BusinessWest Staff, Author at BusinessWest

Businesses Pitch in to Help Habitat for Humanity

Steve ·Dusty· Hoyt, left, and Steve Gelling,say the upcoming Habitat project takes the involvement of the business community to a higher level.

Steve ‘Dusty’ Hoyt says his company endured a good deal of hardship over the years on the way to its current robust health.

A distributor of Marvin windows and doors, Enfield-based A.W. Hastings was hard hit by the long recession of the early ’90s and its profound impact on the housing market. It also weathered other economic ups and downs, shifts in product lines, assimilation into the Greater Springfield market, and mounting competition.

“A lot of people stood by us and helped us through those tough times,” said Hoyt, listing banks, long-time customers, suppliers, and devoted employees as those who enabled the company to endure and recently reach a rare milestone — 150 years in business. (Actually, it’s 158, as determined by some recent research).

Being on the receiving end of such generosity has helped spark a strong sense of giving back throughout the company, Hoyt told BusinessWest. He cited creation of the program TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More), which has involved employees in a number of community activities, as the greatest manifestation of that spirit.

Until recently.
Indeed, while searching for a meaningful way to celebrate the 150th birthday, Hoyt and his brother, Jonathan, Hastings’ treasurer, wondered if the company could take its participation with the Greater Springfield chapter of Habitat for Humanity to a higher level.

Hastings had frequently made at-cost contributions of windows and doors for Habitat homes, and several employees had volunteered to install such products, said Dusty Hoyt. “I was thinking about the various talents of the different people we have within our company — from architectural drawing ability to hands-on skills, and it struck me, ‘why can’t we build one of these houses all by ourselves?’”

He put that question to his employees early this year, and the response was overwhelming, thus providing one of the pieces to what will be a landmark Habitat project, scheduled to commence later this month.

Stephen R. Gelling, executive director of the Greater Springfield chapter of Habitat, said this will mark the first time that private companies will provide the land, labor, and materials for a home. A parcel at the corner of Bartlett and Carew Streets in Springfield, across from the entrance to Mercy Medical Center, has been donated for the project by Thomas Henshon, owner of West Springfield-based Pearson Systems, said Gelling, adding that Hastings employees will provide the bulk of the labor for the project and also purchase the materials — families in line for future Habitat homes will also contribute sweat equity. “We’ve had other companies sponsor homes in the past,” said Gelling, using that word to describe the act of covering the cost of materials and specialized labor not handled by volunteers. “But they (A.W. Hastings) want to utilize their specific skills and go in and make this a total hands-on effort. For our chapter, this is something totally unique.”

And also something he hopes will prove inspirational to other businesses in the area. “This build project will provide a family with a home,” he said, “but it will also create a lot of excitement within this company and a tremendous sense of accomplishment; we’d love to see other businesses experience those same things.”

BusinessWest looks this issue at how this most recent Habitat project came together, and also at how the local business community continually steps up its contributions to the organization that makes the dream of home ownership a reality.

Hammering Home the Point

Hoyt and Gelling both told BusinessWest they weren’t sure what to expect for a response when they scheduled an after-hours meeting at A.W. Hastings this past spring to formally present the company’s Habitat plans and gauge response.
“I was expecting maybe a handful of people,” said Gelling. “Instead, the room was full of people who wanted to know what they could do; there was a lot of energy in that room.”

The home to be built at the corner of Carew and Bartlett Streets, one of three to be started by the local chapter by the end of this year, represents a new, higher level of involvement for the business community in Habitat, said Gelling. He noted that individual companies and groups have made contributions ranging from full sponsorship to donations of materials to volunteering in the construction of many of the 22 homes the local chapter has built in the past five years.

Members of the business community have taken part in the chapter’s ‘women-build’ initiative, he said, referring to one home built, as the name, suggests, entirely by women. They have also taken part in some of the so-called “blitz build” projects in which homes are put in 10 days, and in various ways for more-traditional projects, which take six to nine months.

Meanwhile, the latest Habitat project is also the most ambitious act of ‘giving back’ for A.W. Hastings employees, said Hoyt, noting that it melds community activism with the company’s experience in home-building.

“This made sense for us on a number of levels,” he explained. “First, we’re affiliated with the home-building business as a window distributor, and we also recognize how important a home is to a family and understand the inspiration that can ensue when someone has a vision like that to look at.”

As Hoyt mentioned, the company’s ‘giving-back’ philosophy stems in part from the generosity extended in its direction throughout its history, and particularly over the past 30 years. In 1976, the company, founded in Boston, lost its primary window supplier, and, as a result, about 40% of its business. It found a new supplier in Marvin, but needed strategies to replace the lost volume.

One of those strategies was to expand territorially, a decision that brought Hoyt, grandson of Ivan Hoyt, a manager who purchased the company from the Hastings family in 1945, out to Springfield to cultivate a new market.

Over the next few decades, the company consolidated both its operations (into its current facility in Enfield) and its product lines — focusing on Marvin and its windows and doors — while also weathering several downturns in the economy.

“What brought us out here was a crisis — we were really on the ropes,” he said. “We’ve been through a few of those on my watch — hopefully not because of my watch — and there are a lot of people who helped us along the way.”

Today, the company, like most in the home-building and renovations sectors is enjoying profound growth at a time of extensive new building and remodeling in many regions, including the Pioneer Valley and Northern Connecticut.

“The past decade has been our longest period of sustained growth,” he said, adding that while the tough times are becoming an increasingly distant memory, they haven’t been forgotten.

“We know what it’s like to need help,” he explained. “And I think it’s because of where we are now and the experiences we’ve been through over all those years that we feel that since we’ve achieved some element of success that we have an inherent responsibility to give back to our community.”

This mindset helped drive the creation of TEAM, said Hoyt, noting that the program solicits small weekly donations from employees as well as time and energy for various charitable efforts, ranging from the “adoption” of a local Enfield elementary school to staging a bike race to benefit an employee’s with mitochondrial disease.
And it also created a great deal of enthusiasm for the Habitat project.

Indeed, as he talked about the enormous task ahead for A.W. Hastings — building the 1,200-square-foot, six-room home, raising the money to pay for the materials, and organizing every aspect of both initiatives — Hoyt said he expects each of his 140 employees to “touch” the undertaking in some way.

“One of my goals is to get everyone involved in this — be it with fund-raising or banging nails,” he said. “There’s certainly plenty of work to do.”

The level of organization needed for the project can be seen in a flow chart that delineates the various aspects of the initiative and those who will lead them. Hoyt is acting as project leader, and has three teams reporting to him — one focusing on processes and volunteer-coordination, another on marketing and finance, including fund-raising, and a third, much larger group dedicated to the broad construction effort.

Within the construction team are more than 20 leaders of specific tasks, from excavation to gutters, permits and inspections to landscaping, interior trim to the front porch.

The Habitat project has captured the imagination of the company’s employees, said Hoyt, adding that many have enthusiastically found ways to trim time and cost from the initiative by soliciting donations of materials and expertise.

“We had someone step up and say ‘my cousin does excavation, and he says he’ll do the excavation work for this and only charge us for the asphalt,’” said Hoyt. “We have an electrician who said he’d do that work for no charge; we’re seeing people come forward and do things like that. It’s exciting.”

Foundation Work

Reflecting on the creation of TEAM and this latest manifestation of its purpose, Hoyt said A.W. Hastings has created a culture grounded in the philosophy that, by working together, its employees and managers can do more than make their company successful.

“We can make an impact in our community,” he explained, adding that the “Hastings home,” as its being called, will hopefully inspire other businesses to be part of Habitat’s efforts and encourage more families to pursue their dreams of home ownership.

In that sense, the company is opening doors of opportunity — literally and figuratively. v

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

Eminent Domain

Ruling Blurs the Line Between Public Use and Private Economic Development

In June of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, granted cities and towns the right to take private property to promote private economic development projects even though the Constitution prohibits the government from taking private property except for a ‘public use.’

The ruling, derived from Kelo v. New London, a land-use law case argued before the court on Feb. 22, 2005, ended a bitter, intently watched confrontation between homeowners and the City of New London, Conn. The case arose from New London’s use of eminent domain to condemn privately owned real property so that it could be used for economic development.

A private entity acting as the city’s legally appointed agent, the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), created a development plan that included the construction of a resort hotel and conference center, a new state park, 80-100 new residences, and various research, office, and retail space. In 2000, the city of New London approved the plan and authorized the corporation to acquire the land in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.

The owners of approximately 100 of the subject lots agreed to sell to the corporation at a negotiated price. However, 15 owners did not agree, and the city ordered the development corporation to condemn the 15 holdout owners’ lots.

The last clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, known as the Taking Clause, states “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The owners sued the city in Connecticut courts, arguing that the city had misused its eminent domain power, therefore violating the public use requirement of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed. The court, led by Justice John Paul Stevens who wrote the opinion, concluded that the government can legitimately use eminent domain if it believes it will “provide appreciable benefits to the community, including but by no means limited to new jobs and increased tax revenue.” Furthermore, the court reiterated its policy of deference to local municipalities in determining what public needs left the use of the takings power. As such, the NLDC’s conclusion that the 90-acre redevelopment area was sufficiently distressed to left a program of economic rejuvenation was entitled to deference by the court. Moreover, Justice Stephens cited cases in which the court has interpreted ‘public use’ to include not only such traditional projects as bridges and highways but also slum clearance and land redistribution.

Justice Stevens’s opinion provoked a sharply written dissent from Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote that the decision will “wash out” any distinction between public and private uses of property, leaving homeowners vulnerable to the whims of unelected planning agencies. Furthermore, Justice O’Connor contended that the “specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.”

The decision also elicited strong opinions from those in academia. For example, Richard Epstein, Professor of Law, University of Chicago, wrote that “[t]he ‘public use’ test is so broad that no major government initiative fails to meet it, for every large-scale project could be justified in the name of ‘economic development’ even if the plan is a dead loser from the moment of conception.”

The backlash against the Supreme Court ruling has bolstered landowners and politicians to fight the seizures. According to a lawyer at the Institute for Justice, “It is finally dawning on homeowners and small businesses that ‘this could happen to me.’” A Quinnipiac University poll shows just how much the eminent-domain issue resonates. By an 11-to-1 margin, those surveyed said they opposed the taking of private property for private uses, even if it is for the public economic good.

Justice Stephens declared in his opinion that states may use their own constitutions and laws to limit eminent domain powers. In the six weeks after the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Kelo v. New London case, bills have been introduced in Congress and in more than half of the state legislatures that would restrict, to varying degrees, the use of eminent domain for private development.

In Massachusetts, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers led by State Rep. Bradley Jones, (R-North Reading), has filed a petition, a bill, and a proposed state constitutional amendment designed to limit the power of cities and towns to take private property by eminent domain. The bill would bar cities and towns from seizing private property solely for economic development except in cases where the property is “a substandard, decadent, or blighted open area” under state law.

Massachusetts has a history of unpopular and economically flawed takings. Two
famous examples are the eradication of four townships nearly a century ago to
construct the Quabbin reservoir in central Massachusetts, and the bulldozing of
Boston’s West End in the 1960s in the name of urban renewal. Both are now routinely lamented.

Local leaders and agencies such as the Boston Redevelopment Authority, who
fear that restricting the power of eminent domain will hamper their efforts to rejuvenate rundown neighborhoods by providing new jobs and increasing tax revenues, will likely provide strong resistance to the proposed bill.

These leaders and agencies will argue that the current legislative standards are sufficient and in recent years Massachusetts courts have held local officials to a relatively high standard of what constitutes the public good. They will cite a 2000 Superior Court decision barring Springfield from taking private land to build a minor league ballpark as an example of the impartiality and effectiveness of the current legislation.

In conclusion, courts have long struggled to determine what is a constitutionally permissible justification for taking property. Some argue that the Kelo decision is a landmark decision greatly expanding the government’s power to take private property
while others view the decision as not much of a change, as it has long been recognized that the government has broad powers to order the sale of property.

However, it can be definitively stated that businesses that hope to benefit from
an eminent domain taking can expect organized resistance and negative publicity
despite the intentions of the proponent.

Todd C. Ratner is a real estate and business attorney with the law firm of Bacon & Wilson, P.C., who specializes in business, transactional, commercial and
residential real estate law; (413) 781-0560;[email protected].

From Crisis to Control

Four Tips for Strategic Project Management

Many businesses today are losing money by having projects in crisis. In fact, many organizations set up Project Management Offices (PMOs) as a tool to improve project management. However, the evidence shows these fail more often than succeed. In fact, recent findings show that over 75% of organizations that set up a Project Management Office shut it down within three years because it didn’t demonstrate any added value.

To get to the root cause of the problem we’ve got to take a broader perspective and look at how organizations approach project management from a strategic level.
Here are four key strategies that will immediately make a difference for organizations.

1. Ensure All Projects Are Strategically Aligned
A major reason for project failure is that organizations do not ensure that all projects they implement align with their core strategies. In fact, according to recent findings, 80% of organizations have no formal business case for the development of their project management office and 73% of organizations identified “lack of executive sponsorship” as being the primary reason for failure of their project management office.

If organizations were to implement only those projects that were in alignment with their strategic goals, their success rate would increase dramatically because executive sponsorship would not be an issue. However, the recent findings show that the majority of projects on the go are not associated with corporate and/or departmental strategic plans.

What You Can Do To Align Projects With Corporate Strategy
First, review lessons learned from projects currently underway or completed over the past year to uncover possible success criteria and to determine project prioritization issues. For example, if many projects were unsuccessful because of a lack of resources then resources required to complete future projects should be considered a criterion for determining project viability.

Next, develop criteria against which all projects can be prioritized. Include impact on corporate strategy and customers. To do this, work with a sub-committee of senior management. List all projects along with their goal and strategic alignment. Then try to identify criteria necessary for determining the expected impact each project will have on the organization, its departments and its customers. Rank each project quantitatively and determine its level of priority.

Finally, align projects to corporate and departmental strategic plans, thereby demonstrating how each project’s successful execution will support the corporate and/or departmental strategic plan. Terminate projects that are of low priority or not somehow linked to corporate and/or departmental strategy. This will ensure they stop costing the organization money, resources, time and lost customers.

2. Create a Culture That Supports a Project-Management Environment
The research identified a number of reasons why organizations set-up a project management office. These included; more successful implementation of projects (82%); predictable, reusable project management tools (74%) and organizational improvement (66%). It is interesting to note some of the more important reasons why organizations should set-up a project management office such as organizational improvement and building the project-management culture, were not the top reasons cited in the research.

If a project is strategically aligned and if project management is built into the corporate culture then everyone who works on a project will immediately know what their part is in making the project successful. Staff will not have to locate a project management office to tell them how to manage a project, what tools to use, what templates to use, and so on. Project management will be a competency embedded into everyone’s role. Much as quality management has evolved over the past 20 years to becoming a competency requirement for all jobs, project management is following the same route.

What You Can Do To Create A Project Management Culture
Undertake a change strategy specific to creating it. Business improvement architects calls this a Project Culture Initiative™ (PCI™). This requires the forming of a cross-functional steering committee to develop the approach and process for creating the corporate change. Values and principles need to be created to identify the unique project approach for the organization. Staff education is required to ensure they understand the benefits of the change to them, the organization and its customers.

3. Implement Strategic Project Management Best Practices
The research identified the strategic priorities of most Project Management Offices and determined that: 77% developed project management methodologies, 76% developed structures for their project management offices, 69% identified project roles and responsibilities, 60% developed tools and templates, and 54% implemented project management training programs. From these results, it became evident that project management olffices were task oriented, not strategic. They didn’t consider lessons learned to be of great importance in their overall mandate.

What You Can Do to Implement Strategic Project Management Best Practices
Knowledge retention is a major benefit to organizations because it contributes to continuous learning and avoidance of repeated mistakes. In order to retain project knowledge that can be passed on as “lessons learned” for future project teams, the project management office must hold a formal ‘project close-out meeting’ as soon as possible after a project is completed because, at this point, the knowledge about the management of the entire project is still fresh in everyone’s mind.

The purpose of the closing meeting is to review what happened in the project and what the team and the organization can learn from what happened. The project sponsor, project manager and project team should be in attendance as well as any outside resources and/or stakeholders who would like to contribute their ideas. The outcome of the project closeout meeting will be the creation of a formal document of “lessons learned” for archiving, to be carried to future projects, their managers and their teams.

4. Create a Strategic Project-measurement System
The research identified how project management offices measured their success. Their measurements included projects on time (76%), projects on budget (67%), achieved scope requirements (66%), customer requirements met (65%) and achieved all milestone deliverables (52%). The project-management offices chose traditional metrics to demonstrate success, not strategic ones.

How to Create a Strategic Project Measurement System
The establishment of project success measures will help to provide the senior management team with relevant information needed to make decisions affecting project completion. For example, the presentation of project success measures may convince management to re-prioritize projects or to re-allocate resources.
Project success measures will also provide the Project Management Office with the necessary information to continuously sell the impact they are having on organizational effectiveness. The strategic types of project success measurement criteria should include:

Ability of the project to be managed within specified quality criteria;
Ability to meet regulatory requirements;
Number of resources used versus the number of resources they thought they would use;
Ability of the project to meet its defined targets and deliverables;
Customer post-surveys indicate satisfaction with the product or service delivery from the project;
A successful and problem-free launch;
Business case is proven through the rate of return.

Concluding With a Cultural Change
The research shows that successful project-management systems require that organizations undertake a significant cultural change because project management systems have a profound effect on: reporting structures, performance systems, communication systems and resources. Employees need to be prepared for the changes and understand the benefits.

A quality-based approach to the management of projects gives corporations the ability to successfully execute projects time after time.

Michael Stanleigh is President of Business Improvement Architects, a consulting firm that guides organizations to align their business strategy with their culture, performance systems and projects to reduce waste and increase profitability. Hew is also author of the recent global report: From Crisis to Control: A New Era in Strategic
Project Management;[email protected]. (www.bia.ca)

Community Profile:

Uncategorized

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Year Founded:	1669
Type of Government:	Mayor/City Council
County:	Hampden
Area:	47.33 square miles
Population:	38,372
Population Density:	824 per sq. mile
Median Household Income:	$40,144
Labor Force:	19,413
Households:	14,797
Owner-occupied Housing Units:	67.8%
Registered Voters:	9,596
Commercial Tax Rate:	$30.79
Residential Tax Rate:	$15.66
Avg. Residential Tax Bill:	$2,728
Residential Tax Bill State Rank:	221
Median Sales Price of a Single-family Home:	$173,000

KEY ELECTED/APPOINTED OFFICIALS

Mayor:	Richard Sullivan
City Council President:	Brent Bean
State Representative:	Donald Humason Jr.
State Senator:	Michael Knapik
School Superintendent:	Thomas McDowell
Community Development Director:	James Boardman
City Planner:	Larry Smith
City Solicitor:	Peter Martin
City Clerk:	Karen Fanion
Bulding Commissioner:	Donald York
Collector:	Gregory Kallfa
Chamber of Commerce President:	Ali Salehi

TELEPHONE DIRECTORY (area code 413)

City Hall (information):	572-6200
Mayor’s Office:	572-6200
Westfield G&E	572-0100
Assessor’s Office:	572-6223
Department of Community Development:	572-6246
Barnes Municipal Airport:	572-6275
Building Department:	572-6250
Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce:	787-1555

MAJOR EMPLOYERS*

Westfield Public Schools	1,200
Noble Hospital	562
City of Westfield	500
Westfield State College	475
Old Colony Envelope Co.	400
Mestek Inc.	380
Hospice/Palliative Care Unit	250
U.S. Army National Guard	248
Walmart	245
Savage Arms Inc.	222

*Data from the 2003 Major Employers Inventory, prepared by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commmision

The Right Mechanic

Tortus Technologies Helps the Engines of Business Run Smoothly

The Right Mechanic

A sharp-looking Web site won’t generate much business if a company’s message is muddled and it doesn’t generate Internet traffic. As e-commerce continues to grow, West Springfield-based Tortus Technologies is helping businesses navigate such whitewater and increase their revenues.

Harry Moore has a simple question for computer users: when you’re looking for information on a business, do you still open the yellow pages? Or is it more natural to search on Google?

“People don’t use the phone book anymore; if it’s not on the Web, it’s not worth looking up,” said Moore, president of Tortus Technologies in West Springfield. “That trend has hit critical mass with all generations and all groups. The question, then, is how to take this technology and make it work for businesses. That’s what we do.”

Since launching as a Web-development house with three employees in 1996, Tortus has grown exponentially as a technology and business planning resource for companies of all sizes, with 18 employees serving more than 350 current clients. Further growth is expected, Moore said, because of what makes Tortus unique in the Web services field – its business acumen.

“Our clients have a significant advantage with us because of what we can do for them outside of Web site development,” he said. “We’re business people, as well as big users of technology. Most people in this field are simply technologists trying to work with businesses.”

Art and Science

That dual focus has spawned some success stories as eye-catching as the two-headed tortoise that graces the company’s logo. The name Tortus means “twisted” in what Moore calls “bad Latin,” but the meaning behind the logo is a bit clearer.

“The heads are art and science, and you have to blend both to make it work,” Moore said, referring to the Internet. “That starts with a company’s Web site.

“The Internet isn’t just a business tool; it’s the primary business tool, and people are beginning to understand that,” said Larri Cochran, Tortus’s director of Business Development. “It’s not just about a big Web site that looks pretty. You also have to be found on the search engines. You have to draw traffic to your site.”

To that end, Tortus not only designs, programs and hosts Web sites for companies, it optimizes them to register highly on search engines. Tortus also offers a content-management system that allows clients to update their own sites with an easy-to-use toolbar, without having to learn technical code.

“It allows clients to keep their sites timely, and it keeps costs down,” Cochran said. “Sometimes the information just can’t wait.”

Gerard Gualberto, Tortus’ lead programmer, said some customers are surprised at how easy the system is to use. “They say, ‘you mean I can change my Web site at 2 in the morning?’ Well, yeah, you can.”

Putting such tools in the hands of business people who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy is crucial, Cochran said, because Web sites, with their round-the-clock exposure (unlike TV or radio ads), are becoming the foundation of business marketing. “It’s an education for some companies,” she said. “They think they need a Web master to manage their sites, but they don’t.”

That’s not the only education Tortus offers to its clients, however, Moore said. Bi-weekly seminars help customers learn to use the tools Tortus provides. “We train people in what we do,” he said.

That guidance goes beyond simple Web skills. Tortus also helps companies develop complete business plans that will help them grow at the pace that their finances, human resources and technology level will allow.

“The Internet isn’t just a business tool; it’s the primary business tool, and people are beginning to understand that.”

Rent.com is a good example. When Tortus began working with the online real estate company in 2001, it had no workable model. “We refocused them and turned them around,” Moore said. Recently, eBay, the leading Internet auction site, bought rent.com for $415 million. “That’s a big deal,” he said.

There are plenty of local success stories as well. When Flag Fables, a Springfield company, first partnered with Tortus, it was considering expansion of its its physical retail space. Instead, it bolstered its Internet presence, and now the majority of its sales are conducted online.

“They knew nothing about the Internet, and now they’re managing their own Web site and catalog online,” said Cochran. “Our people understand business; we really work as a team – no one person has all the answers. And our clients like that we really focus on education as part of our relationships.”

Moore said 80% of Tortus’s business lies in fixing other people’s problems. “We feel like a car repair place sometimes. People come in with baggage from bad experiences. But they learn that you can’t just throw a Web site up and see what happens. You need a business model.

“And when your car is serviced right,” he added, “it’s because your mechanic just gets what’s wrong.”

A Faulty Instrument

Say you attend a symphony concert, Moore said, and the third violin sounds noticeably squeaky. Attendees are likely to say that the concert was terrible – even though the problem lay in only one instrument.

That poorly tuned instrument can be anything when it comes to Web marketing, but as often as not, the problem lies in exposure. The most well-designed site on the Web won’t help a business grow if no one looks at it. That’s why Tortus helps clients optimize their sites to show up prominently on search engines such as Yahoo! and Google.

“People who are serious about the Web come to us,” Moore said. “If you really want to be a player, we can get you up and running, get you the look and feel you want, and generate traffic.”

“You can’t build a Web site and not have it found on the search engines,” Cochran stressed. And that will be even more crucial as the Web becomes a more commerce-friendly place and Internet users become more sophisticated, she added.
“It seems to be happening all at once, but people are actively looking to the Web for business solutions,” Moore said. “It’s becoming much more intuitive and easy to use.”

Other economic trends support the growth of Internet commerce. Dana Soucier, Tortus’s director of operations, suggested that soaring gas prices are likely to turn even more people away from traditional retail outlets like malls, and toward Web shopping.

“A Web site doesn’t replace a traditional business model; it’s an enhancement that allows them to operate faster and better,” Cochran said. “Companies want to make it easy to do business with their clients, just as we’re making it easy for them to business with us.”

That claim is reflected in the growth of Tortus’s client list, which is dominated by long-term customers, and in the company’s aggressive growth goals for the coming year – which include adding seven more employees and doubling sales. “Our goal is to increase our revenue while providing great services to our clients,” Moore said. “We don’t just build web sites; we build businesses, and that’s our uniqueness.”
“If a client is successful,” Cochran said, “we’re successful.”

Plugged In

Gualberto said there isn’t time for Tortus to rest on its laurels, not when the ways information is exchanged constantly change.

“Our goal is to be good not just for this area, but when compared with companies nationally and internationally,” he said. “But it’s like being a physician – you have to keep constantly re-educating yourself. If you lay off it for six months, it shows.”
And despite the shifting technology and the growing sophistication of Web design and e-commerce, it still comes down to how businesses connect with their customers, Moore said. After all, a great Web site design won’t obscure a poorly delivered pitch.

“There are two doors you have to open,” he said. “One is to get on the first page of
Google search results. Then, what’s your message?” It had better be solid, Moore explained, because the average computer user searching for a product or service will look at a site for four seconds, on average, before deciding whether to keep reading or head back to Google.

“If you’re on that first page, great, but what are you going to tell people?” he asked.
Once the message is clear, Tortus Technologies can help find the audience
– and that’s a marketing concept that has never changed with the times.

Internet service providers

Provider	Contact	Charges	Services
Ashton Services 1 Federal St., Bldg. 101, Springfield, MA 01105 (413) 746-9661;www.ashtonservices.com	David Flaherty	$165/quarter Web-site hosting for commercial accounts	Hosting services include dial-up, DNS, E-mail accounts, and automated site registration; real-time statistics are also available; T3 lines
BerkshireNet 126 Fenn St., Pittsfield, MA 01201 (413) 442-7805;www.berkshire.net	Michael Bathrick	$19.95/month standard dial-up;one-time $19.95 set-up fee	Dial-up locations throughout Mass. and N.H.;multiple phone lines; full-time system administrator
Choice One Communications 1 Federal St., Bldg. 111, Springfield, MA 01105 (413) 732-6336;www.choiceonecom.com	N/A	$19.95/month dial-up	Dedicated Internet access; dedicated DSL; fractional and T1access; speeds from 128k to 1.54 megabytes; serving the (413) Greater Springfield area
Conversent Communications 1441 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103 (413) 732-5088;www.conversent.com	Nicholas Capman	$19.95/month standard dial-up	Basic business lines; Centrex; local and long distance plus DSL; Web hosting and E-mail; 24/7 supervision through operations center
Create-A-Website P.O. Box 993, Wilbraham, MA 01095 (413) 596-4321;www.createawebsite.net	Jim DeForest	Web-site hosting starts at $14.95; all other services are priced based on content	Full-service Web site company; design, hosting, E-commerce, database, and marketing solutions
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A Passion for the Job · and the Community

Rick Sullivan Takes the Long View as Westfield’s CEO

Westfield Mayor Richard Sullivan, with a dozen years at the helm and a seventh two-year term set to start in January, is among the longest-serving municipal CEOs in the Commonwealth. He told BusinessWest that he owes his longevity — and his track record for success — to a deep commitment to the job and the community in which he grew up.

When Rick Sullivan first ran for mayor of Westfield in 1993, he never dreamed he would be at the job for six terms — with a seventh set to start in January (he’s running unopposed this November).

“I remember the discussions we had back then,” he said, referring to talks with his wife, Lisa, and other family members. “The plan was to run, and if we were lucky enough to win that race, to look at a second term and then that would be it, because you can’t really change much in two years.”

No, but you can in a dozen, and Sullivan has a lengthy list of accomplished goals to mark his tenure at City Hall, starting with his desire to improve the school system that he and Lisa believed had declined from the days when they shared classes at Westfield High School.

In a wide-ranging Q&A session, Sullivan, now the dean of mayors in the Pioneer Valley and one of the longest-serving chief executives in the state, talks about his passion for the city he grew up in, his accomplishments, and the work still left to do.
In the course of doing so, he weighs in on everything from the qualities that make an effective mayor — “you have to know how to really listen, and not just take up a chair in the room” — to Gov. Mitt Romney’s policies and practices — “he has no respect for the operation of municipal government and what local officials and public servants do in order to provide services that impact people’s lives on a daily basis.

BusinessWest: You said you had no intention of serving for mayor as long as you have. What keeps you in what many people would consider a difficult, often thankless job?

Sullivan: “I could have embarked on some things that were certainly more lucrative financially, but it’s really very satisfying to be in service to a community and look back and say, ‘we made a difference.’ And we is everyone who works here (City Hall) and also my family, who made a lot of sacrifices over the years.

“Let’s just say that I have a passion for the this community, and also for the practice of government.”

BusinessWest: How long do you want to keep doing this?

Sullivan: “We take it two years at a time; that’s how we’ve always approached it. Two years from now we’ll assess where we are professionally and personally.”

BusinessWest: What makes someone an effective chief executive in a city like Westfield, or any community?

Sullivan: “You have to be visible, and you need to be able to listen well. And you must have a lot of patience.

“Being visible is a crucial element. I don’t have things going on every night, but most nights — and many weekends — there’s some event I need to be at, and I try to be at as many as possible. Why? Because it’s important when a church has its annual festival, and it’s important when a classroom of students wants to learn about civics first-hand. Local government is the most personal form of government there is.”

“I could have embarked on some things that were certainly more lucrative financially, but it’s really very satisfying to be in service to a community and look back and say, ‘we made a difference.’ And we is everyone who works here and also my family, who made a lot of sacrifices over the years.

BusinessWest: How do you approach the job of being the city’s chief executive? In other words, describe your management style?

Sullivan: “The most important thing is to be honest people; don’t tell them that you can get something done tomorrow when you know you can’t; I’d rather give someone all the information they need, even if it’s something they don’t want to hear.

“One of the first people I talked with after I got elected was Carol Mazza (publisher of the city’s daily newspaper). She said that the hardest thing I was going to face — and I think her exact words were that she was worried about whether I could do it or not — was the fact that I was going to have to say ‘no’ a lot more than I could ‘yes.’
“I think about that a lot, because she was right; even though this is a $100-plus million corporation known as the city of Westfield, and that’s a lot of money, it’s not enough to do everything you want to do or that everyone wants to see done; you have to live with having to say ‘no,’ and understand that it’s part of the job.”

BusinessWest: Let’s shift gears and talk about the challenges facing Westfield and all communities. The state’s budget situation is improving, but cities still seem to be struggling fiscally. What are the primary challenges?

“I think our basic mission has been to achieve economic diversity, and this goes back to what I was saying earlier about funding basic services. No community should be dependent on one big employer or even one industry group.

Sullivan: “The biggest one, plain and simple, is providing basic services when you’re limited to the regressive property tax. So I think there has to be recognition at the state level that there must be another way to fund these programs, because you can’t keep going back and having the cost of property taxes and other services at the local level become so expensive that people can’t afford to live here

“Take schools for example; the cost of education is always a concern. Everyone wants better MCAS scores, better achievement, and more accountability through the school system in terms of how they are spending each dollar and getting the absolute best product that we can. But you also need to have the ability to pay for those things. That is going to be an ongoing problem for communities now.”

BusinessWest: Do you see the state — and specifically the Romney administration — responding to this situation in the way that you and other mayors would like?

Sullivan: “No.
“I don’t think there’s an appreciation for what cities are towns are facing. He (Romney) keeps talking about how he hasn’t raised taxes. In fact, what he’s done is shift all the burden back to the local communities. And in those communities, the biggest share of that has to be picked up by property taxes, and it often falls on the backs of people on fixed income, those who work two jobs, and others who are struggling to make ends meet.

“There’s a real disconnect between his policies and how they’re impacting people in our cities and towns.”

BusinessWest: How is Westfield, and the region as a whole, impacted by the many challenges facing Springfield, the capital, if you will, of Western Mass.?

Sullivan: “We see and feel it a number of ways. For example, we see it with teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other municipal servants who are leaving Springfield and trying to come over here. They see this as a much more stable environment. In some ways, that’s good, because it allows communities like Westfield to hire the best and the brightest. But this will be a real hardship on Springfield, and it will be a long time before that city recovers, because it will also be a long time before people there believe that’s a stable community.

“As for the importance of a healthy Springfield, of course that’s important to the entire region. But I’ve always been a firm believer that, while we need a healthy Springfield, we also need a healthy Holyoke, a healthy Easthampton, and a healthy Westfield; we’re in a regional economy; there are no walls around any of those communities.

BusinessWest: Let’s talk about that regional economy for a minute. Regionalism is the main goal of the Economic Development Corporation. Is this approach working?

Sullivan: “It is. Even before the formation of the EDC, area mayors were getting together on a fairly regular basis; there was Chris Johnson in Agawam, Rich Kos in Chicopee, Mike Albano in Springfield … we were working toward taking a more regional approach then, looking at the bigger picture and not thinking parochially.”

BusinessWest: There were some turf wars in the ’90s, like the competition between Westfield and Northampton for a Coca Cola bottling facility. That was a fight, if you can call it that, which Westfield lost; were there lessons learned from it?

Sullivan: “That episode went a long way toward changing some attitudes; we learned that pitting one community against another like that is not healthy for the region. I can’t tell you that we weren’t disappointed that Coke didn’t come here, because we were. But that whole thing showed us that we shouldn’t be doing things at the expense of Northampton, and vice versa.

“We will always try to be competitive when someone is looking to move into the area, but we can’t let companies leverage one community against another. What I learned from the Coke saga was that I don’t want my competitor to be Holyoke, Chicopee, Northampton, or Springfield; when Mike Sullivan in Holyoke has a chance to bring in a new business, that’s good for us and for the whole region — we need a healthy Holyoke.”

BusinessWest: Can you describe your administration’s main economic development strategy for Westfield?

Sullivan: “I think our basic mission has been to achieve economic diversity, and this goes back to what I was saying earlier about funding basic services. No community should be dependent on one big employer or even one industry group. Who would have thought that GE would leave Pittsfield or that Digital would be gone from Westfield? And recently, we’ve seen many large businesses leave the Palmer area and move south. If you’re relying on one employer or one sector, your local economy is put in jeopardy.

“So we’ve spent a lot of time and energy here working on achieving that diversity. We still have a backbone of strong manufacturers — our tool and die base is the unnoticed foundation of that sector, but we have other kinds of manufacturers as well — and we have a commercial base and a retail sector we’re trying to expand. You need to watch that mix all the time.

“If you look at Westfield’s 10 biggest taxpayers and employers, they’re all either new in the past 10 years or have done some significant expansion in that time. And when you have discussions with rating agencies on Wall Street in terms of what your bond rating is, these are the things they look at; they look to see if you’re economy is diversified and they ask how your 10 or 20 largest employers are doing. And there is a direct correlation between those things and the rating you receive.

BusinessWest: Downtown remains perhaps the one area that has escaped the progress seen across the rest of the city. What does the future hold for that area?

Sullivan: “I’ve said for years that the only thing that doesn’t reflect our economic healthiness is downtown, but I firmly believe that will change in the years ahead. We’ve already seeen some significant improvement with several new restaurants and clubs, and there will be more.

“We have a $50 million public works project set to start (a second bridge over the Westfield River in the downtown area) and a $20 million hotel project that’s moving forward; these developments will produce some dramatic changes in our downtown.”

BusinessWest: Beyond the many aspects of downtown revitalization, are there are any other major goals for the future?

Sullivan: “Only to simply continue what we’ve been doing — listening to people
and trying to make this a better community.

“I remember what my dad said after we won that first election for mayor and came to
see the office for the first time; he said, ‘don’t forget where you came from.’ I wasn’t born here, but in my mind, I came from Westfield, and I have never forgotten that.” ?

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

Current Events

WSC Shapes Plans for a Westfield River Environmental Center

It’s called the Hemlock Wooley Adelgid.
That’s the name of a small, non-native species of insect that is currently attacking hemlock forests in the Northeast. It apparently arrived in this country via some wood delivered to New Jersey from China two decades ago, and has been slowly making its way north.

Tim Parshall, a professor of Biology at Westfield State College, isn’t sure if the intruder can survive in the climate and elevation of the Westfield River Watershed — and thus pose a threat to the old growth Hemlock forests there — but he wants to find out.

And his efforts to determine the extent of the insect’s presence in the watershed, and the prospects for the future, will be one of the first initiatives launched by a new venture taking shape at the college called the Westfield River Environmental Center.
Blueprinted by Environmental Science, Biology, Physical Science, and Regional Planning professors at the college, the center, in its first phase, would bring together existing faculty and programmatic strengths on the campus to create an integrated, field-based science and education program focused within the Watershed.

“The school is in a very unique setting, at the foot of several mountains and near the Westfield River,” said Michael Vorwerk, an Environmental Science professor at WSC. “It provides us with some very unique opportunities.”

To take advantage of them, the group applied for — and received — funds from a new program at the college created by President Vicky Carwein called I3: That’s short for Initiate, Innovate, and Inspire, a $200,000 fund designed specifically for programs that will enhance community involvement and raise the college’s profile in the region — while also involving students at all levels in real-world issues and concerns.

Like the Hemlock Wooley Adelgid.
“That’s just one example of how we want to involve our students, our faculty, and the community in maintaining the health and beauty of the watershed,” said Vorwerk, who told BusinessWest that the initiative includes a number of educational components involving college and K-12 students.

Down to a Science

Parshall told BusinessWest that, in the world of academia, the word center often connotes not a building or a wing, but a coordinated research effort.

Such is the case with the Westfield River Environmental Center, which may someday have a mailing address, but for now is a collection of initiatives focused on the area in and around the watershed, a largely undeveloped ecosystem whose namesake river is nationally designated as “Wild and Scenic.”

WSC’s location only a few hundred yards from the river (the school actually owns land on the river’s bank) and across the street from Stanley Park puts it in a unique position to promote research on the watershed and inspire (that’s one of those I’s) advancements in the teaching — and learning — of science.

This was the thesis of the grant proposal written by a group of science and regional planning professors, whose proposal won the respect of a review committee — and a $50,000 grant from the I3 program.

“The project will both create and fill a niche that other Massachusetts college cannot offer: the opportunity for hands-on learning in a unique natural setting,” the group wrote in its application. “The program would provide a learning laboratory for students studying in all areas of science, extending to K-12 programs in the region.

urthermore, WSC’s location at the juncture of urban and rural communities provides a unique opportunity for the college to serve as a forum for dialogue among the watershed’s diverse stakeholders.”

In the project’s second phase, said Vorwerk, organizers would move forward with development of a permanent environmental center at the college that would include many other academic disciplines such as History, English, Economics, and Communications.

For now, the center is focused on a series of broad initiatives that fall under the categories of science, education, and outreach. These include strengthening the current science curriculum at WSC by encouraging both field and laboratory environmental studies; facilitating collaboration on region-wide environmental studies; and offering opportunities for K-12 teachers, students, and the community.

Specific goals include:

Developing goals for student and faculty research in the watershed;
Developing and encouraging the use of field locations for education and research, beginning with WSC holdings and Stanley Park;
Strengthening existing courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and developing new courses with specific environmental science applications;
Coordinating a community working group, comprised of faculty, students, and members of non-profit, governmental, and community organizations;
Initiating and strengthening ties with community partners to develop collaborative regional ecosystem studies, focusing initially on the Westfield River Watershed;
Coordinating an education working group, comprised of faculty, students, K-12 teachers and administrators;
Developing internship and other learning opportunities for WSC education students to work with regional community and governmental organizations.

Meanwhile, there are a few research projects planned or already underway. One involves the Hemlock Wooley Adelgid, said Parshall, noting that an Environmental Science student at the college has expressed interest in researching the insect’s penetration into the watershed.

“It’s just starting to get a foothold there,” he said. “We think the watershed, which reaches into the Berkshires, represents the edge of insect’s ability to live and survive through the winter; we have a student interested in identifying where the adelgid lives, how common it is, and how fast it’s spreading.”

That project will be funded through the grant received from the I3 program, said Parshall, as will several other initiatives now in the planning stages. These include research on a another invasive species, something called Canary Reed Grass, which has gotten a foothold in marshy, wet areas within the watershed, including Stanley Park, and changing the habitats there. It is a real threat, for example, to Cat Tails. A professor at the college has already received a grant to study the intruder, and is currently enlisting student support for that work.

Another project due to be undertaken soon is a trail-mapping initiative, said Vorwerk, who told BusinessWest that this venture, as well as those involving the reed grass and the adelgid, researchers will be encouraged to employ GIS, which can be used to map trails or the territorial expansion of insects.

“This is a technology that’s important to understand, especially if you’re interested in environmental science, but in many other disciplines as well.”

Progress — Naturally

Developing new and effective uses of GIS is one of many goals of the emerging environmental center, said Vorwerk, noting that he and others involved with the venture expect it to evolve continually to meet the changing needs of students, educators, and area non-profit groups that are invested in the watershed.

And it will adjust as new issues — and new invasive species — arise in the ecosystem. That setting provides myriad opportunities for those who wish to study science and preserve the fragile environment, and the center will help the college — and the community — maximize those opportunities.

Looking Sharp

American Saw Sinks its Teeth into Aggressive Growth Strategies

Bill Heisner displays a torpedo level, one of many new products that will carry the Lenox name.

American Saw & Mfg. Co in East Longmeadow is marking its 90th birthday this year. While that milestone — and the company’s proud history — are cause for celebration, new president Bob Heisner has his focus on the future, which promises continued new-product development, expansion into new markets, and ever more aggressive efforts to leverage the company’s well-respected brand: Lenox

Indeed, Lenox American Saw, which already sells products in more than two dozen countries, is looking to increase its presence in Europe and Asia, especially China.
“We’re not looking to make products in China,” said Heisner, noting quickly that the company does, in fact, manufacture some lines there already. “We want to sell products in China.

“They’re cutting a lot of steel there,” he continued, referring to both China’s dizzying growth curve and one of American Saw’s main niches — blades that can cut steel quickly and cost-effectively. “China holds a lot of opportunities for us.”

BusinessWest looks this issue at how the East Longmeadow-based company’s new president will approach the task of capitalizing on those opportunities and thus remain a cut above the competition.

Cutting-edge Developments

Heisner was promoted to his new post from the position of vice president of marketing for American Saw, what he called “the easiest job in the world.”
He was exaggerating, of course, but also making a point about the quality of the company’s products and their reputation within the industry.

“We’ve always said that if we could put our products in people’s hands, then they were sold on them,” he explained, noting that this was true across the company’s three main product lines: band saw blades, power tool accessories, and hand tools. “It was my job to get those products into people’s hands, plain and simple.”

That assignment remains part of his overall job description, but he also has a bigger, broader responsibility — picking up where his predecessor Bill Burke, now head of Rubbermaid’s tool division, left off in the drive toward the company’s stated goal of growing sales (currently around to $250 million) to the $500 million mark by 2008.
Only now, that target has actually moved to a loftier number. “Our CEO is upping the ante,” said Heisner. “He wants us to get to $1 billion.”

To get there, the company will take a multi-faceted approach that includes new-product development, continued improvement to existing products, and cultivation of new markets in which to sell those items.

Leading those efforts will be Heisner, who, like Burke, spent many years developing a competitive admiration for the Lenox brand while working for one of American Saw’s main hand tool rivals — Baltimore-based Black & Decker.

There, he worked in marketing and new-product development for several years. In 2001, he joined Danaher Tool Corp. as vice president of marketing for its Hennessy Tools division, and two years later accepted Burke’s invitation to join the team at American Saw.

Like Burke before him, Heisner told BusinessWest that what attracted Rubbermaid to American Saw (and pay $450 million for the then-family owned company) was the Lenox brand, which has a strong reputation among end users for quality and dependability.

So much so, that, while the name American Saw & Mfg. is still used in Western Mass., where it has considerable equity, outside the area, the company is known as Lenox.

“Here, if you say ‘American Saw’ or simply ‘The Saw,’ everyone knows what you’re talking about,” he said. “Get outside this market, though, and that name means nothing to them. They know the name Lenox.”

And Heisner’s current priority is to put that name on a wider range of products, but without compromising what he says that name means to professionals.

As he talked about new-product development, Heisner reached over to a table next to his desk and picked up a multi-purpose screwdriver, or an ‘all-in-one, as its known. This is an indispensable tool for many of tradesmen, including plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians, but a product that never carried the Lenox name and signature wolf logo — until recently.

“We made a promise when we (Rubbermaid) came here that we swore we’d live by,” he explained. “And that was we’d only offer a product that has a demonstrable benefit. If we couldn’t come up with one, then we wouldn’t offer it as a Lenox product.”

By that, he referred to the difference between the Lenox brand and other tool and accessory brands the parent company sells, such as Irwin — a difference he compared to the disparity between a Mercedes and a Chevrolet.

“We could get to $500 million in one year, forget five, if we wanted to make Lenox more of a mass-market product as opposed to a premium product,” he explained. “We didn’t want to do that.

“What we want to do is take this brand and go like this,” he continued, spreading his hands apart, “because there’s a lot of things that plumbers, electricians, and others use that we don’t make but could — if we could create that demonstrable benefit.”

“We’re not looking to make products in China, we want to sell products in China.”

Looking for an Edge

In the case of the all-in-one, that benefit is a thicker wall for the nut-driver, which also doubles as a tube that holds the various screwdriver heads, said Heisner, noting that while conducting the five-gallon-bucket research he spoke of, the company’s R&D team noticed that the nut driver became quickly stripped on competitors’ models because that wall wasn’t thick enough.

“No one had ever done that before, and we’re not sure why,” he said of the seemingly simple innovation. “But that’s our demonstrable difference. And it’s a great example of how we were able to take something that had been out there forever and make it better — to make it good enough to carry the Lenox name.

“We’re maniacs when it comes to user research, and that’s what we did with the all-in-one,” he said. “We didn’t know if there was an opportunity to do something with this particular product; all we knew was that all our users, every single one of them, used one of these.”

The same type of detailed user research has led to other new products, said Heisner, including a torpedo level (another tool that nearly every tradesman carries) with several innovations and a circular saw blade manufactured in conjunction with a Japanese company. It has also spawned improvements to a number of traditional product lines, including band saw and reciprocating saw blades made with a recently developed coating that provides more durability and faster cutting.

Many of the company’s significant innovations move from the band saw blade line — the company’s single largest product segment — into other areas, said Heisner, noting that this was the case with the new coating.

“It’s all about heat — if you can eliminate heat, you can make a much better blade. This coating product dissipates the heat and protects the tooth, so you create a blade that lasts much longer,” he said, noting that the company’s new Armor line of products has been extended from band saw blades to reciprocating saw blades and other lines.

The new-product development initiatives are having a demonstrable difference on American Saw’s bottom line, said Heisner, noting that the company has set several sales records this year and has matched three straight years of double-digit growth — and also in the nature of those sales.

Indeed, while sales of new products (a category reserved for those within three years of initial introduction) have historically accounted for about 5% of total volume, this year, that number is nearly 20%.

“And we want to continue to move that figure higher,” Heisner told BusinessWest. “World class is 30%, and we want to be there within 18 months.”

While working to introduce new products and improve traditional lines, American Saw is also working toward expanding its geographical reach, said Heisner, noting that by this he meant developing new and stronger markets in many of the countries where the company already has a presence.

“Normally, when people talk about China, they’re referring to taking their manufacturing over to China to support the U.S.,” he explained. “We’re doing the opposite; we want to support China with manufacturing here.

“The market in China is exploding, and we have lots of innovative products, starting with band saw blades.” he continued. “That’s half our business — making products that turn big pieces of steel into smaller pieces of steel, and no one is cutting more steel right now than the Chinese.”

The keys to penetrating new markets, and also improving sales in existing markets, are continued R&D, or ‘user research,’ as Heisner called it, and efforts to put the company’s products in front of people and actually in their hands.

Which is why the schedule has become much more crowded for the employee known simply as “Hack Man.”

Lee Breton, a 35-year American Saw employee, started cutting cars in half with reciprocating saws armed with Lenox blades in 1981. He eventually moved on to tanker trucks, airplanes, and anything else that could demonstrate the product’s quality and efficiency. (He recently set a personal best by ripping through a car in less than a minute).

Today, there is something called “Team Hack Man,” said Heisner, noting that Breton now has some help, and will use it to take the schedule of car-cutting events from 20 (the average for the past several years) to more than 200 for 2005.

“That’s quite a show they put on,” Heisner said of the Hack Man team, which appears across the country and overseas. “When you cut in half that fast, you get users to take a look at your products. And once they start using them, they’re sold.”

Drill Formation

Summing up the broad strategy for American Saw in the years to come, Heisner said it comes down to one word: relevance.

By that, he meant that the company and its Lenox brand plan to enter into more product lines — items as simple as an all-in-one screwdriver — and thus greatly expand its reach in terms of visibility and, more importantly, sales.

“We want to move into a bigger room,” he said, noting that the company and its
R&D teams will continually look for ways to bring demonstrable benefits to the people who use blades, hand tools, and power tool accessories.

And for that, they will need more of that five-gallon-bucket research.?

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

Global Business, Global Risks

Sept. 27: TD Banknorth Insurance will host a free luncheon seminar, Global Business, Global Risks, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its offices at 2077 Roosevelt Ave. in Springfield. The featured speaker will be Kim Finlay, CPCU, Are, New England international manager for ACE USA. The presentation will guide businesses through the need for international insurance, international exposure identification, the basic international coverages, and tips for choosing an international carrier. For more information, call (413) 750-4438.

School Law Seminar

Sept. 28: The South Hadley-based Sheridan law Offices, L.L.C. will host a seminar focusing on the latest developments in School Law. The program, slated for 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hotel Northampton, is ideal for superintendents and assistants, business managers, principals, and other school officials. The event will feature a case law update, and such specific topics as: ‘what constitutes due diligence in hiring teachers and educational staff’, ‘reporting teacher misconduct to the Department of Education — what is the obligation of the school district?’ and others. Cost of the program is $120 per person. For more information, call (413) 536-8523.

Branding Symposium

Nov. 1: The strategic identity firm Bidwell ID and the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network will convene panelists from diverse sectors encompassing the arts, business, education, and health, to examine the
elements of effective branding at a program at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The event, called brandnew 2005, will be staged from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The program will feature several local case studies in branding and a panel of experts who will put questions to those business owners. The case studies will include Amherst College, The Eric Carle Museum, the Amherst Nursing Home, Banana Publishing, and Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Way Cooley
brand of coffee. The expert panelists will be Lee Phenner, vice president of Hill Holiday Design in Boston, Cheri Cross, partner and communications professional with Slate Roof Studio, and Rick DeBonis, senior vice president and director of Marketing for Hampden Bank. Cost of the program is $35 per person. For more information, visit www.brandnew2005.com

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

Adams, Jon G.
Adams, Maureen
38 Walnut St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Albano, Mariarosaria
42 Maryland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Allyn, Jonathan G.
43 Downing Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Anderson, Martin R.
Anderson, Lori A.
4 Greenwood St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Atwood, Thomas E.
Atwood, Barbara L.
50 Day Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Baker, Teague Alan
Baker, Lisa Marie
2 Rockvalley Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/05

Basile, Michael A.
139 Glynn Farms Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Beaver, Marjorie I.
52 Queen Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Bielski, Richard J.
Bielski, Karen L.
21 Sunnyside St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Bisbee, Jo Anne
106 Rolling Green
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Blair, Kenneth C.
Blair, Laurie P.
44 South St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/05

Blanchet, Patricia K.
1 North Kellogg Road
P.O. Box 144
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Boudreau, Arthur A.
Boudreau, Shirley M.
8 Gunn Road Ext.
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Brown, William H.
351 Pleasant St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Burkhard, Michael J.
771 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Butterfield, Lexia Lynette
121 North Main St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Canteenwalla, Ferdauz N.
Canteenwalla, Alice M.
45 Willow St., Apt. 54
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Carpenter, Charlise Marie
21 Alvord Place
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Cecchetelli, Joseph A.
34 Church St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Champagne, Michael L.
137 Hanson Dr.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Claudio, Carmelo
298 Oakland St., Apt. 7
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Colly, Christopher Todd
Colly, Christa Leigh
72 North Main St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/05

Colon, Jacob Matthew
607 Beech St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/05

Corkum, Russell S.
71 Northwood Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Cornelius, Gwendolyn Crocker
14 Pinewood Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Cortes, Erick M.
48 Blodgett St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Crosby, Fred T.
Crosby, Kathy L
157 Goodwin St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Cust, Francesca B.
64 Hillside Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Damkauskas, Lou C.
PO Box 8022
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Davignon, Tiffany D.
214 East Guinea Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

DeGeorge, Gary R.
401 Blisswood Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Drug Assist Health Solutions, Inc.
26 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 11
Filing Date: 08/10/05

Dudley, Leonard C.
140 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Dunigan, Kelly M
P.O. Box 745
Chicopee, MA 01021
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Dwight, Jeanne W
PO Box 571
Leeds, MA 01053
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Everett, Stephanie A.
17 George Loomis Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Ferreira, Stephen J.
170 Acrebrook Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/05/05

Ferrington, Dave
Ferrington, Lisa
370 Mill Valley Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Foster, Karen R.
106 Edgemont St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Gailpeau, Jason Paul
135 Meadow St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/01/05

Gaines, Edmund P.
P.O. Box 464
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/05

Gallant, April Bella
57 High St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Goldrup, James L.
159 Kerry Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Gordon, Lisa M.
1007 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/05/05

Greenwood, Edward J.
65 Craig Dr., Apt. P4
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Grimes, Steven D.
Grimes, Deborah A.
25 Gerrard Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/05

Guadeloupe, Heather S.
87 Fenwick St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/05

Guerin, Robert L.
Guerin, Laura I.
45 Schuyler Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/01/05

Hebert-Voudren, Michelle J.
29 Brentwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Hirschhaut, Robert J.
91 Sumner Ave., Apt. 1
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Holesovsky, Thomas John
Holesovsky, Gretchen Muriel
32 Park St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/05

Hughes, Michael Christopher
53 Olmsted Dr.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Januszewski, Tadeusz
4 Manhan St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Jaycox, William Hector
Jaycox, Diane Marie
1546 Westover Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Johnson, Oscar L.
71 Ely St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/05

Josefiak, Deborah M
256 Newhouse St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Kamenides, Mark Peter
1134 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Keim, Rachel Colette
124 Chesterfield Road
Leeds, MA 01053
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Keough, Thomas H.
93 Grochmal Ave. #86
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Kerr, James Robert
51 Maple Ter.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Kibbe, Louise R
275 Regency Park Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Kimball, Craig R.
20 Jackson St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Klein, Stephen Daniel
48 Sergeant Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Kras, Jennifer R.
42 Townhouse Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

LaPointe, Bryan Lee
LaPointe, Dawn Marie
47 Coleman St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/05/05

LaRusso, John J.
67 Corey Colonial
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Lawler, Lucy S.
44 Bay State Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Laxton, Carol Anne
44D Colonial Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/05/05

Leary, Kevin M.
1080 Main St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Leger, Todd W.
365 Grand Valley Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Leidberg, Richard E.
Leidberg, Penelope H.
4B Arthur St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

L’Heureux, John A.
49 Dakota Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Line, Peter C.
25 Joy St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Liptak, James Peter
124 Chesterfield Road
Leeds, MA 01053
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Lorenzo, Wilmari M.
59 Margaret St., Apt.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Lumpkin, Pamela A.
83 Chmura Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/05

Pinkney, April M.
34 Berkley St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Pollard-Jordan, Laurie J
7 Country Club Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/10/05

Quinn, Jeannette E.
22 Belmont Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Reid, Viola
93 Grochmal Ave.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Robbins, Clifford R.
249 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Roy, Russell K.C.
c/o Tara Boycher
129 King St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Salvas, Cornelia B.
49 Eureka St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Santos, Lawrence Neal
Santos, Angela Marie
15 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Scarpa, Kelsey Danielle
273 Lyon St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/05

Scott, Irene A.
11 Klondike Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Scroggins, Richard
P.O. Box 91456
Springfield, MA 01139
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Siegal, Audrey
29 Reed Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Simpson, Diane G.
18 Knapp St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Smith, Susan
26 Sterling Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Soler Mateo, Eiizabeth
83 Phillips Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/06/05

St. Andre, Irene S.
153 Theroux Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Lund, Jon Eric
PO Box 509
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Lynes, Robert W.
P.O. Box 552
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/10/05

Maldonado, Antonia
42 1/2 Franklin St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Maldonado, Eugenia
64 Taylor St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Markland, Megan Sarah
191 Moss Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/14/05

Marques, Rose M.
155 Prospect St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Mateo, Raymond
83 Phillips Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/06/05

Mayotte, Amy L.
85 Martin Farm Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/05/05

Medina, Celinamaria
8 Utica St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Miller, Lionel S
19 Honey Pot Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Missildine, James
41 Greenwich St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Montmeny, Robert W.
Montmeny, Susan M.
86 Brewster St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Moore, James M.
Moore, Alice M.
27 Empress Court
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Morris, David G.
Morris, Mary Louise
21 West Glen St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Morrisino, Paul A.
Morrisino, Laura P.
37 Michel St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Nadeau, Janet A.
19 Columbus Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Negron, Milagros
75 Balis St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/10/05

Nieves, Anibal
141 Phoenix Ter.
Springifeld, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Nowak, Michael E.
93 Harding St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Nunez, Iris V.
63 Central St. – Apt A
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/09/05

Page, Stacey C.
40 DeRoy Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/12/05

Paksi, Sandor
344 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/13/05

Parent, Robert Daniel
92 Redden St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Paton, Darcy Laine
1343 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

Paulson, Michael R.
124 Yeoman Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

Pelletier, George Louis
33 Mattoon St., Apt G
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Phillips, Bernice M.
41 Elmer Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

St. John, Lynn A.
92 Fordham Ave.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Stramaglia, Angela Nina
47 Broad St., # C-43
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Susa, Thomas J.
444 Ventura St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Swartz, Paul E.
33 Orchard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/15/05

Swinton, Ronald
267 Talmadge Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/05/05

Szumowski, Marilyn A.
PO Box 16
Chicopee, MA 01014
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/07/05

Thomas, Anita L
55 Nagel St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/04/05

Thompson, Linda D
275 North Valley Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/10/05

Trudeau, Edward F.
Trudeau, Linda M.
30 Belvidere Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Veighey, William James
54 Newell St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Voudren, Donald F.
29 Brentwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/08/05

Walker, Leslie F.
93 Grochmal Ave.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/02/05

West, Edward T.
30 Circle Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/10/05

Wheeler, Steven Christopher
26 Olmstead Dr., 2nd Floor
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Wollmershauser, Joan M.
157 Cambridge St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/03/05

Zeronda, Joseph D.
8 Utica St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/11/05

The following building permits were issued during the month of September 2005.

AGAWAM

Oakridge Golf Club
850 South Westfield St.
$50,000 — Install wireless equipment

AMHERST

Amherst College Trustees
62 Snell St.
$68,000 — Remove and
replace shingles

Jeffrey Eisman
650 Main St.
$20,250 — Renovate business office and reception area of dentist office

Trustees of Hampshire College
Greenwich House 3
$25,913 — Extend roof overhang

EAST LONGMEADOW

St. Lukes Church
400 Prospect St.
$600,000 — New classrooms

HOLYOKE

Light of Restoration Ministries
98 Suffolk St.
$40,500 — Offices, handicap bathroom

NORTHAMPTON

Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc.
30 Locust St.
$2,000,000 — Construct four-story surgical/bed expansion

Hampshire Council of Governments
Gothic St.
$4,164 — Erect ground sign

Treasure Towns LLC
24 North Maple St.
$10,000 — Construct two accessible bathrooms and mechanical room

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Visiting Nurses
50 Maple St.
$42,000 — Exterior stairs

MRI Center of New England
3500 Main St.
$4,600 — Enlarge reception area

Picknelly Family
1414 Main St.
$64,250 — Create studio for CBS 3

Springfield College
263 Colby St.
$131,500 — Install handicap bathroom
$400,000 — Create parking area

WEST SPRINGFIELD

PR Restaurants LLC
935 Riverdale St.
$300,000 — Renovate retail space into restaurant-

St. Germain Opens Hartford Office

HARTFORD — St. Germain Investment Management, with offices in Springfield at 1500 Main St., has opened a new office in downtown Hartford. Company president, Paul Valickus, CFA, said a steady increase from Connecticut investors requesting more of St. Germain’s financial management services has prompted the firm to open the new facility at 100 Pearl St. in Hartford.

MicroTest Laboratories To Expand

AGAWAM — MassDevelopment recently announced an $800,000 Emerging Technology Fund loan and a $370,000 mortgage insurance guaranty to MicroTest Laboratories Inc. and MicroTest Properties, LLC for expansion plans. The company, which provides laboratory and environmental testing services to the medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries, will use the funds to expand its manufacturing and new virology laboratory facility, upgrade utilities, and purchase equipment to accommodate its growth into the biopharmaceutical product testing and manufacturing business. MicroTest employs 89 and expects to create an additional 49 jobs when the expansion efforts are completed. Administered by MassDevelopment, the state’s $25 million Emerging Technology Fund provides loans and guarantees for facilities and specialized equipment for technology-based companies.

Rocky’s Ace Expands to Norwood

SPRINGFIELD — A new Rocky’s Ace Hardware Store will open in Norwood in November. The new store is part of Rocky’s Ace Hardware’s and Ace Hardware Corp.’s progressive strategy to spark growth and expand customer service by opening additional stores in New England. Since 1999, Rocky’s Ace has grown from eight stores in Western Massachusetts, to 26 stores across New England.

VPT Consulting Opens Springfield Office

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Vincent P. Traina Jr., founder and principal of VPT Consulting, has announced the company’s expansion with new offices at 1441 Main St., TD/Banknorth Center, in downtown Springfield. VPT Consulting offers a full range of marketing, advertising and business development services.

PIP Printing Receives Industry Awards

SOUTH HADLEY — PIP Printing and Document Services recently received a “Top 25” award for sales performance during the PIP Annual Convention in Tampa, Fla. This is the fifth time that owners Dorene and Wendell Pennell and John Bledsoe have received the annual award. Also, PIP Printing has received a “Franchise of the Year” Award by the International Franchise Association. The annual award is given as a symbol of recognition for the brightest and best leaders in franchising.

Berkshire Bank Opens N.Y. Branch

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Berkshire Bank, recently announced the opening of a full-service branch in Shoppers World Plaza in Clifton Park, N.Y. This is the bank’s second branch opened this year in the Albany region and its third in New York.

UMass Amherst Construction Projects Exceed $40M

AMHERST — As students returned to UMass Amherst this month, the campus is sporting some $40 million in new construction projects and improvements. Ongoing projects include the deck replacement at the DuBois Library, which began last year. The $6.35 million state-funded effort involves the installation of a new, waterproof membrane and concrete deck over an underground section of the library. Also taking shape is a $3.1 million athletic track facility, located near the softball and soccer fields at the north end of Stadium Drive. The new Llewellyn Derby Track, which is expected to be ready by the end of September, replaces an outmoded facility on the site of a planned central heating plant for the campus. Several health and safety projects were also completed or are continuing. These include new fire alarm systems in Goessmann Laboratory, Morrill Science Center, Fernald Hall and Goodell at a cost of approximately $3 million. Construction efforts also include security cameras, health and fire safety-related projects, roof replacements and work in residence halls.

Monson Savings Bank Opts For New Structure

MONSON — Monson Savings Bank is in the process of converting to a two-tiered mutual holding company structure that will create Monson Financial Services Mutual Holding Co. and Monson Financial Services Corp. The Monson Financial Services Corp. would be a stock bank owning Monson Savings Bank. The bank has three branches in Hampden, Monson and Wilbraham, with total assets of $177 million.

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT

Rugg Lumber Co. v. Pinncon Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $21,534.34
Date Filed: Aug. 18

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

The Travelers Indemnity Co. of Illinois v. Drywall Systems Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay workmen’s comp insurance: $73,752.00
Date Filed: Aug. 8

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

K.S. Trading Corp. v. Hot Fashions II
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $2,315.95
Date Filed: Aug. 8

Longhorn Carpet Co. Inc. v. Chase Décor Inc. f/k/a Chase House of Décor Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $11,724.51
Date Filed: Aug. 9

Saga Communications of N.E. Inc. d/b/a WHAI/WHMP/WLZX/WAQY v. Bare Furniture & Reproductions Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $7,385.60
Date Filed: Aug. 11

Arrow Oils Inc. v. Alice Stepanik d/b/a Alice Stepanik & Sons Farm
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods and services: $11,227.06
Date Filed: Aug. 15

John Deere Landscapes Inc. d/b/a Century Supply Corp. a/k/a Century Rain Aid v. Joseph Barrepski f/d/b/a Aqua Flo Lawn Sprinkler
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $12,028.82
Date Filed: Aug. 22

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Morris Switzer Environments for Health Inc.
v. Loomis Communities Inc. f/k/a Loomis
Village Inc. and Loomis Communities
Allegation: Breach of contract and mechanic’s
lien: $1,997,101.50
Date Filed: Aug. 9

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of September 2005.

AGAWAM

Birch Hill LLC
72 Birch Hill Road
Maurice Casey

Fdubbs Video Games and More
525 Springfield St. #11
Frank Bond Jr.

In-N-Out Auto & Trucks
91 Ramah Circle
Mark Walker

Longo Carpet Cleaning
80 Ramah Circle
Christopher Longo

M & M Links and Business Services
541 Springfield St.
Maureen Abdullah

Quick Pic
1 River Road
Ali Khan

Viola House Cleaning Service
420 Main St.
Wuoletta Ramanowska

Zen-Ergenic
75 Joanne Circle
Frederic Brodeur III

AMHERST

Ambrosia’s Emporium
178A North Pleasant St.
Leanne Moulton

Dare to Thrive
129 Gray St.
Virginia Lewis

Footprints to Success
170 East Hadley Road
Hughia Magnue

Kamins of Amherst
55 South Pleasant St.
Patrick Kamins II

Red Cab
38 Justice Dr.
Houshany Ansarifar

Zoo Mass Books.com
180 Clark Hill Road
James Highsmith

CHICOPEE

Candon’s Art
157 Old Lyman Road
Kevin Candon

Gamestop and Movies Too
649 Memorial Dr.
David Carlson

J & K Properties
20 Parker St.
Jesus Delgado

Robare’s Variety
32 Center St.
Theresa Robare

Skye Mountain Realty Inc.
406 Britton St.
Patricia Gajda

EAST LONGMEADOW

Encore
60 Shaker Road
Kelly Lavillette

Terri’s Barber Styling Shop
641 North Main St.
Theresa Fitzgerald

Thomas Behan
31 Brook St.
Thomas Behan

HADLEY

Howard Johnson
401 Russell St.
Robert Shumway

Reiki Room
245 Russell St.
Nancy Johnson

HOLYOKE

Botanica San Lasaro
1375 Dwight St.
Elmis Coilado

Elmwood Fish & Chips
37 Myrtle St.
Eusaquio Rivera

Marie’s Market
149 Suffolk St.
Geraldo Rodriguez

Roham’s News Room
648 High St.
Rajendra Pandit

Wing Chun Kung Fu Council
349 High St.
Juan Fernandez

LONGMEADOW

Maritime Smarts Inc.
141 Lawnwood Ave.
Stephen and Patricia Larivee

NORTHAMPTON

Club Bus
735 Westhampton Road
Ryan Hammel, Aaron Fradkin

Faith Sullivan, M.Div.
199 Main St.
Faith Sullivan

Helping Hands
18 Perkins Ave.
Marcus Yarde

The Jamescyn Collection
61 Gothic St.
Cynthia James

Morintouch Chair Massage
11 Overlook Dr.
Christopher Morin

Unite
1022 Main St.
Thuan Luu

SOUTH HADLEY

Benny’s Produce Delivery Service
12 Ingram St.
Binyam Avnalem

SPRINGFIELD

Able Maintenance Co.
73 Naragansett St.
John Muise

Atlas Flooring
8 Vandise Circle
Pauline Edwards

Cafe Di Vang
605 Dickinson St.
Anh Bui

Corona Enterprise
45 Willow St.
Ronal Corona

E.N.M. and Associates
663 State St.
Edmund Candelaria

5 Star Video Games
599 Page Blvd.
Shaun Kelly

Ghazala Magazine
112 Price St.
Tahirah Wadud

KDH Assoc.
104 Buckingham St.
Kelvin Hines

Main St. Bottle & Can Return
611 Main St.
Duc Truong

Nobody’s Kitchen & Bath
1257 Boston Road
Nobody’s Kitchen & Bath LP

Pinacle Power Washing
9 Ramah St.
Jamie Connell

Silver Construction
88 Biltmore St.
Gleb Leiderman

Stefano’s Style
66 Glenwood St.
Stephen Crenshaw

Two Brother’s Restaurant
67 Liberty St.
Manuel Sandova

Walnut’s Bottle & Can Redemption
136 Walnut St.
Maxwell Phan

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Family Chiropractic
346 Main St.
Filomenar Larroca-Strobel

Comfort Inn and Suites
106 Capital Dr.
Nataver Inc.

Delicious Kitchen
715 Main St.
Radames Garcia

Edible Arrangements
1702 Riverdale St.
Lisa Beachemin

JVD Tek
67 Irving St.
Viet Do

Mamma Mia’s Pizzeria & Ristorante
60 Park St.
Farone Inc.

Panera Bread
935 Riverdale St.
PR Restaurants LLC

Pioneer Valley Hobbies Inc.
54 Myron St.
Dennis Gamelli

Rose Day Spa
524 Main St.
Van Le Rowen

Stevens Jewelers Inc.
2068 Riverdale St.
Eric Stevens

Upscale Nails
84 Westfield St.
Minh Nguyen

Westside Market
204 Baldwin St.
Zahoor Ul-Haq

WESTFIELD

Annatana
92 Beveridge Blvd.
Louliia Kroutii

Carpentry Services
140 Wyben St.
Kerry Plourde

Center City Service & Muffler
709 Russell St.
Frank Scigulinsky

Getty Gas Station
41 Franklin St.
Syed Bukhart

J.C.K. Construction
25 Darby Dr.
John Kent

The Krafty Shack
37 Berkshire Dr.
Merritt Gayle

N.E. Home Improvement Service
37 Crown St.
Dustin Taudal

Northeastern Auto Coach
321 Munger Hill Road
Sewall Sachs

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

AMHERST

North Amherst Community Farm Inc., 36 Harris St., Amherst 01002. Deborah Evans, 58 E. Leverett Rd., Amherst 01002. (Nonprofit) To provide services regarding organic farming methods, productive use of land, etc.

Margarita’s Food Inc., 28 Amity St., #5, Amherst 01002. Lius Manuel Medina Vaillard, 65 Amherst Road, Leverett 01054. To operate a full service restaurant.

CHESTER

PLS Inc., 128 Prospect St., Chester 01011. Joy L. Salvini, same. Land surveying.

CHICOPEE

Garg Trading Inc., 419 Montcalm St., Apt. #404, Chicopee 01020. Meena K. Garg, same. Trading of general merchandise.

TNT Asphalt Repair Inc., 221 Prospect St., Chicopee 01013. Milton Theriault, same. Asphalt repair.

FEEDING HILLS

Gorilla Marketing Inc., 547 Springfield St., Feeding Hills 01030. Gerald F. Smith Jr., same. To operate a cocktail lounge.

HOLYOKE

Stefanie’s Foundation Inc., 3 St. James Ave., Holyoke 01040. Pamela J. Murnock Lukomski, same. (Nonprofit) To provide financial assistance to families with a child suffering from cancer, etc.

NORTH HATFIELD

The Hatfield Pub Inc., 312 West St., North Hatfield 01066. Roger A. Grenier, same. To operate one or more bars, taverns, cabarets, restaurants, etc.

NORTHAMPTON

Northampton Cell Phone Store Inc., 98 Pleasant St., Northampton 01060. Jonathan L. Waxman, 19 Jyra Lane, North Easton 02356. To sell cellular phones and accessories.

Soo Ra Restaurant Inc., 1 Roundhouse Place, Northampton 01060. Hyun Kyu Lee, 162 Hadley Road, Sunderland 01375. To operate a restaurant.

SPRINGFIELD

Advantage Auto Service Inc., 93-97 Wilbraham Road, Springfield 01109. Shamone Cox, same. Automobile repair services.

Game Hunter Inc., 511 Belmont Ave., Springfield 01108. Vien Nguyen, 49 E. Gooseberry Road, West Springfield 01089. To deal in electronic media, game systems, CD, music and game equipment and media.

Hemocure Inc., 1462 Plumtree Road, Springfield 01119. Alexander L. Zheleznyakov, same. To manufacture and sell medical equipment.

HOPE for Habitat Inc., One Monarch Place, Suite 1900, Springfield 01144. Stephen D. Hoyt, 49 Drury Lane, Longmeadow 01106. (Nonprofit) To assist and carry out the purposes of Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity.

Ideal Financial Holdings Inc., 933 Main St., Springfield 01005. Marjorie Feinberg, same. To own the common stock of Ideal Financial Services.

JimBob Aviation Charter Services Inc., 1102 Riverdale St., West Springfield 01089. James E. Balise Jr., 87 Blueberry Hill Road, Longmeadow 01106. Airplane charter service.

The Center After School Program Inc., 82 Bay Meadow Road, Springfield 01109. Althea Haines, same. To provide a place for after school children to be assisted in homework, partake in educational and group activities, etc.

The Dory Lounge Inc., 487 St. James Ave., Springfield 01109. Maureen Catherine Perry, 115 Wilmont St., Springfield 01108. To deal in restaurants, inns, taverns, catering, etc.

Triple G Cable Inc., 112 Washington Road, Springfield 01108. Gerson R. Souza, same. Cable installations.

Valley Photo Center Inc., 1500 Main St., Springfield 01103. David Moviouganes, 474 Alden St;, Ludlow 01056. (Nonprofit) To operate a gallery to educate the public about the art of photography, provide classes, etc.

Zonin’s Meats Inc., 18 Winthrop St., Springfield 01103. Aurelio Daniele, 57 Longivew Dr., Suffield, CT 06078. Alfonsina Liquori, 18 Winthrop St., Springfield 01103, registered agent. To manufacture and sell foods products including meats.

WESTFIELD

Gauntlet Games Inc., 304 Sackett Road, Westfield 01085. John Michaliszyn, same. Distribution and marketing.

Hawken Management Inc., 3 Cross St., Westfield 01085. John D. West, 19 1/2 Avery St., Westfield 01085. To deal in real estate, etc.

Pinnacle Piping Inc., 40 Susan Dr., Westfield 01085. Dan Rohan, same. To provide plumbing/piping services.

Brickyard Commons Inc., 385 Root Road, Westfield 01085. Jeffery Morin, same. Real estate ownership and management.

WESTHAMPTON

G.R. Marketing Inc., 120 Chesterfield Road, Westhampton 01027. Gerard J. Ronan, same. To provide marketing, sales and development of construction and home improvement products.

WILBRAHAM

RL Lafley Construction Inc.,
3 Drumlin Circle, Wilbraham 01095. Richard L. Lafley Jr., same. Real estate development.

Scantic Valley Pool and Spa Inc., 1 Hilltop Dr., Wilbraham 01095. Thomas E. Wilson, same. Residential pool installation.

SK3 Engineering Inc., 840 Ridge Road, Wilbraham 01095. Stanley Kowalski, III, same. Engineering and product development.

The Natural Rights and Laws Compact Inc., 47 Glenn Dr., Wilbraham 01095. Richard J. Howell, same. (Nonprofit) To promote and further the mores established by God through the first settlers in 1620 to our independence in 1776, etc.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Carol’s Concession Corp., 60 Chilson Road, West Springfield 01089. Carol Delevo, 9 Tanglewood Dr., West Springfield 01089. To provide food and beverage to the general public.

Universal Trucking Service Inc., 182 Doty Circle, West Springfield 01089. Jan Chrzan, 89 Pendleton Lane, Longmeadow 01106. Truck delivery service.

Richard B. Collins, (center) President and Chief Executive Officer of United Financial Bancorp, Inc. presides over the closing bell ceremony at the NASDAQ market. Collins and other executives from United Financial Bancorp participated in the NASDAQ closing ceremony in New York City to celebrate the company’s initial public offering in July. Photo courtesy of NASDAQ Stock Market.

State Sen. Brian Lees (R-East Longmeadow) speaks to attendees at the annual Senior Citizens Forum held at Western New England College in August. Lees stages the event each year to bring resources and information to the senior citizens of Western Mass.; hundreds of elder care, human services, health care, and community organizations were on hand at the forum.

The Orlando Magic’s Grant Hill, next to a commemorative locker that will be placed in the Basketball Hall of Fame, answers questions about his career and the game of basketball at the Hall earlier this summer. Hill visited the Hall to donate pieces from his personal art collection, in an ongoing effort to bring fine art to a greater audience.

Hill speaks to an audience at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as Hall of Fame President John Doleva looks on.

The Language of Business

Opinion

If you can read and comprehend this sentence … you’re fortunate.

A recently released report, authored by MassINC (the Mass. Institute for A New Commonwealth) indicates that growing numbers of people in the state’s workforce — or who would like to be part of that workforce — cannot read it, and this simple fact may have dire consequences for the state.

The report, titled The Changing Face of Massachusetts, reveals that the state’s immigrant population is rising, and a significant proportion of these new arrivals has difficulty with the English language. These are troubling findings, because there has been significant out-migration from the Bay State in recent years — for reasons ranging from its cost of living to its liberal lifestyles — and the Commonwealth is relying heavily on immigrants to meet the needs of an economy that, when we last checked, was still expanding and adding jobs.

If large numbers of these immigrants are unable to gain a quick, reasonable grasp of the English language, that economy could sputter.

Bill Ward, director of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, knows this. That’s why he views the report as both a wake-up call and, hopefully, a catalyst for action on a statewide level to direct more resources to the task of improving proficiency in English across the board.

We share that view, and urge elected officials and economic development leaders to take the initiative on this issue.

The numbers within the MassINC report tell an intriguing story. For starters, the foreign-born share of the state’s workforce nearly doubled between 1980 and 2004, from 8.8% to 17%. Since 2001, the state’s labor force is estimated to have grown by less than 1%, and would have actually shrunk if it were not for the new immigrant populations.

What those numbers say is that the state is becoming increasingly reliant on immigrants for its continued economic health and well-being. And the report hints strongly that the state should be aggressive in helping to train and educate these people — especially in the matter of the English language.

Indeed, the report’s authors refer to proficiency in English — or lack thereof — as the new fault line separating those who succeed in the so-called New Economy from those who don’t.

But while the report’s findings are eye-opening, they are also somewhat misleading, at least when it comes to the communities of Western Mass., specifically Springfield and Holyoke.

Those two cities are not listed anywhere near the top of list of state cities and towns with high immigrant populations. These communites do, however, have large populations of Puerto Ricans who, because they are citizens of the United States, are not considered immigrants. But many of them do have problems reading, writing, and speaking English.

And Ward knows that this fact is contributing to a disconnect in the local job market — specifically a situation where people are looking for work and can’t find it, and some companies need qualified people and can’t find them.

Improved proficiency in English could help remedy this situation, but waiting lists for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are currently longer than the lists of those currently enrolled.

What’s needed, according to The Changing Face authors, is a public-private partnership that will educate residents, the business community, and the Legislature on the pressing need to make proficiency in English a top priority. We support those efforts, and hope that if and when such a partnership gets down to business — literally and figuratively, it does leave Western Mass. behind.

Lawrence, Lowell, Chelsea, and other Eastern Mass. communities have much higher populations of recent immigrants, but Springfield, Holyoke, and other Pioneer Valley communities share the same overriding problem: English.

As the MassINC report indicates, the face of the state’s workforce is changing. The Commonwealth and its business community must acknowledge this fact and adjust accordingly.

O P I N I O N

Opinion

Learning a Lesson from China

China has shed its fabled economic isolation and is now a world-class trader that uses its advantages of size, scale and cost to compete in the international marketplace. The consensus is that within a generation or two, Chinas economy will equal Americas.

How did China advance so dramatically?

Historically, China has always had vast resources and formidable power but has only intermittently sought engagement with the wider community of nations. After many years of walling itself from the outside world, China is again welcoming foreign investment and engaging in international trade. While others debate globalization, China has mastered it.

Some are alarmed at the pace of Chinas economic expansion and seek to constrain it. We have seen the elements of this strategy in various proposals to erect barriers to U.S. imports of Chinese goods.

Not only are these attempts to inhibit Chinas international trading unrealistic, they are potentially damaging to the U.S. economy and job growth. A prosperous China with a rapidly expanding middle class represents one of the most significant opportunities for the United States.

U.S. producers across nearly every industrial sector from commercial aircraft to medical devices to integrated circuits recognize China as one of the worlds most promising export markets. Boeing, for example, will soon begin filling an order for 60 new commercial airplanes for China. Limiting U.S.-China trade might actually do more to inhibit job growth in Seattle than in Shanghai.

U.S. agriculture also has a growing stake in China trade policy: Since it joined the WTO in 2001, China has become one of the fastest growing markets for U.S. farm products, with exports tripling from $1.7 billion to $6.1 billion in 2004.

And thats just the export story. Last year, affiliates of U.S. companies doing business in China sold more than $75 billion worth of products to Chinese consumers and businesses.

Clearly, the U.S. has nothing to gain by adopting a protectionist posture. Rather than attempting to constrain the competition, we should adopt a strategy that will amplify our own strengths. Such a strategy has five elements:

First, we must take advantage of the economic opportunities in our own hemisphere. Congressional approval of CAFTA was an important step toward creating more outlets for products made in the U.S. This should be followed by a revitalized effort to complete the Free Trade Area of the Americas, covering 34 nations.
Second, we should deepen the Transatlantic Business Dialogue and work towards the creation of a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. This would stimulate growth and provide an incentive for Western Europe to undertake reforms needed to keep their economies internationally competitive;
Third, we must intensify our trade program in Asia in order to benefit from the increasing economic interdependence among the regions nations. Most importantly, we should build on the success of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs recent trip to the U.S. to deepen our trade relationship with India. And the U.S. should accelerate trade negotiations with Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and open talks with Japan and Korea. China is already moving aggressively to tie neighboring economies to its own.
Fourth, we must ensure a successful conclusion to the global negotiations in the World Trade Organization. This will further encourage China and virtually every important trading nation to live up to their WTO commitments and play by the rules of foreign trade;
Finally, if we are going to meet this new competitive challenge, we must get our own house in order. The biggest concern of American industry, according to a recent Commerce Department survey, is not foreign imports but domestic policies and problems. Manufacturers cite rising healthcare costs, burdensome taxation, excessive regulation, and inadequate investment in research and education as the prime constraints to long-term competitiveness.

Chinas successful economic expansion is creating new wealth, for Chinese citizens and for Americans. As a society founded upon free enterprise, lets not complain that todays Chinese businesspeople are becoming too enterprising. We can learn a lesson from China: Isolation is not the answer. Instead, we must do what our nation does best: foster innovation, encourage entrepreneurship and boost productivity. That is how America will prosper.

Sy Sternberg is chairman and chief executive officer of New York Life Insurance Company. This opinion was first published in The Wall Street Journal on August 9, 2005.

The New Era of Export Compliance

New Regulations Will Change How many companies Do business.

Whether you export circuit boards or cranberries, your exports are under the uspices of U.S. export control laws. These regulations known as the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) or the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) affect every product in every company in every industry.

Later this year, the new regulations will be effective. The Bureau of Census will issue new regulations (ETA Oct. 1) which will hold exporters, forwarders and carriers more accountable for complying with the export laws. According to Paul Devecchio, Devecchio & Associates, significant changes to the regulations will impact companies currently doing business in China and will tighten controls and enhance enforcement of technology transfers to foreign nationals.

The Mass. Export Center, part of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network, serves as the states one stop resource for export assistance. Part of that assistance is educating companies across the Commonwealth on a variety of issues including compliance and regulatory policies. The centers Partners for Trade publication is forwarded to more than 13,000 individuals semi-annually and in 2004 the Center held over 30 training sessions. Many of those seminars involve logistics and compliance.

Export controls help protect our country and it is the obligation of every company and individual involved in international trade to adhere to them. The changes that have already been made and those that are forthcoming affect all exporters, freight forwarders and other parties involved in the process. Finally, when the new regulations become final later this year all exports will have to be filed automatically through the Automated Export System (AES). This change makes it a lot easier for U.S. Customs, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), formerly the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), and other federal agencies to track exports.

The Shippers Export Declaration (SED), as we know it, will cease to exist. Instead, the exporter will either submit directly to census through AES or ensure that comprehensive and accurate information is submitted to the freight forwarder by a Shippers Letter of Instruction for AES entry. For those products found on either the Commerce Control List (CCL), or the U.S. Munitions List, or for shipments of rough diamonds, companies are already obligated to file through AES. The CCL is controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Munitions List through the U.S. State Department.

Other changes in the regulations include much higher penalties for individuals or companies found in violation of the regulations. If your fine would have been $10,000 under the old regulations, it will be $100,000 with the new. According to Paula Murphy, director of the Center in Boston, violations may include failure to file, filing late, and errors in AES entries. The regulations also provide for greaterscrutiny of transactions and broadening of enforcement authority through BIS and the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to new regulations, things were done by hand, but now with the touch of a button any one of several agencies can check on your exports. AES gives the agencies a much greater chance of identifying violations. The agencies will be working more closely toensure that detections are dealt with swiftly and that agencies such as the Office of Export Enforcement will be able to penalize companies for a variety of violations including those dealing with AES. Certain areas of AES are going to be much easier to track, so exporters should be more careful when importing data that it is correct. Some areas include:

Classification

If the product is a controlled product, make sure it has the correct Export Commodity Control Number (ECCN) and Schedule B number. Whatever you do, do not allow the freight forwarder to decide what these should be. Do the research necessary and make the decision in-house. If you are having trouble determining this information, assistance is available through a variety of sources.

In one instance, a routed freight forwarder was using the wrong Schedule B using the wrong Schedule B number for a product and after he was provided with the correct one, he did not want to correct the previous documents for fear it would send out an error message and his company might receive a violation. In order for the exporter of the product to protect themselves, it was suggested that they write the forwarder a letter requesting the change. If something does happen they have done due diligence on their end.

Valuation

Overseas custom officials have always kept a close eye on the valuation of imports, but with everyone now reporting through AES, U.S. Customs will also be able to better track the data. Companies have always been advised that if this request to undervalue merchandise being shipped is received that the exporter should explain to their customer that U.S. laws forbid them to undervalue a shipment.

License Information

Authorities will be looking for inconsistencies in licensing for products. Make sure if your product is controlled either by ECCN or ITAR that the information is listed correctly.

U.S. Principal Party of Interest (USPPI)

The USPPI shall be reported as the address or street location (no post office box number) from which the goods actually begin the journey to the port of export.

For shipments with multiple origins, report the address from which the commodity with the greatest value begins its export journey.

Ultimate Consignee Information

The ultimate consignee is the party that the exporter knows to be the end user. This is an area that is going to received greater attention in the future. If you know the name of the end user, even if it is being shipped from a subsidiary or distributor, make sure you indicate it on your AES entry Also, make sure that you put the Destination Control Statement on all your commercial invoices. The statement reads as follows: e.g,

These commodities, technology, or software were exported from the United State in accordance with the Export Administration Regulations. Diversion contrary to U.S. law is prohibited.h

Record keeping Requirements

Current regulations indicate that the exporter needs to maintain copies of their SED, airway bill, or bill of lading, purchase order, commercial invoice, and any related licensing information for a period of five years. The new regulations, while doing away with the SED, now requires you to keep the ITN number for that same period of time. advised keeping everything as it relates to a particular shipment. If you gave the forwarder a Shipperfs Letter of Instruction, I would keep it to show anyone questioning an AES entry what was the actual information that was given.

While not required, it is recommended that companies develop an Export Management System (EMS). This process will assist companies in making sure that their exports and export decisions are consistent with the EAR. The more a company exports, the greater the need for the system. If a company has more than one division, it is highly recommended in order to make sure that everyone understands the importance of the regulations and that various departments are consistent in record-keeping and documentation.

Again, this fall the Mass. Export Center will be holding a variety of seminar related to compliance, regulations and AES. For information on upcoming Partner for Trade seminar, go to ww.mass.gov/exports/pft.htm.

P. Ann Pieroway is program director of the Western Mass.
Massachusetts Export Center;(413) 552-2316;[email protected]

Growth Policies

Rick Black Sets an Aggressive Course for TD Banknorth Insurance

As Rick Black commenced a job search last spring, near the end of his 17-year stint with Marsh Inc., the insurance brokerage unit of financial services giant Marsh & McLennan Cos., TD Banknorth Insurance wasnt on his radar screen not even a blip.

I asked a friend in the business what he would do if he was going to start all over again but stay in insurance, Black recalled for BusinessWest. He said, youre going to laugh harder than youve laughed before but Id take a long, hard look at Banknorth.

He was right I laughed, Black continued, noting quickly that while he hadntconsidered TD Banknorth Insurance Group, the 44th largest insurance broker in the country with $55 million in annual revenue, compared to Marshs $6 billion he did eventually take a look, and really liked what he saw.

This was a company clearly moving in the right direction, said Black, who became president of anknorths Massachusetts Region, headquartered in Springfield, in late May. In that capacity, he will direct a multifaceted effort to grow the division and gain market share in a business that is seeing profound change.

His general strategy is to help expand TD Banknorths footprint across Massachusetts and the Northeast and to grow each aspect of his division personal lines, small commercial, and the mid-market segment. He will do so through implementation of a shift in business philosophy from being an insurance agent to acting, as he put it, as a business consultant.

By doing so, we can forge much better relationships with our clients, he said. This is a somewhat different approach that will help us create more value for our many types of customers.

BusinessWest looks this issue at the course Black is setting for Banknorths Massachusetts division, and how he hopes to take full advantage of the parent companys aggressive, entrepreneurial way of doing business.

Background Check

When Black was working as second vice president of The Travelers in the mid 80s, he served as part of something called the Business Diversification Group. This was a team that developed a diversified offering of insurance and banking products that were to be bundled and distributed through the companys large-employer market.

It was a little ahead of its time, he told BusinessWest, adding that it would be several years before this type of product would be commonplace within the financial services industry. Today, he explained, diversification and specialization are the watchwords in an industry where companies can really no longer be all things to all people.

Black has observed a great deal of change in his 30-year career in insurance and financial services, including the demise of Travelers and many other former stalwarts of the industry.

He comes to TD Banknorth from his post as product and development leader for Marsh & McLennans Hartford office. He took that position in 2004, just as an investigation of the company by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was unfolding. Spitzer was probing allegations that Marsh brokers were rigging a supposedly unbiased bidding process in favor of insurers that provided the firm with what are known as contingent commissions, or what the attorney general considered kickbacks.

Spitzer eventually filed suit against Marsh & McLennan, a development that sent its stock plummeting and eventually led to a $750 million fourth-quarter loss for the company and dramatic changes and cutbacks across the board.

I knew it was time to move on, said Black, who, like many Marsh executives, left to seek higher ground.

He found it within the TD Banknorth Insurance Group, the Portland, Me.-based insurance arm of Toronto-based TD Banknorth. As director of the Massachusetts division, he succeeds Joseph Fico, who became CEO of the insurance group earlier this year.

Black said that, upon heeding his friends advice to look into the company, he learned that, while Banknorth is small by Marshs standards, it has strong growth potential.

It has a breadth and a depth that would rival some of the giants in this industry, he explained. This is the 44th-largest insurance agency in the country, and yet its capabilities would rival some of those in the top 5.

Black said there are many things about the company that attracted him, including conditions that would enable him to make a difference, as he put it. And then, theres the matter of the companys entrepreneurial nature.

Its about as entrepreneurial as you can get with an entity that is part of a larger corporate organization, he explained. Were in the infancy stages of building a culture, building a value proposition, and building a capability that will truly bring value to a customer beyond what they can garner from a local agent.

When asked to elaborate on the companys entrepreneurial nature, Black said this trait applies to everything from acquisition of other agencies to new-product development, to cultivation of the business consultant mindset that he described. And, moving forward, he intends to move aggressively in all three areas.

Indeed, as the Banknorth Insurance Group works toward maintaining and improving its 12% growth rate from last year and expanding its territorial footprint the New York/New Jersey area is the latest target in a move that coincides with TD Banknorths acquisition of Hudson United Bank Black will focus specifically on growing market share in the Bay State.

The Massachusetts division has several offices, said Black, listing facilities in Springfield (the former Palmer Goodell agency), Methuen, Topsfield, a small office in Boston, and three locations on Cape Cod, a main office in Orleans and two satellites in Brewster and Dennis. Throughout that network, which he intends to expand through organic growth and acquisition, Black wants to leverage the many competitive advantages afforded by being part of the Banknorth group.

As one example, he mentioned a broad paradigm shift with regard to how the company approaches business.

To go after individual clients on a policyby- policy basis may not necessarily be the best way for us to proceed, he explained.

If we can aggregate groups, whether theyre employer groups, such as a case where we can sell personal lines to a large-employer group, we can drive a better deal. If we can aggregate small commercial businesses into groups, such as a self-insurance group, we can create better value for those customers, he continued. That will be a clear focus of ours as we move forward; we want to look at alternative ways to solve problems for businesses by aggregating.

As it looks to grow market share in Massachusetts, Banknorth will make acquisition a key part of that strategy, said Black, adding that as the company adds agencies, it will also bring to bear a different model, a different support mechanism, and new technology needed to achieve established goals.

As an example, he pointed to the Cape,where Banknorth acquired an agency with a long history in the community. In addition to changing the name a move that drew some criticism in a tradition-laden area, the company also changed the approach to doing business.

To be successful, we knew we were going to have to do things differently, he said, eferring to a strategy to aggregate the small businesses that dominate the Cape economy. We became an old-time agency doing business in a very different way.¡± In a broad sense, this is what Banknor this doing across the state and the Northeast, he said, adding that agencies cannot survive if they try to do business as usual.

The Bottom Line

In general, Banknorth wants to continually reshape its focus ¡ª and its business strategy ¡ª to one that is more concerned with solving problems than selling insurance and other products.

This is the way the financial services industry is evolving, said Black, and it is a pattern that will continue in the years to come, as individual companies and industry groups look for value and, as he mentioned, a business consultant.

In this environment, companies that can blend deep resources with an innovative, entrepreneurial mindset have a clear advantage over competitors, especially the smaller agencies that are disappearing from the landscape, said Black.

" We can do many things that those smaller agencies can he explained. Wehave the resources and the imagination to bring real value to our customers and be a leader in this industry.

This is what Black saw in the Banknorth Insurance Group when the company did eventually work its way onto his radar screen.

George OBrien can be reached at[email protected]

Financing: It’s Not All About Interest Rates

Features

There Are Many Factors that Determine if a Loan Package Works for You

Obtaining a commercial loan from a financial institution can be complicated, and it requires substantial consideration.

A bank traditionally proposes terms that are necessarily protective of its own best interests, so the borrower must be very careful to do the same. Unfortunately, many borrowers make their decision to sign on the dotted line by a sole factor, the interest rate.

Basing ones decision on this sole criterion can be a dangerous mistake. Many other factors should be carefully considered before a commitment letter is signed, sealed, and delivered, as many of the terms may be negotiable.

First and foremost should be a careful evaluation of the loan officer, who should be someone with whom you are comfortable and share an open and honest mutual respect. He or she must have the ability to understand and the desire to care about your business. The lines of communication must be strong between the two of you, and if you find that you are not comfortable with him or her during the loan application process, you may want to consider asking for another representative or, if necessary, consider another financial institution.

Collateral is also an important consideration when evaluating loan terms. Whenever possible, it is recommended that business assets be utilized before personal ones. In the event that business assets cannot substantiate the loan amount requested, personal assets may have to be pledged as additional security. Items such as equipment, furniture, fixtures, inventory, accounts receivable, and related real estate should be considered. It is also important to note that the definition of what constitutes eligible accounts receivable and eligible inventory can vary from one financial institution to another.

Carelessly crafted loan terms can leave the borrower without options in the event that the borrower needs additional financing.

For example, one financial institution may look to a specific percentage of a businesss inventory as eligible collateral, specifically excluding old or obsolete collateral. Accounts receivable can also be utilized as collateral, but again, what constitutes eligible accounts receivable must be defined. For example, must they be earned less than 30 days, 60, days or 90 days? These conditions vary among financial institutions, so it is paramount to clarify them at the onset of the agreement.
Another factor that may be negotiable is marshaling. This ensures that business assets be utilized first rather than personal assets, in order to pay any indebtedness incurred, in the event that your business encounters future problems and a liquidation proceeding is necessary. Marshaling can designate the order of liquidation of assets, leaving any personal assets intact as long as possible. The failure to discuss this issue at the outset of the loan process will give the bank the option to elect which assets it will first proceed against when the borrower defaults.

Still another significant aspect of a loan is the covenants designated within the loan-commitment letter. These covenants, which may be both affirmative and negative, govern specifics that the borrower can and cannot do throughout the term of the loan. They may run the gamut from predetermined salary limitations for the companys principals, to prohibitions on future acquisition of capital assets, and also prohibitions on additional borrowing from third party lenders. Carelessly crafted loan terms can leave the borrower without options in the event that the borrower needs additional financing, and is prohibited from obtaining it, which may tend to preclude a companys ability to expand.

Covenants, such as maintaining a minimum net worth, or loan balance to fair market collateral value, i.e. equipment or real estate, effectively provide a report card for the business. They establish financial expectations that must be met on an annual basis as a condition of the loan. Therefore it is important to include an accountant who will be able to review these covenants in order to provide reasonable assurance that they can be complied with on a timely basis.

An attractive interest rate may initially be very seductive for a borrower; however, evaluating a business loan upon any single standard may tend be dangerous because this provides the potential that the loan may not be advantageous to you on an overall basis. By focusing on a lower interest rate you may be overlooking other critical aspects of the loan, which may be far more harmful than an extra point or percentage of a point. One key factor to keep in mind is that virtually all terms and conditions of the loan commitment may be negotiable. No business should enter into a loan commitment with a financial institution without the benefit of professional advisors, who will work to protect its best interests.

Gary Fialky is chairman of Bacon and Wilsons Corporate Department. His practice is concentrated in Business and Banking Law, with an emphasis on business formations,as well as the purchase and sale of businesses and the representation of financial lending institutions; (413) 781-0560;[email protected]

Gary Breton is a member of Bacon & Wilsons Banking and Finance Department whose major emphasis of practice includes representation of financial lending institutions,as well as both individual and businessborrowers. He also represents numerous business clients in the startup, purchase and sale of businesses; (413) 781-0560;[email protected]

Making Your Case as an Employer of Choice

Reputations, Like Careers, Have to be Managed

What if there was something that could drive superior job candidates to your door instead of having to search them out? There is.

It’s called your reputation and it’s the best way to attract the people you need, even before you need them.

A positive reputation is built on delivering on your promises as a business entity. Have you promised your customers they’ll get their products in 48 hours? Have you promised your stockholders straightforward statements of your earnings? Have you promised the media that you’ll do your best to respond to their questions? Have you promised your employees that you will fully support them in the quest to make your products better? Then deliver.

And when you deliver, it’s time to let your reputation shine.

Reputations, like careers, have to be managed. Yes, they travel by word of mouth, but engineering that word-of-mouth is critical. I had a professor in communication school who used to thunder at us, “Whose reputation is it anyway?” Whose reputation indeed? Either you manage that reputation or someone else will do it for you and you may not like the outcome.

A few years ago, a very smart new client of mine told me that the reason they were engaging a PR firm was to help them recruit the cream of the crop among recent graduates. “We want to hire these grads but our competitors usually snatch them up before we get the chance to interview them,” he complained. “I know part of the problem is that our reputation is that we’re formal and stodgy and they simply don’t want to work at a place like that. That’s how things used to be around here, but it’s not true anymore. Unfortunately, those old perceptions seem to stick with us.”

A solid, well-planned and consistent presence in the media positions any company as a successful and dynamic place to work.

We went to work reshapeing that misguided reputation with a series of feature stories aimed at humanizing the institution. For example, the company had several highly placed executives who worked parttime because of their childcare responsibilities. A feature story was crafted on the program, which generated coverage in the local paper and their local trade press. Also, the firm aggressively went out to the media, offering its people as guest commentators on hot news, which positioned the organization as being less remote and on top of the latest developments.

And, when a large percentage of its promotions went to women, steps were taken to ensure there was a story about that in their trade press.

A solid, well-planned and consistent presence in the media positions any company as a successful and dynamic place to work. That presence comes from a combination of reactive and proactive stories that reach out to the press, along with responsive relations with the press.

Reactive stories come from a company’s daily successes, like gaining new customers, hiring new people or adding new product lines. Proactive stories come from the expertise of those in the organization. Examples of this include simplifying the impact of a new law, explaining the influence of a trend or offering tips that people might been seen as the ‘secrets’ of your industry.

Your relationship with the press comes from a combination of offering real news stories (not fluff ) and responding to their needs in a timely manner.

When all that comes together, you build the kind of reputation that positions your company in a positive light – for customers, prospects, competitors and current and future employees.

A consistent public relations strategy raises your visibility in your community, your industry and the marketplace. This kind of ongoing public relations effort makes people want to work for you because you look like a winner.

Now, who wouldn’t want to work for a company like that?

Andrea Obston is the president of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications, LLC, a Bloomfield, Conn.-based public relations and crisis management firm. It also provides media training, as well as public relations seminars and individual consultations; (860) 243-1447.

Electronic Medical Record Seminar

Sept. 16: The Health Care Services Division of Meyers Kalicka, P.C., will present a seminar, EMR — What Does it Mean?, at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Enfield, from 8 a.m. to noon. The program will examine the many aspects of EMR (electronic medical record) and their implications for health care companies. The registration fee is $75 per participant, and is due Sept. 9. Space is limited. To register, or for more information, call (413) 536-8510.

Ethical and Financial Issues For Women

Sept. 27: The Women’s Fund of Western Mass. and the Estate Planning Council of Hampden County Inc. will jointly sponsor an evening focusing on ethical and financial issues for women. Featuring breakout sessions on a variety of topics and a keynote speech by well-known consultant Kristi Nelson, Planning Your Ethical and Financial Estate: Take the Time to Plan the Use of Your Money — How Your Values Live Through Your Life and Beyond will take a unique, value-based approach to estate planning for women. Local speakers presenting during the program include Kent Faerber of the Community Foundation of Western Mass., alonf with area lawyers and financial planners.The event, to be staged at Western New England College, is open to the public, and pre-registration with the Women’s Fund is requested by Sept. 16. To register, or for more information, call (413) 529-0087, or visit [email protected]. The cost is $20 and includes a light meal.

Realtors Conference, Tradeshow

Sept. 27: The Mass. Assoc. of Realtors (MAR) will stage its 2005 conference and trade show, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. at the DCU Center in Worcester. The oneday conference, which is open to all real estate licensees, will include a trade show and education sessions for real estate agents and brokers looking to enhance their business skills and learn new specialty areas of practice to advance their careers. The MAR conference will offer a wide range of of program options for participants, including a series of sales training sessions designed to increase agent productivity, a special curriculum track on realtor technology, multiple continuing education courses, and a series of educational seminars designed specifically for broker-owners and managers. In all, the program will offer attendees up to 6 hours of continuing education credits and more than 15 educational seminars. The opening general session will feature nationally recognized real estate trainer Terry Watson, whose motivational presentation will identify strategies for achieving goals and inspire agents and brokers on how to take their business from ‘good to great.’ Registration fees are $158 for realtors, and $228 for non-members. For more nformation or to register, call (800) 725-6272.

Entrepreneurship Hall Dinner

Oct. 6: The Class of 2005 will be inducted into the Western Mass. Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame at ceremonies to begin at 4:30 at the Andrew M. Scibelli Enterprise Center in the STCC Technology park. A dinner to honor the inductees is slated for later that evening at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House. Those being inducted this year are: Sister Mary Caritas and the Sisters of Providence, founders of Mercy Medical Center; Joshua Brooks, founder of the Eastern States Exposition; William L. Putnam, founder of WWLP Television, Channel 22; Mary Lyon, founder Mt. Holyoke College; Fran & Teddi Laurin, founders of Laurin Publishing; and Joseph Napolitan, founder of Napolitan and Associates. At the dinner, STCC will also present its County Achievement Awards to entrepreneurs in Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Franklin counties. There will be a reception at 6 followed by dinner at 7. For more information on the dinner or to order tickets, call (413) 755-4477. Those interested in attending the induction ceremonies,
please call William Kwolek at (413) 755-4477.

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT

Walker Industries LLC v. West Track Corp. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $5,000 Date Filed: Aug. 9

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Shelton Brothers v. Noble Union Trading LTD Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $35,504.52 Date Filed: July 28

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT

Holyoke Mall Co. LP v. Rufus Inc. d/b/a Family Pet Center Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay store lease: $518,674.38 Date Filed: Aug. 8

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Intracom USA Inc. d/b/a Intracom v. Michael Filamonte f/d/b/a ITA Computers & Katherine Filamonte f/d/b/a ITA Computers Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $7,139.33 Date Filed:Aug. 1

Luxottica Group d/b/a Garde Optics Inc. v. Aspen Enterprises Inc. d/b/a The Eyeglass Co. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $1,686.66 Date Filed: Aug. 4

C o n s t r u c t i o n Service, a Division of Dauphinais & Son Inc. v Robert A. Parket d/b/a P & P Concrete Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $2,842.52 Date Filed:Aug. 5

Daniel J. Hanson d/b/a Bailey-Hanson Mechanical v. Timothy Thompson, Robert
Weiss, Round Hill Realty LLC and Eric Appleton Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for labor and materials: $6,207.95 Date Filed: Aug. 7

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Connecticare Inc. v. William R. George d/b/a Machine Tool Repair Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay medical insurance premiums: $2,246.76 Date Filed: July 26

Show Business

Cover Story

’InterActors’ Blend Stage Savvy With Business Sense

DramaWorks

DramaWorks, a Northampton-based consulting company that uses theater to address the many challenges of the business world, has created a national presence for itself in under a decade. While its business model is hard to define, managing partners Tim Holcomb and Erik Mutén explain that because theatrical flair blends so well with the lessons of life, drama in the corporate world does, in fact, work.

In the theater world, acting jobs like those provided by DramaWorks InterActive are called corporate gigs.

That phrase is just one way to describe what the company does, however, as it fails to fit into any one category. Some might call DramaWorks a theater troupe, others a consulting firm, and still others, an educational resource.

Hard as it may be to define the business, though, DramaWorks has created a successful niche by combining the disciplines of theater, psychology, and business management to create a surprisingly cohesive set of services.

DramaWorks InterActive was launched in 1997, under the direction of Erik Mutén, a psychologist and organizational consultant with an MFA in Stage Direction, and Tim Holcomb, founding director of the Hampshire Shakespeare Company in Amherst and a seasoned member of the theater, film, and television industries. The partners wanted to create a company that would take the organizational issues that exist in all types of companies and put them center stage, quite literally, in order to allow managers and employees alike to consider them, examine them, and ultimately, change them for the better.

What they have created is a nationally-known consulting business that provides a unique set of tools for its clients beginning with the story-telling power of theatrical productions and continuing with facilitated discussion and problem-solving exercises needed to help move an organization forward.

"The core concept of DramaWorks is to help organizations move toward specific goals through action-learning," said Mutén. "A big problem with a lot of trainings is that they often lead to big discussions that eventually fall flat and go nowhere. Our model is much more effective at highlighting what the issues are, and allowing groups of people to gather ideas and work through them."

Setting the Stage

The company addresses a wide range of internal corporate issues, from gender and power dynamics, multi-culturalism, teambuilding, and leadership styles, to more specific issues, such as patient safety and privacy for clients in health care, or succession planning for family businesses. By staging largely improvisational skits, DramaWorks InterActors, as theyre dubbed, call attention to the complex interactions within a given company that can make it work, or detract from productivity, communication, or even the organizations overall mission.

DramaWorks has collaborated with all types of businesses, and provides a tailored suite of programs for family businesses, health care facilities, and corporations hoping to evaluate their internal culture, sometimes during a time of change. In addition to live performances and workshops, the company also publishes videos for training purposes and soon hopes to add an interactive, online component to its services.

Its current client list includes several prominent names in business, education, and health care, among them IBM, Lucent Technologies, Harvard University, Brigham and Womens Hospital, and State Farm Insurance. But the concept for a business that would couple theater with theories of psychology and management, and eventually appear at major corporations across the country, grew out of one small production staged locally.

A short play was drafted and performed for the UMass Amherst Family Business Center, dealing with the stresses of family-owned and operated business.

"We improvised a play and held two performances, and we thought that would be it," said Mutén. "But other family business centers across the country began calling and the idea started to take off."

Gradually, he said, DramaWorks expanded to offer improvisational theater pieces for a more- diverse set of businesses. One constant is the examination of what he calls "the human factor" that can often derail an existing or developing business plan or goal the feelings, emotions, opinions, work habits, or simply the different types of people that must work together in various positions for a business to succeed.

The company typically performs assessments, surveys, and interviews within an organization in order to become more familiar with its structure and background, and stages a production that directly addresses the needs of the client. Sometimes, the skits performed are already part of the DramaWorks repertoire; other times, entirely new scenes are drafted.

In either case, Holcomb explained, the lack of conventional scripts, replaced by spines improvisational tools that provide a framework of a story, but no actual lines to memorize allows InterActors to remain fluid in their words and actions, and ultimately reach their clients on a deeper level while not hitting too close to home.

"We customize everything we do," said Holcomb, "to show the dysfunctional patterns that are holding a given organization back. Typically, a company will approach us with a specific problem, but often discover problems they hadnt anticipated. We always stay one degree left of center from the company were dealing with, in order to remain hypothetical."

That could mean addressing issues at a health care facility through the guise of St. Everywhere Hospital, for instance. The effect is often one that gets people talking, both within an event and about it.

"Seeing something like a play being staged in the workplace tells people that management is trying something creative and different to address that companys problems," said Holcomb. "That alone is important right there. It creates a buzz and shows people that their management team is doing Ö something."

Audience Participation

Holcomb was quick to point out, though, that while the dramatic portion of DramaWorks services provides its backbone, the additional components of the experience that involve the audience an organizations employees are integral to its purpose.

He explained that each DramaWorks appearance, dubbed a learning event, attempts to meet the needs and reflect the corporate structure of each client, and thusly the event could last a few hours or a full day.

"Weve really tried to integrate the consultancy part of the business as much as possible," he said. "We are called DramaWorks InterActive precisely because that interaction with our clients is such a large part of our goal, which is to facilitate and help create the work environments that we would like to see evolve."

Employees are always engaged in the experience following a performance, discussing the scenes theyve been shown, the various characters, and how they contribute to the overall culture of the company in which they work.

"Generally, we show them a scenario that attempts to illustrate the things that arent working well," Mutén explained. "Then, we have people gather into groups to come up with a different vision of the same scene; a new way it could be played out that would lead to a better result. That scene is actually played out, and people have a chance to comment, again, on what worked and what did not."

The model allows people within an organization to see things from a new perspective, while remaining in a safe, private, and entertaining environment, Mutén said, noting that the ability to see mistakes being made, and later the more effective practices put into place, is another strength of the DramaWorks method.

"Only through action learning can we arrive at better solutions," he said. "Through simulation, people are able to try things out and make mistakes in an environment where its OK and even fun to make mistakes. They will play out a number of revisions to the original scenario, and begin to see very quickly what is working and what is not."

Christine Stevens, an InterActor with DramaWorks who has also collaborated on storylines for productions in the past, said gauging a groups reaction to a performance is another way to begin dialogue among coworkers and move toward the eventual implementation of better work strategies and relationships.

"People are given a chance to share and talk about what they saw," she said, "And well sometimes use sociometrics to reflect how people feel."

A sociometric exercise, Stevens explained, could be asking participants to stand at different points within the room based on how well a production reflects their day-to-day experiences, creating a tangible spectrum.

A health care-based performance, for instance, titled Who Cares? brings to light the many issues surrounding safe, comprehensive health care and the challenges hospitals face daily in order to provide it. As a nurse struggles to care for her patient as well as direct her aide, collaborate with doctors, fill staffing shortages, and learn new equipment (shes also asked to chair the Nurse Appreciation Banquet Committee in the middle of it all), several characters come and go out of a patients room. These include an orderly, a dietary, a doctor, maybe a billing agent and their interactions are seen by the audience through the eyes of a sick patient. A phlebotomist taking blood, for instance, uses a plunger rather than a needle, exactly how it might feel to a frightened patient.

Following the performance, the audience typically health care workers themselves are asked to create that visible spectrum. Stevens said she often stands at the spot where clients who feel they relate most to the scene are asked to move, and nurses usually crowd around her quickly.

"Its very visceral for the people in the room to see, literally, where people stand," she said.

The 25-minute Who Cares? Performance and the accompanying 2 to 2 1/2-hour interactive session will be staged later this month at the National Patient Safety Seminar held by the Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute in Gaylord, Mich. Its one of the largest groups DramaWorks will assist with facilitating change this year.

"Hopefully, the CEOs and managers that attend will come out of this seminar ready to promote a new level of communication among their staffs," Holcomb said. "Its all about changing old paradigms into new ones."

Curtain Call

And although some seasoned theater-folk might smirk and call the performance a corporate gig, Mutén knows his company rises beyond any label. Further, he suspects his fellow InterActors, as well as their audience, will leave the event with a greater understanding of the wisdom that can be gleaned from groups, rather than individuals working alone.

"Live events like this are so important because working as a group, people can better create resilient, sustainable solutions," he said. "Together, people are smarter."

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

Building an Entrepreneurial Infrastructure

Opinion

Minor League Baseball.

A decade or so ago, this simple phrase stirred nostalgia and hope among area residents. That was a time when several parties were working hard to bring baseball back to Springfield after a three-decade hiatus following the departure of the Springfield Giants, who once drew crowds to Pynchon Park.

These days, however, talk of minor league baseball stirs more cynicism and doubt than it does hope. Thats because Springfield badly botched its baseball project, leaving many with a bad taste in their mouths.

Indeed, former Springfield Mayor Michael Albano and his administration tried to force baseball down the throats of the citys residents in an effort that never brought the city a team but did bring it some humiliation and some costs it certainly didnt need when one considers the communitys current fiscal plight.

We revisit this sad bit of local history, because minor league baseball, or the promise of it, is back in the news this time in Holyoke.

An Ohio-based corporation, Mandalay Entertainment, which already owns five minor league teams, is considering moving one of them, currently located in Erie, Pa., to Holyoke and a site near the Holyoke Mall. The $110 million project has a number of facets beyond baseball, including office/retail space development, a hotel, a stadium, and even housing.

There are a number of pieces to this puzzle that have to fall in place for it to become reality including everything from parcel assembly to infrastructure improvements to gaining league approval for moving one of its franchises.

As Holyoke moves into this process, we suggest that it try to learn from Springfields mistakes and not repeat them.

What were those mistakes?

Essentially, Springfield tried to force its project, in the name of economic development. The theory pushed forward was that minor league baseball would bring people to Springfield and its downtown, benefiting clubs, restaurants, and perhaps other tourist attractions and even retail. A stadium construction project would bring some temporary employment, backers said, while the facility would bring many seasonal and a few year-round jobs.

The Albano administration ventured forth without a clear mandate or any mandate from voters or business owners, and also without a workable site for a stadium. Still, the city pressed on, looking to squeeze a stadium onto a site in and around the North Gate Plaza in the citys North End.

The exercise turned out to be a poster child for bad eminent domain proceedings the city took several parcels and relocated some businesses for a stadium it never built and left Springfields baseball plans in the dust, with little enthusiasm for revival.

Ultimately, Springfields endeavor failed because the city got ahead of itself and, as we said, it tried to force the issue.

Holyoke is in a somewhat different situation, but it can still learn from Springfield. The first lesson is to make sure the support is in place before moving forward, and to build alliances that will help see the project from drawing board to reality, rather than try to maneuver around people, as Springfield did.

The second lesson is to approach the project with the right attitude. There are plenty of studies out there that suggest that minor league baseball and professional sports in general does not provide the jobs or stir the related economic development that proponents say it does.

There are exceptions, obviously. Anyone who has ventured to the Fenway section of Boston and paid $50 to park for a Red Sox game knows that a sports team can bring opportunities to a city and individual entrepreneurs.

But in Holyoke, were talking about a relocation of the Erie SeaWolves. This franchise, which would play between 60 and 70 home games a year, is not going to change the economic fortunes of the city of Holyoke.

But it could be part of a larger economic development opportunity for the city and it could also become another of a growing list of attractions that are luring visitors and conventioneers to the Pioneer Valley.

By playing it smart, as sports teams try to do, Holyoke might connect on this latest pitch for minor league baseball, and hit a home run for the region in the process.

Getting Down to Business…

Keith Stone’s Interstate Manufacturing Co.

Features

Baiging Li played forward for two Chinese professional basketball teams in the late 80s before he took advantage of a rare opportunity to come to the United States and Springfield College to study sport management.

Since graduating, he has become, as he described it, a serial entrepreneur of sorts.

He started by creating a business focused on teaching Tai Chi, a Chinese system of physical exercises designed especially for self-defense and meditation, and has successfully grown that venture, establishing classes in many area clubs, senior centers, and health care facilities. Later, he started another business featuring tours of his native country. Over the past several years, he has led hundreds of people, many of them Tai Chi students, on visits to different areas of China.

His latest venture, one that seems laden is potential, is called ChinaAccess. It specializes in China/U.S. business development, and focuses specifically on helping business owners make connections and eventual partnerships with Chinese manufacturers.

As he shaped each of those ventures, Li leaned heavily on the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC). A state agency (the only one anyone knows of that is based in Western Mass.), the center provides a wide range of free, one-on-one counseling, training, and capital support to people who want to do everything from start a business to sell one.

"We act as an objective, experienced set of eyes and ears for people who need some help getting started or to the next level," said Diane Fuller Doherty, director of the SBDCs Western Mass. Regional Office, located in the Andrew M. Scibelli Enterprise Center at Springfield Technical Community College. "Were there to be a resource for people facing the many challenges of business today."

In Baiging Lis case, the center helped with everything from business plans to obtaining a green card, said Fuller Doherty, who told BusinessWest that Li has always had entrepreneurial drive and also many valuable connections in China. What he needed was some help with the details and the hurdles that challenge all small business owners, from initial financing to deciding how much insurance to carry.

Georgianna Parkin, state director of the SBDC, said the agency has become an effective economic development resource over its 25-year existence, as it works to both create and retain jobs. It addresses this goal through a network of offices, or consortium, that includes the Isenberg School of Management at UMass-Amherst (the lead institution) and also Boston College, Clark University, Salem State College, UMass-Dartmouth, UMass-Boston, and the Mass. Export Center.

"The statistics show that small businesses are the backbone of the nations economy," she told BusinessWest. "We work to strengthen that backbone."

In recent years, the SBDC, funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the state, and UMass and other consortium members, has worked to dispel the notion that it works only with, small mom-and-pop operations, said Parkin. She told BusinessWest that small is a relative term when it comes to classifying businesses. By some definitions, that word describes those with 500 employers or fewer, and by others, the benchmark is 100 employees, she said, adding that the SBDC has assisted companies in both categories.

Still, the bulk of its work, especially in Western Mass., is with companies with 10 or fewer employees. In many cases, the businesses are sole proprietorships, as is the case with Deliso Financial and Insurance Services.

Jean Deliso, founder, told BusinessWest that after years of working for a large financial services company in Florida, she wanted to return to her native Springfield and start her own business. She went to the center for counseling because, while she was confident in her ability to help individuals make sound investment decisions, she knew she could use help with such matters as marketing her business and even picking a name for it.

"When youre a sole proprietor, getting help is important; this is a lonely game," she explained. "I dont have a board of directors, no business this size does. Its great to have a resource like this with knowledgeable people who can say, yes, youre doing it right, or no, youre not."

BusinessWest looks this issue at how the SBDC has counseled business owners like Deliso and Li and, in the process of doing so, become a driving force in job creation has for the region.

Foreign Concepts

In two months, Li plans to lead of small contingent of Western Mass. business owners on a trip to the Shandong region of China. Located between Beijing and Shanghai, it is home to roughly 93 million people and businesses in fields ranging from agricultural manufacturing and production to auto making.

The purpose of the junket with all or most of the expenses paid for by the Chinese government is to help forge partnerships between Chinese industry groups and individual companies and U.S. business owners who are being advised, and in some cases told, by major clients to find ways to collaborate with China and other countries where the cost of doing business is considerably lower than it is here.

Keith Stone is one such business owner, and he may well be on the plane in October.

Stone, president of Agawam-based Interstate Manufacturing Company (IMC), and also a relatively new client of the SBDC, told BusinessWest that Hamilton Sundstrand, a division of United Technologies Corp. and one of his largest customers, wants him to partner with companies in India and China, in an effort to secure both high quality and low cost for its parts.

Stone is now working with Li in what promises to be a lengthy process to establish such partnerships. And Stone credits help from the SBDC with putting him in a position where he can take such a bold step.

Indeed, when Stone first visited the Mass. Small Business Development Center (SBDC), his business was a critical crossroads.

IMC was created to make tools and fixtures required for the assembly of parts primarily for the aerospace industry. Following 9/11, virtually every company that did business in that sector was hit and hit hard, and Interstate was one of them.

The company fought successfully to avoid bankruptcy, and business eventually improved somewhat. But even this past spring, Stone wasnt sure if his entrepreneurial venture was going to survive.

His visit to the SBDC and one of its advisors, Alan Kronick, was broad in nature, Stone told BusinessWest, adding that he was looking for some advice and direction on how to remain competitive in a changing marketplace. Kronick and other counselors provided assistance in several areas, but especially with the complex process of being positioned to bid for projects with defense contractors.

"Alan understood what I was going through, and hes helped keep me focused on where I am and where I need to be," said Stone. "Its great to have a fresh perspective on things on things like cash flow, projections, and different ways to cut expenses; he can see things that I cant."

Stones story is typical of how the SBDC works to help companies get in business and stay in business, thus fueling economic growth in all regions of the state.

"Small businesses are truly the engine driving economic development, especially in Western Mass., said Fuller Doherty. "This is where most of our net new jobs are coming from; entrepreneurs are providing jobs not only for themselves, but many other people."

Over the years, the Western Mass. office of the SBDC has helped hundreds of individuals like Deliso, Stone, and Li. Between Oct. 1, 2003 and Sept. 30, 2004 (the latest statistics available), the office assisted 618 clients, providing more than 2,626.25 hours of counseling.

More than half of those clients sought assistance in the broad category of business startup, said Fuller Doherty, noting that there are many other areas of counseling, ranging from business plan and loan package development to strategic needs assessment and marketing/sales.

In general, the center helps small business owners stay on track, said Deliso, noting that entrepreneurs like herself are versed in their particular area of expertise in her case, accounting and financial planning but not necessarily in the many facets of running a business.

"Take marketing for example," she said. "They helped me develop a marketing plan and figure out where and how I should be spending my money. Those are the kinds of things small business owners need help with."

Name of the Game

Richard Green came to the SBDC last spring, when he was entertaining thoughts of opening his own insurance agency. A long-time insurance industry veteran, Green drafted a preliminary business plan earlier this year, and drew some encouraging remarks from his lawyer, who nonetheless advised him to seek a second opinion.

"He told me that I was in the middle of the forest and needed to find a way to see through the trees," Green recalled. "He said I needed another pair of eyes."

Those eyes turned out to be Fuller Dohertys, and Green recalls that she didnt sugarcoat anything about the process of getting his venture off the ground.

"Theyre not there to pat you on the back, tell you everythings great, and send you out there," he explained. "They ask the hard questions, starting with whether you have what it takes to be in business for yourself."

An evaluation process revealed that Green did indeed have the requisite desire, talent, and capital to start his own venture. Richard Green Insurance Inc. opened for business on Elm Street in Hampden earlier this summer; a grand opening is set for later this fall.

During the process of getting his business started, Green said he turned to the SBDC for counseling on matters ranging from office furniture the center provided names of area dealers to what to name his venture.

"Putting my name on the company wasnt my first choice," he revealed. "But people at the center told me that I should use my name and then stand behind it."

Deliso said she faced the same dilemma. As she began the process of starting her venture, Deliso said she was wary of putting her family name on it. Her grandfather, Joseph Deliso, was a successful entrepreneur and founder of HBA Cast Products, while her parents started several other ventures, including Tool Craft and Pioneer Tool.

"That name was one of the reasons I left the state," she said. "I didnt want to be merely my grandfathers granddaughter; I wanted to do it on my own.

"But people at the center got me to see that this was a name that people associated with success, and it was a name I should utilize," she continued. "That was a real turning point for me; that was the right decision to make and they helped me make it."

The center has helped Li make a number of right decisions in his decade-long association with the agency. While some of his needs and challenges are unique obtaining citizenship, for example most are fairly typical.

"The center has been very helpful with all of my businesses," he said. "In the beginning, a lot of things were unclear to me, like how to make a plan, contact people, and follow through; theyre helped with all those things.

"Theyre teaching me ways to look at the big picture," he continued. "Thats where my focus needs to be."

As for the October trip to China, Li said he is using the SBDC as a resource to help identify area businesses, such as Stones, that might benefit from what he called the ultimate learning experience.

"Through this visit, people will have a clear idea of how Chinese business operates," he said. "Thats important, because partnerships are how companies here and there are going to be successful."

Bottom-line Analysis

Assessing his entrepreneurial exploits to date, Li said that, like all business owners, he is continually reviewing his ventures with an eye toward continued growth and profitability. In other words, hes not resting on any laurels.

"You cant do that," he said, adding that the learning process that is part and parcel to being a successful business owner never really ends.

"I still have many things still to learn about business," he told BusinessWest, adding that he considers himself lucky to have a resource like the SBDC. "Theyve kept me going in the right direction."

George OBrien can be reached at[email protected]

Adams, Wendy Rey
6 Jacob St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Aldrich, Jeffrey P.
30 Marlborough St.
Pelham, MA 01002
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/02/05

Allen, Michael R.
61 North Main St, Apt
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Baceski, Tina M.
75 St. James Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Barrett, Sandra R.
66 Acker Circle
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Belanger, George A.
Belanger, Claire M.
50 Clark St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/06/05

Birdwell, Devita Lyne
226 River Dr.
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/04/05

Booth, Eleanor J.
95 North Westfield St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Borek, Matthew J.
56 Nagle St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/30/05

Brescia, Joseph F.
87 Prospect St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/14/05

Brice, Priscilla
PO Box 663
West Springfield, MA 01090
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/11/05

Chambers, Florence
414 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Cintron, Jacqueline
470 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/03/05

Craven, Dawn M.
64 York St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/14/05

Cubi, Christina B.
25 Yoerg Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Daviau, John E.
19 Naomi St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/02/05

Davies, John W
370 Mill Valley Road
Plot 49
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Demears, Helen A.
125 Main St., Apt. 207
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Dexheimer, David
106 Pasco Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Dion, Joey M.
41 Goodell St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Disanti, Michael A.
79 Jared Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/11/05

Doucette, Tammy L
888 St. James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Dowd, Paul T.
80 Summer St.
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Drewnowski, Paul
Drewnowski, Glenna
25 School St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Dugre, Richard L.
88 Providence St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Dunbar, Harold J.
3 Summer St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Elliott, Christine Marie
45 Chapel St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/04/05

Faille, Rose Mary
12 Hockanum Road, Apt. A
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/04/05

Figueroa, Ketty
40 Wallace St.
Springield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Fontaine, Robert E.
Fontaine, Mary E.
27 New York Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Franco, Lydia
124 Brandon Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Frogameni, Joseph D.
Frogameni, Diane M.
114 Emerson Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Ganiolus, Helen
96-98 Palmer Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

George, Christopher M.
71 Crestview Dr.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Godbout, Richard P.
6 Pioneer Way
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Granger, Beverly A.
70 Walnut Street, #106
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Guimont, Jacqueline L.
55 Maple St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Haber, Douglas E.
32 Maple St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Haracz, Lisa Marie
26 Crown St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/04/05

Hennessey, Colleen T.
4 Brookline Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/10/05

Hiltbrand, Michael R.
5 Green Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Hoar, Joshua A.
52 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Hodges, Kristin S.
89 Autumn St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Holland, Robin Lynn
93 Clarendon St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/03/05

Hynan, Frank J.
20 New Broadway
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Jaskulski, Christopher J.
51 Dogwood Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Johnson, Troy Marcel
49 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/03/05

Kahelalis, Dennis R.
34 Frink St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Kenney, Melanie Anne
266 Grove St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

King, Davin E.
269 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Kingsley, Gene M.
79 Casino Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/06/05

Kopecky, Jessica
5J Brandywine Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Krzywda, John J.
2 Chase Place
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Kulzer, Michael P
Kulzer, Laurie A.
2 Russellville Road
Southampton, MA 01073-9506
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Labrie, Paul A.
c/o Attorney Brunelle
505 Newton St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/10/05

Lalla, Lori A.
42 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/15/05

LaMountain, Marion R.
1151 A Elm St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Lanier, Clementine
107 Fenwick St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Laramee, Karla N.
130 Lavoie Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/14/05

Lareau, Donald Joseph
Lareau, Jeannine Irene
47 Victoria Park
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Leak, Marlon
Leak, Roberta
42 Phillips Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Leas, Brian Durand
Leas, Yary Carmen
112 Oak Street, Apt. 10
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Leclerc, Elizabeth A.
25 Rankin Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Lempke, Kurt
350 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Liese, Mark L.
421 North Main St., #26
Leeds, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/14/05

Lourakis, Steven A.
196 Meadow St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Major, Renner E.
237 Arnold Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Malanson, Frances L.
64 Will Palmer Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Maldonado, Jorge L.
71 Cochran St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Mansi, Kevin F.
Mansi, Susan B.
163 Florida Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Martinez, Orlando L.
Martinez, Gloria E.
270 Walnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/14/05

McCoy, Raymond J.
McCoy, Christina M.
3 Taylor St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/09/05

Mozdzanowski, Lisa M.
56 Tolpa Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Mozdzanowski, Paul
30 Leona Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Myers, George W.
51 Garfield Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/02/05

Norwood, Kurt A.
Norwood, Liliian
6 Fox Run Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Nowak-Bouben, Renata M.
17 Ross Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/06/05

Ocasio, Julio
c/o Jadeline Gonzalez
30 Lowell St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/11/05

O’Connor, John J.
O’Connor, Cynthia L.
283 Water St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/11/05

Pandey, Vijai B.
Pandey, Lalita
22 Raymond Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/11/05

Paul, Sheila A.
48 Day St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Perez, Julio R.
54 Ringgold St., Apt.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/06/05

Perrier, Cheryl A.
67 New Ludlow Road, Apt. 1
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Perrier, Robert R.
165 East St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Perry, Audra R.
69 Wilkes St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Petrovsky, Jr., Joseph J.
32 Mosely Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Pierog, Christopher D
811East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Polastri, Barbara A.
205 1/2 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Quintana, Jesus A.
Quintana, Ramona
PO Box 70531
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Rappaport, Theo L.
296 Kenmore Dr
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Reyes, Noemi
71 Cochran St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Ribeiro, Francisco
Ribeiro, Carmela
111 Clydesdale Lane
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Richards, Leslie Ann
56 Laurel St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Richardson, Edna L.
419 Montcalm St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/03/05

Roberts, Wanda B.
54 Southwick St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/12/05

Robitaille, Kevin E.
50 Orange St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Rodriguez, Luz M.
54 Ringgold St., Apt.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/06/05

Rojas, Jose M.
Rojas, Maria E.
112 Farnum Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Safford, Steven J.
441 Chapin Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/06/05

Sanchez, Maria V.
52 Barber St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Santangelo, Diane Marie
81 Conz St., Apt 717
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Santerre, Gary R.
Santerre, Laurie Jean
50 Finch Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/15/05

Sattler, Darlene M.
21 Magnolia Terr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/11/05

Sefton, Randy N.
19 Goodell St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Shay, Cynthia Jean
350 Meadow St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Sliwa, Daniel Eugene
Sliwa, Katherine Jane
62 Davenport St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/03/05

Smith, David A.
Smith, Michelle P.
100 Grimard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Stebbins, Jr., Richard L.
54 Hope St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Stevens, James V.
38 Fernwood Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/10/05

Tetreault, Laura M.
25 Prince Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Thibault, James P.
Thibault, Lori J.
55 Tumbleweed Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Thibodeau, Ronald J.
Thibodeau, Darlene M.
78 Charpentier Boulevard
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/13/05

Ugolini, Robert P.
1649 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/05/05

Valenti, Marilyn M.
229 Miller St.; Lot F2
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Waller, Barbara A.
276 Mandalay Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/07/05

Wilson, Theresa M.
14 Arbutus St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Windsor, S. Lucille
113 North Blandford Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Zaler, Veronica L.
35 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/08/05

Zmich, Krzysztof
48C Colonial Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

Zorn, Terri Lynne
108 West St.
West Hatfield, MA 01088
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/14/05

Zurawski, Max Anthony
185 Pleasant St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 07/01/05

The following building permits were issued during the month of June & July 2005.

AMHERST

Amherst College Trustees
Converse Hall
$3,200 — Interior renovations to create additional office space

Amherst College Trustees
Merrill Science Building
$73,400 — Partial re-roof

Amherst College Trustees
Moore Dormitory
$317,500 — Install sprinkler system

David B. Brown
320 North Pleasant St.
$137,500 — Convert existing residential and commercial building into two-family dwelling after fire damage

Gillen-Gray Development Corp.
409 Main St.
$2,500 — Construct partition wall

Peter Grandinico
41 Boltwood Walk
$8,000 — Alter to combination food market and caf»

Slobody Development Corp.
101 University Dr. A2
$83,640 — Build out portion of first floor for office space

Slobody Development Corp.
101 University Dr. B5 — Build out portion of 2nd floor for
office space

Stavros Foundation Inc.
210 Old Farm Road
$310,000 — Renovate and repair for office/ storage use

Theta Chi
496 North Pleasant St.
$125,000 — Renovations

Trustees of Hampshire College
Merrill House Bldg. C
$78,000 — Install sprinkler system

Trustees of Hampshire College
Greenwich House 2
$25,913 — Extend roof overhang

Trustees of Hampshire College
Greenwich House 3
$25,913 — Extend roof overhang

CHICOPEE

C.L.T. Realty
945 & 947 Chicopee St.
$395,500 — Build package store

City of Chicopee
617 Montgomery St.
$74,801,000 — Build Chicopee Comp High School

Larry Katz
307 Grattan St.
$144,000 — Build mezzanine with offices at Arnold’s Meats

Service Net
64 Rivers Ave.
$10,000 — Construct room

EAST LONGMEADOW

Health Trax
45 Crane Ave.
$194,560 — Create office space

HOLYOKE

PBHQ Whitney Inc.
330 Whitney Ave.
$30,000 — Renovate offices

NORTHAMPTON

Big Y Foods Inc.
162 North King St.
$750,000 — Renovate exterior facade

City of Northampton
140 Pine St.
$11,000 — Partition walls to divide Room B9

City of Northampton
125 Locust St.
$219,690 — Replace barn roof

City of Northampton
212 Main St.
$9,550 —Construct 2 partition walls and doors – 2nd floor school department

Kollmorgan Corporation
347 King St.
$148,000 — Install elevator shaft

Kollmorgan Corporation
347 King St.
$25,000 — Install display area in reception area

Maplewood Shops Inc.
2 Conz St.
$6,000 — Replace hood system for cooking school

Northampton Co-operative Bank
8 Main St.
$49,000 — Build three conference rooms and kitchen

Northampton Realty LLC
293 King St.
$6,000 — Erect illuminated ground sign, Lia Honda

Northampton Realty LLC
293 King St.
$2,600 — Erect illuminated
wall sign – Honda

Philip Dowling and Bruce Tolda
881 North King St.
$4,500 — Relocate store to
rear storage area

Village Hospital Hill LLC
Earle Street
$4,845 — Repair bus stop

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Medical
759 Chestnut St.
$267,000 — Renovate auditorium

Boston Medical Center
354 Bernie Ave.
$126,000 — Interior build-out

JC Penney
1655 Boston Road
$250,000 — Interior and exterior renovations

Mass Mutual
1500 Main St.
$155,000 — Alterations and expansion of Suite 2504

Mass Mutual
1295 State St.
$758,923 — Construction of corporate aircraft hanger

Mass Mutual
1500 Main St.
$27,500 — Interior renovations

Mass Mutual
1500 Main St.
$146,000 — New office space, Suite 1500

Morris Roofing
142 Hancock St.
$35,000 — Addition to existing office

PVTA
2908 Main St.
$67,400 — Interior renovations

Walmart
1105 Boston Road
$31,000 — Construct Subway shop

WESTFIELD

Brian Allen TRM
Reservoir Road
$15,000 — Cingular Wireless antenna

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of July 2005.

AGAWAM

Caskets of New England
662 Springfield St.
Richard Martin

DLB Computer Technology
37 Rosie Lane
Duane Couture

Eclectibles
141 Christopher Lane
Michael Pepper

Eric’s Plumbing & Heating
21 Washington Ave.
Eric Hollander

Hwangs School of Taiwan
270 Maple St.
Todd Rubner

Maid To Impress
230 School St.
Jamie Pavelcsyk

THG Construction
6E Mansion Woods
Thomas Johnson

Wildflower Business Transcriptions
32 Wildflower Lane
Judith Gonyea

AMHERST

All About Amherst
232 East Pleasant St.
Lynda Faye

ATG Worldwide
495 Old Farm Road
Michael Aronson

Custom Market & Cafe
491-A Pine St.
Mulva LLC

Light & Small Guitars
10 Winston Court
Uri Henig

Panda East
103 North Pleasant St.
Kuo Tieng Lee, Pao Lin Wu

The Travel Loft
266 North Pleasant St.
Deborah and Norman Walsh

CHICOPEE

Aiello Carpet Cleaning
145 Syrek St.
James Aiello, Tina Nicodemus

Better Living Sunrooms
317 Meadow St.
Edward Kus

The Cake Center
143 East Main St.
Maria Padykula

The Cleaning Agents
P.O. Box 86
Rochelle Ryan

D & M Remodeling
245 East Main St.
Denis Biley

Donna’s Hair Design
757 Chicopee St.
Donna Kozak

E & B Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
16 Elmer Dr.
Betty Vazquez

E & J Home Improvements
29 Linden St.
James Despires

Generations Salon
97 Main St.
Mary Beaudoin

The Hair Team
19 White Birch Plaza
Maxine Partyka, Christine Fedak

Hank’s Variety
457 Granby Road
Mohammad Anjum

Izzy’s Auto Sales
562 Chicopee St.
Isaiah Salloom

KD Realty
125 Nash St.
Kevin and Dennis Corley

Little Brazil Caf»
140 Exchange St.
Luciano Santos

M & D Alterations
8 Center St.
Liliya and Golina Mironova

Mass Data Systems
15 Westport Ave.
Gary Parnicky

Mulligan’s Pub
621 Center St.
Stephen Scott, Carlo Sarno

Pelland Electrical Contractors
28 Boger St.
John Pelland Sr.

HADLEY

The Collector’s Corner
367 Russell St.
Kenneth and Emily Ekstein

Fancy Nails
367 Russell St.
Mui Loc Vong

General Co.
32 North Maple St.
James Ting

Whimseyville
14 Bristol Lane
Laurel Kushi

HOLYOKE

AOK Auto Storage
120 Front St.
John Goehring III

Bamboo House
2223 Northampton St.
Neil Wong

Bodega 24H
154 High St.
Pamela Antonetty

Corner’s Delight Grocery & Deli
95 High St.
Luis Alvarado Sr.

Fire Brook Stables
470 Rock Valley Road
Erica McElway

Positronic Design
391 Pleasant St.
David Caputo

Union Mart
297 Apremont Highway
Gulam Safeer

LONGMEADOW

D & B Transport
115 Williamsburg Dr.
Robert Koch

Carlson GMAC Real Estate
18 Commerce Way
Eastern MA Real Estate Inc.

GMAC Real Estate
18 Commerce Way
Eastern MA Real Estate Inc.

Harry Guitars 162 Bliss Road
Harold Neunder

Neumann Print Technologies
57 Glenbrook Lane
Sandra Neumann

The New England Relocation Group
18 Commerce Way
Eastern MA Real Estate Inc.

NORTHAMPTON

Ann Podolske Writer/Editor
92 Blackberry Lane
Ann Podolske

Ever Bloom Orchids
221 Pine St.
James Page

Half Moon Books
7 Pearl St.
David Ham

Hard Knocks Press
17 Summer St.
Michael Kirby

Jaime L. Gauthier Professional Pet Sitter
132 South St.
Jaime Gauthier

Mark’s Home Maintenance & Appliance Repair
52 Pinebrook Curve
Mark Monska

Pelorian Digital
1 Front St.
Richard Rasa

SOUTH HADLEY

Garand Design
21 Ferry St.
Margaret Garand

Little Brown House Daycare
24 Hollywood St.
Kimberly Desrochers

Wave Racers
10 Forest Dr.
Kristian Reynolds

SPRINGFIELD

ARK Enterprises
11B Thompson St.
Robert A. Robert J. and Petrolin Kelly

Athena’s by Joannie
138 Lumar St.
Joan Jarest

D & A Laborers
78 Sycamore St.
Albert Sweeney

D & W Towing
45 Glenwood St.
Ausbaldo Adoeno

Eagle Express
51 Lester St.
Julio Valazquez

Easy Variety & Checks
494 Central St.
Heman Patel

Fashionable Persuasion
54 Randolph St.
Patricia Grattan

Felix’s Auto Repair
914 Sumner Ave.
Felix’s Exxon Inc.

H & J Showcase
88 Dimmick St.
Hazel Suttler

Jenkinsville LLC
54 Dawes St.
Richard Jenkins

J Trade
35 Willow St.
Julia Stewart

KML Transportation
75 Steuben St.
Kevin & Kelly Lepore

Latina & Co.
876 Sumner Ave.
Yanitza Nogile

Lawnscapers
102 Valley Road
Michael Solin

Liberty Multi Services
141 Woodside Ter.
Namanh Phan

Lovely Nails
737 Liberty St.
Kim Le Neuyen

Main Connection
2662B Main St.
Jacqueline Abair

Millennium Auto Detailing
89 Fox Hill Road
Audrya Davis

911 Security
91 Bowles St.
Ramm Cruz

Platinum Auto Spa
263 Hancock St.
Michael McCarthy

R & S Family Fashion
2460 Main St.
Luis Liriano

Ready Rock Productions
70 Wallace St.
Kareem Henderson, Clifton Stovall,
Kimble Reaves

Tapestry Health
39 Mulberry St.
Tapestry Health Systems Inc.

Webcloseout.com
47 Narragansett St.
Ahma Sarrage

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Advanced Landscaping
955 Piper Road
Allan Beiermeister

AFM
73 Verdugo St.
Vitaliy Pchelka

The Basket Case
80 Pine St.
Ginette LeClerc

Bill’s Neon Service
151 Wayside Ave.
William Guerrin

Davis Chiropractic
900 Elm St.
Marjorie Davis, D.C.

Edible Arrangements
1702 Riverdale St.
Lisa Beachemin

Gooseberry Farms
201 Gooseberry Road
Leonard Lapinsky

I.G.B. Consulting
36 Ames Ave.
Igor Borsukov

Inspiria Salon & Day Spa
1586 Riverdale St.
Colleen Secovich

Just Rite Auto Trim Inc.
27 Heywood Ave.
Jerome Corcoran

Mr. Fashion 25 Bliss St.
Pasquale Stirlacci

Northeast Funding
22 West St.
Nicole Ogoke

Popmanual
1111 Elm St.
Robert Thompson

The Superior Cleaners
935 Riverdale St.
Raymond Menard Jr.

Taco Bell/Pizza Hut #19805
298 Memorial Ave.
Taco Bell of America Corp.

WESTFIELD

Coastal Construction
151 North Road
Zeke Rozell

CWI
63 Country Club Dr.
Richard Doiron

D & R Contractors
28 Chestnut St.
David Dudley

Direct Rewards
33 Morningside Dr.
Eleni Margoupis

European Headlines
420 Union St.
Tatiana Lazareva

For K-9s & Felines
45 Southwick St.
Nicole Skala

The Hamptons Salon
1029 North Road
Michelle Denis

Handled With Care Gifts
35 Wildflower Cir.
Prescillia Harman

Home Improvements Unlimited
77 Mill St.
Stephen Barihault

Lighthouse Fellowship
110 Union St.
Pari Hoxha

Rock Locks Inc.
174 Elm St.
Gary Judycki

Therapeutic Massage Center
24 School St.
Peter Wilson

Hip Hops

Cover Story

Berkshire Brewery Drafts A Success Strategy

Cover 8/1/05

Berkshire Brewing Company Inc. has been growing by hops and bounds since its inception in 1992. Growth has been so quick and profound that principals Chris Lalli and Gary Bogoff now find themselves at a crossroads. Do they want to remain a local brewer or take that next big step?

Hops, like those climbing the brick walls of Berkshire Brewing Company (BBC) in South Deerfield, are plants essential to creating a great beer. They typically survive for decades, plant deep roots where they grow and grow rapidly.

The life of a hop vine as a metaphor for their own business isnt lost on BBC founders Chris Lalli and Gary Bogoff, who grin up at their own decorative hop plants and shake their heads at how fast they spring up the side of the building. Then they turn to look at a recent expansion of their brewery, and do the same.

BBC just completed its third expansion since opening its offices and brewery two years after the business began in 1994. The company also has a satellite warehouse operating in West Boylston, Mass., and is planning a third location in Enfield, Conn., to meet the sales and distribution demand that is steadily expanding its reach across the Northeast.

As Bogoff puts it, the company is currently in a situation where the "tails wagging the dog." Sales are healthy, growth has been steady, and local and national respect for BBCs products 14 beers, nine of which are produced year-round has created a momentum so brisk that Bogoff and Lalli have to hustle to keep pace.

Any CEO will tell you that a pressing need for expansion based on growth, rather than in an effort to foster it, is a good problem to have. But the principals of BBC agree, however, that the companys success has now brought them to a critical crossroads, and they must now decide which way to turn.

"We always wanted to be a local brewery, and we have worked very hard to establish ourselves," said Bogoff. "Now that we have, the big questions is: Whats the next step?"

Never before, he explained, have he and Lalli been in a position to choose how big BBC gets. Now, they must decide whether to graduate from local brewery and become a regional brewer, which would necessitate shipping to states outside of the companys current service area and piercing the national market essentially, becoming a different kind of business.

"Before, it was a simpler world," Bogoff said, harkening back to the early days, when the duo brewed their first few barrels together in a basement in Springfield. "There was always plenty of room for us to grow. Now, it comes down to a choice. Whatever we do, we want to stay profitable and efficient. But microbrew means small business, and we dont want to forget that, which is easy to do when you start doing battle in the national marketplace."

Indeed, the national market is not so distant a destination for BBC as it once was. Of the 1,500 microbreweries and pubs brewing their own beer across the country, BBC rates 67th in terms of production volume. Herein lies the quandary that Lalli and Bogoff find themselves mulling more and more often, though, in terms of how large the companys scope should become: in spite of that stellar rating on the national scale, 99% of the companys beer is sold within a 60-mile radius of the South Deerfield brewery.

"What weve done is based very much on customer service, quality, freshness, and catering to the local market," Lalli said. "Were very cautious about expanding; were respected in this marketplace, and we have established our niche. So, is bigger necessarily better?"

A Stout Following

Still, Lalli and Bogoff concede that the consumer-driven success of their products is an ongoing trend that cannot be ignored. The various strategies they employed to get their company going and to maintain good sales are now what is pushing the co-founders to entertain options for growth and change, starting with a simple business plan and some Yankee ingenuity.

Already, BBC beers can be found on tap or in the coolers of liquor stores across Western Mass. and, increasingly, across the state, as well as in parts of Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island, making them some of the most prominent microbrews in the Northeast. But the partners are quick to point out that microbrews dont just go head to head with each other to win space behind the bar; they also have to face the behemoths of the beer world Budweiser is the first name on their tongues that spend 60% of their revenue on national marketing.

"When we started, we definitely began at the bottom of the learning curve," Bogoff explained. "We were going to do draft business only, forging relationships with local bars, with no marketing budget whatsoever. We didnt realize how competitive the beer industry actually is. We met with a lot of closed doors."

Lalli and Bogoff were forced into bottling just to make ends meet, and in the process, they stumbled upon a few marketing ploys, reminiscent of the success of Ben & Jerrys ice cream, that helped create a brand and a hook for the small company.

For example, they put themselves on the labels of their beers, smiling out from 22 oz. bottles with frothy mugs and toothy grins, and coined a number of pithy phrases that now accompany every case and keg they ship, including "Things are looking up!" and the companys mission statement, "Its all about the beer."

But in order to compete in what is quite literally a saturated market with sparse marketing dollars, the brewers decided to continue to focus on offering good service and great products, though with a twist: they made a conscious effort to brew an American ale, a light-bodied drink with mass appeal, that might even impress the Bud drinkers who represent 50% of the market.

The tactic worked that American ale, BBCs Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale, was a hit, and eventually spurred the results that the owners had been looking for. Whereas most breweries glean the bulk of their profits from bottling, Lalli explained, BBC is now doing a majority draft business, about 65%.

"Steel Rail is also about 65% of our business," he said, noting that BBC continues to pay attention to the market, offering popular styles of beers such as India pale ales, seasonal brews, or flavor-infused ales. "And our market is the most unique youll see anywhere. It crosses all social lines; our fans are new drinkers and theyre old agers, and our beers are in the finest restaurants, and in VFWs."

Local Watering Hole?

Lalli and Bogoff also attribute BBCs success to its constant attention to its identity as a locally owned, locally loyal entity. Lalli said it translates into good business to create a following not only through a great product, but a great reputation for partnering with other local businesses and organizations in an effort to support the regional economy. Norse Farms in Whately, for instance, provides the raspberries for BBCs Raspberry Strong Ale. Deans Beans in Orange provides the coffee beans for the Coffeehouse Porter, and 10% of the sales of Shabadoo Black and Tan Ale, named after a friend who passed away, go to help the Western Mass. Food Bank.

"We would be nothing without support," Bogoff said, "so its important, but it also makes a whole lot of sense, to give back and keep collaborating with other people."

Other such partnerships have been forged with Franklin County and, specifically, the town of South Deerfield, which played a key role in getting BBC off the ground at its flagship location, a former cigar manufacturing plant on Railroad Street.

The two partners said they were turned away by several communities in the area, and were getting frustrated in their search for a home when South Deerfield "embraced them," as they put it. And that support has remained strong through several expansions of the brewery.

The brewery first included a seven-barrel system and a handful of employees brewing and bottling by hand around the clock. BBC now uses a 20-barrel semi-automated system and employs 24 people, all of whom are dwarfed by the brewerys massive fermenters, grain silos, conditioning tanks, and other contraptions.

"It used to be brutal, back-breaking work," Lalli said. "Now the new system takes a lot of that grunt work out; weve been able to create a comfortable workflow. Without the expansions that we have been allowed to take on, I dont think our growth would have been nearly as good as it has been."

And over the past decade, the company has yet to see a year that hasnt produced a healthy increase in sales over the previous year, usually between 8% and 12%. Last year, BBCs production topped 10,000 barrels for the first time, and that was in the midst of a somewhat disruptive expansion project, Lalli explained.

He and Bogoff expect to sell at least another 1,000 barrels above and beyond that figure this year. That strong history of growth has brought BBC to where it stands today: firmly rooted in Franklin County, but able to enjoy notoriety as one of the most well-known, profitable, and more importantly oft-enjoyed microbrews in New England.

Ales Well that Ends Well

The question is, with so many people regularly enjoying a pint or more of BBC brew in their own backyard, how many more people do Lalli and Bogoff want to add to their fan base?

"Were going to keep doing what weve done," Bogoff offered. "Were going to keep putting products out there that were proud of, meeting the demand, and providing the best service we can. Were customer driven, and the demand is there, so well definitely keep an eye on what is coming down the road. But were happy just to be on someones top five list of beers when they sit down at the bar. Its all about the beer."

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

Building an Entrepreneurial Infrastructure

Features

Its called the Regional Entrepreneurship Index.

Thats the name given to a relatively new measure, for lack of a better word, of entrepreneurial activity in a community. The index was created by the U.S. Small Business Administrations Office of Advocacy and the Edward Lowe Foundation, and it takes into account several different statistics with regard to business creation and subsequent growth.

The recently conducted study using the index involved 394 communities, and Springfield was one of them. The City of Homes placed 76th overall, just ahead of Providence, R.I., and behind a diverse group of cities and towns ranging from Las Vegas (2nd overall) and Boston (29th) to Bend, Ore. (7th), and top-finisher, Glenwood Springs, Colo. Springfield even finished first in one category something called "average annual change in new-firm births," at 11.73% between 1990 and 2001.

Thats what we know. What we dont know is what all this means. As one analyst said and we agree with him being highly ranked in this study cannot be a bad thing. But just how good a thing is it, and what does it say and mean for Springfield?

Indeed, while the study has good intentions, its results are certainly open to interpretation. For example, it does not differentiate between a new business with one employee and one with 100 or 1000, and Springfield obviously has far more of the former than the latter.

Through the efforts of several area agencies, including the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and its TAP (Technical Assistance Program), Springfield Technical Community College and its small business incubators, the Mass. Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and the Western Mass. Enterprise Fund (WMEF), many small businesses have been created and nurtured. But the vast majority of these ventures are very small, with 10 employees or fewer.

Contrast this with Las Vegas, where a new business might be a billion-dollar hotel and casino, or Boston, where the venture might be a pharmaceutical company. Whats more, Springfield finished 317th in terms of the percentage of firms growing "rapidly." Considering these factors, its easy to see why the value of the Regional Entrepreneurial Index, and a ranking of 76th, could be called into question.

But while there are some problems with this new measure and its findings are certainly subjective, if one looks past the numbers there are some positive qualitative indications that can be seen.

First and foremost, we believe, Springfields fairly strong ranking shows that there is a solid infrastructure in place to support startups and existing small businesses and help them survive the rugged first few years of existence.

The TAP, for example, offers technical assistance to existing small businesses, specifically minority-owned ventures, as well grants of up to $2,500, to be used for everything from equipment to marketing. The Andrew M. Scibelli Enterprise Center at the Technology Park at STCC houses two incubators, one for students and the other for more-established ventures. The former currently boasts fledging businesses in everything from energy bars to designer umbrellas, while the latter hosts several successful businesses, from Banana Publishing, which puts out a cross-border phone book, to a local franchise for ValPak.

The WMEF, meanwhile, has provided loans to businesses that dont qualify, for one reason or another, for traditional bank financing, and the MSBDC offers a host of services to start-ups and existing businesses, from help with a business plan to assistance with adjusting to changes in the marketplace.

Most of the businesses helped along by these agencies and others in the Valley are quite small a good number are sole proprietorships and many will remain small. But all have the potential to someday become major employers. And in the meantime, each small business puts more Valley residents to work and contributes, in many ways, to the overall health of the regions economy.

While the full meaning of the Regional Entrepreneurship Index is a subject for debate, this areas commitment to promoting new-business development is not. The infrastructure now in place should continue to swell the ranks of new ventures in Springfield and the surrounding region, and this certainly bodes well for the future.

Master Plan

Bay Path’s New MBA to Introduce ’Entrevation’ To the Business Community

Bay Path College has been gradually adding entrepreneurial programming with the goals of broadening both the educational experience of its students and the schools reach within the regions business community for several years. Now with a new MBA serving as the crown jewel of those initiatives, the college is no longer building momentum, but capitalizing on the unique niche it has already developed.

Bay Path College began its Innovative Thinking and Entrepreneurship Lecture Series three years ago, calling further attention to the schools burgeoning entrepreneurial focus within its undergraduate business program.

The college also created an Innovators Roundtable, consisting of area business leaders from Western Mass. and Connecticut, to serve as both advisors and mentors to business students. And somewhere in between entering students into the regional business concept program (and seeing those students take top honors) and coining a new term to describe a core class within the business program entrevation a light bulb went on collectively above the heads of Bay Path administrators and professors. Soon, plans went into motion to create a new masters degree program in business administration that would build on the colleges existing entrepreneurial momentum.

That light bulb is now part of all informational materials regarding the colleges newest graduate degree program, an MBA in Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovative Practices. It is often accompanied by the story of Thomas Edison, who didnt actually invent the light bulb British inventor Warren De la Rue did but instead took an existing product, improved it, and effectively marketed it.

Classes within the new masters program, the colleges fourth, will begin in October. And just as it stems from a greater push for entrepreneurial programming campus-wide, Janette Ruder, director of the program, expects that its addition to the colleges academic repertoire will also enhance existing programs as well as the overall economic health of the region, as it prepares students for business ownership, career advances, and to make a greater impact within their chosen industries.

"There has really been a campus-wide effort to strengthen our entrepreneurial programming and make it a more distinctive part of the education we offer," said Ruder. "Over the past three years we have added courses and secured a grant from the Coleman Foundation to begin the lecture series and other programs. There has been an overall focus on the development of cooperative education, and its within that context that we created the MBA."

Brenda Wishart, director of the undergraduate entrepreneurial program and the creator and professor of the entrevation course, agreed with Ruder that the MBA represents the latest step in a wider effort to bring a new way of thinking to todays business students, and added that it is expected to bring greater notoriety to existing programs and events at Bay Path.

"We are definitely building on existing things," she said, "and there are also programs that are still developing. Everything that is happening or being planned will include a lot of theory, but will also include the application of skills in real-world environments, and to see how positive and effective that synergy is can be exciting."

The Business of Books and Brainstorming

Wishart said students the new graduate are expected to bring a new layer of experience and insight to the entrepreneurial programming, noting that existing programs at Bay Path will be a large part of the MBA coursework, including the annual lecture series, which last year featured Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and this year will welcome Craig Rydin, president and CEO of Yankee Candle. The students will also interact closely with the Innovators Roundtable and participate in entrepreneurship challenges.

The new program is tailored toward working professionals, however. It can be completed in a year or spaced out over two years, and includes components, Ruder explained, that were designed to preserve the traditional core elements associated with an MBA, and also incorporate coursework geared toward teaching more fluid skills. These include developing and executing new ideas, services, and products in the workplace, and strengthening and enhancing creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

Those skill sets, Ruder said, are of increasing importance in todays workplace, be it a large corporation or a small business venture, due to changing consumer preferences and technology, an expanding global marketplace, and unique financial pressures that require forward-thinking interventions.

"We completed a year of market research before presenting the idea for this specific MBA program," she said. "To offer a degree that would address specific challenges, we knew it had to be one that was both innovative and traditional a traditional MBA, but with an emphasis on a new way of thinking."

Most MBA programs, Ruder explained, are similar in their coursework and structure, and have been for some time. Thats because the traditional MBA model follows a specific pattern of theory, application of skills, and study of several areas of business including management, finance, and marketing, which has proven to be largely beneficial for students.

For that reason, Ruder said the MBA in Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovative Practices will not surrender those more traditional components in favor of more modern, or cutting-edge teaching methods. Instead, it will incorporate new components and teaching practices into that model in order to introduce the ideas of growth and creation in todays business climate.

"Its a balancing act," she said. "An effective MBA program should be knowledge-based, and we cannot drift too far into the creativity side of things and risk losing the necessary meat and potatoes that students need. There will be a constant back-and-forth in this program, to ensure that students are getting a rich educational experience."

To that end, the structure of the program has been tailored to include three specific layers of business lessons both practical and theory-based in nature.

"There will be courses in those core skills finance, management, and qualitative decision-making, for instance," said Ruder. "There will also be business courses that introduce the ideas surrounding growth strategies and entrepreneurial management essentially, looking at the big plan.

And finally, courses will be incorporated that address the overall awareness of the environment in which we operate," she continued. "These will examine ethics and legal issues, for instance, and will all be pulled together will constant application, discussion, workshops, and the incorporation of current themes in business and across the nation."

William Sipple, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Bay Path, said several local business leaders and entrepreneurs contributed to the development of the degree program, in part through the Innovators Roundtable.

"What we found was an increasing need for people in business to be able to think in creative ways," he said, "and also that there was room for a niche such as this in the region. Just as those leaders have assisted us in developing the program, we think this MBA is going to be good for the overall development of the region. This area fosters a lot of new or reinvented businesses, and we are trying, with this degree, to offer core business skills that are extremely relevant to local business as a whole."

That relevance to the business world is a key factor that is emphasized often by the programs directors and faculty, and in the programs literature, in part to better explain the very nature of the program. Sipple said one danger related to the title of entrepreneurial thinking is that often, people associate it with opening a new business, and fail to see the programs relevance to other career paths.

"We hope to teach courses geared toward a new way of thinking," he said, "but this is not necessarily a degree just for people who want to start their own business. Its an MBA program very much rooted in core disciplines, with the flavor of being able to think beyond the norm, see new uses for existing skills, or react to issues to best address the needs of a given organization. We believe that, following our research of several industries, that this is the edge that people need to manage their companies and themselves."

Lighting the Way

The added thrust of innovation within Bay Paths new MBA program has made organizing the program and translating its unique aspects to prospective students a challenge. But Ruder said the college has relied heavily on its existing infrastructure within the entrepreneurial arts to best explain the strengths of the new program.

"Ive never seen such synergy between the development of a new program and the existing rhythm of a college," she said, repeating a word that Wishart had already used to describe Bay Paths entrepreneurial efforts. "I think the whole environment here is entrepreneurial, and as we meet with prospective students, we are explaining to them that they will embody one of the regions most recent answers to the needs of the business community college prepared professionals with a solid core of business experience and knowledge, with the added ability to think differently, and more effectively."

In short, Ruder hopes the colleges first class of MBA students will leave Bay Path prepared to create a more innovative business world and a thriving local economy; or even invent and market a better light bulb.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

Gut Reaction

A New Plan of Action for The Bosch

American Bosch manufacturing complex

Months ago, an ownership team was conducting a series of formal and informal studies designed to gauge whether all or some of the sprawling former American Bosch manufacturing complex could be salvaged for future development. All debate was ended by a Dec. 16 blaze that effectively gutted the landmark. Now, as demolition commences, talk is of what might develop at the nine-acre parcel at the Springfield-Chicopee line.

TJim Sullivan was heading back to Holyoke from a meeting in Boston last Dec. 16 when his cell phone rang.

Usually, Sullivan, treasurer of the OConnell Development Group, can talk and drive at the same time. But after only a few seconds of conversation he decided hed better pull over.

The Bosch, he was told, was on fire.

Thats the name people have used for decades when referring to the former American Bosch manufacturing complex on Main Street at the Springfield-Chicopee line. OConnell was, and is, part of an investment group known as MSBB, LLC that owned the sprawling, vacant and uninsured buildings, and had been exploring a wide variety of development options for the property.

It was an admittedly long-term project that was about to become exponentially more complicated and expensive.

"It was a quick trip back from Boston," Sullivan told BusinessWest, adding that, when he arrived at the scene around 6 p.m., the buildings were fully engulfed.

"I stayed until around midnight I didnt really know what else to do," he said, adding that he found himself joined on that frigid night by several former employees of the German-based company, which manufactured radios and other products at the Western Mass. facility. "People had tears in their eyes Ö many of them were very emotional; they had many fond memories of the years they spent there."

Sullivan didnt cry that night, but no could have blamed him if he did. The fire, which raged throughout the night, effectively gutted the imposing structure, rendering it unfit for any type of development. And, contrary to popular opinion, the blaze, while it has in some ways accelerated the process of developing that nine acres of real estate, has not facilitated it.

"People have come up to me and said, I guess this makes your job much easier," said Francesca Maltese, development manager at OConnell who is also involved in the Bosch project. "In fact, the fire makes everything harder, starting with demolition, and it means were spending money, and lots of it, when were not taking any in."

Started earlier this summer, the complex demolition process is expected to take at least the next six months. When the parcel is cleaned, the task of developing it will be easier than it is now, said Maltese, noting that it is difficult for many would-be investors to adequately evaluate the site when it is still dominated by a burned out hulk.

Still, easier is a relative term. While both Sullivan and Maltese say a number of potential uses are being explored, from health care to housing, manufacturing to retail, it is difficult to gauge how much interest there will be in the property.

Sullivan said the so-called Wason section of Springfield has repositioned itself in recent years, from a manufacturing center to a home for health care facilities ranging from physicians offices to Baystate Health Systems DAmour Cancer Center. Whether that trend will continue at the Bosch site isnt known, he said, adding that, for now, the focus is on preparing the property for development.

BusinessWest looks this issue at how the December fire has changed the equation for The Bosch and what the strategy will be for developing what must be considered a prime piece of real estate.

History Lessons

Maltese told BusinessWest that during one tour of the main four-story manufacturing/administration building at the Bosch complex, she came across some old plans for the structure.

"I decided I better take them before the mice ate them," she said, displaying one drawing, still in good condition, dated 1910. It shows three ornamental medallions, featuring the corporate symbol for the Bosch company, that would grace the exterior of the building.

Those medallions will be carefully extracted during the demolition process and shipped to Bosch headquarters in Stuttgart, she said, leaving this region with only memories of the plant and there are many of those.

Bob Forrant, a former machinist and business agent for the union at American Bosch in the 70s and 80s, and now an unofficial historian of the plant, told BusinessWest that, at its height during World War II, the company employed perhaps as many as 20,000 people. "They ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

One of many machining and manufacturing facilities that helped give Springfield its reputation and its nickname (the City of Homes) the Bosch was a coveted workplace. "That was the best place to work in the Connecticut River Valley," said Forrant. "They took good care of their people Ö everyone wanted a job there."

Opened just before World War I, the plant was taken over and essentially operated by the U.S. government during that conflict, said Forrant, noting that American leaders considered any German-controlled plant a security risk. After the war, the government gave the plant back to the Germans, who operated it until the second world war, when the government again took it over. After that conflict ended, officials put the plant out to bid, and it was purchased by a group of U.S. investors and became American Bosch.

The Springfield plant was expanded in the early 1940s with the addition of a one-story manufacturing facility. Eventually, the complex grew to more than 500,000 square feet. Over the years, workers produced a wide range of products, including motors for car seats and windshield wipers, and, in its later years, fuel-injection systems for trucks and the M 1 Abrams tank.

American Bosch was purchased by United Technologies Corp. in the mid 70s. UTC closed the facility in 1986 after years of gradual downsizing, part of a larger movement of manufacturing operations from New England to warmer, less costly areas of the country. The property had several owners and a few uses (most of them warehouse-oriented) over the next several years, said Forrant.

The complex was eventually acquired by a small development group, headed by John Bonavita, creator of Springfields Tavern Restaurant, among other projects, that was known as Crossbow, LLC. The OConnell Group, which has developed a number of buildings and parcels in the region, including the Crossroads business park in Holyokes Ingleside area, became partners in the Bosch venture in the spring of 2003.

"We looked at it as a long-term development play," said Sullivan. "Actually, a very long-term development play."

In the months after becoming part of the ownership team, OConnell explored a number of options for the Bosch property, said Sullivan, adding that the talks included consideration of both rehabbing the buildings on the site and demolition of those facilities and subsequent redevelopment.

"We looked at everything, from soup to nuts," he told BusinessWest. "We explored medical uses, retail, residential development, every option we could think of."

And while no official determination was actually made on whether to rehab or demolish the buildings, he said, the general feeling was that the one-story manufacturing building could not be reused, and that the four-story structure could, with great imagination and determination, be retrofitted.

But the fire last December brought a swift end to any and all debate.

Out of the Ashes

Suspected to be a case of arson, the intense fire leveled the one-story section of the complex, and caused irreparable damage to the main building. In the days following the blaze, many former employees of the Bosch, Forrant among them, drove by the site to survey the damage and reflect. Local historians said the city had lost an important piece of its industrial heritage.

For MSBB, LLC, the fire dramatically altered the course, timeline, and financial dynamics of the already-challenging development venture.

For starters, the blaze and the damage caused by it will greatly increase the cost of demolition, said Sullivan, who declined to give a specific figure but said it will easily exceed seven figures. Razing the structures will be a more risky proposition, he said, because the buildings are less stable than they were before the fire, making the work more time-consuming, and thus raising the price tag.

The high cost of demolition is one of the many factors that make the fire much more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to developing the property, said Maltese, adding that the fire has ultimately robbed the ownership team of flexibility with regard to the cost and timetable of the project, something that many not in this business do not understand.

"The common perception is that the fire solved a problem for us," she said. "It didnt. In fact, it created more problems for us."

When asked if MSBB can ultimately recover the costs of razing the Bosch property and make this venture profitable, Sullivan offered a conditional yes. He said much depends on the market, the level of interest in the site, and the intended future use of the property.

Over the past several years, the Wason section has been the site of a wide range of health care and biotech developments. Only a few blocks from Baystate Medical Center, the area is now home to the Biomedical Research Institute, which Baystate has created in conjunction with UMass Amherst. That stretch of Main Street is the site of many health care-related ventures. Baystate has several facilities in that neighborhood, including its cancer center, Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Center, Baystate Rehabilitation Center, and others.

Meanwhile, Atlantic Capital Investors has rehabbed several old manufacturing buildings in the area for health care and related uses. Partners Ben Surner and Mark Benoit have converted a former factory at 3500 Main St. into the new home for the Pioneer Valley Chapter of American Cross and other tenants, while also combining rehab of the former Wason Trolley building with new construction to create a complex that hosts Baystate Reference Laboratories, Novacare Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy, The Hand Center of Western Mass., and other health care businesses.

Surner and Benoit are also moving forward with plans to create the Brightwood Medical Arts & Conference Center in a large manufacturing building that actually abuts the Bosch complex.

"So health care is certainly one possibility for the Bosch property," said Sullivan, adding quickly that there are many options, including retail, residential development, and others.

MSBB is not actively marketing the property at this time, said Maltese, adding quickly there are discussions going on at a number of levels. She told BusinessWest that talk, and marketing efforts, will escalate as the demolition process continues and developers can properly evaluate the real estate.

Forward Thinking

As they talked about the Bosch property and its potential for development, both Sullivan and Maltese struggled with which tense to use with regard to the buildings on the site.

Both the present and past work, said Sullivan, noting that while the landmarks are still there, from a literal standpoint, from a development perspective they are gone, and have been since the night of the fire.

For the most part, though, those at MSBB are focused on the future. What will transpire at that the Bosch site remains to be seen, but there is cautious optimism that a productive new use can be found, one that might ease some of the many loses incurred on that night last December.

George OBrien can be reached at[email protected]

Conventional Thinking

By BusinessWest Staff June 27, 2005

Uncategorized

The MassMutual Center is nearing the end of a prolonged construction period and preparing to open its doors for business. The next five years will be focused on polishing and cultivating the center’s business model, and only time will tell how successful Springfield’s newest – and largest – attraction will be.

Jim Rooney, executive director of the Mass. Convention Center Authority (MCCA), says that convention centers are much like restaurants ‚ people often let someone else try out the menu first, and wait to hear the review.

"Does that mean disaster could occur? Yes," he confirmed. "It happens. Just like in a restaurant, one bad review could spread like wildfire."

So as the MassMutual Center readies to begin its first year in business, the MCCA, which oversees its operations, the city of Springfield, and other local entities are focused on doing everything possible to make sure the center’s opening is a raging success.

Sept. 30 will mark the official end of the center’s construction phase, as the faÁade of the Springfield Civic Center gradually gives way to a brand-new, expanded convention center. The changes have created a buzz in the city, anticipation has only grown, and hopes that the building will lead Springfield into a period of growth and prosperity have been firmly pinned on its new white walls.

However, the convention center’s long-term contributions to Springfield remain a matter of speculation. As Rooney’s restaurant comparison suggests, the end of construction merely ushers in the start of another set of important building years, during which the overall health of the region will be as important as the level of traffic flowing in and out of the center’s spacious new entryway.

Rooney said it will be at least five years before the center reaches a level of stability necessary to accurately gauge its success.

"First and foremost, we need to create a balance of strong bookings, strong management, and great publicity. If we don’t start in balance, we won’t finish in balance," he said. "So the next five years are our growth years, focused on letting people know we’re on the map."

That process, Rooney explained, will include creating a buzz about the center both regionally and nationally, achieving an exemplary level of quality service, and ensuring that the performance of the center’s management team and staff remains nationally competitive.

"That’s the first year," he said, noting that several firms have bid for the right to manage operations at the center, and one should be chosen by August. After that work is done, the center will move into an aggressive market-penetration phase with a specific business goal in mind: booking events for 65% of the year: 237 out of 365 days.

Bookings have been brisk for the center, which features several meeting and function rooms, banquet halls, a 40,000-square- foot exhibition hall, and the civic center’s original arena, refurbished with new seats, concession stands, and other amenities. The early reservations suggest that the convention center is indeed moving in a positive direction.

But Rooney cautioned against placing too much emphasis on the center’s ability to kick-start a turn-around in Springfield. He said that, for a city in a fiscal crisis, especially one steeped in controversy and with issues ranging from public corruption to the safety of its streets, there is no silver bullet.

"In and of itself, this convention center is not an economic revitalization plan," he said. "It’s a major contribution, no doubt about it, but there are other things involved in terms of righting this ship. The destination is sold as much as the building is sold."

And there are other concerns, among them the state of the convention industry itself (a recent report indicates that the sector is declining) and the impact of escalating competition from facilities in other area cities, including Hartford’s new Connecticut Convention Center.

There are also questions about the MassMutual Center’s impact on existing banquet and meeting facilities in the area, and whether the center will bring new business to the region or merely take a large share of the existing market.

But Rooney and others closely involved with the project are optimistic that the new convention center will be able to compete on a national level and bring new convention dollars to the area. They’ve taken the risks and the realities into account, and the MCCA, along with the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) and other local organizations have developed a plan that starts with promoting the region and new center as a package, and capitalizes on the building’s size, design, location, accessibility, and the innate desire of many to see the facility ‚ and the city ‚ succeed.

"It takes a lot more than one building to bring a city back to life," Rooney said. "It takes a strong cooperative, strategic effort, and that’s what we have in mind here."

Making Concessions

The MassMutual center project was spawned, like many other projects across the country, by the boom enjoyed by the convention industry in the late ’90s. The health of the industry nationwide initially spurred Massachusetts and other states to evaluate their current convention facilities and make financial commitments for improvement.

Rooney said those commitments represent an economic strategy to cultivate convention business in the state, treating it as a primary economic driver.

"All over the country, people were trying to get into this game and get a piece of the pie," he said. "That included deciding what should happen in Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Funding was made available in all three cases, and a substantial statewide strategic commitment was made to the convention industry."

But Springfield’s convention center project represents more than merely one part of the Commonwealth’s convention industry initiative; the city’s civic center, built in the early ’70s, was in dire need of a facelift even before the state took control of it. Rooney explained that at the same time state leaders made the decision to build new convention facilities, the Springfield Civic Center was falling on its hardest times.

"The civic center was in a serious state of disrepair," he said. "It was controlled by the city at that time, and the city was unable to keep up with what needed to be done."

So, in what Rooney termed a "friendly transaction," management of the property was transferred to the state.

He explained that $52 million was originally earmarked for the Springfield leg of the statewide convention facilities project, but that initially, the MCCA had envisioned a building that required about $80 to $90 million. The Legislature did appropriate more money, bringing the amount up to $66 million, but the convention center still needed to be re-evaluated to fit the budget.

"We set about managing our appetite for improvements and making some engineering tradeoffs ‚ essentially, we down-sized," said Rooney, adding that soon after those adjustments were made, a partnership was formed with MassMutual, which bought the naming rights for the center for $5 million.

"Ultimately, everything came together in 2002," he said. "MassMutual’s purchase of the naming rights brought the project’s budget up to $71 million, and we could work within that number, so the program was in balance."

He added that the downsizing of the MCCA’s initial plans for the center actually helped to underscore how its size could be an asset.

"Architecturally and functionally we are at the right scale for this marketplace," said Rooney. "For the kinds of regional and local events we should be competing for, it’s the right size ‚ we have the advantage of 40,000 square feet of exhibit space without the disadvantage buildings sometimes have when they’re too big. People know what size facility they want when they’re booking events, and they know what types of events fit well."

Meeting Expectations

Mary Kay Wydra, president of the GSCVB, which is working under the auspices of the MCCA to market and sell the convention center, agreed that capitalizing on the center’s existing strengths is a key component of its business plan. But perhaps more important is promoting the entire region as a destination, not merely the location of a brand-new convention center.

"Different groups look for different types of locations," she said. "We’re perfect for a lot of different organizations, and we market directly to them. We’ve bumped up against Hartford a couple of times, but in general they’re looking for larger groups."

She added that an ideal booking is one that necessitates what she called "city-wides" ‚ the need for 500 to 800 hotel rooms or more per night, which requires that multiple hotels are involved and means in theory that a greater impact on area restaurants, stores, and attractions, would be created.

About a dozen events, including five of those citywides, have been booked for the center to date, beginning shortly after opening day, in November, and extending into 2008. These early bookings will account for 23,050 anticipated attendees, 14,000 new overnight hotel stays, and a projected direct spending impact of $3.8 million over the next three years. Wydra said several other bookings are currently pending, adding that the she’s confident the early interest is indicative of the level of success the building will have in years to come.

But that confidence hasn’t negated the need for creative marketing and promotion of the center in the increasingly competitive convention industry. Half of the events currently booked, for instance, were the result of a burgeoning program within the GSCVB called Pioneer Valley Pride, which asks local residents, businesses, and organizations to use their connections with regional and national groups to draw business to the MassMutual Center ‚ essentially, bringing new business home.

"As members of regional or national organizations, local residents can have a positive impact on the economic well-being of the region," said Wydra, adding that Pioneer Valley Pride is just one way that the GSCVB is working to promote the region and its new facility as a package. "A lot of bureaus have similar programs, and they are a great asset if you can make it happen. Since people have been watching this building as it goes up downtown, it’s definitely in the forefront of their minds. I think that’s going to help our program succeed."

Wydra agreed with Rooney that packaging the building along with the region is essential to the process of marketing and selling both, noting that the GSCVB sales staff members actually focus more on the region than the convention center itself when soliciting new convention business. A new logo and marketing plan have recently been put in place for the Pioneer Valley, for instance, and have become some of the primary selling tools for the convention center.

"The pitch is 80% the region and 20% the building at this point," she said. "We highlight easy access to the building, but also other attractions, first class accommodations, and plenty to do."

Russell Denver, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, said the chamber is also working to increase the visibility of the convention center by collaborating with other area chambers to get the word out and to create a cohesive ring of support around the center.

"We’ve coordinated with other chambers to make sure the building and the events within are well publicized," said Denver, adding that, in addition to the chambers’ involvement, every mayor in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties recently signed a letter promising cooperation and collaboration with the convention center, the MCCA, and the GSCVB. He said the action calls attention to the importance of the facility to the Western Mass. community.

"The impact of the building during construction is something that a lot of people overlook," he said. "It has been very positive ‚ a lot of people have been employed by this project, and the local confidence is already there.

"What the long-term impact will be, time will tell," he continued. "But there is a definite spin-off phenomenon expected. What it comes down to is that $71 million has been pumped into Springfield, and that’s outstanding."

Still, Denver, like Rooney, tempered his positive outlook with the knowledge that only after several years will the region know whether the convention center has become a player in the industry, and a boon for Western Mass.

"I have no lofty expectations," he said. "If you create goals and they’re not met, expectations get dampened pretty quickly. The center is just one more tool in the tool box for us."

A Study in Black and White

Rooney said the propensity toward guarded optimism is actually an appropriate response to the approaching start of the MassMutual Center era.

While he and others are hopeful that the center will bring much-needed dollars into Springfield and surrounding communities, the worst-case scenario has been considered: that tough competition will prove to be too high a hurdle, and the center will languish in a tepid sea of bookings, fighting for business not with other convention centers in the country, but instead with other local venues.

"This industry is very competitive," he said. "Any business we get will come at the expense of somebody else, somewhere."

But Rooney was quick to note that stiff competition, though real, is no reason to bow out of the game entirely. He acknowledged that the convention industry of the ’90s, which remained a strong growth sector well into 1999, has slowed in recent years. But he explained the change as proof of an industry that is maturing, not declining.

"Conventions were driven largely by the technology industry," he said. "It has slowed recently, and I’ll admit that demand leveled off. But that’s just American Economics 101; industries mature. This is an $80 billion industry ‚ a big industry. A lot of money is still being spent."

Rooney’s characterization of the convention industry came in response to a controversial study released in January by the Brookings Institution, a research and analysis organization in Washington, D.C. that focuses on economics and metropolitan policy, which questioned the validity of convention centers as economic drivers.

The report, Space Available: The Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy, authored by Heywood Sanders, proposed that while convention business has long been an attractive option for struggling cities hoping to rejuvenate their streets with a steady stream of visitors spending money in hotels, restaurants, and stores, some trends in the industry suggest that the strategy is one that could backfire.

"The overall marketplace is declining in a manner that suggests that a recovery or turnaround is unlikely to yield much increased business for any given community, contrary to repeated ind
stry projections," Sanders wrote, citing advances in communications technology as one reason for decline. "Nonetheless, localities, sometimes with state assistance, have continued a type of arms race with competing cities to host these events, investing massive amounts of capital in new convention center construction and expansion of existing facilities."

Indeed, the MassMutual Center project fits such a description; it is one of 44 new or expanded convention centers currently in construction across the country. Meanwhile, it functions under the direction of the state, and will open for business shortly after nearby Hartford opens the doors of its new convention center, which dwarfs Springfield’s facility.

But Rooney was skeptical of some of the study’s findings.

"Sanders has taken some statistics and tried to create an impression of an industry that is dying," he said. "But there is one way to measure his success as devil’s advocate: there isn’t one convention center in America he’s been able to close yet.

"It’s foolish to suggest that because competition is fierce that we all take our bat and ball and go home," he continued. "Springfield can compete as much as anyone. It will be the execution of well-laid plans that will create new demand."

But in an increasingly competitive field, how real is the potential for in-fighting among the convention center and existing facilities in the area?

It’s a very real fear, said Rooney, and one that has been addressed.

"Our desire is for Greater Springfield to compete and to compete aggressively," Rooney explained. "Jockeying for position locally is a real possibility, but the convention center can’t do that and be competitive ‚ none of the venues in the area can, and it’s not our objective. What we do want is to add value to the region, and in five years, watch all of our boats rise. It comes back to managing Springfield as a destination ‚ it’s going to take a great deal of cooperative effort."

He added that as various meeting facilities compete for business, they also continuously hone their strengths and focus on the niches they best cater to, and that should stave off any major struggles for clients between the center and surrounding facilities such as the Basketball Hall of Fame, Eastern States Exposition Grounds, the Mullins Center in Amherst, and banquet facilities such as the Log Cabin in Holyoke.

Wayne McGarry, president of the Eastern States Exposition, shared Rooney’s positive outlook.

"We lost the Affiliated Chamber’s Market Show to the convention center already, but I certainly understand why," he said, citing the Chamber’s support of Springfield’s newest venture. "The long-term impact of the center remains to be seen, but as far as we are concerned, I’m sure we’ll remain competitive."

McGarry added that overall competition may be minimal because the two venues have different roles and serve different audiences.

"Their focus is conventions, ours is really trade shows because we have wide-open spaces and staging areas," he said. "That’s not to say that there may not be an event some day that we both want. But overall I don’t see us being too competitive with each other. One would have to be optimistic that the new facility will spark interest in the region overall ‚ anything that proves to be good for the overall economy is good for everybody."

And while no specific partnerships have been formalized between the convention center and other facilities in the area, McGarry didn’t rule that out.

"Who’s to say that at some point there might not be an opportunity we could enter into jointly?" he mused. "It’s not out of the realm of possibility."

Wydra agreed that partnerships are an area that could be examined in the future.

"A lot of people like to have their conventions and meetings all in the same place, but hold a dinner or a cocktail party off-site," she said. "Already, the Hall of Fame is generating a lot of interest for things like that. Dual interest is another way that promoting the entire region to add to the strength of the convention center comes into play."

Fear vs. Fortune

Wydra concluded that the GSCVB, MCCA, and others will continue to address and often allay others’ fears regarding the center’s future role in the region. But she said they don’t toss that sentiment around in their own circles.

"Fear doesn’t enter our vocabulary," she said. "Excitement does. This is a first-class property that we have to offer here."

One that they hope will receive a five-star review very soon.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

By BusinessWest Staff June 27, 2005

Abramov, Margarita V
Abramov, Sergey
472 Meadow St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Alpiarca, Daniel R.
28 Decatur St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Amaker, Shirley A.
582 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/09/05

Anderson-Williams, Tonya
30 Arbutus St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/25/05

Arkoette, Nathaniel E
Arkoette, Victoria
37 Roosevelt Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Ashton, Mary Ellen
19 Hooker Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Athas, Paul M.
93 Forest Glen
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

Barre, Paul Isadore
Barre, Ella Mae
36 George St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/05

Bascom, Barbara A.
112 Elizabeth Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Batista, Peggy S.
229 Miller St.; Lot A6
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Belanger, Gerald Robert
25 Bairdcrest Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/05

Belliveau, Roger R.
75 Strong St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Belz, Krzyszyof A.
72 Taylor St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Bennett, Mark
109 Denver St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Bermudez, Joel
54 Cleveland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Bethel, William D.
Bethel, Arlela F.
51 Telbar St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Bienvenue, Marc A.
34 Spring St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Blakesley, Beatrice D.
157 Holyoke St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/05

Bonafini, Michael C.
273 Ware Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Bostwick, Andrew L.
819 Gratten St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/05

Botfield, Kristina E.
45 Briar Hill Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Bozyk, Francisca
154 Maple St., Apt. D
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Brady, Thomas J.
142 Franklin St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Brawders, Robert F.
50 Woolworth St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/05

Brawsay, Jean E.
53 Clayton Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Briere, Maureen L
149 Park Edge Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Brown, Frederick O.
16 Cresent Hill
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Brown, James Waldron
29 Terry Lane
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Brown, Mindy Lee
115 Ashley Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Brzys, Kathleen M.
146 West Silver St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/05

Burdick, Theresa A.
44 Fernwood Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Burgos, Maria
105 Lyman St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Burns, Sarah
14 Converse St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Byrd, Veronica
15 Southern Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Caban, Sara Lee
41 Governor St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Caloon, Amanda L.
31 Watling St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Cannavino, Jill
31 Williams Court
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Cappella, Suzanne M.
197 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Carney, Joan Rita
12 Lincoln St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Cattallinic, Debra M.
27 Horsham Place
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Cefaratti, Thomas Michael
20 Hanover St., Apt 4
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Champigny, Andre G.
208 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Charland, David Michael
Charland, Lori Ann
188 Drexel St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/05

Cheeks, Future M.
234 Mallow Hill Road
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Christy, Maria Y.
21 Lachine St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Church, Todd J.
2302 Main St.
West Warren, MA 01092
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/19/05

Clark, Roberta L.
44 Montgomery St., # 1
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/05

Collins, Michael A.
283 Wildermere St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Conner, Kathleen E.
26 Willow St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Corley, Laura A.
P.O. Box 18
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/21/05

Courtney, Shannon L.
128 Main Street L
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Crabtree, Laura L.
26 Beacon Terrace
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Craig, Diane A.
172 Buckingham St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Croak, Arthur W.
P.O. Box 668
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Cruz, Carmen R.
46 Knollwood St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Cruz, Marisol
654 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Cruzado, Joanne
6A Leary Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/19/05

CS Industries, LLC
P.O. Box 435
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 11
Filing Date: 06/09/05

Daubitz, Richard C.
232 Colemor St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Davila, Edwin
173 Buckingham St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Davis, Darrell L.
59 Ionia St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Davis, Gladystean
2094 Page Blvd.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Davis, Mia A.
59 Ionia St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Day, Lisa M.
46 Cross St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/05

DeCaro, Adele M.
831 South Branch Parkway
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/15/05

DeFilippi, Kathryn I.
85 Penncastle St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/09/05

DeFilippi, William J.
342 Southwick Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/09/05

DeGiso, Mark Steven
DeGiso, Mary Kelly
170 Shadybrook Lane
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Delgado, Virgen M.
124 Park Road
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Delphia, Mary L.
48 Farnum Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Dempsey, Maureen M.
47 Cass Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Devine, Gladys A.
45 Lawler St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Dietrich, Timothy W.
Dietrich, Casandra Kristina
82 Phoenix Terrace
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Digloria, Daniel J.
242 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Doiron, Charlotte E.
97 Shawinigan Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Donahue, Beverly Jane
143 Prospect Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/05

Dubuque, Linda L.
2060 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/05

Durley, Sherryl V.
400 Hancock St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Emond, Theresa R.
72 Midway St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Fecteau, Anthony J.
49 Hatch St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Felberbaum, Jeffrey M.
177 North Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Feyrer, Edwin Charles
Feyrer, Dorothy June
59 Hampden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/05

Filos, Elvira M.
131 Berkshire Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Flores, Roberto
170 Eddy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Fontaine, Richard R.
Fontaine, Barbara A.
21A Notre Dame St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Fontaine, Gary L.
1463 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Fredette, Catherine E.
23 North Main St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Fredette, Therese A.
141 Lincoln St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Frigon, Roger M.
P.O. 383
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Frykenberg, Kenneth R.
P.O. Box 385
Gilbertville, MA 01031
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Fueston, James T.
Fueston, Lisa J.
19 Voltage Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/15/05

Fullam, Donna M.
104 Franklin St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Garcia, Carlos R.
80 Walnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Garcia-Chevrestt, Rafael
40 High St., Apt. 2
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Gaston, Francisco J.
1086 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Gavin, Judy
88 Lewis Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Gelinas, Roger A.
33 Fairfield Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Gibeau, David J.
26 Haumont Ter.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Gray, Emmaly J.
32 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Grenier, Randall D.
6 Rita Circle
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/05

Griffith, Shirley M
8 Roosevelt Ter.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Grimaldi, William
Grimaldi, Lisa
42 Rose St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Grohs, Robbie D.
119 Eddywood St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Hadley, Karen M.
49 Bristol St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/12/05

Hancock, Justin P.
P.O. Box 32
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Hanks, Kenneth J.
24-26 Foch Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Hatzipetro, Donald J.
7 Upper Church St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/05

Hayes, John Jacob
Hayes, Wanda Dunaway
18 Butler Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Heath, Barbara A.
28 First Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Helems, Kristine M.
59 College Highway
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Hendee, Jeffrey Lynn
73 Meadow Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/05

Hernandez, Belen
570 Appleton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Hindle, Melissa A.
17 Taylor St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Hines, Carla Y.
66 Lawton St., Apt. 3
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Hines-Johnson, Lydia F.
77 Westminster St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/09/05

Hoetzl, Eric K.
1512 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Insero, Domenick A.
Insero, Karen A.
20 Easthampton Rd.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Jacques, Bernard Andre
21 Daniel St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Jeremiah, Kelvin A.
88 Gresham St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Johnson, Charles E.
77 Westminster St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/09/05

Johnson, Mitchell L.
Johnson, Phannee N.
15 Crittenden St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Keeney, Susanne M.
33 Norman Ter., Apt 55
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Kent, Margaret
85 Deep Woods Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Kibbie, Michael Angel
50 Charles St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Koehler, David W.
185 Feeding Hills Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/19/05

Kusyk, Richard S.
16 Upton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Kwiecien, Mark Allan
Kwiecien, Valerie
41 Ruskin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/05

LaCrosse, Norman D.
56 Flint St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Lamica, Erica A.
81 Mathieu Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Lammers, Bruce E.
1177 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

LaPorte, Michael J.
84 Allen Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/04/05

Largay, Michael P.
65 Upper Church St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/05

LeBlanc, Debra Ann
262 County Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/13/05

Lesieur, Joyce M
688 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Levreault, Alan J.
Levreault, Catherine E.
37 South St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Long, Darek T.
171 Higher Brook Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Lopez, Jose R.
247 Central St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Luciano, Otaniel T.
44 Byers St
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Luxton, Melissa VanDiver
9 Linden Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/12/05

Malo, Jennifer M.
133 1/2 South St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Manzi, Anthony J.
Manzi, Cynthia J.
54 Governor St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Marcano, Jesus M.
31 Lyndale St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Marsh, Craig M.
22 Elmwood St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Martin, Tammy A.
84 Dorothy Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Martinez, Maria E.
6 Woodland St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chap
er: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Martins, Nelson
4 Fordham St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Matarazzo, Robert Philip
55 Stedman St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/09/05

Mazuch, Brenda B
18 Briggs St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

McCarthy, Carolyn A.
193 Miller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

McCarthy, Elizabeth A.
124 Grandview Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/05

McKay, Kevin F.
46 Applewood Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

McLain, Jeanne M.
21 Salem St., Apt. 2B
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

McNeill, George W
805 Chicopee St., 1L
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Mead, Edward T.
Mead, Joyce A.
94 Heggie Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Medeiros, Louise
14 Itendale St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Menard, Jeremy I.
4 Kowal Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Menard, Michael J.
40 Layfayette St.
Second Floor
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Mendez, Rolando
403 Carew St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Messier, Neal S.
558 Barry St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

Messier, Phillip John
Messier, Rosalie G.
116 Regal St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Michaels, Dana M.
55 Penrose St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Milledge, Larry
Milledge, Herlinda
64 Berkshire St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Miner, Cynthia M.
PO Box 1731
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/05

Minie, Albert George
130 Celebration Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Miranda, Maria M.
23 Hamlet St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Montanez, Anita M.
6 Taylor St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/05

Montcalm, James M
116 Garland St.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Moorehead, Monsita J.
86 Moreland St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/05

Moran, Mark J.
Moran, Dora A.
251 Mallowhill Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/29/05

Moreau, Angela Katherine
Moreau, Sandra Ann
12 Irwin St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/05

Morin, Tina M.
491 Bridge Road, Apt. 613
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/05

Morris, Laura Nicole
474 Bridge Road
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Murphy, Karen M.
323 River Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/21/05

Myers, Daniel Clayton
101 Mulberry St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/05

Myette, Carrie L.
19 Sefton Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/30/05

Nason, Anita M.
28 Eloise
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

Nason, Steven P.
101 Allen Park Rd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Newman, Brenda Lee
24 North East St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Nichols, Bryan G.
Nichols, Billie-Jo E.
15 New Ludlow Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Nicoli, David Donald
76 Alhambra Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Nieves, Luz M.
Nieves, Miguel A.
1040 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Nihill, Robert J.
346 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

O’Connor, John L.
O’Connor, Donna M.
31 Watling St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

O’Donnell, Cynthia A
4 Cordes Court
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Ogilvie-Jeremiah, Alice N.
88 Gresham St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Olavarria, Francisco
132 Leary Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Padua, Aurea E.
19 John St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Pafford, Jane C
277 Walnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Paige, Donald F.
Paige, Gail M.
77 Jamaica St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Paquin, Edward Armand
Paquin, Jane F.
197 Gilbert Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

Parker, Matthew J.
7 Boulevard Place
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Pellegrino, Matthew A.
90 Eleanor Road
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

Perham, Bonnie A.
48 Meadow St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/31/05

Perkins, Mary Anne
PO Box 53
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Perry, Jean A.
9 Victorian Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Person, William L.
27 Saab Court, Apt. 907
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Pham, Tin M.
PO Box 80868
Springfield, MA 01138
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Pietrzykowski, Antoni
44 Park Street, Apt. B
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/05/05

Pirro, Steven M.
Pirro, Laura Lorraine
55 Wrentham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/05

Popp, David C.
Popp, Kellie L.
25 Prospect St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Poulin, Laurie A.
Poulin, Michael R.
275 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Pouliot, Gary L.
34 Whitin Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Pray, Luz M.
47 Middle St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Quijano, Betzaida
37 River St. #1
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Quinones, Gloria E.
44 Luden St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Raffa, Mark R.
Raffa, Marie F.
15 Kingsley Ave.
Haydenville, MA 01039
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Rainaud, Gary A.
10-12 North Main St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Ramos, Carmen M
82 Garfield St., 1st Fl.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Reed, Therese F.
288 Russell Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Remaily, Krista A.
Remaily, Santee W.
5 Westminster St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Retynsky, Victor
101 Mulberry St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Rivera, Edwin F.
16 Springdale Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Rivera, Marlenne J.
70 Harrison Ave.
Apt. 1502
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Robillard, Jr., Guy J.
199 Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Robinson, Darlene T.
38 Bamforth Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/05

Rodriguez, Elvis I.
385 Newbury St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Rodriguez, Evelyn
70 Harrison Ave.
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Rodriguez, Margarita
48 Walnut St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Rosario, Maria D.C.
40 Talcott Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Rosario, Veronica
2791 Main St.
2nd Floor
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Rose, Caleb E.
67 Superior Ave.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Roth, Jaroslav
PO Box 3151
Amherst, MA 01004
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/28/05

Sanabria, Sammy
394 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/25/05

Sanchez, Victor J.
70 Walnut St., Apt. 20
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/05

Sandoval, Monique M.
2063 Memorial Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Santiago, Crizaida L.
774 State St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Santiago, Rafael
60 Chapin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/26/05

Santiago, Virgen D.
243 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

Santinello, Sharon E.
132 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Santini, Reinaldo
101 Lowell St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/23/05

Sargent, Crystal L.
693 Main St. #3
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Scanlon, Robert M.
Scanlon, Kathryn T.
4C Maple Crest Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Seder, Joan A.
72 Midway St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Small-Worthy, Elishia
PO Box 80430
Springfield, MA 01138
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Smith, James S.
Smith, Katherine E.
146 Bay Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Sorcinelli, Robert R.
Sorcinelli, Debra A.
71 Beverly Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/16/05

Sousa, William B.
Sousa, Deborah J.
21 Grape St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/01/05

Spear, David E
85 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/14/05

Squire, Dineen G.
183 Applewood Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/08/05

Szumski, Deborah J.
1198 Montgomery St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Tallman, Daniel J
33 Norman Ter., Apt. 9
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Taylor, William C.
Taylor, Eileen M.
301 Elm St. – Apt 2
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Thomas, Beverley N.
42 Daytona St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Torres, Carmen Lydia
31 Armory St., Apt. 1R
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/09/05

Torres, Hector J.
PO Box 80148
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/17/05

Troung, Lam V.
48 North Alhambra Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/05

Trudeau, Charles A.
Trudeau, Erika W.
55 Quarry Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/06/05

Uhlig, Timothy D.
Uhlig, Paula A.
46 Davis St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/13/05

Valentino, Santino U.
106 Norman St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Van Der Woude, Robert D.
110 Woodcrest Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/11/05

Van Slyke, Amanda C.
32 Blodgett St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/05

Vasseur, Carla
23 Shoemaker Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/02/05

Venturini, Charlotte Cecile
231 Adams St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/07/05

Washington, John H.
633 Cooley St.
Springfield,, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/26/05

West, Gerald B.
P.O. Box 625
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/05

White, Darnelle
70 Broadway St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Whych, Brenton K.
Whych, Millicent J.
238 Denver St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/10/05

Widmer, Debbi A.
444B Corey St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Williams, Jesse
30 Arbutus St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 05/25/05

Williams, Patricia C.
965 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/27/05

Winn, Kristin A.
108 Arthur St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Withee, Mark
Withee, Linda
218 Rowley St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Wood, Michael A
163 Northampton St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/09/05

Woods, Patricia J.
2 Maplecrest Circle
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/18/05

Wruck, Jennifer M.
60 Montgomery St., 3RD
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/03/05

Young, Robert O.
Young, Bethany G.
23 Barlett Ave.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/20/05

Ziter, Michael F.
17 Lowell Lane
Huntington, MA 01050
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 05/24/05

Zograph Corporation, Inc.
182 Main St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 06/15/05

By BusinessWest Staff June 27, 2005