WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) announced that Condé Nast Traveler has released the results of its 30th annual Readers’ Choice Awards, and Bradley International Airport has been recognized as the fifth-best airport in the U.S. with a score of 82.35.

“We are very proud to have earned this prestigious recognition, and we thank not only the many travelers who voted for us, but all of the millions of passengers who choose Bradley for their travel needs on an annual basis,” said CAA Executive Director Kevin Dillon. “This distinguished award from the travel community is a testament to our continuous growth and commitment to top-quality customer service at Bradley Airport. It motivates us to keep up the momentum and continue finding creative and innovative ways to meet and exceed our travelers’ expectations.”

More than 300,000 readers submitted millions of ratings and tens of thousands of comments, voting on a record-breaking 7,320 hotels and resorts, 610 cities, 225 islands, 468 cruise ships, 158 airlines, and 195 airports.

The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running recognition of excellence in the travel industry. They were announced in the magazine’s November issue and are available online at www.cntraveler.com/rca.

SPRINGFIELD — Glenn Welch, president and CEO of Freedom Credit Union, announced the promotion of Jamie Convery to branch officer of Freedom’s Sixteen Acres Branch, and the appointment of Stacey Pinardi as mortgage loan originator in Franklin and Hampshire counties.

In her new position, Convery oversees the financial and lending operations of the branch, develops new business opportunities with individuals and businesses, and promotes financial literacy at area schools. She has been employed at Freedom for seven years and has 15 years of experience in the banking and financial-services industries. Prior to joining Freedom, she was a teller supervisor at PeoplesBank.

Convery earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Westfield State University, and she currently serves on the membership committee of the Professional Women’s Chamber.

Pinardi is responsible for real-estate origination throughout Franklin and Hampshire counties. As she helps expand Freedom’s mortgage services throughout that region, she will offer her expertise in conventional, MassHousing, MHP ONE Mortgage, FHA, USDA, and VA loans. She has more than 22 years of experience in the finance industry, including expertise in residential mortgage origination, first-time-homebuyer assistance, and secondary market sales. Most recently, she was a mortgage planner at Regency Mortgage.

Currently, Pinardi is an affiliate member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley. She works at the Freedom branch at 191 Ave. A in Turners Falls.

SPRINGFIELD — During this holiday season, the team at Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C. is doing its part to spread warmth to 150 children in need of winter coats this season. The local accounting firm has organized a campaign through Operation Warm to purchase the new coats for children served by Square One.

“Being a strong community partner is an intergral part of our culture at the firm,” said Julie Quink, CPA, managing principal at Burkhart Pizzanelli. “As part of our commitment to the community that we work and live in, we believe giving back is important. Many of our clients share the same philosophy and joined our efforts, for which we are very appreciative. Partnering with Operation Warm to provide brand-new winter coats for the families served by Square One is one way for us to make a small difference in our community. We believe that all children should have opportunities to grow without worry.”

The coats will be distributed by employees of Burkhart Pizzanelli on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Square One’s Tommie Johnson Child & Family Center in Springfield.

“We are so grateful to Burkhart Pizzanelli and Operation Warm for recognizing the tremendous need amongst our Square One families,” said Kristine Allard, chief Development & Communications officer for Square One. “To be able to provide our children with beautiful, brand-new winter coats does wonders for them. Not only does it help to protect them from the elements, but having a new coat of their own builds confidence and self-esteem.”

Operation Warm is a national organization that provides new winter coats to children in need, helping to improve self-confidence, peer acceptance, school attendance, and overall wellness. Funding support comes from businesses and individuals within the communities they serve.

NORTHAMPTON — The Salvation Army of Northampton announced it has successfully found sponsorships for more than 100 local Hampshire County children in need as part of its Angel Tree Program, a long-running tradition that puts presents under the Christmas trees of needy children. These sponsorships have predominantly come from the Northampton Chamber of Commerce community, which stepped up to help the Salvation Army reach its goal of serving more than 150 children.

The Salvation Army runs the Angel Tree program in Northampton with the assistance of local nonprofit Community Action, which also provides critical resources to children and families in Franklin and Hampshire counties and the North Quabbin region. The Angel Tree program sponsors more than 1 million children nationally, linking each family to an anonymous donor that puts clothes and toys under otherwise empty Christmas trees.

“We’re so thankful to Greenfield Savings Bank and the Northampton Chamber of Commerce for their intervention,” said Community Action Executive Director Clare Higgins. “Well-wishers can thank them in person by contributing to our official Angel Tree, hosted this year in Greenfield Savings Bank’s King Street branch.”

The program has sponsored 124 local families in need so far and seeks 26 more sponsorships. Individuals and businesses interested in helping the Salvation Army meet its goal of more than 150 sponsored children should contact Emily Mew, the Salvation Army’s Western Mass. field representative, at [email protected], or visit the official Angel Tree at Greenfield Savings Bank on King Street.

“We are so grateful to the chamber and Greenfield Savings Bank, both of which stepped in at a time of sudden need to rescue Christmas for more than 100 Northampton-area families,” Mew said. “Their generosity has ensured the survival of this important program as we seek to reach our goal of 150-plus sponsored children this year.”

HOLYOKE — On Friday, Dec. 15, starting at 8:30 a.m., the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley will present a morning workshop at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke on “Creating and Implementing Internal Controls So You Aren’t a Victim of Fraud and Embezzlement.”

Attendees will learn some of the background of fraud-prevention techniques and see real-life examples of how one of our members works to protect their assets from fraud. There will also be time to ask specific questions related to your business, your unique circumstances, and how to keep your assets protected. The workshop is presented by Anthony Gabinetti and Howard Cheney of Meyers Brothers Kalicka, Craig Reed of All States Materials Group, Astra Rogers of Key Bank, and Delcie Bean of Paragus IT. The event is free to members of the FBCPV and $30 to all others. To register, contact Ira Bryck at [email protected] or [email protected].

NORTHAMPTON — Jean Kelley and Joe Malmborg, advisors of Kelley and Malmborg Investment Consulting Group in Northampton, recently attended a national educational conference for independent financial advisors.

Hosted by Commonwealth Financial Network, the nation’s largest privately held registered investment advisor – independent broker/dealer, the October event drew 1,641 affiliated advisors, staff, guests, and sponsors from across the nation. Participants gathered in San Diego, where they connected and collaborated with peers, colleagues, and industry partners to strengthen their leadership skills and enhance the high-end service they provide to clients.

With the theme, “Personal Currency: Human Connections/Patterns for Success,” the conference encouraged attendees to explore how the relationships that they build, nurture, and sustain — both professionally and personally — influence their success.

Keynote speakers offered topical remarks tailored specifically to an advisor audience. In an informal ‘fireside chat,’ former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, joined by Commonwealth’s Joni Youngwirth, managing principal, Practice Management, offered insights about effective diplomacy. Albright outlined the real keys to diplomacy as the ability to put oneself in another person’s shoes and to have a clear understanding of what the other person wants. Ken Blanchard, author, leadership expert, and co-founder of international management training/consulting firm the Ken Blanchard Companies, spoke about the innate leader in everyone. International portrait photographer Platon brought the conference theme to life, sharing powerful personal stories about connecting on a human level with his subjects, including Marissa Mayer and Mark Zuckerberg.

The conference concluded on a continued high note, with a closing event held at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres. The attendees were treated to live entertainment, a grand tour of the facility, a BBQ, and practicing their batting skills at batting cages placed throughout the park.

SPRINGFIELD — Time is running out to visit the 17th annual Festival of Trees, open through Sunday, Dec. 10 on the second floor of Tower Square in downtown Springfield, adjacent to the Citywalk Café Food Court.

Proceeds from the Festival of Trees benefits the Springfield Boys & Girls Club, which serves more than 1,900 Springfield youth each year in areas such as athletics, academics, health and nutrition, and leadership.

Adorned with 134 uniquely decorated trees, the festival is offering free admission today, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to all business patrons with a business card or their business ID. This is the club’s way of thanking those in the area for their support.

Visitors to the Festival of Trees are encouraged to purchase raffle tickets for chances to win a tree and all gifts associated with said tree. All trees will be raffled off at the end of the festival on Dec. 10. Winners will be notified by phone to pick up their tree on Monday, Dec. 11. In addition, a 50/50 raffle is also available for those who want to further support the youth of the Springfield Boys and Girls Club.

Festival hours are today (Wednesday) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 7-9, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 10, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $5; the cost for seniors is $4, and children 12 and under are free. Military personnel, first responders and their families are free with ID. Free parking in the Tower Square Garage is available; parking tickets must be validated at the festival.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Michael Ostrowski, president and CEO of Arrha Credit Union, announced the promotion of Tony Sanches from branch manager and Business Development officer to assistant vice president of Retail Operations.

“We are so pleased to promote Tony, who has always gone above and beyond the call of duty of taking care of his members and staff,” Ostrowski said. “He will continue to be located at the West Springfield branch location at 63 Park Ave. He will also continue to look for ways to serve our members and communities so we may provide additional conveniences and help people reach their financial goals in a meaningful way.”

Sanches has more than 15 years of experience in the local financial industry and 10 years in residential lending. He began his banking career as a teller at Westbank, then moved to Country Bank as a head teller and worked his way up to customer service manager, assistant branch manager, and loan originator. He then moved to Florence Savings Bank as a loan originator at its multiple offices. He finished his career at Florence as assistant vice president of Lending before moving to Freedom Credit Union as a loan officer.

Sanches has extensive knowledge of portfolio lending and secondary-market lending, including conventional loans, MHP, USDA, FHA, and MassHousing loans. He is fluent in Portuguese and English, a member of the Rotary Club of Ludlow, corporator at the Ludlow Boys and Girls Club, and a member of the Ludlow Youth Soccer Assoc., where he coaches youth soccer.

SPRINGFIELD — The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS), in partnership with the Springfield Thunderbirds, announced Springfield’s first SantaCon taking place Friday, Dec. 8.

Springfield SantaCon will bring residents, stakeholders, and community members together to celebrate the season dressed as Santas, elves, Mrs. Claus, and various other holiday figures. SantaCon will begin at Theodores’ Booze, Blues & BBQ and travel to the MassMutual Center for the Springfield Thunderbirds game. After the game, the evening ends at Nadim’s Mediterranean Restaurant.

“We are excited to host a creative holiday event this year, and partnering with Springfield establishments and our hometown team is the perfect backdrop,” said Ashley Clark, president of YPS. “The appeal of this event is reaching people outside of the downtown business market. SantaCon allows us to proudly show off our city to those who may not otherwise frequent downtown.”

The event benefits the Children’s Study Home, with $3 of every ticket sold being donated by YPS Cares, the philanthropic arm of YPS. Berkshire Bank Wealth Management Group will also match the donation up to $3 of every ticket. The donation will be presented during the first intermission. For SantaCon tickets and further details, visit springfieldyps.com.

SPRINGFIELD — For the 10th year, Freedom Credit Union is partnering with the Department of Children and Families to provide gifts to children in need this holiday season.

“Over the past nine years, the generosity of Freedom’s members, employees, and area residents have brightened the holidays for children throughout the Pioneer Valley,” said Glenn Welch, president and CEO of Freedom Credit Union. “This year we hope to bring even more smiles to local families in need.”

Every branch of the credit union has a tree filled with tags that show the gift request from area children. Anyone who goes into Freedom branches can choose a tag from the tree, purchase the requested gift, and bring it back to the branch unwrapped by Thursday, Dec. 21.

In 2016, Freedom collected 500 toys for foster children in Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties.

AMHERST — UMass Amherst chemical engineer Sarah Perry, working with a colleague at the University of Illinois, is creating new bioinspired materials using electrostatic charge to direct the self-assembly process of long molecules. The research team, working with a class of polymers called coacervates, found they could be modified by changing the sequence of charges along the polymer chain. Coacervates are commonly used in food products and cosmetics. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Perry and Charles Sing, professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, collaborated on the research. They say long-chain molecules called polymers are ubiquitous in biology where the precise sequence of chemical building blocks in the chain, known as monomers, encodes the structure and function of life. Perry and Sing are looking for ways to use this kind of chemical patterning to design new synthetic materials.

“The idea is to use patterns of chemistry to help design materials, the same way that nature uses amino acids to create functional proteins,” Perry said. “We focus on a class of charged polymer solutions, known as complex coacervates, which in water are known to separate like oil and water into a gel-like substance due to the attraction between opposite charges. We show how polymer sequence can be used to tune this separation process; this opens up new possible ways to design materials, where charge patterns are directly synthesized into a polymer to encode for specific properties.”

In nature, Sing added, proteins encode information through a precise sequence of monomers. However, this precision control over sequence is much harder to achieve in synthetic polymers. “Instead, we can control the charge placement along the synthetic polymer chains to drive self-assembly processes.”

Perry and Sing say coacervates are commonly used in cosmetics and food products to encapsulate flavors and additives, and as a way of controlling the ‘feel’ of the product. However, if there is a need to change the texture or the thickness, manufacturers have to change the material being used. In this study, Sing and Perry demonstrate that they can rearrange the structure of the polymer chains by tuning their charge to engineer the desired properties.

“This is how biology makes the endless diversity of life with only a small number of molecular building blocks,” Perry explained. “We envision bringing this bioinspiration concept full-circle by using coacervates in biomedical and environmental applications.”

Sing and Perry say they hope to expand the use of this process into nanotechnology.

NORTHAMPTON — The presidents of Westfield State University and Greenfield Community College announced and signed an agreement today that creates a hybrid (combined online and onsite) RN-to-BSN completion program between the institutions.

Based online and at GCC’s newly opened Northampton satellite location, the program provides GCC’s associate-degree graduates and other area registered nurses a flexible, convenient, and cost-effective pathway to a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree from Westfield State.

Students will take the majority of courses online and fulfill the limited on-site requirements at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton.

With a price tag of $10,800, its leaders say, the RN-to-BSN completion program is the most cost-effective in the area. Applications are currently being accepted for fall 2018 enrollment.

AMHERST — The board of directors of the Five College Consortium has appointed Sarah Pfatteicher to be its new executive director, succeeding Neal Abraham, who will be retiring after nine years at the helm of the higher-ed collaboration. Pfatteicher is currently associate dean for Academic Affairs and a research professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“The board was impressed with the breadth and depth of experience that Sarah will bring to the position,” said Jonathan Lash, president of Hampshire College and of the Five College board of directors. “The level of leadership she’s shown at the University of Wisconsin in both academic and administrative endeavors is remarkable, and will serve the consortium well.”

Pfatteicher (pronounced FAH-ticker) attended Northfield-Mount Hermon School and graduated from Smith College before earning her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has held a variety of positions at the university and currently oversees more than 70 academic programs, services for 5,000 students, and a budget of $2.3 million. She has extensive experience in both academic and administrative efforts, having created new academic programs, led a major curriculum revision, coordinated strategic planning efforts, and helped develop a blueprint for diversifying the institution, all while teaching engineering courses.

“I’m excited to return to the Pioneer Valley and honored to have the opportunity to work with these unique and storied institutions,” Pfatteicher said. “I’m particularly drawn to the unusual breadth of the Five College portfolio and its inclusion of both academic and administrative programs. I believe my own diverse higher-ed background will make me a good fit.”

Chosen in a national search that considered some 200 candidates, Pfatteicher will begin working at Five Colleges on April 23.

EAST LONGMEADOW — Strategic Alliances at Bay Path University will present a free online webinar, “Confident or Impostor?” on Thursday, Dec. 14 from noon to 1 p.m. Registration is strongly encouraged. For more information and to register, click here.

Research shows that 70% of the U.S. population has experienced ‘impostor syndrome’ at one time or another. Webinar participants will learn how to combat self-doubt and overcome the lack of confidence that results from impostor syndrome. The webinar will feature three panelists, Karen Hinds, Roxanne Kaufman Elliott, and Maureen Zappala, who will share their extensive knowledge and experience with leadership.

Hinds is the founder and CEO of Workplace Success Group, an international firm that has been referred to as a training ground for future business leaders. She is also the author of The Leader’s Manual – A Young Adult’s Guide to the Global Workplace, Get Along, Get Ahead: 101 Courtesies for the New Workplace, and Networking for a Better Position & More Profit. She serves as a visiting professor for the Malcolm Baldrige School of Business at Post University; is a frequent guest on radio, TV, and podcasts, and is a former board member with the Connecticut chapter of the World Affairs Council.

Elliott is a certified leadership development coach and facilitator with more than 30 years of business, strategy, and leadership-development experience across many different industries in both the profit and nonprofit worlds. She is an i3 Leadership Master and holds degrees from Sinclair College and Bowling Green State University, as well as numerous executive and leadership-development certifications from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the American Marketing Assoc., the Leadership Challenge, RAC, LLM Inc., and others.

Zappala is an award-winning speaker, author, and presentation-skills coach. She is the founder of High Altitude Strategies and helps propel teams and individuals to peak performance. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and spent more than 13 years at NASA’s Lewis Research Center (now Glenn Research Center), conducting aircraft engine research. She became the youngest and first female manager of NASA’s Propulsion Systems Laboratory, a jet-aircraft-engine test facility.

Strategic Alliances is recognized by SHRM to offer professional-development credits (PDCs) SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM. The webinar “Confident or Impostor?” is worth 1 PDC.