Joseph Bednar, Author at BusinessWest

Seed Money

Rick Sullivan says the new report calls for admittedly significant financial investments — but that other regions have met such challenges with positive results.

The surprise was food science.

At least, that industry’s prominent place on a recent report outlining economic potential in Western Mass. was a mild surprise to some, Rick Sullivan said, but maybe it shouldn’t have been.

The report in question — commissioned and funded by the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC) and produced by MassINC and Cambridge Econometrics — is called “Accelerating Inclusive Growth in the Pioneer Valley: A Prospectus for Transformative Investment.”

At its heart, it determines that the Pioneer Valley has considerable strength in certain industries and technologies poised to grow with the transition to a low-carbon future, specifically detailing competitive advantages — and, hence, major economic opportunity — in the realms of food science, advanced materials, and clean energy.

Sullivan, EDC president and CEO, noted that Big Y Executive Chairman Charlie D’Amour, who sat on the project’s advisory group, knows his way around matters of food science, food security, and food-delivery systems. “And I think he didn’t even have any idea about how deep the work being done at UMass was and their leadership position in this field, and how we could tie it all in together. I mean, UMass has the number-one food-science program in the country. Who knew?”

When the report was released last month, D’Amour noted that Western Mass. should capitalize on disruptive changes in the food industry. “From biotechnologies under development at UMass to innovative efforts to support local food entrepreneurs, the Pioneer Valley is situated to generate broadly shared wealth, positioning itself as a leading producer of sustainable food products.”

The report makes a broad case for transformative investment, pointing out data showing that:

• The Pioneer Valley retains manufacturing strength, but lacks growing industry clusters;

• The Valley is underperforming relative to its potential to conduct research and development and commercialize new technology;

• GDP per capita in the Pioneer Valley is half that of Greater Boston and below the metro-area average for the U.S., heightening the need for new, high-growth clusters;

• Inflation-adjusted median household income in the Pioneer Valley grew by less than 5% over the past decade, compared to nearly 9% nationally and 12% for Massachusetts statewide; and

• High concentrations of poverty undermine the potential of the region’s future workforce.

The report also details success stories of transformative investment to the east and west, with high returns on investment: the Albany, N.Y. nanotech cluster, which drew on hundreds of millions in state funding and tax incentives; and the Worcester health research and biomanufacturing cluster, which is similar to the Albany model but achieved over a longer time period and with more modest state investment.

Javier Reyes

“As the Commonwealth’s land-grant university, our researchers make new discoveries and develop technologies that support local industry and prepare the workforce required for the Commonwealth to flourish in the decades ahead.”

“The Pioneer Valley certainly has the preconditions to compete globally in knowledge industries — it is home to the University of Massachusetts flagship campus at Amherst, along with 10 four-year colleges and three community colleges. Together, these institutions develop an enormous amount of talent, as well as a significant volume of basic and applied research,” the report notes, also highlighting the region’s abundant outdoor recreation opportunities, strong healthcare and hospital systems, an international airport, advanced manufacturers, and a rich food ecosystem, from farmers and specialty food producers to larger-scale food manufacturing.

Hence, the region is ripe for dramatic investment and growth in general, and in the three sectors the report focuses on — food science, advanced materials, and clean energy — specifically.

“With these indisputable economic assets, it is striking how little proactive economic-development investment the region has seen in the past several decades,” it continues. “Blinded by Boston’s enormous output, it is difficult for many to appreciate the true potential of the Pioneer Valley.”

UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes agrees. “UMass Amherst is committed to working closely with our partners in Western Massachusetts to play a central role in fostering economic development and growth for the benefit of our region,” he said. “As the Commonwealth’s land-grant university, our researchers make new discoveries and develop technologies that support local industry and prepare the workforce required for the Commonwealth to flourish in the decades ahead.”

But, as we will see, investment means money — lots of it.

Not a Small Ask

Specifically, the report calls for establishing what it calls a Fund for the Pioneer Valley — a dedicated pool of resources for transformative investment in advanced industries that positions the region for growth while supporting the state’s overall economic-development strategy as it relates to the clean-energy transition.

Charlie D’Amour

“From biotechnologies under development at UMass to innovative efforts to support local food entrepreneurs, the Pioneer Valley is situated to generate broadly shared wealth, positioning itself as a leading producer of sustainable food products.”

Based on similar efforts, the report calls for committing at least $50 million per year in state resources to targeted economic investments in the Pioneer Valley over a 10-year period: $400 million for a strategic portfolio of innovation investments, $90 million for site development, and $10 million for economic-development implementation capacity.

To help ensure that the fund makes worthy investments and that it fully leverages the state’s capital, the report continues, each allocation should leverage additional federal and private investment at a ratio of at least one-to-one, resulting in at least $1 billion in total investment in the Pioneer Valley economy over the next 10 years.

“I’ll be the first one to sit here and say that’s a big number,” Sullivan told BusinessWest, but the results of similar efforts in places like New York and Georgia have borne fruit, and investments in IT, life sciences, and even offshore wind in the eastern part of the Commonwealth haven’t generated much spillover for the Pioneer Valley economy — meaning this region needs its own targeted strategy.

“Is there a component where we will seek state investment? Yes. Will it involve federal investment? We hope so. But at the end of the day, if it’s going to truly be successful, there has to be the private investment on the other side,” Sullivan added, pointing to the example of Clean Crop Technologies, which BusinessWest profiled in its March 18 issue, and which hopes to revolutionize food safety and production in the green-tech sector.

“Other companies are, if not outright investing in Clean Crop, they’re working with or contracting with them. Those are dollars that are coming into the region from well outside the region, and from companies that have typically not played in this region,” Sullivan explained.
“So for this to be successful for the long term, there absolutely has to also be that private investment. This cannot just be a government initiative. It can start as a government initiative, but it clearly must have private investment.”

While the federal government has been discussing ways to transition to a low-carbon future — and, in so doing, spur new forms of economic activity in metropolitan areas across the U.S. — Gov. Maura Healey has called for the development of a clean-energy corridor across all of Massachusetts, and the investments suggested in the report could dovetail with that effort.

Jay Ash

“This research illuminates promising opportunities unique to the Pioneer Valley as we develop low-carbon technologies. We must work together to help the region tap these opportunities to generate strong and equitable growth.”

“This research illuminates promising opportunities unique to the Pioneer Valley as we develop low-carbon technologies,” said Jay Ash, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. “We must work together to help the region tap these opportunities to generate strong and equitable growth.”

In the clean-energy realm, the report notes that the Valley has been a regional leader in clean energy, with ISO New England headquartered in Holyoke, extensive hydroelectric power (Holyoke Gas & Electric and FirstLight), early adoption of solar generation (conversion of the Mount Tom coal-fired power plant), and an effort to promote equitable business ownership and workforce training in the sector in partnership with the Emerald Cities Collaborative.

“Despite these advances, the region has struggled to define its economic role in the clean-energy transition,” it adds. “A robust strategy is critical because the clean-energy transition is the largest market opportunity by several orders of magnitude. Efforts to decarbonize the economy are drawing $2.8 trillion in investment globally each year, and estimates suggest spending must increase to $4.5 trillion annually to reach net zero by 2050. The Healey-Driscoll state economic-development plan seeks to position the entire Commonwealth to complete for this investment.”

Clean tech is a broad umbrella, Sullivan said, and includes the region’s broad research involving water — security, delivery systems, purification, and more — much of it from UMass, but also from a host of small companies.

“There’s a real opportunity to grow that. We’re looking at sectors that are only going to be more important in five and 10 years, not less,” he added. “The issues around water — water purity, water scarcity, water delivery — those aren’t going to go away. And they’re international problems. So that market is always going to be there. It’s an area that will grow.

“It’s the same thing with food,” he went on. “With climate change and global warming, the issue of how we raise, grow, deliver, and manufacture food isn’t going away. These are transformative in the sense that they’re sectors that are not totally built out — and they fit into the fabric of who we are as a community. They are environmentally based for the most part, particularly food science and clean tech. And they’re not going to go away.”

Drawing on Strengths

The report, which also drew financial support from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the Davis Foundation, MassDevelopment, and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, is available online at www.westernmassedc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/white-paper-FINAL.pdf, and includes exponentially more detail than this article can convey, including specific ventures (along with specific dollar figures) by which the sectors of food science, advanced-materials, and clean energy may be cultivated.

The vision is to create clusters that become nationally recognized, drawing more companies and more investment, and make Western Mass. a dynamic and attractive place to launch businesses of all kinds, raising all boats, so to speak.

That was the goal of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), established in 1990. That nonprofit, public-private partnership was created to help industry, research universities, and state government agencies collaborate to build a technology-driven economy fueled by advanced research.

The state of Georgia provides the alliance with about $23 million annually to support its operations, from recruiting top research talent to building state-of-the-art labs. GRA also provides seed funding, legal assistance, and other services to support the researchers as they work to move their discoveries to the marketplace.

The result? Since its founding, GRA estimates it has produced a return on investment approaching $12 billion.

“We didn’t invent that model. That’s what’s happened in biotech, and that’s what’s happened in Upstate New York and in Georgia,” Sullivan said. “We’re looking to be the catalyst to get this thing to move, to show that it can work. Somebody has to tell the story of why this makes sense for Western Mass., and that’s an important part of this report. That, and we had to pick sectors that made sense.”

Ben Forman, MassINC research director and co-author of the study, is eager to see the state act with urgency.

“We have overlooked the Pioneer Valley for decades, jeopardizing its economic base,” he said. “It’s time to recognize and build on the region’s considerable economic assets.”

Bay Path Program Addresses Productive Aging

Business of Aging Special Coverage

Golden Opportunity

While the OT programs at Bay Path involve plenty of classroom time (as pictured here), students are doing innovative work in the community as well.
Photo by Leah Martin Photography

When Dr. Julie Watson arrived at Bay Path University, she recognized a rapidly growing population in need of occupational therapy: senior citizens.

So Watson — who directs Bay Path’s health science doctorate, master of public health, and post-professional occupational therapy doctorate programs — had an idea to enrich the post-professional OT doctorate program, which is for working occupational therapists seeking their clinical doctorate while they practice.

“Given my experience with older adults and caregivers, I saw a need to have something that focuses on the aging U.S. population. Almost a quarter of the population is going to be older than age 65 by 2030.”

So she developed a concentration for the OTD program called productive aging. “It focuses on the idea that older adults can remain active and productive even as they’re aging — that we can maximize the independence of older adults so they can stay in their homes and continue to engage in activities that are important to them, whether that’s working part-time or volunteering or spending time with their grandkids or even leisure activities like gardening.”

As noted, the track started as a concentration for the post-professional OTD program. “Then we launched a doctor of health science degree, and I wanted to incorporate the concentration into that as well. Then we had a re-evaluation of our master of public health program. And what’s more public health than a population-based approach for older adults?

“So it became an interdisciplinary concentration,” she explained, “where students from a variety of backgrounds can come together and take four courses that prepare them to address these needs of a lot of older adults in our communities.”

“It focuses on the idea that older adults can remain active and productive even as they’re aging — that we can maximize the independence of older adults so they can stay in their homes and continue to engage in activities that are important to them, whether that’s working part-time or volunteering or spending time with their grandkids or even leisure activities like gardening.”

Those four course descriptions go a long way toward explaining how the concentration puts the ideas behind productive aging to use in the community, to help older people maximize their independence and quality of life:

• “Aging in Place” examines supports to keep people in their homes, maintaining their independence in the community — and also barriers that prevent them from doing so.

• “Chronic Disease Management for Older Adults” acknowledges that older adults are faced with many chronic diseases, from congestive heart failure to cancer, and discusses strategies to help them with their chronic conditions, to improve their outcomes and their quality of life.

• “Specialized Assessment” takes a public-health approach to evaluating communities — and the services available in those communities — to make sure they’re meeting older adults’ needs when it comes to infrastructure and programs in place to support older adults.

• Finally, “Neuroscience of Aging and Impact on Mental Health” examines the neurological changes that can happen with older adults, including cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

“I love working with older adults so much. When I was a clinical OT, I enjoyed that specific aspect of my practice,” Watson said, noting that most Baby Boomers coming from hospital care or simply dealing with normal aging want to stay in their homes, which has led to a boom in home care.

Dr. Julie Watson

“It’s a win-win because students are getting the experience working with older adults, and the older adults are getting much-needed services that allow them to remain independent and have a higher quality of life.”

“I think we’re poised for a shift in how we meet the needs of older adults; we want to be educating the practitioners, the healthcare professionals, about these needs in advance.”

Changing Times

In a widely read article last fall, the the New York Times editorial board addressed these growing needs.

“Thanks to falling birth rates, longer life expectancy, and the graying of the Baby Boomer cohort, our society is being transformed,” the editorial board wrote. “This is a demographic change that will affect every part of society. Already, in about half the country, there are more people dying than being born, even as more Americans are living into their 80s, 90s, and beyond. In 2020, the share of people 65 or older reached 17%, according to the Census Bureau. By 2034, there will be more Americans past retirement age than there are children.”

The purpose of the article was partly to call attention to the economic impact of the shift. In Japan, for instance, declining births combined with a surging senior population has caused a wave of school closings, labor shortages, and a steep drop in revenue for retirement programs, causing Japanese people to increasingly work into their 60s and 70s. But the writers also noted opportunities when it comes to the business of aging.

“A cottage industry of products and services has emerged to help people adjust their homes and their lives for aging. A demographic shift this significant calls for a broad-based response, and the longer the challenges go unaddressed, the more formidable they become,” they wrote. “There are many pieces to this puzzle, including who will care for older people, where they will live, how our cities are designed, and how businesses will adapt.”

One barrier, of course, is funding, Watson noted.

“You’re dealing with federal, state, city, and county budgets, and this isn’t a high priority in a lot of places,” she told BusinessWest. “So, the ideas are well-received, and public-health and healthcare professionals know they’re needed, but — aside from councils on aging in all our local communities — there hasn’t been a huge shift in funding for the types of services that are needed. But we need to make these things happen, and it would be great if we could see federal, state, and local investment money into this sort of thing.”

The students at Bay Path are already applying their education to the community in ways that are mutually beneficial. The master of occupational therapy students work with faculty at Ruth’s House, an assisted-living community in Longmeadow, and also participate in a monthly stroke support group at the Enfield Senior Center.

Nora Moreno Cargie

“We are inclusive and center the work in community. These initiatives originated with older people, including people of color, people from the LGBTQ+ community, and others facing systemic barriers, demonstrating the power of proximity and the creativity of community.”

The OT department has also held an event that helps older drivers adjust their cars for optimum safety, and OTD students do projects educating healthcare practitioners and families about services available in the community for older adults.

“When we have the students out in the community with practitioners,” Watson said, “it’s a win-win because students are getting the experience working with older adults, and the older adults are getting much-needed services that allow them to remain independent and have a higher quality of life.”

Age-friendly Developments

Bay Path’s heightened attention on aging reflects a national demographic shift that began a couple decades ago and continues today: a U.S. population whose average age is on the rise.

That reality inspired a podcast launched by the Healey-Driscoll administration last fall called ReiMAgine Aging, which aims to tell the story of the age- and dementia-friendly movement taking place in Massachusetts.

The podcast highlights efforts to make Massachusetts a better place to grow older, including updating infrastructure, promoting volunteer and employment opportunities, expanding affordable supportive housing, increasing transportation options, supporting caregivers, and improving digital access.

“Equity, access, and justice are foundational to the age- and dementia-friendly movement,” Secretary of Elder Affairs Elizabeth Chen said when the podcast was unveiled. “We are grateful to the older adults, caregivers, communities, and organizations who shape and lead this work and who have helped us reframe aging to be an asset.”

The podcast, accessible at mahealthyagingcollaborative.org/reimagine-aging, highlights voices from statewide and community leaders, older adults, and nonprofits through six episodes: “Aging with Purpose and Meaning,” “Buildings That Bring People Together,” “Enhancing Digital Equity for All,” “Moving Forward,” “Savoring Food That Matters,” and “Shaping Compassionate Communities.”

The podcast was produced in partnership with the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative with funding from Point32Health Foundation.

“The country is looking to Massachusetts as a leader in the age-friendly movement,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, Point32Health Foundation president. “We are inclusive and center the work in community. These initiatives originated with older people, including people of color, people from the LGBTQ+ community, and others facing systemic barriers, demonstrating the power of proximity and the creativity of community.”

At Bay Path, Watson is gratified to see faculty and students to do their part in creating that paradigm.

“The productive-aging concentration is very unique in higher education, and the fact that we have students at different levels who have the opportunity to develop programs and interact with people in the community while they’re learning … it’s just a special thing.”

Jen Walts

Owner, Wind & Water Doula Care: Age 35

For a decade, Jen Walts was a high-school teacher. And she’s still an educator today — in a much different way.

“I experienced an empowering birth and realized one of the main reasons why that experience was so positive for me was that I was well-educated and had a support team that I could turn to for more wisdom and resources,” she recalled.

It was so empowering, in fact, that Walts decided she wanted to bring that experience to other women — and Wind & Water Doula Care was born.

“I knew I wanted to shift into the world of birthing, but with education at its core, empowering families to soak in as much knowledge as they can in such a transformative time.”

Offering holistic prenatal support to support families through labor, birth, and early postpartum, Walts believes in bodily autonomy and informed consent through the birth process, empowering families to identify core values that shape their birth preferences, including, in some cases, the affirming, relaxation-inducing method of breathing techniques known as hypnobirthing.

“It’s an intense understanding of the physiology of labor and birth, so they feel less anxious about the process,” she explained. “It’s not happening to them; instead, they can move through it with some valuable coping tools. I call it preparing your mind to trust your body.”

Walts has attended or supported more than 75 births and taught childbirth education to more than 100 families.

“Jen is an active listener to parents, and she offered us generous and detailed strategies from pain management to postpartum planning,” one client testified. Added another, “she exudes a reassuring and calm presence that felt so helpful throughout the shifting dynamics of birth.”

Walts said too many families fall victim to “information overload” from social media. “That can be helpful to some extent, but it can also be overwhelming and can really disconnect you from your intuition and what you want for your family. I’m working on the outside of any medical system; I want to get into what values they have, what values they want to show up in their birthing.”

Walts was recently appointed program co-coordinator for a grant-funded program that will increase access to doula care for families birthing at Seven Sisters Midwifery and Community Birth Center in Northampton, which could help fill a persistent need for doulas locally.

A big question for women, she said, is “how do I advocate for myself in a system that’s built for efficiency? We’re taking back autonomy and voice in the healthcare system.”

—Joseph Bednar

Jordana Starr

President, Western Mass Rabbit Rescue: Age 39

Four years ago, Jordana Starr found a rabbit. Then she decided to find some more.

“It started in 2020 when a friend of mine, a rabbit owner like me, saw a posting about a loose rabbit. So we decided to try to capture this domestic rabbit who couldn’t survive outdoors,” she recalled. “It was a success — we captured the rabbit, got him neutered, and found him a home.”

Soon after, they launched a Northampton-based nonprofit dedicated to doing that work on a larger scale, then procured space for a shelter after a large rescue of 45 rabbits. While Starr’s original partner eventually left the organization, she still leans on a group of committed volunteers who help with day-to-day operations, fostering rabbits, transportation, and more.

“There’s a nationwide crisis of people trying to surrender pets,” she said. “So we have to triage; we can’t take every pet, or we’d be handling thousands of pets. We can handle maybe 50 in the whole rescue at a time — maybe a dozen requests every week.”

For instance, “if someone is bored with their rabbit, but they’re safe, warm, and well-fed, we’ll probably turn those away. If a rabbit has been abandoned and neglected, or is very sick, we’re more likely to act in those scenarios. We get them spayed, neutered, and take care of all their medical needs — and some have high medical needs.”

The team will try to bond rabbits if someone wants more than one, and they make sure families spend time with the animals they’ll be adopting.

“When you first see them make that connection and bond — you see them falling in love — you know you’re completing a family in an important way. We know the work we’re doing is really paying off from the phone calls and letters from people thanking us. We’re not only making a difference for the rabbits, we’re making a difference for humans.”

It’s quite different work from Beerology, the home-brew shop Starr and her husband, Mike Schilling, have co-owned in Northampton since 2016. Meanwhile, in her spare time, Starr loves international travel, ballroom dancing, and performing in theater. In fact, she landed her first professional role last summer with Faultline Ensemble, playing a rookie EMT in a play called Counting Pebbles; the group is hoping to win a grant to tour the show in six cities.

“It’s about trauma and resiliency,” Starr said — both of which she’s had to navigate plenty for some furry friends looking for a better life.

—Joseph Bednar

Stephanie Slysz

Human Resources Manager, RepresentUs: Age 31

Stephanie Slysz has long been interested in politics. In college and early in her career, she interned in the Massachusetts governor’s office and the U.S. State Department, worked at a U.S. embassy, and volunteered on a mayoral campaign.

While working as an office assistant at WHMP, she learned about RepresentUs because its executive director at the time, Josh Silver, was a regular on the station’s Bill Newman Show.

“We were nerding out about ranked-choice voting one night,” she recalled. “They were hiring for his assistant, he recommended I apply, and the rest is history.”

Slysz sees her current role as “an opportunity to grow HR for an organization that I strongly believe in, and I very much appreciate supporting the folks doing the work on the ground.”

RepresentUs describes itself as America’s leading non-partisan anti-corruption organization, fighting to fix “our broken and ineffective government.” Among its current campaigns are efforts in numerous states to implement ranked-choice voting, fight campaign corruption, and defend democracy and voter access.

Similar to how same-sex marriage, cannabis legalization, and other ideas found traction on the state level first, she explained, “the idea is to create enough momentum in these cities and states so Congress has to act on it eventually.”

As opposed to working on the ground in campaigns, where it’s easy to get emotionally invested and burnt out, Slysz feels energized to support the priorities of RepresentUs on a broader scale.

“I will always need to dedicate my time to mission-based things, whether it’s where I work or volunteering in my community,” she said, before expressing enthusiasm about the RepresentUs mission. “If you can fix the problem of money in politics, if you can make government work for more than special interests, you can fix all these other things. That is the root problem.”

Speaking of community, Slysz also chairs the Hatfield Planning Board, through which she sits on a multi-town committee organized by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to address farmland-protection policies, represents the board on the Hatfield 2040 Comprehensive Plan Committee, and more.

“I am involved locally, and that is also not partisan; I feel like it’s the way you can have the most impact on your community,” she said. “Nationally, nothing is really moving, so taking it local is the way to go. A lot of young people don’t know about their small town and their local government, but it’s not a huge lift to sit on a board or committee, build your skills, and be more connected to your town.”

—Joseph Bednar

Tiffany Rufino

Youth Mental Health Coalition Manager, Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts: Age 39

Tiffany Rufino It’s called “I Am More Than My Mood.”

That public awareness campaign, seen on billboards, buses, and digital ads since its unveiling in early 2023, aims to destigmatize the subject of mental health and empower young people to talk about it — and, hopefully, take steps toward self-care.

It’s just one element of Tiffany Rufino’s impactful work as Youth Mental Health Coalition manager at the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts.

“The coalition is all about preventive methods for youth mental health, how we convene and bring together different professionals and residents across different sectors: behavioral-health professionals, private clinicians, and residents who are interested in youth mental health and want to impact change in their communities,” she explained.

Many ideas in the campaign came a youth advisory board called Beat the Odds, Forget the Statistics.

“They get together weekly and talk about topics around mental health and work to bring information to the community and build awareness,” Rufino explained. “They’re comfortable talking about mental health and encourage their peers to do the same.”

She’s learned that today’s teens are a little more open to talking about mental health than, say, their parents.

“It really becomes an opportunity to share some challenges they’re going through and recognize that other young people are experiencing the same,” she went on. “With the coalition, we’re focusing on parents and guardians, getting them up to speed on where their youth are and helping them realize that talking about stress doesn’t make you weak or inferior in any way; it’s just the reality of life.”

Rufino has worked in community and youth development for a long time, building relationships with local schools and colleges with Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts and addressing root causes of poor reading levels in schools with Parent Villages, to name two previous roles.

“I really have a passion for creating opportunities for young people, especially my community in Springfield, and making sure they have opportunities and pathways for success,” she said, adding that, through the coalition she has assembled at the Public Health Institute, she’s able to address issues ranging from stress, anxiety, and depression to the ways intergenerational trauma impacts parenting today.

“The youth are so critical because they can impact change now and in the future,” Rufino said. “It’s a really great feeling to be able to spearhead this work and see tangible results coming from young people, and even parents and guardians. It gives me goosebumps every time.”

—Joseph Bednar

Mischa Roy

Owner, Spill the Tea Sis: Age 38

Mischa Roy has long been connected with the arts in Western Mass.; two decades ago, at age 18, she was one of the youngest exhibitors at the Paradise City Arts Festival, among other high-profile events. She eventually opened retail spaces for her handmade wares and, in 2014, launched a wholesale brand called Spill the Tea Sis, selling to more than 6,000 stores across the country.

Roy moved to Florida for a while, but during the pandemic, she decided to come home and operate the wholesale business from Western Mass., but she was struck by the impact COVID was having on Northampton’s downtown.

“I was walking around Main Street and saying, ‘man, that little storefront could probably use some life,’” she recalled, so she opened a Spill the Tea Sis location there, selling unique home and gift items, in July 2022. Since then, the store has been named best gift shop by Valley Advocate readers two years running. “It’s kind of been a whirlwind of crazy growth since then. Now, it’s a million-dollar-a-year business, and we run events.”

Roy said all the candles, jewelry, and many other items sold at Spill the Tea Sis are made in-house, and she’s been able to support other local artisans as well. The store also features an active herb wall and its own tea line, and many of her offerings have a metaphysical bent.

“A lot of stores around here have similar products to each other. When somebody walks in our door, I want them to find the thing they can’t find anywhere else,” she said. “I want them to find something they love, that speaks to them.”

Last year, Roy launched a monthly block party from May to October, giving local vendors who may not have a brick-and-mortar presence, farmers, and other stores on Main Street the chance to set up tents and connect with visitors, and she’s looking forward to repeating the experience in 2024. She also brought a successful pop-up to the Big E in 2023 and plans to return this fall.

She has also spearheaded a slate of free artistic and cultural programming on Main Street and hosted events for community members to participate in, contributing to downtown vibrancy and drawing more visitors to town.

“People bring friends to town, and when they come here, they know they’re going to have an experience,” she said. “The reality is, people need more reasons to come back post-pandemic. I really enjoy making connections with our community and our customers.”

—Joseph Bednar

Jenna Rahkonen

President, Iron-Lift LLC: Age 39

Jenna Rahkonen said she developed a unique set of skills during her career in manufacturing and construction — and used them to launch a business last year.

Rewinding a couple decades, she joined her family’s business, Alden Manufacturing, right out of college and eventually became director of Operations there.

“I learned a lot being involved in projects from start to finish and being in the factory when things were made,” she recalled. “I fell in love with the job, which was shocking to everyone, including myself.”

After her family sold the business, Rahkonen moved into the construction world, working in the Finance department at Northern Construction in Palmer, and later helping her husband, Alex, start his own crane-rental company, Northern Crane LLC, in the same town. There, while maintaining her financial role at Northern, she aided in the completion of 10 wind-turbine projects across the U.S. But she craved the challenge of running a business of her own.

“That’s how Iron-Lift LLC was born,” she said, explaining that the steel-erection company, which specializes in bridge construction, operates two branches out of its Monson headquarters: one that works on the state level with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Fish and Game, and other agencies; and a federal branch that has secured significant contracts, including a major current project performing lock and dam repairs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“It’s been interesting every single day, waking up and learning something new, overcoming a new challenge,” she said. “And I have an incredible team behind me.”

Active in the community, Rahkonen also volunteers with HomeFront Strong, a nonprofit organization that works to build resilience in veterans and military families. As the daughter of a Vietnam veteran and the granddaughter of a Korean War and World War II veteran, she wanted to give back to those who have served this county.

Specifically, she’s HomeFront Strong’s treasurer and auditor; coordinates the food-distribution program, which delivers boxes of food to homebound veterans in the Palmer and Ware area; and serves on the board of directors, where she’s involved in the annual golf-tournament fundraiser, the annual Veterans Day breakfast, and fundraising for Suicide Awareness Month every September.

“It really puts a focus on family members of veterans as well, because they all go through similar things,” Rahkonen said. “We also do storytelling, where veterans and surviving family members tell their stories to volunteers during an interview. We’re trained in PTSD and mental health, and it’s therapeutic for them to tell their story.”

—Joseph Bednar

Yhidda Ocasio

Director of Youth, Violence Prevention, and Court Support Programs, YWCA of Western Massachusetts: Age 38

Yhidda Ocasio knows struggle. So she knows how to connect with those who are struggling.

She arrived in the U.S. as a young girl, after her family decided to escape the rampant crime and crushing poverty of Colombia to pursue the American dream. As a young teen, she sought employment at a McDonald’s because she could bring extra food home after her shifts, and her family didn’t have to go to bed hungry.

So, in her 17 years working at the YWCA of Western Massachusetts in Springfield, she’s been able to bring deep empathy to three roles — a young-parent support counselor and case manager, assistant program director of the domestic-violence shelter, and, currently, director of Youth, Violence Prevention, and Court Support Programs. She has also worked part-time as a Human Rights officer at the Department of Developmental Services (DDS).

“The YWCA has been a rewarding opportunity for me to give back to the community, and I’ve been able to apply the challenges I went through, not just in Colombia, but the barriers here as an immigrant,” Ocasio told BusinessWest. “My mom became a single mom several years after I arrived here, and she was working two to three jobs. Seeing my mom go through that struggle changed the outlook I had in regard to other women — single moms who were struggling.”

Over the years, Ocasio has earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Westfield State University and Northcentral University, respectively, earning induction into the National Society of Leadership and Success at the latter — all this with English as her second language.

But that’s to be expected from someone who lives by the words in Matthew 19:26: “with God, all things are possible.” And she’s quick to express gratitude for everyone who has supported her along the way, from her mother and brother to her husband, Juan Ocasio; from the leaders at DDS to YWCA CEO Elizabeth Dineen “for her relentless mentorship.”

Ocasio has spoken at statewide trainings for nonprofits on topics like sexual assault, domestic violence, and healthy relationships, as well as addressing community events on immigration issues and refugee challenges. When she became a U.S. citizen in 2019, her colleagues threw her a huge party.

“It was a great day at the YWCA and a wonderful day to be an American,” Dineen said. “This is still the land of opportunity, and as a country, we are most fortunate to have humans like Yhidda Ocasio want to become a citizen.”

—Joseph Bednar

Paulette Piñero

CEO, Unstoppable Latina LLC: Age 37

Paulette Piñero remembers the hours before she slipped into a coma.

It was March 2020, and she was one of the very first COVID cases in Massachusetts. “My legs were purple; they thought they might have to cut them off. I lost 40% of my lung capacity by the end of the first week. A social worker brought me an iPad so I could say goodbye to my family.”

Two years before that, she’d started writing a business plan, one that would help clients with business strategy and creativity. “But I continued to second-guess myself: ‘this is not for me,’ or ‘maybe I’ll do it at some point when I retire.’ I just felt like the dream was out of reach.”

But in February 2020, a month before she fell ill, Piñero started working with a SCORE mentor and developed a real launch plan. And when she woke from her coma, she knew she didn’t want to waste any more time.

“I promised myself, if I left that hospital, I would never put my dreams on the back burner — and, miraculously, I left the hospital. I had physical therapy for more than two years, and I was diagnosed that summer with long COVID. But I still launched my business; it was the first thing I did when I got out of the hospital.”

Before creating Unstoppable Latina, Piñero spent her career — in both Puerto Rico and then Massachusetts — in the social-impact space, working on strategy, programming, and marketing programs for nonprofits and impactful companies.

Now, she empowers women entrepreneurs by cultivating their confidence and brand positioning to embrace personal narratives, address human needs creatively, and lead industries with inventive ventures.

“The way I measure impact is, do you feel like the CEO of your business? Do you have a strategy and the tools that will move you from a side hustle and overwhelmed to stepping up as the CEO of your business and making decisions? And then, can you disconnect and be present with your family?”

That last part is especially important, said Piñero, who is also the co-author of the 2021 book Extraordinary Latinas: Powerful Voices of Resilience, Courage & Empowerment.

“This experience has allowed me to see business success as something that serves both your clients and yourself. That, to me, is more successful than just the revenue. My business is not just for helping the local economy, but helping Latinas be confident in their business and be present for their families and community.”

—Joseph Bednar

Ally Montemagni

Social Media Manager, Baystate Health: Age 34

Ally Montemagni sees herself as both a storyteller and an educator — and believes both roles are critical.

“Storytelling is my favorite part of the job. It’s just an honor to share someone’s story in healthcare,” she said, noting that she oversees all things social media — from content creation and video monitoring to analytics and reporting — across the entire Baystate Health network, from hospitals to specialty centers to primary care. “Usually it’s some real challenge, and we can put words and visuals to a patient’s story and bring it to life. It’s uplifting and validating for both the community and our team members.”

As for education, “we have an important role in providing a trusted source of information,” she explained. “That spiked during COVID; just keeping up with all the changes was a wild ride. In an age when people can put out anything on social media, to put out information that’s reliable, trusted, and comes from our experts, that’s an important role, and it’s a great way to interact with our community.”

But Montemagni’s favorite part of her job is spending time with patients and families, making sure they’re comfortable sharing their lives, and then doing so with sensitivity, as she does during the annual WMAS Radiothon for Baystate Children’s Hospital.

“That’s my favorite two days — interacting with the families and making fun content for the purpose of raising money for children in our community. I’ve cried with people. It’s all about the interaction with people and being a voice for their stories.”

Outside of work, Montemagni is a board member of Jenna’s Blessing Bags, which, for the past six years in Western Mass. and Northern Conn., has partnered with churches, community organizations, homeless shelters, police departments, and others to provide backpacks filled with life essentials to the homeless.

The charity was actually launched in Pennsylvania by her cousin, Jenna Burleigh, who became a victim of homicide in 2017. When her family decided to continue the work in her name, Montemagni brought the project to this region.

She also started a website, blog, and Instagram page called High Tide Healing, where she relates her own struggles and healing methods for grief. In addition, she has provided free photography services for worthy causes — including, recently, Rick’s Place, which provides grief support for children, teens, and families.

“It’s very, very close to my heart,” Montemagni said of Jenna’s Blessing Bags. “It’s our way of giving, turning some of that grief into purpose for us.”

And that’s a story worth telling.

—Joseph Bednar

Chelsea McGrath

Director of Operations and Finance, Revitalize Community Development Corp.: Age 36

Chelsea McGrath knows what kind of impact home improvement can make.

“I never saw the impact until I started working here — how mold affects health, and how leaks, dirty carpets, dust, duct and vent cleaning, things that are really simple in nature can have such a big ripple effect. Poorly controlled asthma means kids are missing school and falling behind, which means the parents are missing work.

“So to come in and do a relatively simple intervention — pull up the carpet, get rid of the mold and leaks — now the kids can go to school, the parents can go to work … and it’s something that’s so easy to fix.”

That only begins to describe the broad community impact of Revitalize CDC. Meanwhile, the organization’s president and CEO, Colleen Shanley-Loveless, described McGrath’s impact since she came on board in 2021.

“Since joining us, Chelsea has hired staff, created new agency departments, and established policies and procedures to help us work more efficiently,” she noted. “Because of her commitment, dedication, and professionalism, Revitalize CDC has been able to add programs and hire and promote the right individuals.”

That includes increasing the budget from $1.3 million in 2021 to almost $5 million today, and purchasing a new facility to house the programs and growing staff. In 2020, Revitalize served 163 low-income families, impacting 657 people. In 2023, it served 650 families, impacting 2,521 individuals, Shanley-Loveless noted. “We couldn’t do what we do without her.”

Among the programs McGrath launched since her arrival is a nutrition program conducted, like the asthma program, in partnership with Baystate Health’s BeHealthy Partnership.

“We’re providing healthy food for people with diabetes or childhood obesity, and we’re able to educate people about proper food and make sure they have recipes and the supplies they need to cook food,” she said. “I’ve seen some dramatic changes — fewer trips to the emergency room, and some of the A1C scores have dropped.”

That’s real impact, and explains why McGrath tied for the highest judge scores among the 40 Under Forty class of 2024. So does her copious volunteer work with organizations like the WillPower Foundation, Rick’s Place, Yappy Tails dog rescue, and the Garden, a program at Cooley Dickinson Hospital for young people dealing with grief.

“If you’re in a position to help people, you have an obligation to do so,” McGrath said. “But I get so much out of it, too. It makes me happy. It makes me feel worthwhile. It’s not ‘why would I do that?’ but ‘why wouldn’t I?’”

—Joseph Bednar

Natalie Mercado

CEO, Sweetera & Co.: Age 37

Natalie Mercado always knew she wanted to work in the food space. After high school, she enrolled in New England Culinary Institute and earned an associate’s degree in culinary arts and restaurant management, then slowly rose up the ladder, eventually becoming a sous chef.

“My goal was always to open my own restaurant,” she recalled. “I did catering jobs on the side, but I never took the initiative to open up a business.”

In the meantime, she went to work for MassMutual as an underwriter consultant, a job she still has. But in 2021, she started pursuing her dream again, getting entrepreneurial help from EforAll Holyoke.

“I applied with the intention of starting a restaurant. This was all during COVID, and I was advised to rethink my business plan because so many storefronts were closing down.”

So, Mercado pivoted and launched a food trailer called Sweetera & Co., specializing in “milkshakes and over-the-top desserts.” She posts on her website and social media to let people know where the truck will be each week, and she also started catering. The enterprise was an immediate success, and still is three years later.

“I really didn’t expect it to take off the way that it did. It was a great surprise, honestly, because I had endured so many setbacks with building the trailer,” she said. “It was during COVID, so supplies were back-ordered, and trying to find reliable contractors was hard. So it took longer than anticipated. I had to get comfortable getting uncomfortable.”

But Mercado isn’t done challenging herself, with plans to launch a second trailer in Florida by next year and a storefront by 2026.

“Everyone’s like, ‘you’ve come so far, and you should be proud of yourself.’ And I am proud of myself, but I’m also hard on myself,” she told BusinessWest. “I know where I want to be, and I know I’m not there yet. But I need to give myself more credit than I do.”

She still enjoys her work at MassMutual, approving life-insurance applications and helping clients secure their future. But she sees a bigger future for herself in Sweetera & Co.

“I love the creativity,” she said. “The best part of it is seeing the customers’ reactions when they get their bubble waffle sundae or their milkshake — their eyes get really big like, ‘oh, wow.’ The feeling I get is incomparable. It really makes all the hard work and all the setbacks worth it.”

—Joseph Bednar

Tim McCarthy

Executive Director, Craig’s Doors: Age 35

When he was chosen as a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2024, Tim McCarthy was hesitant to talk about himself, firmly believing this is a team honor. “This is such a remarkable team,” he said. “It’s truly the best team in the country doing this work.”

That work is serving unhoused residents in Western Mass. at three sites. During McCarthy’s time as director, he has expanded programming to add new shelter locations, increase bed availability, and expand case-management support to residents of the region.

Currently a graduate student in mental health counseling and a member of the BEAHR Lab at UMass Boston, he has also worked to make Craig’s Doors (which was established in 2011 and named in memory of Craig Lorraine, a veteran and well-known street musician in Northampton and Amherst) a trauma-informed operation that practices what McCarthy calls “radical compassion.” It’s also the only homeless shelter in the country that provides free transportation to guests, thanks to a state-funded partnership with the PVTA.

“I just fell in love with this work and this population, and I had a vision for how it could intersect more deeply with concepts surrounding mental health,” he explained, adding that he also employs a number of former clients. “We’ve got a lot of folks with lived experience who existed in the margins. I’m a firm believer in providing opportunities for folks; a lot of people have overwhelming competence that might not be reflected in their résumé, so we try to build internally.”

McCarthy not only wants to raise people out of homelessness, he wants to close opportunity gaps he feels are far too prevalent today. “The outcomes we’re striving for are not built into the nature or ethos of this country right now. But we bring a level of competition to compassion. We’re out here trying to be the best at this work; we’re always trying to be better than we were the day before.”

Recognizing that homelessness is “the most glaring manifestation of wealth and equality,” he noted, Craig’s Doors has closed the compensation gap on its team, where everyone, no matter their role, starts at $20 per hour or more.

“That has allowed us to retain an incredible team and develop our roster. It also helps us to attract top talent within the space,” McCarthy said.

“We’re really practicing what we preach about humility and self-reflection,” he added. “We’re bringing a competitive work ethic promoted by capitalist ideals, but instead of applying it to individual wealth, we’re applying it to our principles.”

—Joseph Bednar

Joshua Lively

President, Lively Builders Inc.: Age 38

Tired of working in the weatherization industry, Joshua Lively took the class and test to attain his construction supervisor’s license, but it got sent to the wrong state.

So … he waited.

In the meantime, “I was sick of my job, and my boss was sick of me,” he recalled. “One day, I got back from vacation and decided I’d had it, so I walked in and quit. When I got home, my construction supervisor’s license was in the mailbox, so that seemed like destiny.”

It was also a risk, with a 2-year-old daughter and his wife eight months pregnant with another child. But he immediately went to work framing and building with some friends in the Springfield area, learning from other carpenters and performing a range of different jobs, from installing above-ground pools to putting up walls for new house builds.

For the next two years, they got more and more calls — an experience Lively called “an eye-opening finishing school” and the final step to what came next: launching his own business, Lively Builders, in Montague.

“I started with a Dodge Dakota pickup truck and some cheap tools. Now I’ve got a 3,000-square-foot garage and multiple trailers and trucks. It’s grown tremendously over the past 12 years,” he told BusinessWest, adding that some of his work involves blighted properties and improvements to solve health and safety issues for homeowners. He’s also been named Franklin County’s favorite building and roofing contractor two years in a row in a Greenfield Recorder poll.

Lively volunteers his time to local government; he chairs the Montague Zoning Board, is a Montague Town Meeting member, and spent several years chairing the Montague Capital Improvements Committee.

“I like supporting the community in a nuts-and-bolts way — ‘oh, the DPW needs to repair this infrastructure.’ That’s unseen stuff that nobody wants to get into. Now I’m able to affect how the town is going to look in the future,” he explained. “I enjoy it, and I think it’s important to model this behavior for my kids and for other people in the community — to unite the rest of the silent majority who would otherwise keep quiet until someone steps up and does something.”

Lively also volunteers on the board of the Franklin County Youth Football League, even calling games in the announcer’s booth for the Franklin County Bulldogs. He also recently purchased a plane and sits on the Turners Falls Municipal Airport Commission — yet another sign that his career has, indeed, taken off.

—Joseph Bednar

Mariah Kurtz

Owner, Kurtz Consulting: Age 30

Mariah Kurtz understands the importance of municipal government, especially in a very small town — and especially at a time of great challenge.

Over the past five years, she found herself in both, first as assistant town planner, then town planner, in Erving, population 1,665.

“I really jumped into municipal government on the hard mode. I was still getting to know the town when COVID hit,” she recalled. “I had to pivot … I guess I learned flexibility.”

Her role in such a small community was expansive. “It turns out, in a rural town, it’s not just reading and approving permits all day; there just aren’t that many permits to approve. So you end up doing a lot of other things. Like, this culvert needs to be replaced. How does that work? Who do we work with? How do we pay for it? Or, we want to plan an event to get people to come to the park, so we work with the Recreation Department to do that.

“The work was really exciting to me, talking to residents and learning what their needs were and what their desires were for their small town to flourish,” she added. “That was magical.”

Growing up in a family construction business — Westfield-based Kurtz Inc. is a notable name in Western Mass. — taught her the complexities of building and development on a small scale, and majoring in sustainable community development at UMass Amherst gave her a broader, more holistic perspective. “Instead of, ‘where do we pour the concrete?’ it’s ‘why do we do that, and how do we take into account the landscape?’”

That perspective guided Kurtz in Erving, and even more so now, a few months after launching her own grant-writing and consulting business, based in Greenfield and serving small businesses, nonprofits, farmers, and, yes, small towns.

“This way, towns don’t have to employ a full-time grant writer or planner, with the salary and benefits that go with that,” she explained, adding, “I actually never wanted to work in municipal government. For a lot of my peers at UMass, that was the traditional track, being a town planner in a local municipality. But I didn’t see that for myself.”

She is gratified, however, at effecting positive change in the region.

“With some projects, you see progress right away. I’ve done some public art projects, and there it is — you see it. But other projects take 20 years to see the difference in the environment,” she explained. “I’m most excited about helping people make those projects happen — and make their dreams happen.”

—Joseph Bednar

Nicole Kerrigan

Vice President, V&F Auto Inc.: Age 34

Growing up in a family auto-repair and maintenance business, Nicole Kerrigan was certainly interested in making it her career, but she wanted to keep her options open.

She first majored in management at Western New England University, then switched to accounting, “mainly because, if I got into the business and it wasn’t what I thought it would be, I had a plan. Also, I’m very close to my family. If the business created a conflict, I didn’t want to sacrifice my family relationships.”

It turns out she needn’t have worried.

“As a third-generation leader of V&F Auto, she has brilliantly carried forward her family’s legacy while injecting a fresh and innovative approach into the business,” wrote Michael Bennett, executive coach with the Automotive Training Institute (ATI), one of myriad people who nominated Kerrigan for 40 Under Forty. “Under her leadership, V&F Auto has maintained its exemplary reputation and is experiencing substantial growth and evolution.”

Kerrigan calls ATI a vitally important factor in her growth and education, and today, she takes on numerous roles at V&F, from leading day-to-day operations overseeing the company’s social media and marketing; from communicating with customers to interviewing and hiring — and much more, including, yes, some accounting.

“I love creating relationships, overcoming challenges, and creating solutions, so my team can do their job better,” she said. “My role is to create opportunities for my team and give them the resources they need to grow and lead — to have a livelihood they are happy with and have a place they are proud to work for.”

Her colleagues say she’s acing that test. “Nicole has taken the reins in a field dominated by her male counterparts and propelled the business at V&F Auto Inc. to new heights,” Sales Manager James Dowd said.

Kerrigan is active in the West Springfield community, volunteering for a number of nonprofit and municipal organizations and events, even winning a leadership and team-development award from the Parks & Recreation department. And she’s especially proud of her role as a cheerleading coach for West Springfield High School for the past 15 years, first for the JV squad, then at the varsity level.

“I love the sport in general — it gives me great joy,” she said. “And I like the competitive aspect of cheerleading — not necessarily the sideline cheering, but being able to create routines and compete and watch the kids thrive each year, watch their skills get better and better and help them grow.”

—Joseph Bednar

Stephen Holstrom

Partner, Bulkley Richardson: Age 38

Stephen Holstrom While most lawyers say they’re in the business of helping others, some people may not put litigators in the ‘helpful’ category — at least, not at first thought.

But in representing doctors, small businesses, and others in various court actions, Stephen Holstrom said his life is, indeed, dedicated to helping people.

“Western Mass. is a small-business community, and I’m a litigator for small-business owners,” he explained. “When a business owner is involved in litigation, that impacts their whole life. When people go to court, it’s routine for me, but it’s not for them; it’s a very harrowing, stressful experience.”

As a general-practice litigator, Holstrom has handled complex tort actions, insurance cases, and complex class actions, as well as matters in connection with schools, the cannabis industry, and commercial litigation, including disputes between shareholders and land-use issues. Meanwhile, he represents hospitals, physicians, and other medical providers in medical-malpractice cases and other issues related to health law.

“I like having a varied practice,” he told BusinessWest. “That’s one of the reasons I came to Bulkley. There are needs all over the community, and I want to serve as many parts of the community as possible. That’s why I do general practice.”

And he’s doing it at a time when specialization is much more common in law firms.

“I’m a unicorn; it is fairly unique,” he said. “But you can’t reach every corner if you’re specializing in something. That’s why I’m proud to be a general litigator.”

Recognized by both Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, Holstrom has also brought energy to his interests outside the firm, chairing Wilbraham’s By-Law Study Committee and serving as vice president of the board of directors of the Gray House in Springfield, which helps North End residents meet immediate and transitional needs like food, clothing, and educational services.

“The Gray House is a phenomenal organization,” he said. “It really helps people out of poverty, gives them the supports they need, and helps them get a leg up. It has a generational impact. I get a lot of satisfaction out of that.”

As he does on the job. “I like the thrill of litigation,” he said. “It’s a constantly moving challenge. Frankly, the day is usually a blur; there’s so much going on, and new challenges always pop up during the course of the day. If you talk honestly to litigators, a lot of them complain that it’s never-ending, but I think that’s reinforcing. That’s what we’re here to do — to deal with emerging issues.”

—Joseph Bednar

Scott Gomes-Ganhao

Vice President, Regional Manager, PeoplesBank: Age 35

Growing up, Scott Gomes-Ganhao wanted to be a pilot. But banking “kind of ran in the blood,” he said.

“My godmother was a banker for many, many years, so I had some kind of banking intuition. I worked part-time in banking all through college, so I fell into it and never left. Banking has that way of holding onto you.”

Not only has Gomes-Ganhao stuck with banking, he has excelled at PeoplesBank, consistently leading a top-ranked sales team and recently being promoted to his current position as vice president, regional manager.

That recognition “is a testament to Scott’s exceptional sales acumen,” said Lisa Wegiel, banking center assistant manager, in nominating him for the 40 Under Forty class of 2024. “His strategic approach and results-driven mindset have significantly contributed to the success of our banking operations.”

After an earlier promotion to assistant vice president, Gomes-Ganhao was selected to participate in the bank’s Leadership Challenge, demonstrating his leadership ability among his peers. He has also volunteered with an internal associate-engagement team, serving with other leaders on cross-functional strategic initiatives and being a mentor to junior associates, which has led to the advancement of several employees.

“It’s important for me to see people around me elevate with me,” he said. “I’ve been making sure the team is the main focus, that they also develop along the way. I enjoy the interactions with customers, helping them find solutions. But I also enjoy the development of the team and helping them reach their career goals.”

Gomes-Ganhao has excelled in other ways, taking leadership roles in and around his hometown of Ludlow, from serving as development chair of the Ludlow Boys & Girls Club (which honored him with its Darlene Rae Helping Hand Award in 2021) to serving as president of the high-profile Our Lady of Fatima Festa, a multi-million-dollar fair.

In fact, with almost 300 volunteer hours in the past year alone, Gomes-Ganhao has been recognized by PeoplesBank as Top Volunteer two years in a row — a remarkable achievement at an institution famously committed to employee volunteerism.

“I’m proud to be part of a bank that gives you so many opportunities,” he said. “One of the big factors when I moved to Peoples was making sure I was moving to an organization that embraced giving back. At PeoplesBank, we live and breathe that every day, not only financially, but by the hours that we contribute to the community.”

—Joseph Bednar

Chris Freeman

Executive Director, the Parlor Room Collective: Age 39

During his 12 years playing guitar and banjo in a band called Parsonsfield, Chris Freeman recalled the outfit playing the third-ever show at the Parlor Room in Northampton and putting out a few records on Signature Sounds, the label associated with that venue.

After the band dissolved in the COVID years, Freeman took a job with the Parlor Room, booking shows and gradually moving into a leadership role there, before evolving the operation into a nonprofit model called the Parlor Room Collective.

“It always had a mission-based vibe to it, so the transition to nonprofit was pretty easy,” he said. “It’s a really special place, and I was so excited to continue its legacy.”

He also had a vision concerning another music club just a few hundred feet away — the Iron Horse Music Hall — after that venerable room was shuttered during the pandemic. “I knew it should come back, and the energy was clearly there. I started talking to different people, and there was definitely a lot of support.”

So the Parlor Room Collective purchased the Iron Horse and has raised close to $500,000 to renovate it, maintaining its intimate feel but improving facets that definitely needed improving, like its famously inadequate green room and restrooms, while expanding into adjoining space for a dedicated bar and community events. While more than $250,000 remains to be raised, the venue will reopen on May 15 with a robust lineup of concerts to follow.

“The community has been rallying around us from the start. They care about live music,” Freeman said. “We still have hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise, to pay off all the construction bills. But now we’re going to have shows on sale, people buying tickets, and the bands are coming back.”

It’s all part of an effort to re-establish Northampton as a small town that has long punched above its weight class, as Freeman put it, when one compares its population to the caliber of acts that have played here — and soon will again.

“This place has always been, in some ways, rough around the edges, but it pulls you in and makes you feel at home, and it’s been built up by the arts,” he said. “I live here, and part of the reason Northampton has become a great food scene and a great downtown culture is the arts. I’ve made it my life’s mission to make sure that never goes away, and we can bring back the glory days of such a legendary venue.”

—Joseph Bednar

Dalila Cardona

Chief Operating Officer, YWCA of Western Massachusetts: Age 34

Dalila Cardona has seen a lot during her time at the YWCA.

She started there in 2018 as a child and family clinician, providing therapy to children who had either experienced or witnessed physical or sexual violence. The following year, as director of Parent and Youth Support Programs, she supervised a team of 20 employees and oversaw five community-based programs.

In late 2020, once she became a licensed clinical social worker, Cardona was promoted to clinical director. In that capacity, she worked closely with the former chief operating officer to ensure that every YWCA employee provides trauma-informed care to the Springfield-based nonprofit’s residential and community-based clients.

Her goal was to educate staff to help women and children — many of whom had experienced human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking — “transform from a victim to a survivor,” as YWCA CEO Elizabeth Dineen put it.

Since being promoted to COO a year ago, Cardona has worked closely with Dineen and the chief financial officer to oversee an almost $9 million operating budget, which supports, as noted, some truly critical services for women in need. In recognition of that work, she was named Employee of the Year for 2023.

It’s a far cry from her original career goal of being a probation officer, though both are impactful roles, in different ways.

“Criminal justice piqued my interest, but I decided I wanted to make a different kind of an impact,” she said. “There are bad days sometimes — dealing with a sexual assault, and seeing that it’s a kid, 10 years old … those are hard cases, but they really push us to keep serving them. It’s exhausting sometimes, but I get as much support as I need from Liz and my staff. It’s a really special place to work.”

Active in the community, Cardona is a board member with the World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts, a Springfield Puerto Rican Parade committee member, and a public speaker around Western Mass. on issues such as trauma-informed care, human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, and trauma-focused, cognitive behavioral care for women and children.

They’re important conversations to have, she said.

“I think people don’t like talking about trauma. It hits the heartstrings. But more people have experienced trauma than haven’t; everyone’s been through something,” she said. “Getting those stories out about the kids and families we serve within the community is another way we can make change.”

—Joseph Bednar

Kara Bombard

Construction Special Coverage

Marketing Manager, Performance Foodservice: Age 38

The restaurant life is a tough one. Kara Bombard wants to make it a little easier.

“It’s a very hard industry,” said Bombard, marketing manager at the Springfield location of Performance Foodservice, a national company that supplies products, technology, and custom solutions to culinary businesses. “The life of a restaurateur is a busy one. If you’re not working on the line, you’re in the back doing paperwork or orders, making sure everything is running. Anything we can do to take anything off their plate is considered a wonderful thing for them.”

Among Bombard’s many roles, she executes a strategic partner program across more than 400 local and national food suppliers, and also manages biannual food shows that bring more than 1,800 attendees to the Greater Springfield area.

“We take over places like the MassMutual Center or the Better Living Center, with ceiling-to-floor food,” she explained. “You can come in and eat lunch as we showcase everything from the highest-end cuts of meat to oysters to chicken tenders and fries. You can sample anything.”

In addition, Bombard has developed a communication and content strategy to provide culinary inspiration on trends and new product ideas to local and regional restaurateurs, collaborating with a team of culinary specialists to develop new ideas for menus, providing tools to help restaurants improve their profitability and food costing, waste management, server training, and overall operations.

She also supports her company’s diversity, inclusion, and belonging business strategy by serving as chair of communications on the Women of PFG Associate Resource Group.

Meanwhile, Bombard has found another way to connect with the business community: as president of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS).

“That has been a wonderful experience,” she said. “It’s been great to put down my roots and expand my relationships and get to know a lot of people in different industries.”

As YPS marks 15 years, Bombard has been impressed with its evolution and the resilience of its members through challenges from the Great Recession to the pandemic, and gratified to see its collaborations and networking events grow.

“If you’re a professional starting out, it’s a great way to introduce yourself to so many people and so many industries represented within our group,” she added. “If I could go back to my 20s and talk to myself, I would tell myself to get involved in something like this much earlier in my career. It’s allowed me to make relationships with so many leaders in the area, and it’s been a blessing to build those relationships.”

—Joseph Bednar

Area Contractors Hoping for a Strong 2024

By Joseph Bednar April 11, 2024

Wonderlyn Murphy (standing, center) with her leadership team at City Enterprise.

Building on Momentum

Wonderlyn Murphy (standing, center) with her leadership team at City Enterprise.

To Wonderlyn Murphy, a successful construction project can be defined in different ways. And one of those is how gratifying it is.

Take the new digital marquee sign at the MassMutual Center, which displays upcoming events, weather, and other information. Springfield-based City Enterprise built the structure that holds the digital display in place and ran the electrical work. The stone exterior in that area of the building had to be removed, reconfigured, and reinstalled after significant steel reinforcement was added to the wall structure to support the 40-by-25-foot display.

“That’s a brand-new sign, and it’s a big deal for Springfield and a big deal for us. We wanted that contract because of everything that Springfield is doing,” said Murphy, City Enterprise president, noting other developments happening in the downtown area, like the transformation of the former Court Square Hotel into housing. “To be part of what’s happening in Springfield, for me, is important.”

Another gratifying project is City Enterprise’s work on Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyerian Church, which was set ablaze by an arsonist in December 2021.

“We’re currently working on rebuilding that, to make sure that they have services again,” Murphy told BusinessWest. “It’s a very significant project for us, being a local contractor, and that being an African-American church with all its history. It’s an important project for us, very close to home.”

In terms of sheer volume of work, Murphy said, “it’s been challenging finding the right opportunities for us to bid. We have found them — we have an excellent estimating department that fishes out all these opportunities to bid. But it’s slim pickings out there.”

That said, she added, “it’s cyclical. As the summer comes along, we’ll find more opportunities that fit within our wheelhouse.”

City Enterprise has been involved in an array of intriguing projects, though, from laboratory renovations at UMass Lowell and two projects at UMass Amherst’s Mullins Center — an HVAC system overhaul and chiller replacement — to work at the Moakley federal courthouse in Boston and a complete rebuild of a security entryway for the Air National Guard at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport.

J.L. Raymaakers & Sons has been busy on a project at Gardner Municipal Airport.

“That’s a very significant project,” Murphy said of the latter. “We’ll take on any type of challenge.”

Dan Jodice has a similar take on being involved in a variety of projects. As a co-owner of PDS Engineering & Construction in Bloomfield, Conn., he’s seen the 60-year-old firm specialize in a widening list of sectors, including automotive, aviation, education, healthcare, retail, public safety, and more.

“Self-storage facilities are popular now, and car washes and car dealerships have been very popular with our clients over the past three years,” he said. “We can also do schools; we’re renovating a $40 million school in Hartford right now. Usually we do one school at a time, so we’ll do a school job, and when that ends, we’ll start on another one. We’ve also done a handful of churches over the years, and aerospace and aviation are pretty popular.

“We probably could be busier, but we’re happier with what we have now,” Jodice went on. “I’d say 60% of our work is repeat clients, and the other 40% is just getting out there and finding every lead possible.”

Challenge and Opportunity

John Raymaakers Jr. and Josh Raymaakers, directors at J.L. Raymaakers & Sons in Westfield, are plenty optimistic about how business is going, noting that all this year’s projects had been booked by last June.

The firm specializes in excavation, site work, and construction projects of all kinds, including airport runways and taxiways, pump stations, and, most recently, the foundation technique known as sheet shoring. Recent jobs include multiple bridge projects, Gardner Municipal Airport, a pump station in Great Barrington, and a Dunkin’ Donuts in Easthampton. “I’d say it’s a good mix right now,” Josh said.

“These are jobs funded through federal money and have been trickling into our local economy, which is helping us out and giving work for our employees.”

That said, they’ve dealt — like every other firm — with the key challenges of the past several years in construction: higher costs, supply-chain delays, and workforce shortages.

“They’ve been challenges, every one of them,” Josh said. “The pump stations require a lot of electrical components, and those have been an issue.”

Jodice agreed. “The biggest supply-chain issue is for electrical switchgear. If you order that now, it seems like it’s a year out, for some reason. Since COVID, that has not rebounded at all. Everything else is back to normal. Prices aren’t the same — I wish the prices were lower — but the supply chain is better. Ordering a metal building during COVID took six months. Today, it’s three months or faster.”

As for workforce, “we do pretty well,” Josh Raymaakers Jr. said. “Obviously, we would like more, but it’s a difficult challenge to find good people who have experience in our field.”

John recognizes the challenges across the industry as retirees are outpacing new blood, but as someone who grew up around the family business, he said construction is a stable and satisfying career — for those willing to put in the work.

One current job at City Enterprise is rebuilding a security entryway for the Air National Guard in Westfield.

“You can’t be scared to get your hands dirty at first. The problem is, everyone wants to start at the top. But you have to work in the field and get your hands dirty. You have to learn. That’s what our parents made us do,” he explained. “That knowledge from being in the field is crucial, and that’s the hardest thing we’ve got to teach people. We have a project manager and bidder who started as a laborer, then became an operator, then a foreman, and now he’s a project manager. And his experience has been crucial for us.”

Challenges aside, “we’re very busy, and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down, even with the private-sector work,” John continued, noting that about 75% of Raymaakers jobs are public, and 25% private.”

A great deal of the public work is being driven by a recognition that much infrastructure in Massachusetts is in need of repair, and federal money has been flowing in to help address those needs.

“Those are good opportunities,” he told BusinessWest. “These are jobs funded through federal money and have been trickling into our local economy, which is helping us out and giving work for our employees.”

Jodice said PDS doesn’t do as much public bidding as it does private, bidding maybe six public-sector jobs a year. “We try to stay busy in the private market. Public, you’re bidding against 10 to 15 GCs, and private, it’s maybe five, so there’s a better chance you get the project. And if it’s private, you can land a job more by building on a relationship with the owner and having them select you rather than the low number getting the bid.”

PDS got started six decades ago erecting pre-engineered steel buildings, and still does that work today, along with a much wider variety of projects ranging from commercial and industrial buildings to small fit-outs and large college projects — typically about $60 million worth of work each year across Connecticut, Western Mass., and Rhode Island. It also touts its expertise in the design-build realm.

“The convenient thing is we do our own design in-house; we can design and build rather than have the client go to an architect and have several different parties involved. The process is quicker because we’re doing everything here.”

From the Ground Up

Several years ago, J.L. Raymaakers & Sons launched a second business called ROAR (Raymaakers Onsite Aggregate Recycling), through which it collected and resold the dirt it dug up from construction jobs. That enterprise, which then expanded into bark mulch, processed gravel, and all kinds of rock, now employs four people full-time.

Because both businesses have been growing, the family bought land on Progress Avenue in Westfield and is building a new, 4,000-square-foot office space, which will be followed next year by a 7,000-square-foot maintenance garage. That property will be the new home of J.L. Raymaakers & Sons, while the current headquarters on East Mountain Road will exclusively house the ROAR operation.

“ROAR started strong, and it complements our other company,” John Raymaakers Jr. said. “We’re able to take the topsoil materials off of our jobs and then recycle them and sell them. That’s been a huge aspect of our business.”

City Enterprise has seen growth over the years as well, and now touts “the best team in the industry,” Murphy said.

“I have core values here, and I have people working with me that are really aligned with those,” she added. “Each department has their expertise, and we have a vision, and we’re working to get things done.”

Area Auto Dealers Optimistic About Year Ahead

By Joseph Bednar March 28, 2024

Autos Special Coverage

Drive Time

Rob Pion says the customer experience has become more important in a competitive marketplace for dealers.

Auto dealers have seen it all over the past few years, from soaring costs for vehicles, parts, and labor to inventory shortages to a rapid rise in interest rates.

But they’ve adjusted and adapted, they say — and so have consumers.

“We’re still doing all right. There still seems to be plenty of traffic and activity out there,” said Rob Pion, general manager of Bob Pion Buick GMC in Chicopee. “I would say there was a period last year where people really started to get rate-conscious, but that has passed to some extent. We’ve seen rates start to come down as well as people just kind of accepting it. I mean, it’s not our rate; the Fed sets the rate.”

Despite those concerns, Pion added, “2023 was a great year for us. GMC’s got a couple new products and redesigns coming out, and Buick’s got a number of redesigns coming out. We’re going to have almost a completely new set of models by this time next year. So there’s a lot happening. The used-car market has somewhat stabilized, too, and think that’s going to continue to stabilize throughout ’24. But right now, the public still seems to be out there buying and looking for vehicles.”

Especially on the new-car side, “everything’s kind of back to where things were,” said Mike Filomeno, general manager of Marcotte Ford. “The inventories are really good; products are coming in quickly. Prices are still up there, though, based on supply and demand.”

Manufacturers recognize the dual crunch of rising costs and rising interest rates, however, said Mike Marcotte, president of the dealership. “When interest rates rose last year, Ford started putting programs on the new vehicles again, like the 1.9% or lower interest rates that help with the financial changes going on. The market is definitely starting to react to that.”

Pion has seen similar moves. “Throughout the year — and it’s still continuing — GM has had some aggressive financing rates out there. We’re not seeing the big rebates of years past, but depending on credit approvals, we’ve seen 3.9%, 2.9%, they even went down to 0.9% for a little bit for 36 months. So there has been some help from the factory on that side of things. Not the big cash rebates that we saw in years past, but certainly interest-rate relief.”

Carla Cosenzi, president of TommyCar Auto Group, said business has been strong, and she’s seeing positive trends across her family of six dealerships.

“We’re not seeing the big rebates of years past, but depending on credit approvals, we’ve seen 3.9%, 2.9%, they even went down to 0.9% for a little bit for 36 months.”

“Despite inflation affecting costs of parts and services, consumers understand the situation,” she told BusinessWest. “Manufacturers are offering more aggressive lease incentives, which our customers are taking advantage of, leading to increased business. Certain manufacturers like Volkswagen, Nissan, and Hyundai are also offering 0% financing to consumers.”

That’s in addition to TommyCar’s internal loyalty program, which allows customers to earn up to 15% back on every dollar spent in the service department, which can be used toward their next vehicle purchase.

Meanwhile, “our inventory levels for both new and used vehicles are returning to normal,” Cosenzi noted. “We’ve seen an increase in our used inventory levels, primarily due to steady trade-ins and our aggressive buy-back offers, which have helped us maintain a steady supply of used cars. We’re optimistic about the year ahead.”

Back in Stock

Marcotte said his dealership, like many others, dipped to around half of normal inventory in the wake of the pandemic. “But now we’re back to good levels. I’m so glad we can offer gas, diesel, hybrid, and now electric vehicles, which are 8% of the market right now. We’re in every segment.”

Used-car inventories were one of the biggest stories in auto sales across the U.S. over the past few years, as shortages led to soaring values. That situation has stabilized (not necessarily to car owners’ benefit; see story on page 22), but dealers are breathing easier when it comes to what they can put on their lots.

“We’re a big Ford certified pre-owned dealership,” Filomeno said, “and there’s still demand for a good used car out there. A lot of people have been holding on to their cars for the last five years and repairing them because there wasn’t a vehicle for them to buy, so now they’re trying to trade those vehicles in.”

Marcotte Ford’s mobile service vans have been a popular customer perk.

Pion agreed, noting that inventory has rebounded, for both new and used vehicles, and across the spectrum, from cars to SUVs to trucks.

“Some of the specialty trucks, especially the heavy-duty trucks, things of that nature, are still difficult to get. It could be anywhere from 12 weeks to 8 months to get it. But people have also become a little more accustomed to that today, too. They don’t expect things tomorrow. They kind of know what it’s like, so they’re willing to wait a little longer.

“Specific trucks are still hard to get,” he went on. “If you come in here and you want a black one with a black interior with the 22-inch wheels with this type of engine … that could still be a hard truck to get. If you came in here and said, ‘hey, Rob, I want a pickup truck. I don’t need to have a big engine, I’m going to use it mostly for my family, some landscaping on the weekends, just around the house’ … I have that. So that purchaser who isn’t incredibly specific about their needs can walk in and be serviced pretty quickly. But that business owner that only wants the white truck for their company? That can be tough.”

The used-car market has continued to favor sellers, Pion added, “and I think it’s created a desire in some people to keep their vehicles longer. In the service department, we definitely see larger repair bills than we have in the past because people are keeping their vehicles longer.”

Another big shift in auto sales continues to be the proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs), a trend that TommyCar has embraced.

“We’ve been a strong electric-vehicle dealer and continue to be one of the top electric-vehicle dealers,” Cosenzi said. “Electric vehicles are more affordable than ever, thanks to federal and state rebates, along with manufacturer incentives.”

While some new EVs, like the Volvo EX90 and EX30 models, require pre-orders due to their popularity and limited availability, others can easily be found on lots, including the Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6, and Nissan Ariya.

“Once people are in the EVs, they’re going to buy another EV. I love the EV. That’s my next purchase.”

Marcotte Ford boasts three EVs — the Mach-E, the F-150 Lightning, and the E-Transit — and “they’re bringing a different shopper than we normally see, with different trade-ins. So it’s bringing a new face, a new customer, into the dealership,” Marcotte said. This evolution is also why the dealership installed four high-speed EV chargers on its lot last year.

“We see people from all over New England coming through here on the weekends. They’ll charge up before going skiing,” he said. “Our employees, if they buy, can charge right here. Customers can come here to charge.”

Marcotte said EV adoption is still increasing, but not as quickly as before, and Ford has changed its production level based on that trend, but the company still envisions a strong future for electrics.

Carla Cosenzi says interest-rate incentives, the return of healthy inventory levels, and solid options in electric vehicles have all boosted sales.

“Once people are in the EVs, they’re going to buy another EV. I love the EV. That’s my next purchase,” he told BusinessWest, noting that some drivers are more comfortable driving hybrid vehicles first, and many of those will eventually move to all-electric as well. “So it’s good we can offer every option to customers.”

Many drivers, he added, are waiting to feel more confident about charging stations becoming more widespread. “So once there’s more infrastructure, I think that anxiety will go away a little bit.”

Whether they’re buying electric, hybrid, or traditional vehicles, today’s drivers tend to be interested in certain bells and whistles, Cosenzi said.

“Customers are seeking vehicles with advanced high-tech features such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, large touchscreens, smartphone integration, and voice recognition,” she noted. “These trends reflect a desire for practical, safe, convenient, and sustainable vehicles with the latest technology.”

Out and About

Still, at the end of the day, customers still appreciate a positive experience when purchasing a vehicle, Pion said.

“These brands mean everything to us,” he said, noting that he’s now the only Buick dealership within an hour’s drive. “I just hope that we can offer an experience where people want to be here and be a part of the family. That’s how we try to treat everybody and differentiate ourselves. I try to meet and talk to as many of my customers throughout the day as I can because it’s important to me.”

Marcotte agreed the customer experience is critical. One intriguing development at his dealership has been the introduction of five mobile service vehicles that will drive to a home or business and service a car on the spot.

“It’s bringing the convenience to the customer, and we know time is so valuable, and want to get them up and running,” Marcotte said, noting that the program has been a positive for Ford. “It’s a whole brand differentiator, and not all manufacturers are up on this. So we keep focusing on the guest experience, giving them every option, and now you can be at your home while we do the oil change, or keep your business up and running. We’ve had really great feedback from the customers.”

Dazed Cannabis Continues to Grow Its Footprint — and Its Goals

By Joseph Bednar March 28, 2024

Co-owners Chris Vianello, Rich Rainone, and Keshawn Warner.

Cannabis Special Coverage

Expanding Their Vision

Co-owners Chris Vianello, Rich Rainone, and Keshawn Warner.
Photo by Savanna SLUSA Productions for Dazed Cannabis

Chris Vianello said he and his partners at Dazed Cannabis never intended to be the first player on the scene. In fact, their first dispensary in Holyoke, which opened in 2021, was that city’s fourth.

“We were never the only game in town. That’s not our model. If our only claim to fame is that we’re the only game in town, that’s not a sustainable business practice,” Vianello said, noting that Dazed instead stresses quality products and its friendly but funky vibe. “We anticipated competition going into this, especially because Holyoke is not a limited-license jurisdiction.”

The model has worked. Not only has the Holyoke shop has survived a raft of competition, but Dazed co-owners Vianello, Rich Rainone, and Keshawn Warner have opened two stores since then: in New York City in 2023 (first as a pop-up shop in April and then a permanent storefront in November) and, just last month, in Monson, where Dazed is currently the only cannabis game in town.

That store, where the Magic Lantern strip club operated for more than a half-century before closing in 2022, honors the location’s history by keeping a small stage and dancer’s pole as part of the décor.

Rainone told the Cannabis Business Times recently that the first 90 days after a dispensary’s opening are the most turbulent. The first month is all about establishing operating procedures and employee routines, the second about fixing the challenges of the first 30 days, and the third month about putting it all together and excelling.

He told the publication that Dazed is a “fun party brand,” with visitors encountering a “meet and greet” before they get to security, and the environment inside the shop characterized by music playing and a pink-dominated color scheme that extends to all three dispensaries.

When asked why the team chose each location, Vianello told BusinessWest they appeal in different ways.

“We were never the only game in town. That’s not our model. If our only claim to fame is that we’re the only game in town, that’s not a sustainable business practice.”

“You try to find the balance between what’s the ideal location and what’s a doable location,” he said. “We try to straddle that balance; we don’t want to open up a dispensary just anywhere because that’s not going to work, but also we don’t want to get stuck looking for the perfect location and end up not opening anything. They’re all different in where the traffic is coming from and how we attract different folks to different stores.”

At a time when competition is fierce and some stores have actually closed in Massachusetts, Dazed’s focus on customer experience and steady growth has been a winner, he added.

“In 2018, 2019, you had people who were the only game in town. And that worked for those who were able to get themselves positioned to be the first in the market. They had months, even years where they were cranking as literally the only game in town.”

“We never experienced that. We were never the first,” he continued, understanding that being the first shop in Monson is still being one of nearly 400 in Massachusetts. And amid increasing competition, Vianello doesn’t intend to engage in a race to the bottom when it comes to pricing.

“We’ve seen people trying to undercut the next guy by 10 cents and create an environment where you devalue the purpose of even being there,” he explained. “Understanding that price is always part of what people consider when shopping, you still have to differentiate yourself; you have to make yourself stand out. Ideally, you want people that are coming to you rather than other people because they like what you have going on.”

By doing so, he said, “we’re creating our own lane, our own pie, instead of slicing up what’s already out there.”

Rolling with the Punches

And there is, indeed, a lot out there, and still considerable debate over whether the burgeoning cannabis industry has a ceiling or whether there’s enough growth potential — from new users or consumers rejecting the illegal market to buy from regulated stores — to make up for more competition emerging from both within the Bay State and from outside its borders.

“A lot of it comes down to community outreach, giving people the information they need to buy legal rather than what they’ve been doing the last 20 years,” Vianello said.

The leaders of Dazed Cannabis hope the recent Monson grand opening isn’t their last, but one of many more.
Photo by Marsco Media for Dazed Cannabis

The discussion these days around a possible ceiling for the industry in Massachusetts doesn’t happen in other sectors, he added. “People don’t talk about us the same way they talk about other businesses, like restaurants, liquor stores. It’s really an open market, a lot of competition. And people are competing. I don’t know that we’re hitting the limit.

“There’s still a lot more legal cannabis dollars that haven’t been realized yet,” he added, citing, again, potential from a massive group of users who currently buy from unregulated sources. “But I don’t think businesses are doing poorly as a whole. I don’t think prices are crashing as much as people suggest. I don’t necessarily see that happening as blatantly as they’re describing it. Businesses still have a lot of growth potential.”

At the end of the day, he added, dispensaries have to offer what people want, and that requires staying ahead of the curve. “There are always new, innovative things coming out in the market. You have to stay up on what’s happening, and with market prices. You try not to be the cheapest on the block because that turns into a whole downward spiral. So you try to have competitive pricing and give people a good customer experience.”

Like all other cannabis entrepreneurs, Vianello hopes for the eventual end of the disconnect between state and federal drug laws that have posed onerous burdens on business owners, from IRS Section 280E, which forbids business owners from deducting otherwise normal business expenses, to hardships around banking, transportation, and other activities.

“That has to happen at some point. I think it’s going to happen. But I don’t think anyone knows when. It’s been right around the corner for years,” he told BusinessWest, acknowledging, like many have, that cannabis is legal for well over half the U.S. population, and bipartisan support exists for decriminalizing cannabis, but lawmakers always seem to have other concerns with which to contend.

“We just act accordingly within the rules in place,” he added. “But we know, if it happens, it will open up a lot of things for a lot of people. We need to have all the same rules and regulations as all businesses, the same opportunities, so we can run these businesses properly.”

Land of Opportunity

The New York location, in Manhattan’s Union Square neighborhood, has certainly been a success story, starting with its origin as a pop-up opened under the state’s CAURD (conditional adult-use retail dispensary) program, which invested in communities and entreprenuers that had been harmed by the war on drugs; Warner, a Harlem native, was arrested in 2008 for trying to buy marijuana during a sting operation, which hindered his ability to find employment afterward.

Now, he and his two partners are the employers at three Dazed stores — with more locations in the works, they hope.

“You try not to be the cheapest on the block because that turns into a whole downward spiral. So you try to have competitive pricing and give people a good customer experience.”

“Keshawn and his dedicated team at Dazed exemplify entrepreneurship in action, shining a spotlight on the importance of social equity in the cannabis industry,” Chris Webber of the New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund said upon the Union Square location’s grand opening in November. “This isn’t just about a dispensary; it’s about leveling the playing field, creating opportunities, and building a more inclusive and dynamic entrepreneurial landscape.”

Vianello said it’s been gratifying to hire locally, providing job opportunities to others.

The interior of the Holyoke dispensary is, like other Dazed shops, resplendent in pink.
Photo by Dazed Cannabis

“That’s the most exciting thing. When we started Dazed in Holyoke, we made a conscious effort to hire hyper-locally. Most of our folks are Holyoke residents or from the surrounding areas, Greater Springfield — but mostly from Holyoke. That’s the entire staff, from the general manager to the newest employee; they’re all local, and they’ve all been promoted and hired from within. And when we had the opportunity to expand into Monson, we were able to bring a lot of those folks over and give them a broader opportunity for employment.”

Indeed, many young people entering the cannabis field recognize it as a new industry with plenty of advancement opportunity.

“We want our team to grow with our expansion, and that’s been good for us to see,” Vianello said. “It’s a new industry, so there’s definitely a lot of opportunities for those folks to grow too. Not everyone has a lot of experience, and those that have experience are super valuable.”

As the cannabis workforce continues to mature and move up, Vianello and his partners are excited to see the industry do the same, despite all the challenges and all the hand wringing over how many dispensaries are too many.

“The thing I like best is that it’s changing and growing, with a lot of different opportunities coming up,” he said. “You just don’t know what’s down the road.”

Area Banks, Credit Unions Stress Philanthropy, Volunteerism

By Joseph Bednar March 14, 2024

Mary McGovern, incoming president of Country Bank.

Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Community Interest

Mary McGovern, incoming president of Country Bank.

When asked why Country Bank supports local nonprofits, incoming President Mary McGovern gave a simple answer. “It’s a way for us to make a difference in our community.”

Then she elaborated.

“We have a tagline we adopted two years ago, ‘made to make a difference.’ We feel that encapsulates what Country Bank is all about, trying to make a difference in our community. It’s something we’ve done over the history of Country Bank, and we continue to make a positive impact by supporting local nonprofits, specifically the kind that rely on donations from their local businesses to help support them.”

Those efforts have focused in recent years on a number of priorities, she added, including food insecurity, health, education, and financial literacy, as well as homeless shelters, senior-serving programs, youth organizations, and more.

To that end, Country reported more than $1.2 million in donations in 2023, with 463 organizations receiving grants. One highlight last year was a partnership with (and $30,000 donation to) the Wonderfund, which aims to improve the lives of individuals in the Department of Children and Families system.

That large number of supported nonprofits resonates with Matt Bannister, senior vice president of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility at PeoplesBank, who was named a 2024 Difference Maker by BusinessWest last month for his extensive role in the bank’s community-support efforts. PeoplesBank recorded $1.6 million in donations last year to more than 550 area nonprofits, making the average grant just under $3,000.

“We continue to make a positive impact by supporting local nonprofits, specifically the kind that rely on donations from their local businesses to help support them.”

“We give a little to a lot of groups. We don’t tend to do large capital campaigns,” he said. “One big ‘yes’ often means a lot of little ‘no’s.’ So many nonprofits out there are doing good work, so it feels wrong to say ‘no’ to people.”

So, outside of a few big splashes — like a major donation to help the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts build its new headquarters — spreading the wealth around is a guideline the bank tends to stick with.

“The overall philosophy for our funding is we want to level the playing field — give opportunities to those who are disadvantaged and need more help,” Bannister added. “We have funding areas — food insecurity, housing, economic development, etc. — and the overarching principle of all these funding areas is to level the playing field.”

Many area institutions share their donation figures each year; Pittsfield Cooperative Bank donates nearly $200,000 — a striking number, considering it boasts around $385 million in total assets — through its charitable contributions to regional scholarships, youth mentorship programs, and nonprofit, economic-development, and health and human-service organizations.

Meanwhile, the Liberty Bank Foundation granted $1,453,742 to local nonprofits in 2023, including $10,000 as an annual ‘holiday gift’ from the bank, with the recipient chosen by bank customers. And Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) gave more than $1 million in 2023 to more than 300 organizations.

Peter Albero, GSB’s chief financial officer and treasurer, noted that, while profits have been challenged over the past couple years by rising interest rates, the bank has not cut back on its financial support in the community, or its level of employee volunteerism.

Freedom Credit Union President Glenn Welch (right) presents a check to John Beaulieu, president of the Westover Galaxy Community Council, one of the recipients of Freedom’s Month of Giving campaign.

“Profitability may be reduced, but we have not reduced our commitment to our communities. I think we are a pillar of Greenfield and the broader community,” Albero said. “So we continue to reinvest in the community, and everyone benefits from that.”

A.J. Bresciano, first vice president and commercial loan officer at GSB, agreed.

“Even in a higher-interest-rate environment, we’re taking measures to ensure our impact in the community is not being impacted and not deteriorating. So many local organizations throughout the Pioneer Valley rely on contributions of time, talent, and treasure. We make supporting those organizations a priority at Greenfield Savings Bank, and we want our team members to invest going forward.”

Philanthropic Priorities

Bannister made it clear that banks are required, to some degree, to be involved in their communities in a charitable way, noting that bank examiners make sure a bank’s locations and loan activities are representative of where it does business — meaning not just serving and lending to those with high incomes or profits — and they also ask how the institution gives back to the community.

“The challenge with that is there’s no right answer. We just have to go to the examiners each year and say, ‘here’s what we did.’ And when we give, we make sure a substantial amount that we give away benefits LMI — lower- to middle-income communities.”

Area banks and credit unions have increasingly inspired employees and customers to involved in giving efforts as well. In 2023, Freedom Credit Union contributed $181,898 to more than 70 charitable organizations throughout the four counties of Western Mass.

Of that, corporate charitable giving accounted for $130,432, but throughout the year, Freedom also conducts Month of Giving campaigns, in which customers can support a specific organization each month; those programs raised $17,316 in 2023. And local branch and department giving contributed an additional $34,150 to local charities.

“Our members and staff are passionate about supporting the community where we live, work, and serve,” Freedom Credit Union President Glenn Welch said. “In 2023, we were proud to donate funds for a wide variety of deserving institutions.”

“We give a little to a lot of groups. We don’t tend to do large capital campaigns. One big ‘yes’ often means a lot of little ‘no’s.’ So many nonprofits out there are doing good work, so it feels wrong to say ‘no’ to people.”

Other institutions take customer involvement to the polls. Both Florence Bank and Monson Savings Bank boast popular programs — called the Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program and the Community Giving Initiative, respectively — that complement other bank philanthropy by letting customers vote for nonprofits to support.

Through that initiative, Florence Bank awarded $150,000 to 46 area nonprofits in 2023, the 21st year of the program; the higher-than-usual total commemorated the bank’s 150 years in business.

“It’s amazing to see so many community organizations being recognized, and the fact that the recognition comes from Florence Bank customers in the form of votes is really special,” President and CEO Matt Garrity said.

Meanwhile, in the 14th year of its community-giving program, Monson Savings Bank awarded a total of $15,000 to the 10 top vote-getting nonprofits.

A team of PeoplesBank employees volunteers at Kent Memorial Library in Kent, Conn.

“Everyone’s passion for our annual Community Giving Initiative is always so exciting,” said Michael Rouette, the bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “As a locally operated bank, Monson Savings has a great desire to support the residents, businesses, and nonprofits of the communities that we work in and live in.”

President and CEO Dan Moriarty added that “these organizations are worthy nonprofits that supply important resources to our communities. It is clear why they were chosen by our community members to receive support from Monson Savings.”

More Than Money

But community banks and credit unions in Western Mass. aren’t just giving money; many also emphasize a culture of volunteerism, even providing time for their employees to get involved in the community.

For example, employees at UMassFive College Federal Credit Union raised more than $18,000 for two local nonprofits last fall — $13,677 for the UMass Cancer Center via participation in the UMass Cancer Walk and Run, and $4,800 for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts via participation in Will Bike 4 Food.

A supporter of the UMass Cancer Walk and Run for more than 20 years — during which time it has raised more than $186,600 for the cause — UMassFive employees join together annually as Team UMassFive to raise funds, both personally and in branch locations. In 2023, fundraising efforts included raffle baskets, bake sales, candy sales, and art and jewelry sales, and the credit union’s corporate partners also pitched in.

Will Bike 4 Food is a more recent priority at UMassFive, as employees have taken part since 2020, raising a total of $17,500 in just four years, which equates to providing 70,332 meals to neighbors in need.

“We are so proud of our employees for supporting local causes that they care about,” said Cait Murray, Community Outreach manager at UMassFive. “Together, our team can make a more significant impact than if we all participate in events on our own. These organizations make such a big difference in our communities, and we are thrilled to support those efforts.”

Country Bank reported that its team members volunteered 1,255 hours of community service in 2023, while 37 team members served on 65 nonprofit boards and committees.

“Oftentimes, we can supplement or replace a monetary donation with volunteers, whether it’s picking vegetables at a local farm to be donated out, or helping nonprofits clean up the facility, or doing outdoor work like volunteering with Habitat for Humanity,” McGovern said. “We’re still putting the bank’s dollars to work, but the hands of our employees are helping to sustain some of these nonprofits as well.”

Liberty Bank reported 13,721 employee volunteer hours, including nearly 170 hours at Connecticut Foodshare, the aforementioned recipient of the bank’s holiday gift in 2023. The bank also actively solicits nonprofits to share information on what types of volunteer help is needed — whether working on a project or serving on a board or committee — and aims to meet those requests.

At PeoplesBank, employee volunteerism is considered part of the bank’s culture, Bannister said — part of its DNA, in fact, and something made clear to job applicants.

“We report volunteer hours to the bank examiners, and we were third in the state last year in hours volunteered per employee. It’s something that’s expected, and it’s something that builds camaraderie,” he said.

And it’s something that community banks simply should do.

“We’re more engaged in the community, where national banks are not known for that as much,” Bannister told BusinessWest. “And we consider it a competitive advantage. When you’re choosing a bank, hopefully the bank’s values are something you consider, and hopefully that volunteerism reflects well on the brand.”

Mill Town Capital Aims to Make an Impact in Pittsfield

By Joseph Bednar March 14, 2024

The Mill Town Capital team atop Bousquet Mountain Ski Area.

Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

A Visionary Approach

The Mill Town Capital team atop Bousquet Mountain Ski Area.

Real-estate development can be a profitable business. In fact, it’s safe to say that’s the key driver for most players in this sector.

For the team at Mill Town Capital, it’s about impact — on more than the bottom line.

Formed in 2016 and based in Pittsfield, Mill Town is an “impact investment platform,” said Tim Burke, the company’s CEO. “Our overall mission and mandate is to really make the area of Pittsfield and the Berkshires a better place to live through traditional investments, impact investments, and pure philanthropic community work.”

But what is impact investment?

“To us, impact investment means focusing on key assets or amenities or projects that have a high potential positive impact on the region,” he explained. “So it’s a little bit different than maybe a traditional impact investment that might look at energy or other areas of impact. Ours is really place-based in terms of our approach.

“When we think about impact, it’s taking on investments that most traditional investors wouldn’t take on either because the rate of return is lower, or it takes a much longer time to realize it, or they’re just really difficult projects,” he added. “We’re not necessarily restrictive to different sectors or industries. It’s really about, is this project good for the region? Is it good for the local economy? Does it have the chance to spur economic development or other potential investment, and, if so, how can we make it work?”

The company’s first ventures into real estate centered on housing-development projects in Pittsfield.

“Impact investment means focusing on key assets or amenities or projects that have a high potential positive impact on the region.”

“Pittsfield used to be a 60,000-person city, but now has 40,000 people. So you would think that there is enough housing for everyone, but the stock itself is significantly deteriorated,” Burke explained. “You have a lot of really old stock, things that are run down, properties where absentee landlords have a lot of deferred maintenance. And the living conditions in some of these are really tough.”

Since taking what he called a “clustered approach” to housing stock in the area, Mill Town has accumulated more than 200 units of housing in Pittsfield alone, as well as a few commercial buildings and mixed-use properties, with apartments on the upper floors and commercial space on the lower floors.

“So the real-estate approach there has been trying to improve neighborhoods with housing at the forefront, but also supporting small businesses and restaurants where we can.”

Tim Burke calls the Bousquet complex “a critical local asset that had fallen on some tough times.”

Public investment has sometimes followed that private investment, Burke said, with the city or state coming in with utility upgrades or streetscape improvements.

“So it’s really a multi-faceted approach, and it certainly has a patient-capital component to it as well, where we’re not looking to get in and monetize things really quickly. We have more of a patient, long-term approach to it.”

On the business-enterprise side of the ledger, Mill Town now owns about a dozen local businesses, either directly or in partnerships.

One example is Bousquet Mountain Ski Area, one of the oldest continuously operating ski areas in the country. “We felt that’s a great example of a critical local asset that had fallen on some tough times and needed a lot of investment,” Burke said. “I don’t think many rational investors would have gone in there with a pure investment business case, but we felt like it was worth saving.”

These enterprise investments tend to be clustered in regional assets in real estate, recreation, and hospitality, such as the Central Downtown Inn & Suites in Pittsfield; Gateways Inn in Lenox; Blueprint Property Group in Pittsfield; Framework, a Pittsfield co-working space; and others — about a dozen in all.

“We’ve been involved in those types of projects for a number of years, some of which are business-oriented projects, and some are philanthropic, that we do through our our 501(c)(3) foundation. That includes things like improvements in Springside Park, which is a large, local park in Pittsfield where we helped reshape and reinvest in trail networks there.”

Tim Burke

“Is this project good for the region? Is it good for the local economy? Does it have the chance to spur economic development or other potential investment, and, if so, how can we make it work?”

Mill Town has also provided contributions to the Berkshire Natural Resources Council for a project that connects the various trail networks in the Berkshire mountains.

“And then we have two businesses that are in the recreation space,” Burke said. “We own an athletic center that’s called Bousquet Sport, which is across the street from the ski area, where we’re currently undergoing a 15,000-square-foot addition plus renovation to the facility, and that’s an investment in tennis, fitness, and pickleball.”

Then there’s Camp Arrow Wood, where the former Lakeside Christian Camp on Richmond Pond was converted into a new, sleep-away summer sports camp.

“We run three- and six-week summer camp sessions out of that property. That’s another project that we kind of uncovered during the COVID period … and we’ve been building that up over the past year and a half or so.”

Coming Home

Prior to Mill Town, Burke spent a number of years in corporate finance roles with United Technologies and then later with a couple different biotechnology companies, most recently Biogen in Boston’s Kendall Square biotech cluster.

Mill Town transformed the former Lakeside Christian Camp on Richmond Pond into Camp Arrow Wood, a new, sleep-away summer sports camp.

But his connection to Pittsfield was strong, having grown up there, and around 2015, he met Dave Mixer, Mill Town’s founder “and really kind of the motor and the initiative and the capital behind everything that we do,” Burke said. “So I ended up meeting with Dave, and he had a general idea of what he wanted to do.”

Mixer, like Burke, is a Berkshire native and had just come back to the area after being away for a long period of time, and he wanted to make an impact, Burke explained.

“His view of making an impact is a little bit non-traditional from a philanthropic standpoint. He didn’t want to just write checks and then walk away. He really wanted to see if he could drive economic development and job growth and population stabilization and new housing and educational improvements — all across the spectrum of economic development and quality of life.

“It’s been a great, challenging, unique run for us over the past six or seven years, and we’re at a point now where, through Mill Town and our businesses, we employ over 300 people in the area. We’re constantly looking to grow and make this engine work and also kind of preach what we’ve learned over the years to other communities and people and investors and philanthropists and see if there are ways we can help other areas progress with what we’ve done in Pittsfield.”

“I think we’re pretty hard on ourselves in that we think we have a ways to go before we achieve the impact that we want to achieve. But it is validating to a certain degree that people see that we’re heading in the right direction.”

Indeed, Burke firmly believes Mill Town has a replicable model, but it’s one that’s still evolving. “We think we’re in the second or third inning of what we’re doing here in Pittsfield.”

And as someone with a lifelong heart for the city, he envisions what a vibrant, thriving Pittsfield can one day be.

“I think it’s a place where people from all aspects of the economic spectrum can find quality housing. They can send their kids to schools and get them a good education. They can find jobs that will allow them to live here productively and raise a family.

“And then we can provide those systems on the periphery that allow people to have a good quality of life here — places where kids have opportunities to have athletic endeavors in camps, places where adults can enjoy the natural assets that the area has,” he went on. “That comes back to trail networks and all the outdoor recreation assets that we have here.”

After all, he added, those are some of the things the Berkshires are most known for.

“Making sure that we can maximize those benefits for the people of Pittsfield is where we want to make a difference,” Burke told BusinessWest. “That involves a lot of different things and broader socioeconomic issues that are much harder to solve, like education and poverty and addiction. But we still should try to get involved in some of those things through partnerships with organizations who have that expertise.”

Moment of Recognition

Last fall, at 1Berkshire’s Celebrate the Berkshires event, Mill Town Capital was recognized as a special honoree for “putting the Berkshires on the map” — an honor that recognized the company’s investments in housing and downtown redevelopment, as well as its philanthropic support around the region.

“When our regional economic-development group recognized Mill Town for the work that we’re doing, it was tremendously gratifying for our team to see that people see the work that we’re doing and that it is having a positive impact,” Burke said. “I think we’re pretty hard on ourselves in that we think we have a ways to go before we achieve the impact that we want to achieve. But it is validating to a certain degree that people see that we’re heading in the right direction.

“That hasn’t always been the case,” he added. “I think when we first started out, there was a lot of skepticism and questioning: ‘what’s the angle?’ ‘What are you trying to accomplish?’ So it was great to see that, at a minimum, people view it as positive-intent work that has the potential to drive change.”

Franklin County Businesses Face Challenges, but Also Opportunity

By Joseph Bednar March 14, 2024

Franklin County Special Coverage

Big Ideas in Small Towns

Lucy Damkoehler has developed a strong following from both within and outside Franklin County for her bakery and cooking classes.

When Lucy Damkoehler returned to Western Mass. after 20 years away, she opened a bakery in a town she knew well — Bernardston, to be exact, with its population of 2,000.

That was in 2018. Today, Sweet Lucy’s Bakeshop is thriving, demonstrating, like many other businesses already have, that it’s possible to succeed in a county whose 26 communities total around 71,000 residents — less than half of Springfield alone.

“It took off right away,” she said. “My prices were competitively high. I knew the cost of food was going up and the cost of labor was going up, so I priced it so I didn’t have to change my prices too often. But people didn’t complain about it, and I felt like it was doing pretty well.”

When COVID shut down much of the world, Damkoehler pivoted to a concept called Take & Bake Meals, which, at its height, was sending 50 to 60 meals out the door each day, which wound up expanding her reach and widening her exposure.

“We were getting people from Connecticut, from New York, discovering us,” she recalled, and those days partly explain why her customer base went from 90% local before 2020 to a ratio today of about 60% repeat customers — who come anywhere from every day to once a month — and 40% travelers checking out the bakery for the first time.

And Damkoehler’s success continues; she used a crowdfunded grant and a bank loan to build an addition, doubling her kitchen space and allowing her to begin offering cooking classes last September. She now employs six full-time bakers and six front-of-house staff, and is looking to hire a chef instructor as well.

“It blows my mind that I’ve only had one class that’s had to cancel due to low enrollment. They usually sell out within a couple of weeks, if not days,” she told BusinessWest. “It shows there’s a major need for that part of the business; there’s nothing like that around here. We’re doing kids’ classes now, too.

“I’m amazed every day that we’re able to do this successfully,” she added, especially in a community of just over 2,100 residents. “The prices are not cheap. But people recognize the value, and they appreciate it, and they’re willing to spend more money on something that’s done right. It doesn’t scare people away.”

So that’s what Damkoehler brought to the table: talent, quality, drive, and the instincts to pivot to what the market needed, which, both during the pandemic and with her classes, generated further opportunities for growth. Meanwhile, other businesses throughout this mostly rural county bring their own differentiators, but they also testify to a supportive, if small, community.

“Business owners here who are thriving have really committed, loyal customers. They have customers who love to come out and spend time there, spend their dollars with them, and they’re focused on providing a really great experience every time someone comes in,” said Hannah Rechtschaffen, director of the Greenfield Business Assoc. (GBA).

“One thing that I hear from some business owners is a sense of community and mutual support,” she added, noting that one of the GBA’s goals is to keep building opportunities for business owners to know each other better, so they can recommend each other.

“I think it’s organizations like ours and like the chamber that are able to listen to business owners and respond and really be another set of hands in their business success. That’s not overrated when you’re wanting to have a brick-and-mortar presence. So I hope businesses will think about opening here; I hope businesses will think about opening a second location here.”

“We were getting people from Connecticut, from New York, discovering us.”

To that end, Rechtschaffen added, “when we’re in conversation with Greenfield Community College about getting an internship program going, or when we’re in conversation with the Franklin County CDC about small-business support and entrepreneurship, all of those relationships are so, so crucial. None of us want to feel like we’re toiling away alone. We want to feel like we’re part of a larger ecosystem.”

Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council, agreed.

“Partnership and collaboration are the special ingredients in Franklin County. The way our communities come together to support our small businesses, it’s not like anything I’ve seen elsewhere,” she said.

“What I love to see here are thoughtful partnerships and strategies around how to best support business owners in filling in some gaps and resources that some more populated areas have, and how to attract different industries to the area,” she continued, touting, as Rechtschaffen did, the partnership between the chamber and GBA, but also Greenfield Community College, the CDC, and various economic-development entities.

“We want everyone’s business to be as successful as possible and have as many resources as they can tap into to ensure that success,” Deane said. “We wake up every day asking how to best support them.”

Declining Numbers

Such partnerships and mutual support are especially meaningful in a county that, after years of plateauing population, has seen those numbers start to creep downward, especially in the small towns beyond Greenfield and Deerfield.

“Certainly, population decline — or the projection of population decline we see — is a pretty major threat to many rural parts of Massachusetts,” said Linda Dunlavy, executive director of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. “As Baby Boomers age, we need help, and not attracting young people to our region will be a concern for us. So we’re working on that.

Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield is just one example of the many cultural offerings in Franklin County.

“But population decline also hurts Franklin County and its rural areas because so many state and federal funding formulas, the distribution of aid money to municipalities, is based on population,” she continued. “So as our population decreases, the amount of money we have for infrastructure improvements, for education, etc., also decreases, which compounds the problem: how do we get people to come to our region if we’re not caring for our infrastructure, our assets, adequately?”

Dunlavy, who was named one of the Difference Makers for 2024 by BusinessWest, has been working for the benefit of Franklin County for decades, so she understands its assets — from arts and culture to outdoor recreation to that supportive business community others mentioned — but she understands the challenges of an aging, shrinking population base, too.

“Because we’re so rural, we have to work together,” she told BusinessWest. “We are a very collaborative region, probably one of the most collaborative regions in Massachusetts, because all the regional organizations are working together. We combine services of municipalities, our businesses work together, and they are served by strong regional support systems. It’s a great region to live in — if you know about us.”

A.J. Bresciano, first vice president and commercial loan officer at Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB), has been lending in Franklin County for the past 16 years, and he feels good about the current strength of business activity in the region.

“In terms of business lending, I think there’s some growth and some optimism, post-pandemic, in starting businesses and seizing opportunities to capitalize on improving economic markets. I think there is some opportunity for people with great ideas and a passion for what they do to come in and start something new,” he told BusinessWest.

That said, “there are certainly some challenges in the interest-rate environment,” he added, especially on the residential side, where higher rates and a shortage of housing have taken away the ‘churn’ of a vibrant market. “But I think that will change. Hopefully we’ll see rates start to come down in the near future, which will give people an opportunity to go out and seek new opportunities. We’re pretty optimistic about what the future holds.”

On the plus side, “there’s a lot of interest in this market because it’s less expensive than other markets that are overdeveloped. So a lot of borrowers see opportunity here,” said Peter Albero, chief financial officer and treasurer, noting that GSB originated $100 million in commercial loans and $70 million in residential loans last year. “The residential side is still a little bit lower … but the commercial side is very strong. A lot of banks are competing for strong borrowers.”

The aging of the population has created a fair amount of business turnover, Bresciano added, as long-time business owners are looking to retire and move into the next chapter of their lives.

“So there’s definitely opportunity for someone else to come in with new ideas, new ambitions, and to cultivate a new environment,” he said, pointing to one project — the conversion of the former Wilson’s Department Store in downtown Greenfield to a mixed-use property — as an example of forward thinking.

“None of us want to feel like we’re toiling away alone. We want to feel like we’re part of a larger ecosystem.”

For her part, Deane has seen a pipeline emerge of younger leaders in many Franklin County communities as older leaders, like those older business owners, look to retirement. “I’m excited about the leadership we’re seeing step into those roles,” she said.

Plenty to Promote

Rechtschaffen is acutely aware of what a spread-out county like Franklin faces in terms of housing, transportation, and access to amenities, but she tends to light up when talking about what she loves about the region — and there’s a lot of that.

“We have so much amazing outdoor arts, outdoor activities, whitewater rafting, skiing, theater … there are so many things. So I always want to make sure that people know what there is to visit up here.”

The target audience isn’t just visitors from afar, though.

“We have an advantage in Franklin County, which is that people really do want to support local, so it’s important that we have the right retail mix and experience mix here for people to be able to do that,” Rechtschaffen said, which is the impetus behind efforts like the “find it in Greenfield” campaign running on Bear Country radio and through other outlets.

“A lot of people don’t realize what’s so close by. So getting the word out can be a challenge,” she added. “We’re really trying to keep beating that drum and making sure that things are affordable, things are accessible, and we’re bringing businesses into Greenfield and Franklin County that people really want. That’s also a crucial part of the puzzle.”

Dunlavy has helped put many pieces in place, from north-south rail to broadband access to a planned partnership with other regional councils of government on a Connecticut River climate-resiliency plan.

“You do nothing alone. Everything takes partnership and many people working together,” she said. “And I like that part of the job. I like that challenge, and I like that focus. I’m never bored, ever. There’s always something to work on and always something to think about.”

Rechtschaffen never stops thinking about Franklin County, either.

“This is really creative work,” she said, “to be problem solving, to be listening, to be connecting people with one another so that their business can thrive, maybe in ways they didn’t think about. I really love all of this work to grow Greenfield and Franklin County in a way that feels good, for as many people as possible.”

Home & Garden Show Continues to Draw a Diverse Crowd

By Joseph Bednar March 1, 2024

Home Improvement

Up Close and Personal

Andrew Crane says the Home Show is both a helpful experience for homeowners and a fun day out with family or friends.

Andrew Crane said the annual Home & Garden Show staged by the Home Builders and Remodelers Assoc. of Western Massachusetts (HBRAWM) began as a way to get contractors out in front of people who needed projects done.

These days, with the prevalence of the internet, consumers can do a lot of their research and shopping online, and they do.

But here’s the thing — the annual show, now in its 69th year, still draws a crowd.

“There are a lot of people that still want to meet their contractor, look that person in the eye, maybe see what their trucks or equipment look like, talk about specific projects, and see pictures. That’s how I like to shop,” said Crane, HBRAWM’s executive director. “The Home Show is for people that want to see and talk to contractors, as well as other people. If I’m buying windows and I get a chance to touch that window and slide it up and down or left and right, I feel better about that product. And that’s what the Home Show offers.”

This year’s edition runs March 21-24, in and around multiple buildings at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. Crane says he expects about 15,000 visitors over those four days.

“If I’m looking to build a home … I’d like to find a guy that’s built several homes, or dozens, or hundreds, educating me about the process,” he continued. “It’s probably the single biggest investment you’ll make in your entire life. If you buy a car, it lasts you five years, six years, maybe 10 years. If you buy a house, it’s supposed to last you 50 years, 60 years, 80 years. So it’s kind of a big decision.”

“You get a chance to touch them and feel them without traveling to 20 different spots and other lumberyards all over Western Massachusetts; you might be able to do it all in the same building.”

Meanwhile, homeowners looking to renovate — and that number spiked during the stay-at-home months of the pandemic, and remodelers still report a high volume of projects today — will find plenty of vendors of windows and doors; flooring, countertops, and tile; appliances and furnishings; and much more.

“You get a chance to touch them and feel them without traveling to 20 different spots and other lumberyards all over Western Massachusetts; you might be able to do it all in the same building,” Crane explained. “We might be able to show you several of the products — different roofing, different siding, that type of thing.”

Plenty of Reasons

The annual event sees all types of attendees who visit for a variety of reasons, Crane noted. Attendees typically fall into one of several categories:

• People planning to buy or build a new home, who may visit with builders, real-estate agents, financial institutions, and sellers of component products;

• People planning to remodel or renovate, who may want to check in with all of the above, plus vendors of the aforementioned windows and doors, appliances, home furnishings, and more;

• Yard and garden enthusiasts, who tend to be interested in lawn and landscaping services; wall, walk, and edging components and materials; and trees, shrubs, flowers, and seeds;

• Renters, who have no plans to own a house, but may be interested in space-conservation and space-utilization products, as well as home furnishings;

• Impulse buyers, who flock to vendors of home décor, arts and crafts, cooking and baking products, jewelry, and personal goods; and

• Lifestyle-conscious individuals, who like to check out trendy, high-tech, or time-saving products, as well as home furnishings and products focused on self-improvement, fitness, and health.

The latter categories inject some fun into the Home & Garden Show, Crane said. “We hear it every year: ‘where’s the beer-nut guy?’ or ‘where’s the pickle guy?’ Those type of things are what make a show entertaining. We call ourselves the Home Builders and Remodelers Association, but everybody likes to look at the radio remote-control helicopter that flies around.”

Even with the more serious home-related purchases, everyone wants some variety, he added.

“You don’t want to look at 500 sheds, but it’s really nice to have a dozen there to look at, with different types of shapes and colors. It’s really nice to see windows, but you don’t want to look at 300 windows. As you travel through the aisles, you’ll see different fences, you’ll see different roofing, different siding, and then you’ll bump into the pickle guy, or you’ll bump into the beer-nut guy, or the person selling knives and pans. These are all part of the entertainment.”

Speaking of entertainment, Crane said he’s often considered the show a social event, or at least part of one.

“Before I was involved with the Home Show, I used to go because I would see my neighbors and friends. We would plan to meet at the Home Show at 6:00, walk the Home Show for a couple hours and see dozens of our friends, and then we would plan a dinner date, go somewhere with our wives and have a nice meal somewhere.”

He also noted that the show is an inexpensive outing, and just about everyone who checks it out will find something useful, whether they’re looking for it or not. “In some cases, people will pick up a card and might not even call that vendor or contractor until a year later, when they remember that they ran into them.”

For vendors, the show can fill up an entire year’s worth of projects, Crane said, so people need to manage their expectations and plan ahead. “If you’re looking for a roof, you might have to wait until August to get it. And after the Home Show, you might not even get it this year if that’s the person you want to use.”

Meanwhile, “other people are just there to make sure that the general public knows they’re around if they ever can be of service. You know, pass out the business card, and it goes on the refrigerator, and if you ever need this or that, you take the card off the refrigerator and call that person.”

The Right Stuff

The Home Builders and Remodelers Assoc. is almost 100 years old and continues to represent contractors so they can understand state and national regulations, as well as keeping the general public informed of what services are available in the region.

“All the businesses that run a good business — meaning they plan, they advertise, they keep the right insurances, and they keep their licenses intact — are doing fine because they have a responsibility to their employees and to their livelihood,” Crane said of today’s business climate. “So when they attend education and learn how to write or rewrite contracts as laws change, that protects the public, and it protects them.”

At the same time, “when a person is shady in any business, they don’t put themselves out in front of the public. They kind of skirt the system, so to speak. So the people you’re going to meet at the Home Show are putting themselves out in front of everyone for the world to see, so people know they’re in business, they’re legit, and you can count on them being educated,” he went on. “So you’re not just hoping for the best. You’re ahead of the curve with your selection process.”

Kitchens by Curio Celebrates 50 Years in Business

By Joseph Bednar February 29, 2024

Home Improvement Special Coverage

A Lifetime of Lessons

Curio and Frank Nataloni

One great thing about opening a business, Curio Nataloni said, is that no one can lay you off.

Oh, sometimes businesses fail, but entrepreneurship means everything is in the owner’s hands, which can be scary, but has mostly been rewarding — for more than 50 years.

After returning from service in Vietnam in the early 1970s, “I was working on construction, and I kept getting laid off,” Nataloni told BusinessWest just a few days after his company, Kitchens by Curio, celebrated a half-century in business. So he took a cabinetry job for a homeowner in Longmeadow, and after some solid word of mouth in the neighborhood — resulting in other kitchen projects — even after his former employer summoned him back, he decided he’d rather venture out on his own.

“I did most of the bathrooms and kitchens that have ever been remodeled on that street; it was all referrals,” he said. “Did I make a lot of money? No. But I never got laid off again. That’s the bottom line. And that’s what my goal was.”

From there, he opened a showroom in Ludlow, which was open from 1 to 9 p.m. each day. “The next morning, if I sold anything, I would go out and install it — vanities and stuff like that. And that’s how I got started. Then I got another helper, and I kept on being consistent.”

Consistent enough to weather an economic downturn in the mid-’70s that saw 14 businesses in the kitchen sector shut their doors in a single year.

“I did the best I could,” Nataloni said. “I didn’t waste any money. A lot of people that would get some money, they’d go buy a new car. I didn’t buy a new car; I just reinvested in the business. Because that’s what it’s all about. Having a business is just like having a fire. You always have to put another log on.”

After 10 years in business, in 1984, Nataloni moved to his current location on Boston Road in Springfield. Around the same time, his brother, Frank Nataloni, who had worked with Curio part-time during summers, came on board full-time, and the two of them have steered Kitchens by Curio to consistent sales and growth for the next four decades, joined in recent years by Curio’s son, Michael Nataloni, who intends to continue to lead and grow the company whenever his father and uncle decide to take a step back.

Early on, Frank said, “cabinets were our core product. Prior to the big boxes, we would do a fair amount of retail sales, but most of it was install sales and renovation; that was the core part of the business and still is. Then, as the big boxes became more prevalent, our contractor business sort of started to disappear, so we just focused on doing our renovation work.”

Frank became one of the few designers in the area who is not only a certified kitchen designer (CKD), but also a certified bath designer (CBD). He also taught interior design classes at Bay Path University (then Bay Path College). Among the duo’s accolades, they are five-time national award winners in the CKD competition, two-time CKD award winners (Maytag and Wilson Art), and recipients of House Beautiful’s Kitchen of the Year honor.

Kitchens by Curio moved from Ludlow to its home on Boston Road in Springfield about 40 years ago.

“My grandmother taught me a lot of good practices that I still use to this day,” Curio said. “Our concept is very simple: it’s better to make a little bit every day than make a killing once every three months. That means you’ve got to be fair to the customer on price, and you’ve always got to deliver quality.”

Fifty years of success suggests that philosophy has been a sound one.

All in the Family

Like his uncle, Michael Nataloni worked on and off at the family business during his youth, and decided to make a permanent switch after working in college athletics for a decade and deciding that wasn’t for him.

“It wasn’t as fun as it had been,” he told BusinessWest. “So I was looking around at different things. I’ve always been kind of hands-on, and I’ve been doing stuff like this my whole life, so it was a good fit. I came back and I said, ‘wow, this is a great time. I’m going to get out of college athletics at the end of the year, and I’m going to get into this at the beginning of the year.’”

That year was 2020, and as soon as he arrived at Kitchens by Curio full-time, the world shut down.

But it didn’t stay closed in the home-improvement business, which took off in a big way once people started spending more time at home for work, school, and, well, everything.

“The timing was good,” Frank said. “Our business grew quite a bit after the pandemic. And there was no new construction, but there was a lot of renovation. And that always has been our strong suit, so it really played into our strengths.”

As for Michael, “he really doing every facet of the business. Right now, when we get to the end of a project, he’s like our ace reliever; he comes in and finishes any fine details. And he’s great with clients. I mean, we’re trying to find someone who doesn’t like him,” Frank continued. “He has a good attitude, and he wants to do a good job. And he’s always coming up to me saying, ‘well, what about if we do this?’ He’s trying to figure out different ways to do the work.”

Michael agreed that he takes a forward-thinking approach to his burgeoning career.

“Our concept is very simple: it’s better to make a little bit every day than make a killing once every three months. That means you’ve got to be fair to the customer on price, and you’ve always got to deliver quality.”

“One phrase that I’ve never liked is when anybody tells me, ‘well, this is the way we do it; this is the way it’s always been done.’ Well, that’s fantastic. But the world has changed. We’re not still flipping through magazines; we’re on the internet. And you have to follow that progression.”

The business uses a website called Houzz to help identify what customers are looking for, and even customers who walk in for the first time tend to have done plenty of their own online research — or watched a lot of HGTV — so they arrive with more specific ideas than customers in decades past.

Michael Nataloni brings new perspectives and an openness to change to his developing second-generation leadership role.

Meanwhile, the brothers secured a contract to be the only kitchen and bath designer in New England with access to ProKitchen Oculus VR software, with the ability to change cabinet door styles and finishes, flooring, countertops, wall colors, and more in virtual-reality glasses.

“We can put people in the Oculus glasses, and they can walk through their kitchen,” Frank said. “It’s amazing. So we’ve invested in technology.”

Michael appreciates such developments. “You’ve got to be ahead of things. You can’t always be focused on the rearview mirror. So I try to envision down the road and ask, ‘OK, how can we move stuff around, display new things, include certain things that can move us forward and help with sales?’”

Change and Consistency

But Michael emphasizes more than forward thinking; he was also quick to acknowledge that trust is a key element in a successful home-improvement business.

“That’s one thing that I always stress with customers, even at the first meeting. I say, ‘this is a relationship. If you don’t trust me, the job’s never going to work.’”

Once that relationship is built, he added, most customers have no problem going out and leaving the crew at the house.

“Once you reach that point, you know it’s going to be a good fit and everyone’s going to be happy, and that’s the name of the game,” Michael went on. “If you do a good job for a customer, that customer’s going to tell 10 people. If you do a bad job, that customer is going to tell everybody.”

Curio also stressed that trust element. “The only thing we can do is give people a plan, a contract, and a sample of what the kitchen’s going to look like. So in reality, it comes back to people trusting you, and when they place that trust in you, you can’t shortchange them. So regardless of what we do, whether we make money or we lose money, the job has to be done right, period. That’s it.”

Clearly, these are values that have remained consistent over 50 years, even as styles have shifted dramatically in flooring materials, cabinet and appliance colors, and dozens of other elements.

“A lot has changed over the years,” Frank said. “When my brother founded the company in ’74, he was building cabinets in our parents’ basement part-time. The technology has significantly evolved, particularly with appliances. Styles have changed dozens of times over the years, and some of them are starting to come back again. But the two things that never changed were our dedication to quality and customer service.”

As the Population Ages, Memory Care Continues to Evolve

By Joseph Bednar February 29, 2024

Healthcare News Special Coverage

Peace of Mind

Allison Baker says the Atrium at Cardinal Drive aims to both give residents a high quality of life and take stress away from their loved ones.

It’s a moment so many families dread — until they come out on the other side.

“There’s a lot of anxiety. There’s a lot of guilt,” said Allison Baker, director of Community Relations at the Atrium at Cardinal Drive in Agawam, about the decision to move a loved one — usually a parent or spouse — into the assisted-living facility, which specializes in memory care.

“Families can feel like they might be giving up on their loved one by moving them to a setting like ours. And I think our challenge is to show that you’re not placing your loved one in a place just to live out the rest of their life. The point of our community is to give them the best quality of life.”

Cathy Ballini, executive director of Mason Wright Senior Living in Springfield, agreed.

“I always tell families, ‘nobody shops for this until they have to shop for this.’ And there’s a lot of guilt involved when you take parents out of their home. But you have to look at the bigger picture of what’s best for them.”

What often precedes that discussion, especially with individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, is large quantities of “caregiver burnout,” Ballini added.

“When one or two people are caring for someone, there comes a time when something is sacrificed or suffers because you’re not providing this level of care. There’s only so much one person can do to keep someone entertained. There’s only so much the television can do.

Cathy Ballini

“That time they have left should be quality time. You’re taking the business end of the relationship and putting that on us so that you can truly enjoy your time with your with your parent, with your brother, with your spouse.”

“Coming here, they’re building friendships and trust with us so their relationship with the parent becomes what it should be,” she went on. “That time they have left should be quality time. You’re taking the business end of the relationship and putting that on us so that you can truly enjoy your time with your with your parent, with your brother, with your spouse.”

But what makes it quality time, and how does memory care differ from traditional assisted living?

Since it opened 26 years ago, the Atrium has featured two buildings with 22 apartments each, both dedicated to a memory-care model.

“We don’t divide residents based on their care level or their cognitive functioning,” Baker said. “With residents with memory loss or cognitive impairment, huge crowds can be overwhelming or overstimulating, so limiting the number of people is better for a resident. That’s why we have two neighborhoods. They have the same amenities — they both have a courtyard, they both have dining rooms, they both have the atrium area, they both have living rooms and sitting-room areas; they’re identical to one another.”

The Atrium aims to provide a level of care often associated with skilled-nursing facilities — such as two-person transfer assistance, feeding assistance, medication administration, and total care with all aspects of daily living — but in a home-like, assisted-living environment, she added. “It’s a little bit different model than most other communities, but the hope is that our residents can remain here in their home through end of life and not have to move to another setting.”

Mason Wright, like many assisted-living residences, has a neighborhood, called Reflections, dedicated to memory care on its third floor. There, “the caregivers build consistency and trust with the same people,” Ballini said. “The caregivers who are helping them out of bed in the morning are doing activities throughout the day and are serving meals to them. The routine is very important.”

That daily routine includes an extensive roster of activities that actively engage the mind. Residents in Reflections are able to join the rest of the Mason Wright community for events like entertainers, baking sessions, and other activities that anyone can enjoy, but also engage in activities exclusive to their neighborhood that are aimed at preserving cognition.

Laura Lavoie

“Some people contact me when they’re almost at the end of their rope and they just need somebody to say, ‘it’s OK. You’ve done a great job, but there needs to be more support around them 24/7, and you need to sleep.’”

At the Atrium, Baker said, “we’re often able to pique new interest with our residents or encourage them to try something that they haven’t done, like our art therapy program, for example. Residents who have never had an interest in art or painting may be willing to try, and we have seen them partake in that and do an amazing job.”

The Atrium infuses music into many activities, she added, from bringing in professional musicians to utilizing the baby grand pianos in both neighborhoods to playing instrumental music during mealtimes.

“In memory care, music is something that resonates with pretty much the entire population, all of our residents. Not necessarily the same song or same genre, but music is something they can relate to, regardless of what stage someone’s at with dementia, Alzheimer’s, or any cognitive impairment.”

Helping the Helpers

Laura Lavoie straddles both the world of family caregiving and residential senior-care facilities through her consulting business, Our Dementia Life, which offers assistance to families dealing with the challenges of memory care and workshops and training to assisted-living facilities and other settings.

With the latter, “it’s really focused on relationships between the staff member and the person living with dementia so that they can give them better care,” she explained, adding that facilities are mandated to offer just two hours per year of dementia training, which isn’t nearly enough. “So many people, not only in memory care but in assisted living and independent living, have dementia, and nobody’s taught how to actually work with these people in order to support them and let them be as autonomous as possible and let them feel as empowered as possible, while still asking for help.”

Meanwhile, Lavoie said, “I also deal with families, especially people who have their loved one in their home, who are really struggling with how they can understand what’s happening, what’s going on inside their brain, and how they can communicate better so that they can care for them better.”

Sometimes those conversations lead to a realization that the family simply can’t do it alone. “Some people contact me when they’re almost at the end of their rope and they just need somebody to say, ‘it’s OK. You’ve done a great job, but there needs to be more support around them 24/7, and you need to sleep.’”

Lavoie said she got into this work almost three decades ago. “My grandfather had dementia. He had a brain tumor, and then he developed dementia because of it and lived with us for a couple of years. And I watched my mom care for him 24/7 with zero training, and she did a beautiful job, but I remember the struggles that she had.”

With people living longer and the over-65 population growing, the need for her services is only growing.

“The mindset at many facilities needs to change and grow with it, and we need people to be well-trained to work with these people in order for them to have a really good quality of life,” she told BusinessWest. “Just because you get a dementia diagnosis does not mean you stop living. Some people have dementia for many years, and why do they have to be bad years?”

She emphasized that the crux of her beliefs lies in looking at the person living with dementia and discovering — and cultivating — what they still have, rather than focusing on what has been lost. “There is a mass culture change that has to happen as the Baby Boomers begin to explode into the various realms of dementias, and I hope to be a part of that even more than I am now.”

Baker also wants to cultivate what residents enjoy, which is why residents at the Atrium are encouraged not to spend the majority of their time in their apartments, but rather in the common areas, taking part in activities that range from trivia and conversations about history to physical activities like cornhole or bowling, as well as outings to local restaurants, parks, and community events.

“We’re trying to keep our residents as engaged as possible throughout the day,” she explained, “with the understanding that we know not every single resident enjoys every single activity that we offer, but the idea is to offer such a variety that there’s something that our residents will enjoy.”

Being the Problem Solver

Meanwhile, what families enjoy is spending time with their loved ones without the burden of constant caregiving, Baker said.

“I often talk with families and say, ‘our goal is to relieve you of all that caregiver stress.’ We want them to be able to come and visit their loved one and just be their daughter, son, niece, nephew, husband, wife, and not be worried about whether they got their medications on time, did they take a shower, did they get whatever level of personal care that they may need? We want our families to visit their loved ones and let us worry about all of those other pieces.

“Sometimes you can visibly see the stress relieved from somebody,” she went on. “They just look so much more relaxed once their loved one acclimates.”

Ballini said the need for quality memory care is only growing, and most facilities have waiting lists — and, as a result, many people end up in nursing homes before they need to because there’s not enough spots at facilities like Mason Wright that can meet their care needs in a home-like setting. “In this age of medicine, people are living longer, and there aren’t enough beds for people.”

For the families that can access the right care, however, the rewards can be great, especially if they’re burned out on caregiving at home.

“To see someone come in, not knowing what to do with all the stress, walking through, and they’re not sure it’s right for their loved one, but then seeing their loved one a month or two later, it’s so gratifying,” Ballini told BusinessWest. “It’s nice to be the problem solver. You’re taking care of the family as much as the actual resident.”

Lavoie finds her work satisfying as well, both working with families and helping to train facility staff on how to interact with people with dementia, showing them techniques and communication skills that enhance quality of life for everyone involved.

“It’s the best thing in the world. I get these ‘a-ha’ moments all the time, where even really good care workers in facilities that are really dedicated realize they can make this person feel like they can paint again, and they come to you crying, saying, ‘you should have seen her face.’ Or families say, ‘I can’t believe this this is all it took.’ It’s just the most gratifying thing ever, and I’m thrilled to be doing it, and I just want to give more people the opportunity to learn more.”

Change Is Coming to Northampton’s Main Street

By Joseph Bednar February 16, 2024

Community Spotlight

Vince Jackson says Northampton retailers have mixed reports on the state of business these days, but are mostly optimistic.

As executive director of the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, Vince Jackson spends a lot of time talking to business owners, and what he hears is generally optimistic — to a point.

“Businesses are careful about using the term ‘fully recovered.’ For some retailers, their situation is better than it was in 2019,” he said, referring to the last pre-pandemic year. “Others say, ‘I’m open only three days a week versus seven, but I’m making more money now.’ Then, for others, things are still tough because we don’t have as much daytime foot traffic with a lot of people working from home. So it’s a mix of anecdotes around town, but the overall sentiment is that things are good.”

At the chamber, one way to gauge activity downtown is through Northampton’s gift-card program, which supports local businesses and, for the third straight year, got significant financial support from Keiter. Over this past holiday season, gift-card sales were up 9% from the previous year, and spending by people redeeming those cards has been up 12%.

“People are spending, and that translates into how retailers are doing,” Jackson went on. “I will say, however, that some retailers say things are not as strong as last year, when people were anxious to get back out and do more traditional shopping.

“So you’re going to get varied comments, but the overall sentiment is that business is good. Businesses are still dealing with supply-chain issues and inflationary issues, driving up costs of goods, but overall, people appreciate having made it through the pandemic and are ready to move on with a whole new start.”

Dee Dice, owner of Constant Growth, a marketing and consulting firm that works with many small businesses in the city and region, said there are supports in place in Northampton to help companies succeed, and new ones developing all the time, like the Sphere, a project of the Downtown Northampton Assoc. (DNA) that supports women entrepreneurs.

“Business owners and entrepreneurs are scrappy and resilient; they adapt well, and I think we’re moving into an era where we’re collaborating and coming together in different ways, figuring out how to share resources and how to come together as a community to set the next trend.”

“I feel like the city has much to offer, and it’s a really good place to start a business, for sure,” added Dice, who has become involved with the Sphere. “Is it ever the perfect time to start a business? That’s debatable, but Northampton is a good place to do it.

“I think Northampton values small businesses in the way they value artists and musicians,” she added. “They value that kind of rebel spirit, people who look to be different and take a risk. In that way, Northampton is great.”

The DNA recently launched a new series of downtown business owner meetings “to create an environment for businesses to come together and talk about what they face on the ground — what’s working and not working, and how DNA can help,” Executive Director Jillian Duclos said.

“I think there’s a lot of hope and a lot of enthusiasm for the future. I think the pandemic was really hard because it was isolating in a lot of ways, but things are shifting and changing on a daily basis,” she added.

“Business owners and entrepreneurs are scrappy and resilient; they adapt well, and I think we’re moving into an era where we’re collaborating and coming together in different ways, figuring out how to share resources and how to come together as a community to set the next trend. We’ve always been trendsetters here; a lot of communities follow in our footsteps, and now we’re resetting again.”

On the Road Again

And they’re doing so as a major Main Street road redesign looms ever closer, one that many business owners feel is necessary even as they fear the disruption it might cause once the actual construction work begins in 2025.

“Northampton is a city known for its resilience and community spirit. As we embark on the next phase of the Picture Main Street project, our top priority is to ensure that our local businesses not only endure but thrive,” Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said in a recent statement. “Together, we will ensure that downtown remains a bustling hub of activity, culture, and business throughout the construction period.”

Both the Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Northampton Assoc. are committed to communicating between their members and the city as the Main Street redesign project unfolds.

To that end, city leaders have joined with the chamber and DNA in a campaign around the road project with three goals: continuous communication channels between businesses, residents, and project teams; marketing, arts and entertainment programming, and educational initiatives to draw visitors and locals to Main Street; and innovative strategies to manage access and minimize disruption.

“A lot of business owners on the ground are actually very excited. Thinking ahead to when it’s complete, there’s not a lot of opposition,” Duclos said. “A lot of the comments have really been about the process of getting there. Because not much has happened, it leaves a lot of room to make up what might happen.

“But City Hall is working really hard,” she added, calling the campaign involving the chamber and DNA a “mitigation committee” that will keep its finger on the pulse of what’s happening and how it will affect businesses downtown.

“We’re going to make sure businesses have a voice at the table and they’re letting us know what they need. And businesses say they need to know the schedule of construction so they can work around that schedule,” she explained, noting that some businesses may not schedule certain events, appointments, or classes when loud construction is happening outside their window — but they’d like to know the schedule well in advance.

“We’ll work hard to create these communication channels to so they can operate their businesses in ways that make sense,” Duclos said. “This is not COVID. We’re not closing. We’ll be moving and shaking during construction, and we’ll be doing a lot of unique events.”

Jackson noted that the project’s goals match the acronym SAVE: safety, accessibility, vitality, and environmental sustainability.

“There is a need. There is a propensity for accidents, which have involved a death or two. And the state has said there’s an issue with two lanes on each side of Main Street that are not really marked for two lanes, and wide crosswalks and a number of other issues. And with accessibility, that means for everyone — bikers, people who have disabilities, people with mobility issues.”

In terms of vitality, Jackson is excited about how the redesign can build on some of the energy already being created not just in downtown businesses, but outside them.

“We’ve seen what outdoor dining can do for a community like this and how that has evolved. Even though we’re out of the pandemic, outdoor dining spots in Northampton are still very popular. That’s one of the silver linings to come out of the pandemic — we continue to capitalize on the beauty of the outdoors. That gives vibrancy to the city and gives people a reason to come downtown and shop, eat, and explore.”

Finally, environmental sustainability means not disrupting the environment too much, replacing and planting new trees so Main Street isn’t all about concrete and asphalt.

“You can come any night of the week into Northampton or Florence and get live music or some kind of performance. That’s encouraging, and of course it means not only the music scene will thrive, but people will eat out at more, hang out at bars and restaurants, and go shopping.”

Despite these positive goals, “business owners are nervous, rightfully so, about the disruption,” Jackson said. “What we’ve been told is that construction is expected to begin sometime in the fall of 2025, and the project is expected to take 18 to 24 months. So businesses are concerned.”

That said, the expectation is that the actual construction — both on the surface and with the underground infrastructure — will be tackled in phases, a stretch of road at a time, with the exact schedule communicated in advance. “It won’t be Main Street disrupted for a full mile; it will be broken up.”

Jackson pointed to previous road projects on Pleasant Street, where the chamber is located, and on King Street, that were successful, with plenty of commerce and activity along those well-traveled thoroughfares today.

“So I think, at the end of the day, people are optimistic about the future and realize this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to think holistically about all the things this project represents.”

Continued Momentum

Jackson reiterated that the city, chamber, and DNA are committed to unifying the community and thinking of creative ways to plan events, activities, programs, and general excitement about downtown momentum, giving people reasons to visit even after the road project commences.

“So there’s new opportunity and new performance venues,” he added, citing the return of the Iron Horse Music Hall this May. “You can come any night of the week into Northampton or Florence and get live music or some kind of performance. That’s encouraging, and of course it means not only the music scene will thrive, but people will eat out at more, hang out at bars and restaurants, and go shopping. It’s the kind of city that invites strolling.”

Duclos agreed. “A lot of businesses support artists and have artists up in their shops and doing events. We want to work more closely with everyone on the ground to connect them and use our resources to support what’s already happening.”

Five College Consortium Helps Its Member Campuses Accomplish More

Education Special Coverage

Turning Ideas into Reality

Faculty members from all five campuses meet together in a workshop at UMass Amherst as part of a program called Building Academic Leaders in the Humanities Program.
(Photo by Dan Little)

Ina Clark recalls her experience working for the Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, which was not a job performed in a vacuum.

“You’re not only working on your own museum, but also collaborating with the development offices of all the Smithsonian museums — and not only juggling all that, but finding positive ways for those relationships to work,” she told BusinessWest. “I love working with people to grow things, producing results they wouldn’t achieve otherwise.”

She brings the same mindset to her new role as director of Development and Sponsored Programs at the Five Colleges Consortium in Amherst, an organization that, for decades, has convened the resources of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and UMass Amherst to increase the capacity of those institutions to create educational opportunities both on and off campus.

“Not everyone has the same strengths in everything, and there are certain things they wouldn’t have the budget or structure to take on,” Clark said of the five campuses, adding that this dynamic is exciting to her, in that it necessitates the collaborative work Five Colleges specializes in. “It allows some students to get experiences and opportunities they wouldn’t have on their own campus, but can have because this exists.”

Executive Director Sarah Pfatteicher agreed. “I feel like the work we do is particularly valuable and powerful at a moment that feels very divisive,” she said. “Particularly after the pandemic, we’ve all been so focused inwardly. This is all about getting people in a room to think in a bigger-picture way than they do alone, or accomplish collectively what they couldn’t do themselves — just get outside their individual interests and think of the collective good.”

And it’s a good that impacts the broader community outside the campuses, she added. “We have deep connections to our communities. The campuses can’t be healthy without healthy communities. It’s a symbiotic, mutually supportive relationship, and it’s a lovely thing.”

Clark’s nonprofit background is extensive; besides the Smithsonian Design Museum, she has worked in development at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Cooper Hewitt, the Ms. Foundation for Women, and Sesame Workshop. She also recently served as interim director of SPCA International, an animal-protection organization.

“This is all about getting people in a room to think in a bigger-picture way than they do alone, or accomplish collectively what they couldn’t do themselves — just get outside their individual interests and think of the collective good.”

At Five Colleges, “one of the many things I have found terrific in this opportunity is that you have these very brilliant people who are quite different from each other, and these campuses that are close by but have different perspectives on things, different points of view, and we have a way to pull it all together and brainstorm an idea into a stronger idea, to consider what’s possible,” Clark said.

“That’s a truly amazing idea, and hard to find in a world where people have been isolated. We have this opportunity to throw out an idea and see what happens with it because we have this network that exists around us.”

Gradual Growth

Historically, Pfatteicher said, the campuses have been collaborating since at least 1914, but Five Colleges officially became a 501(c)(3) in 1965. “For many years after that, it was a very small organization. So it’s been 110 years of growth to get to where we are now, with our staff, budget, and all the things we have in place.

“Our whole reason for existing is to help facilitate collaborative efforts between the campuses,” she went on. “Everything the campuses want to do together, however we can help them collaborate, our job is to figure out how to do that.”

External funding, mainly in the form of grants, makes up about 15% of the budget, paying for a series of sponsored programs, said Kevin Kennedy, director of Strategic Engagement at Five Colleges.

K-12 teachers from the Center for East Asian Studies visit the Mo’ili’ili Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Honolulu.
(Photo by Anne Prescott)

“The vast majority of our work on the campuses is with things other than the sponsored programs — cross-registration, extensive academic program support, student research … a wide variety of areas.”

That includes a lot of academic programming, sharing curricula and faculty, some back-office and administrative operations, risk management, insurance, and shared fiber-optic network contracts, Pfatteicher noted.

“The majority of our annual budget comes directly from the campuses in the form of assessments which basically say, ‘here’s a list of the things you told me what you want to do next year, and this is what it will cost each of you.’ We have a very detailed formula about who pays for which amount, but the budget comes from the campuses.”

“People will be able to research thousands, even tens of thousands of museum objects that aren’t nearly as accessible to them with the current system.”

Clark, on the other hand, will focus mainly on the consortium’s broad portfolio of sponsored programs, which most recently includes grants from the Mellon Foundation for expanding the Native American and Indigenous Studies curricula of its member campuses and for creation of a faculty leadership-development program, as well as a host of other programs:

• Paradigm Shift is a scholarship partnership program supported by a coalition of more than 30 school districts, universities, and community organizations, aimed at helping Black and Latinx para-educators become licensed teachers.

“The focus is on creating a more diverse teaching workforce,” Pfatteicher said. “It takes people who are already in the classroom and progresses them in their career. It isn’t something that one campus can do by itself, and even Five Colleges couldn’t do it alone, but our job is to get the right people in the room — superintendents, identified para-educators, teacher training programs, someone to manage grant funding … it takes a village, if you will.”

“That’s a perfect example of the work being done here in a collaborative way,” Clark added. “It goes beyond the five campuses and has a tremendous regional benefit.”

• The Center for East Asian Studies in Northampton supports K-12 teachers in learning, and then teaching about, East Asia. It draws on the resources of the Five College member campuses to conduct seminars, institutes, conferences, and workshops.

• Learning in Retirement is a group of retirees, mainly from the field of education, who provide peer education to one another. “It started with faculty members moving into retirement who wanted to stay involved and wanted to help each other, but the membership has gone beyond that,” Clark said.

• Five Colleges also received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support an upgrade of six museum collections and cataloging systems — five from the member colleges and also Historic Deerfield.

“This effort will help the museums to better their collections, and allow them to share their collections with the world,” Kennedy said. “People will be able to research thousands, even tens of thousands of museum objects that aren’t nearly as accessible to them with the current system.”

Those are just a few of the ongoing initiatives. While some of these programs exist for the long run, others — like the museum project — will eventually meet a goal and then end. Meanwhile, ideas for new collaborations continue to be generated by the colleges themselves.

Participants in the Paradigm Shift program, which helps para-educators of color in local K-12 schools earn their teacher’s licenses.
(Photo by Ben Barnhart)

“For the most part, the campuses come here with a project they’d like to undertake: ‘can you help us find funding for this one?’” Pfatteicher explained. “Or one campus might come forward and say, ‘we’ve been talking to a funder about a program, and it occurred to us it might be more powerful to do it collectively.’ So they hand over that conversation with the funder to Five Colleges, and we seek funding.”

And new concepts — and discussions — are always emerging, Clark said. “Ideas can come from one campus, and we help bring it to the full group.”

Strength in Numbers

Pfatteicher emphasized that many valuable programs, especially of the collaborative nature, couldn’t be accomplished without a central convener like the Five College Consortium.

“Campuses in theory can run these things on their own, but the more complicated, detailed collaborations are harder,” she noted, adding that even helping students on one campus find what courses are offered on another, and helping them access those resources, is a much-improved process when Five Colleges is involved.

“Something as simple as cross-registration has a whole set of things you need to accomplish,” she added. “We happen to specialize in being the glue in the middle that helps pull it all together.”

Kennedy agreed. “The three campuses, individually, are overextended; they simply don’t have the funding to do all these programs. Five Colleges gives them an opportunity to access things they may not be able to access otherwise as a group.”

Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Springfield Chamber Players

They’re Keeping Music Alive in New Ways for Future Generations

Springfield Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Paul Lambert and Springfield Chamber Players Chair Beth Welty.

Beth Welty said the musicians just wanted to play.

With the Springfield Symphony Orchestra’s leadership and musicians locked in a labor dispute in 2021 and 2022, the players were willing to perform under the old contract until a new one was settled, but the SSO wouldn’t agree.

“At this point, the pandemic had subsided enough that all the other orchestras in the Northeast had come back to work, audiences were showing up, and we decided we needed to do something,” Welty said. “We were very worried if there was no symphonic music in Springfield — out of sight, out of mind — people would forget about us. We had to keep this going.”

So the musicians started staging shows on their own — both at Symphony Hall and at smaller venues around the region — churches, the Westfield Atheneum, anywhere they could draw an audience.

“We were playing at all these little places, constantly expanding to new communities and venues, and bringing live chamber music to as many people as we possibly could in Western Mass.,” said Welty, an SSO violinist who headed up the effort known as MOSSO, or Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

“So many people, including members of my board, have told me, ‘the first time I ever heard a symphony orchestra was in school.”

Well, you might know the story after that — the SSO and the musicians’ union struck a two-year deal last spring to bring full symphony concerts back to downtown Springfield, which proved gratifying to SSO President and CEO Paul Lambert, who never considered the musicians his enemies as they worked out their labor differences.

“I grew up in the Actors’ Equity Association. I’m a union member. And I believe in organized labor, especially in the performing arts. You want to make sure that everyone is well taken care of,” he said. “At the same time, I’ve been a businessman for a long time, so I’m very well aware of the economic realities and challenges that the performing-arts business is going through, especially in these eccentric times we’re still living through.”

The relief on both sides, in fact, was palpable. But the return of concerts to Symphony Hall was only part of the story. The other part was the continued existence of MOSSO under a new name — Springfield Chamber Players — and its continuing mission to bring smaller chamber concerts to venues around the region, including schools.

“We’re interested in promoting the voices that don’t get heard as much but are great composers — music by Black composers, composers of color, women composers,” Welty said. “We’re mixing in composers people have some familiarity with, but also bringing them composers they haven’t heard of, even living composers.”

So as the music reverberates around the region once again, BusinessWest has chosen to honor both the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Springfield Chamber Players as Difference Makers for 2024 — not because they settled a labor agreement last year, but because of how important the performing arts are to the region, and how important both entities are to filling that role, hopefully for generations to come.

The Springfield Chamber Players string quartet includes Miho Matsuno, Robert Lawrence, Martha McAdams, and Patricia Edens.
(Photo by Gregory Jones)

“When people come to the concerts, and I may open with remarks, I ask people, ‘just for a couple of hours, turn off your cell phones and let it go,’” Lambert said. “It’s like therapy — go listen to some beautiful music. For a few hours, just relax and drink it in. We just need that so badly right now.”

Welty agreed. “Music is a big part of life, and I want that for everyone. It doesn’t have to be classical — we did a combo jazz-classical concert,” she noted, before citing Duke Ellington’s famous line about how genre doesn’t matter, and that “there are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind.”

And good music — good live music — truly makes a difference in a community.

Generation Next

Lambert recalled being in the fourth grade and attending a symphony concert; in fact, it’s an especially vivid, formative memory. So he’s grateful for a two-year, $280,000 grant from the city last spring to help the SSO create educational programming for youth.

“We are deeply involved in finding creative solutions, ways to reach out. This is a giant opportunity to reach all kinds of members of our community who might like to learn more about music — classical music, symphonic music, all the various forms of music that we can touch,” he said.

Meanwhile, through a program called Beethoven’s Buddies, people can donate money toward free tickets for those who might not be able to afford one. “Whatever your situation is, we want you to come to these concerts to hear this music and have a wonderful time,” he explained. “We’re excited about that. It’s also another way that we can reach into our community to pull in people as donors and sponsors.”

“You come together, and the concert happens, and it’s magic. It’s that one-time experience of being together in a space where this beautiful thing happens. It’s special.”

A long-time program called the Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestra is going strong as well, Lambert said, and the SSO just hired an education director, Caitlin Meyer, who has been engaging with public schools and colleges on everything from internships to educational programming and performances.

“That’s a critical piece in the equation,” Lambert added. “So many people, including members of my board, have told me, ‘the first time I ever heard a symphony orchestra was in school.’”

Meanwhile, Springfield Chamber Players recently presented educational outreach concerts at the Berkshire School in Sheffield and the Community Music School of Springfield.

Meeting young people where they are is simply a matter of survival for performing-arts organizations, said Mark Auerbach, Marketing and Public Relations director for Springfield Chamber Players.

“A lot of people who go to symphonies and come to our concerts are on the older side. And it’s partly because the music programs in schools are not what they were 30 or 40 years ago,” he noted. “If we can get family concerts going, educational concerts going, and interest kids and young adults to come to concerts, hopefully they will stay and grow with us.”

Welty is glad the SSO is doing grant-funded youth outreach because the budget for Springfield Chamber Players is limited, so it needs to be a group effort.

“I’ve been with the symphony 40 years, and we used to have a really robust school presence. We’d send a trio or a quartet to play for kids, talk to them, and answer questions. And they later came to Symphony Hall to hear the whole orchestra,” she recalled. “I think they want to bring that back. We have to be developing the next generation of audience members.”

Leaders of both Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Springfield Chamber Players are gratified to be bringing music back to both Symphony Hall (pictured) and smaller venues around the region.

Part of the growth and outreach is simply broadening the definition of what an SSO concert is, Lambert told BusinessWest.

“A lot of folks think of a certain type of music from Western Europe, from the 18th and 19th century. And I love that music. I love Mozart. I love Brahms. I love Beethoven. I love Schubert. I’m thrilled to hear that music, personally,” he said. “But I’ve become increasingly aware of the streams of music traditions that exist all around the world in different cultures and different backgrounds that might appeal to all kinds of folks. So we are trying to pull those various streams together in our programming opportunities.”

To that end, the SSO has begun assembling some hybrid concerts that offer a mixture of traditions, like the classical-jazz fusion explored at the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration concert in January, and a Havana Nights show earlier this month that featured Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban rythms.

“The MLK concert had a marvelously diverse audience. We are thrilled when we see new people coming in,” Lambert said. “At our Juneteenth concert that we did last year, we had so many people telling us, ‘I’ve never been to one of your concerts before; I’ve never even been to Symphony Hall before.’ It’s thrilling to us to get those folks coming in to hear this beautiful music.

“Our pops concerts do really well, and we’re going to see what we can explore with those, with different genres of music,” he added. “At the same time, we’re never going to lose track of that beautiful, traditional repertoire that people, including me, love so much. That’s the core of who we are.”

A Resource of Note

Welty noted that Springfield Chamber Players has brought an eclectic spirit to its offerings as well, such as “Johnny Appleseed,” a composition by local composer Clifton Noble Jr. based on Janet Yolen’s book of the same name. That concert will take place outdoors in Longmeadow — the legendary character’s hometown — on May 12.

Whatever the venue, she is passionate about exposing more people to good music — whatever that means to Duke Ellington or anyone else — and to get them into music at younger ages.

“I wish every kid could take lessons on an instrument for a few years. You really learn so much. Problem-solving, analyzing, listening, observing. Music is very mathematical, too. Music education would boost everybody,” she said.

“I really think of arts organizations — music, a ballet company, whatever it is — as a resource for everyone,” she added. “You can’t just go to work every day and then go home and watch TV. That’s a boring life. You want something more. And kids that see live music get interested. They want to try it themselves.”

A thriving performance culture is also an economic driver, Auerbach noted.

“It’s essential that Springfield Symphony Orchestra survives because it’s the only live, nonprofit performing-arts organization in Springfield,” he said. “Without the arts, we’d have trouble attracting new residents and new businesses. And there’s a lot of economic spinoff — you go out, first you pay to eat, you pay to park, you may go out to drink afterwards. The musicians, if they are local, spend money here. If they’re not local, they have to stay in hotels and eat here.”

Lambert agrees, even though the demographics for this art form are challenging right now — not just in Springfield, but everywhere.

“For a couple of years during the pandemic, folks stayed at home, and they got used to not coming out at night so much. You got used to staying home and being cozy in your armchair and watching Netflix. Coming back from that was always going to be a substantial challenge.”

But the rewards are great, he added.

“I used to think about how people make wine — you grow the grapes, and you tend the vineyards, and you design the bottle, and you do all of this work. And then you get to dinner and someone opens the cork and you drink it, and it’s gone. But it’s a beautiful thing for that moment.

“I often think about our experience the same way,” he went on. “All the work and the rehearsals and the planning and the tickets and this and that. But you come together, and the concert happens, and it’s magic. It’s that one-time experience of being together in a space where this beautiful thing happens. It’s special.”

Shannon Rudder

President and CEO, Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services

She Wants to Galvanize a Community to Effect Positive Change

Shannon Rudder

For her 12th birthday, Shannon Rudder didn’t want a present from her mother; instead, she wanted to redecorate her bedroom.

So she did, and she remembers some of the things she hung on the walls, like the Indigenous Ten Commandments and a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, along with the quotation, “live, think, and act. Be inspired by humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony.”

She remembers that message because she internalized it at a young age, and it has informed every stop along her career journey — and the difference she has been able to make at each one.

“It’s embedded in me,” Rudder said as she sat with BusinessWest in her office at Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services in Springfield. “I feel like I can be a part of creating humanity in my immediate area. I might not be able to change the whole world or the whole city that I’m in, but I’ve always felt compelled to make an impact in a positive way with compassion and love. And I’m responsible for my thoughts because those become actions. Very early on, that idea led me to be a person of integrity, of deep compassion, and of advocacy.”

Perhaps that’s why, after considering a corporate career in college, she eventually embarked on a series of roles at organizations with a social mission, from MotherWoman and Teach Western Mass to Providence Ministries and, now, MLK Family Services, where she stepped a year ago into the very big shoes of the late Ronn Johnson, who steered the ship there for more than a decade (and was also honored by BusinessWest as a Difference Maker in 2020).

Simply put, Rudder said, “I just think I have been called to contribute to important causes, and I go after that.”

Her first nonprofit job was in Buffalo, N.Y., where she grew up, for an organization called Women for Human Rights & Dignity. “It just like cracked me open, like, ‘oh, the skills that I have and the compassion that I have … they can be aligned, and I get paid to do awesome, impactful work?’

“I might not be able to change the whole world or the whole city that I’m in, but I’ve always felt compelled to make an impact in a positive way with compassion and love.”

“That was all about women’s empowerment,” she added. “We did alternatives-to-incarceration programs and domestic-violence support and non-traditional education and housing. I was really young, and I had a little baby, and I was doing this good work, but also learning how to run a business.”

Since then, Rudder has taken care to align with causes that are important to her, moving into work with fair housing and civil rights in the Buffalo region before moving to Western Mass., where her first pathway to organizational leadership was at MotherWoman, a nonprofit focused on maternal health and well-being, where she served as executive director.

Later, she was executive director for Providence Ministries Inc., a nonprofit advocating for and supporting marginalized populations across programs dedicated to food security, addiction recovery, housing, clothing, and workforce development. That role opened her eyes to many types of need and further honed her sharp sense of empathy.

“I remember my grandmother saying, ‘but for God’s grace, there go I’ — meaning, in a blink of an eye, your situation could change, and you could be on the other side of needing services like that,” she said. “We’re all part of the same journey.”

Shannon Rudder with the two youth emcees from last month’s MLK Day celebration.

She also served as deputy director of Teach Western Mass, a nonprofit startup working toward educational equity in partnership with more than 30 schools. Her duties included fiscal and operational oversight, knowledge-management systems, data and impact, communications, equity and belonging, human-resource management, overall team culture, and supervision of cross-functional teams.

“I’ve been really intentional about the causes that make a difference to me, approaching it from the perspective of, ‘OK, this agency’s mission is really clear, the heart and the compassion are here, and I get to make sure it lasts for a long time by building the infrastructure, the operations systems, the fundraising and return on investment, and all the important scaffolding that needs to be in place so that the business aspect of it can thrive.”

The clear thread woven through all these roles has been a focus on equity and making sure everyone has access to the resources they need to live healthy, meaningful lives, she explained. “I picked causes that are doing the important work of amplifying the voices of those that have often been silenced or marginalized.”

By using her own voice, compassion, and business acumen to do so, Rudder has become a true Difference Maker.

Lifetime Support

At MLK Family Services, she shares with Johnson, her late predecessor, an approach to the work from a public-health standpoint, considering how the social determinants of health affect all areas of life.

“Sure, we can triage and put Band-Aids on stuff — people are hungry now, so let’s make sure they have food — but let’s dig a little deeper: how do we actually get a grocery store in an area that is in need?” she said.

“I remember my grandmother saying, ‘but for God’s grace, there go I’ — meaning, in a blink of an eye, your situation could change, and you could be on the other side of needing services like that. We’re all part of the same journey.”

“I also want to make sure that MLKFS as a whole, operations and programs, is operating from a trauma-informed place,” she went on, citing a philosophy that takes into account the unique, often traumatic experiences of an individual’s life and how that informs what they need.

“How do we approach our programs and ensure that the people working with our kids are helping to break that, or making sure that those kids have resources like mental-health counseling? How do we make sure we’re helping to embolden and empower them, and then actually building the bridge to get them access to the things that they need?”

The current programs offered by MLK Family Services are many and diverse, and include:

• The Family Stabilization Program, funded through the Department of Child and Family, offers support to families to keep their children safely at home and in the community by advocating for the well-being and rights of all children and ensuring parenting support.

Shannon Rudder’s work at MLK Family Services lifts up children in many ways.

• The MLK Food Pantry provides emergency food services to community members in Hampden County. The program relies on donations from grocery vendors and is a member of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. The pantry operates at the MLK Community Center weekly and also hosts the Food Bank’s mobile market twice monthly.

• The Clemente Course in Humanities is a transformative educational experience for adults — an opportunity to further their education and careers, advocate for themselves and their families, and engage actively in the cultural and political lives of their communities.

• The Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Tour helps young people explore their academic journey by visiting multiple college campuses in a single trip. These tours equip participants with a solid understanding of the history, culture, and traditions that have shaped the schools’ collective legacy. In addition, students, parents, and counselors are engaged in a year-long series of workshops.

• The King’s Kids afterschool programs serve up to 130 children at two locations. Programming is aimed at helping students become academically successful by nurturing their character building, critical-thinking skills, and creativity. Students are offered homework help, STEAM enrichment, literacy support, cultural experiences, and recreational and holistic well-being.

• Youth between ages 13 and 22 are invited to participate in the weekly Night Spot program, which empowers them to be critical thinkers and community builders while preparing them for life in high school, college, and beyond. Night Spot offers advocacy services for a variety of needs, including handling life’s complications, navigating the court system, and ensuring safety in a safe, drug-free environment.

• Beat the Odds is a Springfield-based youth mental-health coalition led in partnership with the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts. Hosted at MLK Family Services, the program focuses on breaking the cycle of stigma and barriers to youth mental healthcare. In 2023, this program launched a public-awareness campaign called “I Am Not My Mood.”

“How do we make sure we’re helping to embolden and empower them, and then actually building the bridge to get them access to the things that they need?”

• King’s Kids Summer Camp is a full-day camp for children ages 5-12. Meanwhile, a new partnership with Springfield Empowerment Zone schools provides summer enrichment programs to Springfield middle- and high-school students in partnership with agencies across Massachusetts.

• DCR Summer Nights Program is a transformative, statewide initiative that enriches the lives of urban youth ages 13 to 21. MLK Family Services is one of the sites providing safe, inclusive, and fun activities (both recreational and educational) during evening hours. Participants enjoy gaming competitions and tournaments in a variety of sports, enriching arts activities, health and wellness workshops, career explorations through guest speakers, and off-site excursions.

“I can’t wait to jump in with the community and do a strategic plan where they begin to inform us what they need, so we’re not sitting here thinking, ‘oh, I think it would be cool if we created this experience,’” Rudder said. “Does the community need that? We know that the community is ever-shifting and changing. So to really meet the needs of the community, we need to hear from them, and I’m excited about doing that.”

The MLK King’s Kids dance troupe performed at MLK Day this year.

It’s a way to go beyond Johnson’s ‘teach a man to fish’ credo and make sure people are fishing in the right ponds.

“If we say we’re going to listen to the community, then we have to go into the community and say, ‘OK, we heard you. How are we going to work at this together?’” Rudder said. “It’s our job to provide the resources and the tools, but I want them to be a part of that solution, whatever that looks like.”

Thinking Ahead

Rudder has plenty of goals for the center, from broading the trauma-informed piece to launching a full capital-needs assessment.

“I want to make sure our center is there for decades to come, so that means a lot of capital improvement. Our food pantry needs a new home; we’re just bursting at the seams.

“I also want to do economic-development training,” she added. “We do a really good job with HBCUs and also college readiness locally, and I want our kids to dream big — but college might not be for them. So how do we equip them to realize their dreams and potential? I want to do some vocational training, some entrepreneurial things, all STEAM-based approaches to things.”

One idea from Providence Ministries she’d like to being to MLK Family Services is ServSafe training. “We can get them certified in management and actually have hands-on teaching of kitchen skills and culinary skills. And then, how do they make money off of that? So, we’ll teach them business acumen and then link them to opportunities for jobs,” she explained. “I’m just excited to hear what our community’s needs are and finding a way — again, through the public-health lens — of making sure that we meet those needs.”

To accomplish all that, Rudder relies not only on the center’s staff, but also about 120 volunteers. And she finds it gratifying that she’s following King’s philosophy of not working solo, but galvanizing an entire community to accomplish positive change.

“One adage I grew up with is, ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’ And I’m really blessed; I’m really fortunate in my life,” Rudder told BusinessWest. “So that’s my responsibility — to leverage those things that I’ve been blessed with into doing good, into impact. This is fun, and it is fulfilling to me.”

Delcie Bean