”

For example, mandatory overtime in understaffed healthcare facilities is the subject of numerous complaints. And while it makes good employee relations sense to address such an issue, nothing in such a scenario rises to the level of warranting an investigation. However, if a formal or internal complaint indicates the possibility or probability of illegal discrimination, physical or emotional abuse, criminal misconduct, retaliation for whistleblowing, or OSHA-related safety or health issues, an employer would be wise to seriously consider initiating an investigation.

If an actual complaint exists (as opposed to vague rumors), prompt investigatory action is best practice, as it preserves evidence, prevents fading of witness memories, and demonstrates employer credibility. Yet, in a situation where only rumors and secondhand observations abound, an employer must weigh the pros and cons of pursuing an investigation without an actual complaint serving as an investigatory road map.

 

Who Should Investigate

Employers should begin by assessing the experience and background of managers and HR professionals working for the organization. Do such individuals have training and experience with internal workplace investigations? How critical is the confidentiality of information? Is there a high likelihood of legal action?

When considering inside versus outside investigators, consider this quick checklist:

• Do legal issues of document protection and privilege exist?

• Will the workplace benefit from a factual/credibility determination by a disinterested party?

• Evaluate the need for a general versus detailed findings/report.

• What is the likelihood of administrate agency (MCAD, etc.) or court action?

• Consider the need for professional demeanor.

• What is the value of inside managers/HR professionals being trusted in sensitive situations?

As a general rule of thumb, an experienced investigator (regardless of internal or external status) will be the most cost-effective.

 

Timing of Investigation

Prompt investigations are better investigations. Hoping that issues will simply go away is a surefire way for an employer to torpedo a strong result. Timely investigations deal efficiently with issues such as fresh witness memories, existing documentation, and lack of employee turnover. Investigatory urgency also lends a certain energy to the findings or report.

Unfortunately, employees often delay reporting serious issues and incidents to an employer for a variety of reasons. Often, the first evidence of a pattern of sustained harassment comes from information gathered during employee exit interviews. The best way to avoid this result is to actively encourage employees to report problems or concerns while they are still small (and fixable). The use of IT tools to make reporting of employee concerns simple and non-confrontational is a great adjunct to the traditional open-door complaint process used by many organizations.

 

Strategy, Strategy, Strategy

Nothing is more vital than extensive planning before starting a formal workplace investigation. Take all, or most, of the following actions:

• Gather and review relevant workplace documents;

• Read personnel files of potential witnesses and ‘suspects’;

• Do a deep Google dive on relevant parties;

• Do initial assessment of the nature of the complaint;

• Obtain legal advice about whether the subject matter may be legally privileged; and

• Outline the who, where, and why of the investigation (best investigator, best location for interviews, format for witness statements).

 

Limit Scope of Investigation

Finally, the workplace is not a judicial setting. Narrow the scope of your investigation to factual determinations. Examples: did X do/ask/physically touch, etc.? Did X violate employer policy? Do not introduce legal jargon or conclusions into the investigation. Example: don’t ask if someone created a hostile work environment.

 

Written Reports

Where a written report is appropriate or necessary, plain but detailed language is best for an investigator’s notes. Witness answers plus the investigator’s impressions and observations (example: tone of witness, loudness of response, marked body language) should be detailed.

Include specifics in the notes and in the final report. Outside third parties will view such detail as evidence of due diligence on the part of an employer. And, lastly, don’t depersonalize the report’s language; include actual names and identifying information (dates and times, locations, witnesses, and interview format [in-person versus Zoom]).

 

Written Versus Oral Report

If it has been a significant investigation, an employer needs to create a separate, stand-alone written report. Tip: do not file such a report in a regular employee personnel file. A distinct investigation file should be created. Written reports should not attempt to draw legal conclusions.

Consider notifying the complainant(s) and accused party of the general outcome of the investigation. Failure to do this almost always leads to such parties looking for answers outside the workplace, including talking with a lawyer.

Last, but never least, strive for a proper investigatory behavior and demeanor:

• Learn the value of silence and open-ended pauses;

• Don’t rush through questions;

• Ask a question and then actively listen;

• Remember to include open-ended questions to encourage witnesses to talk;

• Maintain a detached demeanor (avoid emotionally charged statements); and

• Absolutely avoid promises or guarantees.

 

Conclusion

Following the guidelines outlined above will help you create a solid investigatory road map. If you have any questions or concerns about the above policies, it is prudent to contact a labor and employment attorney so that the best investigatory practices can be followed and you can, hopefully, avoid unnecessary litigation.

 

Elaine Reall is an attorney who specializes in labor and employment-law matters at the Royal Law Firm LLP, a woman-owned, women-managed corporate law firm that is certified as a women’s business enterprise with the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office, the National Assoc. of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

FTC Bans Non-compete Agreements for Nearly All U.S. Workers

By Contributor
Law

Sensible Move or Overreach?

By Meaghan Murphy, Esq. and John Gannon, Esq.

Meaghan Murphy

Meaghan Murphy

John Gannon

John Gannon

Non-compete agreements have long been the subject of intense debate. Some view them as a critical way to protect confidential and proprietary business information, while others view them as stifling the rights of workers to freely change jobs.

Taking the latter view, last year, officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed banning the use of non-compete agreements in the workplace. Because non-compete agreements prohibit workers from moving to or starting competing businesses for a designated period of time, from the FTC’s perspective, restrictions on employee mobility disadvantage workers who are seeking to change jobs, while at the same time harm businesses looking to hire employees. The net result, according to the FTC, hurts the economy overall and violates the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits businesses from engaging in unfair methods of competition.

Just a few weeks ago, the FTC officially moved forward with its plan to eliminate non-compete agreements when it issued a final rule that will ban non-compete agreements nationwide starting Sept. 4, 2024. The new rule will impact an estimated 30 million workers — approximately one in five workers in the U.S.

“The rule does not impact non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements or non-solicitation agreements unless they prohibit a worker from, penalize a worker for, or function to prevent a worker from seeking or accepting work or operating a business.”

In this article, we take a closer look at what is required by the new rule, legal challenges to the nationwide ban, and strategies for employers who have non-compete agreements currently in place.

 

What Does the Rule Actually Say?

Here are the most important things businesses need to know about the new rule slated to take effect on Sept. 4 of this year.

Employers are prohibited from entering into or attempting to enter into a non-compete agreement with any employees. Also, with one limited exception (discussed below), employers will not be able to enforce non-compete agreements currently in place. Further, there is an affirmative obligation on employers to provide clear and conspicuous notice to workers with existing non-competes that those agreements will not be enforced against them.

There is a ‘senior executive’ exception: for senior executives, which are defined as those in “a policy-making position” earning more than $151,164 annually, it is unlawful to enter into new non-compete agreements after Sept. 4, but current non-compete agreements for senior executives will be allowed to stay in effect even after the effective date of the rule.

The rule does not impact non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements or non-solicitation agreements unless they prohibit a worker from, penalize a worker for, or function to prevent a worker from seeking or accepting work or operating a business. In other words, as long as those agreements are not worded so broadly as to essentially be non-compete agreements, they are safe.

As is often the case, there are some exceptions to the rule. For example, the rule does not apply to workers at nonprofits. Non-competes between franchisors and franchisees are exempted, so any such agreements remain lawful to have or enter into in the future. The same goes for non-competes between the seller and buyer of a business.

 

Legal Challenges

Business advocacy groups have taken issue with the non-compete ban from the get-go, arguing that the FTC’s actions are classic government overreach. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce — which touts itself as the world’s largest business-association advocacy group — announced its intention to file a lawsuit to block the rule months ago.

The chamber emphasized that non-compete agreements are — and should continue to be —upheld or struck down under well-established state laws and, further, that such a broad rule applied to all businesses across all sectors is not appropriate for the FTC to implement unilaterally.

In addition to the Chamber of Commerce’s lawsuit, a global tax services and software provider based in Dallas (Ryan, LLC) is challenging the rule in a federal district court in Texas. According to that company, non-competes are a valuable tool for firms to protect their intellectual property and foster innovation, and the FTC rule would upend businesses’ ability to do both.

Several motions have been filed in that case, and the court has suggested that it will issue a ruling on the legality of the FTC’s rule soon. Whichever way that court decides, employers can expect the losing party to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals. After that, it’s possible the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in.

 

What Should Employers Do?

Employers should collaborate with legal counsel to review all existing non-compete agreements and assess whether they will pass muster under the new FTC rule. If a business determines that most (if not all) of its non-compete agreements will be unenforceable come Sept. 4, management needs to craft a new plan aimed at protecting customer goodwill and shielding sensitive confidential information from disclosure.

As noted above, for the most part, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements and non-solicitation agreements are not affected by the FTC’s non-compete ban. When properly drafted, these agreements can achieve the same goals as a non-compete without running afoul of the new FTC rule.

Businesses should also monitor the status of the FTC’s rule. We expect courts will issue important rulings in the FTC non-compete rule litigation very soon. If those decisions leave the rule in place in its current form, employers may need to issue notices compliant with the rule to those workers that fall within its protections, as well as refrain from requiring non-competes be signed by any workers in the future.

 

John Gannon is a partner with Springfield-based Skoler, Abbott & Presser, specializing in employment law and regularly counseling employers on enforcing restrictive covenants and protecting trade secrets. Meaghan Murphy is an associate with the firm and specializes in labor and employment law; (413) 737-4753.

Non-traditional Family Structures Challenge Modern Society

By Contributor
Law

The Decline of the Nuclear Family

By Julie A. Dialessi-Lafley, Esq.

 

Historically, a nuclear family (also known as an elementary family, atomic family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family), was the traditional family structure which is defined as a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence.

Statistically speaking, this is no longer the norm. In fact, 80% of households in the U.S. have a non-traditional family structure. Family structures that may be considered non-traditional or alternative include, but are not limited to, single-parent families (a single parent raises a child alone), cohabitation (an unmarried couple shares a household), same-sex families (two individuals of the same sex raise a family), grandparenting (grandparents raising grandchildren), and polygamy (marriage among at least three people).

Julie A. Dialessi-Lafley

Julie A. Dialessi-Lafley

“In the Baby Boom of 1960, there was one dominant family structure, with 73% of all children living in a family with two married parents in their first marriage. By 1980, 61% of children were living in this type of family, and today, less than half (46%) are in households with two married parents.”

Gay and lesbian households increased from 540,000 to 980,000 post-legalization of same-sex marriages, and multi-generational households have increased from 7 to 26%, which represents a 271% increase over a decade. The change in the common family structure from traditional to non-traditional happened quickly, and the laws have not moved as quickly to keep up with the times.

To highlight the change and how quickly it has taken place, consider that in the Baby Boom of 1960, there was one dominant family structure, with 73% of all children living in a family with two married parents in their first marriage. By 1980, 61% of children were living in this type of family, and today, less than half (46%) are in households with two married parents.

The formation of the non-traditional family, and the children that may result, can bring complex legal issues such as custody, visitation, child support, property division, estate planning, and constitutional issues, to name just a few of the most obvious ones. These are the legal issues only and do not even touch on social and emotional issues, which exist due to lack of understanding and/or acceptance in a society still rooted in traditional values.

 

Planning Is Paramount

Given how quickly the nuclear family has become the non-dominant family structure, one would think the members of non-traditional families would have all the resources they need available to them to address all the legal issues we face in our increasingly more complicated modern family society. Unfortunately, due to lack of concrete guidelines, non-traditional families are often forced to resolve these legal issues in a court process due to failure to understand the unique issues of their family structure or a lack of legal process.

By way of example, it is the unfortunate reality that some laws may not support the same federal estate or tax benefits in non-traditional households versus traditional ones. Federal benefits and retirement may not pass to non-married partners or same-sex spouses without actions taken specifically to designate beneficiaries. Proper tax planning and asset planning should be a priority in these households and relationships; however, these are areas often overlooked when dealing with the daily challenges of managing life and household dynamics.

When considering that most households have more than one income, likely have purchased real estate, have commingled assets, and may have blended families with children from other parents, non-married partners, or multi-generational households caring for children, the need to plan for the distribution of assets upon death is of paramount importance.

However, there is no specific, cookie-cutter estate plan for all non-traditional families to abide by. To ensure that property passes to your non-married partner, same-sex spouse, or non-biological and/or biological children, proper estate plans need to be put into place. These plans may include a will and trusts to ensure that goals of asset distribution are met upon a death.

In the same way, plans need to be put into place and properly documented to make sure that lifetime decisions such as health decisions, personal financial decisions, and end-of-life determinations can be made by your partner if not married, or by any person you chose. In the absence of estate planning, things may not be carried out as you would want them to be or by the people you would have selected had you taken the time to put a plan in place.

The non-traditional family should consider cohabitation agreements, prenuptial agreements, custodial agreements (if recognizable in your home state), as well as formal estate planning in order to protect themselves and their families in the event of a breakup, divorce, dissolution of a household, or death.

 

Seeking Answers

It can be difficult for partners or single parents to protect their rights as a family. There is no definitive answer to these challenges with custody and parenting arrangements. Many of the outcomes are fact driven and left to the discretion of a court when agreements cannot be reached by the parents or caregivers. When relationships break down, parties are less likely to be able to put the best interests of the children at the forefront in order to reach an agreement.

Does a non-married person who has raised a non-biological child automatically have parenting rights? Are they financially responsible for the child(ren)? Do grandparents who have been a caretakers to a grandchild get visitation if the child returns to the care of the biological parent? The answers are not as clear and obvious as you would think or hope they would be when considering the relationships that may have existed between children and caretakers of any kind.

The law, again, is fact-specific and gives great discretion to the courts in reaching a decision when parties cannot resolve these issues among themselves. Thus, while many partners find informal custodial arrangements and other systems work well for them, the majority face issues when problems arise.

Frequently, mainstream advice is given with traditional families in mind, which undoubtedly creates confusion for unconventional arrangements. All family units of any structure, but especially for certain non-traditional families, should consult knowledgeable family-law attorneys and financial professionals to develop the plans that best meet the unique needs of their chosen life.

 

Julie A. Dialessi-Lafley is a shareholder with the law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. and chairs the firm’s Family Law department. She is a certified family law mediator, a member of the Springfield Women’s Leadership Council, a member of the United Way of Pioneer Valley board of directors, and is licensed to practice law in both Massachusetts and Connecticut; (413) 781-0560; [email protected]

Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club Grows with the Flow

By
The Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club offers rowing activities for all experience levels
Cover Story

Current Events

Executive Director Ben Quick

Executive Director Ben Quick

 

Ben Quick recognizes that the Connecticut River, particularly the stretch that runs through Springfield, has what he calls a “checkered past” as … well, not the cleanest riverway, and perhaps a negative reputation in some corners, based on that past, that lingers today.

But those who actually use the river for recreation on a regular basis — and Quick, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, certainly counts himself among them — tell a much different story.

“People who come to our riverfront here in Springfield for rowing or dragon boating and see what we have, between the quality of the water and the views and the infrastructure, say, ‘why aren’t there 10 clubs here? Why isn’t everybody out on this water? Why aren’t more people enjoying it?’” Quick said.

It’s a message he likes to share. “The mission of our organization is to bring guests, visitors, and residents of Greater Springfield to the riverfront for some healthy, outdoor, fun recreation. The river itself has got a checkered past, and part of our job is to enlighten people with proper information, safe experiences, and a positive takeaway, so they go home and tell their friends, ‘hey, you know what? The Connecticut River in Springfield is absolutely gorgeous, and there’s all kinds of fun stuff you can do there. Why not check it out?’”

“People who come to our riverfront here in Springfield for rowing or dragon boating and see what we have, between the quality of the water and the views and the infrastructure, say, ‘why aren’t there 10 clubs here? Why isn’t everybody out on this water? Why aren’t more people enjoying it?’”

The Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (PVRC) was established by a small group of rowing enthusiasts in 2009 to promote river-based recreational activities, sporting activities, and river access in general.

“They got together on a patch of grass a little further downstream from us and organized as a rowing club,” Quick noted, adding that they put a proposal together to occupy what is now the club’s home, at North Riverfront Park on the river’s shore, in a building that dates back to 1901.

“Since then, we have grown our organization from a small group on a patch of grass to about 50 kids, about 60 adults, and hundreds of visitors every year who participate in our programs,” he told BusinessWest. “We started off as a rowing organization … in fact, PVRC originally stood for Pioneer Valley Rowing Club. But soon after we were organized, we expanded and offered dragon boating, which is the fastest-growing water sport in the world. And we realized that we had much more to offer than rowing. So that’s where Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club came from.”

Speaking of dragon boating, the 10th annual Springfield Dragon Boat Festival is coming up on July 20, and has become the club’s premier event (more on that later).

A dragon boat team navigates the Connecticut River

A dragon boat team navigates the Connecticut River in the 2023 event.
(Photo by D. John McCarthy)

“The rowing and dragon-boating programs have just blossomed,” Quick said. “They are kind of niche sports … not a lot of people know about these sports.”

But he considers it his mission to make sure more people find out every year.

 

Stern Challenge

Quick’s involvement in the PVRC began with a connection through one of his sons, who is 24 now, but discovered rowing while attending a Springfield middle school that had a connection to the club.

“One day, he came home from school and said, ‘Mom, Dad, my school has rowing, and I’m doing it.’ My wife and I were like, ‘this sounds great. Who knew we even had that?’ And as he started to get involved, we as a family got more involved too, saying, ‘this is a wonderful thing. More people need to hear about this.’”

At the time, the PVRC was volunteer-driven, with very few full-time, paid employees, and Quick and his wife, Julie, became active in the organization. A few years later, in 2015, when the club was looking for an executive director, he was encouraged to throw his hat in, and was offered the job.

“I think having a positive first experience certainly sets people on a trajectory that we’d like to see them continue on. And kayaking is the easiest way for us to help people have a fun time.”

“It was a big family decision,” he recalled. “I had no nonprofit experience; I had corporate-world experience, but no one could question my passion for the organization, my passion for the sport, and my passion for seeing the thing grow. And my family was behind me because, when you move from the corporate world to the nonprofit world, you’ve got to make some sacrifices. But for us, it was a great opportunity.”

The club has also become an ideal opportunity for people of all ages to get in the water and learn a new pastime.

A dragon boater paints the head of her team’s boat

A dragon boater paints the head of her team’s boat.
(Photo by D. John McCarthy)

“Kayaking is a wonderful first experience for on-water recreation,” Quick said. “For so many of the kids and adults from Springfield who come down here for kayaking, this is their first experience with a boat on the water, ever. And we’re super proud of that. I think having a positive first experience certainly sets people on a trajectory that we’d like to see them continue on. And kayaking is the easiest way for us to help people have a fun time.”

Kayaking is offered on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays, and throughout this summer, kayak rental — normally $20 per hour — is free, thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, though donations are accepted.

The club offers rowing programs, including one called SAFARI, which stands for Summer of Activity, Fun, and Rowing Instruction, which is for kids age 12 and up.

“It’s kind of like a summer camp, but only a couple hours a day,” Quick explained. “We get them out in boats, we teach them safety, we teach them instruction, and on a rainy day we’ll stay on land and play some games. It’s just a two-week program to get kids interested in rowing.

“From there, the sky’s the limit,” he added. “We have a competitive racing team comprised of a few middle schoolers and a bunch of high schoolers. They race in the spring and the fall athletic seasons, as well as in the summer. We travel as far away as Philadelphia to race other programs. It’s a really cool sport, and these kids learn things that no other sport is going to teach them. They say rowing is the ultimate team sport.”

Then, of course, there’s dragon boating.

“Dragon boating is a lot like canoeing, except you’re in a dragon boat with 19 other paddlers, plus someone steering and someone drumming. So it’s a party barge, but for canoeing,” Quick said. “And we can teach someone how to dragon boat pretty quickly. It’s a short learning curve, but it’s a lifelong pursuit toward perfection. We have a wonderful dragon boating team that meets in the evenings because it’s an adult program.”

The Springfield Dragon Boat Festival, which is free for spectators, draws hundreds of people to the riverfront each summer to watch teams race, while enjoying entertainment, food trucks, face painting, crafts, and other activities. Team registration (at pvriverfront.org) ends July 10, and this year’s event will be held Saturday, July 20.

“Anyone can do it. We had a group one year that was a family reunion,” Quick said, adding that teams of inexperienced dragon boaters — companies, organizations, families — compete in an all-neophyte division. “They get one practice session, and then we throw them in a boat.”

The other division is comprised of teams of people who compete in dragon boating as a sport. “They train all winter, they lift weights, they get strong, and then they hit the water and race each other. So you don’t have those teams competing against the community teams, but they are amazing to watch. The intensity of a race is incredible. They only last one minute — the fastest times on the race at our festival will be sub-60 seconds.”

The Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club offers rowing activities for all experience levels

The Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club offers rowing activities for all experience levels.

In addition to the races and family fun, Quick noted, “we have a cultural presentation because there’s a side of the festival that doesn’t get spoken about much, but we hope will get spoken about more, which is that a dragon boat festival is an important cultural holiday in China. It’s a celebration of patriotism, and of longevity, and of life. So there is a cultural aspect of the Dragon Boat Festival that is shared by our dear friends at the Chinese Association of Western Massachusetts.”

 

Pulling Together

The Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club presents other events as well, including youth and adult regattas, and recently, for the second straight year, it hosted the 1.2-mile swimming portion of an Ironman triathlon, which also includes a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run.

“I was told that, last year, 40% of the participants were local, and I think, for 60% of the participants, it was their first time,” Quick said. “So let’s hope that trajectory continues. It’s certainly positive for the business community, for the economy here.”

He’s also gratified that the river’s health — and reputation — have come such a long way since the 1970s and 1980s, when raw sewage was regularly dumped into the water. These days, it’s much cleaner, he noted, and when sewage spills into the river after a storm, it’s generally safe to swim or row within a day or two.

“Every time there is a spill of sewage into the river, it gets reported. And that’s a wonderful piece of legislation — I think transparency is really important to improving quality. But we do have safety protocols, and we are aware of river quality. I give a lot of credit to the Connecticut River Conservancy for spending the money and providing the resources to do weekly water quality testing.”

Beyond enjoying a healthier river, Quick simply enjoys the tranquility of the pastime.

“When you’re on the water, even right here in Springfield, and you look to the shores, and all you see are green trees, and a few buildings poking over it, you could be in Vermont. It is amazing how tranquil the river is.

“I’ve been a lifelong athlete, but I haven’t been rowing for that long; I’ve been rowing for maybe 10 years. When I came to the sport with other men and women my age, I realized this is something we can do. You know, we don’t have to have been playing this sport since we were 4 years old in order to have a fun, competitive experience. So I realized, ‘hey, this is great.’”

It’s also a lesson in teamwork and pulling together toward a common goal, which is certainly a positive experience in these often-discordant times.

“If you are not moving in complete harmony with the person in front of behind you, you’re going to bump into each other. And that can lead to some aches and pains and bruises,” he added. “But if you work together, it is such a thrill. It is such a rewarding experience.”

MassHire Career Center Responds to Changing Landscape

By
Kevin Lynn
Employment Special Coverage

Hire Expectations

Kevin Lynn

Kevin Lynn, executive director of the MassHire Springfield Career Center.

 

It was the spring of 2022, and Kevin Lynn was starting to think the job fairs conducted three times a year at the Basketball Hall of Fame by MassHire Springfield Career Center — which he serves as executive director — had run their course.

Attendance among job seekers, which had been running at roughly 300 pre-pandemic, had dropped to maybe 100, even though employers across the region and in virtually all sectors of the economy were seeking help — many of them desperately.

As for the job seekers themselves … the very generous unemployment benefits awarded at the height of the pandemic, when millions of jobs disappeared almost overnight, were all but gone. Yet, many people were still sitting on the sidelines, not at all anxious to enter the workforce.
“I didn’t know what was going on — nothing made any sense, really,” said Lynn, who has spent more than 20 years with the entity now known as MassHire Springfield Career Center, 10 as its director. People were still hunkered down, and people like me were asking, ‘how can these individuals not afford to work?’”

While waiting for an answer to that question — one that never really came — two things happened. The first is that the picture started righting itself with regard to people getting back to work. The second is that MassHire Springfield, in Lynn’s words, “started acting more like a business.”

By that, he meant the agency started to more aggressively market itself and its services, especially through digital platforms.

“We had to get our name in front of people and remind them of exactly what we do and how we do it,” he recalled. “Also, we had to pull in what I’ll call a new generation because we’d been on pause for the better part of four years. That natural flow that we had established since 1997 had been disrupted, so we needed to prime that pump again with our core constituency.”

Those efforts have succeeded in bringing the customer base back to pre-pandemic levels, as we’ll see. And roughly two years after he was thinking about retiring the job fairs, attendance is pretty much back to where it was pre-pandemic, said Lynn, adding that the program will actually be expanded this year from three fairs to four, with the fourth likely to take place at the agency’s facility on Liberty Street in Springfield.

“We had to pull in what I’ll call a new generation because we’d been on pause for the better part of four years. That natural flow that we had established since 1997 had been disrupted, so we needed to prime that pump again with our core constituency.”

“We think we need a fourth because of the demand,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

As for the job market itself … Lynn said things have not exactly returned to normal — whatever that is — although he is seeing an overall softening of the job market, with many challenges remaining for those needing skills, older workers (over age 55), and other constituencies.

Most employers are still struggling to find good help, he said, adding quickly that, while some are willing to train and shape candidates who may not have the full package, others are holding out for the “fully formed” applicant, and sometimes losing out in the process.

Meanwhile, on the wage front, many employers are still not fully embracing the need to move the needle higher. Instead, they’re focusing on what they think they can afford, and not the proverbial big picture — meaning what they spend to hire, and then to hire again when someone brought in at a comparatively lower wage leaves after a few months, or a few weeks, because he or she can secure a dollar or two more an hour elsewhere (more on this later).

These are just some of the observations made by Lynn as he talked about his agency, the job market, and what could, and likely will, come next.

 

The Job at Hand

“Blocking and tackling.”

That’s what Lynn said MassHire Springfield is back to focusing on these days after what can only be called a turbulent period that includes the pandemic and its aftermath.

By blocking and tackling, he means work with both employers and job seekers to put people in jobs. Such work with job seekers includes training available through the agency’s upskilling program, workshops on everything from handling tough interview questions to helping mature workers prepare for today’s job-search process, job fairs, connecting individuals with resources, and much more.

job fairs

Kevin Lynn says the job fairs conducted in partnership with Audacy Springfield and the Basketball Hall of Fame are back to pre-pandemic numbers.

As for the pandemic and its aftermath, this was a difficult, stressful time, when the agency’s mission — connecting job seekers with employers and helping those job seekers garner the skills needed to not only land jobs, but secure careers — didn’t really change. But the overall need for it did — sort of.

“COVID killed our customer base,” he said matter-of-factly. “Customers weren’t coming in, and they weren’t even using us virtually.”

Quantifying the matter, he noted that, in fiscal 2019, prior to COVID, the agency served roughly 11,500 people over the course of the year. For fiscal 2020, which included the first several months of the pandemic, the number fell to 8,500. And for fiscal 2021, a full and very traumatic year of COVID, the number of customers tumbled to 4,300, roughly a third of the pre-pandemic total.

Why? There were several reasons, Lynn recalled. First, many were content to collect those generous unemployment benefits and not enter, or re-enter, the workforce, he said, adding that, during those times, people not actively seeking employment could receive unemployment benefits, something that wouldn’t happen in more ‘normal’ times. Meanwhile, many of those who had jobs were content to stay put given the large amounts of uncertainty that accompanied that environment — and a desire to work remotely.

“It was the devil you knew versus the one that you didn’t know,” he recalled. “Also, people were desperate to get working-at-home arrangements set up; everyone wanted to be remote. And if you were in a remote situation, and it was solid, you weren’t going to risk that by going to a new employer.”

Meanwhile, with the pandemic came the loss of day-care services for many, he went on, adding that some people had no choice but to quit their jobs — or not seek a job or a better job — so they could be home with their children. It was the same for many of those caring for elderly parents.

“A large section of the labor market just literally pulled back and chose not to work,” he said. “And that impacted us greatly.”

Indeed, the phone started ringing at a much slower pace, and there was a considerably quieter atmosphere at the career center, Lynn recalled, adding that, by the end of 2022, as the number of customers served rose slightly to more than 5,000 (still less than half the pre-pandemic totals), the agency responded by being proactive.

It launched a six-month advertising campaign, much of it digitally with Audacy Springfield (the agency’s partner on the job fairs), designed to raise awareness of the agency, its services, and those fairs.

“A large section of the labor market just literally pulled back and chose not to work. And that impacted us greatly.”

And for fiscal year 2023, the customer base jumped to more than 9,300, a 56% increase, he went on, adding that this was a byproduct of both those aggressive efforts to prime the pump and what he considers a softening of what had been a very attractive market for job seekers, with employers struggling to replace retiring Baby Boomers and simply handle the turnover that was impacting almost every sector.

 

Searching … for Answers

As Lynn explained, “if you have skills, you’re in a good spot in terms of being able to find job opportunities and get offers. But the job market has softened over the past few months; it’s not as strong as it was prior to this.”

Elaborating, he said the market remains challenging for many subgroups within the workforce and those looking to join it, including older workers, many of whom have skills but struggle to find employers willing to recognize and pay for them.

“They continue to have problems breaking through and getting jobs simply because of their age,” he told BusinessWest. “We see it all the time; you look at people, and they have a solid résumé, and you think, ‘this person is at least worth a conversation.’”

But often, they aren’t part of the conversation.

“Maybe the person isn’t right for the organization; I get all that,” Lynn went on. “But when you have people who have come to us, and they’re working very diligently and a lot of times working with our job developers even, and they’re trying to find work … it can be a tremendous struggle to come out on the other end.”

For those older workers who do come out on the other end with a job, their search will have been much longer than for those who are younger, as many employers are hesitant to look past someone’s date of birth and instead focus on what they might be able to bring to an organization.

Overall, and as noted earlier, Lynn said many employers are still looking for the full package, the “fully formed” applicant, as he called it, when hiring.

“They’ll vocalize that they’re not,” he said, noting that many will say or hint that they are willing to train. “But that’s not the case. They’re holding out for the fully formed applicant, and that’s a problem for the job seekers.”

Another problem is what he referred to as “ghost postings,” which are, well … what that phrase indicates they are: postings that aren’t exactly real.

“They may not have the opening, but they’re posting the job on the anticipation that they may have an opening,” he explained, adding that such phantom postings are prompting him to question the actual level of demand in certain fields and for certain jobs. Meanwhile, they are bringing new forms of stress to job seekers, who are investing time, energy, and emotion in pursuit of a job that may or may not exist.

Meanwhile, for those pursuing work, or a better job, the bigger challenge may not be finding a job, but finding one they can live on.

“It takes more diligence to find the right job,” he said. “Anyone can find a job; the issue is finding a job with a living wage — pay and benefits that you can live on. We see companies that post jobs that do not pay a living wage.

“My staff has conversations with employers on this topic; they’ll say, ‘we can post this job for you, but at the wage you are offering, you are not going to get any applicants,’” he noted. “If you’re at $17 or below, you’re going to have a tough time — a very tough time.”

He said most employers fully understand that a lower wage number shrinks the applicant pool. What they may not fully appreciate is that, even if they do hire someone, that lower wage serves to further increase turnover, bringing costs that will likely exceed a higher wage.

As for those job fairs, they certainly provide a window into what’s happening with the job market, he said, noting that the one in May drew more than 300 job seekers and 54 companies, a growing number of which were represented not by recruiters, but by decision makers — even the CEO.

Such was the case with Conval Inc., a Connecticut-based valve manufacturer. The president of the company was behind the table at the job fair and managed to not only talk with an applicant for a machinist’s position, but hire him on the spot.

“That made his night because he can’t find machinists anywhere,” said Lynn, adding that, while such on-the-spot hirings are quite rare, the goal of these fairs is for employers and job seekers alike to make connections, and these are, indeed, happening.

In short, the clock hasn’t been turned all the way back to 2019, but it’s looking and feeling more like those times.

Recent Nursing Graduates Look Forward to New Challenges

By
Clockwise from top left: Kristen Racine Melendez, Faith Ackerman, Roxana Toledo, and Abby Candee.
Healthcare News Special Coverage

Achieving the Dream

Clockwise from top left: Kristen Racine Melendez, Faith Ackerman, Roxana Toledo, and Abby Candee.

Clockwise from top left: Kristen Racine Melendez, Faith Ackerman, Roxana Toledo, and Abby Candee.

For every individual who enters the nursing field, there’s a story. Sometimes, several stories.

They involve everything from the people and circumstances that inspired them to choose this profession to the challenges that had to be overcome on the way to earning their degree and then starting their first shift; from how the dream of becoming a nurse is often deferred, for any of myriad reasons, to how those dreams were kept alive and eventually fulfilled.

These storylines, and many others, are captured in the profiles of four recent nursing graduates presented in what is now our annual salute to nurses.

The profiles below, both intriguing and inspirational, involve women who got into nursing somewhat later in life, after experiencing other professions — everything from the military to paramedic work — and raising children.

Their stories are all different, but there are some common denominators, especially the ability to overcome challenges and make the dream of becoming a nurse reality — at a time when an influx of young nursing talent is more needed than ever.

Read Their Stories:

Kristen Racine-Melendez

Faith Ackerman

Abby Candee

Roxana Toledo

 

 

 

 

The Case for a Receiver

By Contributor
Law Special Coverage

Such a Move Could Bring Order to Cannabis Control Commission

By Scott Foster, Esq. and Johannah Huynh

For business and civic leaders in Springfield, the appointment in 2004 of the Springfield Control Board remains a watershed moment in the city’s fiscal history.

Regardless of how one felt about the city being plunged into receivership by the Legislature through the appointment of the Control Board, the results were unmistakable, as the city went from having an annual budget deficit of $41 million in 2004 to having cash reserves of $34.5 million when the Control Board was disbanded in 2009. Springfield has continued to enjoy the fruits of the newfound fiscal responsibility with an ever-increasing bond rating since 2009.

Bruce Stebbins, a longtime resident of Western Mass., but then a recent resident, was elected to Springfield’s City Council in the midst of the Control Board’s tenure and had a ringside seat to the Control Board’s temporary reign over the city. He continued to serve on the council through the end of the Control Board and then became become Springfield’s Business Development administrator, reporting to the city’s chief Development officer.

Scott Foster

Scott Foster

Johannah Huynh

Johannah Huynh

Stebbins’ experience engaging with the Control Board and helping bring the city to financial stability may prove immensely valuable if the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the top watchdog agency in Massachusetts responsible for preventing fraud and waste and abuse of public funds, get its wish.

In a recent six-page letter addressed to the Commonwealth’s top elected officials, the OIG strongly urged the Massachusetts Legislature to immediately appoint a receiver to run the day-to-day operations of the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) while the Legislature concurrently reviews the CCC’s statutory governance structure.

Over the past two years, the CCC has been plagued by internal turmoil, which the OIG suggested is partially a result of the CCC’s enabling statute failing to clearly define or delineate the duties and responsibilities of the leadership hierarchy. The OIG’s recommendations for the Legislature to overhaul the governance structure seek to address the root of the CCC’s problems.

“Not only might the temporary appointment of a receiver allow the Legislature to resolve the CCC’s governance structure, but it could also better promote the efficiency of a regulatory body, which would be a welcome development for the hundreds of businesses that rely on the CCC’s oversight.”

Since the enabling statute is, according to the OIG, “unclear and self-contradictory with minimal guidance on the authority and differing responsibilities of the CCC’s commissioners and staff,” it’s surprising that the CCC has been able to oversee $322 million in tax and non-tax revenue in the most recent fiscal year.

The OIG was also concerned that, despite spending $160,000 on mediation services since May 2022 to draft a governance charter, the commissioners have yet to release meeting minutes relating to the discussion of the charter, publicly release a draft charter, approve the new charter, or even provide assurance that the mediation process is complete. Even if a governance charter were adopted, the OIG emphasized, such a charter would not have the force of law — only binding the CCC to the extent the commissioners agree.

 

Internal Strife

Acting CCC Chair Ava Callender Concepion has pushed back on the call for a receivership by citing the commission’s recently proposed blueprint of a governance structure in its final stages of legal review subject to a public meeting.

The ongoing lack of an official chair of the CCC was also cited by the OIG as an area of concern. Amidst the suspension of CCC Chair Shannon O’Brien by the treasurer since Sept. 14, 2023, the commissioners have disagreed on who held the appropriate authority to appoint Callender Concepcion to the role of acting chair. Just last month, the CCC voted to relieve the acting executive director, Debbie Hilton-Creek, of her day-to-day responsibilities, leaving the CCC without a duly appointed leader to oversee the operations of the agency.

Even in the absence of clarity on who has authority to do what, the OIG notes that compliance with the Open Meeting Law, which prohibits two or more commissioners from discussing matters outside of a publicly posted meeting, is simply impractical with respect to a large state agency overseeing day-to-day operations.

With such decentralization of management and ambiguous authority at the CCC, the OIG has stressed the urgency of appointing a receiver with the authority to manage the day-to-day operations of the CCC. Specifically, the OIG recommended that the receiver should be expressly authorized to both carry out the daily administrative functions of the CCC and carry out said functions notwithstanding any assertion of by the chair, acting chair, or commissioners under Chapter 76.

If the Legislature were to heed the OIG’s findings, the appointed receiver would have unchallenged authority to carry out the CCC’s administrative operations until the Legislature has resolved the CCC’s governing structure.

In this context, for an agency responsible for bringing in approximately $322 million in tax and non-tax revenue in FY 2023 alone, a receiver that was statutorily authorized to do what the CCC cannot, per the OIG, would be in the best interests of the cannabis industry, its consumers, and ultimately the constituents.

Not only might the temporary appointment of a receiver allow the Legislature to resolve the CCC’s governance structure, but it could also better promote the efficiency of a regulatory body, which would be a welcome development for the hundreds of businesses that rely on the CCC’s oversight.

 

Scott Foster is a partner at Bulkley Richardson in Springfield, and Johannah Huynh is a summer associate at the firm.

Hadley Printing Seeks Growth in an Inconsistent Market

By
Co-owners Greg Desrosiers (left) and Chris Desrosiers
Commercial Printing Special Coverage

Rolling with the Changes

Co-owners Greg Desrosiers (left) and Chris Desrosiers

Co-owners Greg Desrosiers (left) and Chris Desrosiers

 

Looking back on 2020 and 2021 — when business ground to a halt for many industries, then began to ramp back up way too slowly — Chris Derosiers is grateful that Hadley Printing Co. was able to weather the storm after clients of all kinds halted jobs and dramatically scaled back on the volume of orders.

And he’s equally grateful for 2022, a historically strong year for this more-than-125-year-old Holyoke mainstay, when much of that business returned.

But the lingering effects of the pandemic years — namely inflation that has impacted Hadley Printing’s own costs as well as the marketing budgets for many of its clients — has lent an unusual inconsistency to a flow of business that had normally been very predictable.

“You hear that whole cliche term in business, ‘pent-up demand,’ and that’s what 2022 was; it was a strong bounce-back year,” he said. “But from COVID, we launched right into inflation, and prices just started to escalate, and supply chains were not quite there. And that really forced pricing up everywhere. It was a challenge, not just in our industry, but every industry.”

Hadley’s business is split fairly evenly among the educational market, direct business, and ad agencies and designers, and all three client buckets have altered spending habits in this current inflationary era, he explained; both 2023 and 2024 started slow, but eventually picked up.

“We have months where it’s all hands on deck, and then we have months where we’re looking for work or we’re catching up on maintenance because there’s not enough work in the building.”

“Inflation has caught up with everyone, and I think people are just kind of waiting to see what develops in the year ahead,” Desrosiers said, adding that even the peak Great Recession years of 2008-09 had a lesser impact on business than the past few years because that crisis ended more quickly.

“We’ve still got great things happening here. The work that we do, 98% of it is repeat customers. We really have a great staff and a great group of customers that support us,” he told BusinessWest. “But inconsistent is the right word. We have months where it’s all hands on deck, and then we have months where we’re looking for work or we’re catching up on maintenance because there’s not enough work in the building. That’s the takeaway for me; that COVID time has created inconsistency in the market.”

It has also created an environment for shops to expand their reach. Vice President Greg Desrosiers, who co-owns the third-generation family business with his brother, noted that the company is competing with printers from as far away as Maine these days, which makes sense because Hadley has also broadened its reach.

“We’ve found ourselves having to branch out and go a little bit farther when it comes to acquiring new customers,” Chris noted. “We’re going a little bit more east on the pike, and we’re going a little bit more west, trying to supplement some of that inconsistency in our business model.

Hadley Printing

Hadley Printing has been in its current location on one of Holyoke’s historic canals for the past 48 years.

“That market in Worcester has been a good one for us because there are printers in Boston, but that Central Mass. area has fewer commercial printers,” he went on. “So we tend to do well in that market because we’re priced a little bit more economically than that Boston printer who’s also coming in.”

 

One-source Solution

Hadley Printing offers a range of services, including digital printing, offset printing, and mail services, to a wide variety of customers in New England. Chris Desrosiers noted that it’s been critical to keep investing in new technology, but also to never neglect the human touch and the value of strong service.

“We have constantly reinvested back into our business every year with new equipment to better serve our customers,” he said. “But the biggest thing that I’ve seen is that people are looking to get it done at a fair price, on time, and make sure they’ve got a good product.

“We have a lot of repeat customers here because we take a lot of pride in what we do and make sure that, when we deliver, we’re delivering on time, we’re delivering a superior product, and it’s at a fair price,” he went on. “There’s always going to be that customer that’s looking for a cheaper price, but usually you get what you pay for. Sometimes, if we have a customer who goes somewhere else for a lower price, they’ll do that once or twice, and then they end up back here. That’s not to say that we’re superior to everyone else, but we do put a high focus on quality and delivering for our customers.”

Another selling point, he said, is to be a one-stop shop for all types of jobs.

“Whether it’s something as simple as a business card or anything from small quantities to large quantities, we like to be that one-source solution so that we don’t have to say ‘no’ to a customer. So we have a lot of different equipment on the floor to be able to support all of our customer demands and requests, and it allows us to service the customer from top to bottom.”

Desrosiers noted that Hadley has two 40-inch Komori offset presses that service the higher-end, large-volume offset market, but the shop can also focus on the quick-turn, smaller-volume digital market. The business has also added mailing capabilities over the last five years.

“There’s always going to be that customer that’s looking for a cheaper price, but usually you get what you pay for. Sometimes, if we have a customer who goes somewhere else for a lower price, they’ll do that once or twice, and then they end up back here.”

“We found that, usually five times out of 10, the customer is looking to have a piece mailed as well. So that’s part of that whole one-source solution — a customer can come to us and have it printed and dropped in the mail stream; we can handle the whole process,” he explained. “We’ve also brought a lot of finishing techniques in-house. We do in-house foil stamping, embossing, and die cutting. That’s something that we’ve really expanded into in the past five years.”

As a result, he said, “for any account, no matter what they throw at us, nine times out of 10, we can say ‘yes, we do that.’ We do use outside vendors, but, decreasingly so in the last five to 10 years. We’ve really set up our company to be a one-source solution.”

 

Seeking Sustainability

Hadley Printing originated in South Hadley, but in 1976, it moved to its current location on Canal Street in Holyoke, a 32,000-square-foot former silk mill alongside one of the city’s historic canals.

“It’s been a good spot,” Desrosiers said. “Up until 2006, we were renting part of our space out, but we’ve now taken over the entire building, and we’re using every inch of it.”

Because of its location, at least 50% of its power comes from hydroelectric energy. “That’s obviously a selling point. A lot of customers are looking for that environmental factor, the green manufacturing. And we have two things going in our favor there: hydroelectric power, and we’re also an FSC-certified printer.”

Certification by the Forest Stewardship Council ensures that the products in a print job come from responsibly managed forests, and Hadley Printing, which has been certified since 2011, must undergo an audit each year to retain that mark.

“It’s about chain of custody, and it assures the end user that the product was manufactured in a sustainable, green way,” Desrosiers added. “For example, we just did the UMass commencement. We printed 20,000 programs, and on the back of that program, they’ve got the FSC logo that states that it was printed on FSC paper in a sustainable way. And then it’s got a message that encourages people to either recycle that program, archive it, or share it with others.

“That’s usually driven by the customer; what it takes is a customer that wants to print an FSC order. We do about 50 FSC orders a year; it’s just an added level of service that we provide. Most businesses out there are environmentally aware, and they want to print in a sustainable way.”

While the focus on sustainability has increased over the years, the number of commercial printers in the market has consolidated somewhat — though, as noted earlier, they’re competing for a shrinking, or at least more unpredictable, pool of jobs.

“It’s a very capital-intensive business as well,” Desrosiers said. “You constantly have to reinvest in equipment to be able to produce work in an economical way and be competitive. Some of the businesses that didn’t reinvest in new equipment on their floor have had challenges being able to meet customers’ demands.

“Putting a 40-inch commercial press on the floor is a big financial commitment, sure. And you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the volume of work to support it,” he added. “But once you do have that equipment, it allows you to produce work in a more efficient way. So it’s a double-edged sword. But not reinvesting in the business is where I think a lot of companies have fallen out of being competitive in this market.”

A more predictable market, as in the pre-pandemic days, would help all players in this field, but Desrosiers knows his industry not alone there.

“Whether it’s printing, whether it’s construction, whether it’s banking, everyone is just trying to ride the roller coaster,” he said. “But overall, we’re doing well. We’re adapting to those changes. And I think we’re well-positioned in this market going forward.”

Kristen Racine-Melendez

By
Kristen Racine-Melendez
Healthcare News

Her Son’s Strength in Battling Cancer Has Helped Her Persevere

Kristen Racine-Melendez

Kristen Racine-Melendez

 

As she talked with BusinessWest on a Tuesday morning late last month, Kristen Racine-Melendez was on the road, heading to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

She had her GPS on because she was taking a different route this time, hoping to cut the travel time by a few minutes. She knows the regular route by heart, having made it dozens of times since her son, Chase, was diagnosed with leukemia on Aug. 12 last year.

That’s a date, and a discussion, that Racine-Melendez won’t ever forget. And it came just a few weeks before she was due to start her second year in the nursing program at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC). She thought about putting her studies on hold and devoting all of her time, energy, and emotion to Chase, but with some words of encouragement from her husband, Carlos Melendez, she decided to press on.

“Once we got of the ICU and started to get more answers about what was going on with Chase, my husband and I sat down and talked about it,” she recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t know if I should take this year off.’ And he told me, ‘no … you need to stay in now, more than ever. This is for our son now.’”

It goes without saying that her second year of nursing school — a challenge under any circumstances — become exponentially more difficult as she confronted a situation that no parent wants to face.

“Once we got of the ICU and started to get more answers about what was going on with Chase, my husband and I sat down and talked about it. I said, ‘I don’t know if I should take this year off.’ And he told me, ‘no … you need to stay in now, more than ever. This is for our son now.”

But she persevered, graduated in May, and is preparing to start work in the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center, a setting she knows well because she spent seven years as a tech there before deciding to fulfill a long-held dream and follow her grandmother and aunt into the nursing field.

She told BusinessWest that she was able to make it to the commencement ceremonies because of the support she received from Carlos, but also from faculty and other students at STCC. But mostly, she persevered because of the inspiration provided by Chase as he battled leukemia with strength that astounded all those involved in his care and treatment.

“He amazes me every single day,” she said. “He always has a smile on his face; he’ll throw up one second, and the next second, he’ll say, ‘mom, I want to do this, I want to eat this.’ He gives me my strength.”

And while the past 10 months have been extraordinarily difficult, they have also provided learning experiences on many different levels, said Racine-Melendez, adding that these have made her stronger and, by her calculations, better able to handle all that will confront her as an emergency-room nurse.

Kristen Racine-Melendez holds her son, Chase

Kristen Racine-Melendez holds her son, Chase, in a family photo with her husband, Carlos Melendez, and daughter, Kira.

Flashing back to last summer, Racine-Melendez said Chase, 4 at the time, started experiencing some problems. She eventually took him the ER, where a series of tests were undertaken to determine just what was wrong.

“They told me his bone narrow wasn’t working properly, and right from there I knew, and my heart just sank,” she recalled. ‘It was a very unexpected outcome; I didn’t really expect them to come out and say he had cancer.”

Chase’s diagnosis and subsequent treatment added several layers of challenge to her plans to enter the nursing field, the latest chapter in a career that saw her go from a seven-year stint with the National Guard to an equally lengthy run as a tech at Mercy.

Looking back on this past year, she said she powered through, caring not only for Chase but his twin sister, Kira, and persevered with the support of many others, starting with her husband. But the faculty and fellow students were also very supportive, she said.

“I decided to stay in and give it a try, and we made it work,” she said, adding that, following classes on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, she would travel to Boston Children’s Hospital, where Chase was admitted for two months, to relieve Carlos, who was with him the other days of the week.

“I feel like I was just in survival mode; I had my moments where I was knocked down, but I’d just get up and keep going,” she said of her last two semesters at STCC. “I got through it … somehow.”

She said Chase, who is in remission and receives evaluations and treatment at Dana-Farber three Tuesdays a month, is doing well.

“This week was a really good week,” she said. “His numbers were up; he was able to run and around and be a kid. It was nice to see him actually enjoy a little bit of childhood.”

As for Racine-Melendez, she said she’s doing well, too, looking forward to starting at Mercy, and also looking forward to putting the learning experiences of the past two years — all of them — to work.

“I feel like I was just in survival mode; I had my moments where I was knocked down, but I’d just get up and keep going.”

Indeed, she said caring for Chase gave her experience that went beyond what she encountered in the classroom and even her clinical rotations. Meanwhile, she learned first-hand what it’s like to be a parent getting devastating news about a child’s cancer diagnosis — and then experienced everything that comes after that diagnosis.

“I think this will help me; I can empathize with my patients and understand the aspect of the other side — what the parents are going through,” she explained. “I definitely would have preferred not to go through this, but I believe that everything happens for a reason. Everything I’m going through is just making me a stronger mother, a stronger person, and a stronger nurse.”

 

Inspired by Her Grandmother, She’s Found Her Calling

By
Faith Ackerman
Healthcare News

Faith Ackerman

Faith Ackerman

Faith Ackerman

 

Faith Ackerman says her grandmother, Jean Ackerman, who worked as a psychiatric nurse well into her 70s and only stopped because she fell and broke her wrist, long encouraged her to enter that rewarding profession.

But until recently, she “just wasn’t ready” to start down that path, she told BusinessWest, noting that, instead, she first went into the military (more on that eye-opening experience later) and then worked as a technician in a few area veterinary hospitals in efforts to perhaps find what she wanted to do with her life.

Ackerman was helped in that decision, and ultimately became ready to follow her grandmother into nursing, when she became involved in her grandmother’s care as she battled everything from diabetes to an attack of shingles, with Ackerman becoming somewhat frustrated by the decisions made by some of the doctors.

“I stepped in and helped my grandmother as much as humanly possible and took care of her,” she recalled, noting that she became sick during COVID, needed home care, and died in the fall of 2020.

Inspired by these experiences, and also by her grandmother’s career, Ackerman enrolled in Holyoke Community College’s LPN (licensed practical nurse) program, worked as an LPN in hospice care, and recently completed her RN program at HCC.

“There was something that bothered me about having guns and being in dangerous areas and being sort of locked and loaded all the time. I was very sensitive to that, and I felt that my calling was elsewhere.”

In her last clinical rotation, she worked in a surgical trauma unit at Baystate Medical Center and “fell in love” with that type of nursing.

“It’s so hands-on, and these people are so beyond ill that they can’t even life-function,” she explained, noting that patients in this unit are the victims of car crashes, shootings, stabbings, and other traumatic incidents. “They’re very, very, very sick people.”

In many respects, Ackerman’s story reflects those of many people getting into nursing today.

Indeed, some are finding the profession after careers, or at least jobs, in other fields. And many have found inspiration from others in their lives — and from a genuine desire to help those in need.

Meanwhile, her story is indicative of how, sometimes, it takes years, maybe a decade or two, to find one’s true calling.

Ackerman wasn’t exactly expecting the military to be her calling, but her father and grandfather served, and there was a desire to follow suit. Meanwhile, in high school, she suffered from a lack of direction in her life, a rather large chip on her shoulder, and a shortage of money for college.

“I decided to join the military and thought that maybe I could straighten my life out a little bit,” she recalled, adding that she enlisted in the Army and served for 10 years in the Military Police.

Faith Ackerman says her experiences caring for her grandmother

Faith Ackerman says her experiences caring for her grandmother, who died in 2020, helped make her ready to pursue a career in nursing.

This was a learning experience on many levels.

“It wasn’t what I thought, and policing has changed. It was a difficult job, and I went to a couple of countries that were very poor, and it was very depressing and devastating,” she said, adding that a tour of duty in Panama was particularly disheartening.

“It was more that I didn’t like guns anymore,” she went on. “There was something that bothered me about having guns and being in dangerous areas and being sort of locked and loaded all the time. I was very sensitive to that, and I felt that my calling was elsewhere, especially when I was in Panama, where the children were sick, very poor, and there was no healthcare.”

After leaving the military, she found work as a tech in a few different veterinary clinics. She enjoyed that work and thought it might become a career. But then, as noted earlier, her grandmother became sick. And as Ackerman stepped in to help, her career aspirations changed again.

She thought she would make home care the focus of her career in nursing, until that last clinical rotation while completing the RN program at HCC, which opened her eyes to a different kind of care.

“I felt that this was my calling,” she told BusinessWest. “I loved home care, but I really loved taking care of very sick people, just like I loved taking care of very sick animals in the veterinary field.

“I like people and animals to feel safe, and I want them to feel cared for,” she went on. “I have a very genuinely caring heart, so I’m able to keep people calm and feeling that they can trust me. And I know how vulnerable the patients are, so it’s really important for me to build trust with them so I can care for them.

Elaborating, she said many of the patients in the surgical trauma unit, an ICU step-down unit, are on ventilators. Many have had major surgery or have multiple broken bones.

“They’re very task-oriented patients, and there’s a staffing ratio — one nurse to three patients — that I feel very comfortable with,” she noted. “And I’m also able to work with the families of the patients; a lot of them are very involved in the patient care because these patients are so sick, and I like that aspect of this work as well.”

She’s expecting to start at Baystate in July and is very anxious to launch this next chapter in a career that has taken her to many different work environments.

If there is a common denominator to her work to date, it is compassion and a desire to help those in need.

That’s especially true of that time during COVID when she was providing home care to her grandmother.

It was a time of challenge, but also a time of learning, as much as any she spent in the classroom or clinic. And a time to become ready to follow her grandmother into the nursing field.

 

Abby Candee

By
Abby Candee
Healthcare News

She’s Taken a Winding Road to the Nursing Profession

Abby Candee

Abby Candee

“Heavy.”

That was the one-word answer provided by Abby Candee when she was asked to describe her work as a paramedic in Springfield and also with the Longmeadow Fire Department.

“Really, really heavy,” she went on, adding the twin adverbs for emphasis before elaborating.

“It was too heavy — it was starting to affect me personally,” she told BusinessWest, noting that she handled more than her fair share of shootings, stabbings, cases of abuse, and more. “I had a lot of calls that have personally affected me and deeply affected my colleagues as well. Some of them are things that I still have to work through.”

These experiences riding the ambulance helped influence Candee’s decision to make a career change and get into nursing, by enrolling in the accelerated BS nursing program at UMass Amherst. She graduated in December and started a much different chapter, in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Baystate Health, in March.

“Prior to going into nursing, I was both a paramedic and a firefighter,” she said. “While I loved what I did, I wanted the opportunity to practice more medicine and have more than a transient connection with my patients. In EMS, I saw people at their worst, never knew what happened to them after I dropped them off at the ED, and never had the power to advocate for them to get preventive care so that they wouldn’t end up in those situations in the first place. As a nurse, I can advocate for the gaps in care that I see.

“I also really like the complexity of my patient population,” she continued. “Pretty much every patient I work with … they’re all puzzles. Everyone has some pretty complex medical needs, and my brain is always working.”

Candee has taken a winding road to the nursing profession. She started her career in healthcare as an EMT, which was a means to pay her way through college.

“I was pre-med, and I needed a way to get patient-care experience,” she noted, adding that she took the EMT licensure course the summer after her freshman year in college and found a job working overnights in downtown Springfield.

“I also really like the complexity of my patient population. Pretty much every patient I work with … they’re all puzzles. Everyone has some pretty complex medical needs, and my brain is always working.”

Much of her early work in EMS fell into the ‘transit’ category, she explained, adding that she would discharge patients back home or take psychiatric patients from the ER to other treatment settings, for example. Overall, it was far less stressful than the paramedic work that would come later.

“I got to meet people from every walk of life, people I would never have interacted with previously,” she said. “And I also met a lot of nurses; I interfaced with them a lot because they were the ones I was getting reports from.”

Through this interfacing, she started thinking about joining the nursing ranks.

“From spending that time on EMS, I thought, ‘you know, I kind of like what nurses do more than what doctors do,’” she recalled. “My initial vision of what healthcare was leaned more toward the nurse’s role — I just hadn’t realized it. I wanted to be more bedside than I did making the decisions and supervising. I liked being the boots on the ground.”

But as she was acknowledging this, she was also of the opinion that she needed more “life experience and maturity” before embarking on nursing school. So she enrolled in paramedics training and then commenced that phase of her career.

Abby Candee with her good friend, Jamie Allen

Abby Candee with her good friend, Jamie Allen, one of the people who inspired her to go into nursing.

As she noted earlier, some of the calls she handled as a paramedic affected her personally — and they’re still affecting her years later.

“There are places in various towns that I avoid driving by, and there are people who I still think about and wonder what happened to them because … you don’t know,” she explained. “Maybe you find out by word of mouth, and sometimes you get a good follow-up from the hospital, but most of the times you don’t know. And it’s a very difficult thing not to have closure.”

In the Cardiac ICU, closure is much easier to come by. “Especially when we’re dealing with something like death, we’re usually the last stop for someone — so we’re the ones who get closure,” she said, and this is just one of many things she likes about the unit.

She arrived there quickly; the accelerated BS in nursing program at UMass Amherst takes the traditional four-year nursing program and allows students to earn their degree in just 16 months.

The Cardiac ICU was the setting Candee desired as she worked her way through the program, and she has been rewarded with not just a job, but the day shift — although she’s worked nights most of her career and would have been fine with that, too.

“I lucked out,” she said, referring not just to the hours, but to the broad scope of the work.

Those assigned to the Cardiac ICU handle both medical and surgical patients, she said, meaning those who have suffered heart attacks or end-stage heart failure, and also those recovering from bypass surgery, heart-valve procedures, or any other kind of open-heart surgery.

And there are many rewards from working in this setting.

“I like seeing people’s successes — that’s something I get to see a lot of, especially on the surgical side,” Candee explained. “These people come in for their surgery, they come out of the OR, we get them extubated, we get them up in a chair, and we are their cheerleaders through being able to get up and walk, through learning what meds they have to take, being able to get them home and through recovery. I love being that cheerleader, being that educator — it’s a role I haven’t been able to take on before in the past, but it’s a role I really like.”

She also loves being part of the team in the Cardiac ICU.

“I work with incredible, wonderful people,” she said. “And I would not be the nurse that I am right now without the nurses and techs I work with here.”

Roxana Toledo

By
Roxana Toledo
Healthcare News

She Never Let Go of Her Nursing Dream

Roxana Toledo

Roxana Toledo

Roxana Toledo says she always wanted to be a nurse.

But when she became a mother at 19, she knew she had to put that dream on hold for a while.

She probably wasn’t thinking that a while would turn out to be 20 years, but that became the reality. Over those two decades, she raised a family, found a career in healthcare — including the past several years as an emergency room tech at Mercy Medical Center — and, most importantly, she never, ever let go of the nursing dream.

Indeed, she enrolled in the nursing program at Elms College in Chicopee and graduated in May. She is still in Mercy’s ER, but now as a nurse, a job with different responsibilities — and somewhat different rewards.

And one that … well, was worth that 20-year wait.

“I love it … it’s what I always wanted to do,” Toledo said, referring not only to the role of a nurse, but the ER setting itself. “I like helping people; this work gives you a sense that you’re doing something good.”

As for that setting, it is one that she has always found intriguing, one with many different kinds of challenges and opportunities to provide both care and comfort.

“You see different things every day, you learn new things every day, and that’s what I like about it,” she said. “I could be a pedi nurse one day and an OB nurse another day; it’s all different kinds of nursing in one place.”

Toledo joked that she wasn’t the oldest nursing graduate in the Elms College class of 2024. In fact, a few were her senior.

“We try to take away that sense of panic so that they can hear what we’re saying.”

Those stats help show that nursing is a field that some are finding later in life, after trying some other professions. Or after finding some inspiration from somewhere or someone or some experience. Or after life, as it usually does, has offered up some challenges and obstacles.

In most cases, the aspiration, the dream, to be a nurse was always there. But pursuit of that dream couldn’t happen until the time was right.

So it was with Toledo, who told BusinessWest that the rigors, and expense, of nursing school were not something she could take on while raising three young children.

But she was always passionate about healthcare and serving others, and has worked in the field since she was 19, mostly as a medical assistant, including lengthy stints at clinics within the Baystate Health umbrella.

“I had all three of my kids by the time I was 24, and I wanted to focus on them first,” she told BusinessWest. “And then, I decided that, when I got older, I would realize my goal, which was to be a nurse, and go back to school.”

Roxana Toledo says the team at the Mercy Emergency Department is like a family.

Roxana Toledo says the team at the Mercy Emergency Department is like a family.

Nursing school was certainly a balancing act involving her studies, her night-shift work at Mercy, and being there for children, who were now in high school and college.

“There was a lot of running around, to be sure,” she recalled. “My youngest played volleyball, and my oldest was in college.”

Toledo persevered and started as a grad nurse in the Mercy ER in January, continuing her training since then and taking on a new role and new responsibilities in a setting she knows well.

As she talked about it, she said the ER is like most settings in healthcare — where teamwork is critical and members of the team have each others’ backs. But it is somewhat unique in that every day really is different, and those providing care to patients and their families are caring for them in a setting that can be intimidating — even, to use her word, “scary.”

“We try to take away that sense of panic so that they can hear what we’re saying,” she explained, referring to both patients and their families, who are coping with perhaps the worst day of their lives, or at least one of them.

As for the families of patients, they are certainly a critical part of the equation, she added.

“You’re there to care for their loved ones and provide them with that sense of safety,” she explained. “You’re there to help them also, not just the patient; you’re there to help them understand what’s going on with their loved one and give them that sense that we’re doing everything we can.”

Speaking of family, that’s a word Toledo used in a different context — to describe the large team that works there, how they work together, and, most importantly, how they support one another to provide high-quality care.

“In the ER, we’re kind of like a family — we’re always helping each other out,” she explained. “Without each other, it doesn’t work. I’ve been there for a long time, so they know me, and they always have my back. And it’s very helpful, as a new nurse, for them to have my back.

“I can ask them anything — I feel comfortable going to anyone,” she went on, “because they’re like family.”

The Markens Group’s Emily Leonczyk Achieves Significant Credential

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Daily News

Emily Leonczyk

SPRINGFIELD — The Markens Group Inc. (TMG) and ASAE, the Center for Association Leadership, announced that Emily Leonczyk recently earned the certified association executive (CAE) designation, the highest professional credential in the association industry. Leonczyk serves as executive vice president of the Markens Group, an accredited association management company based in Springfield.

Association management companies (AMCs) focus on managing and supporting the operations of trade and professional organizations. TMG’s wide range of personalized solutions, including membership management, board governance and relations, financial management, marketing, strategy, meeting planning, and more, are designed to optimize the performance of its association clients. By bringing best practices and innovative solutions to multiple membership-based organizations concurrently, TMG infuses the latest in technology and member-engagement strategies across its clients, allowing association leaders and volunteers to focus on their core mission and strategic goals.

The CAE designation earned by Leonczyk significantly bolsters TMG’s operational effectiveness. This prestigious credential leads to better service for association clients and stronger outcomes, such as increased membership, improved member engagement, and successful events, paving the way for TMG and its clients to achieve their strategic goals.

To become a designated CAE, Leonczyk leveraged her extensive experience with association management, completed 100 hours of specialized professional development, passed a stringent examination in association management, and pledged to uphold a code of ethics. CAEs conduct ongoing professional development and activities in association and nonprofit management to maintain certification. More than 4,500 association professionals hold the CAE credential, a program accredited by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies.

Since joining the Markens Group five years ago, Leonczyk has been a driving force behind the company’s growth. Her enthusiasm and energy encourages the TMG team to show up as their best selves, motivating them to identify and focus on their highest-impact work. She has a knack for developing talent and empowering teammates to nurture and grow their unique gifts. She embodies TMG’s fundamental values through her commitment to collaboration, dedication to improvement, and support of each TMG team member, allowing them to learn, grow, and stretch their abilities.

The CAE designation represents her commitment to leading by example in continuous learning, inspiring her TMG teammates to develop strong leadership skills to guide the company and its clients toward success.

Leonczyk holds an MBA from Drexel University. She attributes her drive, resilience, and dedication to serving others to her family, including her determined and entrepreneurial parents and brothers.

“We are incredibly proud of Emily for earning the certified association executive credential. Emily’s dedication, vision, and leadership have been key to TMG’s growth and success,” said Ben Markens, president and founder of the Markens Group. “Her CAE achievement reflects her ongoing commitment to excellence in association management. We are excited to see how she will continue to inspire and lead our team.”

Bacon Wilson, P.C. Welcomes Four Law Clerks for 2024-25 Season

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that Alba Ago, Benjamin Keogh, Gary DeYoung, and Sarah Zaino have been accepted into its law-clerk program for the 2024-25 school year.

Bacon Wilson created the clerkship program more than 40 years ago to allow law-school students to gain experience and mentoring in the legal profession. The clerks are an integral part of the firm and participate in various firm events during their time at Bacon Wilson.

Alba Ago

Ago is currently a candidate for a juris doctor degree at Western New England University School of Law, expecting to graduate in May 2025. She earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in three years from Montclair State University in 2022, majoring in political science with double minors in social work and global security diplomacy. Before joining Bacon Wilson, Ago completed a family-law defense practicum through Western New England and worked as a family law legal assistant for the current Superior Court judge in New Jersey. She has a keen interest in family law, is an active member of the Family Law Assoc. at Western New England, and serves as president and co-founder of the Middle Eastern Law Assoc. Originally from Albania, she is fluent in Albanian. She is looking forward to exploring various other practice areas during her time at Bacon Wilson.

Benjamin Keogh

Keogh is currently a candidate for both a juris doctor degree and an MBA at Western New England University, with both degrees expected in May 2025. He earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Western New England University in 2022, majoring in criminal justice and minoring in accounting. Before joining Bacon Wilson, Keogh worked as a private investigator, handling a variety of cases in Vermont, Connecticut, and Central and Western Mass. He also worked for the U.S. Census Bureau in Northern Vermont. With a strong interest in transactional law, he is eager to explore the diverse legal practice areas that Bacon Wilson offers.

Gary DeYoung

DeYoung is currently a candidate for a juris doctor degree at Suffolk University Law School, expecting to graduate in May 2025. He holds a doctor of philosophy degree in applied human development and a master of arts degree from Boston University, and he earned his bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, from UMass Amherst. Before joining Bacon Wilson, DeYoung gained experience as a judicial intern for the U.S. District Court in Springfield and served as chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board in Chelsea. He is keen to further develop his expertise in land use, municipal law, and real estate, and looks forward to the opportunities ahead at Bacon Wilson.

Sarah Zaino

Zaino is currently a candidate for a juris doctor degree at Western New England University School of Law, expecting to graduate in May 2025. She earned her bachelor of science degree, cum laude, from Marist College in 2022, where she also obtained her paralegal certificate. Before joining Bacon Wilson, Zaino worked as a temporary assistant clerk for the Connecticut Supreme Appellate Courts and interned with Corbally, Gartland, and Rappleyea in Millbrook, N.Y. She founded the Italian American Law Society during her second year of law school and was also a part of the real-estate practicum this past spring. She has interests in transactional law, estate planning, and corporate law, and is eager to gain practical experience in the legal field during her clerkship at Bacon Wilson.

“We are delighted to welcome these four outstanding law students, who will carry on Bacon Wilson’s proud tradition of excellence among our law clerks,” Managing Shareholder Jeffrey Fialky said. “We are fortunate to have the region’s top talent contribute to our work, ultimately benefiting our clients.”

Edwards Church Invests $500,000 in Way Finders’ Development Capital Fund

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Edwards Church of Northampton has made a $500,000 investment in Way Finders’ Development Capital Fund via a low-interest loan that will provide pre-development funding for affordable-housing projects the agency manages throughout Western Mass.

In 2019, the Edwards Church congregation was surveyed on their preferences for church support in the community. Results indicated that members had a strong interest in supporting affordable housing as an alternative investment of the church’s invested funds.

Its investment committee subsequently sought out an affordable-housing development partner in which to invest and learned that Springfield-based Way Finders, an affordable-housing organization dedicated to bringing home stability to people across Western Mass. since 1972, manages its own Development Capital Fund, which is open to outside investors.

“The most important way to address the affordable housing crisis is by building more homes, which we can do with adequate funding,” said Keith Fairey, Way Finders president and CEO. “Our pre-development fund is vital because it covers the large expenses tied to all the work needed before we put a shovel in the dirt. This includes architect fees, site preparation, permitting, and due diligence.”

Way Finders puts money into the fund, as do outside investors, including churches. Edwards Church is now one of those investors. The $500,000 is a loan to Way Finders, not a grant or gift. The funds earn an annual, below-market interest rate; the funds can be repaid to the church in six years if the church so chooses.

“Parts of the Edwards Church vision statement proclaim, ‘knowing that the road is long, we choose to walk together,’ and ‘encountering the world’s joys and suffering, we offer ourselves as instruments of love and justice,’” said Michael McSherry, senior minister. “The church’s investment in Way Finders is an expression of our commitment to walk with our neighbors who face housing insecurity and taking concrete steps to help build solutions.”

Way Finders has more than seven active affordable-housing projects currently under development in towns including Amherst, South Hadley, Ludlow, Springfield, Great Barrington, and Agawam. The agency built and currently manages Live 155 on Pleasant Street in Northampton and also manages five other affordable-housing properties in Northampton, plus many more throughout Western Mass.

Connecticut Insurance Agency Joins Smith Brothers Insurance

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Monroe Insurance Center Inc., an independent insurance and risk-management agency located in Monroe, Conn., has merged its operations with Smith Brothers Insurance, which has an office in Northampton, as well as offices across Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

The leadership team at Monroe Insurance Center, including John Rodrigues, Anna Rodrigues, Peter Lozier, Gary Freeman, Alan Helfer, and Paul Ackert, will continue to serve clients and, along with their team, join Smith Brothers Insurance. They will maintain their office in Monroe while leveraging the resources of Smith Brothers.

“The Monroe Insurance Center brings a history of serving the insurance needs of families and businesses,” said Joe Smith, president and CEO of Smith Brothers Insurance. “This merger will allow their clients to gain access to additional carriers, coverages, and risk-management services. We look forward to working together to serve our clients and give back to the communities where we live and work.”

Added Rodrigues, “as I have come to know members of the Smith Brothers team, it is clear we share the same values and commitment to quality service. Our clients will benefit from an expanded portfolio of products and a broader network of insurance professionals dedicated to their success. We are excited to join the Smith Brothers team.”

Picture This

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Pullman & Comley, one of the largest full-service law firms based in Connecticut, celebrated the opening of its new Springfield office on June 11
Picture This

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

 

Open for Business

Pullman & Comley, one of the largest full-service law firms based in Connecticut, celebrated the opening of its new Springfield office on June 11 with a ribbon cutting and reception welcoming local business and government leaders, clients, and friends, including Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Diana Szynal, president of the Springfield Regional Chamber. The new space is on the ninth floor of Tower Square at 1500 Main St. downtown. Pullman & Comley opened its original Springfield office, the firm’s first in Massachusetts, in 2019. It has Connecticut offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and Westport, as well as in White Plains, N.Y. and Wakefield, R.I.

Pullman & Comley, one of the largest full-service law firms based in Connecticut, celebrated the opening of its new Springfield office on June 11

Pullman & Comley, one of the largest full-service law firms based in Connecticut, celebrated the opening of its new Springfield office on June 11

 

 

Community Day

On June 14, Whittlesey, one of New England’s largest regional CPA and consulting firms, continued its annual day of volunteerism with various projects across Connecticut and Western Mass. For more than a decade, Whittlesey team members have stepped away from their desks to engage in activities that directly impact the communities where they live and work. This year, Whittlesey mobilized team members throughout the region to collaborate with the Bushnell Park Conservancy, the Diaper Bank of Connecticut, and the Zoo in Forest Park (pictured). Volunteers engaged in a variety of activities, including park cleanup efforts, mulching, planting flower beds, and repairing and painting fences.

This year, Whittlesey mobilized team members throughout the region to collaborate with projects like the Zoo in Forest Park.

This year, Whittlesey mobilized team members throughout the region to collaborate with projects like the Zoo in Forest Park.

 

 

Food for Thought

bankESB recently announced a commitment of $20,000 to Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture’s (CISA) Growing Resilience Campaign, an effort focused on building a stronger, more resilient local food system in Western Mass. This campaign is in line with bankESB’s commitment to supporting the communities it serves through its charitable-giving program, the Giving Tree.

Food for Thought

Pictured: CISA Development Director Wendy Ferris (center) flanked by, from left, bankESB’s George Michelakis, Amherst branch officer; Lauren Tabin, assistant vice president and Northampton branch officer; Olivia Falcone, social media specialist; and Gary Turku, senior vice president, Retail Banking.

Agenda

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Agenda

Healthcare Heroes Nominations

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

 

Art Exhibit Submissions

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

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters Point 5K Fundraiser

July 18: The Franklin County Fairgrounds, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts (BBBSWM) will host its annual Point 5K fundraiser from 4 to 8 p.m. with a rodeo-themed twist. Participants will enjoy a 546-yard dining experience featuring food and drinks from local businesses, including Buckland Pizza, the Food Booth, Ciesluk Farmstand, and the Brewery at Four Star Farms. Local artist DJ Lazer Chicken will bring his musical talents to the event, which is sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank. For tickets and more information, visit bigbrotherssisters.org or the organization’s Facebook page.

 

Whip City Animal Sanctuary Annual Golf Tournament

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

 

Party for a Purpose

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

People on the Move

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People on the Move
Hans Jung

Hans Jung

KeyBank announced that Hans Jung has joined the bank as senior relationship manager within its Connecticut and Western Mass. middle-market Commercial Banking team. In this role, he will work with companies with annual revenues from $10 million to $2 billion, offering a range of corporate finance solutions, treasury management, and liquidity solutions tailored to meet their unique business needs. In addition, Jung will work with private-equity sponsors to support their investment strategies with acquisition financing. With extensive experience advising clients and providing comprehensive financial solutions, including M&A transactions, he will support the growth and success of KeyBank’s middle-market clients and report to Matthew Hummel, market president and Commercial Banking executive. Jung brings an extensive background in corporate finance, transaction banking, trade finance, capital markets, and liquidity management, cultivated from previous underwriting, portfolio-management, and relationship-management roles with Santander Bank and Webster Bank, among others. He is committed to community involvement, actively volunteering with organizations such as the Metro Hartford Alliance, LISC, and the United Way. He also served as chairman of the Audit Commission for the city of Hartford, a board member of the Connecticut China Council, and a program committee member for ACG-CT. He is a CFA charter holder with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance from Boston College.

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Nicole Blais

Nicole Blais

Nicole Blais, CEO of Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield (HCS) Head Start Inc., was recently re-elected to the Massachusetts Head Start Assoc. (MHSA) board of directors and will also serve as treasurer. MHSA serves as the voice of nearly 30 Head Start and Early Head Start programs across Massachusetts. The not-for-profit membership organization provides collaborative learning opportunities, leverages partnerships, and advocates for Head Start programs. Blais has spent most of her entire career with Head Start. Beginning in 1996 as the Parent Education and Support specialist for HCS Head Start, she was responsible for ensuring that Head Start performance standards and other regulations related to parent involvement were upheld at all times. For a decade, she developed and implemented various parent and family engagement programming — such as Parenting in the 21st Century, Men Involved in the Lives of Kids, Family Fun Nights — and other parent-driven activities; supervised a team; and began making a name for herself speaking and presenting throughout the Commonwealth as well as at National Head Start Assoc. conferences across the country. In 2012, Blais transitioned to the position of director of Community Engagement, where she spent almost another 10 years supporting the work of HCS Head Start. In this role, she identified, maintained, and grew collaborations with outside agencies and community initiatives, local media outlets, political and community leaders, and funders. The next phase of her career came when her mentor, Janis Santos, HCS Head Start’s longtime CEO, announced her retirement. In 2021, amid the pandemic, Blais began her role as CEO of the organization. Blais serves the community in other ways, including roles as a Springfield Regional Chamber ambassador and Holyoke Rotary Club member. She attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and did her graduate studies in nonprofit management & philanthropy at Bay Path University.

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New England Public Media (NEPM) recently announced four awards won by journalists with the organization. At the recent Health Journalism Conference hosted by the Assoc. of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) in New York City, NEPM reporter Karen Brown earned second place in the Public Health category for her three-part series, “Safe Bet: Is Mass. Fulfilling Its Problem-gambling Mandate?” Brown is also the host and producer of NEPM’s new podcast, “The Secrets we Keep.” In addition to AHCJ’s recognition, the NEPM newsroom received accolades from the Public Media Journalists Assoc. (PMJA). The PMJA awards recognize the best in public-media journalism produced in one year from across the country. Stations competed against others with similar-sized newsrooms; NEPM competed in Division A, representing stations with 8 to 15 full-time staff. NEPM reporters Dusty Christensen and Nirvani Williams both won PMJA awards. Christensen’s investigative piece, “Records Obtained Under New Mass. Law Show Holyoke Police Dismiss Nearly All Civilian Complaints,” secured second place in the Digital Writing category, while Williams’ feature, “New Law Takes Effect, but Still Not Easy for Undocumented Immigrants to Get Mass. Driver’s Licenses,” earned first place in the Government and Democracy Feature category. Reporter Nancy Eve Cohen’s outstanding work on clergy sexual abuse was recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Assoc. (RTDNA) with a regional Edward R. Murrow Award in the Hard News category. Her story, “‘I Don’t Know Who Is Stopping This’: Advocates Urge Mass. AG to Issue Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse,” on the apparent delay in an attorney general report on what had occurred at the Springfield, Worcester, and Fall River dioceses, was honored. Cohen followed her award-winning work with “‘Another Level of Coverup’: How a Mass. Law Prevents Clergy Abuse Survivors From Getting Justice” and “Western Mass. Actor Depicts Clergy Abuse Survivor Who Rejects Church Settlement — Like He Did.” The regional Murrow Award winners are chosen from all stories in a designated region, in this case Region 10, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Cohen will now advance to the national RTDNA Murrow Awards competition, winners of which will be announced in August.

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Tessa Lucey

Tessa Lucey

Tessa Lucey has been appointed to the Westfield State University board of trustees. She replaces trustee and former Chairman Robert Martin, whose 10-year term ended March 1. He remained in holdover status by the governor’s office until Lucey’s appointment on May 6. Lucey has more than 20 years of experience as a compliance officer, including extensive professional experience in healthcare and higher-education compliance, operations, labor relations, policy development, program implementation, investigations, government reviews, and audits. She is currently director of Compliance Services and chief privacy officer at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Prior to this position, she was corporate Compliance officer and chief privacy officer at Hallmark Health System in Medford. Prior to her position at Hallmark Health, she was director of Compliance and chief privacy officer at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. In addition to her bachelor’s degree in business with minors both psychology and women’s studies from Westfield State University, Lucey earned a master of healthcare administration degree from Simmons College.

•••••

MountainOne announced the promotion of several employees in the North Adams office to new positions, acknowledging their hard work, dedication, and impactful contributions to the company. Betsy Kapner has been promoted to vice president, Marketing manager. She joined MountainOne in 2013 and has deep knowledge and expertise in marketing compliance requirements. She demonstrates an ongoing commitment to professional development and excels at meeting deadlines, collaborating effectively with colleagues, and contributing meaningfully to every project. Jessica Andrews has been promoted to assistant vice president, Deposit Compliance & Fraud Administration officer. Since joining in 2005, she has developed a deep understanding of the deposit compliance environment and helps leads the administration of the bank’s fraud-reporting platform. Her involvement in compliance projects demonstrates her leadership and commitment to MountainOne’s core commitment of regulatory accountability. Lisa Mineau has been promoted to assistant vice president, senior Human Resources Operations officer. Over her 43-year career, she has adapted to change and taken on increasingly significant responsibilities. She started as a teller at North Adams Hoosac Savings Bank and then as a customer-service representative in community banking before finding her passion in human resources in 2002. Her recently enhanced role includes oversight of payroll, benefits, and personnel administration.

•••••

George Michelakis

George Michelakis

bankESB recently hired George Michelakis as branch officer of its 253 Triangle St. office in Amherst. Michelakis has 15 years of banking experience. He was previously a financial center manager at Berkshire Bank and, before that, a branch operations administrator at People’s United Bank. He brings an extensive background of retail banking leadership experience to his new role, where he will manage the Amherst office team while remaining engaged in the community. Michelakis has an associate degree in marketing management from Holyoke Community College and is an avid volunteer with many different organizations in Western Mass.

•••••

Momentum: Montessori, a Life in Motion by Elizabeth Slade of Florence has been named one of the best indie books of 2024 by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group. Slade’s book won the historical nonfiction category in the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the largest awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors. Published by Atmosphere Press, Momentum is a historical fiction novel based on Maria Montessori’s life. The story, inspired by her 1913 diary, is a fictional retelling of her first voyage to America. Written from Maria’s perspective to her son, Mario, the novel explores her groundbreaking achievements and personal sacrifices that would later revolutionize education around the world. For more information about Slade and Momentum: Montessori, a Life in Motion, visit egslade.com.

 

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook

White Lion Expands Beer-garden Footprint

SPRINGFIELD — White Lion Brewing Co. obtained local licensing approval to operate a series of beer gardens in three Western Mass. cities: Holyoke, Westfield, and Springfield. As a local brewer, White Lion collaborates with community stakeholders and engages a broad audience that embrace and support outdoor programming. In Springfield, to stimulate small-business awareness, White Lion will rotate through downtown and set up near key points of business. The two primary locations are One Financial Plaza, 1350 Main St., which is home to a small-business incubator made up of several startup businesses. White Lion will be downtown every Wednesday through Aug. 28. The beer garden opens at 4 p.m. The second location is the Plaza at 1550 Main St., the home of the Springfield School Department and other government offices. Holyoke’s Armour Yard is located at the Cubit, 164 Race St. Centrally located, the site offers live music, food, and craft vendors. White Lion partnerships include the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce and Holyoke Craft Beer. White Lion can be found every Monday at the Cubit through Aug. 26th. The beer garden opens at 5 p.m. For several years, 53 Elm St. in Westfield was home to live music, food vendors, and a White Lion pop-up. White Lion, in partnership with ArtWorks Westfield, helped sponsor the weekly music events. This summer, White Lion will be on site very Friday through Aug. 30. The beer garden opens at 5 p.m.

 

HCC Awarded $832K to Boost Clean-energy Workforce

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) has been awarded an $832,000 grant to help train workers for jobs in the clean-energy sector. The two-year grant, announced earlier this month, was part of an overall $3.4 million allocation from the Healey-Driscoll administration to three higher-education institutions for climate-related workforce-training initiatives. HCC was the only institution in Western Mass. to receive funding. Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology and Roxbury Community College, both in Boston, also received grant awards of $1.3 million each. Overall, the grants will lead to green-industry-specific training for an estimated 400 individuals, 150 of them through HCC. The college and its community and industry partners will spend the next few months developing training programs in five areas: EV (electric vehicle) charging station installation; energy auditing, solar installation, green industry supervision and management, and green careers job readiness. HCC’s partners in the grant include Holyoke Gas & Electric, Springfield Works, and the Coalition for Equitable Economy (CEE), an organization that supports businesses owned by people of color. Holyoke Community College is a federally recognized Hispanic-Serving Institution, which was one of the eligibility requirements for the grant. Training is expected to begin in early 2025, if not sooner.

 

Garvey Law, LLC Opens West Springfield Office

WEST SPRINGFIELD — On June 20, attorney Katherine Garvey, founder of Garvey Law, LLC, celebrated the grand opening of the firm’s office at 1312 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Garvey Law, LLC, an all-female law firm specializing in Massachusetts and Connecticut real estate, estate planning, and probate law, recently celebrated its fourth year in business.

 

Graduate Engineering Programs at UMass Amherst Earn High Marks

AMHERST — UMass Amherst graduate engineering programs place among the best in the country in the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings for 2024, announced last week. UMass Amherst is the only public university in New England to place in the top 50, and most of its College of Engineering doctoral degree programs also made significant gains over last year’s rankings. Overall, the College of Engineering moved up seven spots from last year to reach the top 25%, tying with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Florida in the 48th spot. Nine engineering specialty areas that offer doctoral degrees rank between 35 and 69 for 2024. Notably, four engineering specialties — chemical, industrial, computer, and materials — place in the top 40. Chemical engineering ranks 35th, followed by industrial at 36th; computer at 38th, up six spots from 2023; and materials at 40th, which climbed significantly from its ranking in the 57th spot last year. Environmental engineering ranks 41st, civil 48th, and electrical 53rd. Other specialty areas that also place higher this year include mechanical at 56th, up five spots, and biomedical at 69th, which improves 10 spots from 2023. U.S. News compares schools on their research activity, faculty resources, academic achievements of entering students, and assessments by other engineering schools and employers.

 

MountainOne Supports Berkshire Community Action Council

NORTH ADAMS — MountainOne announced recently donated $10,000 to the Berkshire Community Action Council (BCAC) as part of its 2024 Community Dividend Program. The BCAC is a nonprofit human-service organization that assists low-income residents of Berkshire County toward achieving sustainability and self-sufficiency. Working with the community to find creative and maintainable solutions that promote economic stability and alleviate the destabilizing effects of poverty for those in Berkshire County, the BCAC has had “self-sufficiency and dignity for all” as its vision since incorporating in 1966. MountainOne’s donation is earmarked specifically for the BCAC’s Warm Winter Clothing Program, , which provides children age 12 and under with new coats, boots, hats, mittens, and gloves. While the cold-weather season is still months away, MountainOne is providing these funds now because preparations for the program span all four seasons. Families are provided with the opportunity to shop for items at the Children’s Winter Boutique at BCAC, allowing them the opportunity to chose items that best suit their children’s taste, style, and comfort. The Community Dividend Program at MountainOne supports nonprofits throughout the Berkshires and South Shore, particularly organizations that positively impact community members most in need. In addition to corporate sponsorship, BCAC offers the ability to for community members and groups to sponsor a child during the winter. For further details on the Warm Winter Clothing Program, visit bcacinc.org/winter-clothing-program.

 

Baystate Health Awards $500,000 in Better Together Grants

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

Incorporations

By
Incorporations

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

AMHERST

Powell Family Home Improvement Inc., 149 Pomeroy Lane, Amherst, MA 01002. Michael Powell, same. Home improvement.

CHICOPEE

Connors Home Improvements Inc., 16 Sampson St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Greg Connors, same. Roofing services.

New Age Limit Records Worldwide Inc., 22 Artisan St., Apt. 3L, Chicopee, MA 01013. Wleh Dennis Rogers-Stanley Sr., same. Independent record label, and multimedia company specializing in producing music, distributing music, artist development, radio and podcast sports, modeling, acting, and security.

NORTHAMPTON

Makefixhack Inc., 4 Franklin Court, Northampton, MA 01060. William Cameron, 2 Pleasant St., Apt. 2, Easthampton, MA 01027. Nonprofit organization established to foster the practices of craft, creativity, repair, reuse, and exploration of technology through individual and collaborative projects, community building, tool and resource access, education, and mentorship.

PITTSFIELD

Lawelawe Defense Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. David Thompson, same. Research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences.

R&D Solutions International Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Dominique Taylor, same. Life-sciences management consulting firm specializing in providing expert guidance to international clients seeking to navigate the intricate regulatory landscape of the U.S.

Siga Cover Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Etienne Gubler, same. Wholesale of specialty building materials.

Trady Home Services Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite100, Pittsfield, MA 01201.

SOUTH DEERFIELD

Blue Crow Botanicals Inc., 265 Greenfield Road, South Deerfield, MA 01373. Anne Wagner, 2 Hyde Hill Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096. Growing and manufacturing herbal extracts.

Josh’s Detailing Service Shop Inc., 60 North Main St., South Deerfield, MA 01373. Josh Candelaria, 14 Lunt Dr., Greenfield, MA 01301. Auto-detailing shop.

SPRINGFIELD

Frederick H. Stebbins House Preservation Management Inc., 1030 Worthington St., Springfield, MA 01109. Elisha Colgram, 304 Bay St., Springfield, MA 01109. Nonprofit organization established to preserve the historic Frederick H. Stebbins House in Springfield so that its qualities are available as an educational and cultural resource for Springfield residents and visitors to the city.

Home Harbor Foundation Inc., 20 Rosella St., Springfield, MA 01118. Tatsiana Volks, same. Nonprofit foundation serving the community by providing essential shelter and housing solutions tailored to meet the needs of low-income and/or elderly individuals facing health challenges that necessitate residing with a caregiver or special living accommodations.

VDM Consulting Group Inc., 24 Itendale St., Springfield, MA 01108. Manuel Mantilla II, same. Consulting firm dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions and strategic guidance to businesses across various industries.

WARE

Elite Coverage Group Inc., 118 West St., Ware, MA 01082. William Peralta, same. Health-insurance agency.

Papas’ Inc., 75 East St., Ware, MA 01082. Muhammad Ashraf, 109 Parker Lane, Ludlow, MA 01056. Diner.

WESTFIELD

7 Tokyo Inc., 282 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Kwang Soon Kim, same. Skin-care sap service.

AP Building & Remodeling Inc., 47 George St., Westfield, MA 01085. Alexander Pikulski, same. Construction.

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

BERNARDSTON

754 Battleboro Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $714,924
Buyer: Connelly Farm RT
Seller: Camilla M. Hodger
Date: 05/28/24

DEERFIELD

300 Conway Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $557,000
Buyer: Brian Colleran
Seller: Adam Czachorowski
Date: 06/07/24

46 Eastern Ave.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $437,239
Buyer: Ryan C. Kingston
Seller: Dorothy M. Milewski
Date: 05/30/24

35 King Philip Ave.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $574,900
Buyer: Bryant J. Crubaugh
Seller: John T. McConnell
Date: 06/07/24

7 Memorial St.
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $1,990,000
Buyer: 7 Memorial St. TR
Seller: Fieled Point Circle TR
Date: 05/29/24

108 North Hillside Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Jason M. Levy
Seller: Kirsten Oxboel
Date: 06/04/24

121 Sandgully Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Brown
Seller: Felix Rodriguez
Date: 06/05/24

ERVING

17 Moore St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $371,000
Buyer: Julie M. Smith
Seller: Milles Falls Realty LLC
Date: 05/31/24

GREENFIELD

119 Cleveland St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Jonathan Bassett
Seller: Robert A. Poirier
Date: 05/29/24

161 High St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Peter Luthi Real Estate Trusts
Seller: Peter B. Chandler
Date: 05/30/24

17 Raingley Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $368,500
Buyer: Jeremy Bouchard
Seller: Lisa A. Kimball
Date: 05/31/24

147-149 School St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Deebee RT
Seller: Stephen R. Poulin
Date: 06/04/24

306-308 Wells St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Eds Enterprises LLC
Seller: Property Advantage Inc.
Date: 05/30/24

200 Wisdom Way
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Jennifer Blythe
Seller: Mark Wightman
Date: 05/31/24

MONTAGUE

1 Australia Way
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: Great Falls Holdings LLC
Seller: Australis Aquaculture Holdings
Date: 05/29/24

32 Center St.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $772,000
Buyer: Harry S. Rockland-Miller TR
Seller: Laura A. Deluca
Date: 05/31/24

21 Franklin St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Andre Morris
Seller: Patrick S. Pezzati
Date: 06/03/24

34 K St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Arpc LLC
Seller: Walter E. Hosmer
Date: 05/29/24

114 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Diana Sainz-Close
Seller: Eds Enterprises LLC
Date: 05/30/24

306 Montague City Road
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: William Schulze
Seller: Jacob S. Dlugosz
Date: 06/04/24

58 Prospect St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Olivia Cifrino
Seller: Katherine E. Blair
Date: 06/07/24

53 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Sequoia R. Lebreux
Seller: Douglas Dedischew
Date: 06/03/24

ORANGE

35 Oaklawn Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $237,500
Buyer: Jonathan Rawls
Seller: Secretary Of Veterans Affairs
Date: 05/31/24

SHUTESBURY

52 Shore Dr.
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Clare Storck
Seller: Brenda Wood-Ewing
Date: 05/29/24

SUNDERLAND

South Silver Lane
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Kitchen Garden Farm LLC
Seller: Timothy N. Wilcox
Date: 05/31/24

131 South Silver Lane
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Kitchen Garden Farm LLC
Seller: Timothy N. Wilcox
Date: 05/31/24

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

48 Anthony St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Aaron Rocheleau
Seller: Robert W. Drane
Date: 06/07/24

131 Alfred Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Rcf2 Acquisition TR
Seller: Kimberly A. Leask
Date: 05/28/24

41 Federal Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Tyler Howe
Seller: Clark Dore
Date: 05/31/24

137 Florida Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Igor Varenyev
Seller: Colin M. Deforge
Date: 05/30/24

158 Florida Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Mikalai Shmatok
Seller: Douglas Dichard
Date: 06/05/24

85 Fox Farm Road
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Matthew Balsamo
Seller: Stokowsk, Marianne R., (Estate)
Date: 06/03/24

31 Letendre Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Jash B. Baniya
Seller: Jason E. Merriam
Date: 05/30/24

1215 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $301,000
Buyer: Timothy L. Gibson
Seller: Davis FT
Date: 06/07/24

6 Maple Meadows Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Tarek Firzli
Seller: Peter J. Ferri
Date: 05/31/24

837 North Westfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Kozhenevsky Properties LLC
Seller: Heather Hammond
Date: 05/31/24

207 Poplar St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Steven Garrett
Seller: Jane R. Beresford
Date: 06/03/24

55 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Emanuel Correa
Seller: Maks Realty LLC
Date: 06/05/24

108-110 Sheri Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Muhammad Razzaq
Seller: Sinh La
Date: 05/31/24

15 South West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Kelsey Granaudo
Seller: Ellen Moriarty
Date: 06/05/24

484 South West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: A-O-K-RT
Seller: Roger W. Burleson
Date: 06/06/24

576 Southwick St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $349,900
Buyer: Paul Barkyoumb
Seller: Joseph T. Moccio
Date: 05/31/24

33 Woodside Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Austen J. Gilman
Seller: Stacee A. Cole
Date: 05/28/24

BRIMFIELD

Haynes Hill Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Commonwealth Of Mass.
Seller: Margery J. Wilburn
Date: 05/29/24

289 Palmer Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Mark Sagendorph
Seller: Emerald Reo LLC
Date: 05/31/24

CHESTER

Bromley Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Beecher Hill NT
Seller: Hull Forestlands LP
Date: 05/29/24

East St.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Beecher Hill NT
Seller: Hull Forestlands LP
Date: 05/29/24

Kyle Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Beecher Hill NT
Seller: Hull Forestlands LP
Date: 05/29/24

CHICOPEE

93 Beauregard Ter.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Brendan Lalumiere
Seller: Christine J. King
Date: 05/31/24

571 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Leeann Rose
Seller: Endo Realty LLC
Date: 06/03/24

66 Dwight St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $1,150,000
Buyer: Mindruns Properties LLC
Seller: Blackrock BNG Group LLC
Date: 05/31/24

50 Hilton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Israel Lopez
Seller: Gilles A. Rheaume
Date: 06/05/24

80 Hilton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Zachary Gordon
Seller: Justin Doyle
Date: 06/07/24

427 Irene St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: David G. Wilson
Seller: Shaddock Sr., Charles T., (Estate)
Date: 06/06/24

23 Ludger Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Joshua Mills
Seller: Provost, Jeannette S., (Estate)
Date: 06/04/24

126 Ludlow Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Mehmet Karaca
Seller: JTT Realty LLC
Date: 05/31/24

128 Marion St. Ext
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $273,800
Buyer: Maria A. Rosario
Seller: Partyka Partners LP
Date: 06/05/24

20 Newell St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $283,500
Buyer: John J. Flynn
Seller: 20 Newelll St. RT
Date: 05/28/24

266 Old Lyman Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $495,000
Buyer: Sara Windyka
Seller: DGL Properties LLC
Date: 05/29/24

7 Oxford St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Breann Grenier
Seller: Gregory A. Bernash
Date: 06/04/24

32 Rita St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Khando Kyi
Seller: Patricia A. Samson
Date: 06/07/24

89-95 School St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $1,150,000
Buyer: Mindruns Properties LLC
Seller: Blackrock Bng Group LLC
Date: 05/31/24

2189 Westover Road
Chicopee, MA 01022
Amount: $12,400,000
Buyer: Area Chicwh LLC
Seller: Stag Industrial Holdings LLC
Date: 06/05/24

16 Willette St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jazzminlee E. Rosado
Seller: Gilberto T. Rodriguez
Date: 06/07/24

50 Woodstock St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Robert T. Doyle
Seller: Skiba, Edward F., (Estate)
Date: 06/03/24

EAST LONGMEADOW

26 Cedar Hill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Michael J. Wilkins
Seller: Nicholas J. Shea
Date: 06/04/24

42 East Circle Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Trinh Nguyen
Seller: Connie Stulgis
Date: 05/31/24

Farmer Circle, Lot 17
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Dominick Pellegrino
Seller: Happy Acres LLC
Date: 05/30/24

Farmer Circle, Lot 15
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Priscilla Y. Choi
Seller: Happy Acres LLC
Date: 05/30/24

Farmer Circle, Lot 18
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Rosanny Amaro
Seller: Happy Acres LLC
Date: 05/30/24

Happy Acres Lane, Lot 11
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: John A. Grimaldi
Seller: Happy Acres LLC
Date: 05/30/24

Happy Acres Lane, Lot 9
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Michael Carabetta
Seller: Happy Acres LLC
Date: 06/07/24

Happy Acres Lane, Lot 6
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Keith Johnson
Seller: Happy Acres LLC
Date: 05/30/24

3 James St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: W2 Properties LLC
Seller: Smith Realty & Investments Co.
Date: 05/29/24

125 Lasalle St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $540,000
Buyer: Mukeshbhai Patel
Seller: Michael Carabetta
Date: 05/29/24

194 Mapleshade Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Armando A. Cardozo
Seller: Avens LLC
Date: 06/07/24

109 Nottingham Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $720,000
Buyer: Cassandra Gisolfi
Seller: Donald J. Coughlin
Date: 05/31/24

471 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Jonathan M. Mugford
Seller: Dnepro Properties LLC
Date: 06/04/24

211 Tanglewood Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $670,000
Buyer: Nicholas J. Shea
Seller: Thomas P. Byrne
Date: 05/28/24

31 Yorkshire Place
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Michael Scavotto
Seller: Giovanni F. Gisolfi
Date: 05/31/24

HAMPDEN

15 Commercial Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Hennessey Williams Properties LLC
Seller: Fbs Inc.
Date: 06/03/24

405 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Lynne Franciose
Seller: Peter H. Lehndorff
Date: 05/30/24

HOLLAND

17 Candlewood Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Brooke Roberts
Seller: Roy St. Andre
Date: 06/06/24

3 Roberts Park Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Bennett Wightman
Seller: Walter Estates LLC
Date: 05/30/24

14 Union Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Skavis
Seller: Antonia S. Young
Date: 05/30/24

HOLYOKE

355 Chestnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: John Avolin
Seller: Shamika Santos
Date: 06/07/24

48 Clemente St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $226,000
Buyer: Franchesca Ruiz
Seller: Anthony H-Santiago
Date: 05/29/24

4 Columbia St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Juan C. Nunez
Seller: Luis Rosado-Cardona
Date: 05/30/24

85 Dupuis Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $351,000
Buyer: Charles R. Moeller
Seller: Robert A. Griffin
Date: 06/05/24

1412 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $178,500
Buyer: Alycar LLC
Seller: Jahjan LLC
Date: 06/03/24

1 Fairfield Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $124,500
Buyer: Appleton Grove LLC
Seller: Joan E. Erwin
Date: 05/30/24

11 Gordon Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Benjamin H. Normandin
Seller: Steven J. Rogers
Date: 05/31/24

166 Michigan Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Ivan R. Belvis-Navarro
Seller: O’Shea, Lillian, (Estate)
Date: 06/06/24

7-9 Myrtle Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Gabriel Quaglia
Seller: Ellen Correa
Date: 05/31/24

3-5 Russell Ter.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Mario X. Colon-Escalante
Seller: John M. Gaughan
Date: 06/03/24

17 Steven Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Jennifer T. Walsh
Seller: Joseph W. Dubois Sr. Irt
Date: 05/30/24

21-23 View St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Jose L. Rivera
Seller: Anastacio Laureano
Date: 06/07/24

LONGMEADOW

25 Andover Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Raymond L. Mitchell
Seller: 11 Pineridge Drive RT
Date: 05/30/24

40 Barbara Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Chiwai Chow
Seller: Megan Oksendahl
Date: 06/07/24

87 Barclay St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $449,000
Buyer: Leslie Bennett
Seller: Scott J. Gomes-Ganhao
Date: 05/31/24

126 Berwick Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Matthew M. Paige
Seller: 126 Berwick Road RT
Date: 05/31/24

33 Forest Glen Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $805,000
Buyer: Laura Deluca
Seller: Douglas L. Soder
Date: 05/30/24

29 Hopkins Place
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Christopher Stohlmeyer
Seller: John D. Stankiewicz
Date: 06/07/24

100 Jonquil Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $740,000
Buyer: John E. Dowd
Seller: Brian T. Foley
Date: 06/07/24

295 Pinewood Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $885,000
Buyer: Beverly Moore
Seller: Kihan Francis Lee 2020 TR
Date: 06/07/24

102 Primrose Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Carol M. Samble
Seller: James P. Blain
Date: 05/31/24

34 Roseland Ter.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Todd Young
Seller: John E. Dowd
Date: 06/07/24

137 Sheffield Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Mass. Cardinal Group LLC
Seller: Tatyana S. Jacobs
Date: 06/05/24

203 Wolf Swamp Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Michael Scibelli
Seller: Patricia B. Ahearn
Date: 06/05/24

LUDLOW

626 Alden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: William E. Silvia
Seller: Albert G. Chenaille
Date: 06/07/24

88 Barna St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Mhi Properties LLC
Seller: Z. & M. Investments LLC
Date: 06/03/24

11 Daisy Lane
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Manuel & G. Coelho Ft
Seller: Barry, Beverely A., (Estate)
Date: 05/30/24

565-567 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $362,000
Buyer: Kyung C. Hyun
Seller: Clayton S. Booth
Date: 05/28/24

87 Hubbard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Tiago A. Boacas-Martins
Seller: Augusto Ferreira
Date: 05/29/24

141 Kirkland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $393,500
Buyer: Louis F. Gatti
Seller: Paula R. Purdy
Date: 06/07/24

60 McLean Pkwy.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Joanne E. Holtje
Seller: Joanne Bobrek
Date: 05/31/24

23 New Crest St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Sharif Bilodeau
Seller: Donegan, Monica J., (Estate)
Date: 05/31/24

1 Parkview St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Jrchr LLC
Seller: Jaciow, Richard J., (Estate)
Date: 06/03/24

88 Pondview Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Emiliana Palmer
Seller: Judy A. Cowles
Date: 05/31/24

26 Ray St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Dale Varney
Seller: Christopher J. Lemek RET
Date: 06/05/24

13 Salli Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $387,500
Buyer: John E. Gomes
Seller: Christopher H. Newman
Date: 06/04/24

103 Shawinigan Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Alden Pond Properties LLC
Seller: Amelia B. Charron FT
Date: 05/31/24

Turning Leaf Road, Lot 82
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $164,900
Buyer: Brandon McCarthy
Seller: Whitetail Wreks LLC
Date: 05/29/24

377 Woodland Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $556,500
Buyer: T. Frimpong-Leclair
Seller: Monika M. Konopko
Date: 05/29/24

MONSON

7 Beebe Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Daniel M. Nale
Seller: Harrison, Edward S., (Estate)
Date: 06/03/24

21 Bradway Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Sarah M. Mosiashvili
Seller: Matthew R. Currier
Date: 06/06/24

9 Brimfield Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Shamus P. King
Seller: Osgood, Geoffrey Hay, (Estate)
Date: 06/05/24

14 Macomber Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $578,000
Buyer: Nicolas Bates
Seller: Barry S. Drinkwine
Date: 06/06/24

57 Stafford Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $141,150
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Yvette Rioux
Date: 06/04/24

147 Wales Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $999,999
Buyer: Travis Neidlinger Stables
Seller: Deanna Veinotte
Date: 05/30/24

PALMER

10 Fieldstone Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Andrew Palmer
Seller: Sharon Langlitz
Date: 05/31/24

22 Harvey St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $304,000
Buyer: Julia C. Emond-Maturo
Seller: Mark D. Bachand
Date: 06/05/24

99 Longview St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Shaw Development Inc.
Seller: Jonathan E. Neumann
Date: 06/06/24

RUSSELL

434 Blandford Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Saje Home Services LLC
Seller: Wicked Deals LLC
Date: 05/31/24

114 Dickinson Hill Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Cody Payson
Seller: Deanna Ridgway
Date: 05/28/24

70 Ridgewood Dr.
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Jestyna P. Peatman
Seller: Louis E. Garlo
Date: 05/31/24

SPRINGFIELD

60-62 Algonquin St.
Springfield, MA 01013
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Jason D. Brown
Seller: Rehab Home Buyers LLC
Date: 05/30/24

Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $2,100,000
Buyer: Ng Land Holdings LLC
Seller: Stop & Shop Supermarket
Date: 05/30/24

174 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $286,000
Buyer: Ejike Okeke
Seller: F. K. De Nunez
Date: 06/03/24

61-63 Ames St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Liana Khaydarova
Seller: Plata O. Plomo Inc
Date: 06/07/24

85 Barber St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Ashley C. Philpott
Seller: Omar Loaiza
Date: 06/07/24

40 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Benny Flores
Seller: H&P Investments LLC
Date: 06/07/24

858 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $288,000
Buyer: B9 Industries Inc.
Seller: Nicholas G. Axton
Date: 06/05/24

23 Belvidere St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jared Borja
Seller: Samuel Peront
Date: 06/05/24

42 Berkeley St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Chenevert Properties LLC
Seller: Berkeley-Monmouth RT
Date: 06/07/24

85 Braddock St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Malia Homebuyers LLC
Seller: Nadine Pallazola
Date: 06/07/24

14-16 Brightwood Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $423,000
Buyer: Maria J. Chimborazo
Seller: Maria Escalera
Date: 06/07/24

44 Bruce St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Exon A. Redondo Bueso
Seller: Sareen Properties LLC
Date: 05/29/24

169 Centre St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Round Two LLC
Seller: Carlos Porfirio
Date: 06/04/24

69 Chapin Ter.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $221,351
Buyer: Federal National Mortgage Assn.
Seller: Marietta O. Flaherty
Date: 06/04/24

570-572 Chicopee St.
Springfield, MA 01013
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Vita Filippone
Seller: Degaulle N. Litoma
Date: 05/31/24

36 Cleveland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Anthony Porter
Seller: Jamal Porter
Date: 06/05/24

116 Colorado St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $291,500
Buyer: Jannette Brown
Seller: Daniel A. Burke
Date: 05/31/24

732 Cottage St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Ddmns Realty LLC
Seller: Steven E. Mrowzinski
Date: 05/31/24

42 Daytona St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $175,098
Buyer: Yeslin Gonzalez
Seller: DLJ Mortgage Capital Inc.
Date: 05/28/24

23 Dartmouth St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Theodore Jewell
Seller: Jewell, Fannie B., (Estate)
Date: 06/07/24

150 Dayton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $361,000
Buyer: Heather Noonan
Seller: Richard A. Sibilia
Date: 06/05/24

34 Dorchester St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $383,000
Buyer: Andrew C. Marshall
Seller: Yamilet Boston
Date: 06/03/24

120-122 East Alvord St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $304,000
Buyer: Francheska M. Santos
Seller: Anthony D. Decesare
Date: 06/07/24

1 Eagle St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Napolitano Roofing Of Mass.
Seller: Maria A. Alvarez
Date: 06/05/24

44 Eagle St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Napolitano Roofing Of Mass.
Seller: Maria A. Alvarez
Date: 06/05/24

57-59 Eloise St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Akim Duncan
Seller: Round Two LLC
Date: 05/30/24

93 Farnsworth St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $279,500
Buyer: James Gutierrez
Seller: Margaret A. O’Malley
Date: 05/29/24

384 Forest Hills Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $382,000
Buyer: Edward F. Teague
Seller: Molly L. Dill
Date: 06/03/24

312-314 Franklin St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $417,500
Buyer: Nicolas M. Soza
Seller: Allen, Edward Howard, (Estate)
Date: 05/31/24

52-54 Fremont St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Rengui Qiao
Seller: Full House Properties LLC
Date: 06/07/24

156 Garland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $287,500
Buyer: Julien Coppry
Seller: Earl R. Rule
Date: 06/03/24

195 Garland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Naples Home Buyers TR
Seller: Laliberte, Serge J., (Estate)
Date: 06/06/24

16 Gary Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Kevin Lewis
Seller: Colson, Jane, (Estate)
Date: 05/31/24

22 Gertrude St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Shamari J. Kelly
Seller: Shirley D. Lertora
Date: 06/07/24

230 Gilbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $299,999
Buyer: Nikita Manzoor
Seller: Nicholas Turnberg
Date: 06/07/24

13 Grattan St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Jacquelyn J. Day
Seller: Rhonda Pimentel
Date: 05/31/24

191 Hampden St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Christopher Vachon
Seller: Eich Estates Inc.
Date: 06/07/24

106 Harkness Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Jorge L. Lizarraga
Seller: Michael R. Godek
Date: 06/07/24

51-53 Horace St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Juan D. Marte
Seller: Benny Moreno
Date: 05/31/24

85 Lancaster St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $286,000
Buyer: Tyler Narey
Seller: Christian Brandrick
Date: 05/30/24

14-16 Langdon St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $337,000
Buyer: Tomas H. Garcia
Seller: Edward A. Abraham 2022 TR
Date: 05/31/24

91-93 Lebanon St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Lucy A. Daveiga
Seller: Next Level Invs LLC
Date: 05/30/24

56 Leyfred Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Sarah Simpson
Seller: Long River Realty LLC
Date: 06/07/24

170-174 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Round Two LLC
Seller: Carlos Porfirio
Date: 06/04/24

173 Mallowhill Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Bharati N. Reejhsinghani
Seller: Jannette Brown
Date: 05/31/24

77 Maple St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Campagnari Construction LLC
Seller: Sfmg Capital LLC
Date: 05/29/24

83 Maple St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Campagnari Construction LLC
Seller: Sfmg Capital LLC
Date: 05/29/24

95 Margerie St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Yarylie N. Miranda-Cruz
Seller: Jjj17 LLC
Date: 05/31/24

103-105 Maryland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Moyet
Seller: Mddo LLC
Date: 05/31/24

28 Medford St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Franchesca Martinez
Seller: Jjj17 LLC
Date: 05/31/24

39 Meredith St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Miguel J. Ambert-Ortiz
Seller: Lisa M. Rosario
Date: 06/03/24

51 Monroe St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Brian A. Ardizoni
Seller: Springfield Ventures RR
Date: 05/28/24

21 Morison Ter.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Elliette M. Ochoa
Seller: Morison Terrace RT
Date: 06/03/24

60-62 Newland St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Fearlessrose Vacation Ren
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 05/28/24

120-122 Oak Grove Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Rhaixa Cajigas
Seller: Luz Baez
Date: 05/31/24

128-130 Oak Grove Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $168,525
Buyer: Casa Trio LLC
Seller: Home Equity Mortgage Loan
Date: 06/04/24

12-14 Osgood St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $299,999
Buyer: Elvis Presinal
Seller: Alexus L. Renee
Date: 05/30/24

31 Overlea Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Zachary J. Giordano
Seller: Mark P. Dedeurwaerder
Date: 05/30/24

48 Palmer Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $294,000
Buyer: Juan E. Garcia
Seller: Aida Correa
Date: 06/05/24

141 Parkerview St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: West Jam Man LLC
Seller: Lawrence L. Croteau
Date: 05/31/24

6-8 Pinevale St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $288,000
Buyer: Orlando Ramos
Seller: Austin Littles
Date: 06/06/24

163 Pineywoods Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Rebekah Zamarripa
Seller: Felianyeli Espinal
Date: 05/29/24

81 Rockland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Jjj17 LLC
Seller: Jennings, Kimberly S., (Estate)
Date: 05/30/24

172 Rosewell St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Crespo-Colon
Seller: Joejoe Properties LLC
Date: 06/07/24

89 Saint James Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Madeline I. Baez-Morales
Seller: Lachenauer LLC
Date: 05/31/24

61 Spencer St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Sean Baker
Seller: Vita C. Filippone
Date: 05/31/24

17-19 Sterling St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Starling N. Diaz-Agramonte
Seller: Devin Hoagland
Date: 06/04/24

24 Sue St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Robert Patrie
Seller: Manchester Enterprises LLC
Date: 05/28/24

440 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Vignesh Nehru
Seller: Anthony M. Santaniello
Date: 05/31/24

62 Sylvester St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Jacquelyn M. Curving
Seller: Michele Cuozzo
Date: 06/06/24

99 Talbot Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Tetyana Syrotenko
Seller: Mark D. McCombe
Date: 05/31/24

190 Talmadge Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Holly S. Friedman
Seller: Carla A. Cooper
Date: 06/03/24

234-236 Union St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Campagnari Construction LLC
Seller: Sfmg Capital LLC
Date: 05/29/24

6 Venture Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Lizeth A. Patino-Rodriguez
Seller: Robert Hayes
Date: 05/31/24

99 Venture Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Todd Hanks
Seller: William Raleigh
Date: 06/04/24

30 Wexford St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Ellen S. Edwards
Seller: Shannon L. Frederick
Date: 06/07/24

21 Weymouth St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $352,000
Buyer: Matthew Newell
Seller: Anusha Kothapalli
Date: 05/31/24

237-239 White St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Anibal M. Merida
Seller: Rodriguez, Rosa, (Estate)
Date: 06/05/24

95 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Juan M. Escobar
Seller: Dnepro Properties LLC
Date: 06/04/24

61-63 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: 74 Alder Street LLC
Seller: Livingwater Capital LLC
Date: 06/03/24

1408-1410 Worcester St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Iris Serrano-Melendez
Seller: Darren G. Owens
Date: 05/31/24

SOUTHWICK

6 Babb Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Robert Payne
Seller: Randall Cable
Date: 05/29/24

27 Charles Johnson Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Joel D. Faria
Seller: Robert C. Cohen
Date: 05/29/24

17 Noble Steed Xing
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $672,000
Buyer: Christopher L. Cotto
Seller: James P. Pashko
Date: 05/31/24

17 Ranch Club Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $955,000
Buyer: James P. Pashko
Seller: Eric A. Swensen
Date: 05/31/24

WESTFIELD

225 Birch Bluffs Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Nicholas Black
Seller: Joanne Black
Date: 06/07/24

64 Blueberry Ridge
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Emily Yousfi
Seller: Jennifer Y. Collins
Date: 05/31/24

10-12 Ford Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $241,956
Buyer: Bungalow Series IV TR
Seller: Nancy Rubert
Date: 06/06/24

3 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: U.S. Bank
Seller: Awilda N. Masso
Date: 06/07/24

66 Grandview Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Katie Serra
Seller: Terry A. Lonczak
Date: 05/31/24

200 Hillside Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $241,846
Buyer: Lakeview Loan Servicing LLC
Seller: Charles H. Lamarche
Date: 05/30/24

200 Hillside Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $182,516
Buyer: Wayne A. Bush
Seller: US HUD
Date: 05/30/24

194 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Samantha Laplante
Seller: Edc Real Estate LLC
Date: 05/31/24

Montgomery Road, Lot 3
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $302,250
Buyer: Giberson Construction Inc.
Seller: William F. Reed FT
Date: 05/30/24

Montgomery Road, Lot 4
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $302,250
Buyer: Giberson Construction Inc.
Seller: William F. Reed FT
Date: 05/30/24

Montgomery Road, Lot 5
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $302,250
Buyer: Giberson Construction Inc.
Seller: William F. Reed FT
Date: 05/30/24

44-B Noble St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $410,000
Buyer: Alexander Sullivan
Seller: Jonathan S. Flagg
Date: 05/29/24

52 Pleasant St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Cameron Disanto
Seller: Margaret M. Considine
Date: 06/05/24

30 Radisson Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $495,000
Buyer: Joseph P. Liberti
Seller: Mark Stec
Date: 05/30/24

74 Ridgeway St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Andrew Thompson
Seller: Christopher Eck
Date: 06/06/24

17 Rita Mary Way
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $665,010
Buyer: Holly Desantis
Seller: Brian J. Houser
Date: 05/31/24

974 Russell Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $371,250
Buyer: Elena Warters
Seller: Michael R. Townsley
Date: 06/07/24

63 Russellville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Connor A. Pouska
Seller: Milan P. Peich
Date: 05/30/24

1295 Southampton Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Plumrose Development LLC
Seller: Seher, Robert, (Estate)
Date: 06/07/24

246 Springdale Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $412,000
Buyer: Ryan C. Wilcox
Seller: Timothy J. Blais
Date: 05/31/24

324 Steiger Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Stephanie Gale
Seller: Jane St. Sauveur IRT
Date: 06/07/24

130 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $282,474
Buyer: Abigail R. Anselmo
Seller: Nancy T. Walas
Date: 06/07/24

6 Tow Path Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $357,500
Buyer: Brenda L. Chaffee
Seller: Melissa Heishman
Date: 06/03/24

89 Westwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Diane M. Mayhew
Seller: Agnes Schenna
Date: 05/28/24

WEST SPRINGFIELD

63 Ashley St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Naples Home Buyers TR
Seller: Susan S. Coppola
Date: 06/07/24

86 Birnie Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: MAAS Property LLC
Seller: Diane Mango-Cahill
Date: 05/30/24

44 Day St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Harka Rai
Seller: Ulugbek Gusenov
Date: 06/07/24

40-42 East School St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: ATM Property LLC
Seller: Lyudmila Dubinchik
Date: 06/03/24

15 Hazel St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Manchester Ent LLC
Seller: Judith A. Bouchard
Date: 06/03/24

414 Park St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Armor Fire Technologies
Seller: VRC Realty LLC
Date: 05/31/24

81 Rogers Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: No Limit Assets LLC
Seller: MacDonald, Lucille R., (Estate)
Date: 06/06/24

57 Worthen St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: ATM Property LLC
Seller: Arkadiy Norkin
Date: 06/03/24

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

15 Alyssum Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $830,000
Buyer: Smith INT
Seller: Daniel L. Wright
Date: 05/31/24

229 Amity St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $715,000
Buyer: Panda Bear LLC
Seller: Robert Pam
Date: 06/03/24

40 Belchertown Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Amir Mikhchi
Seller: Sandri Realty Inc.
Date: 05/31/24

24 Canton Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $438,000
Buyer: 24 Canton Ave. LLC
Seller: Kara Parks Fontenot RET
Date: 05/31/24

91 East Hadley Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Kwan H. Lee
Seller: Aaron J. Britt
Date: 05/31/24

27 Heatherstone Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $620,000
Buyer: Karen E. Kopper
Seller: Rachel A. Borson
Date: 06/03/24

64 Heatherstone Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $611,000
Buyer: Jeff J. Mitchell
Seller: Saman Jafari
Date: 05/28/24

3 Ladyslipper Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $830,000
Buyer: Lucia Monge
Seller: Amy C. Glynn
Date: 05/30/24

70 Leverett Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Ann F. Paradis
Seller: Amir Mikhchi
Date: 05/28/24

77 Morgan Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $627,000
Buyer: Ingo Helmich
Seller: John A. Cameron RET
Date: 05/31/24

16 South Sunset Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $775,000
Buyer: Jason Lemoine
Seller: Katarina J. Hallonblad
Date: 05/31/24

561 Station Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Hannah Uebele
Seller: Katherine O. Garrison
Date: 06/07/24

5 Stony Hill Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $720,000
Buyer: Shelly A. Perdomo-Ahmed
Seller: Peter J. Greenwald
Date: 06/04/24

BELCHERTOWN

160 Gold St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $740,000
Buyer: Christina E. Fitch
Seller: Manuel A. Andrade
Date: 06/07/24

30 Jasons Way
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $725,000
Buyer: Wyatt B. Couture
Seller: Brian A. Duprey
Date: 05/29/24

33 Magnolia Lane
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $651,000
Buyer: Lelie Ellis
Seller: Gonzalo Aguilar
Date: 05/28/24

31 Maplecrest Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $426,000
Buyer: Willard A. McKinstry
Seller: Kenneth J. Pietras
Date: 06/06/24

322 Mill Valley Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Katelyn Bachand
Seller: Darren J. Chevalier
Date: 06/07/24

29 Old Amherst Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $429,800
Buyer: Joshua Cox
Seller: VBC Rentals LLC
Date: 05/28/24

479 South St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Barry L. Reaves
Seller: Jeramy Sands
Date: 06/07/24

EASTHAMPTON

7 Beechwood Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $527,000
Buyer: Vicki I. Grodsky
Seller: Elizabeth R. Crocker
Date: 05/30/24

10 Beyer Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Jacob Boillat
Seller: Lorna K. Hunt
Date: 06/07/24

17 Fort Hill Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Shayne Taylor
Seller: John A. Knybel
Date: 06/07/24

75 Holyoke St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Steven J. Fickert
Seller: John R. Hawley
Date: 06/06/24

9 Lang Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Patrick Casey
Seller: Eve Endicott
Date: 05/31/24

233 Park St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $384,000
Buyer: Suresh R. Madhwapathy
Seller: Hill-Ture TR
Date: 05/30/24

13 Sterling Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $509,000
Buyer: Dennis J. Meehan
Seller: Pah Properties LLC
Date: 05/31/24

Strong St., Lot 28
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Dube RET
Seller: David A. Hardy Contractor
Date: 06/05/24

4 Ward Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $404,000
Buyer: Avi Steinhardt
Seller: Paul S. Frisoli
Date: 06/05/24

GRANBY

201 Amherst St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Deanna L. Veinotte
Seller: Kaylee A. Bean
Date: 05/30/24

HADLEY

1 Colony Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $801,000
Buyer: Emily C. Nutwell
Seller: Bercume Construction LLC
Date: 05/31/24

68 North Maple St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Manuel Morocho
Seller: Randall G. Store
Date: 05/30/24

 

HATFIELD

66 Chestnut St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Ian Saisselin
Seller: Jamison A. Bradshaw
Date: 06/07/24

Depot Road
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Danielle Anderson
Seller: Jonathan Tucker
Date: 06/03/24

113 Depot Road
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Donna L. Rowe
Seller: Michael Packard
Date: 05/31/24

12 Dwight St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Tascon Homes LLC
Seller: Naples Homes Buyers TR
Date: 06/04/24

339 West St.
Hatfield, MA 01066
Amount: $349,000
Buyer: Julia E. McLew
Seller: Danielle A. Lenhard
Date: 06/07/24

HUNTINGTON

1 Allen Coit Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Leah M. Wilson
Seller: Ivy J. McClaflin
Date: 05/31/24

NORTHAMPTON

15 Ferry Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Bulldog Realty Group LLC
Seller: Great Falls Prop LLC
Date: 06/07/24

691 Park Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $948,300
Buyer: Eric Berzins
Seller: D. L. & Nancy L. Perkins LT
Date: 06/07/24

40 Ridgewood Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $705,000
Buyer: Baker INT
Seller: Amanda C. Dixon
Date: 05/30/24

12 Vernon St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $664,000
Buyer: Painted Rock Four LLC
Seller: Michele L. Ruschhaupt
Date: 05/29/24

43 Wilson Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $630,000
Buyer: Susan W. Chichester
Seller: Denise M. Diminuco
Date: 05/31/24

PELHAM

17 Buffam Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Timothy Pachirat
Seller: George W. Goodman
Date: 05/31/24

PLAINFIELD

305 Main St.
Plainfield, MA 01070
Amount: $225,425
Buyer: Thomas A. Carriker
Seller: Amerihome Mortgage
Date: 05/30/24

SOUTH HADLEY

23 Ashfield Lane
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $546,800
Buyer: Jenning Hoffman LT
Seller: Debora Battaglia
Date: 06/05/24

54 Canal St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: 54 Canal LLC
Seller: William F. Jerome
Date: 05/31/24

47 Columbia St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Andre J. Duquette
Seller: Leblanc, Francis D., (Estate)
Date: 06/07/24

4 Country Lane
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Jason C. Zurheide
Seller: Zurheide, C. F., (Estate)
Date: 05/29/24

21 Highland Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: David Taus
Seller: Mark W. Gingras
Date: 05/28/24

38 Mountain Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Ester S. Rodrigeus
Seller: Malena C. Tracy
Date: 06/07/24

SOUTHAMPTON

9 Cold Spring Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Esther D. Clark Solo K. T.
Seller: Vincent R. Snyder
Date: 06/05/24

14 Glendale Woods Dr.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Craig M. Schoen
Seller: David A. Schoen
Date: 05/29/24

WARE

29 Aspen St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Haley Remodeling LLC
Seller: Wicked Deals LLC
Date: 06/06/24

44 Bank St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jakor Lopez
Seller: Sarah J. Douglas
Date: 06/04/24

3 Berkshire Circle
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Kaleena Fadden
Seller: Home Improvement Maintenance
Date: 05/30/24

22 Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Alycar Investments LLC
Seller: Mettig, Melanie C., (Estate)
Date: 06/03/24

32 Eagle St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Jose Rosario
Seller: Linda F. Ricko
Date: 05/28/24

33 Gould Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $138,000
Buyer: Zachary T. Leclair
Seller: Jennifer L. Leclair
Date: 05/30/24

39 Homecrest Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Stephen Cedeno
Seller: John O. Moore
Date: 06/07/24

54 Marjorie St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: April G. Kubaska
Seller: Karen L. Lackman
Date: 05/29/24

16 Meadow Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $324,000
Buyer: James R. Bergeron
Seller: Stephanie L. Henley
Date: 05/30/24

19 Shoreline Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Michele M. Maltais
Seller: Charles W. Thomas
Date: 05/30/24

193 West St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Harris Holdings LLC
Seller: David M. Bera
Date: 06/03/24

59 West Main St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Angel G. Garcia
Seller: Avvy Holding Group LLC
Date: 05/31/24

16 Warebrook Village
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Olivia Ricci
Seller: Michelle A. Eckert
Date: 05/31/24

WESTHAMPTON

43 Northwest Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Kael Miyata
Seller: Donald & Nancy Graham FT
Date: 06/03/24

WORTHINGTON

591 Old Post Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: Vance G. Richardson
Seller: Jerrilee Cain RET
Date: 05/31/24

Building Permits

By
Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of June 2024.

CHICOPEE

A1 Screw Machine Products Inc.
717 Fuller Road
$24,900 — Roofing

C&C Mass Ventures LLC
33 Haynes Circle
$15,000 — Install new handicap ramp to existing storefront entrance

Chicopee Assisted Living
929 Memorial Dr.
$249,995 — Roofing

Hampden Charter School of Science
20 Johnson Road
$42,000 — Bathroom remodeling

Pioneer Valley Church
85 Montcalm St.
$61,000 — Roofing

EASTHAMPTON

ESP LLC
15 Pleasant St.
$2,900 — Replace man door

Riverside Industries Inc.
1 Cottage St.
$18,000 — Roofing

HADLEY

333 Russell St. LLC
333 Russell St.
N/A — Replace existing sign and move it back

Hadley Mall Outparcel LLC
379 Russell St.
N/A — Interior fit-out for restaurant

NORTHAMPTON

Children’s Advocacy Center of Hampshire County Inc.
593 Elm St.
$26,000 — Install roof-mounted solar panels

Emerald City Partners LLC
25 New South St.
$203,000 — Interior renovation to classroom space in Unit A104

J-Barc Inc.
219 Main St.
$13,450 — Two replacement windows

JW Inc.
13 Old South St.
$56,582 — Install heat pumps

McDonald’s Corp.
221 King St.
$65,000 — Interior renovation

Smith College
7 College Lane
$50,000 — Renovate classroom

Smith College
44 College Lane
$881,827 — Interior renovation to Rooms 106 and 107 of Sabin-Reed Hall

Smith College
186 Elm St.
$21,953,262 — Install new energy plant and add panels and power fan ceiling units on 31 floors of eight buildings

Smith College
144 Green St.
$56,566 — Interior renovation to Room 214 of Sage Hall

PITTSFIELD

Cavalier Livingston LLC
257 East St.
$30,000 — Remove existing first-floor deck to make repairs to retaining wall below ground level

City of Pittsfield
300 East St.
$2,482,000 — Remove existing boilers and replace with new boilers

City of Pittsfield
950 North St.
$2,130,000 — Roofing

City of Pittsfield
9 Somerset Ave.
$91,900 — Replace windows

City of Pittsfield
South Mountain Road
$2,587,145 — Construct photovoltaic distributed generation system for Pittsfield Airport Commission

City of Pittsfield
832 Tamarack Road
$44,235 — Construct photovoltaic distributed system for Pittsfield Airport Commission

Clinical & Support Options
24 Ann Dr.
$27,000 — Install automatic sprinklers to suit new tenant layout

The Clock Tower Associates Inc.
75 South Church St.
$8,100 — Provide sprinkler modifications within tenant space

CW Acquisitions LLC
1685 West Housatonic St.
$70,000 — Roofing

Johnson Family Real Estate
694 East St.
$101,500 — Roofing

KOW LLC
53 Madison Ave.
$6,000 — Install sound channels on walls and sheetrock on ceiling and walls in kitchen only

 

Museum Facsimiles Realty LLC
117 Fourth St.
$40,000 — Build walls for storage facility

Ranchodji Inc.
16 Cheshire Road
$9,800 — Replace four fire doors

RKE Realty LLC
100 West St.
$11,000 — Build two offices

Spelman Nominee Trust
14 Gordon St.
$13,500 — Repairs from vehicle collision with building, including replacing damaged decorative column with new column and replacing two existing doors with one commercial double door

Viability Inc.
85 West Housatonic St.
$29,416 — Raise kitchen floor to accommodate second means of egress

SPRINGFIELD

City of Springfield
36 Margaret St.
$286,468 — Alter interior lower basement level of South End Middle School for classroom use

City of Springfield
50 Morison Terrace
$81,734.25 — Alter interior lower level of Glenwood Elementary School for school activity and storage room use

City of Springfield
52 Rosewell Blvd.
$300,000 — Alter interior lower level auditorium of Balliet Elementary School for classroom use

CMSA Holding LLC
742 State St.
$23,880 — Roofing

Gándara Mental Health Center Inc.
85 St. George Road
$944,230 — Interior remodel and roofing

Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start Inc.
30 Madison Ave.
$1,338,650 — Roofing

Human Resources Unlimited
60 Brookdale Dr.
$173,625 — Roofing

JJS Capital Investment LLC
71 Suffolk St.
$10,000 — Insulation and air sealing

Rhino Realty LLC
143 Parker St.
$538,337.20 — Erect building for Conway Car Dealership

Route 20-21 Associates Inc.
1380 Boston Road
$110,000 — Roofing

Route 20-21 Associates Inc.
1420 Boston Road
$45,000 — Roofing

Christopher Suarez
125 Arcadia Blvd.
$24,000 — Install solar panels to roof of detached garage

Consider Office-to-housing Conversions

By
Opinion

Editorial

 

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration recently announced it is providing $15 million to help extend a Boston program designed to bring more vibrancy downtown by converting underused office buildings to housing.

The money will help Mayor Michelle Wu continue a program that offers property tax breaks for such office-to-residential conversions. Since the program was launched last fall, developers have filed nine proposals to convert office space across 13 buildings that collectively could bring another 412 housing units to Boston’s central business district. With the conversion program, Wu is offering developers as much as 75% off property tax bills for up to 29 years.

With this state money coming, the Wu administration has decided to keep the program going until the end of 2025, instead of ending it on June 30 as initially planned, with the hopes of spurring another 300 to 500 units.

The program is intriguing, and it is our hope that the Healey administration — and the Legislature — will make similar incentives available to other communities, including Springfield and other cities in Western Mass. Indeed, the state aid to Boston comes as the Legislature considers a housing bond bill that could further boost office-residential conversions. A version that recently passed the House would provide $150 million in technical assistance funds for cities and towns while creating tax credits equal to as much as 10% of the project costs to incentivize conversions.

Communities in this region haven’t been hit as hard as Boston when it comes to soaring vacancy rates in office buildings due to the huge pendulum swing toward remote work — and few, if any, signs that the pendulum might actually swing back any time soon. But communities like Springfield, Northampton, and even Greenfield have certainly felt the pinch — and for longer.

In Springfield, there are buildings, such as the property generally known as Harrison Place, once home to Bank of Western Massachusetts, and others along Main Street, that have been vacant or largely vacant since long before COVID. And with the shift toward remote work, there is little hope they can return to that use.

Meanwhile, some properties that were dedicated to office or a mix of office and retail, such as the Clocktower Building and the Colonial Block, are being redeveloped for mostly residential use — and those doing the developing could certainly use some additional pots of money to make these efforts reality.

That’s because conversion from office to residential isn’t easy, and it’s quite expensive.

In Boston, the incentive program was created as a way to bring more vibrancy in the wake of a sharp decline in the number of workers coming to the city on a daily basis; there have been studies to suggest that downtown foot traffic is roughly half of what it was before the pandemic. The theory, and it has a great deal of validity, is that people living in those buildings can provide at least as much, if not more, support to businesses in that area than people working in them.

The same is true for Springfield and other cities in this region.

That’s why we hope the incentives being offered to developers in Boston are made available across the Commonwealth. As we noted, conversions from office to residential are not easy or cheap, but they provide solid hope for bringing more vibrancy to downtown areas, while also helping to alleviate a Commonwealth-wide shortage of housing.

A New World of HR Leadership

By Contributor
Opinion

Opinion

By Allison Ebner

Over the past several decades, the human-resources position has slowly evolved from a very tactical and compliance-heavy role to a more holistic and thoughtful voice that helps lift an organization to bigger heights.

That slow pace of evolution has had a few Red Bull energy drinks recently and is now moving at the speed of light, threatening to leave behind HR professionals who are not moving to gain new competencies and tools.

The ‘new world of work’ is comprised of a complex ecosystem of operations, technology, and integration of human capital. In short, this symphony sounds perfectly harmonized only if all parts of the orchestra are playing the right notes. Like the meteoric rise in AI technology, the skills we must bring to our organization as the people professionals have taken a giant leap forward.

So, what are these new competencies that HR professionals need to bring to the table today? Let me quote my colleague, Kim Dunn for the simple definition first: “business first, people always.”

Business Acumen: Do you know the financial picture of your entire organization? Can you read a P&L or balance a full budget? Do you follow your industry trade publications or attend events to become more educated? Travel with your sales teams to talk with your customers and clients? It’s only when you have a full understanding of your business operations that you can effectively create a talent plan to support it.

Data Literacy: Does your current HR technology support the needs of your organization? Are you maximizing the tech that you have now? Reporting and metrics tied to your people operations are critical components of your strategic plans and initiatives.

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking: Ready to get uncomfortable? Figure out how to build relationships with people you don’t really like. Why? They probably think differently than you do. And that means they have a perspective that you don’t. As HR people leaders, we need to be able to clearly evaluate all sides of an issue or problem, and we can’t do that in a vacuum. By the way, this also includes building and flexing your negotiation skills.

Creating People-centric Cultures: This one feels closest to home for most HR professionals. But we need to expand our skills around helping our employees build resilience and understand that change and uncertainty are here to stay. They’re part of our daily lives now, and we need to learn to function in a world of VUCA — volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

Organizational Transformation: This includes skills like refreshing your employer brand for talent development, updating your EVP (employee value proposition), and rebuilding your performance management system — big initiatives that put you at the center of the strategic table in your organization.

You may be feeling very comfortable with some of these competencies and less confident in others. That’s OK. Conduct an honest assessment of where you need to focus your attention and find resources that can help you build those skills.

EANE is here to help you with that initiative. Our HRYOUniversity programs are designed to help you be a well-rounded HR professional with all the talents you need to take your career to the next level. For a discussion about building your own learning pathway, contact me, and I’ll be happy to send you our self-assessment form and a few other resources to get you started.

 

Allison Ebner is president of the Employers Assoc. of the Northeast. This article first appeared on the EANE blog; eane.org

Rocky’s Ace Hardware Breaks Ground on New, Larger Store in South Hadley

By
Daily News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Royal Law Firm Welcomes Sabba Salebaigi-Tse

By
Daily News

Sabba Salebaigi-Tse

SPRINGFIELD — The Royal Law Firm recently welcomed attorney Sabba Salebaigi-Tse to the team.

Salebaigi-Tse received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alberta in Canada; her juris doctorate from Thompson Rivers University in Canada, and her master of laws degree from the University of Connecticut.

She advises and represents clients in various labor- and employment-law matters and is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts. Her professional experience includes roles as a research assistant, legal researcher, and student clinician in various legal-aid clinics. Her background in legal research and advocacy, combined with hands-on experience in client representation and legal consulting, equips her to handle complex litigation effectively. She has received several awards for her legal research and writing skills.

AIC Welcomes Lisa Doherty to Board of Trustees

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Daily News

Lisa Doherty

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) announced the appointment of Lisa Doherty as the newest member of its board of trustees.

Doherty is president and CEO of Business Risk Partners (BRP), which she co-founded with her sister, Linda Boborodea, more than 20 years ago. They started BRP in 2000 to provide professional specialty commercial liability insurance for small to medium-sized companies.

While BRP initially focused on businesses with up to $50 million in revenues, it has grown as a specialty insurance underwriter and program administrator and writes policies for companies of all sizes nationwide. BRP has been awarded the “best practice” distinction, meeting the rigorous standards and best practices set by the Target Market Program Administrators Assoc.

Doherty has served on the board for Veritas Preparatory Charter School in Springfield since 2010. Veritas Prep is a public, tuition-free school in Springfield that prepares students in grades 5 through 12 to compete, achieve, and succeed in college and beyond.

Doherty is a graduate of Brown University, where she studied economics and international relations. Her experience and proven leadership in the insurance industry, along with her commitment to education and community service, exemplify the values and vision of AIC.

American Junior Golf Assoc. Returns to Chicopee Country Club

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Daily News

CHICOPEE — Chicopee Country Club is currently hosting the return of the American Junior Golf Assoc. (AJGA) tournament, the John D. Mineck AJGA. This event showcases some of the world’s top junior golfers.

Now in its sixth consecutive year at Chicopee Country Club, the tournament kicked off with a qualifier on Monday, which will be followed by a practice round today, July 2. The main tournament rounds will commence on July 3 and culminate on July 5.

The AJGA tournament has a storied history of featuring rising stars in golf, with notable past participants including Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Nelly Korda, Annika Sörenstam, and many more. Many of these junior golfers have leveraged their AJGA experience as a springboard to successful careers at the collegiate and professional levels.

“We are thrilled to host the John D. Mineck AJGA tournament for the sixth consecutive year,” said Mike O’Neill, director of Golf at Chicopee Country Club. “This event not only highlights the talent and dedication of these young golfers, but also provides a fantastic opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy world-class golf in our own backyard.”

Mayor John Vieau of Chicopee expressed his enthusiasm for the event, adding that, “the AJGA tournament at Chicopee Country Club showcases our city’s commitment to fostering youth talent and promoting sportsmanship. We welcome participants and spectators alike to enjoy this exciting showcase of skill and dedication.”

Members of the public are encouraged to attend and cheer on these future golfing stars throughout the week. Admission to the event is free, offering families and golf enthusiasts a chance to witness exciting golf action and support the next generation of champions.