Agenda

Speed-networking Event
March 11: Back by popular demand, the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) will hold an afternoon of speed networking on March 11 at Frank Webb’s Bath Center, 145 Performance Blvd., Springfield, followed by an evening of informal networking at its After 5. The combination of events will provide attendees the opportunity to meet new contacts in a formal manner, then continue conversations in an informal and casual setting. The core concept to speed networking is the ‘elevator speech,’ a short summary of an individual, business, organization, product, or service that a person could deliver in the time span of a short elevator ride. Attendees will be divided into groups A and B. Members of each group will be seated across from each other. Each member of Group A will have 60 seconds to give his or her elevator speech to a member of Group B. A bell will ring, signaling the 60-second time is up, and each member of Group B will then get a chance to speak. The facilitator will signal when the 60 seconds are up again, and members of Group A will then move one seat to the right and begin the process again with a new partner. The round-robin format of networking will continue until the event is over. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. with registration and instructions. To accommodate the event, no admittance will be allowed after 3:55 p.m. The event ends at 5 p.m., and the After 5 runs from 5 to 7 p.m. Reservations are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and only members of the ACCGS, Springfield Chamber of Commerce, or East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce are eligible to participate. Reservations include a complimentary ticket to the After 5. Reservations for the After 5 only are $5 for members, $10 for general admission. The After 5 is open to the general public. Reservations may be made online and in advance at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Sarah Mazzaferro at [email protected].

New Lecture Series
March 12: BusinessWest and the Healthcare News are pleased to announce a new lecture series presented by Comcast Business. This series of lectures, panel discussions, and presentations will address timely and important business information, and is an ideal opportunity to meet industry leaders and network with area business professionals. The first event in the series, called “Technology Has the Power to Change Healthcare,” will be hosted by La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Panelists include Neil Kudler, vice president and chief medical information officer for Baystate Health; Michael Feld, CEO of VertitechIT and acting chief technology officer of Baystate Health and Lancaster General Hospital; and Delcie Bean IV, CEO, of Paragus Strategic IT. Registration begins at 7:15 a.m., followed by breakfast and networking at 7:30 a.m. and the panel discussion from 8 to 9 a.m. Admission is free, provided by Comcast Business, but RSVP is required by Thursday, March 5. Sign up online at businesswest.com/lecture-series, or call (413) 781-8600, ext. 10, for more information.

Celebrate Springfield Dinner
March 12: DevelopSpringfield will host its fourth annual dinner event in celebration of Springfield and the many accomplishments the community has achieved over the past year, along with exciting new initiatives underway. The event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Festivities will include a reception with live music by the Eric Bascom Trio, auction activities, a cash bar, and hors d’oeuvres, followed by dinner, a brief program, and presentations. Platinum sponsors this year are MassMutual Financial Group, Baystate Health, and Health New England. Many other local businesses and organizations are also supporting the organization’s work as sponsors and participants at the event. DevelopSpringfield will once again present its Partner in Progress Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of three individuals toward revitalization in Springfield. Honorees are selected for their leadership and ability to motivate and inspire others. This year’s honorees are Jerald Griffin, co-founder of Harambee and the Stone Soul Festival; Kevin Kennedy, chief development officer for the city of Springfield; and Evan Plotkin, president and owner of NAI Plotkin. In addition to the program and award presentations, greetings will be provided by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Jay Ash, newly appointed secretary of the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. All event proceeds will support DevelopSpringfield’s redevelopment initiatives, projects, and programs. More than 450 attendees — including federal, state, and city officials; leaders from the business and nonprofit communities; and local residents — are expected to come together in support of ongoing efforts to advance development and redevelopment projects, stimulate and support economic growth, and expedite the revitalization process within the city. Registration and sponsorship information is available at www.developspringfield.com or by contacting Paige Thayer at (413) 209-8808 or [email protected]. Tickets cost $75 per person, and RSVP is required by Monday, Feb. 23.

PWC Luncheon
March 18: Tracy Noonan, co-owner of Wicked Good Cupcakes, will keynote the Headline Luncheon of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield’s affiliate, the Professional Women’s Chamber (PWC), from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Carriage House at Storrowton Tavern, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Noonan and her daughter, Danielle Vilagie, took their Cohasset-based cupcake baking company national after appearing on the ABC hit show Shark Tank. Wicked Good Cupcakes began when the mother-daughter team took cake-decorating classes as a way to spend quality time together. After posting their work online for friends and family, they found themselves being asked to create cupcakes for various events. The demand for their product became so high that they opened their first retail location in Cohasset in October 2011. As the reputation of their product grew, they found themselves getting hundreds of requests to ship their product across the country. However, they could not find a way to effectively ship cupcakes and have them arrive intact and fresh. That’s when they came up for the idea of a cupcake in a jar. Filling jars with freshly baked layers of cake, frosting, and filling, they were able to create a product that would stay fresh up to 10 days without refrigeration and could be easily shipped. The company’s popularity quickly grew, and, in 2013, Noonan and Vilagie appeared on Shark Tank, striking a deal with Boston-based shark Kevin O’Leary of O’Leary Ventures, and expanding their business by more than 600%, including a new retail location in Faneuil Hall in Boston and expanded facilities to handle online orders. In addition to cupcakes, the company’s product line now also includes gluten-free options, as well as pies, cheesecakes, and brownies in a jar, as well as French macaroons. Advance reservations for the luncheon are suggested and cost $25 for PWC members and $35 for general admission. Register online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by e-mailing [email protected]. PWC members who are season-pass holders must pre-register for the event by emailing [email protected].

‘Acting Skills for Real Life’
March 19 to April 16: The Division of Graduate and Continuing Education at Westfield State University will offer a class called “Acting Skills for Real Life: How to Connect and Communicate” on Thursday nights, March 19 through April 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. Students will learn about basic acting skills and theories, and how they can be applied to everyday situations such as job interviews and social settings, in addition to performances and public speaking. Course content includes vocal, movement, and imagination warmups and theatre games; improvisations around a specific set of circumstances, including real-life situations and role reversal; developing stage presence; and, if the class chooses, rehearsal and class performance of a brief scene or monologue as a rehearsed reading or ‘off book.’ The course will be taught by Nadia Creamer, who has a long career as a performer and a teacher of performing arts. Creamer was co-artistic director of Impulse Theatre and Dance for 28 years in New York, where she received more than 60 grants for her work. She was also a faculty member at New York University, Russell Sage, College of St. Rose, and Columbia-Greene Community College. The cost of this course is $80. Registration will be accepted until the first night of class. For more information and to register, contact Brandon Fredette at (413) 572-8033 or [email protected].

Mini-Medical School
March 19 to May 7: Baystate Medical Center’s Mini-Medical School, which begins its spring session on March 19, will give area residents a reason to come out of hibernation from the long, cold, snowy winter and join others interested in the expanding field of medicine. Mini-Medical School program is an eight-week health education series featuring a different aspect of medicine each week. Classes this spring will include sessions on various medical topics, such as surgery, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, pathology, and several others. Many of the ‘students,’ who often range in age from 20 to 70, participate due to a general interest in medicine and later find that many of the things they learned over the semester are relevant to their own lives. The goal of the program, offered in the hospital’s Chestnut Conference Center, is to help members of the public make more informed decisions about their healthcare while receiving insight on what it is like to be a medical student — minus the tests, interviews, and admission formalities. Each course is taught by medical-center faculty who explain the science of medicine without resorting to complex terms. Baystate Medical Center is the Western Campus of Tufts University School of Medicine and is the region’s only teaching hospital. All classes are held Thursday nights starting at 6 p.m. and run until 8 or 9 p.m., depending on the night’s topic. No basic science knowledge is needed to participate. Each participant is required to attend a minimum of six out of eight classes in order to receive a certificate of completion. Tuition is $95 per person and $80 for Senior Class and Spirit of Women members. Register for the spring semester of Mini-Medical School by calling (800) 377-4325. For more information, visit www.baystatehealth.org/minimed.

Difference Makers
March 19: The sixth annual Difference Makers award program, staged by BusinessWest, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House. Difference Makers is a program, launched in 2009, that recognizes groups and individuals that are, as the name suggests, making a difference in this region. The class of 2015 — Katelynn’s Ride, MassMutual Financial Services, Judy Matt, Valley Venture Mentors, and the new ownership group of the Student Prince and the Fort — was profiled in the Feb. 9 issue. Tickets cost $60 per person, and reserved tables of 10 are available. To order tickets, call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100, or e-mail [email protected].

Stronger Businesses Program
March 20: The Stronger Businesses Program will take place at the Business Growth Center at Springfield Technology Park. Designed for business owners who are focused on growth and want to take a fresh look at their markets, revenues, and operations, this workshop meets for five mornings over a seven-week period and includes two private technical-assistance sessions, one price for up to three people per company, and peer-mentoring sessions over breakfast. “It is specifically designed not to be Business 101,” said Karen Utgoff, co-founder and facilitator of the program. “The series emphasizes active learning and immediate application of specific tools and techniques to gain fresh perspective and identify opportunities and challenges, with the goal of turning those insights into actionable steps.” Added Laurie Breitner, the program’s other co-founder and facilitator, “we were gratified to learn from participants in earlier sessions that they found the program very useful, and all reported that they had improved their businesses and made well-defined plans for future growth.” The Business Growth Center has again received a grant from the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. to support the Stronger Businesses Program. Business owners from underserved communities are particularly encouraged to attend. Additional information about this and other programs is available at www.businessgrowthcenter.org/seminars-workshops or by contacting Mary Marquez, assistant program manager, at [email protected] or (413) 355-5680.

High-speed Rail Discussion
March 24: The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS) will present a Pastries, Politics, and Policy program called “Riding the Rails: High-speed Rail Service from Springfield to Boston,” from 8 to 9 a.m. at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. State Sen. Eric Lesser and Tim Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), will discuss Lesser’s recently filed feasibility bill requiring the Mass. Department of Transportation to conduct a study on the viability of high-speed rail access between Springfield and Boston. They will also address the need for this service and how it can positively impact Western Mass. economies. While running for Senate, high-speed rail was the top priority in Lesser’s campaign platform, and, since being elected, has worked extensively on this issue. Brennan is an advocate for the high-speed east-west rail and, with the PVPC, is involved heavily in preparation for its possible implementation. The program cost is $15 for chamber members, $25 for general admission. For more information, contact Sarah Mazzaferro at [email protected] or (413) 755-1313.

Not Just Business as Usual
April 30: The Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Foundation’s Not Just Business as Usual (NJBAU) event is one of the premiere networking events for business leaders in Western Mass. This annual celebration, in its sixth year, is a celebration of innovative thinking which gives participants the opportunity to learn from business experts while raising significant funding for the STCC WORKS scholarship program. The event will be held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A cocktail and networking reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with dinner and the keynote speaker, Google Engineering Director Steve Vinter, to follow from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Vinter has overseen the growth of Google’s Cambridge site from 15 software engineers in 2007 to more than 900 today. He is responsible for developing digital-publishing products such as Google eBooks, Google Play Newsstand, and Play for Education, and has over 20 years of industry experience working in the Boston area, focusing on building products and services for hundreds of millions of users of mobile and cloud computing. He also is the co-founder of MassCAN, a partnership of organizations which collaborate to inspire and educate students in Massachusetts to learn computing and prepare them to lead and innovate the future economy, which will be driven by computer technology. This year, NJBAU will feature interactive workstations featuring the STCC Mobile SIM and Engineering program. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are now available. Tickets are $100 each, and sponsorships begin at $1,500. For additional information or to become a sponsor, contact Christina Tuohey, STCC director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, at (413) 755-4475 or [email protected]. To purchase tickets online, visit www.stcc.edu/njbau.

40 Under Forty
June 18: The ninth annual 40 Under Forty award program, staged by BusinessWest, will be held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House. Details on the event, which honors the region’s most accomplished and civic-minded professionals under age 40, will be published in upcoming issues. The class of 2015 will be revealed and profiled in the April 20 issue.